I only was able to teach in Ar'ara, not Barta'a. They dropped us off at the 7th/8th grade building and walked us up the hill to the 9th grade. My kids were about 15 years of age. I walked in, introduced myself in Arabic, and I started speaking with them in English. There were between 35-40 kids in the class, and their English was on a very basic level, but I was very excited to have the chance to talk with "real" people, as horrible as that sounds. I've been missing out on the opportunity to talk with Arabic-speakers in casual situations lately.
Purim Friday was great. Everybody and their mother, father, grandfathers and grandmothers were drunk off their asses, to put it frankly.
Givat Haviva tour today:
1. Holocaust memorial building; focuses on the importance of the people hurt who are NOT Jews
2. Art Center
3. Met with the heads--HaGuy and Dudu
4. Peace library
5. Heder Okhel, talked with the soldiers in Hebrew :))))
Summer options:
1. Work in the Catering Biz
2. Volunteer with Magen David
3. Marva--8 weeks in army training... hmm...
Monday, March 16, 2009
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Last Thursday: Bike to Givat Haviva graduation, bike back before the sun is down and the bicycle turns back into a pumpkin, take 5 minutes to change, go to Kung Fu, return from Kung Fu, go to the train station, up to Haifa!
In Haifa: Walk along the mountainside in the nightlight near University of Haifa. Snuggle in warm jackets and nice company. Get a history lesson.
Friday: Eat the delicious nutty cereal, take the neighbor's dog on a walk, head for the train and Tel Abib. Meet Dani and her lovely sister Hila at the market. Walk along the beach to Hila's apartment; have dinner at their grandmother's apartment. Chicken Noodle Soup!! I miss Jewish mothers... (Not that there's any lack of them. But I don't feel the connection achshav.) Sleep for 5 hours at the Mughraby Hostel (Love it! as adina would say) and had a really great time. Met 2 German girls, a French girl, and an undetermined who was determined to change her life of being addicted to cigarettes, alcohol, and sex. I stand with my belief that she is soon going to rebound and go on a shooting spree if she doesn't have her material items soon; she was awesome, but a bit unstable. Sat on my balcony and studied Hebrew from the German girl's book. Learned how to count to 10 in German. Went to a 25+ bar with Hila and friend; I was completely underdressed and obviously under 25, but I said "I don't know have my passport with me" in a very American accent and hakol was bseder. Got bar seats which was great; however, some really pushy girls and some aggressively persistent bartenders made it go from a great experience to an interesting one. After the bar, bonded with the older night-guard front-desk man. Also bonded with him at 4:30 in the morning when I got 3 phone calls and he told me to go talk on the roof. (So cool!) The religious guys were only dancing and singing loudly AND obnoxiously until 2 or 3, so it was quiet by then.
Saturday: (Somewhere in the past paragraph I switched tenses. Cool.) Had tea and toast; tea was great, toast was not worth the time or the stomachache. Started walking up to frisbee at 12:30 and came across the Israeli folk dancing (Horah) in front of the Renaissance Hotel at 1-something! Joined in for every single one of the dances, and after only 20-30 seconds of a song, I was picking up all the steps, depending on the level of difficulty. Partner danced with the Israeli-Joe in what I like to call circular salsa dancing. He was magnifique. Left that, went to Sportex Stadium and played pick-up frisbee at a Hat tournament!
Sunday: Arabic in the morning, trip to Daliyat Il-Karmel in the afternoon to the Druze village.
Monday: Purim day for the majority of Israel. Huge party in Jerusalem. Taking a shot of vodka with Izhar--straight. I was proud.
Tuesday: Played frisbee, made hamantashin, drank at the Purim gathering (not the party--that's Friday), talked with Lydia's son (has a girlfriend, but gorgeous beyond gorgeous!), and did homework with Uria
Tomorrow looks bright with a case of teaching English--twice! In Ar'ara and Barta'a. Fun! But worrisome. I'll figure it out tomorrow when the day arrives...
In Haifa: Walk along the mountainside in the nightlight near University of Haifa. Snuggle in warm jackets and nice company. Get a history lesson.
Friday: Eat the delicious nutty cereal, take the neighbor's dog on a walk, head for the train and Tel Abib. Meet Dani and her lovely sister Hila at the market. Walk along the beach to Hila's apartment; have dinner at their grandmother's apartment. Chicken Noodle Soup!! I miss Jewish mothers... (Not that there's any lack of them. But I don't feel the connection achshav.) Sleep for 5 hours at the Mughraby Hostel (Love it! as adina would say) and had a really great time. Met 2 German girls, a French girl, and an undetermined who was determined to change her life of being addicted to cigarettes, alcohol, and sex. I stand with my belief that she is soon going to rebound and go on a shooting spree if she doesn't have her material items soon; she was awesome, but a bit unstable. Sat on my balcony and studied Hebrew from the German girl's book. Learned how to count to 10 in German. Went to a 25+ bar with Hila and friend; I was completely underdressed and obviously under 25, but I said "I don't know have my passport with me" in a very American accent and hakol was bseder. Got bar seats which was great; however, some really pushy girls and some aggressively persistent bartenders made it go from a great experience to an interesting one. After the bar, bonded with the older night-guard front-desk man. Also bonded with him at 4:30 in the morning when I got 3 phone calls and he told me to go talk on the roof. (So cool!) The religious guys were only dancing and singing loudly AND obnoxiously until 2 or 3, so it was quiet by then.
Saturday: (Somewhere in the past paragraph I switched tenses. Cool.) Had tea and toast; tea was great, toast was not worth the time or the stomachache. Started walking up to frisbee at 12:30 and came across the Israeli folk dancing (Horah) in front of the Renaissance Hotel at 1-something! Joined in for every single one of the dances, and after only 20-30 seconds of a song, I was picking up all the steps, depending on the level of difficulty. Partner danced with the Israeli-Joe in what I like to call circular salsa dancing. He was magnifique. Left that, went to Sportex Stadium and played pick-up frisbee at a Hat tournament!
Sunday: Arabic in the morning, trip to Daliyat Il-Karmel in the afternoon to the Druze village.
Monday: Purim day for the majority of Israel. Huge party in Jerusalem. Taking a shot of vodka with Izhar--straight. I was proud.
Tuesday: Played frisbee, made hamantashin, drank at the Purim gathering (not the party--that's Friday), talked with Lydia's son (has a girlfriend, but gorgeous beyond gorgeous!), and did homework with Uria
Tomorrow looks bright with a case of teaching English--twice! In Ar'ara and Barta'a. Fun! But worrisome. I'll figure it out tomorrow when the day arrives...
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Take a look, take a listen
Ultimate Peace Ultimate Frisbee Tournament for planting seeds in order to foster peace...
Look: http://www.ultimatepeace.org/ultimate-peace-events/
Listen: http://www.ultimatepeace.org/data-files/UltimatePeace_Radio-WROW-Afternnon-Drive-DaveBarkan.mp3
April 1-5th
I'm deciding between this and going to London... I don't think I can legitimize missing more than a week of classes....
Look: http://www.ultimatepeace.org/ultimate-peace-events/
Listen: http://www.ultimatepeace.org/data-files/UltimatePeace_Radio-WROW-Afternnon-Drive-DaveBarkan.mp3
April 1-5th
I'm deciding between this and going to London... I don't think I can legitimize missing more than a week of classes....
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