2 weeks in...
Right now I'm typing from the very internet accessible house of my friend Hanna Fital. She was my host sister on EIE (high school semester in Jerusalem) almost 5 years ago and we accidently ran into each other again two summers ago. Now I don't make an Israel-decision without her. So, time to catch up…The first week was spent setting up my apartment with my roommate Emily (we met at Ben Gurion University three summers ago and she told me about this WUJS program). We bought a ton of our old favorite foods, like instant cous-cous, and vegetables at the shook. Over the past two weeks our broken refrigerator has frozen and defrosted that food so many times that our Milkys and oranges morphed on a molecular level, so that we finally threw everything out until someone fixes the fridge, which may mean meals out for the next month. That first Thursday we went on an overnight hike near the Dead Sea (see pictures). It turns out it was the same trail I did back on EIE, complete with the same beautiful lush tree that stands all alone in a riverbed (wadi). It was just like every other hike I've been on; there was the one boy who had to climb everything in sight, the girl who refused to go down a steep rock (no, it wasn't me), and of course lots of bonding since there was nothing else to do as we walked. Even in the winter the desert is hot during the day, and surprisingly not too cold at night. I ended up sharing a tent with Susan, a very nice but loud girl from Michigan, and Lana, from Chicago, who are both on my peace track.
We got back from the hike just in time for Shabbat. This is one of the weird anomalies of WUJS, oh and there are many, that although there are 70 people on the program and maybe 5 of them are religious, we had Orthodox-style services. I personally hate them, the mehiza (separation between men and women) makes me feel like a second class citizen, which is doubly true when all the boys were pounding away on their tables (it's a Jewish-prayer thing) and the girls just sat meekly. I also can't follow the service because all the tunes are different, the Orthodox have a lot more prayers than Reform, and many of the prayers I do know have been changed to reflect my Reform values (like the Avot and Imaot, fathers and mothers, not just Avot). The only thing that could have saved Shabbat for me is if they served a really good dinner, but the food tasted worse than our usual bad free lunches, so my plan is not to be in Arad for a weekend again.
On Saturday a small group of us went to the Point. The group included (and I'm throwing this in so you get familiar with names) Anna from Hungary, Daniella, Sandra from Mexico, Susan, and Josh from London. The point is on the other side of Arad and it's sort of a weird Israeli structure that leads off into the desert. Probably the coolest aspect of Arad is that you can be walking on a sidewalk lined with bushes, and just after the bush is desert sand as far as you can see. You literally can just step off the face of the Earth and disappear. At the Point we practiced our photography skills (see pictures) and it was the best time I've had so far.
After two weeks I still don't know my exact schedule because this is a sketchy program, but then it's Israel. So, although I'm on the Peace and Social Justice program and I'm supposed to take Arabic (turns out they don't offer it, but they're trying to work something out) and have special seminars (they don't know when they'll start), I'm not really sure what to program is like. My usual week will be somewhat this: Sunday is all day Hebrew Ulpan (intensive language study); Monday is more Hebrew and a course on the different ethnic groups that makeup Israel and their experiences and then a course on Tikun Olam (Social Justice and why Jews are such great people); Tuesday we take a trip to a different area in Israel and get a lecture; Wednesday is Hebrew all morning and free afternoon; Thursday are courses on the weeks events in the Israeli news and one on the history of Israeli-Arab peace talks followed by one last dose of Hebrew. I really liked my classes so far, I just really get them and they raise a lot of new and old thoughts. The only part I don't like is that so many people on this program are very right-wing in their Israeli politics, and I find myself cringing at what people say and constantly arguing over what I feel is non-negotiable. The Hebrew is a bit harder, I'm in Kitah Gimmel (level 4) but we share a class with Kitah Daled (level 5, one step up) and I can't keep up.
It's good to know that we're not really stuck in Arad. This past week I skipped the tiyul (trip) to Masada (71 a.d. a group of fanatical Jews chose to commit suicide on the isolated mountain rather than be killed or enslaved by the Romans who had surrounded them). Instead I took a trip to Jerusalem which turned out to be it's own suicidal mission. I got on the bus from Beersehva to Jerusalem and realized I was the only person who wasn't a male soldier wearing a kippah (symbol that they are religiously observant). This got me to wondering and I soon found out this bus went to Jerusalem via Hebron, meaning I would be visiting the West Bank and a few settlements. In short, I got really scared. One soldier tried to reassure me by pointing out the security measures "It's safe, see the bullet-proof glass" but somehow I didn't feel better. I tried to get off the bus but the bus driver took it as a personal insult. So I got a brief look at the front gates and bus stops of Hebron, Gush Etziyon, and Kiryat Arba. I spent that day with Hanna before getting a much more direct bus back to Arad. On Wednesday I went out with Emily, Daniella, and Susan to dinner in Beersehva followed by bowling. On Thursday Emily and I headed out for Jerusalem and are now spending the weekend at Hanna's place. We went to the coolest club in Jerusalem our first night, did some fun shopping in Emek Refaim and more bowling (you'd think it was the national sport) on Friday, and today we're going to visit Ein Kerem before heading back. I'm trying to put together a few trips with Emily and Hanna and a few others; a wine tour in the Galilee and a week in Eilat and Jordan.
So, ze mah yesh (that's what I got). Has anyone seen the movie "Paradise Now"? It's about two suicide bombers on their way to Tel Aviv and I really want to hear about it, I'm not sure if it will be shown in Israel. I will try to post a bit more frequently, and put pictures up as well!
posted by A Mus-Ed Blogger @ 11:39 PM
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