There is no school today because it is Lag BaOmer so we had a long Ulpan session today. During the afternoon I went with Aron, one of my housemates, to Café Hillel to catch up on some work and emails. Its so nice sitting in the cafés here and feeling a part of the Israeli society, or at least being able to see what people do on a day to day basis.
Monday, May 3, 2010
Today I went into the alternative school in the morning because my school did not need me to tutor anyone. I showed up and hung out with a guidance counselor for a little while, helping her with paperwork. I could not believe they actually sent me to do her busy work, I will definitely not to that again. Afterwards I went to the English class but there were only 2
students there taking a test so I went home.
This afternoon I went for my second week to volunteer at the Marshall Center. Only one girl showed up but we had a good time with her. We taught her food vocabulary then played some games with the words. She is such a positive, sweet girl. Even if its just her Allison and I enjoy showing up to work with her.
Today MASA held a conference in Jerusalem for all of their programs. They were trying to give us the tools and support to bring back our new knowledge and passion for Israel or to give us information on how to make aliyah. Most of the lectures were not so interesting and I felt like I was stuck in a bad college lecture but one was pretty good. It was a panel of olim (immigrants) and they each told their story of how they came here and what helped them make such a life changing decision. It was interesting to hear their stories and perspectives.
At the end of the evening Benjamin Natanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister, addressed us. It interesting that because its such a small country even though he is extremely busy there are less organizations and conferences asking for his attendance than would be the case in a larger country. MASA is also an off shoot of the Israeli government so it was nice of him to appear. After wards there was a HaDag Nachash concert, which was a lot of fun. They are one of the most popular bands in Israel right now. I even knew a few of the songs which was nice.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Mekif Yud as usual, volunteered at the alternative school this afternoon.
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Today we took a group day trip to Tel Aviv with everyone from Ashdod. We started off at the port of Tel Aviv where we heard about the history of Tel Aviv and the important battles that took place on the beach there. Before Israel was established it was being run by several resistance movements. At times these movements were fighting each other took. A big battle took place on the beaches between Ben Gurion, leading the Haganah (later becoming the IDF) and Begin, leading the Irgun which later joined up to be a part of the IDF. In the end Ben Gurion and his followers proved more successful therefore becoming the basis of the IDF and the foundation of the state of Israel.
Afterwards we walked to Rabin Square and learned a lot of the history about Yitzchak Rabin. Also a war hero who took part in many important wars in Israel’s history. We ended the day at teh Palmach museum, learning what it was really like to be a part of such a unique resistance movement in the 1940's.
This weekend we have an organized Oranim trip to Eilat. Today we left Ashdod very early in the morning to head down south. Our first stop was a hike in the middle of the Negev. The first part of it we climbed ladders and ropes until we got to the top of the mountain, then we walked along the top for a while and the last part we were climbing down through what was an old river bed. It was a really nice, yet challenging hike. The weather is definitely starting to warm up, especially the further south you go. We headed to Eilat to get ready for Shabbat and then went out for the night.
Saturday, May 8, 2010
This morning I went with a group of people to snorkel in the Red Sea. There is a section of the Sea marked off as a nature reserve and it was incredible to see the fish that were there. The views from everywhere were beautiful. I am not sure I have ever been to a beach town surrounded by mountains. The colors are truly beautiful with the red rock mountains and bright blue water. Afterwards I went to hang out at a beach restaurant. They have this floating raft in front of the beach where people can swim out to. We met some nice Israelis from Tel Aviv who were down for the weekend.
Its amazing how you look out of the beach and see Jordan and the largest Jordanian flag flying. What a crazy place. I personally do not think Eilat is anything amazing but for them its an escape and a quick vacation, to me coming from upstate NY just being on the beach in Tel Aviv is enough of an escape or vacation.
After havdallah Oranim planned a party for all the participants at a local bar. I went to dinner with a bunch of friends at a tasty restaurant and then we headed to the party for a bit. It was nice to see everyone together but many of us headed back early to get some sleep for our busy day tomorrow.
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Afterwards we drove up to Sde Boker, the kibbutz where Ben Gurion spent his last few years and where he chose to be buried. He is a truly fascinating man, who can be compared to the many great leaders of the 20th century and I highly recommend you learn more about him. I cannot do justice to his life in my blog but one thing I do find very interesting about him is that he was born in Russia and along with his friends he started to speak Hebrew and teach the language to those in his youth group. He clearly always had a love for Judaism and a homeland for the Jews. Many say because of the hard choices he made in the 1940’s and especially the Independence War made it possible for there to exist a Jewish state and that it has survived this long. At the grave there were many soldiers there with their brigades. They are brought there for ceremonies throughout their service to the country.
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