Trips to the Negev and Jerusalem

Shalom!

So last week was a busy one for me.  I went on the 7th grade class trip to the Negev Wednesday and Thursday and then on a conference about Politics and Government in Israel on Friday and Saturday.  Both trips were amazing in such completely different ways.

To begin, the trip to the Negev was with the 7th graders, which is who we share a dorm with on campus.  I know I told many of you we would have our own dorm near the faculty, but that was not completed so we share a hall with the 7th graders.  At first this was sort of annoying because we have to be careful what we do and say in our hall and we have to be quiet after their lights out.  In the end, though, I think it gives us a great deal more connection to the students than if we did not live with any of them.  That being said, however, we still do not interact enough because in the 7th grade their english is pretty basic and they are very self-involved with their friends, boyfriends, and everything that goes on during puberty.  So, this trip gave me a great opportunity to get to know the kids we live with and they are great!

It is funny though because I am finding that Israelis do not communicate the way Americans do, in certain ways.  For example, I keep finding that people don't tell me things that are going to happy until the very last second possible.  This trip is a perfect example of this tendency.  So, we asked many times if we can go on the trip and they keep saying "maybe, maybe, we will check, we will check" until tuesday, the day before it left, when they told us to come. "Ok," I said to the group (kvutza) leader, "what should I bring?" "Well, do you have a sleeping bag?" he says.  Of course, I do not, so he tells me he will find one for me.  And then I ask "Anything else?" and he says "Socks, bring maybe 4 or 5 pairs of socks."  I ask him why, but no real answer, just to do that because it is a good idea.  

So on Tuesday night my boss where I garden took us out to celebrate the Milk Festival being over because he was in charge of it and it was a lot of stress.  So we end up drinking a lot and staying out late because we got a bit carried away.  Well, I got home maybe around 230 and I needed to be at the bus by 7 am on the other side of campus and finish packing!  So, needless to say, I was not in my best shape on Wednesday morning when we left for the trip.  They had told us we would be doing some hiking, it is the desert, and that we would be sleeping at a Bedouin camp.  So, the bus breaks down and I wake from my uncomfortable sleep.  They give us a lunch and it is about 1130, which is the time for lunch at the school, so I eat my lunch.  I do not understand why they give us so much food and I leave it on the bus when we go to the hike.  I begin walking from the bus with my water and sunglasses.  It is 7th grade, how hard a hike can it be?  Well as soon as we begin hiking, the leader says to me, "That does not look like enough water for 5 hours!"...Yes, 5 HOURS!  During that 5 hours I was meant to eat the remaining food given to me at lunch, but no one told me.  Other shared with me, so it was fine but it just shows the funny lack of communication/translation from the Israelis.  Nonetheless, you can see from the pictures that it was a BEAUTIFUL hike that was slow and took five hours but was not so difficult.  How funny is it that no one mentioned the 5 hour hike?  

So that night we went to the Bedouin tents and listened to them explain their culture to the children in hebrew (which I didn't really understand) and play music and serve delicious sweet Bedouin tea and coffee.  We had a fantastic meal and I could not more than rest and sleep that night.  They got us a room so we didn't have to sleep in the tent with the kids, which was very nice.  My friend woke me in the middle of the night so I was able to see the lunar eclipse which was magnificent in the clear desert night sky.  

The next day we hiked Masada, which is a fortress in he desert where many Jews killed themselves in a final protest of the Romans trying to take back the fortress and enslave them.  This was also where I had my bat mitzvah when I was 12 years old.  Although I have been back, it is still a special place to visit and I enjoyed the hike and being there very much.  Also, I met a family from West Hartford, CT when I was up there!  One son went to Hall High but it was rushed so I could not speak to them for long.  What a small Jewish world!

We also went to Ein Gedi the second day, an oasis in the desert near the dead sea that is a national nature reserve and a large source of water for Israel.  It is beautiful and as you can see in the picture the kids got crazy in the water!  

