Hadassah Hospital

Today I decided to visit Hadassah Hospital and see the synagogue with the Chagall windows. Hadassah Hospital is located in Jerusalem and is a world renowned center for treatment and research. When I look out my bedroom window I can see it. It is not far from me but I am separated from it by a deep valley. I am on one side of a mountain and the hospital is on another mountainside across from me. It is large, beautiful and imposing. It is a labyrinth of buildings with 850 beds. In 1962, when Israel was a fledgling state, Marc Chagall was commissioned to create 12 stained glass windows for the synagogue. It is truly a beautiful sight.

So I walked about a mile to a bus stop that took me directly to the hospital. Along the way I saw almond trees in bloom which smell so nice. The Israeli version of forsythia is also in bloom now so spring must be on it's way. Actually it was about 60 degrees today so a great day for a walk. I got off the bus and entered the hospital through the wrong doors and got completely lost in the hospital. As often works out though, it was in my best interest. I passed right by the Henrietta Szold School of Nursing. For my 40th birthday, my mother had bought me a life membership with the Woman's Zionist Organization, Hadassah, which supports, among other things, the hospital. I, in turn, joined the Hadassah Nurses Council in Maryland. Part of our fundraising activities goes specifically to the education of nurses here. So I was very glad that I stumbled upon it. I went in and took some pictures. I eventually made my way to the synagogue and opened the door to come face-to-face with an orthodox service in progress. A sea of Orthodox Jewish men stared up at me and I quickly shut the door and went around to the women's section. I stayed for the last 30 minutes of the service which was a nice thing to do.

I got to enjoy seeing the windows and hearing about what each pane depicts. In the 1967 war four of the windows were shattered when a bomb landed nearby. Chagall was notified and wrote to the prime minister that he should take care of the war and Chagall would take care of the windows. In one of the replaced windows, he placed a piece of shrapnel from the bombing which I thought was quite poignant. After the tour of the synsgogue I was talking to one of the tour guides and I told her about my affiliation with the Hadassah Nurses Council and how I would love a tour of the hospital. She is arranging it for me next week and I am very excited. I hope to be able to see the ED and the ICU's.

I feel like I am really running out of time here which is a little sad. There is so much to do, see and experience. This coming week I hope to go to Mea Shearim to see the ultra orthodox sect that lives there. I plan to go with my roommate friend Amalia. We both need to dress in long conservative skirts and long sleeve shirts. It should be an experience. I may also take a quick run up to Tel Aviv to buy a new bathing suit. I forgot to pack one to come here. When Robin visits we are going to the Dead Sea so I need something. I also got a call from a cousin (actually one of Roy's) who is coming to Israel with his family and wants to get together. They arrive the very day that I return from my Europe trip. Three days after they leave, Robin and her daughter come for a week and Donna's parents will also be here for 2 weeks. So as you can see, I will be very busy starting next week and continuing for 5 weeks. I will try to be good about posting though. I hope all is well with my friends and family at home. I miss you!

My interesting observation: The people of Israel are very laid back and easy going. It is rare that you see anyone in a shirt and tie and everything is informal. Yet they become sticklers with stupid (in my opinion of course) things, like admission to a museusm. I stopped at the Hertzl museum last week and could not go in because I did not have a reservation! Craziness.

My pics: The top ones are, obviously, the Chagall windows, followed by some shots of the School of Nursing and lastly, some of the flowers that are in bloom at the moment. Enjoy!

Wandering

Well I've been a bad girl and hae not been keeping up my blog. Part of the reason is because I have been staying close to home and saving my shekels for my next Europe trip. I still have been getting out though and I have been enjoying my time.

One of the great things about being here, in general, is the fact that I have free time to explore. When not at the hospital, I am not bogged down with the day to day stuff of life. No real grocery shopping, dry cleaning stops, overdue library books, banking etc etc that suck away time. All I have to take care of is myself and that is easy. So on some of my days off I start out in one direction and end up in a totally different place. Last week I decided that I was going to catch one of the rampart walks in the Old City. So I was standing at the bus stop to go exploring, when one of my co-workers at the hospital was driving by. He stopped and asked me if I wanted a ride someplace. I told him where I was going and he dropped me at the central bus station. From there I could have taken one of several buses to the area I needed. I decided instead to walk and, although I never made it to the ramparts, I did have a great day. I walked by the market place but did not go in because I didn't want to be tempted and end up schlepping stuff all over the place. It was nice to go by though. It had rained the day before and the smells were so crisp and wonderful. I passed Ben Yehuda street and kept going. From there I got lost but kept walking until I found the German Colony. I walked up and down the streets there which were filled with shops and restaurants. I stopped in a sushi restaurant and enjoyed that for the first time since I came to Israel. Yum! I ended up walking for over 6 hours. I never got to the ramparts but I did get to see much of the city on foot and enjoyed the day tremendously.

