Pesach in Israel, Spring is Here

Monday, March 29, 2010

I went for a run this afternoon and in a few areas there were people having last min barbeques so they could eat their last bread products and not get their houses dirty. I headed over for the seder after sunset. It was a nice group, their neighbors, Miri, Yitzi, Itay and Gabby, (a girl from my program) joined us and it was Zahavah’s brother, son and 3 kids, one is married, and one of Zahavah’s daughters, Shlomit, who is a flight attendant who lives in America.

At the same time the seder was very different from what I am used to it was also very similar. A lot of tunes in general were different. When they read the story of the Jews leaving Egypt the men basically chanted it but they all know what they are saying so its not that big of a deal. During the reading many people were just in their own worlds talking to each other or what not, similarly to what many of you may be familiar with. They asked me to read some of the Hebrew so I thought they were going to go around the table but it either did not make it past me or I was the only one they were going to ask to read. It was a lot of pressure having a dozen Israelis listen to you read but I did pretty well and I think they were all shocked.  It was funny, amusing, flattering and embarrassing all at the same time. For the 10 plagues they do something very different. Zahavah and Miriam brough a big bowl to the table and for each plague one dumped a bit of wine and the other dumped some water into the bowl. After wards they left the apartment building and dumped it on the grass and walked away backwards from it. Maybe one day ill ask what it was all about but I really have no idea as of now. At one point in the seder they took this plate of matzoh and they sing a song and go around the room holding the plate over different peoples heads, I also have no idea what it was about.

In regards to the food there were many differences. The charoset had this jam like texture and I think it was made mostly with dates, I ate it and did not even realize until the end of the seder when I asked why there was no charost that that’s what it was. They did not really have eggs like we do in the states and besides a small piece of matzoh they did not really eat much with the meal. They make these bread rolls that were eaten. When we started the meal we each got an entire fish on our plate, holy shit it was big and filled with bones, it was pretty good. There was no gefilte fish, matzoh ball soup or kugles but there was rice, we ate slowly and enjoyed each others company for hours at table. When I would stand up to try and clear something they would say no do not rush the meal and you are our guest please do not clean up.  People were really interesting to hear what I was doing in Israel and like many other Israelis that I have met they were upset to hear that I came here and had to basically support myself. They think its crazy we would come here to help and not get more compensation. “Kol Hakavod” they all say. I headed home after midnight, what an eventful evening. Over all it was a very fun experience and I am looking forward to the rest of the holiday in Israel and with my host family.

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

I slept in the next morning and went back to Zahavah’s for a big traditional lunch. I got there after 1 and we all started watching the video of their granddaughters wedding from January. Its amazing how they celebrate here, like everything else its very casual but the music, decorations and food seem over the top. Tons of energy, excitement and dancing.

The traditional meal passover meal is a barbeque so you eat a lot of the usual salads they eat for Shabbat and such and then they just continually were grilling, hot dogs, chicken, sausages, beef parts (many of which I was not familiar with and tried to avoid). It was a very relaxed afternoon. Considering how many people were in the apartment there was no arguing, tension or disagreements. No offense to my family but I do know if we could survive for such a long meal in such close quarters. Everyone is relaxed and helping when they need but there is no rush to move on to the next course or anything. Its simply about enjoy the time and food together. It seems like they really can separate their normal lives and stresses to just enjoy the idea of these holidays and family time. Some of the men started talking to me about Obama and the issues he is having with Israel which actually made me pretty uncomfortable for the first time since I have been here. I understand where these people are coming from but its very hard to explain myself to them when we are coming from such different perspectives. They hate him. No questions asked. They showed me Obama’s plan for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and yes I disagree with many of the points but I don’t think its so black and white and I honestly do not think Obama will ever be able to pass through some of his ideas.

People slowly went to the couches and bedrooms to take a nap and suddenly the apartment was so quiet. I spend the rest of the afternoon talking with Zahavah and Miriam about the differences between Passover in Israel and in the States. I told them about all of the differences with the food, a lot of it is because of the Ashkenazi food that I am used to and a lot is just how people celebrate in Israel verses outside of Israel. I told them about kugels and they said they wanted to try what we cook so I am going to make them a noodle kugel (yes, Matt, your recipe) after the holiday. Miri said if she likes it she will make it herself, so it better turn out good, she’s hard to impress, they are both good cooks.

I got home and went with Molly and Chaya to watch the sunset over the water. It was a beautiful end to a delightful and relaxing day.

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

This morning Molly, Sarah and I went for a day trip adventure to the Negev (desert) with and Israeli friend. The drive to Sde Boker (the Kibbutz where Ben Gurion is buried) took us about 2 and a half hours. Its really incredible how quickly the landscape changes and how small the country actually is. As much as I have traveled this country I am still constantly surprised. We drove south past Ashkelon which is literally a few miles south of us and then we drive past an area called Sderot. It is a community that has been constantly hit by rockets during the fighting with Hamas in Gaza.

In the area we also pass a place called Netzarim. In 2005 when Israel pulled out of the Gush Katif settlements in Gaza all of the Jews were replaced to this community called Netzarim. This was a very emotional experience for there people, many of them being Orthodox Zoinists practically being forced from their homes. My friend Philip was in the army at the time and was one of the soldiers who was a part of this operation. He said it was a very emotional and difficult experience. Its really amazing how close Gaza and all of these communities are. 

We went on a hike near Sde Boker that I had done before but it was a beautiful day to be outside enjoying the weather and company of many other Israelis who are out enjoying the outdoors. Afterwards we went to ancient ruins from the 2nd century called Shivta. It was literally in the middle of no where and you could see nothing in any directions. Its amazing how these civilizations functioned in the desert without all of the technology and comforts we have today.

