The Balagan (Craziness) of Mekif Yud and Shabbat in The Negev

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

I headed to school this morning early completely assuming that we would not leave on time and what do you know I think we left almost 2 hours late. We boarded the buses, 1 all girls, 1 all boys and a mixed bus, the principal told them to drink lots of water and “to come and go in peace.” I decided that I would not listen to my ipod so I did not seem unsocial and if any of the students wanted to talk they would come over. Very soon after I realized that there was no chance I would even be able to listen to my ipod. The students were blasting their music over the bus and screaming any song that came to their mind. My advisor, Sania, said to me, I wonder when the bus driver will tell them to quiet down as if its his responsibility. That is the mentality. The other teacher on the bus kept a list of which students could go on the microphone to sing (scream) next. I am shocked I did not have a pounding headache the entire weekend.

At our first rest stop I got out to talk to Jordan about what was going on on his bus. The boys were making more chaos that I could imagine, lighting off fire crackers, smoking and god only knows what else. At this point I knew I was in for a real treat these next 3 days. We headed up North to go hiking. In Israel they do not go on school trips for educational purposes, I think it is basically to give the kids a chance to get rid of their energy. The first hike we went on was in “Tel Yisrael.” There was a beautiful view as we walked down a mini trail to a little pond where the students ate their snacks and danced to their music.

Afterward we headed to another hike. It was a rocky trail that led down the center of two mountains. There were some really beautiful views as we climbed down. Today was when I really got a firsthand glimpse of how disrespectful some Israelis are of their environment. The students would just blatantly leave their garbage wherever we were. I helped our security guard pick up some trash as we hiked hoping to encourage the girls to help us.

The next place we went to was a natural spring called Harod’s Stream. We went there to eat our lunch, snack and some of the girls even jumped in. Because it is a religious school they pretty much had to swim in their clothes. Everyone kept asking me why I was not going in as if it was more important for me to swim than themselves.

We headed to the hotel which was on a Kibbutz on Lake Kinneret by Tiberus. We got off the buses in the late afternoon and to no surprise I was not in my room until after dark. Some of our male students wanted to room with Jordan and the teachers were okay with that, I thought it was a bit weird but whatever. A little while later I find out that there are 2 students, me, 2 national service volunteers, 2 female tour guides and a few teachers that need to be split up. The students wanted to be with me and some of the teachers did not want to be together, I was trying to get all of the drama with my Hebrew, and it ended up that I was in a room with 2 students and 2 teachers. Now it seems normal and okay to me but obviously that would never happen in the states.

We had dinner together and then there was karaoke. This is when the real craziness began. All of the students can basically drink and what not as long as they are not caught by the teachers. So the boys were a bit out of control and chaotic. They had to dance separately because of the religious school and they are very innocent in their dancing but crazy none the less. The girls were just starting for a while, calling them all baboons instead of boys. One of my students, Yarden, was so sweet to me. She made sure I had a place to sit and danced with me. You can really see the hospitality in the students even when they are young. She did everything she could to make me feel welcomed. The kids love hearing my accent so they convinced me to sing Celion Dion with them to the karaoke, I am a horrible singer but they still enjoyed it.

At the dance one of the teachers told me I was on for the 3:30 – 4:30 shift to watch the students. She was crazy to think that I should or could do anything to control these kids. At 3:30 there was a knock on my door from the National Service girls that volunteer at our school waking me up for my shift. Jordan did not get up so one of them stayed up with me for the hour. Basically we just tried to keep the boys out of the girls area as best we could. I was half asleep and almost frightened to think that boys were going to come from any direction on this hotel compound to try and see the girls. Then when they actually came I could barely use my Hebrew or English to keep them under control. Thankfully that hour ended pretty quickly but I am NEVER doing that again.

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

The morning came and all of the drama started to unravel. One of the boys had opened up a fire extinguisher on another room, windows were broken, rooms were disgusting and I can only imagine what else. There were rumors that the hotel was going to kick us out and that some of the students were going to be sent home. When the chaos was being discussed one boy decided to light off fire works in front of the hotel and the police were called. After almost 4 hours of debating and organizing 16 male students were sent home in cabs from the North and we had to leave the hotel for the second night. They only place me with the 5 point (smarter) students so none of mine misbehaved to bad to be sent home which was good.

