Stressing
My work has taken a decided turn for the worst. I'm well into my second week of 9-6 pm shifts and I have one more to go, and I just don't think I'll make it. My job is now almost entirely answering the phone, when it rings, and trying to decipher from the Arabic (and one time Spanish) spoken on the other end who I should connect the caller to (I usually just send it to Reem). When I'm not answering the phones, I'm placing calls to Seed campers to remind them to come to meetings and bring their paperwork. What's sad is that even at this incredibly easy job, I'm awful. I have no training or skills in transferring calls, my American politeness is wasted, and often I find myself talking loudly and slowly to people who keep screaming at me and finally stop picking up their phones after they've hung up on me 4 times. I will give you a few examples of the calls I deal with:
ringMe: Hello, Seeds of Peace
Arab Male Caller: Marhaba
Me: Hello
AMC: .... Marhaba
Me: Hi
AMC:
Marhaba
Me: Um, mar-ha-ba
AMC: Ahhhhh, marhaba! Marhaba is international word, no? I'm sure they use it in Turkey
Me: I'm not sure, I've never been to Turkey
AMC: hahahaha.... Please may I speak with Sami?
Me calling a Seeds camperMale voice: Haaallo?
Me: Hello, my name is Kinneret and I am calling from Seeds of Peace, is Mohammad there?
Male voice: who?
Me: Mo-hammad
MV: eh?
Me: Mu-
ha-mad
MV: Ayawah, Mohammad, he is here
Me: ... May I speak with him
MV: Yes
one minute passesMe: are you Mohammad?
MV: Yes
And so it goes. Reem sent me on a mission yesterday to ask Issa, the office manager, for a box of pens. I found myself acting out an elaborate mime-dance when one of my co-workers said, "Can't you just ask him in Hebrew?" I completely forgot I knew Hebrew!
Still I'm gaining incredible insight through this internship. I know now, without a doubt, that I do not want to work in an office, ever. Whatever career I am working towards it will not include me sitting at a desk, the numbers 9 or 5 (or 6 for that matter), and I hope to one day return to the bliss that was not knowing how to operate a copier (though I think my coworkers would argue I still don't).
Speaking of careers I AM FREAKING OUT.
GRAD SCHOOL! DECISIONS! MAY 1ST! I CAN'T GO ON! I have decided to go back to America and grad school next year. Don't be too impressed with my seeming pro-activeness, I just didn't get the fellowship that would have paid me to stay in Israel and I can't quite see spending another year volunteering for free, or paying for a program. Even if not motivated, I feel ready at least to step-up to something new. Plus, 22 has me feeling really old, and if I'm going to be in grad school for the next 3 years I want it to be over with and heading to the next part of my life at 25, to be discussed only with my mother.
I repeat this from last time, I have narrowed down my options to either:
* Columbia University's Teachers College- I would be entering to get an MA, but would probably switch to Masters of Education, in
Comparative and International Education focus on Peace Education. Their programs focus might be too focused on race and minority issues within America for me. Plus I'm scared of NY, and spending all day at work reading OverheardinNY.com doesn't give me the best feeling about the city and it's inhabitants, which seem to include a lot of outspoken hobos.
* American University's School of International Service (SIS)-
Dual MA in Education and International Peace and Conflict Resolution, which very nicely brings together everything I want to do. Located in hyper-political DC, I'm not sure I could handle the shmoozing. Would definitely get the Middle East aspect I want, though I'm not sure how their education program is, certainly nothing like Columbia's.
Please God, send me a sign!
Thinking about the Future
SHIRA IS ENGAGED
I am so incredibly excited. Somehow, though, it is so bizarre to have ones sister be so adult that she would get married, within the very near future, and then probably go on to have kids, and grandkids, and big family dinners and everything else that comes with it. It's a whole new chapter to our lives and I'm thinking about my cousins' and my own life in a different way now.
More immediately;
GRAD SCHOOL
I applied to grad schools before I left for Israel (literally the day before) and now that I've heard back from nearly all of them, I find myself with some choices to make. At this point I am so excited about the idea of decision making. As Patty Mason put it, there just isn't a bad decision to make, because I've gotten into good programs and they all approach either Peace Education or Conflict Resolution from unique perspectives. I need to hear from one more school (I think, I've forgotten how many I applied to) and then I'll have to get a bit more serious about it all.
The Programs I'm In:
*
School forInternational Training (SIT)- small, in Vermont, very alternative looking. I would be getting an MA in
Conflict Transformation. It would be like going to camp with a lot of Kumbaya-ing around the campfire
*
American University's International Training and Education Program (ITEP)- in DC, the interviewer was very intense on "skill sets," and could still take classes in other departments and enjoy perks of big, international city. I would be getting an MA in
International Education, with a focus on Peace and Conflict Resolution.
