<p>My DS, age 22, will be going to Jeruselum this summer for a foreign correspondent study abroad program. We are not seasoned travelers. Does anyone have any advice or tidbits that he should know? All advice is welcome.
Thanks</p>
<p>My tried and true advice is always make copies of your passport and credit cards. Keep one copy at home and have him keep a copy somewhere besides with his passport. Take a sense of humor. Get a skype account. Read up on how not to be an ugly American.</p>
<p>It might help if you could be more specific about the kind of information you are looking for, but here’s a few things that come to mind:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Jerusalem is not as hot as some other parts of Israel. In summer evenings, especially early or late summer, it can go as low as the 50s, so don’t just bring beach clothes.</p></li>
<li><p>Cops actually give tickets for jaywalking, although not generally in the touristy areas.</p></li>
<li><p>In the Arab market in the Old City, haggling is expected. If you are with someone who speaks Hebrew, you can get a better price. If you’re with someone who speaks Arabic, you’ll do even better.</p></li>
<li><p>Most places are closed on Shabbat, and some, even in the summer, will close by mid-afternoon on Friday. Buses don’t run either. Taxis do, although you might wind up paying more.</p></li>
<li><p>It is important to be mindful of communal norms in extremely religious neighborhoods, even though outsiders rarely run into problems. For guys, modest dress is less of an issue (although you still might not want to dress in jeans and a T-shirt), but don’t bike through or take pictures on Shabbat.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>A program for foreign correspondants – wow, that’s so interesting! At age 22, you have to judge how much your son listens to people in authority or thinks he knows better. Here’s why: </p>
<p>All 3 of my kids have visited Jerusalem, as teens and young adults without us - on study programs. I’ve been twice. My H has visited around 7 times since 1970, during calm weeks and other weeks of great tension. It is a beautiful city, unique in the world. I wish I could be there – tomorrow!!</p>
<p>But it’s sensitive to whatever is happening in the larger Middle East. So I’ll pass on the advice my H gave our own kids, expressed to them with utmost seriousness:</p>
<p>You must listen to your Israeli program advisors. They are on the scene and know all the neighborhoods and latest political news, 100 percent. </p>
<p>That’s it, no exceptions. </p>
<p>If you are curious about a neighborhood during one of the group tours, it may – or may not – be okay to revisit alone later. You have to ask THE PROGRAM LEADERS (not others in your group), and then fully respect the answers of your program leaders. </p>
<p>They are not being “over-protective” if they advise you away from this or that part of Jerusalem, or advise various protocols for safety. Don’t imagine you know better than they do. They really know. </p>
<p>Or, if a program leader says, “ehh…it’s okay… but you’re better to go with a few others from the group” then don’t think you’re smarter than everyone to go it alone. Get a little group together.</p>
<p>Program leaders in Israel tend to stay very updated on local developments. Respect and trust their advice on safety. Then, you can have a great time, visiting a democracy that is home to three great religions of the world. It’s amazing.</p>
<p>PS, He’s there all summer? He’ll surely want to see the entire country, not just Jerusalem itself. The entire country is the size of the state of New Jersey, so he can tour from north to south. The same advice stands. For example, if he wants rent a car with friends, to go from Jerusalem down to Eilat (Israel’s southern tip), he’ll wonder whether to travel around or through the West Bank, as the time difference is several hours. Before leaving home that day, he’ll want to know from progam advisors: exactly which roads to use, which places are okay (safe, peaceful) for stopping to visit. Again, don’t just decide from a map --ask the program advisors before setting out, and keep updating that information, a few weeks later.</p>
<p>PPS, Driving in Israel is kind of crazy. Take the bus.</p>
<p>Paying3, he will listen to the advisors. While he is excited to go, he is also concerned about safety and will stay in areas that he is told are okay. Jeruselum will be their home base but they will be traveling throughout Israel. I don’t think there will ever be a truely “safe” time to visit the Middle East and he may never have this type of opportunity again.</p>
