Today I had school and Ulpan, its nice to be back in to a routine.
This afternoon I started volunteering at the Marshall center with my friend Allison. Only 2 kids showed up but we had a great time working with them. We taught them clothing, colors and body parts. They were so appreciative of us. We got a call later from the supervisor at the center saying that the kids said that had a great time. Its really nice to get positive feedback for our work because that does not always happen in the schools.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Today we watched a video in Enrichment about the idea of advocating and lobbying for Israel by Alan Dershowitz. It was a truly powerful, sickening and informative movie on the different perpectives and issues that are being dealt with here in the Middle East. It gave some great points that I had never heard of before. If at all interested I recommend the film.
The evening I went for a walk with my friend and we stopped by the makolet (bodega) for some chocolate. The guys who work there were eating some “al ha’aish” chicken and insisted on me trying their last piece, I could not say no. Once again, only in Israel. These are the little things I will miss when I head back to the states.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
The schedule at school is getting more and more sporadic because the students are starting to study and take their Bagrut exams. I helped out with their studying but as I was talking to them English did not seem to be so important, they were much more concerned with their science and technology exams. I worked a bit with the students in the lower levels today and its incredible to see the difference, these students can barely communicate with me.
This afternoon Kineret, our city coordinator, organize a trip to a Bedouin village for us. Through her fathers work her family had become friends with a Bedouin family that live in the Negev on one of the many unrecognized areas by the Israeli government. There is a lot of politics around this because there are several communities of Bedouins which have adapted and receive many services from the Israeli government while there are many that haven’t. We saw a presentation on the Bedouin culture. It is definitely interesting to learn about and I recommend you do some research to learn more about them.
A few things that stuck out to me, they men can have as many as 4 wives, they were nomadic people but with the establishment of states in the Middle East they are no long able to live that way, the male Israeli Bedouins serve in the Army, many stay in it professionally. They women are slowly allowed to be educated but still they get married at a very young age and are not brought out into the public so much. Its really controversial to think about their society. To them it makes sense to protect the women and that women do play a large role in the household and are greatly respected but to us, the western cultures, by marrying more than 1 wife and shielding them from society is not how we respect and honor them. It can be very difficult and interesting to compare cultures.
After the lecture they brought us out some of their tradition food, big laffa bread, labane (delicious Middle Eastern cheese), chummus, Arab Salad and fruit. It was all delicious. When the food was brough out the head of the family, the Imam who spoke with us walked over and took some of the laffa bread to cover the food to keep it warm. Its interesting to me how people can be resourceful in different cultures and in the dessert. Bread is also such an important staple to the Middle Eastern Societies and I notice Jews really treating bread as a holy food as well.
After we ate the Imam told us some stories and gave us an opportunity to ask him questions. We found out he has 3 wifes, I think 18 children and he is unaware of how many grandchildren he has. He is the head of the whole family and is in charge of all of the finances. In Israel for every child you have the government gives you money and the more children you have the more money you get, this seems to help out the orthodox families as well as the Bedouins and other cultures. It is a big problem and drain on the system, I am not sure how much longer it can last like this.
Tonight I headed with some friends to Tel Aviv for the weekend.
Friday, April 30, 2010
Today Anna, Molly, Sarah and I met my friend Dorin for a typical Israeli brunch. Dorin worked at camp with me a few years ago and we still keep in touch. It was nice to see her again and have my friends meet her. Afterwards we walked around Tel Aviv for the afternoon checking out the stories and such.
Anna and I went home for Shabbat dinner with our host families. It was nice to see them again and it was a very quiet, relaxing dinner with just the 3 of us. After Anna and I took a sherut back to Tel Aviv to spend the rest of the weekend.
Saturday, May 1, 2010
This morning Anna, Sarah, Molly and I had a delicious brunch on the beach in Tel Aviv. Its amazing the difference you see between Tel Aviv on Shabbat and the rest of the country. The beaches are packed with people eating, tanning, enjoying family time. It is such a social scene. You could sit at your table all afternoon and no one would ask you to leave for the next group. So much is going on around you but at the same time it is a relaxing way to spend the day. We headed home during the afternoon to rest before Lag BaOmer started tonight.
To be honest I do not much about the holiday but it is supposed to be a happy day that falls between Passover and Shavuot. There was a famous Rabbi many many years ago whom many of his students were sick and they all became better that day. I am not sure where it all ties together but somehow it does. I think over 800,000 Israelis flocked to his grave to celebrate tonight. People all over the country build bon fires, bqq, dance and sing through the night. I walked around the beaches of Ashdod and its was quite the scene. People everywhere with fire build anywhere they could find a nice piece of land, and I am not talking little fire, many were huge bond fires. As I was walking around I bumped into a few of my students who invited my friend Sarah and I to come to their barbeque. We hung out for a bit then headed home. I asked them why they did not have their own bonfire, just a grill, they said, “we are too lazy, we are mekif yud, and if we did make a fire, we would have made it so bit it would cover the parking lot.” Got to love them for their honesty. They really have this Mekif Yuf mentality.
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