*
George Washington University's Graduate School of Education and Human Development (GSEHD)- MA in
International Education. They're a bit policy-oriented for me, but obviously it's a great university and all the DC perks again.
*
Columbia University's Teachers College- I think my best bet as far as education programs go. I would be entering to get an MA, but would probably switch to Masters of Education, in
Comparative and International Education focus on Peace Education. It's in NY, and that scares me no little bit.
*
American University's School of International Service (SIS)- I applied to a pretty specific program which offers a
Dual MA in Education and International Peace and Conflict Resolution, which very nicely brings together everything I want to do. It really comes down to SIS or Teachers College...
The Programs I'm Not In:
*
Notre Dame's Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies- Believe me, this was the longest of long shots. Excellent school, excellent program, really hard to get in. But this is ok because if I moved back to South Bend I think I would marry Jeff Sarnat, live on Mercury Drive, and bring peanut-butter and fluff sandwiches to university every day. Picture of
Class for 2007, where would I fit in?
*
George Washington's Elliot School of International Affairs- I was actually waitlisted, but no matter. Again, too policy oriented, and I wasn't a big fan of their salesmanship. If I really want to do DC, I think AU is a better fit.
The Programs I'm Not Sure Of:
*
Brandeis' Slifka Program in Intercommunal Coexistence- I'm not going to lie to you, I don't remember if I applied. I think i did, but that last week was high stress and this was a pretty far stretch since I'm not 30 and haven't had 8 years working experience. I'm going to assume I didn't apply.
ISRAELThe other option is to defer grad school and stay in Israel for the year. I applied for a fellowship which would pay me to volunteer in a social change organization, which is pretty much what I've paid to do this year and what I've been doing every summer for free for the past 4 years. The real issue is, do I want to stay in Israel? A week doesn't go by that I don't find something that annoys me (see below for my story of the Post Office today), or that I don't compare the service in Israel (nonexistent) to America (superb). I don't want to be unhappy where I'm at. I wish I had the blind optimism of 5 years ago when I thought I could make Aliyah easily and would have been happy to be pushed around at bus stops. Now I think I appreciate the easiness of America too much (JAP that I am) and I'm not as in love with the Israeli culture as I once was. I'd also like to travel and work with other regions in conflict; Northern Ireland, South Africa, perhaps meet up with Asher in the ever-fun Balkans.
Post Office ExtravaganzaMy mom sent me a package with a few essential and not-so-essential items over 4 day priority mail. Complaining that it took over a week is unimportant, since this is Israel and what can I expect? Anyway, the package was sent to my friend Hanna's house (I was nervous about it getting lost somewhere in my apartment building) but it never made it there, it stopped at the post office and Hanna got a little note to stop by and pick it up. So I go down to Emek Refaim with Emily after work to claim my package. The woman who I assume was the clerk only because she was standing behind the counter told me there was no package for me. She was sure of it. After some pleading she said she would check the list of packages, but nope, my name wasn't there. After some arguing she began to check the name on every small envelope in the post office (After I've told her it's a large package, about a foot square) and other customers begin to try to interpret my English for her (She says it's big!) to which she got upset (I can understand her!). Emily tried to point to the large, square package, wrapped in American tape, on the top shelf and asked her to check it, but she refused. Then a neighborhood woman came in and asked the clerk if she had a package, the clerk rudely told her that yes, she had a package and it was in her pocket, now get the hell out! More yelling went back and forth (I was pretty thankful the heat was taken off me) in which the clerk reduced this woman practically to tears. The customer then went to the manager to complain, his response is "What, you want service? You think we have packages just sitting around waiting for you? Here let me look in my pocket!" so the woman finally left. Then, after more (quieter) arguing the clerk finally conceded to check the large package which was, miraculously, mine. After paying customs that my mom already paid in America, I got my box of shampoo and underwear, and went to Aroma to recuperate. Really, could I live with this?
THE JOB
Recently Seeds of Peace has made some cut backs, but since they don't pay me I get to stay! Now I have to come in earlier, answer phones, and work on all their past data-bases that they lost when the server crashed. But there are perks: today I signed for our Culligan's Water in Arabic (and the delivery guy laughed). But one of the other interns was impressed, so I wrote his name for him, so there. Dad, the lessons are worth it!
OTHER
I've been having a ton of nightmares recently. I haven't gone a full night of sleep in 4 nights.
Today it started hailing, one of my co-workers said there was a tornado up north and a sandstorm down south, so the end of the world might be nigh.
