Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these broken wings and learn to fly
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to arise
Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these sunken eyes and learn to see
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to be free
Blackbird fly, blackbird fly
Into the light of the dark black night
Blackbird fly, blackbird fly
Into the light of the dark black night
You were only waiting for this moment to arise
You were only waiting for this moment to arise
Who's to say what's impossible? Well they forgot this world keeps spinning. And with each new day, I can feel a change in everything. And as the surface breaks reflections fade. But in some ways they remain the same. And as my mind begins to spread it's wings, there's no stopping curiosity.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
The Song of My Thoughts from the 08’ Election to Other Subjects
Thursday, October 16, 2008
I’ve Left the Middle East to Study Abroad in Europe
'The half way point of my international adventure has arrived. It is my first week in Paris, France, yet my mind still thinks in Hebrew.
Leaving Israel was uncomfortable. Everything about 'the land' is so bitter-sweet for me, especially after becoming a part of Israeli society in almost every way. I traveled from the north to the south, interned at the Jerusalem Music Center and the Hand in Hand Schools, visited as many holy and historical sites as possible, spoke in Hebrew, played the violin and viola, tackled the job of being a counselor for 95 Israeli high school musicians, and lived life in an Israeli way. It is my homeland as much as anybody's and I am tired of others denying that right to Muslims, Christians, Bahia, and those like myself. I have not lost hope, as I do believe in institutions such as Hand in Hand and will continue to intern for them throughout the year, yet I am a bit more blue about the situation. Though Israel is six hours away from me now, the experiences I gained from my summer in Israel feel as close as yesterday.
Now I am in the land of past kings and queens, heavenly cheese and wine, waltzing FRENCH language, and one hell of a history. Even saying the introductory French phrase, "J'mapelle Shoshana", places an unforeseen delight of Francophone friction in my palate. Did I mention that it is practically the extent of my French studies?'
~Me (August 30, 2008)
Yes, that was me already over one month ago. Though it might not be visible in my comfy blogging style, it is only fair for me to describe my fear of leaving, all of a sudden, everything I knew for a different lifestyle that I was not sure how to organize (and without organization, I usually sink pretty quickly). In Israel, I had my family, my friends, my internships, and my belief of purpose in 'the land' as a Jew. But in Paris France, Jewish life is practically invisible, everybody dresses for the street runway, the language is NOT Hebrew or English, the Euro is very expensive, and all I could think to myself was, "Why am I here?". Being who I am though, I put myself 'in check' and knew that I must organize my life in Paris in order to make understanding of the grand picture. This is now what I am here to describe to you in this entry, my life in the New York of Europe: Paris, France.
Though study abroad is usually identified as a semester with fewer responsibilities and most likely semi-studious ambitions, I have not followed that trend quite to the tee. Though I am skipping my two hour, Monday through Friday, Sorbonne French class right now for reasons that will be explained later, as well as to enjoy probably one of the last bright sunny afternoons in this northern country, I have scheduled myself in basically every night of the week. The following is what I mean (and keep in mind that I live in the south side of Paris by Glaciere Metro in the 13th arrondissement).
- Monday Night: Chamber music coaching at a Musique Conservatoire in the 7th arrondissement by Invalides, the Eiffel Tower, and the Assemblee National.
- Tuesday Night: Salsa dancing class in the 20th arrondissement all the way on the east side of town.
- Wednesday Night: Rehearsal for chamber music at the conservatoire.
- Thursday Night: Sorbonne Orchestra rehearsal in the 17th arrondissement on the IV campus.
- Friday Night: Friday night Shabbat service with the lovely congregation, Kehilat Gesher, on the north-western side of town.
