School & The North

Monday, February 15, 2010

This morning I had free because my school does not have English classes on Mondays. My coordinator Sania is going to try and come up with a schedule to pull students from their other classes so we can work with them. It was nice having some time to myself. I caught up on some emails, went for a nice run and had a relaxing lunch. The weather has been nicer the past few days and I there actually was some Israelis using the workout machines with me. After lunch I rode my bike to Aroma, a chain coffee restaurant in Israel. I drank some hot water with nana leaves and enjoyed the beautiful day for a while and did a bit of studying.

After I headed up to Beit Canada absorption center for volunteering. They were not very organized and did not even expect us to come. We spent time with the children of doctors from the former Soviet Union doing crafts with them while their parents were busy. It was very hard to communicate with them because they were just learning Hebrew as well. I also thought they would be older, they were most between the ages of 5 and 8 I would guess. It was interesting but I do not think I will continue to volunteer there. It was only about a 25 minute ride home along the beach on my bike which was nice. Weather is really warming up, you can see more people outside. I had dinner and did a bit of studying, and then I tried to organize some lesson plans for the students, when she sends me out for 45 minutes I want to be able to have an idea of something concrete they will be gaining from our conversation. I will need a few more days to put something solid together but at least I got a good start.

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Tuesday is a shorter day at school just by the way the schedule works out. I had a block class with the 11th grade boys. Once again their behavior is unreal. Its so bad that it become entertaining. The class started off by Sania teaching them new works (relevant, prevented, exploited, barred, employ, neglect, pity, scandal). They had to make 5 sentences with them and while they were working we walked around the room to help them, it was nice, you could tell they really appreciated the help. Its amazing the words that they were learning, I would never know in another language (Spanish or Hebrew). One student showed me an assignment the teacher had corrected and asked me if it was right, and its not that what she corrected made it right its just that we never would have said what he said in the first place, it weird that they are learning from someone whose not a perfect speaker and I wonder if I learned from people like that when I was younger or not. Then they read this story about children dropping out of school and being exploited in the work place because of their age, very random passage to be put in a book. I feel like we never would have read something like that in high school. I was given 2 students to work with. Their behavior immediately changes, they are attentive, smart, and thoughtful when in small groups.

Its very bizarre that they are so rude and misbehaved right after they pray every morning and that they kiss the mezuzahs when they leave the rooms, what a dichotomy. I think want to talk to the teacher about being available after school 1 day a week to work with any students and use this as part of my volunteer hours. I think it would be nice to get to know the students a bit more and I would love to work with those that want the extra help.

After school I went for a run and used the workout equipment again. They put new machines up along the beach close to our house which is nice. After I went to the ceremony for the opening of a brand new temple in Ashdod. First we arrived to a random street corner in the city and there was a crowd of maybe 40 people. As the time passed we walked slowly across the street and they set up a table there with all of these torahs. Slowly the group started to grow, flags began to circulate, people began passing out pastries and random bus loads of people showed up. Singing and clapping would come in and out of the crowd. What a unique experience. After a while the group started to march towards the new synagogue. It was nice to be a part of such a beautiful ceremony. We had an enrichment activity at 5 so we had to leave the parade before the ceremony began at the temple. We were not happy about missing out, I wonder how it went. I want to try and go to services soon at the temple. We’ll see.

At enrichment the head of the Ashdod public schools came to meet us and then Kineret gave us a lesson on the history of Israel and its Oliym (Immigrants) from the late 1800’s to the mid 1900’s. It was interesting to hear her thoughts on the time period and have a refresher.

I stopped by my host families house to drop off some stuff and was able to take a picture of us because it was not Shabbat so now you can all see who cooks me delicious Shabbat meals each week!

Tomorrow we are leaving Ashdod at 6 am for a trip to the Golan Heights. Afterwards Anna and I are staying up there to spend the weekend in Haifa with Polina, an Israeli counselor from last summer. I am very excited to see her and have her show us around.

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

This morning we were off to the Golan in the early morning. We stopped in Tel Aviv to pick up another group and made it up North in the early morning. Once we reached the north the drive was incredible. Because of the recent rain in Israel the endless rolling hills were covered in greenery of every shade. It was a beautiful sight, I was even able to capture some of the views from the bus window. I was constantly surprised by the unbelievable colors .The first activity we had was a hike to Devorah’s Waterfall and the Gilabon Waterfall. The people in the other group traveling with us were less than pleasant but we were all able to make a good time out of the situation. Our tour guide, Ron, the same one that showed us around Jerusalem, is incredible. He points out all these little animals and plants that one would not even notice if they were on the hike alone, he is a wealth of information.

We stopped for lunch and than headed to another area called Mount Mental, an old military base in the North bordering Syria. I had been here in the Summer of 2008 but got a new perspective this time around. It was an active base during the war of 1967 and 1973. Right now it is just for tourists but it has an incredible view from the top of the mountain. The area is actually famous because of a coffee shop that now exists there. If there were ever to be another problem it would become an active base in a matter of moments. Having possession of this area, along with the rest of the Golan Heights is good for Israel because the mountains look over so many other moshav’s and kibbutzim that it really threatens their security without it. The problem is that most of the land is covered with mine fields planted by the Syrians before the Israelis gained control of the land so much if it is not usable and just sits there. As we left the military base there was a beautiful sunset and we headed to the hotel with the rest of the Oranim groups.
(Anna and I on the Syrian Border)

As we drove around the North there are many more active soldiers that are visible than when you are in the center of the country, with good reason. You can see tanks and soldiers just about wherever you go. We arrived at the hotel, showered and had dinner. It was a typical Israeli buffet and we definitely did not complain about the free food. After dinner we had an activity where they mixed up all of the groups of Oranim participants to get to know each other a bit more. I thought it could have been a good activity but many of the people in the other groups are here for different reasons then myself and the rest of my group and have different expectations. It really made me appreciate the people in my Ashdod program. After the activity there was a mini dance party where we definitely represented and everyone got to mingle.

Thursday, February 18, 2010

This morning we woke up and headed to the Banias River. It is one of the 3 tributaries that lead into the Jordan River causing much political strife over the years. We took a really nice hike through the river and saw some beautiful views, flowers, animals and colors in the wild. The water was flowing with great force due to the recent rain, just as we had seen yesterday. It was really incredible. It is amazing how the natural flowers were just springing up all over the area. At the end of the hike was a beautiful waterfall where we took some incredible pictures.

