In The Groove

These last few weeks have been amazing.  I have enjoyed the fact that I am finally in a routine with everything and I know what I can expect in my schedule. 

A basic day starts by waking up at 6:30 in the morning.  I will then make some breakfast, usually scrambled eggs, and coffee and read some news, go on Facebook, or check my email.  Then I shower, get ready and leave the house at 7:30 for school.  Most days I teach 4 classes at school.  I usually just stick to the lesson plan but if we finish early I will try to play a game with the students, such as 20 questions or pictionary.  After school I have a little time to rest but every day I do something in the afternoons as well.  Sunday and Wednesday are Ulpan (Hebrew lessons), Monday is an English club for Israeli's my age, and Tuesdays I meet with an Israeli and help her English and to help my Hebrew (like tutoring but we just chat for a while).  Thursday night I go to Tel Aviv, and Friday is my day at the Market and then Shabbat dinner somewhere.  Lastly, my lazy Saturdays surely are lazy, and I can gather myself for the week.  It may sound kind of boring but it is great.  And I still get many chances to do cool things.

Like one weekend I went to Haifa.  The weekend of November 1st I went to Haifa to visit the soldiers from my Birthright trip.  For the first time I felt more like an Israeli.  Most of the time here I am with Americans.  Whether it is people from my program, or friends from home who are also here.  But this weekend in Haifa I didn't even see any other Americans.  On Thursday when I got there, Yaniv picked me up from the train station and we went to his house where we ate some food and got to catch up a bit.  Then other friend, Daniel, invited me to do Capoeira for a few hours.  Capoeira is a Brazilian martial art dance form.  It is like other martial arts but the key is to dodge and avoid each other while in the Hoda.  I had learned once before, from Daniel on Birthright, but I had not tried it since.  It was awesome and I picked up the basics fairly easily.  Some of the people were amazing.  I wanted to get a video of them but it slipped my mind.  That night we went out to get some beers at a pub and relaxed.  The next day I went with Yaniv to a play soccer with his friends.  There were about 5 teams of 4 and we just rotated out after 7 minute games.  By this point I was extremely sore and tired but it was great and a lot of fun.  That night we had Shabbat dinner at Daniel's house where they were very impressed with not only my Hebrew, but also my accent.  I was very proud of that, especially since my Spanish accent is awful. 

Another part of the past month was the short conflict with Gaza.  You would think I would put it up top because it was a life changing experience and one of the craziest parts of the past month.  Not really in Ramla.  I didn't once here the alarm go off.  Ramla is a highly populated Arab city, not that Hammas would care if they killed some Arabs in Ramla.  Ramla is also just out of their firing range, and a different direction from Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.  I can't say the same for my friends in Be'er Sheva and Ashdod though.  Both of the programs in those cities were evacuated up north and they volunteered in other places for a week.  For me, life went on as usual.  On Shabbat, my teacher invited Rebecca (the other ITF member from my school) and I over for dinner and we had an amazing home cooked meal.  I brought a nice bottle of wine, I usually drink cheap wine but I didn't want to bring the crap wine there.  But I found a bottle of Chianti for 40 NIS ~$10 and it was really good.  Then after 8 days of conflict, there was a cease fire and there has not been anything since. 

Lastly, it was my first Thanksgiving experience outside of the US.  Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday so I was really encouraging everyone to do something.  We ended up having it on Friday and it was just a bigger Shabbat dinner, with Turkey (obviously).  Everything was fantastic and there was a lot of good food and more wine.  I wish I could have been with my family and friends back home but we have a nice "family" here.  It is comforting to be able to call the people I am with my Israeli family since I don't have anyone here.  I said I was thankful for the school I am teaching at.  Since this whole experience is either going to make or break the decision of whether or not I want to teach as a career, it is great to have a school that is organized and cares about the well being of their students and staff.  I wish I could say the same about all of the other schools but maybe it is also because I care too.  For some reason I always seem to be a part of the best experiences.  Like my host family from Barcelona, this school and our group.  Am I lucky or is it something else? Whatever it is, I hope the trend continues forever.