During the day, I am either practicing in my studio with a balcony and rambunctiously noisy elementary, middle, and high school in my backyard, attending my Communication Theory class at the American University of Paris, attending my two hour Sorbonne French class by Saint-Michel Metro across the street from the elegant Notre Dame, using the metro and exploring the city, buying fruit and veggies while exercising my Arabic at a local market, being a self-employed violinist in metro stations, reading, buying baguettes and croissants, studying for the my French and Communication classes on the second floors of different Starbucks in the city (as it is gratitude-free- to do so without purchase), and looking at all of the menus posted on the windows of interesting restaurants that I really cannot afford. On the weekends, I have fewer activities set in stone. On Saturday morning, I have a three hour Sorbonne Orchestra rehearsal, sometimes trips to the countryside with my study abroad company, doing laundry, listening to jazz and an Israeli radio station on the internet, sleeping, visiting the sites, chatting it up with my family and friends using my Skype subscription, etc.
I should also mention that my mind is also very busy too, yet not in France; it is busy in America. Continuously, it divulges into my possibilities for courses next semester at UM, what activities to participate in when finally home, what to perform on my junior recital, how to change my major to a Bachelor of Arts in Music from Violin Performance, whether and how to make the official switch to viola-or not, what type of internships and music festivals are of interest for next summer, and what the fuck to do if Barak Obama is not elected as President of the United States (do not fret, I already sent in my absentee ballot weeks ago with my vote of 'yes we can!').
As usual, things are coming together with their normal bumps along the way.
By the way, now my mind thinks in Hebrew and French at the same time!
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Full Circle of the Second Lebanon War
Even more so, how can people celebrate the achievements of murderers? Is the brutal killing of a 4 year old enjoyable? Sure maybe your 4 year old brutally died in the Second Lebanon War when the IDF stupidly missed their target, but does that mean you should rejoice in another innocent child’s death? What about the suffering of the Goldwasser and Regev family who today received the bones of their sons? Why keep them in the dark for so long about the fate of their children when you knew the truth? Is that good diplomacy? Is that how an Islamist group possing as a political figure should act? Should that be the action of a religiously pious group?
I was supposed to spend time in Israel the summer before college, but instead the Second Lebanon War began on July 16, 2006 with the abduction of IDF soldiers Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev, and I feared too much for my safety. Instead, I ended up in Budapest and Vienna. There, I began to search for answers to the disaster known as Israel and the Middle East. From watching wailing Lebanese and Israeli mothers on BBC and a pro-Lebanon/pro-Palestinian rally in the middle of Vienna’s Stephansplatz to hearing Tony Blair’s hopeful speech of the entrance of a new age and visiting Vienna’s depleted Jewish neighborhood from WWII, I told myself that there had to be another way other than war and animosity in the Middle East. In order to personally combat the situation, I became determined to face the fear that most likely every Jew adopts someway or another: the fear of Muslims and the Islamic faith. How does one do this? One simply loosens the reins of his or her fear and becomes friends with it through learning and respect.
The next summer, I returned to my original plan of visiting Israel for one month and left the US on the exact date of the war's one year anniversary. I was still unsure about my safety in such a place. Sometimes, I would have slight panics while on really crowded buses or in really crowded places. There even came a situation in a resturant where I found a lonely, open bag left behind by its mysterious owner on the only available table. Nervously, I peered into the bag, knowing that in that crowded resturant, in that busy time of day, in that perfect location, it all could be over and I would not have the slightest chance of life. Baruch Hashem/Hamdallah, it was a false alarm and only a lonely, left behind bag missing its forgetful owner.
As for the Second Lebanon War, the wounds for both combatents were still rough and scabby. The war had been finished already for almost a year, but where were the Goldwasser and Regev boys? Alive?? Dead?? What could possibly be their fates?? Hezbollah did not wish to elaborate on such simple details as the sign of life and Israel did not wish to admit to a blotched war, so the scab stayed unhealed and began to take on the form of a scar.
Another year passed as it became 2008. I, for the first time in my life, gained Muslim friends at school and what a wonderful thing it was! Even though most of my family members feared (and still do) for me, my fear was pleasently in a deep sleep. I returned to Israel this time for the entire summer and began my internship at the Jerusalem Music Center, which I'm still participating in. By that point, I believed to have found my balance inbetween the conflicting sides and the ability to be rational about all situations.