After we headed to lunch and then to a local army outpost that is still in action. It is literally a rocks throw from the boarder of Lebanon. It is not a tourist sight but somehow we were allowed on the base for a tour. They are very strict, we could not use the bathrooms, go in any of the buildings, eat or take pictures of most of the area. The soldiers that are stationed there are paratroopers and live there for I believe 2-3 weeks at a time then go home for break. They work 12 hour shifts patrolling the area in tanks and when they are not doing that they are cleaning, cooking and organizing the base. We talked with one of the soldiers and he said that an amazing night of sleep is 6 hours but he usually only gets 3-4. Philip, a man in charge took us around the base and we got to see the lookout to Lebanon. A young soldier was just sitting there staring at a few buildings in the distance. The buildings use to be occupied by the Lebanon government but since they were abandoned the Hezbollah has brought there families in and taken over. It has become a game of Israelis staring at Hezbollah who is staring back at the Israelis. They both take pictures of each other and hopefully not much else goes on.

Philip has an interesting story about how he became in charge and working for the Israeli army. He grew up in the states and was about to be drafted in the Vietnam War, he decided he was going to flea to Canada but his father said you may as well make aliyah to Israel so he did. Once he got there he ironically needed to serve for the army I believe and made a life for himself up north. He complained to the government that there was not a base close to his kibbutz in the north to keep them safe so the government responded and created a base there and he’s been working for the army for decades since. We were only allowed to take a picture of the tanks in the garage without and background so if anyone were to see our pictures they would not be able to place where we are. The solider we talked to was actually a young American who decided to make aliyah and serve in the army after going on Birthright when we was 18. He is now in a very competitive unit with an important position. He says when he finishes his service he will return back to California for college. He said it has been a lonely experience a times and he maybe should have gone about it from a different direction but he does not regret his decision to serve. It was an absolutely incredible experience.

After the base the bus dropped off anyone who wanted a station for those who were staying up north for the weekend. Anna and I caught a bus from the Golani station to Haifa for the weekend. I have never really toured the city so we were a bit lost when we arrived so we took a cab to our hostel, which happened to be pretty clean, but not in the best location. By the time we got there is was evening so we dropped off our bags and headed to a mall that was close by. We walked around the stores for a while and bought a few t-shirts for work. We were dying for an amazing restaurant and asked someone who worked at the mall. He happened to suggest a meat place in the mall and said it was one of the best so we decided we had to try it out. The menu confused us at first. It said with you meal for 14 shekels more you get 12 salads. Ends up they bring out 12 mini salads for you to try and fresh pita bread. We finished on of the pickled vegetables and she cleared the bowl. All of a sudden I see her coming back and I said, Anna I think she is refilling the salads, Anna looked at me like I was crazy and thought there was no way I could possibly be right but in fact, she returned to our table with a new bowl of vegetables. We each ordered a meat Kabob and the salads kept being refilled. It was incredible, we could not believe it, for like $3.50. It was incredible.

Friday, February 19, 2010

This morning we woke up, packed up our stuff and headed to the mall to meet Polina, a friend of ours from camp this summer. She picked us up in the late morning and it was so good to see her! She brought us snacks including Shoko, a typical drink in Israel, pretty much its delicious chocolate milk but they drink it in a bag. We also ate some delicious cake and strawberries. I cannot explain how wonderful it was just to be in the car with her driving around the city, getting to know it from her perspective, not a tourists perspective. Immediately we headed over to the Ba’hai Gardens for a tour. The gardens surround the headquarters of the Ba’hai religion which is centered in Haifa, although most people of the Ba’hai faith do not live in Haifa. The gardens are created as a place for them to come and reflect and pray, they are truly beautiful and the entire garden is completely symmetrical.

After the gardens we went to a local Hummus place where she goes with her friends most Friday afternoons. It was incredible, we ordered hummus with meat, hummus with mushrooms and this other kind which I guess is hummus but with chunks of chickpeas in it. All delicious. We spend a while just sitting there catching up with her about camp, life in Israel, the army and family. She was a wealth of information for us. It was nice to be able to ask her question that I have been thinking about since I got here. Afterwards we headed up to Stella Maris an area at the top of Mount Carmel with a beautiful view of the city and the location of a monastery from the 1200’s. I have seen many churches while traveling Europe but it was interesting to see one in Israel. Haifa is a very diverse city. There is a large muslim population, it’s the center of the Druze religious, there is a Christian community, orthodox Jews and secular Jews. It’s the only city in Israel where public transportation runs on Shabbat, which shows how powerful the other religions are in the Haifa community.

We headed back to her place to rest and have dinner. On the way she pointed out interesting landmarks in the city, including the locations of a few terrorist attacks. It was interesting that a few took place in predominantly Muslim restaurants. We met her parents and her mom cooked us snitzel, rice and salad. Everything was great, it was nice to have a home cooked meal and see what Israelis actually eat compared to the meals we try and create from the ingredients we find here. Her parents do not speak too much English but they were so warm and hospitable. Its amazing how much Israelis do for their guest, I have never seen anything like it. After dinner we went out with a few of Polina’s friends. The bars become packed very easily and its becomes impossible to find a table but we went to a few places just to check out the scene, especially one bar that had a beautiful view of the city. We had to try the late night food and split an amazing sandwich at a famous staple restaurant in Haifa. It was such a wonderful day and I really enjoyed Polina’s company, her hospitality and her perspective on Israel.

Saturday, February 20, 2010

Today we woke up and went to enjoy a traditional breakfast, Shakshukah. For those of you who have never heard of this you probably thing it will sound unappetizing but its actually delicious. Like everything else it varies with the chef but basically it is eggs cooked sunny side up in a tomato sauce stew. The restaurant cooked the tomato sauce with onions as well and it usually has a strong spicy kick to it. You are supposed to eat it with a beget and ours also came with an Israeli salad. I cannot wait for my next Shakshukah experience, this one was great.

Afterwards we decided to drive a bit outside the city through the Carmel Mountains. Its amazing how quickly the landscape changes from neighborhoods covering the hills to empty, gorgeous landscapes. As we drove we passed a kibbutz in the area and by a horse stables. There were tons of families out, bringing their children to ride the ponies and have lunch at the bbq restaurant. We stopped to enjoy the horses as well. Once again, its amazing to see the families spending time together no matter what they are doing. All over the winding roads there were cars parked and people enjoying the beautiful views, trails and weather.