When we finally left we drove further up North to the Golan Heights for a Jeep tour around the area and the Jordan river. Yarden invited me to ride with her friends which was a good time. The driver said to them please sing and have fun but do not scream. Obviously they were screaming and singing songs the entire time and barely would quite down to listen to what he had to say. It was a beautiful and fun ride along the river. We stopped to take some pictures which these girls love to do and enjoy some more snacks. The snacks were starting to get out of control. No matter what time of day, as soon as we stop doing something all of a sudden they all have food in their hands and are all offering everyone around them. Ice cream in the morning, gummies, bamba, you name it.

Afterward we stopped at a famous Rabbis grave on Lake Kinnert where there is a synagogue and shops set up. We were they for a while and those who wanted to pray or shop had time to do so. One of the students had to leave the trip from there for her brother bar mitzvah tomorrow which led to a whole commotion delaying our time even further. She was nervous to travel home by herself but the organizer of the trip said she knew what she was getting herself into when she came and they were not sending a teacher back with her, she cried enough and on the of the national services girls went back to Ashdod with her.

We finally made it to the new hotel which happened to be very nice with better food so we all thought the chaos was a blessing in disguise. At night we drove 40 minutes to Tiberius and went out on the Namal (port). I hung out with some girls by the water. Its really interesting getting to talk to all of them. Many of the students my school are recent immigrants from France which is really interesting. I guess the anti-Semitism is pretty bad there and many Jews have moved in recent years. Some of them were saying that their fathers stayed behind and they only get to see them a few times a year. I am guessing they make more money there than they would here in Israel.
We headed back to the hotel; I hung out with the kids a bit and went to bed. There was no word of a shift tonight so I got to sleep a bit more which was nice.

Thursday, March 11, 2010

This morning we headed to hike in the Gilbon Stream and Devorah’s waterfall, which was a hike, I had done a few weeks ago with my program. We stopped for some snacks on the way and I was surprised to see how many of them got ice cream at 10 in the morning, teachers and students. I was thinking maybe because they keep kosher and usually have meat for dinner that they can never enjoy ice cream then do they do it in the morning. One of the girl was about to put her trash on the ground and I stopped her and explained why she should not do that. Maybe something clicked with her because she then proceeded to tell me that when her family made aliyah from France 8 years ago when she landed she kissed the ground. I said this is the same ground and lets try to not liter anymore. If I changed one persons mind about littering I feel accomplished for the day.

The hike was really nice. Some of the girls went swimming, again questioning me why I am not going in. One of the girls said in Hebrew “why are you not answering the water?” It is really interesting how unique Hebrew is the way it translates sometimes. As if I should be having a dialog with water, after all it is very important here in Israel and the Middle East. The girls sang and snacked and took photos. The 3 themes of the trip.

At the end of the hike we managed to lose 3 students and the chaos continued. At this point I had had enough and was starting to get really fed up. The girls were all screaming, crying, littering and I was ready to go home. Some how we found them and left the park. We stopped for a snack and I continually got irritated by the way people were talking to me, the lack of lines, charging me extra for stupid tic tacs and do not even know what else. We stopped for a quick dinner and made it back to Ashdod. Its amazing how much changed for me in those 3 days. I left knowing a few students and came back with a bus load of friends. As crazy as they are they are all loving, fun, energetic people. I am glad I had this experience in the beginning of my time working with them rather than the end because it will help me when I go back to school with them on Sunday. I have always been bad a being patient but I think this trip taught me a lot. I now have no expectations for anything I do here and will not be nearly surprised by the lack of organization, the extreme chaos or the friendly, loving, all for one, one for all sense of community that exists here. I said goodbye to them and headed home.

I got home and quickly rearranged my bags, showered and headed off to Tel Aviv with Anna and Molly. We made it there by 11ish and went out with a Sarah, Chaya and Mollys friends in Medical school that we were staying with. We walked around trying different places out. First we tried to get into this bar that’s entrance was inside of a frozen yogurt shop but there was a line. One of the boys got a crep there and we headed to the Namal (Port). One of the Israelis that will be at camp this summer met up with us at the bar; he seems really nice and I look forward to meeting up with him again in Israel. It is always a fun adventure going out in Tel Aviv.

