Thursday, February 26, 2009
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Jerusalem
As a slightly sappy anecdote of this past weekend, I forgot to mention my time with Eric! It was amazing, terrific, wonderful, thrilling, brilliant, relaxing and fun. Probably could fit another few thousand words in their like "eating eating sleeping eating tv lots and lots of rain"-- but I won't.
Probably the most pacifistic, indie, Colorado moment I had happened while I was waiting for Eric and parents to pick me up. I climbed up the side of the hill with my two shopping bags and purse-- this was more bouldering, less climbing-- laid my jacket out on the ground, took out my book, and watched the sun sink further down and lower in the sky while being hugged by the valley walls, the eyes of the houses gazing out overhead. It was very peaceful; the hills surrounded me, the traffic was far below, the pedestrians were nowhere to be found because not everyone has tough skin like me.
The other amazing moment I'll just mention is when Eric and I were talking, we climbed out the window and onto the balcony (there's no direct access) and sat there chatting and watching the world go by until our feet got too cold to take it.
Some pleasant memories to keep the day =)
Probably the most pacifistic, indie, Colorado moment I had happened while I was waiting for Eric and parents to pick me up. I climbed up the side of the hill with my two shopping bags and purse-- this was more bouldering, less climbing-- laid my jacket out on the ground, took out my book, and watched the sun sink further down and lower in the sky while being hugged by the valley walls, the eyes of the houses gazing out overhead. It was very peaceful; the hills surrounded me, the traffic was far below, the pedestrians were nowhere to be found because not everyone has tough skin like me.
The other amazing moment I'll just mention is when Eric and I were talking, we climbed out the window and onto the balcony (there's no direct access) and sat there chatting and watching the world go by until our feet got too cold to take it.
Some pleasant memories to keep the day =)
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Endless
[I deleted what was here; you're not going crazy]
Zippori
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sepphoris
Beit She'arim
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beit_She'arim_National_Park
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Monday, February 16, 2009
Was
I was feeling miserable this morning
And I sat on a rock hit by the sun
My ears were filled with tides of roaring
And I sat down with a cup of tea
Feared that this would be boring
And I sat into the soft sofa with my work
Lungs refused to keep on piping
And I sat beneath the world and wrote a poem
Yay!!!! I wrote a poem-like thing today!! Not this; this is an ode to a poem I wrote in Hebrew. I'm not posting it here, it was awful. But I did feel ridiculously awful for the first two hours of the morning. Eric will be here tomorrow, I held an entire conversation about anarchy in Hebrew, and I'm pleased. :)
And I sat on a rock hit by the sun
My ears were filled with tides of roaring
And I sat down with a cup of tea
Feared that this would be boring
And I sat into the soft sofa with my work
Lungs refused to keep on piping
And I sat beneath the world and wrote a poem
Yay!!!! I wrote a poem-like thing today!! Not this; this is an ode to a poem I wrote in Hebrew. I'm not posting it here, it was awful. But I did feel ridiculously awful for the first two hours of the morning. Eric will be here tomorrow, I held an entire conversation about anarchy in Hebrew, and I'm pleased. :)
Saturday, February 14, 2009
A few amazing things I've done these weekend
-Walked around the gorgeous Tel Aviv Art Museum
-Met two Canadians on a bus to Ramat Gan
-Had six kids from Macabi Tza'ir run up to me and ask if I recycled, and to the sign the paper if I did... in Hebrew. SO CUTE!!! I needed help finding a place to charge my phone, and they took me back to their little cabin-place. And then walked me to the bus station to wait for Dani and attacked me with hugs!!!
-Friday the 13th movie viewing of SHAUN OF THE DEAD with Dani, Lihi, Ofer, Chen (Pecker), v'Dana
-Really amazing green apple and cinnamon Wissowsky tea!!
-Reading the next installation in the Assassin's series on Idan/Dani's balcony/plant garden/thing-not-meant-for-people-to-sit outside in the beautiful sunshine
-Spotting Toucanim (parrots) outside of Matan's window. Ofer will e-mail the pictures later. The question is, how did they get here? They're definitely not a native species....
-ERIC IS COMING!!!! to Israel!!! YAYYYYYYY
-Met two Canadians on a bus to Ramat Gan
-Had six kids from Macabi Tza'ir run up to me and ask if I recycled, and to the sign the paper if I did... in Hebrew. SO CUTE!!! I needed help finding a place to charge my phone, and they took me back to their little cabin-place. And then walked me to the bus station to wait for Dani and attacked me with hugs!!!
-Friday the 13th movie viewing of SHAUN OF THE DEAD with Dani, Lihi, Ofer, Chen (Pecker), v'Dana
-Really amazing green apple and cinnamon Wissowsky tea!!
-Reading the next installation in the Assassin's series on Idan/Dani's balcony/plant garden/thing-not-meant-for-people-to-sit outside in the beautiful sunshine
-Spotting Toucanim (parrots) outside of Matan's window. Ofer will e-mail the pictures later. The question is, how did they get here? They're definitely not a native species....
-ERIC IS COMING!!!! to Israel!!! YAYYYYYYY
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Pictures + Descriptions--Taibe + TuBshvat
Warning: This blog should be viewed from the bottom up for concise and clear (vaguely) understanding)
It HAILED! In ISRAEL! Not only did in rain today on this disgusting day of election (weather wise, not politics--although now that I think of it, that applies too...) but hail???? Seriously?? This picture was taken right outside of our room. Mark was outside running and we were all worried about him; apparently he was at the front gate when it started and took shelter, but if his hair was a little fluffier he wouldn't have needed. It was beautiful. And coooooolllld out today. Side note: This is my ONLY PICTURE of election day, a very fascinating day in my opinion.