We continued driving a bit and ended up in a Druze town near by. I actually remembered being here in the Summer of ’08 not exactly realizing where I was then. There are rules in Israel that you don’t pay property taxes unless your house is painted and finished so many people in these towns choose to leave their house unpainted for years. You can see in the pictures how the town definitely has a different look to it. The Druze are a unique sect of Islam. There is a large population of them in the North of Israel and they are considered loyal, many serving in the army. We stopped and got some fresh Druze pita with Labane in it (a type of cheese you find here) and then we strolled through their shuk, which was open because they do not celebrate Shabbat. We tried the nuts and gummies and took a few pictures over the edge of the mountain. It was a perfect day to see out into the valley. We headed back towards Haifa and did a mini photo shoot in these beautiful red flowers. They grow anywhere kind of like dandelions but they are considered beautiful. They have a short season so people really enjoy them. We then drove back to Haifa and within minutes we went from the mountains to the beach, its truly incredible. The beach was packed for a February day, we walked along for a while and saw a beautiful sunset. The German Colony is an area right below the Ba’hai gardens that was build by the Germans long before the state of Israel and Haifa has done a great job of restoring the area and now it is filled with trendy bars and restaurants, we just walked through but next time we’ll have to go out to eat there.

We headed back to Polina’s her mom made us dinner and we quickly went to the train station to get on one of the first trains after Shabbat ended. It was a pretty quick 2 hour train ride back but the first few stops people are sitting on the floor its so packed because everyone is trying to make it home from the weekend. Once it cleared out Anna and I started talking to a young woman sitting with us. She was just finishing up her third week in the army and looked exhausted. She is still doing basic training but is also working at a jail. When she found out why we were in Israel she was so happy and thankful. Its amazing how these experiences never end. They are continually proud and excited that we are here to help them. Its nice to know our work is appreciated.

Sunday, February 21, 2010

The work week began once again. Sunday is going to be a full day for me because I stay later then a normal day because Monday I have a lighter schedule. I worked with 5 classes, mostly working on worksheets that they have to do with me but 2 of the classes I just talked with the students. It was my first time working with the 11th grade girls, it was really a pleasure, they are so respectful and calm compared to the boys but they are more timid and speak in Hebrew while the boys love to try English as much as they can. I was talking about being Jewish in America with some of 10th grade girls and they were shocked to hear that I read torah at my bat mitzvah and that when I went on the bimah (stage) for my bat mitzvah I wore a kippah on my head. I almost felt like they were going to judge me negatively. I explained to them that we have a much larger reform and conservative community in the states and things are significantly different. The world does not stop for us to celebrate Shabbat. I also explained that they do not have this constant pressure from parents and family to marry Jewish like we do in America because everyone in Israel they would date is already Jewish. They have never thought about these concepts before and I think they really enjoyed seeing my perspective.

With the 11th grade boys, she assigned me 3 and 5 came. I am still trying to figure out how to handle them. The 2 had no intent of leaving and didn’t . At the end I told the teacher and she was like they really just skipped my class and you should have sent them away. It sounds so simple but they are so tough and insistent. I will work on them next time. What an experience.
This afternoon we had Ulpan and we learned the future tense. It started to come back to me and I am so excited to be relearning it again. I feel like my Hebrew started to improve while in Haifa because I was able to ask Polina for immediate help when I needed it so I am excited to continue my studying and Ulpan classes. I went for a run at night by myself and it was so relaxing, people are out everywhere along the bike and running paths and its nice to be amongst the Israelis.

Monday, February 22, 2010

This morning I did not have to be in school until 10:15 so I explored the city a bit in the morning then I went to school to work with a student on a project that she must create for her big English oral test. They have to pick a subject and prepare a project on it then the teachers all switch schools in the area and quiz the students on their projects. The student did not really know what the assignment was and we did not get much done but I think she picked an interesting subject, the Mossad, the Israeli intelligence branch of the government. I am excited to see how the project turns out.

This afternoon I biked to the Sea mall and bought some music of Israeli artists that we will be seeing with the program next month, I hope I enjoy the songs. After I went to volunteer at Efshar Acheret, an Ethiopian youth center. I had not been there last week so I decided to just jump right in. I also heard the manager was upset with the volunteers because they did not have good Hebrew yesterday so I tried my best so he would be happy with our group and I guess it worked. I played bat gammon with one of the kids and he beat me 2 games to 1. I am surprised I even won 1. He was really quick on his feet, he is probably played the game a lot, he seems like a smart kid. Afterwards, 3 Israelis and 3 volunteers had a mini ping pong tournament and hung out. The kids were all adorable and really enjoyed our company. We drank tea and ate cookies and most of them decided they wanted to leave at 6:30 so they cleaned up and we all headed home. I am really happy there so far and I am looking forward to the weeks to come. Me and other volunteers are hopefully going to make hamentashen (holiday cookies) for Purim for the kids. Purim is coming up this weekend and it is going to be a crazy time all over the country.

(the sign for Efshar Acheret)

Tel Aviv, Shabbat & The First Day of School

Thursday, Februray 11, 2010

Today was our last day of Ulpan for our 2 intensive weeks. Now that we are beginning our volunteering we will have it only Sunday and Thursday afternoons. After class I took the bus to Tel Aviv with Anna and Eric, another person in the program. It took just over an hour and cost maybe 2 dollars. Not a bad deal at all. When we got there Anna and I decided to walk to our hostel so we could get a better sense of the city and where we were staying, I think it was maybe a 45 minute walk.

(Rabin Square at Night)

We put our stuff down at the hostel and took some food to the beach for a quick lunch. We sat down and very shortly after a bird shit on Anna and her lunch, what an exciting beginning to our weekend. After lunch we walked around the Carmel Market, Sheinken Street, Rothschild Street, and Rabin Square. It’s the end of the season so there were a lot of sales going on. They have the cutest boutiques and shops. As it started getting dark we walked to Rabin Square, the place where Prime Minster Yitzchak Rabin was assassinated. It was nice going to Rabin Square without a group of American tourists. It was also interesting experiencing it a night. For those who don’t know the story behind his assassination, the Prime Minister was at a peace rally in November 1995 and on his way out a Jew shot and killed him because he disagreed with Rabin’s new peace agreements. Peace is a tricky thing here in Israel as many of you know.