Friday, March 12, 2010

This morning we woke up really early to catch a bus in Tel Aviv to spend Shabbat in Arad, an Artist community in the desert, as part of a MASA program. Its was a beautiful drive down and our first stop was in a Bedouin town Hula. We met with 4 leaders in the small community and talked about the Bedouins, their culture and their relationship with Israel. They said they consider themselves first Muslim, second Arab and thirdly Israeli. They told us how the role of women is dramatically changing for the better and they are being given many more opportunities in the society. The men are permitted to be polygamous but many choose to only have one wife. In regards to the Isreali Knesset or Parliament, if all the Bedouins in Israel voted for the same person they would have the representation of one member of the 120 members that serve. There has been a lot of controversies over recognized towns and unrecognized areas where the Bedouins live in Israel and the government is working to fix the problem. Its difficult because they used to be wandering people but once the Middle East was carved out into countries they had to start changing their entire lifestyle and stop or minimize their nomadic culture.

After we headed to a kibbutz very close by called Cranim. It is a very young kibbutz that has only recently started to grow in the past 5 years. Their main beliefs are to be ecologically friendly and to promote pluralism, coexisting with secular and religious Jews. The kibbutz started with just 12 families and is now reaching up to 40. Their main source of income is a winery they have, other agriculture and cabins that can be rented by tourists.

(The structures with tires in them are made of garbage sealed with mud. This is how they make a lot of sustainable art, benches and play sculptures).

(Me, Anna and Molly, the view of the desert from the Kibbutz)

The member who talked to us and showed us around had actually made aliyah from Massachusetts just a few years back with his wife and kids. On the tour he showed us the kindergartens, which are very important to them. Each morning the kids if they are religious pray or if they are secular have a discussion circle and besides that they keep them mixed for the rest of the activities. There are no streets or cars on the kibbutz so the children grow up free to do what they please and go where they want. He said there is no such thing as a play date, you just go over to your friends house and play with them. He is worried to bring his kids to the city because they will not understand the concept of looking where you are going when you cross the street. Your homes are given to you by the size of your family and because they are growing very quickly many of them live in temporary housing called caravans.

The are located very close to the West Bank and Gaza Strip. During the war in Gaza last winter it was very traumatic for the kids because they are used to living this quiet serene life and when all of a sudden a siren goes off and they have to go run and hide it become very foreign to them. The guide really encouraged the word "Pioneer" because that is how people see themselves when they come to start new communities, especially in the desert. It was really interesting to see how this kibbutz got started and that its growing so quickly because people are passionate about the mission statements. They showed us artwork and pay sculptures that they make out of mud and recycled garbage and each family had a compost for everything that they create. They also host a lot of programs on the kibbutz with the local Bedouin communities to teach coexistence and how work together. These children grow up very sheltered in many ways but very educated in other ways. It was a bit shocking for me to travel with Israelis who do not respect the land or environment at all to people who give their lives to live in economically friendly ways.

Afterward we headed to Arad to meet at a community center to learn about the issues the community faces. Many believe the quality of life is better in the “periphery” of Israel and people are much more content there, especially if that is where they have chosen to live but there are far fewer opportunities in these communities, especially for young people. The center tries to help people from the ages of 18-35 to get them into higher education and also have them return back to Arad, not leave for the bigger cities. They help them find jobs and a social life in the city.

Arad was the first planned city in 1962 with 26,000 people living in it. It started off as a community where you had to apply and be accepted to come live. When they planned the area they built the industrial area on a separate hill and used the wind patterns to make sure they were not affected by the pollution in the residential areas.

We were assigned to host families for dinner and headed to the hotel for Shabbat. I was with Aron and we headed over to our house after we got ready. It was quite a walk but it was beautiful, the town is so small that everyone has a nice view of the desert from wherever they live.

They were the loveliest family. It was parents who were about 40 and their 3 girls, 18, 17 and 15 and their grandmother who seemed very young. It is amazing how comfortable you can feel in a complete strangers house. The mother is back in school and the father works doing things with minerals in the Dead Sea which is very close by. The mother was telling me about a volunteer group she started in the area where parents walk around the parks at night in red t-shirts just to talk with the kids. They do not tell them what to do but have become friends with them and role models for them since the program started. They were all very pleasantly surprised how quickly the kids became receptive to them. This reflects the trouble they have with the kids in Arad because there is really no social scene for them so its easy for them to get into trouble.

They also told me about a ceremony the area has in honor of a soldier who fell in the Lebanon War in 1982. In honor of him they have a day off from school which happened to be today and all of the students walk from Arad to the Dead Sea in his honor with balloons and they have a ceremony where his parents come every year. Its so special how connected people are in the army and how much they value each other and their service to the country.

