And We Lived To Tell the Tale

On Thursday afternoon, the rains came to Israel. We waited for our bus in the rain and it continued to rain on the ride into Yafo. We got mega lost on our way, arrived way late, but still managed to see a really cool percussion show. The whole program on Thursday night was for MASA gap year programs, so a lot of other teens were there. A few drunk boys from other programs actually got into a fight during the performance and we were all a little embarrassed to be American.

We had dinner on the run, got lost again, and then we began the real adventure of the evening. The bus dropped us off in front of a club in Tel Aviv where we thought Subliminal was holding a concert, but it was the wrong club. It was beyond pouring. The bus couldn't get through the parking lot, so we had to climb on banisters in order to avoid the Kinneret that had formed in the street. A picture may or may not (mike or mike knopff, anyone?) be shown below, depending on my internet connection. And I'm not even kidding, it was a typhoon and there was a lake. Since Israel doesn't get that much rain, the drainage systems are just terrible. Really terrible.

Anyway, we finally made it to the concert in one piece and it was at this really chic club in Tel Aviv and it was loud and fun and it was all MASA participants. I saw some people I knew and enjoyed the hip hop and hung out with Meir, who was immobilized by his broken foot. Getting out of the concert was even more treacherous than going there, and I actually slipped and really bruised my knee!! It was still raining like crazy and the bus was even farther away than before. We got into the hotel in Maale HaHamisha at a rather late hour but we all lived to tell the tale.

On Friday, we went to the Eretz Yisrael Museum and the Palmach Museum in Tel Aviv. Both were cool museums, not super handicap accessible, not gonna lie. The Palmach Museum was the cool multi-media video/automatic museum that Israel loves so much, and I like it too. In the Palmach Museum the videos take you through the stories of ten Palmachniks and you get quite attached to them and it was actually the saddest thing when one of them died.

Because of the rain, the group decided to skip the street fair in exchange for a really cozy pre-Shabbat nap back at the hotel. The hotel was also not the most handicap accessible thing on earth, but it was really pretty because it was on a really beautiful hill outside Jerusalem and the villages and views around it were very picturesque. Once I was in for the night on Friday, the evil rain seemed so majestic, and we pray for it three times a day so it became a very spiritual thing as well. During Kabalat Shabbat, there was a crash of lightning/thunder and the lights flickered and it seriously felt like God was communicating with us in some way!!! People told me that I got too worked up about this particular phenomenon, but I thought it was awesome. The room where we prayed had a wall of windows and I watched the clouds the whole time and I swear to God the sky was opening up for our prayers. I'm a sucker, I know, you don't have to tell me.

After a delish dinner I had a study session with the multi-talented and very learned Rabbi Dan Ornstein from good old Upstate New York. We studied the ever present Talmud sugia about the oven but I did learn new things and saw it in a new light. Very cool. I don't really remember what else happened that night but I have a feeling it has a lot to do with being very happy and content with life because that was just kind of the theme of Shabbat.

Saturday was much of the same-melodic services, good food, cozy sweaters, napping, studying, playing, happiness. My study session with Yossi was really quite captivating, upsetting (in the good way, the way that makes you think about stuff even though it makes you hella uncomf and you really just want to go back to the dessert table but you can't because lunch is over already and the topic at hand is the self destruction/disintegration of the entire Jewish people), and deep. You can read the emails we discussed here, and you really should if you call yourself a Jew. If you don't call yourself a Jew, then read it anyway because it's dramatic and interesting. You have to push the "next" arrows in order to keep reading the email thread. Do it. It really got all of Nativ talking, even the people who usually just braid hair and whisper about other things during study sessions. This time they were braiding hair and debating the future of Judaism. It was great. The conversation lasted all day.

Saturday night was the beginning of our Purim festivities. I dressed as a farmer with Joshy and Joey was our farm animal. Not a specific animal, since he wore a rope tail, cat ears, and a wife beater with "FARM ANIMAL" on it and cow spots. We were a big hit, but the male porn stars really stole our thunder. What are you going to do. It's a question of getting less attention or dressing as a porn star for Purim-pick your poison.

We read Megillat Esther and I actually read it and learned stuff and read commentary and asked questions because it's one hell of a story. The best part was that Nativers, and Elkana and Rabbi Ornstein, all read the Megilla.