(Part of the Rabin Memorial - taken by Anna)

We headed to our hostel to meet Sarah and Molly who were joining us in Tel Aviv. We got ready for the night and headed out for dinner. We decided to go to this restaurant in Neve Tzedek, an upscale neighborhood\suburb of Tel Aviv. It is where a lot of musicians and upperclass Israelis live. I split an amazing chicken dish with couscous and grilled vegetables and a great salad with Anna. Definitely a nice restaurant with reasonable prices. After wards we headed to a club that some friends had told us about. There was a mob waiting outside the door and just as we were giving up trying to get in we started talking to this guy who brought us in another door. The club was pretty cool, American, European and Israeli music, lights everywhere. I was walking to the bathroom with Anna and I just stopped and realized, everyone here is Jewish. It sounds so simple yet it was an incredible to realize it. Very fun. Afterwards we went to friends place and snacked on nuts and such. They love eating nuts here. There was a sign please don’t use your hands to try them but we neglected to see this until after we had already tried. It was kind of unusual because they use their hands for everything in this country. On our way home we stopped by a bar by a Irish bar. Sarah was talking to a guy at the bar and pointed out some money that had fell on the floor, he said to her, you really are a Jew aren't you. We were all caught off guard by this somewhat anti-Semitic remark and left the bar. It seems that this is the one place in the world we would not have to deal with that. It was still a great night. Overall Tel Aviv is a great city, love the food, beaches, shopping, clubs but it is definitely more of an international city which to me makes it feel like it has less of the culture that we experience in Ashdod. More like other big cities I guess.

Friday February 12, 2010

I have not been able to sleep in lately and woke up at like 5 or 6 am and waited for everyone else to get up. We packed up our stuff and went to breakfast and a little café on Ben Yehudah street, the food was so fresh and delicious – eggs, salad, cheeses, tuna, nana leaves (kind of like mint leaves) and hot water. Its an interesting drink that I have been trying here. We walked through an artsy part of Ben Yehudah Street and I found this amazing gallery that was closed, I hope to go back when its open next time. We walked to the arts shuk that is only open 2 days a week in Tel Aviv, I bought a necklace. Afterwards we walked around the shops again, the streets were so crowded with people, it was incredible. After we met up with one of Molly’s Israeli friend from birthright, we grabbed a snack and then he offered to drive us back to Ashdod. In the car it really only took 30 minutes. It was nice to spend time with him in the car, he is very out going and goes on hikes with his friends so we told him we wanted to go with him the next time, its amazing how friendly and open people are, i'd feel completely comfortable going camping with him. He, and many other Israelis that I met in Tel Aviv get this look when I tell them we live and volunteer in Ashdod. The are stereotypes about different areas in the country but when Molly’s friend dropped us off and saw our house and neighborhood he was pleasantly surprised.
We got home and all started to get ready for Shabbat with our host families. I headed over to Zahavah’s at 6:30 and this week her sister, Jackie, was joining us. She lives near Ashkelon which is about 20 minutes South of here. I have been told she joins them a lot on the weekend. She speaks pretty good English and she is very informed when it comes to Judaism. Dinner was delicious as usual, the first course of Zahavah’s Moroccan fish and the little salads, then chicken, potatoes, vegetables, couscous and these mini egg omelet things that Jackie made. They spoke a lot in Hebrew to each other and I just tried to follow along as best as I could. A lot of random yelling and singing, very interesting dynamic. Dinner had barely ended and she handed me containers of leftovers, I thanked her so much and she said of course you are like my daughter. Its really nice spending time at their house. After dinner their neighbor Miriam came over and played cards Jackie, Amram and I. They play Rummie on Fridays a lot. It took me a few rounds to understand their rules but once I did I won a few rounds and they weren’t too happy! They invited me to come with them on Sunday to a torah dedication from their family to a Temple in Lod but I could not go with them because of a meeting I have. Jackie invited me to come to services the next morning so I figured I’d go with her. Should be interesting.

Saturday, February 13, 2010

This morning I woke up early to go to services with Zahavah’s sister, Jackie. I met her at their apartment at 8:30 and we walked over to the synagogue. Amram, my host father, was already there; I guess he goes at like 7:30 in the morning. It happens to be a pretty large synagogue across the street from the school I will be teaching at. In the beginning it was really hard for me to follow but as they went through the service I began to recognize some of the prayers. It amazing how the prayers themselves are the same around the world but the customs, tunes and timing differ so much. This was also a Sephardic synagogue, unlike the majority in the states. There were some beautiful parts of the service, like when the children were singing and leading the prayers and the sense of community that came from the room. There was one part where all the men covered their heads with their talit, many of them used there talit to cover the heads of their neighbors as well, I had never seen this before and I did not recognize the prayer so I have no idea what it was for. As I was watching a women sitting near Jackie to tell me to stop looking. I am not sure what was going on but it definitely frustrates me the separation between the men and women. I have learned the reasons for the separation but I do not enjoy the feeling of looking from the above balcony, which is blocked by decorated glass or even curtains. To me it seems like we are being excluded from the service. The conservative and reform movements do not exist in Israel (they were formed in America in the 19th and 20th centuries so the only communities that exist here were people who have made aliya and they mostly exist in the bigger cities). It is considered an orthodox temple but not in the way we have them in America. Some people are dressed up nicely while other are wearing plain shirts. Jackie says that she does not like to wear skirts so she has two pairs of flowy pants that she wears only for service. She is a very knowledgeable, religious woman in many ways but its very interesting how they can pick and choose which aspect of the religion are important to them.

The service was over by about 10:30 and then everyone leaves to go home for lunch. It was a nice feeling walking out of the temple surrounded by so many Jews on their way home for Shabbat lunch. Jackie pointed out how quiet the streets were and how you can sense the feeling of Shabbat and rest in the air. She was right. On the way home she told me her feelings on why we keep Shabbat and the importance of God. She compared God to a judge or ruler. When we go to court and we ask for forgiveness we spend a lot of time and money to hire a lawyer just to face another human being. When we face god we should be much more nervous and really think about the importance of everything we do and why we honor Shabbat. She said that God does not need us to keep Shabbat, he will be fine without it, it is the Jews who need to keep Shabbat and honor god. It was an interesting way of looking at things.

They invited me to come over for lunch after services. They say all the prayers again and the food began all over again. Challah, all of the salads, the Moroccan fish that she serves on Friday night, and then we ate chullant and rice. Chullant is a stew a lot of Jews eat for Shabbat lunch because they let it slow cook over night on low so it is still a warm meal for them but they can still keep Shabbat without using electricity and fire. It was delicious as well. After we ate Jackie took out her book and began to tell me this weeks story from the bible. I was so full and tired that I began to fall asleep; I think she felt the same way so she said she would finish the story next time. Zahavah gave me the extra chullant for my roommates so I brought it home and they loved it.
It is so relaxing to be in a place where everyone celebrates Shabbat. You do not feel like you are in the minority trying to have a relaxing day with the distractions of secular life. Everyone here is celebrating and resting in their own way. Its wonderful to be a part of such an environment.