I really do believe there is a good quality of life in these smaller areas. I have never met such a happy, lovely family. The parents were so affectionate and were such good role models for their daughters.


Saturday, March 13, 2010

This morning I woke up with Anna to go to a local Ethiopian synagogue. We got there in the middle of the Torah service which seemed to take forever but it was really interesting to notice the similarities and differences in the service and synagogue from others I have seen. The men and woman sat separately and the women all had these white talis looking cloths on them. They all had their hair covered in decorative scarves but there really weren’t any young people on the woman’s side. They had several clocks up in the building but all manages to have the wrong time. I am not sure if that is on purpose or not, maybe one day I will figure it out.

As I sat there I realized how special and unique it is that my cousin Jake was getting bar-mitzvahed that same day and would be reading the same Torah portion. It is amazing to think about the consistency of the culture and religion despite all of the differences.

We came back to have a light breakfast and shortly after a lunch with local Israelis. The Israelis are on a program and all chose to take time off before the army to volunteers. They are on a unique program that joins religious and secular Jews to work together and volunteer. Its interesting to me that they would want to give an extra year before their service, its amazing how much time they give to their country.

In the afternoon we headed to an area of the town where the artists live and work. On the way there Anna and I talked with one of the leaders Netanel. He is Israeli but has very good English. It was nice to get his perspective on things. He happens to be a triathlete and so we said we would go up to Tiberius and see him in one in May. We talked a lot about the idea of center versus periphery. Is it a state of mind or location? What is the difference of growing up in one or the other or choosing to specifically move from one to the other? It’s a big debate here and really effects how people thing about their lives and ways of life.

(The "Earth" Exhibit - each tile has a different Hebrew phrase referring to earth one it)

When we got to the art area we heard from the couple who run the studio. They said how there is this big competition in the art world in the "center" and its very hard for people who do not live there to compete. So they figured they should create an art center for themselves and help bring people to Arad in the dessert where art has a whole new meaning. People laughed at them and said it would fail after 2 years but the studio is going strong about 8 years later. He said that art is not about being tall and dominating, especially in the desert. Its about blending in and not even being able to see the whole thing from one perspective. People ask him to make large oblique figures and he thinks they are crazy and only think about power.

His wife talked about this idea of being inspired in the desert which is the case for many religions and people. They are all about using products from the earth and are trying very hard to do so. She also talked about how unique Hebrew as a language is. The word for man is Adam and earth is Adama. Man comes from earth and returns to earth and has many other important relations to the earth. The word for desert is Midbar and the work to speak is midaber. The desert speaks to people. It is not this empty place, it is a place where people go to be inspired. She had some incredibly inspiring and symbolic art including these plaques of all of these phrases that the Hebrew language uses with the word land, I think 43 in all. She said that she is shocked that the Jews left their land for over 2000 years but have all of these phrases surrounded by the word land. She had an feminine exhibit, focusing on the female body and such. She believes that each person had some feminine and masculine in them and people are choosing all to much to invoke their masculine side. She believe if people would use the feminine more the Middle East conflict would not be how it is today.

Afterward we had a quick discussion\wrap up debating once again the idea of center verses periphery. I am concluding that it a mix between the 4 combinations of location and state of mind. We also discussed where would we want to live and what the differences are between the US and Israel center and periphery. We had a quick havdallah service than dinner.

We got on the bus back home and they dropped us Ashdod off at a interchange on the side of the road which is normal in Israel. We waited forever for a bus and were about to hail cabs when Molly used her new Hebrew skills to miraculously catch us a bus headed to Ashdod. We looked like crazy American desperately running after the bus. The route ended and we were the only ones left on the bus so the drive decided to take us all the way home. It was very nice of him. When we tell people we are volunteers its amazing the things they will do for us.

(This piece represens how the artists past is tied down and has already happened but his future is free and he has the choice to do what he pleases and go in whatever direction he so chooses)

It was a great weekend and nice to meet new people. Mijal who is my advisor for the leadership seminar in Jerusalem was a staff member this weekend as well so it was nice to get to spend time with her as well, she is really a sweetheart and I love working with her. Its nice to be able to connect to people wherever I go.