A dance/karaoke party followed which was super fun. My favorite dance lighting is the strobe that makes everything look like it's in slow motion. It's my blog and I can write what I want, by the way, if you're thinking that the lighting bit was unnecessary. Moving on. Meir fetched me because dances are depressing when you can't put any pressure on your left foot and you're dressed like a settler from the board game because no one wants to dance with you anyway. That last part was a joke.

Sunday morning we read Megillat Esther again and I liked it even more the second time. We had a program with a Medical Clown who was really cool and funny and he had such a good message. The basic idea is that being sick and tired and depressed when you're in a hospital doesn't help anything, but being happy and laughing and smiling probably does help something. We did funny games and made funny faces and spoke in weird voices and it was pretty fun. Stasia was a beast at gibberish. Then we did Israeli dancing which brought me back to the olden days at the J, thanks Adina.

We had a snack and board the buses for Bat Yam, hoping for sun but getting more and more rain instead. We had our Purim feast at a restaurant on the beach and for the few minutes that it was sunny, the place was beautiful. It was fun to sit and celebrate with friends and many congratulatory high fives and fist bumps were exchanged. When we got back to the hotel, I was drowsy from sleeping on the bus and fell asleep right away before dinner. That unfortunately meant that I completely missed dinner and a little bit of the next program, which was a really hysterical group of improvisation actors who acted out stories told by Nativers about Nativ. They made even the not funny at all stories really funny.

On Monday morning we set out for Casearea where we participated in all sorts of team building activities. I got really into it and cheered too loudly and made a fool of myself but I had a great time. Some people were bummed that my group missed paintball because of scheduling, but I was rather relieved because I heard it hurts a little, and I don't know if I could handle the pressure. We headed to Jerusalem that night and settled in back at Beit Nativ. The weather was still bad and I didn't go out and I was frustrated with the kippah, but such is life.

All day Tuesday and Wednesdaywe had sessions on leadership with topics ranging from personal identity and goals to public speaking to Jewish leaders. We got a cool presentation about branding Israel and presenting the amazing side of Israel that has nothing to do with the conflict, because most people on the outside world see Israel only in terms of war, but I see the Israel that has beaches and deserts and waterfalls and mountains and really delicious vegetables (even if I don't eat them often enough) and incredibly warm and inviting people. There's a word for the brand but I'm not allowed to say on my blog!!!11! You'll just have to trust me.

On Wednesday afternoon, Meir and I discovered that our Shabbat plans had fallen through and we needed a place to stay. The weekend that followed was both a challenge and a shining example of Israeli hospitality and the warmth in people's hearts. We stayed Thursday night at JJ's apartment in Talpiyot, a nice suburb that's also a good distance from the city center. After hiking up and down Ben Yehuda a few dozen times, losing my jacket forever, buying a book that I can't wait to tell you about and make you read, bemoaning the loss of my jacket, reading the book about soldiers dying in Lebanon and getting a hold on my life vis-a-vis the jacket (never used vis-a-vis before but I'm gonna try it out and see how it goes), we boarded a 21 headed towards Talpiyot. The bus was surprisingly accessible and although terribly inconvenient, still manageable. Unfortunately, it was the wrong bus. And I told the driver when we got on that I wouldn't need a transfer slip. So we got off, crossed the street at the driver's kind suggestion, waited, waited, and finally boarded a bus headed in the right direction. I tried to explain in Hebrish about the transfer slips but the driver wasn't buying it-he just wanted me to pay and stop slamming the wheel chair ramp that comes out from the floor of the bus. I slammed it on the way out.

Then we hiked. I hiked, to be more accurate, and I pushed, and Meir wheeled, and it was up an endless hill and it was a rather challenging night for both my gluteus and my relationship. We arrived at JJ's sweating, exhausted, spent. Still, we watched basketball for some reason and Israel beat Italy which I would say, from experience, is a fair victory that can be extrapolated to other realms of society. The next morning we lounged, read, played with kiddies, and watched a bad movie with Selma Hayek. We split around 2 pm and we were transported in a car by an angel by the name of Shira who not only brought us from door-to-door, she figured out how to fold the wheel chair, where to go, and all with two screaming kids in the backseat.