After Shabbat a friend of mine from GW, Emily Schwartz, came by for the night. She's her in the middle of a 10 month program similar to mine. It was nice to see a familiar face. We decided to go out with some of my roommates and a few Israelis we've met. The night scene does not get big here on Saturday until midnight but everyone also works the next day. Not sure how that works but we left before anything got crazy. Tomorrow is the first day in the schools.


Sunday, February 14, 2010

First day at Mekif Yud. I headed over at 8:30 to meet Jordan, my partner in my school. We arrived to a locked gate with some students sitting outside waiting and others jumping the fence. After about 5 minutes the principal and security guard came over to let everyone in. I guess the students will be in trouble for missing prayers and people can only enter when the security guard is there so if he happens to be walking around the grounds then you just have to wait. When we got in we met up with Sania who is our coordinator and she went over our schedule with us.

(Mekif Dati Yud, Religious School in Neighborhood Yud)

The first 2 periods were block scheduling it seemed for the 10th grade girls. They came in pretty late because the prayer went longer for Rosh Chodesh, the celebration of new month, but they were decently well behaved. Jordan and I introduced ourselves and then she sent each of us out to do a worksheet with 3 students. We went to the teachers lounge which does not really seem to be only for the teachers because there are always students hanging out or working in their. It’s a very informal work environment. I sat with them doing the work for over an hour and when they finished we just talked. Their English is pretty good and the girls were really sweet. I tried to make them speak only in English because I was told to never speak in Hebrew to them. One of the girls was Moroccan, one Ethiopian and one was of Iraqi decent I believe. They seemed very interested in what I had to say and enjoyed asking me questions. They realized I was Ashkenazi (Jews from Eastern Europe and such) and it almost seemed as though they looked down on me, many Jews in Israel are Sephardic, especially in Ashdod, while in America most Jews are Ashkenazi. It was interesting to me that it even mattered to them.

Another class I was supposed to work with was not ready for me so I had a large break in the middle of the day. Thankfully I live so close so I walked home for lunch and some free time. I headed back at 1 and worked with an 11th grade boys class. To say the least, they were out of control, rude yet entertaining. It took Sania over 5 minutes to get them just to all sit in their seat and to have minimal talking. Jordan and I introduced ourselves and then she sent us each out with 3 students to talk. No other assignment but to talk with them for 45 minutes in English. The schools remind me of California schools, it just gated in but then there is a courtyard surrounded by buildings with classrooms. We found a bench and just talked. One of the students was quiet and the other 2 were pretty outgoing. We talked about music, America, schools, the army, pretty much everything. One of the boys was very inquisitive about drugs and America. We were not given to many boundaries so it was kind of awkward but I just worked around the situation. I asked them what they did over the weekends. One boy said that he was religious so he celebrates Shabbat and sleeps, another one works a local park and it seemed as though the religious boy pretty much looked down on him for working on Shabbat. Another boy strolled by towards the end of class (there were many distractions from students passing by) and the religious student pointed to him and said, he plays soccer on the weekend for a team in Tel Aviv but at least he also prays! One of the boys asked if he could tell me a joke so I said okay. It ended up being a holocaust joke which I did not think was that funny but they informed me that in Israel Holocaust jokes like that are not uncommon, very different from American Jewish humor. I mentioned to them how their behavior in the classroom would never be tolerated in the States and that did not seem to phase them at all. I asked them about plans for the Army or university and they really did not have much to say. On one hand, I think they are too far away from applying to school to realize that they should care about their grades, on the other hand the army does an amazing job of maturing them. It was an interesting, frustrating, eye opening and fun day all at once. I cannot even imagine what is in store the next few months.

(View of my school from outside the fense)

On my way home I called Zahavah to let her know that I could not make it to the Torah dedication today. When we finished talking she wish me a good week and a good month, because Shabbat had just ended and a new month began. Its so interesting to me how they think about and value these specific days here, in America we would never think to wish that to someone.
This afternoon we had a group meeting where we signed up for our afternoon volunteering activities. I chose to work Monday afternoons at Beit Canada, the absorbtion center, Tuesday afternoons at the Beit Avot, Elderly living center and Wednesday evenings at Efshar Acharet, the Ethiopian youth center. I hope things work out well. Afterwards we had our Sunday Ulpan class. I had some Shabbat leftovers for dinner, studied some Hebrew with Chaya and went to bed early.

What a day.

Mekif Yud, The High School where I will be working.

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

This afternoon we went to visit an old age home. The gentleman was so nice and thankful for our service to Israel. He said no matter where we chose to volunteer he appreciated us taking 5 months of our time to work here. It feels so nice that the Israelis are so appreciative of us. I cannot imagine the reward we will feel once we actually start.

He explained the reason that they built the home in the first place. In the 1973 Yom Kippur War many parents lost one or both of their children and the community realized these parents were going to grow older and have no one to take care of them. Its amazing how the background and status of Israel really effects each and every aspect of their country. He said that now there are some residents in this situation but many are more recent immigrants, especially from Eastern Europe. We met a Moroccan man who I believe was brought to Israel when he was older just to live in this home. He says one lady wishes that her only living decent, her granddaughter, will come in April to visit. It is clear why they need volunteers to keep up the spirits of the guests. Many of them have gone through a great deal of disappointment in their lives. Each person has a really unique story. The manager also made it clear that it is their home, not ours or his – we are guests who come into their homes to help. They make it seem as much as possible like a self-sufficient community with a salon, laundry room, kitchen and whatever else they could need. The center does a great job of leading activities for them, Yiddish lessons, physical exercises, music and art, there is a new schedule each week for them. It was nice to see the elderly being cared for so much.

After the volunteer place we had enrichment activities as a group which we will be having every Tuesday. Representatives from MASA came to talk to us. MASA a large organization that is an offshoot from the Israeli government which gives scholarship to participants in long term Israeli programs. She explained what they do and activities that we can get involved in while in Israel. They have over 9,000 participants in the country per year. She explained a new program, a Building Future Leadership (BFL) Seminar. You interview with them and they bring you to Jerusalem for 3 separate weekends. Each participant picks a project they would like to bring back to the US to implement, throughout the seminar they teach you the skills to bring your ideas home. I am going to look into the program, seems like a great idea for me. Its amazing the opportunities they offer that are free or close to it. You can spend a day learning about the Israeli Defense Forces, they put on large-scale concerts, they organize Shabbat weekends for everyone. I hope to take advantage of some of their programs.

