photos, updates, and anything else that will fit...

So many things have happened since my last post, it's hard to know where to start. Thanks to all of you for reading and letting me know you look forward to hearing about my travels! First things first- I have managed to post at least a few photos with some captions on Picasa. The link appears at the very bottom of this post, and by going to the tab on the left that says "My Photos" you should be able to see the other albums as well. 

Allow me to set the mood for you... it's close to 5:30 pm here, and we just got out of ulpan. We've started learning the past tense- woohoo! This morning I had my Jewish philosophy class where we discussed Maimonides, but somehow our professor fails to ignite my interest despite my love of philosophy. I keep thinking about Rabbi Aaron's classes and wishing he was teaching the class. Teachers really do make all the difference! 

Anyway, here I am waiting for the water to heat up for my shower and also for my coffee to kick in. We leave at 7 am for our five day tiyul (hike or trip) through the Negev. It has finally gotten chilly enough for me to be snuggled up in my Carolina sweatshirt, and I'm listening to U2 rather than my usual Jack's Mannequin which I haven't been able to get enough of lately. There's a lovely sunset behind me through our window, and I simply couldn't be more content with life. Maybe the coffee is starting to kick in... :O) 

I've made a few reputations for myself here, but they're the good kind. Racheli (one of our madrichot) said to me at lunch today that every time she sees me I have the biggest smile on my face. Maybe it's a camp thing to always smile, but then, what's not to smile about?! :O) I also seem to be the resourceful one of the bunch. Then there's my laugh. It's loud and very distinctive. People always seem to recognize it. I don't hold back. Beti, my Turkish friend, made me promise today not to hold back. No problems there. Since coming to Israel I've been doing my best to dance like no one's watching and laughing from my belly. Loving like I've never been hurt is taking more concerted effort, but I'm working on it. 

While visiting my extended family in Qiryat Gat (near Ashkalon) the last two weekends, I have made some interesting insights. I have decided for myself that friends may come and go, but family is forever. All I have to do is decide who to include in my small family of friends and know that those are the people I can always count on. All other friends are free to come and go in and out of my life as they always seem to but without my getting disappointed by the changes as I always have been known to. This comes out of the overwhelming warmth and kindness I received from my family despite not having seen them since the last time I was here when I was 15- ten years ago! At the time it was truly a profound realization but maybe one we all inevitably come to sooner or later or maybe with age. 

Moving away from the personal, let's back track through the last two weeks...

Jerusalem was great. We visited Mount Herzl, the Herzl Museum, the Begin Center, and ran all over Jerusalem. Met lots of people, but one of my favorite new friends is the soldier who lived in our room. Shiri is wonderful, and I can't wait to see her in less than two weeks when we have the second part of the seminar series. I have decided to do my project on immigrant stereotypes and the understanding of immigrant communities both in Israel and in the US. There are some really interesting parallels that I've discovered and hope to be able to shed some light on the issues in order to promote tolerance and eventually acceptance and appreciation of differences. I'm hoping to write a program that can be distributed to youth groups and maybe even camps. Such is the goal anyway. I have to write my official synopsis tonight. 

That Sunday we went back up to Jerusalem for a peace rally to free the three Israeli soldiers captured by Lebanon more than a year ago. The wife of one of the soldiers spoke as well as another's friend, but I felt the disco balls and fog machines during dancing and singing in between the speakers took away some of the integrity of the rally. The cheese factor became a little too high for my liking at times. I did however run into Lauren Godles from NFTY, Haley Cohen from Temple Beth Or, and Reif from camp. They're all studying in Israel too. It's a small small Jewish world here. 

The next night we met our adoptive Arad families but mine and several other students' never showed up. We were sad and orphaned (see facebook photo), but as you can probably tell, my real family more than made up for the absence of the Katz family... whoever they are. Then we went for a moonlit hike through the desert just outside of town. Very cool. The moon was huge. Everything you'd expect, and a great desert breeze which at the time was quite refreshing because it hadn't started to get cold yet. 

Tuesday was a trip to different Bedouin villages, settlements, and cities. Yes, there are definite distinctions. Suffice it to say, there was much controversy, and I will gladly discuss at length all I have learned about the issue with anyone who's interested. It is far too much to go into any real detail here. It may also become a part of my project on immigrant populations, though I'm not sure it fits exactly. 

Wednesday night (Halloween) Allie and I went out dancing at Baraka, a huge club in Be'er Sheva which is only for university students. We had an AWESOME time! The atmosphere and music were great, and we danced nonstop for hours. Israeli men it turns out are actually very good dancers, and they do something no American men would ever do- dance in large groups with each other! It really is a site to see, but they don't seem to be the least bit concerned. It's very freeing. 