So we arrived in one piece to Elkana's apartment. I showered and ran out to the one store left in the city open before Shabbat to repurchase strawberries for our hosts on Shabbat, since I had left the originals in JJ's fridge. So we showered, we dressed, talked, rested. Then it was time for Shabbat. It would have been too simple to stay there, though, so we walked across Rehavia to Elkana's grandparents' apartment. Don't worry, that was up a flight of stairs too. Because some heavenly force was smiling down on us that day, it turned out that the living quarters were very comfortable and the grandparents were super nice people and delicious cooks. It also turned out that the grandfather was a descendant of the foremost scholar of Hagra of Vilna, the main and original opposing force to Chassidism, and was completely obsessed with the man. Books and paintings were everywhere. He had even published his own siddur complete with Hagra customs and traditions. His family had been in Jerusalem since the 1800's. It was really interesting.

After dinner, we went to hang out with Jacob and Jacob's sister who is on a program with school here. They are from New Jew, a high school in southern CA, and I talked to a lot of the kids and they all "LOVE HIGH SCHOOL" sooo much. It was cute. But it was also awkward, because of the circumstances surrounding our visit. Whatevs, it was fine, it was nice, we got back at a decent hour and headed to bed in our lovely home for the night.

We slept in on Saturday morning and headed straight to lunch. On the way, a woman who was running fell flat on the sidewalk and it was so bad. A super religious man and I helped her up and sat her down, a heroic effort later deemed a "picture perfect moment" by onlookers. Meir kept the woman company and communicated using her language of choice while I got water for her. It was pretty scary though, because she was drooling and had crazy eyes and was bleeding in several places. I hope she got home okay. I then wheeled Meir to the corner of Agron and Keren Hayasod and left him in the trust hands of Jacob and sister. Hazui. I skipped down Aza to Elkana's apartment where I waited in the surprisingly tropical yard for him, Chen, and two other staff members from Nativ 28 who were in town for a wedding. The lunch was tasty, fun, USY oriented, and everyone was so friendly.

Three o'clock came and I met the wheelchair brigade at the fountain and we exchanged the person and a few strained words. I spent the rest of Shabbat resting in the sun and talking and trying to nap, an area where I rarely fail. We had Havdalah with Elkana's grandparents before departing into the wild jungle of Jerusalem motzei Shabbat. The buses weren't running by the time we got out there and it was cold and I was impatient. Finally a bus came to get us to take us to another bus station where we got on more buses and parted ways. I ran into a number of Nativers there, which really calmed my nerves when the bus to Yerucham was TEN minutes late! That kind of thing really gets me going.

Babies and open windows and cell phone conversations disturbed my bus experience, but the fact that I slept in my own bed last night with my roomies and we pillow talked was the best thing ever. I had weird, disturbing dreams though and that led to a bad attitude at school today, which was highly chaotic today due to standardized English testing of the 11th and 12th graders. The afternoon made this day great though: a run, before which Adina told me to wear sunscreen-an endearing reminder that made me feel cared for, an apartment meal of cornflake chicken/macaroni salad/cauliflower, a Hebrew lesson, a grocery shop, my book, and soon, a West Wing Club meeting. Can't wait.

So we made it out alive, and I'm here to tell you. I wish my stories had more of a punchline, but they really don't, as a general rule. Anyway, it doesn't matter. What does matter is this book I'm reading, Beaufort, by Ron Leshem. Maybe you've heard of it or seen the movie. It's translated from Hebrew and it's about the Lebanon (second?) war and it's really fantastic and I hate the war in it but I love the people in it and I feel like that is only setting me up for heartbreak. Oh, well, I'll continue reading (I was about to say soldier on but that would have just been toooo much) and let you know how it goes. Seriously though, it's good stuff.

Lailah tov,

Jorda

na

Soon to be a major motion picture

Okay, here goes my first video. It's sups awks because I thought I was going to do a different one, but I rewatched it and realized that if I did another one it would probably look like I was trying too hard, and it's pretty accurate that any blog video would be awkward. Maybe I'll do more of these if I get positive feedback.

The next day:

nativyerucham.weebly.com is a work in progress!!!

The Whole Megilla

I am sitting on a hotel bed looking out at Jerusalem right now, despondent, helpless, and lonely for lack of internet. This word document will have to do until I return home to my beloved Yerucham, place of friends, traffic circles, familiar faces, and routine.

On Wednesday, I woke up early for a little volunteering before I left for Jerusalem, but after a series of vague text messages and dissatisfying phone conversations, it became clear that I would not be able to work after all. This situation was even more frustrating because had I known earlier, I would have gone to visit the other half of Nativ (read: Meir) on Kibbutz Ein Tzurim the night before and left with friends to come to Jerusalem from there.