We went to the shuk for some of the usuals. I stopped by a makolet (bodga) tonight and it was the first time I had tried to go shopping since Passover started. Its really amazing how they prepare for Passover, there is paper or plastic blocking off entire shelves but its also surprising how many of the day to day foods are kosher for Passover that you cannot really find in America. Since I have been here I notice the seal on so many common items and now I realize that it just makes sense to make things kosher for Passover all year if they are not bread products (candies and stuff) because then you don’t have to clean your factory or change much for Passover.


Thursday, March 1, 2010

This morning I relaxed on our roof with Sarah and Molly. Most of our roommates have left to travel over the holiday and its so nice being in a quiet house. We decided to go to Tel Aviv to have dinner with 2 Israeli friends of Sarah’s. They took us to a restaurant that was not kosher for Passover but served Matzoh. They were not keeping Passover and many people in Israel especially Tel Aviv, do not keep it either. I was pretty surprised. I said to them, we would do anything to celebrate Passover each year in Israel and he said, we would do anything to spend it in America, its funny how things work, you always want what you cannot have.

Friday, March 2, 2010

I made plans to cook with Zahavah today so I could see how she makes her traditional Moroccan fish and take some of her recipes. I showed up and the fish was frozen and her brother, Uri, and his son, Shlomi, where there for Shabbat from Tsfat so I went on errands with them in the city. Before we left she gave me some snack to try. It was basically a potato pancake but instead of potatoes it was matzoh, (Crushed matzoh, onion, egg, salt, pepper), she then fried them up in oil and you could add salt or sugar to your taste. I have to admit they were pretty good. After the snack we were on our way to run errands. Errands with Israelis I have learned are much different than errands with Americans. They are possibly looking for a few things but if the store is closed or they cannot find what they want they just kind of meander around. No rushing, no worries. I do not know about you but I do know the last time I went shopping with out a mission. After wards we headed to the kishatot, an area on the beach where you can go for food or a coffee, and we hung out for a while.  We talked a lot about the differences between Israeli and American culture, especially the lifestyle difference and the lack of pressure they exists here.

We headed home and I helped Zahavah cook a lot of the food for tonight’s Shabbat dinner. I am not sure if its this crazy every week but she had a few hours before Shabbat but had tons of cooking. I made Passover rolls for her with the help of her brother translating the recipe, I helped her make this eggplant spread we have every week, very glad to watch her so I can try it at home. Finally we got to the fish, this time she used whole pieces which was a bit intimidating but it was fun. Her daughter says she always tries to copy the recipe but the spices and vegetables just are not the same in the states. We will see what happens when I get home. Zahavah knew that I liked matzoh balls so she decided to make a few for us at the last minute as well. Its amazing how much prepping goes into Shabbat every week. I was talking to Miri and she told me that every little salads they eat they make each week, I have been wondering if at least some of store bought but that is not the case.

A group of people were at the beach so I went there quickly to enjoy the sunset before dinner. It is so nice to be able to live on the water and have such wonderful weather.

It was nice to go back and have Shabbat dinner after spending the day cooking with them. I think Zahavah really appreciated the help. She used to not let me even help clear the table but now she lets me help her which makes me feel really comfortable there, I am not just a guest anymore.

Saturday, April 3, 2010

This morning Molly, Sarah and I left for a hike in the Negev. One of the boys we met in Tel Aviv for dinner the other night invited us to go camping with his friends. He picked us up and we all met in Be’er Sheva, the biggest city on the way to the desert to get groceries for the next 2 days. Then we headed down for a hike near Mitzpe Ramon. It was a hike in an old river bed. There was sand on the bottom of the mini canyon the whole hike. It was like nothing I had ever seen before. We stopped for lunch in the middle of the hike, surprisingly I was one of the few people keeping Passover but deli on matzoh is pretty good. 

The sun was setting as we finished the hike and headed to set up camp. They found this campground on the side of a mountain over looking Machtesh Ramon, the Ramon crator. It was absolutely beautiful. They were in no rush to eat so we just set up our tents and hung around two of the guys played music. For dinner we cooked an Israeli stew which they do when they hike. They use a pokepot which looks exactly like a witches cauldron. Basically they put anything and everything in it, vegetables, rice, spices, sometimes meats and just let it slow cook over the fire. It was pretty good. One of the family camped next to use gave us their extras and all of the Israelis said the family’s was much better, it tasted just like Zahavah’s chullent if you ask me. We hung around the campfire all night, singing and enjoying the outdoors. It was one of the most relaxing and enjoyable nights yet in Israel.

Sunday, April 4, 2010

We woke up and made homemade shakshukah for breakfast. I am glad I got to watch them cook it, now I think I can go home and do it myself. It seems pretty easy. This morning we did a much more serious hike up Mount Ardon. We climbed up the side of a mountain and had an amazing view of the crater. In the very traditional Israeli way we found some shade and made hot coffee as we enjoyed the view and a nice breeze. The hike down was not such a piece of cake, it was a long, narrow, jagged trail down. When we got to the bottom the texture of the terrain totally changed. You really felt like you were walking along the bottom of an ocean just without the water, there was sand and little plants everywhere. We walked for a while until we hit another mini mountain and climbed that as well. It was one of the best hikes I had ever done. Towards the end we stopped and enjoyed lunch in the shade. We had all carried parts of the meal in our bags and it was amazing what a feast was created, deli, pita, matzoh, corn, pickles, coleslaw, hummus. Israelis sure know how to picnic.