<p>Passport copied. No jeans, Apprentice? Are khakis okay? He wants to fit in and not look like an American tourist.</p>
<p>Jeans are ok in Jerusalem…just not in certain neighborhoods on certain days. But Israelis do wear jeans! This summer I hosted some Israeli youth ambassadors (aged 19-23) and all they wanted to do was hit the outlet mall so they could get real Levis at a great price.</p>
<p>I’m sure the group will be well advised about what not to wear. Israel and the West Bank in general are significantly safer than people may think, given that Israelis and Palestinians now no longer mix much outside of Jerusalem. Even the places where you can feel the tension in the air, like Hebron, are generally safe. Since he’s doing something about journalism, I’d take the initiative and learn some basic phrases, particularly in Arabic, because politeness is well regarded. He might also learn about some of the people. So for example, if he goes to a Bedouin town, it helps to know who they are and what some of the issues facing their communities are. There are huge sources of information in English, mostly from Israel. The two main English newspapers are Haaretz, which publishes a range of material but includes stuff highly critical of Israel (see Amira Hass’ work) and is considered leftist, and the Jerusalem Post, which is left of center but much closer to the center, given how the political spectrum has shifted over the years. They are both worth reading.</p>
<p>You need a hat in the desert. Seriously. And water bottles.</p>
<p>Oh, yeah. Jeans are totally fine. Just not if you’re going to, say, Mea Shearim (a super-religious neighborhood in Jerusalem) on Shabbat.</p>
<p>If he has an iPhone, or a phone that is “global-ready” (which I think includes any phone on T-Mobile or AT&T but only some phones on Sprint or Verizon), he should arrange with his carrier to have it unlocked. When he gets to Israel he can buy or rent a SIM card that will allow him to use his phone in Israel. Many programs arrange cell phone rentals for their participants, but it’s much easier to use your own phone if you are savvy enough to figure out the whole SIM card thing.</p>
<p>There are actually more things open on Shabbat than I expected. Of course, the whole Arab quarter of the Old City, as well as quite a few non-kosher restaurants. </p>
<p>Haggling in the Arab market didn’t seem to be worth it–we didn’t realize that the price we bargained the merchants down to was the regular price at stores on Ben Yehuda street. Wish we’d started there instead!</p>
<p>Make sure he registers his address abroad, and the dates of his stay, with the US State Department. This can be done on line and ensures that he will receive up to date bulletins of any important events/changes/ security and, should the need arise, he can be located and evacuated.</p>
<p>Donna Rosenthal, “THe ISraelis: Ordinary People in an Extraordinary Land” has a chapter each on the many kinds of people he will likely encounter there, wth special chapters for example on Soldiers, Students, Druze, Arabs, Christians, Orthodox Jews… etc. Fun to read.</p>
<p>What a great opportunity for your son!</p>
<p>There’s a 7-hour time difference. Israel will be 7 hours later than you in New Jersey. </p>
<p>In our family we generally communicated by email, not phone, because programs keep them very busy. BUt if we phoned, we agreed by email on a time to phone that was daytime for both of us. That way, nobody had to wake up at 3:00 a.m.</p>
<p>The first day of his arrival, he’ll be excited but tired because of the time difference. Most programs shedule that first day simply to settle in and sleep off the “jet lag” (time difference). Program content begins on Day 2. </p>
<p>I know one person who prepares by changing his sleep schedule by one hour, each night, until leaving for the other country. Upon arrival, he’s on the new time. But that’s unusual. Young people do better with jet lag than middle-aged folks, anyway.</p>
<p>D has been living in Israel on a year long program as a volunteer. Israelis live in a dangerous neighborhood, and know how to keep people safe. Between Birthright when there was bombing from Gaza, and this year, I have been very impressed. From what I hear, they are especially careful to keep Americans safe. Such an interesting place!</p>