Even my best laid plan was thwarted by forces outside of my control, and I left Yerucham on Wednesday at 11:30 am alone. The bus to Be’er Sheva was pleasant, and it was not too hard to find the bus from there to Jerusalem, which took longer. These bus rides gave me too much time to think about the book I had just finished, The Time Traveler’s Wife (which is really quite incredible and tragic). The book, which I devoured over a period of four days, is not only a beautiful literary feat but also a brain catalyst that makes the reader think about things that are sad, scary, overwhelming, and would generally turn a person crazy if he or she were to contemplate these issues on a regular basis. Such items include: free will/predestination, whether everything that will happen has already happened and is happening now and everything happens at the same time but we move through time (think Slaugherhouse Five), miscarriages, marriage, cheating, suicide, drug use, AIDS, hypothermia, limb amputation, helplessness, love, family, manic-depressive disorder, death, cancer, car accidents, and other things--this book has really got it all. It really got me thinking, obviously, and I considered articulating my detailed conclusions here, because it is my blog after all and I can write what I want, but I decided instead to sum up by saying: I don’t want anything bad to happen to me, and I am going to try very hard to find a husband who is not chronologically impaired because it would really stress me out if he was always disappearing and going to 1973 or something.

Once in Jerusalem, I decided to take a bus to the hotel because my bag was heavy. The bus driver forgot to tell me when to get off, so I went about fifteen minutes too far in the other direction. Exactly what I didn’t want to happen, and exactly why I wanted to travel with friends! Anyway, I figured I had gone too far, got off, and met an angel at the bus stop across the street while I was waiting for the bus to come and bring me back the way I came. He helped me navigate, helped carry my bag, helped me not freak out, and just talked to me. He was a religious man, probably in his late 20’s or early 30’s, and he was actually sent from God himself to guide me to the Ganei Moriah Hotel on Wednesday February 17th. I finally arrived, four hours later from when I started, and checked into my room. I was half an hour late.

I came to Jerusalem in the first place because I am attending a MASA College Leadership seminar for these four days where we focus on how to advocate for Israel on college campuses in North America and become Jewish leaders. We talked about Jewish identity, heroes, leadership qualities, went on a walking tour. I’ve done all of this before and most of the people I’m with (16 total participants from other gap year programs, mostly Young Judaea) also have, so I don’t understand why everything we say must be reiterated by each person in the room. I find the group discussions very repetitive, and it seems like each person just wants his or her chance to word the same idea in a different or better way. I want new ideas!!!! I am begging for new ideas.

The walking tour was really cool because our tour guide was good and I learned some new things. Today we’ve already had quite a few activities and it’s only 2:30, but again, mostly things I’ve done before, in one way or another. There’s this general feeling of all of us slapping ourselves on the backs and “preaching to the choir” has come up at least twice today. I’m having a little Holden Caufield attitude right now, which is not the group attitude at all, and I feel like I’m just sitting in this room with phonies. It’s probably not the best outlook, actually. After this reflection, I’m going to try some self-criticism and I’ll tell you how it goes later.

Several Days Later:

I love being home in Yerucham in my cute little apartment where my friends are busy singing 90’s music and cooking a group dinner, but I miss my amazing friends from the MASA leadership program!!!!

As it turned out, I loved the people on the program, and they weren’t phonies at all, I just wasn’t expecting their enthusiasm and interest to be as genuine as it was. I went out with my new friends on Thursday night and we made the homeward trek to dear old Crack Square. On Friday, we visited Har Herzl and the Begin Center, which are both great of course, and I skipped out on a little programming to have my Wheels Interview!!! Regardless of the outcome, it felt great to talk about Wheels for an hour, and it got me really excited to staff USY (hopefully on Wheels, but if not, all the other things I plan to staff!). Meir surprised me at the hotel at 8:15 am and showed up in the lobby at the moment we were getting on the bus for the day, and then I saw him again after my interview for a while and we walked around Jerusalem for a bit. It was magical.

Friday evening, instead of going to services, I had a spirituality discussion with the group leader and my friend Alon from Year Course. It was a really cool discussion but also hard because we were really trying to be honest with ourselves. We had more programs and lectures over Shabbat, including a super deep boundary breaking bonding program late on Friday night. Saturday was nice, I did yoga in the morning on the roof with some girls and then we had a day of programming and lectures. I was sad to say good bye!

