With Passah/Passover/פֶּסַח* - one of the most important Jewish holdays - approaching, I'm finding myself more and more thinking about where in my life I would stand now, if fate hadn't taken action and changed me completely, just one year ago. Let me tell you the story.
a travel companion in the desert of Oman
It was in
February 2013 when I had finally recovered from my accident and started travelling - feeling as if I was taking my parents and friends with me in my newly bought backpack. They didn't always tell me, but I knew they were doubting that I would manage to
"make it over there" and look out for myself - and of course, I wasn't quite sure about it either.
After a
luxury-love vacation with my dear friend Leo in Dubai, and a
two-weeks odyssee from the southernmost point of India up to New Delhi, which made me learn more about myself than I ever learned before in such a short period of time,
I arrived in Nepal - the planned highlight and centerpiece of my trip, where I was supposed to volunteer in an orphanage for 4 weeks before returning home again.
Most of you might know that this is the place where I realized that I'm not made for "volunteering" (at least not when I have to pay for it and end up doing nothing except cleaning the floor with sandpaper and cutting spinach), but you might also know that one event - or a whole slew of events - in Nepal's capital, Kathmandu, changed my life forever. (I know it sounds cheesy, but it's true.)
me during the "real" Holi Festival, in what I like to call "the Jewish district of Kathmandu"
It was "Shiva Raatri", a national holiday in Nepal. I forgot what exactly they are celebrating on this day, but I can recall that everyone was excited because it's the day that everyone is inofficially allowed to get stoned and you won't be stopped by the police if you walk around in the city smoking a joint. I remember that there was a big happening at some temple that day, with hundreds of wandering monks in orange clothes pilgrimageing there and smoking together.
That's where we wanted to go as well, but somehow we ended up where we spent most of our days: In Thamel, the tourist district of Kathmandu, with bars, restaurants and clothing shops competing for our attention.
"Lhasa bar" it was, and as always, the band was playing
Kings of Leon as soon as we walked in and we enjoyed ourselves on the dancefloor even though no one else was dancing. I was still a little bit upset that I was missing such a big and special event when I was already here, in Nepal, just because it had been easier to do what we always did
- when a guy approached me and asked me to dance with him, so he won't be all alone.
Lhasa bar with the same band playing the same songs night after night
After a ridiculous Reggae song (I don't even like Reggae), he told me that he was from Israel.
I was in complete shock, because he was the first Israeli I met in my life, even though I
(thought that I) knew so much about the country and its people.
And that's where it started. When he told me about a turtle that lives in his garden during the summer months, eating pieces of carrots and green salad, and even recited a short poem - in Hebrew -
all was lost and I was in love, not only with him but also with this beautiful language coming out of his mouth.
As Thamel is small, I met him and his friends again after a few days, and they told me about
this big thing called "Pessah" taking place in the next days. Over 900 guests were registered already, so I thought I might join as well. It was funny how my view shifted in these days - I hadn't noticed that there were areas where you would hear hardly any English anymore, until I was sitting in the famous
"Cookie Wallah", eating Shakshouka, and was greeted with "היי, מה קורה? (
"Hi, what's up?")".
On Pessah Seder, it was as if there was only the Israelis left in Thamel, and we all wandered to the place where the Chabad organized one of the biggest Pessah celebrations in the world.
And well, what can I say.. as always, you have to have been there to understand what was so great and unique about it, so won't try to explain it at all.**
poppin kosher-for-passover-wine at the cluuuub!
I left Nepal one week later, and after a feverish week in the beautiful Sultanate of Oman, I returned home. As you might expect, my Israeli adventures didn't leave me quite so easily, and a few months later I decided not only to immatriculate myself in Middle Eastern Studies, like I had planned it for about two years, but to take Jewish Studies on top. "I can always drop it if it gets too much", I said to myself, having no idea how deeply involved I already was. I should've become suspicious when - in the end of May - I booked my flight to Israel for September, in spite of not having any clue about where I was going to live when my flight would land in Vienna on September 29th, just in time for my first semester. I had no idea, but I knew it was going to work out somehow.
In the meantime, I hitchsurfed through France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, and Czech Republic - you can read all about my adventures during this trip of 6 weeks
from here onwards.
Fusion Festival somewhere in Northern Germany
In September 2013 I finally boarded the plane to Israel (flying with EL AL - "It's not just an airline, it's Israel!", which is a completely different story, haha). It was exactly one year and three days after I fell out of a window somewhere in Munich and almost ended my life - that I looked out of the airplane window and saw Tel Aviv's skyline appearing in front of me.
You all know that I'm not a religious person, but a lot of things were going on in my mind in the moment I saw the first glimpse of the "Holy Land". I just did what I wanted, because I knew what I was capable of and wouldn't let myself be daunted or unsettled anymore by anyone. I did what I wanted, because I could, and because I knew it makes me happy.
Israel and Palestine were amazing of course (If you haven't seen my movie, I hope you're ashamed right now! Come visit me and I'll show it to you ;D), and as always I learned a lot. It was a good feeling to see that this country/area, that had interested me for so long, was still fascinating me from a closer range.
watching the sunrise at Yam Kinneret/Sea of Galilee
Back in Vienna, where I had found a nice shared flat last minute, I started my studies, and pretty much as soon as I arrived, I started dreaming about booking my next flight to Israel. I felt bad, because there are so many other countries to see and people to meet, but I really couldn't think about any other place to go - so Israel it was, once again.
The Middle Eastern Studies turned out boring and exhausting, completely in contrast to the Jewish Studies, which I loved from the first lesson and never missed a single class during the whole first semester. I still sticked to both of them, because I had wanted to learn Arabic for so long and just didn't want to give up. It took me until one week ago to wipe the slate clean and say what I had already felt deep inside during the first weeks of study: Arabic is not for me, at least not for now.
Things never go according to plan - but that's a good thing. I imagined more than once what might have happened (or more likely: what would not have happened), if I hadn't danced to this stupid Reggae song somewhere in Kathmandu. For the first time in my life, I completely and absolutely enjoy what I do, and I know that I'm doing the right thing.
It's not only my studies, also living in Vienna makes me very happy. After about 5 months of living here, I slowly but steadily built a circle of friends (now that I have a smartphone, for all of you who didn't know!!!) and started to get involved in some organizations. Yesterday for instance, I was in authority for the distribution of snacks and "kosher for Passover"-Coke during the viewing of a football match - but that's another story ;)
I hope this wasn't to sleezy-cheezy for you all - this is simply how I feel about this topic: I'm in love with life, and with those small things that can change it completely. You never know what happens and you can never be sure if things work out as you thought they would, but of one thing you can be sure: It's going to be amazing.
!חג שמח לכל
"chag sameach lekol!" - "Happy holidays to everyone!"
*On Pessah, the Jews celebrate their liberation from slavery in Egypt and their return to the Holy Land under the leadership of Moses, after wandering through the desert for 40 years. The big thing about this holiday is that Jewish families clean their houses beforehand, in order to make sure that there is no "chametz" left - which means all kinds of foods made from certain kinds of grains that were mixed with water and left to stand for a certain amount of time. Like most of the strange, funnily appearing traditions in Judaism, this comes straight from history: Because the Jewish people was in such excitement and hurry to leave Egypt and return home, they didn't have time to let the dough rest :D
**This year, I will celebrate Pessah again - not with over 900, but still with a lot of people - here in Vienna. Who knows, maybe this time I'll be the one responsible for the wine? Better not, haha!