End result: Happy NANA and SAGE plants at our bayit!
Making our personal plants. Josh is making an incision for the water. He's so focused.
Experiments with algae.
Water falling from the pipes above. Water's falling from the sky above outside right now. I can here the thunder.
One of the coexistance projects was to build something that projected a sound to the other side of the room, etc.....
These water cabbages keep the water clean and have no practical use besides that whatsoever; sometimes that's enough.
My fingers are getting tired. This is the bottom part of the picture below.
Bioengineering. Yaay.
Irrigation system, more.
Irrigation system. Water from shower goes there and feeds the trees (not pictured)
More environemental impact stuff--when the sun goes up, the sun reflects off the mirrors and heats the glass; if you have a pot of tea out there, it boils in 10-15 minutes
This is a very very nifty system. When it's sunny outside the glass heats up and there is a suction that pulls the air in from the outside and carries into the black thing in the back... from the back side (not pictured), there is a door that opens and you can cook things in there slow-roast in the summer, or whatever cooks slowly. Very cool.
This is the front yard of the environmental-guru of the kibbutz. She also incidentally happens to be our Arabic teacher. Complete accident! We had no idea she was so cool. This is a public garden; what you can't see from this picture is the complex irrigation system she has set up to access the water and manipulate it for all the plants around.
Look at us, we're so cool. This is the middle-ish of the greenhouse; I'm hiding behind our guide-person-friend.
For Tu'Bishvat, we headed over Kibbutz Ein Shemier (not spelling it right, I think), a neighboring kibbutz that houses a non-profit environmental research lab. These plants are projects children have completed during their time at Ein Shemier. I mention these kids because not only is it an environmental research center, but it is also used as a coexistance place where kids from Jewish and Arabic households come together from very young ages to even 17 years of age and work on a variety of projects.
Arabic hospitality. Fortunately, they gave us lemonade, not tea or coffee-- I don't know how much more I could have withstood. These are typical sweets eaten after the fast day is over during the month of Ramadan.
Lawyer brother in action. I think that might be the son or grandson?
A giant plot of land that my professor's dad left behind for his children, 5 boys and 3 girls. One of the brothers is on his way to becoming the mayor of Taibe, another is a lawyer, and the divorced sister also has a house on this plot of land. Each one, once there is enough money, builds another house right next door. On the left you can see a house in the making, which is the lawyer brother, and the empty plot of land next to it that looks slightly cleaned out. That's where my prof's going to be. Eventually. He's a teacher, it's not like he makes a great salary. They have an apartment within the city-city area, anyway.
This is the first picture, but because the uploader is stupid, it loaded them in backwards.
Anyway, this is Taibe. It's a very old, old city. My professor lives there, about four or five blocks away; there are actually people who live within these walls now. See, for example, the woman on the bottom right. This was the second or third stop on our way around Taibe--first being profs apartment for lunch, second at his family's funeral room, third here.
It HAILED! In ISRAEL! Not only did in rain today on this disgusting day of election (weather wise, not politics--although now that I think of it, that applies too...) but hail???? Seriously?? This picture was taken right outside of our room. Mark was outside running and we were all worried about him; apparently he was at the front gate when it started and took shelter, but if his hair was a little fluffier he wouldn't have needed. It was beautiful. And coooooolllld out today. Side note: This is my ONLY PICTURE of election day, a very fascinating day in my opinion.
End result: Happy NANA and SAGE plants at our bayit!
Making our personal plants. Josh is making an incision for the water. He's so focused.
Experiments with algae.
Water falling from the pipes above. Water's falling from the sky above outside right now. I can here the thunder.
One of the coexistance projects was to build something that projected a sound to the other side of the room, etc.....
These water cabbages keep the water clean and have no practical use besides that whatsoever; sometimes that's enough.
My fingers are getting tired. This is the bottom part of the picture below.
Bioengineering. Yaay.
Irrigation system, more.
Irrigation system. Water from shower goes there and feeds the trees (not pictured)
More environemental impact stuff--when the sun goes up, the sun reflects off the mirrors and heats the glass; if you have a pot of tea out there, it boils in 10-15 minutes
This is a very very nifty system. When it's sunny outside the glass heats up and there is a suction that pulls the air in from the outside and carries into the black thing in the back... from the back side (not pictured), there is a door that opens and you can cook things in there slow-roast in the summer, or whatever cooks slowly. Very cool.
This is the front yard of the environmental-guru of the kibbutz. She also incidentally happens to be our Arabic teacher. Complete accident! We had no idea she was so cool. This is a public garden; what you can't see from this picture is the complex irrigation system she has set up to access the water and manipulate it for all the plants around.
Look at us, we're so cool. This is the middle-ish of the greenhouse; I'm hiding behind our guide-person-friend.
For Tu'Bishvat, we headed over Kibbutz Ein Shemier (not spelling it right, I think), a neighboring kibbutz that houses a non-profit environmental research lab. These plants are projects children have completed during their time at Ein Shemier. I mention these kids because not only is it an environmental research center, but it is also used as a coexistance place where kids from Jewish and Arabic households come together from very young ages to even 17 years of age and work on a variety of projects.
Arabic hospitality. Fortunately, they gave us lemonade, not tea or coffee-- I don't know how much more I could have withstood. These are typical sweets eaten after the fast day is over during the month of Ramadan.