After the hike we headed home because starting at sunset was the last night of Passover where it is traditional to have a family dinner again. I went over and celebrated with my host family. Their daughter, Shlomit, was back again from the states, she worked a flight to Israel and was able to stay for a night until she worked another flight home. Its nice having a family to come back to spend the holidays with and eat real home cooked food.


Monday, April 5, 2010

Today was the last day of Passover. It is traditional for families all over to barbeque. According to Jewish law the first and last day of Passover (like many other holidays) are celebrated with the rules of Shabbat more or less. But one thing you are allowed to do is “transfer fire,” you cannot create it but you can transfer it fro m an already lit source so it has become tradition to barbeque. I went over to eat with Zahavah and her daughter who flew back for a day. This time we went next door and had lunch with Miri, Itsy, Itay and one of his friends. There were barbequed hot dogs, chicken wings, steaks, French fries, the usual salads. What a feast.

This afternoon Anna and I went for a walk. The weather is really starting to heat up and its nice to life near the beach so there is always a breeze.

This evening I celebrated a holiday that I never knew existed, called Mimoona. It is a Moroccan holiday that celebrates the end of Passover. People cover their tables with unbelievable amounts of cookies and treats and invite all of their friends over. People jump from house to house and share in the festivities together. There is also Moroccan dancing, which we watched a bit of on TV. The highlight of the night are these treats call mufletas. They are crêpe like pancakes that they cook up and eat with honey, butter and jam inside.  I invited Anna to come with me, we went to my host families and saw Zahavah make the crêpes. They flatten out little balls of dough and cover them in oil. You put one down on a pan and cook it most of the way through, after you flip it you put another one on top and keep flipping the pile and adding to it. Because of the oil it doesn’t stick and it works out perfectly. I hate so many sweets tonight, I think I am done with deserts for a while. I got to meet some more of Zahavah and Amram’s family, visitors were constantly stopping by. I think there is a rule that you do not stay at one persons house for more than 30 minutes or something. I guess people are getting upset because like many other holidays its becoming very political, the politicians love to come out and make a scene. Nonetheless, it was an enjoyable experience.

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Today we had Ulpan all morning to make up for some lessons that had been cancelled in the past. It was nice to spend a large chuck of the day reviewing and learning. Over break there would be large chucks of time where I spoke no Hebrew because I was only with people from my program.

In the afternoon Anna, Ariela and I rode our bikes to a big concert that was happening in Ashdod in honor of Mimoona. There was a big park with a stage set up, and just like the rest of the holiday everyone barbeques. People are not joking around here. They literally pack up chairs, tables, grills, table clothes, food for an army (I even saw a baby crib) and hang out cooking and eating with their family. There were secular Jews and religious alike. One thing that I found particularly funny was at the beginning of the concert they asked the parents to keep track of their children so they did not have to make announcements throughout the event. Only in Israel would that not be obvious. It was a beautiful day and a pleasure to spend outside relaxing with friends.

For enrichment we began talking about the Holocaust and its relation to Israel because of our upcoming trip to Yad Vashem, Israel’s Holocaust Memorial and the Memorial holidays in the next week or so. We had a survivor, Mike Schwartz, come to talk to us about his experience. He grew up in Poland and was sent to work camps with his father. He became part of this group of young boys that were transported all over Europe for different jobs.

At the end of the war the whole group of young boys were brought to Palestine on the Joshua Wedgewood ship to get schooling and make lives for themselves, I am sure almost all of them were orphans. He was hurt while working and needed to be sent to America for eye surgery. He was asked if he had any family in the states and he remembered is father telling him years ago to always remember they had family in Paterson, NJ (where my family happened to be from as well). So he was sent to the states to live with his uncle he had never met and to get his eye fixed. He started his life there, got married and had children. Years later her returned to Israel, he knew that he always wanted to die and be buried here. He told us about the group of boys that he lived through the Holocaust with, they are not friends, they are family, the only family they ever had. They all had consecutive numbers tattooed on their arms from the Holocaust so when they were drafted for the army they chose to all stand next to each other to once again have consecutive numbers. They still all keep in contact with each other and many talk on a day to day basis. He could rattle off the address of them whether they lived in the states or Israel. 

After enrichment I went over to Zahavah and Amram’s to load my pictures from last nights festivities on to her computer. When I walked in she was making a whole other batch of mufeltas to share with her co-workers and students tomorrow. Of course she made me and Miri eat more with her. Delicious and fresh. I am starting to notice a large theme of all of the amazing food I have eaten here.

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Today our whole program from Ashdod went to Jerusalem for a day trip. Our first stop was Har Hertzl, Israel’s military cemetery. I was really looking forward to this visit with our group, we have gotten a lot closer lately and I thought it would be nice to experience it with friends. (I had visited with my leadership seminar but it was not such an inspiring, emotional trip). The first section we went to was where soldiers were buried who passed away during the first Lebanon War in the early 1980’s. Our guide told us personal stories of some of the soldiers. Yair, our guide, told us the story of 2 Americans who had made aliyah and whose lives were taken in the war. Very quickly this tour became personal. Two participants in our program are both planning on making aliyah and serving in the army. My thoughts immediately went to them and I became overwhelmed with emotions. Why do people want to serve? What is worth giving their lives for? How do Israelis perceive Americans joining the army? How do their families feel? It is a really big decision to make. I have talked to the boys about their plans but it really hit me there. I wondered if they had been to the cemetery since they began thinking about their service.

One of the names we came across happened to be someone who was from the moshav (village) where our city coordinator, Kineret, is from. She said she hears this name every year at their Memorial Day ceremony but she had never seen his grave. Its incredible how everyone really does know people buried there. It is not like Arlington where one can feel very disconnected, when you walk the rows of fallen soldiers, everyone knows someone.