Thursday I had my first falafel of this trip to Israel. It was a momentous occasion and quite delicious. I almost said Shechehiyanu. On the way up to the Hadag Nachash concert that night, we stopped at McDonalds. I don't think I've eaten there in years in the US, but there we were. I managed to order ice cream in Hebrew and was extremely proud of myself. (An M&M McFlurry for anyone who's curious, and no, it's not called a McFlurry.) What do you call a drive thru in Israel? A McDrive! Love it! There are "McDrive" signs at every McDonalds. 

The concert in Jerusalem itself was incredible! Before the show, the Jerusalem circus was on hand to entertain, and there were all sorts of things going on around us. We also ran into many of our new friends from the leadership conference. Lots to tell, but in short, it was good fun. Hadag Nachash put on what I thought to be a much better performance than they had in Philly which I had also enjoyed. We were in the third row but never sat down in our seats. We were up dancing the whole time... for the second night in a row! See what I mean now by dancing? 

We got home that night around 1:30 am, and I was thoroughly exhausted. I spent that weekend in Qiryat Gat eating, sleeping, and drinking coffee/ tea with my family. Such a lovely way to spend Shabbat! Saturday morning we went to the beach in Ashkalon for part of the day and came back with a large bag full of various kinds of sea shells. These are truly MY people! See Qiryat Gat Album for photos of how they use the shells to decorate walls in the backyard. Shells now also cover my desk in Arad. There's something comical about sea shells in the desert, and I enjoy the juxtaposition. 

Monday (November 5th) Sudanese refugees living in Arad came to speak to us. It was an amazing and eye opening talk. Two things I found most interesting- one, all they want is a safe and peaceful place to raise their families and they believe Israel is that place. This of course is in severe contrast to most people's reactions to my telling them I was moving to Israel for six months. It's all about perspective. The second point of note is that the people we spoke to insisted on not being labeled as Darfur refugees. They are from southern Sudan and fled from there some of them as many as twenty years ago. Apparently the war in southern Sudan has been going on that long, and they seemed outraged that it was not until the war reached Darfur that it got any mass media attention in the last few years. According to them this is because of the Muslim population there being affected. I need to do some research into this, but I have reason to believe their outrage. 

The next day, those of us in the Peace & Social Justice track visited three different sites all over northern Israel doing work in our various areas of interest: Arab-Israeli relations, at risk youth, and Ethiopian immigrants. All very interesting and lots of bonding time in the van. Four or five of us finished off four bars of delicious Elite chocolate: dark with hazelnuts (for you Mom!), dark with Pop Rocks (a new thing here- fireworks for your taste buds!), milk chocolate with Oreo pieces, and dark porous chocolate. According to my family though, this is nothing. Still, we were quite impressed with ourselves. It was just one of those days. 

Wednesday we had a lecture on female slavery traffic, and I think I might do part of my internship at a crisis center in Tel Aviv for women. Clearly the talk had an impact on me. Are you beginning to get the sense that not a day here is spent without serious discussion of some sort? Because that's truly the case! That night we watched "Walk on Water." It's an Israeli film, and if you can find it- watch it! 

Saturday I was with my family again, and I started yearning for Reform Judaism. I miss it more and more. I miss female rabbis and women in kippot. I keep wanting to wear my kippah here, but it's totally not received in a way that I would like or interpreted well. I always thought young women returned from Israel wearing kippot as a continuation of a practice they adopt or begin here, but it seems to me now that it's more an expression of freedom at being able to do so without reproach or too many questions. Ironic in a way. Or maybe it's some people's way of taking Israel home with them. A reminder. A sign to the world. 

I also miss the Reform music tradition. I played Jewbilee's version of Misheberach in our room the other night, and now Allie thinks it's the most amazing thing she's ever heard. Imagine a life without Dan Nichols! I miss American social activism and political correctness. I am sometimes far too much of a "bleeding heart liberal." I admit it. I miss Reform services, but I get so excited at being able to freely read prayers and understanding much more of the literal meaning. Even when it was only pronouns and a few verbs, it was a thrilling start. 

It's just about time for my shower and packing, but one more piece of exciting news out of Israel: a new country-wide smoking ban in public places went into effect yesterday! People who smoke in bars for instance will be fined large sums as well as the places where they smoke. I am delighted by the news, but the smokers on our trip are not. As it is, Israel is the only country I have ever travelled to that has a 5 minute intermission during all movies presumably as a smoke break in addition to bathroom use or to get snacks. We went out last night, and it was such a relief to not have to wash my hair or strip off all of my clothes as soon as we came home. I hate that feeling! 

In the next blog, you can look forward to tales from the tiyul and a Shabbaton in Eilat. I have promised my grandfather I will go to the aquarium there if I can. A very easy promise to keep given my love of marine biology! The following weekend (22nd-24th) I will be in Jerusalem for part II of the leadership seminar.  

Much love! 

***The link for the photos is: http://picasaweb.google.com/janejy18/Arad?authkey=FXBUwTTwZoA