It is wonderful to be home after a week of traveling…

Sunday March 14, 2010

Today was an incredible day. One of my best yet in the schools. I arrived at school and was greeted by all of the students I had traveled with last weekend. Its so nice to have a new relationship with them. The 10th graders I was supposed to work with were studying for a test or something so I decided to go to a presentation that was being held for the 11th graders by the Israeli army. I walk in and there is a poster set up of an Israeli soldier named Shlomi Cohen and candles lit on the ground. The students were pretty rude as usual until they started to play a movie about Shlomi, his life and his service to the country. It was a bit hard for me to understand but I think my Hebrew is slowly improving (li’at li’at, slowly slowly) as the Israelis say. By the images the video showed and the students reactions it was pretty obvious what was going on. He was a very lovable guy, always worrying about and caring for those who he was in charge of. It said that he used to spend the holidays with his soldiers and once when he didn’t his mother as why he was so upset and he said its because he felts guilty that he has such a close family while many who he works with doesn’t. It was clear that his family, friends and co-workers thought very highly of him. A terrorist killed him as he was in pursuit of a terrorist himself. He was only 1 week away from finishing the army. He family said that he had mentioned that if he had served he did not know if he would survive so he chose to not marry anyone. One of his 2 surviving siblings was his twin sister, they showed clips of her at a memorial ceremony on their birthday, I cannot imagine spending my birthday like that for the rest of my life.

To say the least it was very powerful and many of the students I was sitting with were crying throughout the movie. It is amazing that we have no comparison to this in America. We are too big to know about what is happening to others in our country, especially those in our military. It was interesting that the military chooses to bring this video on tour. I am concluding they are trying to convince the students that they should want to go to serve, not feel as though they are being forced and are not interested in serving. It was a very powerful experience to be a part of.

After I went with the 10th grade boys. I had 2 students who were advanced and 2 who could barely understand what I was saying. I worked on vocabulary with them but it was difficult with their level difference, I talked to the teacher about it and hopefully she can come up with a schedule to meet the needs of the students.

After lunch I was talking to one of my 11th grade boys Dror and asked him why I didn’t see him at the movie, he said he didn’t want to go which made me very curious. It turns out he has diabetes so he is exempt from service but is choosing to serve 2 years doing community service. It is amazing how different his experience will be from his friends and their perspectives on the military. It is interesting that he felt no obligation to watch the video. I think he knows what he wants and what he has do to and does not need anyone to reinforce anything for him.

In the afternoon I worked with the 11th grade boys. My teacher sent me out with 3 but Dror convinced the teacher to let him come as well. I think he really appreciates the opportunity to have interesting conversations together, especaially because his English is so good. The boys have really warmed up to me over the past few weeks and are much better behaved in front of me. We talked about a lot of interesting topics together including their plans for the week that they have off before Passover, being Jewish in America, the difference between the pressures that young adults have in both countries and how Israel is like a western nation and how it differs from America. Its amazing that these boys could understand my English and have such deep conversations together. I really feel like I am starting to be helpful to their English and its been wonderful to be able to open them up to what America is really like and the differences of being Jewish in different places. Two of the boys will be working in a local park during their pre-Passover vacation so I said I would come visit them. I hope to be able to go.

There is a break before the last class so I hung out with the students in the courtyard. I got to know many of them on the trip but I do not work with their level so it was nice to be able to spend some time and catch up with them. I cannot tell you how loving and sweet they are too me. Everyone is excited to see me wherever I go, I think they really appreciate me being there.

My last class was with the 11th grade girls. They had a test and then I went to speak with 3 of them. One of my students was kicked out of class for talking or something that I couldn’t understand but she decided to join our conversation, its nice to know she’d rather talk with us than go home. I asked all of them to give me their first impressions of what America is like and I will tell them if they are correct or not. They thought of a lot of cars, tall buildings, famous people and large amounts of food. They are correct in many ways but I explained to them that many of these stereotypes are just in certain areas of the country and how life really is in America. I also asked them of their impressions of the Army video and they made it seem like its just to inform them and they all have to go anyways. They said they see videos like this a lot and one of the girls got very defensive, making it seem like I was calling the video propaganda. It was a very interesting, powerful story that I believe is important for people to know about but others would call this propaganda. Its very interesting being a part of this country, feeling the America, Jewish and Israeli perspectives.

This afternoon I had Ulpan and we talked for a while about Passover and the meanings behind it, I cannot believe the holiday is coming up so quickly. I am very excited to spend the holiday in Israel and looking forward to this unique experience.

(Please feel free to send me your feedback or advice, blogs are one way communication and I'd love to hear what you guys are thinking.)