I arrived home thursday with enough time to eat a bit of dinner, unpack and repack before getting sleep to go to Jerusalem.  My friend from college, Betsy, was going to the same seminar and caught a ride with us Friday morning so she came Thursday night to stay over here!  I had not seen her since college because she has been in Uruguay since we graduated teaching english.  It was so great to see her and catch up and spend the weekend with her, a familiar face in a foreign land is VERY comforting!

The conference in Jerusalem was on the topic of "Israeli Political Issues" and I found it quite fascinating. Until now, I had listened to Israelis talk about the issues of Judaism in Israel, the Palestinian conflict, immigration and economic issues.  Now, I feel like I more fully understand the issues as well as how I stand.  However, as a naive American it was also hard to hear from so many Israelis who see peace as an impossibility or who feel that because they are religious they cannot identify with Israel due to how secular Jews are now the majority. If you do not understand this, today in Israel 60 percent of the population are considered "secular" meaning that they essentially are not orthodox or as they call it "religious".  Furthermore, I am continuing to see how negative many people are about peace.  It appears to me that those that have yet to serve in the army see peace as a possibility but once they serve and/or once their children serve, the perspective changes.  Also, it was really eye opening when a friend of mine was calling "liberal" here simply for not wanting to kill ALL arabs....!!!  I consider myself liberal, certainly, I do not think that is simply because I see peace as a possibility, nor do I think that this is the dividing factor.  So, I am learning more and more about the conflicts here and how divided Israel is on ALL issues.  For example, many religious right do not think living in Israel is any different than living in any other secular country because they do not think Israel is religious enough in how they enforce Jewish laws.  I knew that the religious right in Israel fought for more enforcement of Jewish laws, but this point of view was just so extreme and eye-opening to me!  These are just some of the issues that arose in this weekend and I thought you may find interesting.

That is all for now, but please look at the pictures because this was a very interesting weekend!  

Balkan Beat Box

Shalom!  

Hope this note finds everyone well. Saturday night (which is really like Sunday night here in Israel) a few of us went with Judith to a concert for the band "Balkan Beat Box".  She is filming a documentary about peace while she is here in Israel and Balkan Beat Box is an Israeli band whose message is peace.  They invite musicians from Palestine, Arab communities, Africa and many other places.  They also collaborate with all types of musicians.  The band's whole concept is to collaborate in an artistic through music and find a median in which we have common threads.  They believe that if we can do this, then we can influence people to show that if we have commonalities in music, we probably have commonalities in other ways as well.  Judith had heard about them and went to their concert in LA.  There she was able to talk to a band member and mention that she was going to be in Israel doing her documentary.  They set her up with someone they had hired to film the band.  The woman got her a backstage pass and us in for free so that she could help her to film the show!  Also, Judith actually got the opportunity to interview the band alone, which was an unbelievable experience for her as well since she is a big fan of the group's music and message! 

The people at the show were so eclectic and a GREAT crowd.  There were about 2,000 people, in a large venue in Tel Aviv on the port.  I have never experienced music like this, using all different string instruments, many different types of drums, a clarinet, and instruments that I had never seen before.  I was so surprised by how uplifting the music was, it was amazing!  I would explain it as rock music that you could dance and bounce to, if that makes sense.

I hope you enjoy the pictures posted because I certainly enjoyed the night!

I MET SHIMON PERES!

MILK FESTIVAL

Today at the Kfar was the 2nd annual "Milk Festival" which is a big two day event for the Israeli Dairy Farmers.  Today was the first day, which is much less popular than tomorrow, when they expect tens of thousands of people to attend throughout the day.  The heads of the ministry agriculture come to talk about the Dairy industry in Israel and there are fair events like moonbounces and games, an artists market, food stands and music.  

To open the festival, Shimon Peres, the President of Israel, came to speak and feed one of the baby calfs.  The program that I am on, "Because We Care", it a Masa Israel program.  Masa Israel is a non-profit organization based on the dream of Itzak Rabin, the former prime minister of Israel who was assassinated in 1996, for Jews from the throughout the world come to live in Israel for a period of time during their life so that they understand it better than if they only visited.  So, the Israeli government began Masa Israel, a non-profit organization originally meant to provide grants to people who wanted to come to Israel for a long period of time.  In time, it became a non-profit organization which unified programs and grants for coming to Israel for 5 months or more.  For this reason, we wanted to make sure Shimon Peres knew that a Masa program was going on here at the Kfar and use this opportunity for marketing the program.  Furthermore, it is a good opportunity for us to get our foot in the door with the government and the wealth of Israel because we want to raise money for the Kfar.