We walked by Hannah Senesh’s grave, along with the other paratroopers who perished with her in World War II. I have read her diary and she is a role model to me and many others who know her story. If you do not I suggest reading her story, its incredible.

We headed towards the newest section where soldiers are buried from the Second Lebanon War in 2006. The rules have changed and now families are able to personalize the graves. In the first section no matter your position in the army you had the same bed-like grave, now families can choose to personalize them and you see this a lot more in the newest graves.

(setting up for the ceremonies)

Our guide told us many more stories about friends of his and people whom he fought with. There was no sugar coating; he was really able to evoke emotions in all of us. It especially hit home with many people how young these soldiers were. Some of the youngest people on our program are older than many who have fought and died. It really shows how you must live every day to the fullest and respect and honor those who are not able to live as long of lives as we hope to. We walked by Herzl’s grave which had a lot going on around it because they were preparing the area for the big ceremony that will take place there for Yom Ha’Zikaron and Yom Ha’Atzmaut (Remembrance Day and Independence Day) which take place one after another in about a week. The country has specifically places these 2 days next to each other, the saddest and happiest day that the country has. There are ceremonies all over the country for Remembrance Day and at sunset that evening there is a huge ceremony on Har Herzl ending that sad day and beginning Independence Day. People think it is very special how the dichotomy of these 2 days work together and how people go from sad to happy in just 60 seconds. I
am very excited to be able to spend these holidays here in Israel.

We stopped and talked about the cemetery as a whole and the relations between Israel and America. Yair explained that in many ways Israel needs the help and support of the Jews around the world, especially in America. Without them Israel would be much more alone in the struggles they face. On the other hand, America and the rest of the Jews in exile really depend on the existence of Israel as a place that will always be our home. He described it as an insurance policy for everyone, no matter how you look at the situation. Israel must always be one step ahead of the game. The neighbors of Israel can mess up and do have options if they lose but there is no second chances for Israel, they have no choice but to be one step ahead of the game. Yair also talked about the “crazy” kids that exist in the school systems here, they for sure know how to think outside the box and this proves to be helpful later on in their lives. These students may end up being very important soldiers just a year or 2 down the road. You should never give up on anyone. In certain ways the balagan (craziness) of the society works for them here in many ways. 

(view of Jerusalem from Yad Vashem)

Lastly we talked about the layout of the area. Just down below on the Hill that is Har Hertzl is Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Memorial and Museum. A more appropriate way to tour the area is by starting at the bottom of the hill touring the museum and walking up the side to the top of the mountain where Herzel is buried. He represents the dream of Israel and the Jewish people, the idea of a homeland. As one walks up they must pass through the graves of all of those who have passed to be able to make real this homeland. It is impossible to forget the sacrifices that many have made to make Hertzl’s dream a reality. 

After we walked down the side of the hill to tour Yad Vashem together. I had been before but there is always something new to get out of the experience. It was surely an emotionally exhausting day. Anna, Allison and I decided to stay in Jerusalem the night so we would be there for our conference the next day. It was Allison’s birthday so we went out to a nice relaxing dinner and had some delicious frozen yogurt afterwards. For those of you who remember Wixon’s we found this place that does something similar. You can pick whatever frozen fruit, candies, cookies that you want and they will grind it into the yogurt, it was amazing. You could really taste the hallavah which was very unique. Afterwards we found a little bar that had life music and we enjoyed water and nana (mint leaves) before going to bed. 

Thursday, April 8, 2010

This morning we woke up and had time to explore Jerusalem. We walked around Ben Yehudah Street and we went to the shuk. Afterwards we met up with Jordan for lunch. We had an interesting conversation about the effects and reasons that he wants to join the army. It is really unbelievable how many things one has to question when making such a decision.

Today began the second weekend of a leadership seminar in Jerusalem.


Friday, April 9 - Saturday, April 10, 2010

Friday morning we learned about an organization run completely by volunteers called “Shecen Tov,” Good Neighbors. People go to the shuk in Jerusalem every Friday and ask the vendors and shoppers to donate food to people who do not have enough food for Shabbat this week. After we learned about the group we went to the shuk and helped out. It is crazy there on Friday’s because everyone is there shopping but that’s what makes it fun. We ran from stall to stall trying to get a few fruits and vegetables from everyone. By the end we collected a large amount of food. We were all pleasantly surprised how generous people were. I asked a man selling greens to donate and he just gave me a bag and told me to fill it with whatever I wanted. Its nice how open and willing people are to help and share with each other. In the afternoon we had a few lectures and then time to get ready for Shabbat. One of the participants in our group led an intimate conservative service which was nice and then we had dinner and another lecture afterwards.

Saturday we had a lecture where we learned about public speaking and after we had a workshop where people got to practice pitching their ideas for support or funding. It was amazing to see the transformations the lecturer was able to create with people and their ideas.


Sunday, April 11, 2010

Today was my first day back at school since a week before Passover. Not to my surprise did I show up and could not find my teacher or the class. So I went home until my next class. It was nice to be back in the swing of things and I remember more of my students’ names than I thought I would after such a long break. I helped out with the 10th grade boys who had a test. Since we are obviously not taught English the correct way it was not so easy to help them. I know how we speak correctly but I do not always have the slightest clue why. The teacher asked me to sit with one of the students who walked in late and help him, even write the questions from the board for him and I am not sure why because I know he is one of the smartest in the class. Sometimes I really do not understand their logic. I spent my lunch going over the whole test with another student, also unclear why he needed one on one help, but it was nice to work with him. 

