Chivas and Latkes, It's What's for Dinner

Gather 'round, my darlings, this is the story of Chanukah.

So here's how it goes; long, long ago (approximately 2,300 years, to be more precise) there lived a Syrian king named Antiochus. Now, like most kings, Antiochus wanted every person living in his land to believe what he believed and to do as he said. He wanted all the Jews to basically stop being Jewish and begin to worship the Greek gods, as he did. But us Jews, well, we are strong willed people, we stand up for what we believe in and we never pay full price for electronics. But I digress. So most of the Jews thought Antiochus was full of it and told him to shove it. One of those people was Judah, Judah Maccabee. Luckily, Judah had four brothers and with their help, and the help of lots of other Jews, they fought the Syrians and claimed their holy land (Israel). It took them about three years but I'd say that's really good timing considering how long Israel's wars last now (forever).

So now they find themselves in the Jerusalem temple except it's not really much of a Jewish temple anymore because the Greeks had taken over it with all their statues and feta cheese! Judah and the boys took it upon themselves to de-Greek the temple and make it Jewish again. By the time they finished, it was the 25th day of Kislev, which is a day on the Jewish calendar that translates to anywhere between late November to late December on the Western calendar. Now, in every Jewish tem

ple (or synagogue) there is an eternal light, which is essentially an oil lamp of some sort that should never be extinguished. But here's the thing, during the refurbishing of the temple, they only found a small amount of oil that would light the lamp for about one day. Here's the the show stopper though, the part you've been reading this whole story for: this tiny amount of oil that was supposed to last for only one day, it lasted for 8 DAYS. That's right, 8 days and 8 nights, which was just enough time to compress some olives and make more oil. Man, I'm a sucker for miracles.

Being that we're Jewish and all of our holidays and laws are based on traditions, Judah Maccabee and the Jewish people decided to throw another tradition on the list and make a celebration out of this awesome miracle. So now, every year for Chanukah we light a candle each night for 8 days to commemorate the time that Judah and his army fought off the Syrians and reclaimed our temple. We also eat oily foods like Latkes (potato pancakes) and Sufganiot (jelly donuts) to represent the oil that lasted for so long. In America it is common for people to give and receive gifts duri

ng Chanukah but this exchanging of gifts does not actually take place in Israel, it's more of an American tradition (which I think was created because Jewish parents felt bad for their kids because all of the Christian and Catholic kids were getting gifts for Christmas).

So if you didn't know, now you know. This year, Chanukah is from December 1, 2010 to December 9, 2010 so you guys have about 3 more days to get your Chanukah on! Chanukah Sameach!! (Happy Chanukah!!)

TTFN XX

I MISS MY HOME

I was sitting in the kitchen eating dinner the other night and all of a sudden, a deep feeling of nostalgia hit me like a bullet in my back. I'm not quite sure what triggered this particular feeling but it was really weird because before that moment I hadn't really missed home before, I had missed my friends and family. But at that moment I could litterly smell the scent of my mom cooking in the kitchen for Shabbat dinner, I could feel the cool white cotton of my bed sheets brushing against my cheeks and I could imagine myself coming down the stairs and heading out the door to go to school. I miss my home and no matter how much I accomplish here, I can't shake the feeling that this is not my home; this is not where I grew up.

I've been trying really hard to focus on what's in front of me right now, which is Israel. I may not feel 100% happy here but right now this is what I've got and I would never forgive myself if I gave up now. I feel like i'm on a super long vacation except i'm not engaging in any recreational activities. It's kind of an annoying feeling but everyone keeps telling me that if I move here then I won't feel like that because I'll have a car and my own place. That will probably change things but I'm not sure if I really belong here. Maybe it's too soon to tell? I know what you guys are thinking, "Wait, didn't she just post something about how great it would be to live in Israel?!" Haha well, I'm still not sure yet and I don't think I will be for a while.

I asked my sister once if she was happy that she decided to move to Israel and she said, "You know what, you have to make the most of wherever you live and enjoy yourself. When I visit California, I enjoy what California has to offer and when I'm in Israel I do the same."