Throughout Israel, the patience of Israeli citizens had noticablly grown thin concerning the whereabouts of Goldwasser and Regev (and Gilad Shalit) and their hopeful return home. I noticed this thinness on city banners demanding their return, in the uninspiring news, and even on socialite headquarters, Facebook! There were negotiations here and there and suspicions everywhere. Finally on July 16, 2008, after exactly two years of painstaking round-abouts, the prisioner swap was decided, the truth of the soldiers was known, and the scar permanent with an additional touch of morbidly etched purfling.
Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev were merely remains left in two solomnly shiny black coffins and Samir Kuntar, the do-er of unforgivable acts, and his buddies free to celebrate with Hezbollah in Lebanon. Especially the living Samir Kuntar, the do-er of unforgivable acts... the brutal killer of an innocent father and helpless 4 year old daughter and family destroyer. What a horrible waste of good life.
The full circle of the Second Lebanon War and I, the understanding Jewish foreigner and mediator who experienced its bending contours can barely come to terms with it. None-the-less, I still hope with determined actions and thoughts, because I believe people are good at heart.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Interning In Jerusalem Summer 08

It’s amazing to me sometimes how different it is here. Many of the ideas that I suggest to my co-workers are either unheard of in Israel or impossible to act upon in Israel. By this point, I feel like I have used every inch of brain power and imagination to find new ways to promote the Center. I’ve used all of the tricks up my sleeve and yet I know that if this place was America, so many more possibilities would be available. What I learned in my Intro to Public Relations course last semester about international PR was right on the mark. Even so, I did achieve a few successes here and there, which I am very happy about. As for my co-workers, I could not have asked for a sweeter group of people. The thought of leaving the warm atmosphere of the JMC in a month seems so uncomfortable. Besides the importance of upholding a hearty work ethic, my desire to assist my co-workers is not only for my personal success, but truthfully to ease their workday as they care about the Center very much and work very hard. I want them to succeed in their efforts. I want them to see that their caring nature makes a difference. If only the arts could be so successful. If only communities could realize the importance of culture in society. If only Middle Easterners could understand the concept of organization.
Besides interning at the Jerusalem Music Center, I have also found myself assisting the Hand in Hand Arab and Jewish Education schools. Here too, I have suggested very significant forms of action concerning the evaluation process of their new curriculum, which covers the issues of: history, citizenship, language, identity, and relationship to the land. While my ‘supervisor’ understood the importance, as an American Jew who made Aliyah, his supervisors did not. I even told them that I would take care of the entire evaluation process, despite my lack of time and transportation. None the less, I received the red-light and left them that idea with a description of how they could evaluate their curriculum and what a ‘focus group’ was. I did get to write an invitation to Tony Blair and Prime Minister Gordon Brown to visit the schools, which I must admit was pretty cool.
With all of these discoveries, it makes me question how I could ever work outside of the States. Despite all this, I have learned a lot from my experiences and I am enjoying these moments in my life as a female, Jewish-American intern in Jerusalem.
Monday, May 12, 2008
Three Cups of Tea
My evidence of change and hope. My inspiration.....
Want to learn more?
Read Three Cups of Tea.
Or check out: www.ikat.org
Friday, May 9, 2008
116+21+89+130=356 DAYS

I left Houston, my native city, for the spring semester 117 days ago. Today, I will leave Miami and will fly to New York, where I will reside for 21 days with my saba and savta until Birthright-Taglit. Then, I will live in Israel for 89 days.
After I say lehtraoat to Israel, I will say bonjour to Paris with my mom. After my mom says adieu, I will live in Paris in the Latin Quarter for 130 days. After 356 days and 3 seasons, I will return to Houston, my native city.
Can you believe that there are 7 ‘I will’s so far?
I will experience many things while abroad for 356 days.