I went out with Brinda and Ami on two different Shabbats. One weekend they picked me up in Jerusalem and took me to the Islamic Museum. It was interesting to learn a little bit about a religion that has 1 billion followers. Also housed within this museum was a clock museum. It was amazing- filled with clocks and watches that were one of a kind. Such jewels on them and such interesting histories. One watch was commissioned for Marie Antoinette. Unfortunately for her, she died before it was finished. From there we went for a nice lunch in the city. There are a few restaurants open of Shabbat in Jerusalem but not many and they were doing a brisk business.

This past week I decided to go once again to Yad Vashem. I found a path behind the hospital that took me along a rode that I had never travelled. It overlooked some of the hills of the city. It was a beautiful day and I enjoyed the walk. I stopped at the military cemetary nearby. It is Israel's version of Arlington. While Arlington is beautiful in it's starkness, Israel's cemetary is beautiful in the opposite way. All the graves are built above ground (I guess the stone is too hard to dig through) and each grave has a planter in front of it. It is traditional in Judiasm to light a memorial candle on the anniversary of a death and each grave has a little lantern by it to put a candle in. People also leave momentos to decorate the graves. I noticed that there were 7 or 8 graves with the same date of death on them, February 25, 1996. I went home and looked up the date and discovered that there had been a terrorist bombing on a bus that day and 45 people were killed including a number of soldiers. This Friday is the 15th anniversary of the bombing. Maybe I will take a walk up there to pay my respects.

Once again, this Shabbat I went to Brinda and Ami's home. On Saturday morning we got up leisurely and had a nice breakfast. We then took a ride to Givat Harakafot (Hill of Cyclamit). It is a nature preserve. We approached a grove of trees and within the grove, there was a ground cover of little pink flowers. We walked the entire perimeter of the grove and it was so nice. We then stopped in Zecharon Yaacov, a little town nearby. There was a pedestrian mall with shops and restaurants. In the area was the home of Sarah Aaronson, a young woman who spied for the British against the Turks and ended up commiting suicide rather then be captured. We ate in a restaurant that had formerly been the home on a farm. Ami's father worked on the farm when he first immigrated to Israel back in 1926 so that was pretty interesting.

We had a little Valentine's Day party at the house last week. It was for all the girls without boyfriends (Josh take note!). I was allowed to come since my boyfriend is 6000 miles away :-) Anyway, the girls are sweet and we dined on the floor with wine and strawberries, oranges and apples dipped in chocolate. It is fun hanging with the 20 year old girls. They are so nice to include an old lady.

Work at the hospital is going well however we have a new wave of illness going through the unit. When one child gets sick, it seems that they all do and some of them are pretty fragile. I am worried about my little buddy Raphael who is very compromised with his breathing on a good day. He is really struggling. It puts all other problems in perspective. I am getting another cold thanks to the kids but I am strong enough to fight it off easily. It is them I worry about.

So in 2 weeks Zach comes to Isreal and we begin our vacation through Israel, Lisbon, Madrid and Lake Como Italy. I am looking forward to the adventure and we have been emailing and skyping to get it planned which is something I love to do. After that, my friend Robin and her daughter are spending a week with me so I am busy planning that trip too. Life is an adventure and I am so glad I "surrendered security " to do this.

My observation for this week: some things are crazy expensive and some things unbelieveably cheap and there doesn't seem to be a pattern. A drugstore mascara is $30 but boots are only $20. Guess what I've bought?

My pictures are a bit out of order. The bottom and top are the Valentine's party. The picture in the middle is my day at the preserve with Brinda and Ami. I will try to be better about posting. Thanks for your patience and I miss everyone!