After school we had Ulpan and then this evening our group attended a ceremony for Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Memorial Day that began tonight. Surprisingly a lot of the stores and malls closed early for the day. We went to a big auditorium by city hall where all different youth groups were invited to attend. There was a really nice stage set up and many different speakers, including the Ashdod mayor and a Rabbi and a group that sang a few Israeli songs. Six students escorted six survivors up the stage to light candles in honor of the six million who perished. It was amazing to see how many young people showed up for the ceremony. The room was packed and we were sitting on the floor in the aisles. At the end we all sang Ha’tikvah, the Israeli national anthem. It was beautiful and it felt good to be a part of the greater community. 

Monday, April 12, 2010

Today is Yom HaShoah, known in Israel as Yom HaZikaron laShoah ve-laGvura. Holocaust Heroism and Remembrance Day. My school had a ceremony in the center of the campus. A small group of students went to tour the concentration camps in Poland over Passover so they led the ceremony, each reading different passages pertaining to their trip and the Holocaust. It was pretty difficult to understand anything. There was also a girls group who sang a few songs. For the most part everyone showed up in white t-shirts as well. It was really nice to see how they commemorate and remember the Holocaust in Israel. People in America definitely recognize it but it would not be difficult to go through the holiday and not even know it happened outside of Israel while here that would be nearly impossible.

The ceremony ended just before 10 and the students were definitely not on their best behavior, but at 10 o’clock there is a nationwide siren that blows and everyone stops what they are doing to commemorate and honor those of the Holocaust. As soon as it aired the student body became completely silent. There was a drastic change in the mood. Everyone stood there, heads to the ground, motionless. I had chills covering my body. It was an unbelievable experience to be honoring those whose lives were taken, those who gave and risked their lives to help others, in silence amongst so many other Jews.

As rough as the students and Israelis in general can be, there is a reason for this. The country is young and was founded on the idea of survival and that can be seen in every aspect of the society. When push comes to shove everything works out here and the students ultimately know what is important and when. Its amazing to see and I do notice it quite often.

Tonight I went to the Ashdod Women’s Basketball game. They made it to the finals and they happen to be against Ramat Ha’Sharon which is a team that a friend of a friend from the states plays on. It’s a very small world. I went with a few friends of mine pretty early to make sure we get seats. Its amazing how many people show up for these games, all decked out in their yellow Ashdod Maccabi clothing. In the finals it was 2-1 Ramat Ha’Sharon, it was a close game the entire time and in the last few seconds Ashdod lost on a lousy play. It was exciting to be there and see my friend Lindsay win but it would have been crazy to see the excitement if Ashdod won.

(if you made it this far...pardon my typos)

Passover Volunteering, Cleaning & Shabbat in Jerusalem

Monday, March 22, 2010

Today was very low key. We did no have to volunteer we just had to clean our house for Passover but it will definitely be dirty again before the holiday begins in over a week. It was nice to have a day off from volunteering and working just to catch up on sleep, emails and life.

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Today we worked with a young volunteer group in Ashdod and in small groups went to different houses around the city to painting the insides. We were helping people who have gone through particularly bad posttraumatic stress from the army. I worked with Sherri, Allison and Ally from my program. None of us are particularly good painters at all but the people seemed to be so please with our work, it was incredible. We painted their kitchen, bathroom, hallway and 2 bedrooms. They said we did a better job than a professional that they had thought about hiring. Yikes, I cannot imagine how bad this professional was. As long as they were happy I felt good about helping them. It was a bit sad to see how they lived, the building is definitely not taken care of, I tried to scrub as much mold off the walls before we painted but it was hard to get completely clean. After dinner we had a barbeque on the beach with the Israeli volunteer group. It was a delicious dinner with chicken hot dogs, salads, olives, pickles, and whatever else you could possibly want. It got cold so a bunch of us headed back to the house and hung out for the night. It was a very nice day, you can really see how people in the program are starting to mesh with each other. 

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Today we planned, organized and cooked for our group Passover seder. I was in the cooking group and spend the majority of the day prepping with my roommate Sarah. Many people came and helped out at different points and it was nice to work together with so many other people. We made delicious charroset (apple, nut mixture), 2 rice dishes, chicken, salads and chocolate covered matzoh. Everything came out wonderful. My roommates Chaya and Steve put together the actual seder and it turned out really nice. Chaya is a writer and wrote a poem about the whole story of The Jews and their troubles in Egypt. It was truly incredible and beautiful. She did an amazing job capturing the story of Passover.

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Today we took a day trip to the Carmel mountains, up North near Haifa. Our first stop on the trip was a park dedicated to the Rothschild family where several member are buried. Baron Rothschild single handedly funded numerous small villages in Palestine (Pre 1948) which had been struggling. It is these villages that are now thriving and make up a large segment of Israel. After is work in Israel a lot of his project were left to the JNF which have done a great job restoring the forest and land of Israel.

When he died he asked that he be buried on this large plot of land that he said could never be developed. They made it into a park where people can come to enjoy themselves rather than a cemetery. Do a little research on Rothschild, he was a pretty interesting and influential figure.

Afterwards we headed further North for a quick hike in the Carmel Mountains. It was where my friend Polina had taken me a few weeks earlier so I really recognized the area. After we stopped in the local Druze town for lunch. They told us a good bakery to go to and of course who could pass it up, they sold the most AMAZING baklavah I have ever had. Worth the drive just for the desert. Its amazing how good their pastries are. Before heading home we stopped by the Bahai gardens overlook, the sky was a bit clearer than the last time I went so I took a few pictures and we were off back down south.