Lawyer brother in action. I think that might be the son or grandson?
A giant plot of land that my professor's dad left behind for his children, 5 boys and 3 girls. One of the brothers is on his way to becoming the mayor of Taibe, another is a lawyer, and the divorced sister also has a house on this plot of land. Each one, once there is enough money, builds another house right next door. On the left you can see a house in the making, which is the lawyer brother, and the empty plot of land next to it that looks slightly cleaned out. That's where my prof's going to be. Eventually. He's a teacher, it's not like he makes a great salary. They have an apartment within the city-city area, anyway.
This is the first picture, but because the uploader is stupid, it loaded them in backwards.Anyway, this is Taibe. It's a very old, old city. My professor lives there, about four or five blocks away; there are actually people who live within these walls now. See, for example, the woman on the bottom right. This was the second or third stop on our way around Taibe--first being profs apartment for lunch, second at his family's funeral room, third here.
Fooks
Fooks. That is what today is, in a nutshell. Not only is it the day of the Israeli elections, it is also our half-day off and RAINING, of all things, in Israel. Why is this a phenomenon Sam, you may ask outloud to this inanimate object of a computer.
Well, I'll tell you.
Here is part of the e-mail I got back from Today's Haifa Man (THM):
and more over this is so weird or shall I say kind of fate or karma that you write to me (again, I'll explain you tomorrow so dont be afraid or something..).
We were both getting easily sidetracked by fascinating matters pertaining to both of our interests (traveling) and our distractions (politics) and our lifestyles (traveling/classic-Israeli), but finally got to the story. He really really mamash wanted to go on the summer camp program that allows soldiers fresh out of the army. Last month, however, he went on a birthright trip with a bunch of people between ages 25-26 from California... When he applied to the summer camp program, he hadn't yet met this phenomenal group of people from California, and he found out yesterday (when I e-mailed him) that he was going to be in the Poconos, Pennsylvania. The ironic bit of this all is my profile says I'm from Pennsylvania (school...), so he was very overjoyed to meet me. His reasoning: he might be sad over this whole wrong place bit, but it is karma that his first couchsurfer is me, a Pennsylvanian!
... As a side note, I have been looking into being a counselor there this summer as a viable option. It is a possibility, of course. There are a few others available, too...
Second bit of Karma.
I was telling him about the story of meeting the guy on the train from Haifa who works as a civilian for the intelligence and studied Arabic at the same place I do... and he said, "what's his name?" and I said "Guy". He gave me this look of curious/shock/interest and said, "what's his last name?" and I said "I don't know". He filled in this last blank by supplying the last name, and lo-and-behold! The one other person I know in Haifa (more or less) is this guys best friend!!!!!!
We call him up, and he's still at work in Tel Aviv, but we talk on the phone for a few minutes when he's out of work. Probably meet up with them in a few weeks. Basically, I meet two amazingly gorgeous guys that are extremely intelligent and interesting on two completely distinguishable situations.... and they're best friends. WHAT THE FUCK.
This is ironic.
/////
Here is my summary of the Israeli political system slash political summary urging you to do your own fucking research, copied from my facebook:
Israelis can correct me if I'm wrong, and please please do, because I'm not in the business of naivety and I appreciate contribution... anyway, enough of that disclaimer, here is my layout-- you can find out what the individual party platforms argue by reading the news. Arguably.
The political system of Israel is kind of like a rainbow. You have the left, the center, and the right wings and can be grouped into religious and secular. This chart should let you google their names with more or less the correct spelling.
[L] Left [R] Right [C] Center] [S] Secular [G] Religious [A] Arab
Balad (Meaning land in Arabic): L, A
Communist Party: L, S
Habayit Yehudi: R, G
Kadima: C, S
Labor (Avoda): L, S
Likud: R, S
National Union (NU) (Used to be called National Religious): R, G
Pensioners: C, S
RAM/TAL: L, A
Shas: R, R
UTJ: R, R
Yisrael Beitainu: R, S
The frontrunners (supposedly) are Kadima (Tzipi Livni) and Likud (Bibi Netanyahu). It's really quite lovely and rainy outside today. Pointing being, not everyone loves the rain and "bad" weather like I do; I think you get to appreciate it after awhile when you live in a desert, but it does mean that probably a lot of people who would have voted aren't out at the polls because of this. Or because they're apathetic. Or because all politicians look the same. Basically, take all the problems we've ever had with voting, put it in a hypertense situation, and change the language to Hebrew.
Well, I'll tell you.
Here is part of the e-mail I got back from Today's Haifa Man (THM):
and more over this is so weird or shall I say kind of fate or karma that you write to me (again, I'll explain you tomorrow so dont be afraid or something..).
We were both getting easily sidetracked by fascinating matters pertaining to both of our interests (traveling) and our distractions (politics) and our lifestyles (traveling/classic-Israeli), but finally got to the story. He really really mamash wanted to go on the summer camp program that allows soldiers fresh out of the army. Last month, however, he went on a birthright trip with a bunch of people between ages 25-26 from California... When he applied to the summer camp program, he hadn't yet met this phenomenal group of people from California, and he found out yesterday (when I e-mailed him) that he was going to be in the Poconos, Pennsylvania. The ironic bit of this all is my profile says I'm from Pennsylvania (school...), so he was very overjoyed to meet me. His reasoning: he might be sad over this whole wrong place bit, but it is karma that his first couchsurfer is me, a Pennsylvanian!