TTFN XX

Oh, Brother

I'm coming up on my 3 month mark here in Israel and I don't miss home as much as I thought I would. Don't get me wrong, I miss my friends and family immensely but I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm not on the next flight home. It's funny though, before I left I told my dad to cancel my cell phone line and he was like, "No, it's okay. You'll probably be back in 2 months anyway." But here I am, surviving. haha. I was born to prove this world wrong and I feel like that's exactly what I'm doing. Every time I meet someone new and they realize that I'm from California, I always get the same question, "Why?" well, why not?! Why should I stay in a bubble that is California when there is so much more of this earth that I have yet to discover? This brings me to the subject of this post.

I touched on this idea in one of my earlier posts but I didn't really provide many details. So here it is: I've seriously been considering moving to Israel . . . permanently. I guess the real pondering started about a week ago, during elections. I began thinking about how America is seeing a change but it's a change for the worst, while Israel is changing for the better. I'm a minority in America and that makes me feel uncomfortable. True, there are many minorities living in America, California especially, but everyone is still so segregated. I don't feel that my religion is entirely welcome in America and I honestly don't see that changing.

America has simply run out of 'opportunity' and now the American Dream is just to be able to pay your bills every month. The Israeli Dream is to love what you do and be there for your family. I want to have children in the future and I want them to be proud of being Jewish, not tuck their Star of David necklace under their shirt. I want them to know what it feels like to celebrate Yom Kippur as a nation or be able to walk into a restaurant and not worry if the food is Kosher or not. I remember how difficult it was to grow up Jewish in California. All the questions, not knowing really how to answer them. How do you explain to other 9-year-olds what 'Kosher' is or why you can't ignite fire on Saturdays? Living here has really made me aware of just how much of a problem being a minority could be. Being Jewish in Israel is absolutely effortless. If I do make the move here it'll be for my future.

With all of that said, moving across the world is a really huge decision and I'm totally aware of that. I'll definitely be coming back home after I complete my training here, regardless of my decision. However, I would like to come to a decision by the time I go back to California. I'm trying not to think too much about it right now because my main concern is to do well in school and enjoy the time that I'm spending here. So for right now I'm just going with the flow and taking in all the beauty and soul that Israel has to offer.

TTFN XX

What Language Do You Dream In?

I was speaking with my father on the phone the other day and he asked me if I was fitting in here in Israel and if I felt like an Israeli yet. I told him that I didn't and I stuck out like a sore thumb, a throbbing, sore thumb. He said to me, "Just wait, Liat, when you start dreaming in Hebrew, that's when you know you belong."

Last night, I had my first dream in Hebrew. Now, I'm not sure if it's because I talked about it with my father a few nights before and my brain was just doing its job, or if I really should feel like I belong. In all honestly, I feel more comfortable here than I did when I first arrived but I don't think that I can say that I feel like a native. There's still so much here that I'm not used to. Like, for instance, most people here act like they own the place (and it's because they truly feel like they own the place). They smoke and park wherever their heart desires and they don't say "please," "thank you," or "sorry." But they do speak from their heart; they say what they mean and they mean what they say. They're pretty harsh and everyone keeps telling me that they have to be that way in order to survive here.

Maybe I'll never behave or speak the way they do but I have come to admire and love this country. For she is beautiful, warm, energetic and full of attitude. Lately I've been thinking about what it would be like to live here permanently. I don't mean to startle my American friends! However, I feel that America is somewhat of a bubble. Life is easy there but when you're in America, you're on the America show and it's all America all the time. What I mean to say is that when you live in America you don't really concern yourself with what's going on in the rest of the world. While there is diversity in America, most cultures tend to stick with their own kind. But it's not like that here in Israel. Yes, most of us are Jewish but we come from all over the world and we don't segregate ourselves. That's my favorite thing about Israel (aside from the food).

So I guess I'm still not sure if I belong yet but i'm starting to feel more like it every day.

(oh, and don't forget to answer my question! What language do you dream in??)

TTFN XX

Did You Say Sizzurp? No, I Said Scissors!

So they won't make you fly like a G6 but they sure will make you look fly! That's right lovely readers, I am now the proud owner of my first pair of professional hair-cutting scissors. Although I've been attending the hair academy for 2 months, I didn't receive my scissors until today because scissors must be earned. The first two months emphasized the foundation of doing hair because as we know, a building is built from the ground up, not the other way around. Now that I know and understand the basis of doing hair, the details that surround the hair world, I can now become more familiar with my scissors. I'm actually glad I didn't get the scissors right off the bat because now I appreciate them so much more.

