An Alien in St. Louis
by Lee'at Bachar

Lee’at is a native of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She earned degrees in Jewish Studies and Hebrew and Semitic studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She spent her junior year at Haifa University, where she furthered her passion for Zionism and Israeli culture. Lee’at has also worked as a MASA Israel Programs representative.

She currently works at Congregation B'nai Amoona as the Coordinator of Informal Education. When she’s not spreading good Jewish vibes she enjoys making a mess of her kitchen, being active, and traveling.

Recently, while babysitting for an Israeli family here in St. Louis, their young child tried to tell me about a beloved TV show. The child kept using a Hebrew word with which I was unfamiliar. The word chai-zar, an alien, literally translated means a foreign being.

I couldn’t help but identify with this newly discovered word. I moved to St. Louis almost three months ago, and though I am not a small green Martian, I sometimes feel like one, beamed here from a different place, observing the locals.

Here is what I have observed about the St. Louis Jewish community and what it’s like to find your way in a new city.

1. Do not, under any circumstance, trust your GPS to get you from point A to point B if the path has anything to do with highway 64/40 (also known as sixty-four/ forty). You might as well lose a turn and go back 5 spaces.
 
2. St. Louis offers a nice list of groups for young Jews to participate in: JPro, Young Professional Division (YPD), Moishe House, Next Dor, Saint Louis Israel Connection (SLIC), the unofficial Shulchan Ivrit, JGrads, and Hillel to name the ones that have helped me meet a variety of new and interesting people.

3. When in doubt about what to do with some free time, look no further then Forest Park. It’s a little like stepping foot behind the small reinforced door at the Willie Wonka factory, so many treasures!

4. Many St. Louisans haven’t experienced the corners of their own city and listen in fascination as I tell them about the agrarian treasures of the Soulard Farmer’s market, the world class Blues music offered around the city, or the diverse culinary offerings found on South Grand Boulevard.

5. You can find rose water and orange blossom water, along with a host of other Israeli and international products in at least two different grocery stores to make the K’nafeh (a very fine vermicelli-like pastry used to make sweet pastries and desserts) you’ve wanted to make for a while.

6. Education and knowledgeable teachers are valued so much that the Saint Louis Central Agency of Jewish Education (CAJE) offers continuing education and a Teacher Certification Program to make sure your kid’s teachers know their stuff and aren’t bored in Sunday school the way you probably were.

7. Check the weather forecast before you decide what you are going to wear the next day. Being in a turtleneck when it is miraculously 71 degrees at the beginning of November does not make for a comfortable teacher.

8. St. Louis is rooted in family tradition. Families have been here for generations. And many natives come back to be with and or raise their own families here. I think this has something to do with the requirement to have a Missouri license plate within 30 days of living here.

9. The Jewish community is very invested in the future generations. Congregation B’nai Amoona, for example, is working on cultivating the youngest of its members and their families to strengthen the connection to the synagogue community as are many other synagogues in the city.

10. Many people new to St. Louis have found success in finding a roommate on Craigslist. What I’ve discovered by living with a mother-daughter duo is a new world of Indian cooking… and that if I’m going to live with anyone’s mother after college, it had better by mine.

St. Louis offers a lot, whether your family’s been here for five generations, or you’ve recently moved here for a job.

If I am an alien that has been transported to St. Louis, at least I know that this chai-zar is well entertained, well fed, and surrounded by great people.