... As a side note, I have been looking into being a counselor there this summer as a viable option. It is a possibility, of course. There are a few others available, too...
Second bit of Karma.
I was telling him about the story of meeting the guy on the train from Haifa who works as a civilian for the intelligence and studied Arabic at the same place I do... and he said, "what's his name?" and I said "Guy". He gave me this look of curious/shock/interest and said, "what's his last name?" and I said "I don't know". He filled in this last blank by supplying the last name, and lo-and-behold! The one other person I know in Haifa (more or less) is this guys best friend!!!!!!
We call him up, and he's still at work in Tel Aviv, but we talk on the phone for a few minutes when he's out of work. Probably meet up with them in a few weeks. Basically, I meet two amazingly gorgeous guys that are extremely intelligent and interesting on two completely distinguishable situations.... and they're best friends. WHAT THE FUCK.
This is ironic.
/////
Here is my summary of the Israeli political system slash political summary urging you to do your own fucking research, copied from my facebook:
Israelis can correct me if I'm wrong, and please please do, because I'm not in the business of naivety and I appreciate contribution... anyway, enough of that disclaimer, here is my layout-- you can find out what the individual party platforms argue by reading the news. Arguably.
The political system of Israel is kind of like a rainbow. You have the left, the center, and the right wings and can be grouped into religious and secular. This chart should let you google their names with more or less the correct spelling.
[L] Left [R] Right [C] Center] [S] Secular [G] Religious [A] Arab
Balad (Meaning land in Arabic): L, A
Communist Party: L, S
Habayit Yehudi: R, G
Kadima: C, S
Labor (Avoda): L, S
Likud: R, S
National Union (NU) (Used to be called National Religious): R, G
Pensioners: C, S
RAM/TAL: L, A
Shas: R, R
UTJ: R, R
Yisrael Beitainu: R, S
The frontrunners (supposedly) are Kadima (Tzipi Livni) and Likud (Bibi Netanyahu). It's really quite lovely and rainy outside today. Pointing being, not everyone loves the rain and "bad" weather like I do; I think you get to appreciate it after awhile when you live in a desert, but it does mean that probably a lot of people who would have voted aren't out at the polls because of this. Or because they're apathetic. Or because all politicians look the same. Basically, take all the problems we've ever had with voting, put it in a hypertense situation, and change the language to Hebrew.
Monday, February 9, 2009
Kung Fu-Day One
4 of the 5 of us are going to be taking Kung Fu, I think. We went to our first training day today--it's an hour and 15 minutes, and it was amazing. We started with a small stretch, and then started rolling and doing handstands across the floor to get us warmed up a little bit. Following that, we did some hand-to-hand combat, some basic grappling technique, and we ended with form--kata, as they call it at LEMA, but including a pole pattern. All very interesting. Probably tonight is the happiest I've been of any day we have been here!
Also, happy Tu B'Shvat. We didn't have an afternoon class; instead we went to Ein Sheimer, a nearby Kibbutz, and went to their greenhouse. It is an AMAZING place, and I feel lucky that we had the opportunity to see it in action; especially with just the five of us, it felt like a private tour. They have a small greenhouse bit, but mostly this nonprofit organization is used as a kind of neutral-ground for Arab and Jewish children to meet up and work on projects together; whether that involves constructing biotechnology, nerdy computer modules, planting things, or making music, it's a wonderful place with an outstanding philosophy. very chill. And on the inner-Kibbutz competition, they're known as the Polish Kibbutz. Our guide was actually in our Kung Fu class, too. Aiza Kef.
Ran back, Mark and Adina encouraging me all the way. I think I tried to bite their heads off a few times, too. There's a girl from Barkai who trains there, so we might be able to catch a ride that way if need be.
Also, happy Tu B'Shvat. We didn't have an afternoon class; instead we went to Ein Sheimer, a nearby Kibbutz, and went to their greenhouse. It is an AMAZING place, and I feel lucky that we had the opportunity to see it in action; especially with just the five of us, it felt like a private tour. They have a small greenhouse bit, but mostly this nonprofit organization is used as a kind of neutral-ground for Arab and Jewish children to meet up and work on projects together; whether that involves constructing biotechnology, nerdy computer modules, planting things, or making music, it's a wonderful place with an outstanding philosophy. very chill. And on the inner-Kibbutz competition, they're known as the Polish Kibbutz. Our guide was actually in our Kung Fu class, too. Aiza Kef.
Ran back, Mark and Adina encouraging me all the way. I think I tried to bite their heads off a few times, too. There's a girl from Barkai who trains there, so we might be able to catch a ride that way if need be.
Friday, February 6, 2009
Even when I think something is black and white, you manage to find the rainbow in everything!
Robynnnnnn!!!!!!!!!!!
--------------------------------------
That was for the love of me life, Robyn, who lost our engagement ring. Robyn, I want you to know that losing that funky-coloured mood ring has permanently scarred me, and I will never recover. The wedding is off!
--------------------------------------
Besides that melodraumatic tidbit, it is now time for an update, from Wednesday to today:
1. Ein Hod/Ein Hud
2. Taibe
3. Summer plans?
Alright, 1.
Ein Hod is located in a small area in the hills about 15 minutes outside of Haifa. It was originally intended to be a Moshav, but the idea fell through. In 1953, one of the founders of the Dada Movement became the driving force behind the move to make it into an artists' colony. We stopped in a coffee shop that reminded me of something straight out of Pearl Street mall. Verrry indie.
