Messages in the Mailbox

This week, I entered into a Pen Pal relationship with one of my friends. It is funny, because right now we are not too far apart (well, I live in East and she lives in Pollack, but still). In our defense, it started while I was in Moldova so I sent her a postcard that reflected a considerable distance. But it may not make too much sense to become Pen Pals while we are still at Penn State. It will mainly be for the summer since we won’t see each other until school begins again. I love getting mail so it will be fun to see postcards about her summer and to send her stories from my own.

Okay, so it isn’t like I won’t talk to her in between each of the letters. This is the Age of Technology so, with Facebook and texting, we will likely be in constant contact regardless of sending postcards. But I think that there is something nostalgic about writing. My family jokes because I like the way that books feel and smell and I rather have a physical book than an electronic one. When thinking about our and future generations, I think that we are losing something important through technology - maybe even more then we are gaining.

So, how does this reflect things that I want to do or continue in my life? Whether it is with this friend or with another, I want to have a continuous correspondence through writing. I usually hate writing but I think that there is something special about looking back and having something physical to laugh about. I have many letters from my Grandparents, everything from birthday cards to “just checking in!” cards and they are fun to look back on.

The question becomes, what have you lost from technology? Do you have something special, like letters or pictures, that future generations might not get the same experiences from because technology has changed society so much? Most importantly, is there anything that we can do about it?

Taking on the World

I know that I have spoken about this during class, but I had the amazing opportunity to travel to Kishinev, Moldova over Spring Break 2011. I went through a program with Penn State Hillel and the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) along with 17 other Penn State students. During the week, I had the honor of helping to renovate a building of the Community Center, going on a home visit during International Women’s Day, and spending time with our Moldovan peers. I don’t even know where to start to try to describe how incredible this week was. I could truly go on for numerous blog entries describing the week, but I will try to quickly get to the point of this post (but if anyone is interested in the details, I’d be happy to share!). 

I love traveling. And, even more than just going to a different country, I like absorbing myself in it. My favorite parts of the week were spending time with people and getting a feel for what the country is really like. It was a bizarre moment when I looked up at all of the billboards and realized that I was looking at Russian and Romanian. I actually liked not being able to read the language - it made me appreciate that I was really in a different country and made me want to learn these languages. 

Something that I have always wanted to do is travel. I want to study abroad and I want to travel to really see a country and its people, not just touristy things. I spent a week the flew by too quickly in a county that I had only heard of once before (I read a book that spent a chapter speaking about Moldova as the most unhappy country in the world) and I absolutely fell in love with it. Have you ever heard of Moldova? I'd be pleasantly surprised. But now I'm in love with it and I want to go back to see and do more. 

Is there a country that you want to experience? If you had the opportunity to travel to a “random” country, would you? I suggest it, you never know what you will find. 


Our last night with our Moldovan peers

Thousands of Feet Above

Before my sister graduated Penn State she and her friends went skydiving during Senior Week. My parents were not entirely happy since they asked her not to go and she did it anyway without telling them until after, but that is another story! I, on the other hand, was secretly told that she was going to do it and I excitedly waited to hear how it went. After hearing about the experience and later seeing the video, I immediately wanting to try this for myself. 

I am not afraid of heights; I love roller-coasters and enjoy flying. I also love taking risks and doing things that others might consider crazy. But, for whatever reason, skydiving honestly freaks me out a little. By definition you are jumping out of a plane to fall and hope that your chute opens in time. It sounds both completely terrifying and absolutely enjoyable at the same time. 

Since I am always trying to look at things that I would like to do during my life, have you found that there are either fears that you would like to confront or activities that may sounds crazy but you secretly would love to do? 

I was recently discussing this with a friend when he told me that I should, “learn how to ski and ski off the edge of a cliff with a parachute and base jump down to a boat that will take your parasailing!” I doubt that I will be trying that any time soon. I’ll probably start small and simply jump out of the plan and hope that I land safely.


                                                                      My sister skydiving

Family Recipes or Ramen Noodles

I think that we can all pretty much agree that it essentially impossible to cook anything in a dorm room. The classic stereotype of a college student survives by eating Ramen Noodles that they make with their only kitchen appliance, the microwave, and suffers through some not so great meals from the commons. And so, there are many nights when I really wish that I could go home for a home cooked meal. But when I think of what I want to learn in life, I know that what I really want it to learn how to cook family recipes.

Like I’ve shared with the class previously, family dinners are something that I love sharing. There are certain staples for certain dinners and holidays: my Aunt always brings the challah, my Grandmother makes amazing chicken soup, and my Mom makes incredible desserts. I would love to learn some of my Mom’s dessert recipes. The funny thing is that my Mom throws together desserts from whatever is in the refrigerator. She makes a great “Garbage Pie,” which is essentially a pie made out of any fruit that needs to be used. Similarly, my Mom is always making “fun” desserts that my younger cousins will enjoy. She turns cupcakes and cakes into life-like objects. 

I want to learn how to make some of her great desserts. I am a terrible cook and I am not creative so I know that it wouldn’t be easy for me to learn. But I think that it is important. Every December, my Mom cooks a cake for my Grandfather’s birthday. However, since my Grandparents spend the winter in Florida, we eat one on his actual birthday without him and then later cook another one when he is actually here. I want to learn how to make this cake because it is a cake that my Grandfather remembers from growing up. If I learn how to make this recipe then I would be able to keep making it and one day teach my kids how to make it. I may not be a great cook but I could learn. And by learning I can pass it on.