After we checked out of the hotel, Haley, Marc, and I walked to Beit Nativ to see Mayaan, the receptionist whom we miss and love. There, I ran into David, and he gave me the much needed information regarding transportation home to Yerucham and we planned to meet at the bus stop and travel together, which really took a load off. Then we met Brian at the top of Ben Yehuda, I got a milkshake, they got beers, we were all happy, and then we walked to the bus station where I met Meir who had just come from the airport to get a bag he lost, and before that he was in Modiin. It was quite the logistical miracle, I must say. We were able to spend about a 95 really high quality minutes together, and during that time we also got to see his brother David and Chen. It was great. The midnight bus home to Yerucham wasn’t too bad either, and it was nice to have some Nativers with me.

Yesterday I worked at the high school for a long, full day. It was very hard. The 8th graders that are flunking out of every class were calling me really bad names and the teachers have no control over them! But I felt like I helped a few kids, and that made it worth it. After school, I picked up my photos for my wall (which make me sooo happy!!!!), bought kippah crocheting materials (failboat, so far...stay tuned for good news updates on the kippah front), and I went to a Hebrew lesson. The Hebrew lessons are so hard here because it’s a mix of levels and I am at the bottom of the class and I’m embarrassed because I don’t know anything. But it’s not my fault that I don’t know anything so I try not to be despondent and just work hard. Anyway. After Hebrew, we had an apartment dinner which was delicious and cute and everything you ever dreamed 9 girls living together would look like whilst dining. Adorable. The night concluded with a screening of Josh’s Italian Z-Job documentary and a super fun meeting of WWC with Jonny and Seffi.

Today’s story involves me breaking some Nativ rules, apparently, but I don’t think that my staff cares about me enough anymore to read my blog so I am not worried about what I write here. And if they do read it, then they’ll know that I don’t think they care about me anymore and then they’ll feel bad and probably won’t yell at me anyway. Anyway, the story: Today was supposed to be a regular day at school, so we were all ready to go at 8:15 in the teacher’s lounge when we found out that classes were cancelled in place of Purim spirited fun day. We hung around for an hour, there was nothing to do, we went home. I got on a bus and went to Be’er Sheva, Kastina, and finally to Ein Tzurim, the kibbutz where the other half of Nativ is staying. Meir broke his foot yesterday so I went with him and Nadiv to the hospital in Ashkelon to get the x-rays and cast etc. This did not please staff because, apparently, the proper procedure when we are presented with free time is to alert staff and wait for them to find something for us to do. Somehow, I was the only high school volunteer out of six who received any kind of reprimand today, even though no one else called staff or volunteered extra. Despite this one setback, the day was great and the hospital was fine and everything turned out fine. It was great to see the kibbutz too-it’s really beautiful!! I left there around six, caught a ride out of kibbutz with a nice religious man who lived in Gush Katif pre-disengagement, and he took me to Kastina. The bus ride home was really nice, especially since I knew where I was going. I love the desert at night and the isolated pockets of civilization that appear as collections of gold lights against complete velvet black, and everything fit perfectly with my musical selection of Ratatat-check it out if you are not in the Ratatat loop-it's fun for all ages!

I got home in time tonight to send out my laundry, put up my pictures, and fail at crocheting. What a good day.

Everything is Better Now

A few things made today so much better than any day so far in good old Yeruru:

1. Mold Cleaning!!!! Some angel swept in and out of my apartment while I was gone and made the place so much more livable than I ever thought possible.

2. First day of work!!!! It's hard. Like really hard. I teach at a secular high school and I have the worst students I've ever seen in my life. The teachers have no control. No one has any control. It's crazy. All the same, I really feel like I made connections today with about three students, and I am bound and determined to make myself useful and make a difference in their lives. I love, love, love to have a purpose in life.

3. Baking!!!! Miri and Becky baked, Debbie and Rachel and friends made peanut butter cups, sugar and chocolate flowed freely in the apartment kitchen all afternoon. What a delight to come home to!

4. Grocery Shopping!!!! I went by myself and the store was almost empty. I shopped with a clear head and the goal of health in mind, and I didn't worry as much as usual about price because I knew I just needed to get some real food. I feel much better about my eating situation (although the stove is still broken...hmmm).