Pre-1948, there lived the family of Al-Hija, constructed of 700-900 people, living in the area now known as Ein Hod. It was an agricultural land; they tended goats and cows, and grew vegetables and other such things you do in an agricultural society. When the fighting began, most people ended up in Jenin in the West Bank. However, 35 people were left and hid for many years in the hill nearby (now called Ein Hud). Sometime around 1988 the Israeli government issued a counting of all the unrecognized villages and wanted to lay down the law; what it did was make the people living in these villages aware that there were other groups just like them out there and biding their time. This is how the associaton of Arabs in Unrecognized Villages first came into existance.
As Israeli citizens, they should have been granted certain rights. Running water, electricity, a good school system... a whole smattering of things should have been given to these people living in what we would call the dregs of poverty. The people there have been somewhat content with there lot in life and make the best of it, but are probably relieved at the changes that have been made.
They were just recently granted recognized status in 2005, and as recently as within the last year, they finally got a paved street. Very few of their houses have legal building permits, and only two of the houses have electricty--however, they're very clever and have managed to work around it. Each house is connected to 9 other houses, supplying the power for them. At this point there are probably 15-20 houses minimum around there, 5-10 in the construction process. The Israeli government was supposed to give them money for building schools and teachers to teach them, but they didn't exactly fulfill their promises. There are 4 classrooms for the elementary school kids; there are no preschools, and anybody who gets past 7th grade will most likely be sent to Haifa or another nearby area for more education. Because there are so few children, the 1st and 2nd grade are combined and 3rd and 4th grade are combined, so on and so forth.
We walked around with the guy who is basically the mayor of the village; if not in name, than in action. He showed us his house that was supplied everyone else with electricty, the new floors that were being built for the children to live when they grew up, and where the army accidentally sent a bullet into his shower while they were training. I didn't really understand that part; the army is posted a decent distance away from Ein Hud (we couldn't see them) and is... well... the army. It really shook me up.
After the walk, we sat in the restaurant for about two hours, and food just kept coming and coming and wouldn't stop... we were warned about it, but it was made clear to us why the mayor only eats one meal a day. There was too much food than is healthy for more than one meal a day. He kept talking to us throughout the meal, and David was translating the entire time. Mayor Man spoke a mixture of Hebrew and Arabic; it was really exciting to be able to understand the majority of the Hebrew. Hopefully the Arabic will come soon......
Sleepy now. 2 will come tomorrow.
--------------------------------------
That was for the love of me life, Robyn, who lost our engagement ring. Robyn, I want you to know that losing that funky-coloured mood ring has permanently scarred me, and I will never recover. The wedding is off!
--------------------------------------
Besides that melodraumatic tidbit, it is now time for an update, from Wednesday to today:
1. Ein Hod/Ein Hud
2. Taibe
3. Summer plans?
Alright, 1.
Ein Hod is located in a small area in the hills about 15 minutes outside of Haifa. It was originally intended to be a Moshav, but the idea fell through. In 1953, one of the founders of the Dada Movement became the driving force behind the move to make it into an artists' colony. We stopped in a coffee shop that reminded me of something straight out of Pearl Street mall. Verrry indie.
Pre-1948, there lived the family of Al-Hija, constructed of 700-900 people, living in the area now known as Ein Hod. It was an agricultural land; they tended goats and cows, and grew vegetables and other such things you do in an agricultural society. When the fighting began, most people ended up in Jenin in the West Bank. However, 35 people were left and hid for many years in the hill nearby (now called Ein Hud). Sometime around 1988 the Israeli government issued a counting of all the unrecognized villages and wanted to lay down the law; what it did was make the people living in these villages aware that there were other groups just like them out there and biding their time. This is how the associaton of Arabs in Unrecognized Villages first came into existance.
As Israeli citizens, they should have been granted certain rights. Running water, electricity, a good school system... a whole smattering of things should have been given to these people living in what we would call the dregs of poverty. The people there have been somewhat content with there lot in life and make the best of it, but are probably relieved at the changes that have been made.
They were just recently granted recognized status in 2005, and as recently as within the last year, they finally got a paved street. Very few of their houses have legal building permits, and only two of the houses have electricty--however, they're very clever and have managed to work around it. Each house is connected to 9 other houses, supplying the power for them. At this point there are probably 15-20 houses minimum around there, 5-10 in the construction process. The Israeli government was supposed to give them money for building schools and teachers to teach them, but they didn't exactly fulfill their promises. There are 4 classrooms for the elementary school kids; there are no preschools, and anybody who gets past 7th grade will most likely be sent to Haifa or another nearby area for more education. Because there are so few children, the 1st and 2nd grade are combined and 3rd and 4th grade are combined, so on and so forth.
We walked around with the guy who is basically the mayor of the village; if not in name, than in action. He showed us his house that was supplied everyone else with electricty, the new floors that were being built for the children to live when they grew up, and where the army accidentally sent a bullet into his shower while they were training. I didn't really understand that part; the army is posted a decent distance away from Ein Hud (we couldn't see them) and is... well... the army. It really shook me up.
After the walk, we sat in the restaurant for about two hours, and food just kept coming and coming and wouldn't stop... we were warned about it, but it was made clear to us why the mayor only eats one meal a day. There was too much food than is healthy for more than one meal a day. He kept talking to us throughout the meal, and David was translating the entire time. Mayor Man spoke a mixture of Hebrew and Arabic; it was really exciting to be able to understand the majority of the Hebrew. Hopefully the Arabic will come soon......
Sleepy now. 2 will come tomorrow.
Done!