After we got a lesson on the Israeli parliament. I had learned about this in college but it was a great review and helped put things into perspective. He also taught us that Israelis try to use the Jewish history when they formed the modern state of Israel. The origin of the Shekel, the Israeli currency, actually came from the bible; it was the name of the currency they used to trade goods during the biblical times. He also explained how one can tell the level of observance of men by the kippah they wear on their head. If they wear knitted they tend to be from what Americans know as the modern orthodox movement and if they were black cloth kippahs they are ultra orthodox. Overall the enrichment activities were very helpful and informative; I am looking forward to the rest of them.

Wednesday, February 9, 2010

After Ulpan today I met up with Jordan, the other participant I will be volunteering with at my school, and Shiry, one of our city coordinators, to walk over to our school, (its only about a 10 minute walk from my house). We had a meeting with the woman in charge of the English department who will be supervising us and making our schedules. The school is gated in and when we walked in I was pleasantly surprised to see such beautiful buildings. Everything was built in what looks like the white Jerusalem stone. It reminded me of a California school because there seems to be a central courtyard with buildings and classrooms surrounding it. I will take pictures when I begin my volunteering.

As previously mentioned it is a religious school so I have to wear a skirt to work everyday. I was told that there is a religious population in the school but other students attend solely because it is the school closest to their homes while others are sent by their parents so that they are exposed to a more religious upbringing. The students do spend a large section of their day learning torah (bible) and such. They start off each morning from 8:10-8:40 with prayers so we technically don’t have to be there until after prayers. I am sure I will go early to check it out. We will be working mostly with the 10th and 11th graders who are in the more advanced groups. In Israel they have level 3,4 and 5 being the highest, they place us with the kids in 4 and 5 who need a bit of extra help. They said we should be talking only in English to the kids because they need as much practice as possible, especially for their exams in May. We will have the opportunity to plan activities for the students for the upcoming holidays and they want us to share with them as much as we can about American culture because it is very misunderstood here in Israel. If students have extra needs on tests we will also be helping them reading the test to them and possibly even writing their answers for them. We will be able to participate with the students on trips that they take outside of school, which I am looking forward to as well. The coordinator said that these students are looking forward to our arrival because they really enjoyed working with the volunteers from the last group. I am excited to finally begin in my school on Sunday! (For those that don't already know, the work week here is Sunday to Thursday, its definitely taking some getting used to)

(Bought the bottom left spice to cook in rice, i'll let you know how it goes, it smells delicious.)

After visiting my school I went to the market. There is truly anything you could ever want there for practically free. I bought 2 scarves, a skirt, leggings, spices, fruits and vegetables today. The thing that surprised me the most was that I found a little area where they were selling knee braces and other medical supplies. After strolling around for a while I headed home.

This afternoon I went with Anna to buy bikes. It took a while at the store to get everything straightened out but we got a bike, helmet and lock for pretty cheap. It was so nice to be able to bike home. The city will be so much manageable now and quicker to explore. I asked in the shop if it was possible to bike to Tel Aviv and he thought I was crazy. It may be harder than I thought to use the bikes outside of Ashdod but it will still be a great thing to have. I will definitely use it to get to my volunteer sites in the afternoons.

(One of many Temples in Ashdod, beautiful building)

Tomorrow the last day of our 2 weeks of Ulpan and then I am headed with Anna, Sarah and Molly to Tel Aviv!

Absorption Centers, Sunsets and the 80's

(Typical View of Ashdod)

Sunday, February 7, 2010

Week 2 of Ulpan. Today we had Ulpan in the morning as usual. Our teacher shared with us some of the news that had happened this weekend. First, last night was the record cold for the season so far, probably got into the 30’s. Lets just say I have been wearing my coat to bed some nights. The days range from cold to pleasant to hot. You never know what tomorrow will bring. Secondly, Syria and Israel have been having some disagreements, the President of Syria made a comment on how the Foreign Minister of Israel is not cooperating with the negotiations process. The last thing she told us was about a story that happened in the North of Israel. Around 200 people went out to play in the snow in the Golan Heights and some how did not realize they had crossed into a mine field. (I am not sure if these people did not know the area well or what because its not easy to miss the fields from what I have seen) While playing a young boy stepped on one and severely injured his leg. The mine fields are left over from when Syria had control of the land before 1967 and buried them there. The Israeli government does not believe that it is necessary to dig them up and that it would be a very expensive process.

This afternoon we visited an absorption center called Beit Canada (The House of Canada). My teacher said the architect won an award for the design of the building. It was build in the 1970’s I believe by a donation from a Canadian group and it was just renovated in 2009 by a group of Brazilians. An absorption center is a place where immigrants (Olim) come to live when they first arrive to Israel, many are from Ethiopia, the former Soviet Union, South Africa and South America. It was a beautiful building that is lined with apartments. The volunteers there will work with the 6-12 year old children for 1 hour with their homework and then one hour of enrichment activities and educational programming. They also take trips and learn about the holidays and culture of Israel. It can be difficult for many because they must learn Hebrew and also improve their English to fit in to the correct class with their peers in their regular schools. I am very interested in the immigrant situation in Israel and I hope to be working here at least one day a week.

I was curious to see how far we were form home so I walked home from Beit Canada with my roommate Zak. It is basically on the other side of the city and it took about 45 minutes to get home. There was a beautiful sunset. It was a pleasant end to the day.

(Sunset over the Mediterranean Sea)










Monday, February 8, 2010

Hebrew as usual this morning. I went for a run this afternoon then headed to check out a women’s shelter as a volunteer option.
As we were walking into the neighborhood I began taking pictures of this building covered in graffiti, completely unaware of what would be on the other side of the walls and sure enough it was the women’s shelter. Many of the women and children living here have escaped abusive relationships and have come to Ashdod for protection and a chance to build a new life and rebuild their confidence. It is a very protective and protected place so their husbands and fathers do not find them. While in the shelter the mothers receive counseling and the children get art therapy. They are also placed in jobs, often house keeping or working in shoe stores because some of them do not have the necessary skills to have higher paying jobs. The shelter helps them as much as they can. Each mother gets a room and bathroom for her family. It seems to be a pretty nice, modern facility but we were not able to take pictures. They can stay they for 6 months to a year and after they receive services to help keep them on their feet, sometimes they women choose to go back with their husbands other times they begin a new life. It was a wonderful organization but hard to deal with the fact that these children and women have all been through traumatic experiences. We watched the children play on their playgrounds and they seemed so happy to be there playing with their friends. Whomever chooses to volunteer there will be great role models for these children.

Artwork in the shelter in honor of Tu B'shvat, I believe it is a bible quote that says "and they will come to the land and plant all the trees."

