On my routine walk to work, passing the gaping green vines, I stop to get a freshly squeezed orange juice (‘mitz tapuzim’) at a corner store. Coldplay’s chilling track, ‘Magic’, is playing in the background. Totally shvitzing (Yiddish for sweating) from the scorching Jerusalem sun, (sorry Aus, I know it’s been a cold winter), I think to myself that this city really is ‘magic.’

In my first few days here I felt like man landing on the moon. Now I can gladly say that said initial shock factor has dissipated and I am simply revelling in Jerusalem’s beauty.

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THE JERUSALEM LOCALS

How would one define the Jerusalem folk? Let’s start with a night at the famous shuk (open-air market). One would find:
– A Rabbi purchasing bread from an Arab vendor.
– An American group of Birthright students chanting.
– A ‘shanti’ Israeli student in fisherman pants chilling.
– A few foreign tourists from Sweden having a drink.

The multifariousness of J-Town’s people really hit home when I walked into Abraham Hostel (kind of wish I was still backpacking) and saw the diversity of travellers interacting in the kitchen hall. Something that caught my eye was this colourful stencil splashed on the wall at the entrance to the hostel, ‘Abraham the first backpacker’.

What a quirky spin on Abraham, the ‘First Forefather’, who plays a prominent role as the Patriarch in Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

B’kizur (in short), something that becomes instantaneously apparent is the sheer warmth and heimisheness of the people here. Whether you meet someone at a nail salon or sit next to them at a café – not only will they take your Facebook details; you’ll also have yourself an offer for Shabbat dinner or an invitation to an exhibition that night. Call it manifestation, I call it Jerusalem.

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A SMALL WORLD

Being in Israel, you almost can’t be surprised by the concept of a coincidence. Or can you?

Friday night, I go to my first Shabbat service in Jerusalem at Ramban shul (synagogue) in the charming Greek Quarter. Excitedly, I make way to a friend’s house to join him for the service. As we walk in, he introduces me to a new face and exclaims; “Amanda, this young lady is also from Melbourne.” Of course, it is someone that I was supposed to call through a friend and we laugh at the situation.

And, it gets much better…. I sit down during the service, turn to the girl next to me and ask her what page we are on in the siddur (prayer book). She politely says, “this may seem a tad weird, but did we do drama class together in year 6?” I look at her incredulously (as I very rarely find someone with a stranger memory than my own), laugh and reply, “of course!” I realise she is a daughter of an old teacher who I haven’t seen in 15 years! Sitting in between the two Melbournians in a random (or not so random) shul in the middle of Jerusalem, I hum to the calming Shabbat tunes and appreciate my first poignant shul experience. 

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A FULL SHABBAT IN JERUSALEM

The Sabbath in the Jewish religion is the time of rest. It’s surreal to think that an entire city can close down for 25 hours every single week – but it does, and it is ever-so-wonderful.

From the synagogue service to dinner at a work mate’s, followed by lunch the next day at another work friend’s home, I was lucky enough to be surrounded by young and interesting people. Homemade Vietnamese rice paper rolls, baked peaches and delicious Israeli Rosé wine, just to paint a bit of a picture. Both homes I visited were homes of young expats and it was truly fascinating to get a ‘taste’ of a different perspective of this enchanting city.

To top off a meaningful Shabbat, I meet my cousin at Gan Sacher, a lusciously green park not far from where I live. You name it; Acro yoga, musical instruments, frisbee and soccer games. As the sun sets and Shabbat comes to an end, the park transforms into a real spectacle and once again, magic! 

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LIFE AS AN INTERN

Being nearly 28 and calling yourself an ‘intern’ often sounds a bit strange to people, but when you get to experience an OurCrowd ‘Intern Appreciation Day’, it’s not too shabby after all. We arrive at work, have lunch and a ‘L’Chaim’ (that’s how you say ‘cheers’ in Hebrew – it means ‘to life’) for our hard work before making our way to paintball. Having the combined Polish/Hungarian roots that I do, I guess my lightly coloured skin is more conducive to bruising than I’d like (thanks Karen) – so I can now say I have been paintball-ed (for the first and last time).

We then go by bus to Tel Aviv and arrive at a large office building on the outskirts of the city. Surprise  – it’s Google, Israel! Each area within the office represents a different slice of Israel from the north, to the boulevards of the Tel Aviv. Whist we didn’t get to go down the famous slide, we certainly saw enough to make our mouths drop. Personally, the presentation at the end made by a few ‘Googlers’ was the most fascinating part for me. Not only were we able to ask lots of questions, but we learnt about some awesome initiatives that have come out of this office:
– Shvil Yisrael is the Israel National Trail that is currently being tracked with the Google Street view camera
– ‘Mind the Gap!’  is a program which encourages young girls in high school to chose High-tech as their career path.

What a company! The day concluded with a delicious dinner at Blackout, an inspiring initiative whereby visually impaired waiters serve you food in the pitch black. Scary at first, but eating without being judged – my kind of meal!

There’s never a dull moment at OurCrowd. I walk into the office one morning and politely ask the guy who sits next to me what he got up to last night. He replies saying how tired he is from staying up all night to help a friend, a senior member of Knesset (National Assembly), to comprehend the Iranian Nuclear talks and prepares him for foreign media. No big deal! I also sat in on my first pitch thinking it would be interesting, yet I left with all this newfound knowledge on the Middle Eastern mobile phone app market – especially within the Arab world. Thanks to ANZ goMoney (the app I used to work on at ANZ Bank) I could actually keep up with the conversation.

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FUN AND GAMES

Certainly one of the strangest experiences I have had so far in this city was at the renowned Jerusalem Film Festival. There I was selecting the ‘winning’ movie and after two hours of cringing, let’s just say the glass of red wine at the after party downstairs was rather warranted. The movie, ‘Tikkun’, is a stirring and overly graphic portrait of an Ultra-Orthodox man in Jerusalem grappling with questions of faith. The contrast between the disturbing movie and partying outside with breathtaking views of the Old City made it all the more exhilarating.

I would love to end on a story that was told to me by a colleague. Stressing about a photo of myself that I didn’t want to put on Instagram as my “arm looked large”, he told me the story of Joseph Trumpeldor. One of the early Zionists’ who dreamt that there would be a Jewish State, this brave young man lost his arm and continued to fight, “True, I have now but one arm,” he said, “but it is the right one capable of handling a sword or rifle.” You may have walked down Trumpeldor st or through the cemetery (which my friends and I had a lovely apartment overlooking on my last trip in Tel Aviv). Quite a remarkable man and this certainly shut me up!

Living, laughing and learning every single day.

And so the journey continues……

AJJ’s Tips of the week:

• Hottest restaurant: Touro – Kosher Mediterranean Cuisine with views of the golden city. We had an IR (Investment Relations) team dinner there
• Funniest interaction: Double my luck – I was kindly accompanied home by two Israeli brothers on Friday night in town as I felt a tad uneasy walking alone. One turns to me and says you know we are both gay! I said fabulous.
• New discovery: JEST – Jerusalem Entrepreneurs Society and Technology was the first Arab Accelerator created in 2012 and is a thriving hub based in East Jerusalem
• Coolest Bar: Gatsby – Hidden behind an antique bookshelf is Jerusalem’s classy ‘Speak Easy’ bar. My Army and Navy cocktail was one to boast about; almond syrup, lemon, gin and egg white.
• Startup to be on the lookout for: Pocket Guide app – A guy I work with created this location based audio app. Download it next time you travel!

Shabbat Shalom from the Holy Land,

AJJ 🙂