However, Israeli's do not plan such meetings like an American would, so we used the Israeli mindset to push our way into the crowd during the press opportunities.  Judith, my roommate, was such a superstar!  She pushed us in through a crowd to talk to him and introduced herself and the program to him as everyone else around was yelling "Mr. President, Mr. President!" from a distance.  I, too, shook his hand and introduced myself and told him about myself and what I do here before he was whisked away by the security and organizers of the event.  It was a fantastic event to have met him!!!!  Later, he spoke at the opening ceremony.  I have posted a new slideshow of all of this for your entertainment.  He was such a kind, warm man and so welcoming to us and excited for what we were doing there.  In fact, it seemed to me that he wanted to talk longer with us but was unable to in the situation.  He said he wanted to get a picture with all of us but there was no time so you will see just a few that were snapped quickly of him and of Judith speaking with him.

The fair itself was very fun with little kids running around and playing.  A famous Israeli actress and model who is very popular among children was there signing autographs.  We were watching the children on the moon bounces as our job while eating all of the yummy dairy foods that were around to taste.  The dairy in Israel is unlike any other place!  The cheeses, milks and ice cream are just so tasty and creamy!  My tummy aches a bit right now from all the food but it was SO good!

That is all for now, things are coming along well.  Since we are working the weekend we will get time off next week.  But last night Judith, Shoshana, Ari and I went into Tel Aviv for dinner at this great asian-fusion restaurant downtown.  It was fun and good to get out since we had been stuck inside all day because of a terrible rain storm.  It finally cleared up and we went to dinner.  We sat there a long time relaxing and having fun thinking we would go to a bar or something after but when we walked out from it was pouring again!  So we went home rather than staying out in the rain and got to bed early so we could be up early for the festival.  Tonight should be fun, I am going with Judith and Shoshana to Judith's family's for dinner (her grandparents and cousin live nearby) and then out somewhere around here!  

Hope everyone is enjoying my adventures, because I am!  It is still an adjustment from my routine and I miss home very much but I am trying to get everything possible out of my experience here.  Every day it feels better to be here, with things reminding me why I am here and how important my being here in Israel is in my life and for the Kfar!  

Shalom! Ma Nishmah?

Hi Everyone,

I miss the US very much but I am settling in here in Israel.  Everything is coming along.  I have been here about 10 days now and my experience is only just beginning.  

The first few days were difficult because the program was quite disorganized and there was a terrible rain storm and I was VERY homesick!  But it only took me a few days to really get y head on straight and take the initiative to get all I can out of my program and being here.   

HAKFAR HAYAROK

Hakfar Hayarok is a very special place.  It means "Green Village" in English and is an agricultural boarding school.  An agricultural boarding school is an Israeli concept that began when Israel became a state to teach children about kibbutz life as well as use animals in education.  In 1950 Hakfar Hayarok was founded to help families and children learn about the Kibbutz life before they went to create a Kibbutz of their own or join one that existed. In time, parents began to see how working with the animals helped their children learn and Hakfar Hayarok became very popular.  It was one of the first agricultural schools created here.  Today there are 1300 students that attend the school and 400 board.  Almost every student receives scholarships to come here and many of them are immigrants from Russia and Ethiopia.  It is interesting to see all of the students interact though, because they do not fulfill any stereotype of the child of a "poor" or "impoverished" family.  They all wear stylish clothes and have nice cellphones.   However, one of the people who works here told us that "although they look like anyone else, this is the problem with the Israeli poor.  They like to pretend that everything is fine and refuse help.  These children need you though, do not be mistaken."  