Friday, March 26, 2010

This morning was basically the beginning of our Passover break. Anna and I woke up early to take a bus to Jerusalem. We got there and headed to our hostel near Jaffa gate of the Old City. Once we settled in we accidentally took a bus to German colony, but we found a lot of cute boutiques there and stumbled upon a shuk that only happens on Fridays. We bought this delicious date jam that I cannot wait to try. We took a bus towards Machane Yehudah, the famous shuk in Jerusalem that is open 6 days a week, Friday being the craziest of them all. It was a lot of fun explore the little alleys of fruits, vegetables, art, junk, and desserts. There were people offering tastes of halavah, it was amazing. We decided to look for a place to eat lunch and found this little restaurant with Persian food. We barely waited for a table and there was a line the entire time we were eating. We ordered chummus with meat on top and these traditional soup called kube which was like a dumpling coating with meat inside in a tomato broth with vegetables. Very tasty. If you have not noticed yet, the food in the country is diverse, tasty, delicious and usually pretty cheap.

After the shuk we walked down towards hostel\old city. Walked around the different quarters, mostly in the Muslim and Christian sections. Honestly, I felt like I was in a whole other world, incredible culture shock. On organized trips they do not take you into the area so its incredible to explore them on your own. Sometimes we would turn a corner and I couldn’t believe how comforted I was to see an Israeli police officer. It is not that it feels unsafe it just feels so foreign compared to the rest of Israel which makes you feel so relaxed and at home. We stumbled upon the church of the Holy Sepulchre. It amazing how all of these holy sights are intertwined in the smallest area you could imagine. The diversity of tourist coming in incredible, Christian, Muslims, Jewish, those who are just curious to see what all the hype is about. Also, each quarter kind of has a different day off where things are closed or calmer because each religion has their own day of rest.

Next we went to kotel (Western Wall). It was nice being there not being rushed by anyone else. The security guards were setting up for Shabbat by organizing tables and places for books and torahs. I just took in the scenery and environment. It hard to be a tourist enjoying the amazment of the area and being a Jew looking forward to spending time at this holy sight. I decided to take some unique pictures while I was there before Shabbat started when you cannot use your cameras at the Wall. We went back, changed for Shabbat and walked back to the Wall to see what happened at sunset. Unfortunately it had been raining most of the day so a lot of the tables had been cleared and things were pretty quite there.

Afterwards we had been set up for Friday Night dinner with a host family. There is this older gentleman, Jeff Siedel, who has set up this network where people who come and visit Jerusalem on Shabbat will be hooked up with a family to eat with. We got placed with a young modern orthodox couple from Montréal who was visiting family in Jerusalem for 6 weeks. The husband’s family made aliyah from Montreal when he was a kid and most of them still live in Israel. They told us how Jeff started his Shabbat dinner organizing; he lived in the US and was a non religious Jews. He became ill with cancer and he said if he survived he would dedicate his life to God and strengthening the Jewish people. Thankfully he did survive and he chose to make aliyah and part of his life work is now helping others celebrate Shabbat in Jerusalem.  

The family was lovely to spend Shabbat with. The food was delicious and it was interesting to get their perspectives on everything relating to Israel, America and Judaism. We left at about 11 o’clock and headed out with our friend Polina and her friend Tal to grab a glass of wine at a bar in Jerusalem. Then off to bed after a long day.

Saturday, March 27, 2010

This morning we slept in and walked about to have Shabbat lunch with my cousins friend’s family, the Wexlers. They made aliyah about 10 years ago and Philip the father works for Hebrew University. It was very nice to meet them and their 2 kids. It was very interesting to see how they adapted to the change in the middle of their lives. I cannot imagine growing up in America until I was about 10 and then having the life change and culture shock to moving to Israel. The kids seem very well adjusted. The family in general still felt American. We had a lovely lunch together, especially an amazing cabbage, beet salad with pomegranate seeds. We talked most of the afternoon.

They drove us to a beautiful overlook then back to our hostel. We rested for a bit and got ready for dinner. A friend recommended a good restaurant called Adom; it was delicious. The food was so fresh and tasty. Afterwards we went to a comedy club that happens to be owned by Rabbi Kalimink’s (a Rabbi in Rochester) son who now lives in Israel. Two days a week he does English comedy night. It was very funny.

Sunday, March 28, 2010

This morning we woke up and waited in Line to see the Temple Mount. We walked up this ramp past the kotel and then there you are, this place that everyone sees but never visit. Everyone knows Jerusalem is the capitol of all of these religions but when you see it in a matter of seconds its just unreal. It was amazing to see how big the area was, beautiful and detailed, interesting seeing Israeli police in all of these holy sights. It makes me feel safe but it seems nice but I am not sure if the other people feel that way. Non-Muslims cannot not go inside but amazing to see what is behind the wall after all these years of coming to Israel.

Afterwards we went back down to pray at the kotel. We also walked up to Ben Yehudah Street to do some shopping. We found a lovely book store, went back to the shuk to by some teas, spice mixes, and tasted the delicious halavah again. We also found this kosher for Passover bakery with chocolate covered macaroons and amazing Kosher for Passover cakes. Restaurants have changed over their menus to Passover food already, we even found kosher for Passover pizza places. We headed home that afternoon, nice to be back in Ashdod.

I went for a run this evening and I noticed a few barbecues in the area. It traditional for people to burn their last chametz (bread products) and if they want their last meal with bread in it they eat outside because their houses are already clean. Very interesting to see.