I. Am. So. Done!
I am done being depressed, I am done being holed-up inside my own head, and I am done with limiting myself by telling myself I am limited!
I hope that made sense, because I am happy!
And I did absolutely nothing except read a happy sentence of a friend's blog in India. My dad's fine, life goes on with that and plus, it's never really affected my lifestyle or decisions of any aspect up until this point, so why should that change now when I'm an even greater distance away? I'm traveling, I'm learning, I'm in a GODDAMN FOREIGN COUNTRY and it feels like home, so I should relax and stop analyzing my life and live it. Goddammit.
Okay. Done now.
I am done being depressed, I am done being holed-up inside my own head, and I am done with limiting myself by telling myself I am limited!
I hope that made sense, because I am happy!
And I did absolutely nothing except read a happy sentence of a friend's blog in India. My dad's fine, life goes on with that and plus, it's never really affected my lifestyle or decisions of any aspect up until this point, so why should that change now when I'm an even greater distance away? I'm traveling, I'm learning, I'm in a GODDAMN FOREIGN COUNTRY and it feels like home, so I should relax and stop analyzing my life and live it. Goddammit.
Okay. Done now.
Road Blocks
I thought writers block was bad.... not only do I feel like I have nothing to write on this blog, but despite the thousands of thoughts roaming inside my head, everything I think of I judge unworthy of posting on here. The worst part is I'm running into a road block with the languages. I wish I didn't have to speak English at all, but in order to have class lectures, they must be in English. To have dinner conversation, it must be in English. I wanted to put an English ban on our room, but Adina doesn't like to speak Hebrew as much as I do, even though she's so much better with it. It does not make me confident about the Arabic; what will happen once we get to a point where we can communicate in Arabic? Will people be content to chatter on in English at dinnertime, or will they be language-thrill-seekers, excited to jump into conversation in a language we barely know? The best part about this summer was when I left my Hebrew classes thinking in Hebrew... and the next person I talked to didn't speak English, so I had to use it; I had no choice. I had a dream last night that I made aliyah to Israel just so I could become more fluent, but I made a deal with the army first that I would only join if they let me study at Givat Haviva after I could speak Hebrew fluently. What does this say? אני לא יודאת
Thursday, February 5, 2009
אבה שלי בבית-הולים
My dad's in the hospital in Boston. He's out of surgery now and in the recovery period; not sure what this will mean. What it does mean is my mind is a bit preoccupied, and it is unnerving to be surrounded by people who have no idea what it means to me. I'm at a loss because I don't like to confide in people who haven't expressly made it an issue to look beyond the surface and ask the difficult questions, but I would like to talk with someone around here. As much as I appreciate the long-distance care... there's a difference. Sorry if this is a little depressing, but it's what is on my mind.
Also, I'm a huge fan of the Bueno Vista Social Club.
Also, I'm a huge fan of the Bueno Vista Social Club.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
There has been a recently upheaval in my sociability as of yesterday.
First, Tal is a wonderful friend. I tried to tell him I didn't like the book he had brought for me, but he refused to take it back and said I needed to keep trying; it would get better. I'm sorry, but I'm powerless against a guy trying to encourage me to read a book. Especially when he's telling me stupid slapstick jokes in very bad English for about an hour with me rolling around laughing. I can't believe I actually have a good male friend that I feel comfortable around. There's always something that makes me wary. Good Tal.
Second, I went to Tel Aviv for the afternoon yesterday. Our normal afternoon class was moved to 8, and changed to an arts and crafts class. Rachel had the idea to go to spend the afternoon in Tel Aviv, so we took the train together. I met up with a random guy from couchsurfing; my e-mail (to about 5-6 people) was along the lines of "i'm in tel aviv for the afternoon, i'm going to wander, want to join?", and the one who responded soonest was also the one who I'd chosen because of his political beliefs. Although don't tell anyone. I'm in the group that discusses Israeli-Palestinian Peace Process or some bullshit group like that, and I thought he was very articulate and in Tel Aviv, so I emailed him and a few more.
He was really awesome, just like I assumed, and he is also the only person who I've ever met who votes for the Communist/Arab party. I don't remember what it's called exactly. He told me this amazing anecdotal story about how he was in the crowd in 1995 when Yitzhak Rabin [that's what i meant...] was shot, and the atmosphere back then is comparable to pre-election in the states... Everyone was either pro-arab-dialogue or fuck-the-arabs right wingers, not really much in between. Not explaining it well, but we drew some interesting parallels in between the two time periods. His abuela is from Argentina, so we played with a few words. He was also practically drooling over Dante's Inferno in Hebrew; it's only recently been translated.
Third, back to when we were getting on the train; Rachel had went to get a coffee, and when I saw it I wanted one as well, so I went over to the counter, started talking with the guy, and ended up getting half his life story and his number. We were supposed to have a drink after I got back from Tel Aviv, but I was so tired after the art class that I couldn't manage it, sadly enough. He's bringing over a few beers and we're going to chat tonight. BUT cool part being he's basically fluenter (I know it's not a real word) in English than I am. He went to school at Johnson & Wales someplace on the east coast majoring in hospitality and spent a week in Colorado as an Israeli liason for some food festival. He's working at the train station coffee shop because when people's money starts to run out in a crappy economy, the first thing to go is hospitality, hotels, and other frilly stuff. He's also moving to Tel Aviv this weekend, which is why it seems like rushed drinks. [As an after the fact message, he was nice and all, but his political opinions and "differentness" falls in line with the stereotypical Israeli-thing, and as snobby as it sounds, it bores me. I want something new!]
