Welcome to my Clutzy Life

Most of you who know me may also know that I’m a natural clutz. I can always find nothing on the ground to still trip on, and somehow I can always turn the stairs into a slide. I’ve managed to sprain my right ankle 6 times, my left ankle 3 times, in which the third time I also fractured my growth plate and was in physical therapy for three months, I’ve also sprained my wrist, my back, and have chondro-malatia patella in my knees. You’ve also gotten to see through this blog that I already have rolled my right ankle and gotten major bruises on my arms, but apparently my body didn’t think that list was long enough.

What I didn’t mention in my last blog entry was that when I was walking to shul Saturday morning, I slipped on Jerusalem stone stairs. Rather than falling on my butt like nature intended, my right leg instinctively did something that felt like I snapped my quad muscle. Luckily I didn’t really snap it, but I definitely pulled/strained it badly.  I was thinking about going to the doctor the next morning, but it really didn’t hurt that badly unless I put strain on the muscle, so it was obviously getting better. The day went on nicely and only painfully when I’d move my leg in certain angles. I got to go to me second JETS training course with Mark Lazar. I learned so many new ice-breaker and activity-starting games and got a lot of ideas for lesson plans to make for this summer, thus I was in a very good mood. I was so happy and energetic I decided I’d play some basketball because a bunch of the guys decided to have a late night game. Apparently I had been too optimistic about my leg and the second I started to really run, I crumpled under the pain and my basketball plans were over. If I hadn’t gotten the chance to skype with both Tamar, and Leah and Matthew, it might have been a bad night but I went to bed so happy after staying up till 1 30 am seeing my sisters faces as if I wasn’t ocean’s away from them.

Even though I went to bed happy that night, when I woke up the next day I was reminded that we had our first powderpuff (girl’s flag football) game, which I would have been psyched about, except that I also remembered the night before when I couldn’t run, thus I knew I’d be just another cheerleader. To enhance the meaning of this blog entry’s title, I had to enhance my clutziness even more. While we were walking to the stadium and I was literally 20 feet away from the gate entry, I stepped in a ditch and twisted my right ankle badly. It was probably weaker already from the last time I had rolled my ankle at Hakafot Shneyot, so I was the first to go to the “clinic” at the stadium, before the games even began! They gave me an ice pack and elevated my ankle, but as an extra bonus, I got signed up for an injury prevention thing that the powderpuff league is starting up, they said I was the perfect candidate. They gave me an air cast to wear for more support during the games and whenever I hurt it. So basically I got to sit through our first game and watch our team WIN in our first game, even though it was just a scrimmage. It was a great pump up for the team and I got a free aircast! Afterwards Tali and I went out for frozen yogurt to celebrate / make me feel better. Alex and Laura had shown me the place before, it’s a cute little ice cream shop and there is a bar ledge outside the store with three swings you can sit on while you eat. It was so cute and the frozen yogurt was delicious with different fruit on top. When we got back we also got to see this really cool Israeli movie called “Someone to Run With”. It was about these teenage homeless Israeli musicians and was really intense. Plus a lot of the scenes were shot in places we go a lot, like Ben Yehuda Street and other places close by. It was a great ending to a very “adventurous” day.

Some of the girls waiting in the lobby before the game

the girls

Aaron Sherman (a madrich) and my aircast in the cheering section

Wednesday we had the Kol Haot activity, we’re having 4 of them throughout this semester, and this week we got to meet the artist, David Moss. At first we were paired up and given Midot (values) to discuss and interpret for ourselves. I was paired with Kayla and we were given Tikun (repair).  After discussing different ways it can apply itself to the world, we wrote our own short poems and drew pictures in 20 seconds that expressed our understandings of those values. Then we got to see his poems and art that expressed his understandings of the midot. I was really impressed with his poem and art collage for Tikun, it gave me a different understanding that I really appreciated. We also got to see a piece of his art that is in some school and it uses shapes and colors to tell the story of Akedat Yitzchak. The way he expressed the stories was really cool, he really told the story without using any words and yet it was so simple and covered every part of the story.

drawing my interpretation of Tikun

David Moss and his Akedat Yitzchak art

Thursday was a very long day for me, but definitely full of fun. Thursdays at Yeshiva we end early at 2:45, but we also have to stay there all day without breaks and listen to the Rosh Yeshiva give a drash. The topics this semester are mostly on prayer and interesting, but I can’t really focus, after just having 3 hours of Tanach. At least we are given free lunch afterwards, they give yummy salads and sandwiches, and Thursday’s we don’t get served lunch on Nativ base. The reason Yeshiva ends so early on Thursdays is because then we have time for Gemilut Chesed. This is a chance for us to volunteer and this Thursday I went with Sean, Tamar, Hillary, and Dan to Riut. It is a small soup kitchen run by a school in the afternoon/evening. It was a cool experience meeting the fellow workers and 4 kids from the school who helped run the kitchen. When the people who wanted food came in they’d sit at a table and we were their “waiters/waitresses” and would serve them their meals. It was a little overwhelming at first because everyone wanted food and it’s a small space so it wasn’t always easy getting around. But it was nice to help out and meet different people; I definitely will be volunteering there again. Plus, at the end, one of the girls brought some cookies and Nestea for a little “after party” which was really cute and gave us a chance to meet the kids more. If that wasn’t enough, that night we had a kick off to this past weekend’s theme of Conservative Judaism. Jules Gutin, the President of USY, came and talked to us about Conservative Judaism. It was interesting to hear people’s perspectives on the movement. That night there was also supposed to be a silent rave near Ben Yehuda. It was planned by a gap-year program called kivonim, and you were supposed to dress up and bring your ipod and everyone start dancing to your own ipod at the same time. A bunch of us got dressed up ridiculously, but apparently kivonim had a shabbaton that weekend so there wasn’t really a rave. We had our own small one instead and just had fun looking ridiculous. It was a fun end to a very busy day.

getting ready for the rave

dressed and ready

From one busy day to the next, Nativ never ends. This weekend was a closed Shabbat so all of Nativ stayed on base for a weekend with Jules Gutin and a couple sessions on Conservative Judaism. They also thougt this was a good time for more group (Be’er Sheva etc.) bonding. Friday morning after early morning prayers, we got on a bus headed for Neot Kedumim. Neot Kedumim is like a nature place with everything related to the torah. We got to herd sheep, and play team-building games, do some archery, and finally got to make our own pita and zatar. It was fun being split into our tracks and I looooved herding sheep (I might just become a shepherd after Nativ). I was also lucky that my friend Tali told me to wear the aircast since my ankle is still healing/ strengthening. The land for herding the sheep was just so bumpy that I probably would have hurt my ankle more if I hadn’t worn it (yay being a clutz). Even though our guide was kind of annoying it was still a fun and exhausting adventure. When we got back all I wanted to do was sleep, but of course it was Shabbas so I showered and got all dressed up and enjoyed a Shabbat with all of Nativ.

herding the sheep

intense archery

making zatar!

Finally, we come to today, Shabbat on base with all of Nativ: waking up early, enjoying services with just Nativ, listening to another Jules Gutin session before lunch, and reading/napping all afternoon before mincha. Even though it was really chill, it was an awesome Shabbas just being with my friends. Ever since the regular Hebrew U started everyone has weird class schedules so it’s not been as easy seeing all of my friends. It was so nice and tonight I got to relax and watch a movie with my friend Aviva since I haven’t been able to spend much time with her lately either.

So that was my week I hope all of yours were good, Shavua Tov.