<p>Also look into IsraelPhones, which offers phone rentals with a number of affordable long-distance options. You can have the phone sent to you before you leave; the phone itself (I think) is free, other than a deposit that you get back once you return the phone.</p>
<p>If he’ll be snapping pictures on a digital camera all summer, encourage him to find ways to upload the photos, from time-to-time, onto a computer account online. Too many kids store all their photos in the camera, but unfortunately lose the camera late in the trip.</p>
<p>Sunscreen. Send a small amount with the plane. He can buy more there.</p>
<p>We needed sunscreen last April in Jerusalem. If he wants to climb Masada, get up and start as soon as the park opens. Once the sun is up, it’s darned hot. (We started up at 5 am – still pitch black outside. By the time the sun was up, it was in the 80s.) We stayed at the hostel at the base of Masada the night before – VERY nice place. Great family-style buffet, fresh, good food, comfortable lodging, reasonable price.</p>
<p>I always kept my head covered. It seemed the respectful thing to do.</p>
<p>Buy your ticket before you get on the tram!!! The police will come through the trolley and check your ticket. We saw this all the time, and they will fine you. (Before the tram opened, one could buy tickets on the buses. For the tram now, it must be done before, and we were told this has been a VERY big adjustment for people.)</p>
<p>Go to Machane Yehuda market on Friday afternoon – everyone is shopping for Shabbat, and it was an incredibly joyous scene. All the tension of the week was gone, and people were out with their kids laughing and talking as they were buying challah, veggies, etc. for Shabbat. DH took a nap that afternoon and I went to the market myself – one of the best parts of the trip.</p>
<p>We did not go to Mea Shearim. The community does not like to be gawked at by tourists, and I was not sure that anything I wore (and I wore 3/4 sleeves, long skirt and a scarf) would be acceptable. </p>
<p>Do the “beneath the western wall” tour. It was excellent. Must be booked in advance. Someone from our shul mentioned it to us and we were so glad to have done it.</p>
<p>Enroll in STEP - Smart Traveler Enrollment Program – you’ll get messages on safety and contact info. <a href=“https://step.state.gov/step/[/url]”>Smart Traveler Enrollment Program;
<p>Agree with p3t on the pictures – had to badger S2 into saving his Russia pics during his study abroad, and then he lost his camera on the way home. Happily he had loaded everything on to his computer and all but the last couple of days in Eastern Europe on cloud storage (gmail/dropbox, etc.), so nothing was lost.</p>
<p>Tell your DS to make sure he has his passport on his person BEFORE he gets off the plane. Trying to retrieve it afterwards is problematic and massively anxiety-provoking. (Guess how I know this? ;)</p>
<p>A plus 1 for IsraelPhones. You can always buy phone minutes cards. (As an oddity, we found that when one of our kids was in school in China that it was cheaper to buy cards here and send them to China. That was weird.) </p>
<p>I would make sure he has a credit card and a debit card, something you can put money on from the US.</p>
<p>My D (sophmore in college) will be doing an engineering internship in Tel Aviv for the summer and I too am interested in tips from those who have lived there. My D spent 1 month in Israel when she was 16 following her confirmation and has travelled quite a bit so my questions are more logistical…her program recommended renting a phone from TalknSave so I’ll check into that as well as IsraelPhones.</p>
<p>Fyi, her program advises that work dress is casual – no jeans or sleeveless shirts but khakis are fine. </p>
<p>The question I have at the moment relates to stories I’ve heard concerning thefts of electronics, particularly when apartments are empty. All the interns live in the same apartment buildings so they become targets. So, how does one protect a computer, camera, etc. If it was a short trip, I’d ask her to leave her computer at home but she’ll be there for two months…</p>
<p>She has her own credit card but it has a 3% transaction fee so I just ordered her one of ours (Capital One) which doesn’t have one.</p>
<p>I’m assuming she can just use her ATM card to get cash although I’m not sure about fees. When she went 3 years ago, the program required her to get a Payoneer card (a debit card) which, if lost, could be replaced within 24 hours since Payoneer is based in Israel. The fees weren’t terrible but they did add up so I’m not sure if I’ll go that route or not.</p>
<p>Thank in advance for any advice.</p>