Fifth, on the way back to Barkai (on the train) I sat down at a 4-seater (2 seats facing each other... just like in Europe...) and at the next stop this kid tossed a backpack onto the rack overhead, and when I thought he wasn't going to join me because there were plenty of other places, he did. I kept sneaking looks at him, he kept sneaking looks at me, and eventually i gave up reading my book and asked him if he would wake me up when we got to Binyamina (my station). He said "sure" and we went back to our respective musics. Until he went to look to see if the bathroom was open, and some stupid israeli girl with fluff for brains said "it's okay if you're drawing me" (giggle giggle) and he said he wasnt. ..I asked him what he said. And then we started talking, I found out he was at Camp Ramah in Canada this summer (jew camp), and he asked me where I was staying--when I said Kibbutz Barkai, I was surprised he knew the place.
You should know that I only have 250 people living on my Kibbutz. BUT Givat Haviva is down the street from the kibbutz, and they're actually the people who coordinate everything that we do here. They send the instructors to Barkai, they hash out our learning curriculum, etc.... The other thing they do is pick exceptionally bright guys (mainly) who are quick at learning languages and put them in a five month intensive arabic program, plus an additional intensive program after someplace else. They start at Givat Haviva, though. Anyway, it was ironic because yesterday morning we were at Givat Haviva meeting these kids for the first time. They're so ridiculously intelligent, too. And have pretty awesome backstories.
Point being, he left the army two months ago, but since he had spent the pre-army year at Givat Haviva, he had been in intelligence. He worked in Haifa at a movie theatre with foreign films (=not American) for a while, but then he went back to working for the army as a civilian intelligence worker-person, and commutes back and forth to Haifa every day-- about an hour on the train-ish. We exchanged information and have been writing back and forth on facebook. I left my camera on the train, and someone DID ask him if he left a camera right before he got off, but he didn't even think it could have been mine. BIG bummer, but I'm going to try calling the train station tomorrow.
On a sixth point, my dad's at a hospital in Boston (I think) right now, waiting to go in for surgery and get some fluid drained that's been in his brain and might account for the recent additional malfunctions. It's probably going to happen in the next few hours. We'll see, but there's a chance he might have some improvement after this is all over.
At some point, once there are pictures from Josh's camera, I'm going to try putting some pictures/descriptions of Ein Hud up here. The Arabic village that relocated in '48 and only received recognition 4 years ago, not the artist centre. Btw.
First, Tal is a wonderful friend. I tried to tell him I didn't like the book he had brought for me, but he refused to take it back and said I needed to keep trying; it would get better. I'm sorry, but I'm powerless against a guy trying to encourage me to read a book. Especially when he's telling me stupid slapstick jokes in very bad English for about an hour with me rolling around laughing. I can't believe I actually have a good male friend that I feel comfortable around. There's always something that makes me wary. Good Tal.
Second, I went to Tel Aviv for the afternoon yesterday. Our normal afternoon class was moved to 8, and changed to an arts and crafts class. Rachel had the idea to go to spend the afternoon in Tel Aviv, so we took the train together. I met up with a random guy from couchsurfing; my e-mail (to about 5-6 people) was along the lines of "i'm in tel aviv for the afternoon, i'm going to wander, want to join?", and the one who responded soonest was also the one who I'd chosen because of his political beliefs. Although don't tell anyone. I'm in the group that discusses Israeli-Palestinian Peace Process or some bullshit group like that, and I thought he was very articulate and in Tel Aviv, so I emailed him and a few more.
He was really awesome, just like I assumed, and he is also the only person who I've ever met who votes for the Communist/Arab party. I don't remember what it's called exactly. He told me this amazing anecdotal story about how he was in the crowd in 1995 when Yitzhak Rabin [that's what i meant...] was shot, and the atmosphere back then is comparable to pre-election in the states... Everyone was either pro-arab-dialogue or fuck-the-arabs right wingers, not really much in between. Not explaining it well, but we drew some interesting parallels in between the two time periods. His abuela is from Argentina, so we played with a few words. He was also practically drooling over Dante's Inferno in Hebrew; it's only recently been translated.
Third, back to when we were getting on the train; Rachel had went to get a coffee, and when I saw it I wanted one as well, so I went over to the counter, started talking with the guy, and ended up getting half his life story and his number. We were supposed to have a drink after I got back from Tel Aviv, but I was so tired after the art class that I couldn't manage it, sadly enough. He's bringing over a few beers and we're going to chat tonight. BUT cool part being he's basically fluenter (I know it's not a real word) in English than I am. He went to school at Johnson & Wales someplace on the east coast majoring in hospitality and spent a week in Colorado as an Israeli liason for some food festival. He's working at the train station coffee shop because when people's money starts to run out in a crappy economy, the first thing to go is hospitality, hotels, and other frilly stuff. He's also moving to Tel Aviv this weekend, which is why it seems like rushed drinks. [As an after the fact message, he was nice and all, but his political opinions and "differentness" falls in line with the stereotypical Israeli-thing, and as snobby as it sounds, it bores me. I want something new!]
Fifth, on the way back to Barkai (on the train) I sat down at a 4-seater (2 seats facing each other... just like in Europe...) and at the next stop this kid tossed a backpack onto the rack overhead, and when I thought he wasn't going to join me because there were plenty of other places, he did. I kept sneaking looks at him, he kept sneaking looks at me, and eventually i gave up reading my book and asked him if he would wake me up when we got to Binyamina (my station). He said "sure" and we went back to our respective musics. Until he went to look to see if the bathroom was open, and some stupid israeli girl with fluff for brains said "it's okay if you're drawing me" (giggle giggle) and he said he wasnt. ..I asked him what he said. And then we started talking, I found out he was at Camp Ramah in Canada this summer (jew camp), and he asked me where I was staying--when I said Kibbutz Barkai, I was surprised he knew the place.