Painting, Shopping, Cleaning and Delicious Food

Monday, March 15, 2010

Today I had off from school because there are no English classes on Monday. I decided to use the time to work on my blog and relaxing. In the afternoon I got some studying done which was nice. Even just a few minutes here and there really helps me, I am starting to realize how much vocabulary words I have learned here and its nice to feel like my Hebrew is improving. In the afternoon I went to volunteer at Efshar Acheret. By the time I got there the boys were already playing football and did not need my help so I decided to take my time and walk home and pick up some things I had been intending on buying. After dinner I went with some other people from my program to the beach and we build a fire and hung out. It was really relaxing and peaceful to sit next to the Mediterranean, enjoying the cool weather, fire and company. It reminded me of camp.

Tuesday, March 16, 2010




Today we celebrated “Yom Ma’asim Tovim,” Day of Doing Good Deeds. We all were off from our schools and met up at an elderly home to help garden and paint. I came up with a new rule  called my Hour and a Half rule. Whenever we are supposed to do something or be somewhere it the activity will begin an hour and a half later. Not to my surprise did it take an hour and a half on the dot for me to actually begin painting. I am really learning patience which is something I did not have before this trip. The fed us snacks and lunch and I went to watch a dance for the members of the home. It is quite a lively place with lots of things for the elderly people to do. Anna and I biked home and relaxed a bit before we had our evening enrichment.

We had a lecture given by Kinneret, one of our city coordinators about Gaza, its history and what is going on there now. It was a very interesting, informative lecture where the details of the conflict really began to make sense. We learned a lot about the Jewish settlements and the capturing of the Israeli solider Gilad Salit who is now a national icon and Israel is still awating his release. He is been abucted for a few years now and just a
few months ago a video was release, people think about him everyday here and hopefully he will be released soon. If you go on youtube you can see the video with English captions that aired late last year.  Shiry and Kinneret, both of our coordinators, worked in Gaza for some time so it was really interesting to hear their perspectives. I heard that many of the teachers at my school used to live in the Jewish settlements and when Israel pulled out they came to Ashdod. There is also a community just south of Ashdod where many of the Jews moved to in 2005.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

This morning I went to school and worked with some students learning structures in English I am not sure I had ever heard of but I seemed to be able to help anyways. I met a student in one of my classes, also a recent immigrant from France, and I saw how good his handwriting was and realized that his first language is France so he is obviously familiar with the English alphabet, then came to Israel and had to learn a whole new language and now is back to Hebrew. It is amazing how many languages these students know.

I spent a few classes just talking with the students as usual. One student told me I needed to work on my Hebrew accent, it was annoying the way he told me that but he is right and that is just how Israelis are, very upfront with you.  One of my Ethiopian students asked me if people in America would think it was weird that there were black Jews. It is interesting to think about because there really is not a large African Jewish population outside of Israel and many Jews do not really know much about this community. She told me when she was just a few months old her family moved here. Basically all of the Ethiopians in Ashdod (and Israel) have moved here only in the last 15 years. Its amazing how many of them there are and how well they seem to have adapted into Israeli society. She said that her mother still chooses to wear her traditional dress. I told her I would love to come and meet her family one day, its nice to get to see different aspects of the Jewish culture and religion.

After school I walked to the shuk to stroll around and buy some groceries. When I told my students I was going they said that I probably get ripped off but people seem to be surprisingly nice to me. I only wanted one orange to eat right then so they guy just let me have it for free. I just have to work on my Hebrew and my confidence so they think I know what I am doing. They are starting to sell Passover foods and area already starting to wish people a happy holiday, its almost like how Christmas is a season, the Jewish calendar is one big year of never ending holidays. I bough a macaroon to try and let me tell you, I do not even like macaroons that much and it was absolutely incredible.


We went out for St Patties day to one of the only Irish bars in Ashdod and lets just say when we arrived we were the first to show. A few guests of a wedding near by showed up and my friend Sheva and I asked if we could go check it out with them (its not totally abnormal to crash weddings in Israel. It happened to be a Georgian wedding, tons of food, lights, photographers, dancers on stage. What an event!

Thursday, March 19, 2010

Sania, my teacher, was busy with instructor, so she let me and Jordan just hung out with kids, I asked them questions and had them all answer, biggest fear, where do they want to travel, embarrassing story…. My last class was with a class I had never been with, only 6 or 7 kids showed up with their teacher Hadas, never seen kids so interested in talking to an American to hear about America and live there, schools, if its dangerous, how much money we make, what they should be careful of when going to America, how its like to be Jewish in America, all the students and the teacher were floored to hear that I read torah at my bat mitzvah. I explained the difference between reform, conservative, modern orthodox and such. Very nice kids.

I headed to Ulpan this afternoon and then jumped on the bus to Tel Aviv. I sat next to this soldier on the bus who happened to be from Kazakhstan. When he was 15 he decided to make aliyah and go to school here and now is doing his time in the army. He said he came here because wanted to be independent. What a brave person. I asked him about his family and how often he sees them and if he still is happy with the choices he has made. He feels a bit behind in life from his friends back in his home country but I think he still appreciates the experience. He said he is going to hopefully move to Europe to pursue some sort of martial arts. He seems like a free spirit. He told me that he considers home wherever someone is waiting for you. He was a very special person. I always like crossing paths with these people as I explore the country.

When I got to Tel Aviv I met up with an Israeli friend of mine who came to camp a few years back. She is now going to school in Be’er Sheva at Ben Gurion University but is originally from Tel Aviv so she is there most weekends. We went out to dinner with her boyfriend at this delicious Georgian restaurant. I ordered this dish with meat stuffed vegetables in a tasty tomato kind of sauce. It was so nice to get speak with them about my experiences so far. Very lovely evening, looking forward to seeing them again. Afterwards they dropped me where my friends were staying and we went out for a bit.