Until then, I will eat Ramen Noodles and food from the commons. But I also wonder - what foods you miss from home? Is there a family recipe that you are eager to learn? Or will you be eating pre-made food from the microwave forever?

Pizza is Pizza

Pizza is pizza, that's what I've always believed. Sure, I know that I prefer a thick crust with a thin layer of cheese but I do not believe that there is a huge difference when it comes to the taste. Therefore, I wasn’t too shocked when I ate Canyon Pizza for the first time. Canyon has a reputation for their late night dollar slices and it is said to be the type of pizza that you would not want to eat sober but is perfect during weekend shenanigans. So, when someone brought Canyon Pizza our most recent THON meeting, I wasn’t sure if I should eat it. Still, eating Canyon, especially late at night, is essentially a Penn State right of passage and something that I had not yet done. Recognizing that it was something I was eager to do, I asked my friends to pass me a slice.

I had no problem with the pizza. It tasted fine to me and they were large slices, something that was nice because I had not eaten dinner beforehand. But honestly, after all hype that I had been hearing, I was sad that it was so anticlimactic.

Maybe the problem was that we probably were not the clientele that Canyon usually caters to. Maybe I didn’t get the full experience that one has during a late Saturday night and I should go back for Round Two. Whatever the situation, I’m glad that I can now say that I’ve eaten Canyon Pizza even if I am ambivalent about it. I now feel just as much a part of the Penn State community as I did during my first Penn State Football game or as during my first bite of Creamery Ice Cream.

Masada, Take Two

       On Sunday, July 12th 2009, I had the most physically exerting experiences of my life. At 2:30 in the morning, I woke up in Israel and prepared to hike the mountain of Masada. I spent the summer of 2009 in Poland and Israel on a teen tour with USY, a youth group of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism. My group consisted of 45 teens from the United States and Canada as well as 5 staff members from the United States and Israel. Without a doubt, the summer as a whole was the best experience of my life. The morning of the hike - not so much.

  Masada was a fortress used by Jews as shelter from the Romans. Since then, it has been excavated by archeologists and it is now considered a “must see” when traveling to Israel. There are three paths to reach the top: the cable car, the Roman Ramp, and the Snake Path. The Snake Path is considered to be the most physically exerting: it is composed of numerous small, steep, narrow steps and it is entirely in the sun. I’ll give you one guess which my group climbed both up and down.

        Okay, so technically I have already climbed Masada so it shouldn’t be on my LIst, right? But I have to be honest, I wasn’t the most cooperative climber. I was tired after only getting a few hours of sleep the night before and felt sick after the cake that we were given for breakfast. Additionally, my friends and I couldn’t help but laugh and feel bad for ourselves when a younger girl, perhaps in elementary school, raced past us on her way to the top. And so, I complained most of the way up.

      I’ve added Masada back on my List because I want to climb it with a stronger feeling of determination and accomplishment. I was incredibly proud to reach the top, surrounded by my friends, in time to see the sun rise over the desert. It is an incredible image that I will never forget. Plus, the experience was not truly terrible. Many of us were feeling the same way and we encouraged each other. I can even argue that, because I didn’t think that I would ever make it to the top, the view was that much more powerful when I finally did. This is the approach that I usually take when retelling the story of that Sunday morning. My friends and I struggled throughout the climb and yet we still motivated each other. But, next time, I want to climb up with a positive attitude and truthfully believe in myself.

     Have you ever felt like this? Have you had an incredible experience that is slightly overshadowed by your inability to believe in yourself and any negativity that you felt during the process? If so, I invite you to look forward to the opportunity to take a more positive approach. You may have the chance to redo that treacherous hike or maybe you are simply looking towards your next challenge in life. I personally cannot wait for the chance to go back to Israel and have a second take on my own Masada experience. 

Snake Path sign at the base of Masada

The view from the top of Masada

    

One Step Down, 5K To Go

         There is nothing that I hate more than running. It doesn’t matter if I am on a treadmill or if I am outside, it can become boring. So I decide to bring my iPod. But then I need to multitask and work to keep them in my ears while changing the song and ensuring that I don’t run into a car or fall off of the machine. Finally, I decide that I’ve run far enough but then have that sad realization that, if I am outside, I need to turn around and run back with blisters on my feet. Of course, all of this occurs assuming that I have become motivated enough to actually take a jog. I hate it.

         So then why do I find myself wanting to run a 5K? To most people, the approximate 3.1 miles in not far. But the simple idea of running the whole thing makes my legs. And yet, I want to. This past October, I walked the THON 5K with my Rules and Regulations Committee. It was an opportunity to spend a morning in the sun and bond with my fellow committee members. The distance did not seem long while walking and we had a great time. Still, I was slightly jealous of those who crossed the finish line after running the entire time.

         I might simply want to run a 5K because I am working to live a more healthy lifestyle. But I also know that I want to do so because running is a challenge that I have never been able to truly conquer. And, like I mentioned earlier, I am rarely motivation to go outside and jog. By writing about my goal, I now know that it is out there for the world to see and I feel like I cannot simply put it off any longer. I have never wanted to be the type of person that sees an obstacle and walks around it. Instead, I want to be able to climb across it and know that I have succeeded. In fact, I am planning to go to the gym with a friend shortly after posting this blog. I don’t know when I will actually run the 5K that I am looking forward to but this is a small step. And so, I begin to work to take the first task off of my List.