5. Hebrew Lesson!!!! So the truth comes out-as much as I may procrastinate or complain about schoolwork, I am really just a student at heart. I feel so much better about myself when my mind is soaking up anything new and there hadn't been much structure to my learning for the last month and a half (that's allowing for the "you learn something new every day" thing, because I wasn't in school, but I guess I was still learning. Especially when Debbie was a tour guide at the Forum, even though she forgot about Caesar's grave). The lesson was a big challenge because all levels were together and I am at the very very bottom. I am going to learn things though!

6. The Parade!!!! Becky started shouting, "there's a light up car! there's a light up car!" and Adina called me from the street. My whole apartment went down to join the festivities for a new Torah. There was a light up car playing really loud dance music and Jewish music and men dancing with a Torah and women dancing behind them and people with cameras and police and all that jazz. It was the best. We danced like madmen for 45 minutes in the main street of Yerucham. It was incredible. We sang, we talked to people, we held hands and ran in circles.

I love this place.

The Reverse Exodus

I fear that I cannot do justice to the past week because so much has happened, and I am so busy in my new desert home that it feels like there is no time at all. On Thursday morning of last week, Nativ set off in two buses amid the once yearly Jerusalem snow flurry to go hiking in the desert. Because of flash floods (which are actually the coolest things ever to drive through on a bus), our Ein Gedi hike was closed, so some people went to Masada and I went with the other group to the Ein Gedi Spa. We bathed in a hot sulfur bath, covered ourselves in mud and cleaned it off in a sulfur shower, dipped in the Dead Sea, did a quick dive into a freezing cold outdoor pool (it was a dare, and there was peer pressure), and finished with some nice classic showers.

We ended our day at the Bedouin Tents. To be clear, Bedouins do not actually live like this. The ones that don't make their money giving American teenagers camel rides and tea tend to find more illegal means of sustenance, ranging from stealing from kibbutzim to trafficking drugs and women from Egypt. Anyway, we learned about the polygamous Bedouin lifestyle from a real live Bedouin, who had a nice sense of humor about it (can you guess his gender?), and he entertained all of our prying questions (he's going on his fourth wife and he has 13 kids). Then we ate a hearty Bedouin dinner in a freezing cold Bedouin tent, braved the cold drizzle outside for a little campfire, and turned in for an early night.

In the morning, we found out that flooding had closed off our planned hike for the day, so a group of us decided to tough it out in the rain and cold on a different hike. There was a lot of rock climbing involved which made it really mentally challenging as well as physically challenging, which I really liked. The hikes tend to bring out the best in people, especially some of the boys that you wouldn't expect. Not that I wouldn't expect Max to be encouraging, but when I was losing steam on a long uphill, he made a really inspiring speech about how rewarding the view at the top will be, and he was right, and it was really nice. People also just help each other a lot and are very considerate, which I like.

From the hike, we drove to Kibbutz Ketura, which is about 30 minutes north of Eilat. We got oriented in the guest house area, saw some baby animals, and got ready for Shabbat. Shabbat was nice, services were really pretty, we had some learning programs but nothing intense. I had been feeling a little under the weather so I went to sleep shortly after dinner and skipped the tisch.

Saturday morning services were led by Nativers and they were lovely. Then we got to walk around and see the algae factory and the date palm orchards, which were beautiful. There were donkeys in the orchards roaming free who ate the weeds around the trees so everything was done without spray. It was a really great afternoon. I napped for most of the time and then I visited the baby camels and the baby cows and the baby horse. I think my personal heaven will be filled with all types of baby animals.

On Saturday night, we split in half again and some people played soccer against kibbutz teenagers and my group went to Kibbutz Lotan for a relaxing evening, and we learned how to do shiatsu massages! It was really fun and both groups had a good time. Sunday was a chill day, and I did a little crafts project in the morning and then we all went to sand dunes in the afternoon. The sand there is not from quartz so it is extra fine and so soft and fun to play in. There was quite a bit of horseplay and tackling and diving into sand dunes and it was all great fun.

