Michelle Bowman, ARC/GNY Assistant Director of Training and Logistics, writes about her historic trip to Israel to work as an MDA Ambulance Responder.

I am not Jewish. This fact has inevitably colored my perception of Israel and allowed me to see Israel in a way that is both less intimate and more objective than most visitors. Of the many interesting customs that I have observed so far, none can compare to the extremity of Shabbat in Jerusalem.

Shabbat is the Jewish holy day, which begins at sundown on Friday and ends at sundown on Saturday. We arrived just after Shabbat ended last week, so January 19 was our first Shabbat in Israel. Paul and Francis chose to spend the weekend in Tel Aviv, but Kathryn and I decided to see what Shabbat was like in Jerusalem. We had heard everything from "You'll be fine, don"t worry about it” to “You should buy food and water in advance because nothing will be open. And be careful where you walk because you’ll be stoned if you wander into a highly traditional neighborhood.”

Of course, the truth fell somewhere in between. Our classes ended around noon on Friday so that everyone could travel to their weekend destination before buses shut down, but Kathryn and I enjoyed a leisurely walk back to central Jerusalem. (Normally we each pitched in for the $6 taxi fare each way.) Before reaching the hotel we stocked up on supplies, including pita, hummus, croissants, and plenty of bottles of water and Diet Coke—all the necessities to survive the Shabbat. I then picked up my computer and walked downtown to the busy pedestrian street to see what would happen.

At about 2 pm, when I walked to the café, the street was bustling with people finishing their last-minute shopping. All the stores were open and the streets seemed busier than ever. Slightly more than two hours later, I left the café and walked down the same streets. Nearly all of the stores had either closed or were closing, and very few people strolled down the streets. Those few people still present were rushing to be home before the sun went down. It was a surreal experience.

Kathryn and I decided to celebrate the Shabbat (and the end of a long, exhausting week) with a nap. When we woke up, we wandered to a Korean restaurant we had heard was open. It was, and of course we were fine with food throughout the weekend. Saturday was devoted to a restful day of study, as we tried to cram in all the knowledge we had learned in the last week.

I did commit a slight cultural faux pas when I tried to go running on Saturday. I put on my typical shorts and t-shirt and headed to the park. It was only when I saw a traditional Jewish family heading home from their synagogue dressed fully in black that I realized this probably was not the best time to be running around in shorts. Instead, we spent the afternoon studying at a beautiful outdoor café, unbothered by the closures of Shabbat.

Overall, I enjoyed my first Shabbat, and I look forward to learning more about Jewish culture. All of the other MDA volunteers are Jewish, and they have not only welcomed us, but they have also been kind enough to teach us about various Jewish traditions. We probably will not do our aliya (the process of becoming an Israeli citizen) anytime soon, but we approach this new culture with an open mind, and we are learning a lot, quickly.