Tonight we celebrated the birthdays of two participants in our group, Sasha and Nikki. The "middle house" threw an 80's party. We decided to all wear polos that Oranim gave us and go as counselors from the 80's. Surprisingly we did not get that many awkward looks while walking to the party and we put the polos to good use.

The Day of Rest

Friday, February 5, 2010

This morning I went shopping with Anna and Alanna. There is a mall pretty close to us that has some pretty good clothing stores so we looked around there for a while. I found a few skirts that will work for my religious school which is a good start. After we went grocery shopping for the weekend. The stores all start to close around 2:30 or 3 o’clock here for Shabbat so everyone is out in a rush to get their errands done. People are hurrying through the stores trying to grab everything before the city pretty much shuts down. It’s a frenzy but its nice knowing that Shabbat is coming. It was funny to compare this experience to life in the states, this basically only happens to us on Christmas and New Years where we think the world is going to end if we don’t go to the grocery store for every last thing we need. Its crazy to think that they experience this at least once a week.

I decided I wanted to go to services this week which start at 5:30 ish so I had little time to relax. I am not sure how they get everything done here, its like their weekends are either crazy rushing to prepare for Shabbat or it is Shabbat when everything is closed. We got home and it was already late afternoon so I started to get ready. My host family told me about a temple on my street so I headed over. If you didn’t know where the temple was you’d never find it. It was a modern building but had a beautiful inside. It was a Sephardic temple (Jews from Spain and the far East) so they have the set up a bit differently, the service is conducted from the middle of the room rather than the front. Most temples here are orthodox so the women sit upstairs, not particularly my favorite but its still interesting. I was a bit lost in the beginning but when they started the Shabbat service I was able to follow along. A young woman came in a few minutes after I did and sat right next to me, I as a bit surprised because there were so many other seats but I guess it may be part of the culture or something. She helped me a long a few times when I was lost. The service was not like at home with the familiar tunes but I did recognize a lot of the words. It is always interesting to realize that everyone around the world is saying the same prayers everyday. My favorite part about the service was that everyone knew the prayers so everyone sung them together. The room was filled with spirit and energy. Its incredible to think that they even know what they are saying unlike most of the Jews who live outside of Israel. I thought the young woman would stick around to talk to me but she left before I could even say thank you. Maybe I will see her if I go back.

After services I went to my host family's house for dinner. I was much more comfortable this time knowing their routine. We said the prayers and began eating her delicious food. They are both Moroccan so they have some unique dishes. Its customary to have fish on Shabbat so for the first mini course she makes this fish dish with hot peppers, its amazing. I told her that I was going to come over to watch and help her cook on time. Maybe I will be able to figure out how she does it. Then we had the usual salad they serve, eggplant, cole slaw, a tomato salsa and tomato spread, you name it. Then she made this delicious couscous with vegetables, chicken and potatoes. She put so much food on my plate, I don’t know how she possibly thought I was going to eat it all. She doesn’t seem big on the desserts but it might be that she keeps kosher and it is harder to create delicious non-milk desserts. She served shredded carrots with raisins and nuts. Still pretty good. Then we hug out with their neighbors a bit and they just constantly kept feeding us food, sunflower seeds, snack mixes, oranges, nuts, pastries and cheesecake. They also made me this tea-like drink, its hot water with nana leaves (similar to mint). Usually you drink it with your tea. The food never ends.

I got to know my host parents better this week. The father Ahmram explained about his background and how he made it to Israel from Morocco. From what I could understand with his Hebrew he said that in the 1950’s many of the people coming to Israel were old or sick and the country needed people to serve in the army. Ben Gurion (the first Prime Minister) convince governments in Northern Africa and Europe to let them take some of the Jewish children to Israel. He said that one day when he was 11 or so there was a knock on the door and the Israelis brought him to Israel, gave him housing and an education and then he served in the army. Years later his parents would join him. I’ll have to do a bit more research to see if this all makes sense. He currently works at the airport in Israel but I am not exactly sure what he does there. My host mom is also Moroccan, I asked when they met and they just made it seem like it was a really long time ago. She works in what sounds like a boarding school outside of Ashdod for children who do not have parents. She told me that she is a beauty teacher and the proceeded to bring me into a room in their apartment where she has manikin heads and a hairdresser sink. She said if I needed she could give me a hair cut while I am here.

I am really enjoying getting to know them. They are so welcoming and friendly. She invited me to have Passover with them, she gave me tons of leftovers from dinner and we decided that I would come by during the week to help her with her English and she would help me with my Hebrew.

Saturday February 6, 2010

This morning I slept in and hung around until my roommates started to get up. Anna and I went for a run around the city, it was amazing to see how many families are out on Shabbat here. We ran down streets where during the week we are the only ones in sight and today they were filled with kids on bikes, dogs and strollers. Afterwards I decided to do my laundry because it was such a nice day. We do not have a dryer so you really have to time the laundry well so it has time to dry before the rain or cold sets in.

This afternoon I took a walk down the beach with my roommates Zak, Aron and Slobo. Everything seems dead on Shabbat with a lot of the stores close but if you go about half way down the beach from where we live there is this plaza that seems to be the cool place to be. Every Saturday there is music with dancing. Mainly an older crowd but definitely a mixed group of people. There are also many restaurants open with seating practically on the beach. There is also an arts market that is open along the boardwalk area. We watched the dancers for a while then headed down the beach to a restaurant for some appetizers. It was so relaxing to sit outside on a cool sunny day drinking tea on the beach. It is also nice that they do not rush you out of the restaurant immediately after you have finished eating dinner.

Its really nice to spend a day relaxing and not worrying about the everyday craziness that life brings.

Shabbat Shalom and Shavuah Tov.

(Have a good week)

Real life in Israel

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Last night while we were cooking dinner we heard a loud explosion and were not quite sure what it was. Turns out that terrorists from the Gaza Strip had sent off barrels in the sea to land up on the beaches of Ashdod and Ashkelon. The noise was the Israelis blowing up the barrels of explosives. I have heard several mixed stories on exactly what happened but what was interesting was that atleast one of them was found by a citizen. In America we would never think to question a barrel. It is a different mentality over here. One of our city coordinators sent us an email telling us we should stay away from the beaches for a few days. Kinnert reminded us “When you first got here, we told you that we want you guys to experience life a true Israelis, and today you get "the chance" to see what it means. Isrealis overcome whatever we have sent at us.”

People seem to not be so worried but my Hebrew teacher, Hadass, said that this was a new type of attack and they will do what it takes to work on a similar situation the next time. Throughout class this morning we could hear military planes flying overhead, Hadass said that they do this to protect us and to remind others that the Israelis are watching.