On Monday morning I went for another hike with half the group. It was very scenic and fairly easy. We got to Eilat in the afternoon and went to Kings City, which was a very shitty but very funny little amusement park. I was with fun people and we laughed at the shittiness but the problem was that it actually cost Nativ a lot of money! I felt bad when I found out the admission price afterward, but what can you do. Our boat was cancelled because of weather so that was our alternative activity. We were free for the evening after that and I had some nice pizza on the boardwalk and walked around. The next day in Eilat, the determined Nativers woke up at the crack of dawn to climb Har Shlomo, which was a long and rewarding hike and included a lot of rock climbing. On the way down, Miriam broke her foot and the logistical nightmare that ensued was actually one of the most incredible things I've witnessed. Two Nativers volunteered to stand on either side of her and hold her while three Nativers raced down the mountain to get a stretcher from the bus, then two more stayed halfway down to meet them along with Yossi, the guard, and another Nativ staff member. Most of us finished the hike in four hours but it took Team Miriam a full seven, and they had to eat lunch at a very late hour. It was very amazing how everyone came together. I was not a part of Team Miriam so I am only able to wonder at how they did it, since there were parts where the drop was vertical and the only way to climb down was to use hooks that were stuck into the side of the mountain.

We had lunch at Hallelujah and then I napped the afternoon away because the hike really knocked me out. I had dinner with Nativ and then strolled the boardwalk at night with friends. The trip was not at all what Nativ had planned, but still it was extremely fun, relaxing, and interesting.

The day we moved to Yerucham lasted for what felt like approximately two weeks. The morning dragged on because of a hospital run and we were about two hours late to start our bus trip, and it was also the day of Yerucham/Kibbutz split which was naturally a stressful/emotional time for all, especially me. We took a bus break at our usual Yellow/Aroma proverbial oasis and then we were on to Be'er Sheva to "eat lunch." We ended up getting there around 3:45 pm to get a mumps booster shot instead. Good times.

Yerucham's twinkling lights and palm lined streets welcomed us around 6 pm when we finally arrived in our new desert home. The unpacking process continues to this moment, two and a half days later. Apartment living is rough. One shower is hard to share among nine girls. I don't like it when the kitchen sink pipes spew water onto the floor. I don't know what to buy at the grocery store in order to achieve a minimum level of health. There are gangs of feral cats waiting at the dumpsters where we have to leave our garbage.

I need to go help the mold removal team in my apartment before Shabbat starts. Can't wait for all the "don't worry, everything turned out fine" that will hopefully come in my next post!!!

Swaying in the beauty of creation

Today was another winning day of the seminar. After horizontal ear dropping tefillot and a hearty breakfast, I set out with my group to tour the Supreme Court building. The building is less than 20 years old, extremely beautiful, and very symbolic. The tour of the building was interesting and necessary. The Supreme Court in Israel serves as an appeal court as well as a high court of justice that deals with human rights cases. The differences between the court systems in America abound-Israel doesn't use witnesses in the Supreme Court, surprisingly.

From there we visited a youth hostel for some programming on the constitution, or rather, lack of constitution in Israel. We talked about pros and cons, important issues for a constitution to address, and then we tried to write some constitutional laws for ourselves about the Jewish nature of the state. The discussion was thought provoking and it also made me kind of annoyed with some of my fellow Nativers. Good program though.

We ate lunch at the youth hostel and then visited the Gush Katif museum which commemorates the Disengagement from Gaza in 2005. I learned soooo much and it was very powerful. I am still processing and thinking about all the images and statistics there. Our guide in the museum had lived in the Gaza strip for about 25 years and had 9 kids there. The museum helped me most with one thing: it put into perspective why it was worth it to live in Gush Katif in the first place and why it was so painful to leave in 2005 when Sharon instituted disengagement. The guide said his family was moved into a hotel for what was supposed to be 10 days but ended up being 7 months, and they were only told to pack for 10 days. Some families put furniture in storage only to get it back months later completely destroyed. Beautiful (really, beautiful) homes and neighborhoods were totally demolished, along with synagogues. Cemeteries were dug up and the bodies were relocated. The worst part is that it didn't achieve much afterward. Israeli politics are difficult.

We walked home through the shuk and napped before dinner, and then we went to one of the most unique and inspiring experiences of my young life!!!!! We went to Not On Bread Alone, a play by blind AND deaf people about everyday life as a blind/deaf person (they cannot live on bread alone, they have dreams and need love and company etc). The play was amazing and the actors were so inspiring. They baked bread during the play and we ate it hot out of the oven after the show and got to talk to the actors through interpreters afterward too. Some Nativers got to use a braille code to talk to one actor. They would hold his finger and rub it over one letter in braille at a time on a card and then he could understand the words. Very amazing.

The title of this blog post is a translated line from a song in the play. I loved every minute!!!

Learning is Beautiful

Starting Sunday morning and ending on Wednesday afternoon, Nativ has a multi faceted program called Israel Today Seminar, and so far, it has been a wonderful educational and cultural experience.