You should know that I only have 250 people living on my Kibbutz. BUT Givat Haviva is down the street from the kibbutz, and they're actually the people who coordinate everything that we do here. They send the instructors to Barkai, they hash out our learning curriculum, etc.... The other thing they do is pick exceptionally bright guys (mainly) who are quick at learning languages and put them in a five month intensive arabic program, plus an additional intensive program after someplace else. They start at Givat Haviva, though. Anyway, it was ironic because yesterday morning we were at Givat Haviva meeting these kids for the first time. They're so ridiculously intelligent, too. And have pretty awesome backstories.
Point being, he left the army two months ago, but since he had spent the pre-army year at Givat Haviva, he had been in intelligence. He worked in Haifa at a movie theatre with foreign films (=not American) for a while, but then he went back to working for the army as a civilian intelligence worker-person, and commutes back and forth to Haifa every day-- about an hour on the train-ish. We exchanged information and have been writing back and forth on facebook. I left my camera on the train, and someone DID ask him if he left a camera right before he got off, but he didn't even think it could have been mine. BIG bummer, but I'm going to try calling the train station tomorrow.
On a sixth point, my dad's at a hospital in Boston (I think) right now, waiting to go in for surgery and get some fluid drained that's been in his brain and might account for the recent additional malfunctions. It's probably going to happen in the next few hours. We'll see, but there's a chance he might have some improvement after this is all over.
At some point, once there are pictures from Josh's camera, I'm going to try putting some pictures/descriptions of Ein Hud up here. The Arabic village that relocated in '48 and only received recognition 4 years ago, not the artist centre. Btw.
Monday, February 2, 2009
MAJOR QUESTION
I'm starting to get bored in my evenings even with the tremendous amount of language learning taking place. I just got off the phone with a guy at the Kibbutz next door to mine, and they have training for martial arts on Mondays and Thursdays; that will be good entertainment I think. But besides that, or if it doesn't work out, I have been contemplating taking a class online. I don't think it would hurt me to get some actual college credit while I'm here. No harm done, eh?
So, the big question is: What should I take? How do I find the best one? Has anyone done it before???
So, the big question is: What should I take? How do I find the best one? Has anyone done it before???
Between the newspapers filled with the Obama family the day after inauguration that Adina's dad brought with him, the thoroughly depressing yet captivating seret "Dead Poets Society", and the beautiful sober tones caught within Bach, I'm [this] close to tears.
Don't worry, it's not a bad thing. Well, it wasn't until I read the paper today. Of course, as soon as the war is over, it all goes back to normal. But I forgot what normal was in Israel... and this is worse than usual.... I hate reading the newspaper. Why am I so addicted to reality? I should take my depressing stories from Soaps; at least then I'll know they're not real at the end of the day.
Don't worry, it's not a bad thing. Well, it wasn't until I read the paper today. Of course, as soon as the war is over, it all goes back to normal. But I forgot what normal was in Israel... and this is worse than usual.... I hate reading the newspaper. Why am I so addicted to reality? I should take my depressing stories from Soaps; at least then I'll know they're not real at the end of the day.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Yesh Geshem!
Finally, there's rain!
Unfortunately, I didn't bring an umbrella.
Makes for a day stuck inside studying, you would think. Good for you Sam, you're finally on task.
Oh, but how wrong you are.
At lunch time I ate quickly, and walked to the gas station where Shiran works-- I got there just in time for her to leave, too. Good timing, Me. We walked back and attempted to talk about politics; the most I got was that after you leave the army, your entire political opinions change, most of the time. I can understand that. However, her gorgeously gorgeous twin brother went back to the army last night and he's going to be around Gaza, so I can understand if she's not too pleased...
And then I played on the playground! Shiran showed me this underground clubhouse constructed of cement where they used to hang out when they were younger on the kibbutz... when I said something along the lines of "that's so cool! why is it abandoned now?" she said that it also used to serve as a bomb shelter. I guess I can understand why people don't want to have clubhouses underground, as some sort of statement that the worry for that is over....
Aaaand now I'm addicted the tv show "Merlin". Good thing I only have 2 more episodes to go. Rarr.
Unfortunately, I didn't bring an umbrella.
Makes for a day stuck inside studying, you would think. Good for you Sam, you're finally on task.
Oh, but how wrong you are.
At lunch time I ate quickly, and walked to the gas station where Shiran works-- I got there just in time for her to leave, too. Good timing, Me. We walked back and attempted to talk about politics; the most I got was that after you leave the army, your entire political opinions change, most of the time. I can understand that. However, her gorgeously gorgeous twin brother went back to the army last night and he's going to be around Gaza, so I can understand if she's not too pleased...
And then I played on the playground! Shiran showed me this underground clubhouse constructed of cement where they used to hang out when they were younger on the kibbutz... when I said something along the lines of "that's so cool! why is it abandoned now?" she said that it also used to serve as a bomb shelter. I guess I can understand why people don't want to have clubhouses underground, as some sort of statement that the worry for that is over....
Aaaand now I'm addicted the tv show "Merlin". Good thing I only have 2 more episodes to go. Rarr.
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