Yom Kippur 2015

    So as you know, Wednesday was an off day. And this is because it was Yom Kippur. Yom Kippur is the holiest Jewish holiday and during this holiday Jewish people ask God to forgive them for the sins that they have done in the past. 

On this holiday, we fast for 25 hours. We also cannot touch electricity but this is on most holidays. Personally, my family likes to observe this more than any other holiday. The fast starts at approximately 6:33 P.M (sundown) on Tuesday night. It lasts until sundown of Wednesday night. During the day, we spend most of our time at the temple praying. To break the fast, my family tradition is to eat this kind of food that my mom makes. It has shredded apples, rose water, and some sugar. For me, eating this is the best part! As of now, there is an 8 day holiday called Sukkot that's just beginning! I'll save that for next week's blog.

The City that Never Sleeps - Manhattan, NY

Welcome to my first blog. Hope you enjoy!

    In the Early July 2015 days, my mother and I decided to go to Manhattan, New York where my sister lives. Specifically, my sister lived in one of those rich doorman buildings in the Upper West Side. So I booked tickets to go from LAX to JFK and a few weeks later, I hopped on the plane with my mom and got to JFK. I stepped outside the airport and the first thing I noticed was the humidity. It was super hot and sticky. I didn't really care so I entered the Uber that my sister's husband ordered for us. We were on one of the bridges, (and I don't know which one but I think it was the Manhattan Bridge) and immediately, we were greeted by the enormous super skyscrapers. It was at that moment that I realized that I'm officially obsessed with this city. I looked at my mom and she looked at me and I told her "I'm moving here as soon as I can." She looked at me, then giggled.

    We both gasped just looking at the buildings. The Uber car reached uptown and my mom asked my driver "Is this downtown New York? This looks exactly like downtown LA." The driver laughed and said "No. Actually this is uptown. Downtown is further down the city." We reached my sister's house where she was waiting for us. The driver dropped us off across the street and the cross light was red so we didn't go. But later on, someone crossed the street so we did too. Then I realized that the crossing lights don't mean anything, just cross. We entered the beautiful in which my sister lives and we were greeted by a very nice doorman. The elevator door opened and I saw my sister and gave her the biggest hug while saying, "I'm officially in love with this city already." So we went up the elevator and to her house, and to be honest, I have never seen such a nice, well lit apartment in my life. There were windows everywhere with a view of the Hudson River and the rest of the city. She later on told us that this apartment is one of the biggest, best, and most expensive ones in the city. She baked me a brownie which I ate, and started to go sightseeing. That night, we just walked down broadway, checked out some cool stores and markets, and I got my first subway pass. Both my mom and I were shocked by how efficient the subways are. Later on in the trip, we saw the Empire State Building (we went to the top of it), the Freedom Tower, Time Square, and pretty much everything else in the city. So now, I know Manhattan, inside out. The end of the trip came, and I was very sad to say goodbye to what is now, my favorite city and future home.

I hope you enjoyed my first blog!