Friday, March 19, 2010

I headed by myself to Dizengoff center which is a big shopping area. I stumbled upon a flea market and decided to by a old pair of Shabbat candlesticks which I love. Then I went looking in all of the cute boutiques they have. They really have incredible shopping in this city. It was also really nice to enjoy the city alone. I did not have a map but generally knew where I was going and felt so independent. I walked through the shuk that is open on Fridays and then decided to catch a bus home for Shabbat.

I got home went for a nice run and got ready for Shabbat. I headed to services because some of my students said that they would come with me but they did not show up. Because the sun is setting later I was a bit early and lost in the afternoon service but once they got to the Shabbat prayers I did a pretty good job of following, I am kind of getting used to the tunes. I saw 2 of my students after the service and talked with them a bit. Its nice that they go each week, you really feel the sense of community that exists at the synagogue. After I went to dinner with Zahavah and Amram. The food was delicious as usual, I hope to one day watch her make the Moroccan fish, I would love to copy it when I get home. We talked for a while and just when I had been feeling pretty good about my Hebrew the past week or so I really felt like I was struggling tonight. We hung out with the neighbors for a bit and I headed home. She sent me with cake, pizza and challah because she is trying to get rid of all of her food that is kosher for Passover, my roommates will have a lot to snack on the next few days.

Saturday, March 20, 2010

I could not get up early enough to meet Amram at synogogue but I headed over to their house for lunch. When I walked in there was a young couple sitting at the table who happened to be their granddaughter and her new husband, they are 24 and were married just before I arrived to Israel. I had heard about them but they never made it clear they were living a few streets away in Ashdod. The husband spoke pretty good English so it was nice to get to speak with him. He told me about his army service, he was in a unit that was half army half police so he was used to dealing with problems that you would find on the streets in Jerusalem with the rock throwing and gassing. He seemed very passionate about his responsibilities and job.  Two years into his service he tore is ACL and they discharged him. He said you are supposed to get really good benefits if you are injured but because the doctors work for the state they say what they need to say to diagnose you so you do not get what you may actually need. He seemed to think that in the US there was a better system but I am not so sure about that. It was very interesting talking to them and I hope to get to meet them again soon.

After Zahavah showed me family pictures. She has some from a previous Passover. Seeing their who family come together made me really excited to spend the holiday with them in a week or so. I found out a lot from these pictures. Yesterday Amram gave me an orange and apply specifically to take home and I forgot, he made sure to hand me the same exact fruit to take home today so I did. I told Zahavah that I shared the cake with my roommates this morning and she proceeded to give me more and the extra chullant from lunch. They are surely giving people and I really do appreciate their love and hospitality.

After lunch I walked with Anna to the beach area where people go on Shabbat. On the way there a couple stopped us because they heard us speaking English. They were an older couple who lives here 6 months out of the year. Now that is the life. They had actually heard of us because some of our roommates went to the English speakers club of Ashdod a few weeks back, which they go to. It was nice seeing some Americans in the city, those are the first I have yet to bump into. We check out the shuk that is open and watch the dancing for a while. It was such a beautiful day outside and I was thoroughly content sitting there enjoying the music, dancing and weather. We headed back towards our house to read on the beach a bit but it was so windy we decided to head home.

My roommate Chaya was invited to go with her host family to see Avatar in Rehovot, another town close to here so I decided to join them. It was the father with his 12 year old daughter and 10 year old son. We arrived at the mall just as Shabbat was ending and it seemed like people were coming out of the woodwork as the mall slowly began to fill. Something unique about movies in Israel is they have assigned seating, I always was surprised that it is the one thing more organized than in the states but I now realize I think they need the assigned seating because it would be complete chaos without it. The movie was incredible. First of all to watch it with Hebrew subtitles was amazing. More importantly I think I saw the movie from a whole new perspective than if I saw it in the states. Its all about the struggle for land, culture, nature. Obviously it is metaphoric for so many things in this world but I could not help comparing it to the struggle that exists within Israel. I would love to see it again, after knowing what its about, I am sure there are more layers to dig up from this movie.

After the father bought these delicious Hungarian desert and we all shared it. His kids were so well behaved and seemed so much more mature then kids their age in the states. It was a really nice experience to spend an evening with their family. We drove home and he invited us to come in and spend time before taking us home. His wife was there with their 2 other smaller children. She offered us this incredible cake she had made, it was marble dough with chocolate in it. It was so beautiful I did not believe how it was homemade but she did do it herself. As we hung out we started talking about how much fresher the food and vegetables are here and before I knew it there was a bowl of delicious watermelon on the table. Like I said, what I delightful, giving family.

Sunday, March 21, 2010
Today began the first week of vacation for schools. They get a full week off before Passover to start cleaning for the holiday. This sounds ridiculous and it is but I think they actually need and do use this time. When I say cleaning for Passover, its not like what you are used to. They are slowly cleaning every room in their house including washing bedding, windows and anything else you could think of. As they clean each room they will not bring food into it until Passover and then end with the kitchen and do an incredible clean reorganizing everything and switching dishes in time for the holiday. Its like a full time job.

Today my group met up at a beach on the South edge of Ashdod and we cleaned up the liter. The water currents in the Mediterreanan bring garbage from Egypt to Gaza to Israel to Lebanon and up. So surprisingly there is a lot of garbage with Arabic on in at this beach. When you look down the coastline you can actually see Ashkelon, the last city before Gaza, its amazing how close everything is. Its important to clean this area because the sea turtle get confused from the lights of the shore and the garbage and it effects their mating patterns. It was a beautiful day to clean up a beach.

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.)