On Sunday, we davened together, breakfasted, and Jeff Barak (check out his credentials! ) from the Jerusalem Post came to speak with us to open the seminar. His main theme focused on the large numbers of Haredim and Arabs in Israeli society today and how that is affecting politics, welfare programs, poverty, education, leisure and culture, and Israel's reputation among other countries. It was a really interesting speech and he was a captivating speaker in a journalist kind of way, which was nice; he wasn't charismatic and charming and loud like politicians, but he was quieter and very intelligent sounding, and I think the British accent especially helped. It made me a little worried for Israel's demographics in the future, because it is a democratic state and if these two groups continue with their high birth rates, they can vote whomever they choose into office.

From the opening speech, we divided into groups and went to the Menachem Begin Center. It was surprisingly an outstanding museum. It was so well done because it was almost completely automated. We walked into rooms and our headset immediately started talking to us, tvs immediately started showing original footage of speeches and history, and the rooms were all set up relevant to the topic per room. For example, when we learned about Begin's time in the Irgun, we were in an underground living room/headquarters type of room, and when we learned about the election, we were in a campaign office. The museum flowed, and we were never anywhere quite long enough or comfortable enough to fall asleep. At the end, I was really moved by the unfortunate series of events in his second term that led him to resign, the death of his wife, and finally his own death. It felt like a movie only it was real! A great museum, really.

We had a bit of free time and I took the opportunity to put in my ear drops (a thrice a day ritual that requires immense planning because my head has to be horizontal for a good half hour afterward) and take a well deserved nappy. Feeling refreshed, we all went back to the auditorium for a panel on the Israeli Defense Forces. Three of our Nativ staff as well as another boy and another girl were on the panel, and we talked about some really deep issues. I was amazed at the courage and sense of duty that the past soldiers had. They talked about eating tuna sandwiches three times a day for days at a time (which is actually my personal nightmare come to life) and all I could think was-I could never serve! There are people on Nativ who are planning to join the army either next year or after college and after this talk, I just have sooo much more respect for them than ever before. I think it's amazing that people find a cause so important that they want to volunteer to risk their lives, and if not risk lives, than at least give up creature comforts for years at a time!

Last night concluded in perfect first semester fashion: 6:30 pm dinner in the dining hall, hanging out with friends, spending some quality time in room 632, and getting my full 8 hours. Beautiful.

This morning began with services, for which I mostly horizontal from the waist up, breakfast (Italy made me so appreciative of Agron food!!!!! I regret ever complaining! But wait, let me explain: we usually ate one nice meal a day. The rest of the time, we were scrounging for the cheapest way to get calories to fill us until the next meal. It resulted in quite a few McDonalds milkshake-fries-yogurt parfait situations), and heading off with my group for our day of Israel and the Environment. We went first to an ecological farm where everything is made out of mud buildings and there are donkeys roaming free (one of them was a stray and they found him on the street and brought him to the farm!), chickens chillin, geese, sheep, dogs, and lots and lots of vegetables and trees. It all started seven years ago and it has grown into an amazing place where they reuse things in really creative ways.

Following the farm, we toured a recycling plant outside of Tel Aviv. I learned a lot, but it wasn't engrained deeply enough so that I could teach other people about it. It was super cool to see the garbage and the sorting machines and the mountain of garbage that they're going to turn into a park. The visitor's center had incredible art made out of recycled objects and all kinds of neat things.

The day ended with a movie at a Cinematheque in Holon, at least I think that's where it was. We watched The Lost Islands, an incredible Israeli film from 2009 about twin boys growing up in Kfar Saba in the 1980's. It's about their family, their love lives, their love for each other, their army service, and their dreams. It was so powerful! The main point of the movie, I think, was that the loyalty was to the family for everyone, but at some times, so that you don't die inside, you have to be loyal to yourself first. It was so complicated, and the people had real complex personalities and real screw-ups and the plot was not streamlined or predictable or happy like Hollywood movies. At the end, after watching this family love, hate, and cheat on each other, the dedication read, "to my family, who taught me how to love." I was so confused, and moved, and upset. My emotional range can't handle that though, so I just cried. People laughed. It was a great movie though.

We ate dinner at a really cool mall in the bottom of a skyscraper in Tel Aviv and then we went home on the bus. What a great day. I love life.

Ear update! I will be going to an ear doctor on Wednesday afternoon! I'll let you know how it goes.