I was debating sharing this or not because I didn’t want to worry anyone but like everyone is saying, this is the reality here, take the good with the bad and do what you have to do to protect yourself so there is no need to sugar coat my experience.

I feel like I learn a lot sitting in the classroom. It’s nice to get the perspective of our teacher and from just living the life of a student here. I have heard over and over again that Israel needs help with its education system but at many times I have felt like society here revolves around the schools. You can hear the school bells and songs ringing from where ever you are in the city and the schools seem to be such a central focus of each neighborhood. During one of our breaks in school today our teacher was telling us about an situation that occurs in Israel. Many times children of orthodox families who choose to leave orthodoxy are banished from the family. In Jerusalem there are organizations that exist solely to help these children. Its interesting to see how problems that occur with in the Israeli society rarely exist in other places.

After class today Anna and I ran around the city itself because we were supposed to stay away from the beach. Each and every day this city becomes more and more manageable. We ended our run at one of the adult workout centers. Very refreshing but Israelis definitely look at us like we are crazy because it doesn’t appear that many of them run. I think they would think we were crazy if we told them we walked the city.

This afternoon our group met up at the Matnas (community center) to hear from Momo, the head of Oranim. He was very passionate about the mission of Oranim and really pushed marrying Jewish and raising you children Jewish. After several of us went to the local basketball game. The men’s Ashdod team plays at a local high school every week. It was really an incredible experience. You could hear the screaming fans from both teams before you even enter the school. There was a lot of firsts for me. Jews can play basketball? People wear tzitzit to basketball games? People kiss mezuzahs at sporting events, security guards wearing kippahs? All very interesting and new. The energy in the room was incredible. Each team was decked out in their colors and cheers filled the room the entire time, instruments, whistles and all. I hope to make these games part of my weekly routine, the girls basketball and a soccer team here play weekly also.

Today we were assigned our schools. I was placed at a local religious high school. It also happens to be less than a kilometer from my house, which is incredible. I am excited to get to know a new environment and work with an interesting group of students, it will be nice to experience the holidays with them in the classroom and see how they choose to practice Judaism. I asked my city coordinator about the atmosphere of my school and what I should expect, she said that the principle and teachers are incredible but eventhought it is a religous school it is still a rough environment. Supposely stuents got pretty crazy there last semester. I will also have to wear a skirt to my knees everyday so I am going to have to get some appropriate clothing.

Wednesday February 3, 2010

Today I really began to feel like I live here in Israel. I went to ulpan this morning and then walked with a group of people along the beach to the shuk. The weather was not so good but that did not stop us. I found some really cute scarves, bought raisons, walnuts, figs and apricots for maybe 6 dollars then the rain really began to fall. I quickly ran around the market gathering carrots, eggplant, cucumbers, tomatoes and oranges all for just a few dollars. I’ve never thought it was possible to buy fresh food for so cheap. People started to close up because of the weather so we weren’t able to get everything we came for, next week will come soon.

We headed home on the bus and had a bit of time to unpack and relax before we headed out to check out some more possible volunteer sights. We went to a matnas (community center) in another area of Ashdod. (Ashdod is divided up into atleast 14 neighborhoods all with different schools and community centers). For one who has never been to a matnas it is kind of an incredible place. Its like having a JCC in every neighborhood in a city. They have after school programs and each one has different specialized programs by age, disabilities or any other thing you could think of. Many are huge beautiful buildings.

The one we went to today had 2 different placed for us to volunteer in. The first was a place for children with motor disabilities to hang out in the afternoons, I was reluctant to go but I decided to check it out. Wednesdays they bring in animals for the children to play with I believe for theraputic reasons. They were such sweet kids. It was really an incredible experience. The lack of communication between us and them (because of the language and because of their disabilities) made no difference. Seeing the smiles on their faces from just sitting there, holding our hands was incredible. I have never seen so many people touched by such a simple gesture. The woman in charge of the program said that she hadn’t seen this young boy so happy since the last group of Oranim participants were volunteering there. Afterwards we went downstairs to a different part of the community center where they have programs for students, we met young third graders and kids as old as 16. I believe they all choose to come here and its great that they have somewhere to go after school and that they have good role models in their lives.

On our way home we stopped at the local market by our house. I stop by everyday so I am getting to know David the owner. I also talk to the fish man, Simon. It’s a real cast of characters, hoping to be able to get a discount on the fish soon. We cooked fish Kabobs for dinner and they were delicious. Its truly amazing how wherever we go in the city and whoever we talk to everyone appreciates us and the work we haven’t even begun to do yet. I am really starting to feel comfortable here, I am not a tourist, I feel like I live here.

Thursday February 4, 2010

Thursday is the last day of the work week here. So we completed our first week of Ulpan class. At the end our teacher was like “Its Thursday, we must sing.” I guess in schools here they sing at the end of the week but I will find out more when I get to my school. At the end of the day we went into the classroom with the other Hebrew class and sang hebrew songs together. Some I knew some I didn’t and she even translated a few very simple songs that we all know like Havanagila and other childhood Hebrew songs. Its amazing how much people sing it and they have no idea what it means. I looked up the meaning and I guess its something like “Let's rejoice and be happy, Let's sing and be happy, Awake, awake, brothers! Awake brothers with a happy heart.” The teacher says well sing more next week…

This afternoon most of us went to check out and volunteer at a local food cupboard. It is an organization where they buy left over fruits and vegetables for very subsidizes rates and then bag them up for people in Ashdod that need help putting food on their tables. This organization was started in honor of a soldier that lived in the area who was killed in the second Lebanon war in the summer of 2006. His friends and family say that he cared about helping everyone around him and would really appreciate this. It is the only volunteer place where the work is physical and you understand in a different way how much of an impact you are making. I think we created over 200 bags of food for the local community. I hope to try to work into my schedule to come here because it only happens once a week, since there were so many of us there it took us just an hour to do so much work. At the end they even let us take home some of the leftover food.

Afterwards I went shopping in the area to try and find some shoes that will be appropriate for me to wear while working in the religious schools. There were a lot of interesting clothing stores that I will have to check out this week.

Tonight we planned to go out for dinner with our whole house. We got a recommendation for a restaurant, Nasim, in the Industrial Port which is supposed to be the trendy going out area. We decided to just order several plates for the table and share everything. The food came out and it was incredible. We had huge Greek salads, chicken kabob, chicken wings, snitzel and pizza. We also ordered a Belgium waffle for the table, everything was incredible. I believe after food and drinks for 10 we only paid 20 dollars a person. We played games, serious and funny, and had a great time getting to know each other a bit better.

Until next time.