WORKING AT THE KFAR

At first, it was very disconcerting that we would ask people how we can help them and they would say "why?" or "come back another time" (when we go back they say the same thing though!) or simply "NO!".  However, we have begun to infiltrate the school and now many teachers see us as equals and students look up to us as "the Americans".  We are now creating schedules for tutoring the students in English and beginning projects throughout the Kfar to improve the school.  

So, I began gardening every morning with the "Touch Nature" area, which is an area used for animal therapy with the students and outsiders who come to visit the Kfar.  The man who runs the area has a whole plan for making it a beautiful area for students and visitors.  I would like to help garden the entire campus but the gardener, Yicheal, was not allowing me to help and so I am starting here and trying to make friends with Yicheal to get my "in".  There is a Waldorf school on the campus, which is a private philosophical school that rents the space from the Kfar.  Once a week I help with the first grade art project there.  It is very cute and helps my hebrew because the children speak in very simple sentences that I can understand better than in the high school level.  I begin tutoring students with English tomorrow night so I will let you all know how that goes!  I am also going to play soccer with the kids on the weekends as soon as I can set up some competitions between the grades!  Also, I have hebrew classes three days a week for an hour and a half per day.  I am certainly going to be busy and involved.

WEEKENDS

It is hard for me to get used to the idea of having the weekend as Friday and Saturday (it is based on the Jewish Sabbath rather than the Christian Sabbath) rather than Saturday and Sunday.  Sunday here is a working day, which is an adjustment to me!  On the weekends the boarders go home every other weekend.  The first weekend the students left.  Some friends and I hung out in Tel Aviv that weekend, went to the shuk (open market) and had shabbat dinner with friends of one of the girls I was with that day.  It was a bit lonely to be left to quickly without any guidance but I really enjoyed the time in Tel Aviv, it is a great city.  It is 30 minutes by bus from here and the bus stop is just outside the Kfar.  

This past weekend was a weekend in which the students stay.  On Friday night there is a special dinner where the students must wear white.  At the dinner a different age group every time has the responsibility of serving the food (which is special because usually it is buffet), performing the prayers and songs, and performing a play.  It was really a neat event because all the students are excited for it and they get really into the songs and the play, which they only have two weeks to prepare!  After all of this the Kfar has a discoteque (dance) and everyone is there and it is very fun!  

We also explored Herziliya this weekend.  It is a suburban city of Tel Aviv that as been built up recently.  It is avery wealthy area and there are great places to shop, eat and spend time there.  We went to shopping there the other day and to a club there on Thursday.  It was very "posh" and we danced until 330am!  I know, how very unlike me to be up so late!  The nightlife gets going so late here that I need to nap before I go out...alas, I am getting used to it because it is SO much fun!

BOMBING IN DIMONA, ISRAEL

The recent bombing in Israel on February 4, 2008, in case anyone was worried, was not close to me.  It was near the southern most point in Israel, about 2 hours from here.  However, it was interesting that it went seemingly unmentioned here.  I was told early in the day, at breakfast, that this had occurred but my roommate did not know until I told her at night when we were going to bed.  We had worked here all day without any Israeli mentioning it or even appearing affected by it.  This is a part of the culture here, but it is strange to me.  From my perspective, I did not worry because it was 2 hours from here.  However, I would worry if this had happened 2 hours away from me anywhere in the states...in Baltimore when I live in DC, in Boston or NY when I live in Avon...it is a different place here, and the people are much stronger than I can yet understand!  As the first bombing in over a year, it is very disappointing to everyone hoping for peace here.  However, the more people I talk to here the less hopeful I am of peace here because most Israelis cannot imagine peace here.  Anyone who I speak to that has been in the army or has had children who have served tells me that the experience they have had/heard about make them question the possibility of peace here.  It is sad but I am trying to understand this more and will write more about my conversations with Israelis about peace.

Well that is all for now...I am trying to be very positive and take the initiative here because the "it will be" attitude of Israelis is very unlike my control freak, "get it done yesterday" personality.  If nothing else, I will come back MUCH more relaxed...what a concept!  

Hope all is well in the good ol' US of A!