Now there are 8 ‘I will’s.
I will go to airports, beaches, boutiques, cafes, concerts, clubs, groceries, lectures, malls, markets, movies, museums, parks, pools, restaurants, ruins, schools, shows, and work. I will make friends, open my eyes and ears, practice violin, use my legs, massage my mind, kiss a few boys, close my eyes and ears, feel everything, advance my Hebrew, face loneliness, read relentlessly, become a chef, release emotions, alter opinions, learn French, play in the streets, alter my opinions, look beautiful, love my family members, hug my new home, and live my lovely life. Now, there are 10 ‘I will’s, with one identifying the action of 21 nouns and another identifying action for 21 other actions.
I will turn the coveted 21 years of age in October, which makes 11 ‘I will’s.
There is 1 ‘will not’.
Though I might change my outlooks or way of life, I will not return anybody else but myself. I will still be a slender rose, with silly pretty petals and sharp thorns.
I guess that makes 12.
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Your Unfairness Creates the Confusion of the Future
There is so much information available about the Arab-Israeli conflict spouting from every imaginable public. Whether its in the form of books, magazine articles, news articles, blogs, art, etc, its accessible and expanding. In fact, I feel as if you could read a different outlook about the situation daily. Why is this a problem? Well if I am meant to be the future and I dearly care about all sides involved in the conflict, what the hell am I supposed to do?
Some days I feel as if what I have just read makes complete sense and justifies my previous understandings and opinions. During these 'some days', I believe that there is a chance that I can do something to heal the ragging conflict. I become close from afar to specific writers and dive into their world to comprehend why and how they write as they do. My trust in their knowledge allows for this relationship.
Yet when it is not a 'some day' and rather an 'other day', my understandings and opinions receive a shaking to their core. Skepticism overtakes my trust and I can't have a relationship, even from afar, with a subject that I don't trust. Besides the fact that this continual pattern is extremely frustrating, I think what aggravates me the most is my dependence on their knowledge. Since I wasn't alive for the pre-conflicts, the establishment (1948), the wars that followed (especially the 1967 war), and I don't even live in Israel or Palestine, my dependence is unavoidable. I know that in the end, it would be impossible to please all sides in the Israeli-Arab conflict, yet is it too much to ask for a little bit of historical evidence that both sides can at least see eye to eye on?
My uncertainty in this matter leaves me wary of defending either side, although my opinion about the entire situation sounds something like this: The Israeli and Palestinian governments (which includes Hamas as they were elected a majority in the Palestinian government and rule the Gaza Strip- whether people like that or not since they forcefully seized Gaza, it doesn't matter because they are the ones holding the power in the area) are equally guilty of mistreatment, hate, and lies. The Israeli people and Palestinian people, who are the ones that experience the most daily suffering, need to realize that the conflict's lack of a clear historical background makes it ultimately impossible to say who is in the right and who is in the wrong concerning most matters. They should not forget the past by any means, but they must try to comprise with the information that both sides can agree on and live in the now and deal with the problems in the now. In order to do this, the most difficult task comes next and that is learning to trust each other. Only when trust exists between two parties can a true relationship bloom and change occur. Without this much needed positive, activism, the murderous cycle will continue.
As for confused people like me who possess an unstoppable compassion for the many that suffer there, it is crucial that we assist both the Palestinians and Israelis in order to portray to them an influencing third party full of hope and belief in reconciliation.
I know that I have set this all up very simply since there are many other factors that play a part in the Israeli-Arab conflict and I might change my mind about all of this tomorrow. None the less, there must be a way to heal the conflict and this unfair created confusion only convinces me to seek more answers, listen to more opinions, and persist in my hope for change.
FYI, if you would like to speak to me about anything I've covered above, please do so because I will listen. If you do though, please do it in a civil way and don't yell at me about the issues or my opinions. I'm not here to listen to you fight with me. Talk to me as you would if explaining important matters to somebody you love. Thank you.