Now that our class has received our scissors, we will slowly be moving into the salon. There is a salon attached to our school in which all the the students will practice everything they learn. It is a fully working salon with real clients and real hair. I'm tremendously excited for what's to come and I hope that I can rise to the occasion even though I know I'll be very nervous. But nerves just make everything more interesting, right?! And anyway, I won't be doing this alone, I've got my handsome pair of scissors now ;-)

These scissors will take me to some beautiful places if I let them. It's all up to me now. I haven't decided what to name my scissors yet (yes, I will be naming them), but I'm definitely open to suggestions!

TTFN XX

Maybe I Really Do Have it in Me

So we've just passed the two month mark at school and we took our first exam. We were examined on everything we've learned in these past two months; parting the hair, highlights, lowlights, perming, chemical straightening, the finger wave, finger curls and rollers. I was nervous about it because doing hair isn't like solving a math problem or writing a research paper. It's a skill that one possesses and either you have it or you don't. We obviously don't begin as the best hairdresser in the world and there is always something to learn, like with any other occupation. However, I do believe that it's somewhat of an innate skill. You probably grew up loving to play with people's hair and create beautiful pieces of hair art (if you will). When someone would ask you to straighten their hair, even if you had a ton of other things to do, a bright smile would show up on your face and you'd say, "with pleasure." Well, that was me at least. But I wasn't quite sure if i'd cut it when it actually came to the technical stuff, that is, until today.

As the instructor read our scores aloud I thought, crap, this is about to be embarrassing, because receiving test scores is usually a private matter. Before he started reading off the scores, he distinctly stated that no one in the class received a score of 100 and that the highest score was a 98. As he called my name, I could feel my heart pound a little quicker, "Liat, 98." A feeling of pride began to wash over me and I couldn't help but smile. The news instantly made me feel like I want to work even harder and that maybe I really can be the best.

I've been feeling kind of down in the dumps lately because of all the licensing issues and the fact that I can't get my license to work in Israel because the state's test is only available in Hebrew and I can't read or write in Hebrew. But I guess it's not that bad because in all honestly, I don't plan on opening a salon here in Israel. Anyway, I was beginning to feel like going to class was pointless because all the other kids were going to get a license at the end and I wasn't. But now that I know that I really am good at this, well, it would be absolutely foolish of me to quit now. The other kids in class don't really talk to me much, especially now, but honestly, I don't care anymore. My hands will show them what I'm made of and they can eat it.

TTFN XX

Confidence is a Stain That Can't be Removed

Most of you probably already understand that there is a difference between confidence and cockiness. For instance, George Clooney is confident while Kanye West is cocky. Confidence is respected while cockiness annoys and is often not taken seriously. Confidence is a force not to be reckoned with; confident people usually get what they're after in an efficient manner. I bring this subject up because in the last couple of months that I've been living in Israel, I've noticed that many of the young people here are quite cocky. I've also become aware that it's something that they probably grow out of because most of the older people who live here lack that overbearing arrogance.

It's interesting to watch a cocky attitude in action; it's all in their choice of words. Example, there's a test coming up in class, a confident person would say, "I studied the subject matter. I feel good about this test, I'm going to do well." A cocky person would say, "You might as well give me that A now, I haven't studied one bit but I've got it in the bag." Don't get me wrong, cockiness is very amusing, it's one of the reasons I'm so fascinated by Kanye West. I mean, the man doesn't quit; he's so cocky that he IS respected for it. People forgive him for his cocky behavior because they know he'll be at it again. But let's face it, there's only one Kanye West on this planet and we can't all make a cocky attitude look that sharp. Most of the time, cocky people make me feel disgusted, they think they have all the answers and make assumptions about things they really have no clue about.

I guess young people all over the world have a lot to learn but it got me wondering, where does that attitude come from? Is it because they sincerely believe that they got it goin' on, or are they deeply self-conscious inside and this is just one of the ways they deal with it? The thing about cockiness is that it fades, one hit below the belt and the person becomes defensive, sloppy and weakened. But confidence, well, like I said, it's a stain that can't be removed.

TTFN XX