Sukkot in Tsfat with Livnot

I had the privileged of celebrating Sukkot in the wonderful city of Tsfat.  When I checked my email after the program, there was a message in my inbox inviting me to write a blog post about my experience.  I have been waiting to post the link on this blog and it is finally here.

http://www.livnot.org/blog/2012/10/sukkot-in-tzfat/

I hope you enjoy it

Holy Holidays in the Holy Land

Today was Yom Kippur.  For those of you who do not know what Yom Kippur is about, it is the day when the Jewish people fast from Sundown to Sundown (5:11 PM on Tuesday-6:08 PM on Wednesday this year specifically) and contemplate what they need to be forgiven about from the past year.  You fast because it is supposed to be a struggle and a challenge.  On most holidays you greet people with Chamag Sameach (happy holiday) but today you say Tzom Kahl (easy fast).  This is because Yom Kippur is not a happy holiday.  It is actually a very difficult holiday because you are supposed to suffer in order to be forgiven.  I usually fast at home but not like I did here.  At home I will have a normal night and then I just won't eat the next day but I will still drink water.  Here I stopped eating before 5:11 and didn't eat or drink anything until about 6:15 the next day.  Even though it was not that challenging I feel that I did it correctly and I feel like I can start the new year on the right foot once again.  Around 4:00 I was at another apartment of some people in my group and we were just sitting around, waiting for the sun to set so that we could break the fast.  One of the girls suggested that we go around the room and discuss what we want to change or be forgiven for.  Even though I have thought about it over the past week or so, I didn't have much to say.  Normally, for the new year we say what we want to do, a new years resolution.  Yom Kippur is more about looking at the past year and forgiveness.  For me there is really not much I need to be forgiven for.  I tend to air on the side of caution.  I don't upset people, get angry, cause drama, lie, cheat, etc... I wasn't sure so I talked about some things that I want to achieve for the next year.  I said I want to really make an effort in learning Hebrew and actually impact some of my students live.  These were generic but I couldn't think of much at the time.  I have never been great with words and saying things at the right moment so I didn't really have that much to add to the conversation.

Everyone has their own way of dealing with the problems in their life.  Some need to talk to other people and argue to get it out, others take a walk or meditate to think it through privately, others exercise and get their heart rate up to solve their problems.  I like to write.  I have always been good at opening up in my writing and it is my way of exploring my thoughts.  Writing appeals to me most because it is a way that I can go back and forth in my head and then have a tangible object so I can really go back and think it through.  Sometimes I like to go back and read my thoughts when I need to solve my problems.  It doesn't just bring back the memories but it actually brings back the emotions and feelings I was experiencing when I was writing or what I was writing about.  After some time to think about what I need to be forgiven about I have come to some conclusions.  One is that I need to be more expressive about what I want or what I want to say.  If you know me well I tend to be very easy going, always ready to do what other people want and give a lending hand.  I think this is a great quality and actually take pride in the fact that I am always willing to help someone when they need me.  However, is it always the best thing for me?  I forget who said this but there is a quote that says "all humans are selfish beings."  I agree 100% with this quote even thought it may appear that I am  not selfish.  But it is actually selfish because helping other people makes me feel good about myself.  Also when other people think highly of me it makes me feel good about myself.  I am not saying that I should stop giving to others and making sure the people around me are safe or comfortable or happy.  I am saying that I need to look out for my own happiness and pleasure a little more.  I need to say no to people a little bit more, or call someone out for doing something wrong, even if confrontation makes me feel awkward.  That may be the root of my Yom Kippur repentance.  I am so afraid of and opposed to confrontation that I tend to avoid it all together.  If someone offends me I tend to brush it off and not let it bother me.  But maybe sometimes it does bother me and I should tell that person that it did. 

Anyways, this is why I like writing.  I am not sure if I would have come to this conclusion if I was talking to someone and I probably wouldn't remember it if I thought about it on a walk.  Now it is here, forever.  I have a permanent record of how I want to become a better person. How I want to change my life this year.  This may not be easy and I know confrontation is uncomfortable for me, but over the past few years I have overcome many of my fears.  I overcame my fear of dark water when I took a SCUBA class.  I became very independent and don't feel uncomfortable in new or unfamiliar situations.  So why can't I overcome my fear of confrontation.  This may be difficult but it is something that I know I can overcome.  I won't go out to seek confrontation but I need to get more vocal when something bothers me.  I actually had a dream last night that I broke up a brawl of about 40 people.  I won't get into it but I raised my voice and took command of the situation.  People listened to me.  They stopped fighting.  They became quiet.  I had control.  I was a leader, a peacemaker, I was who I think I want to become. 

Shonah Tovah (happy new year)

Shabat Shalom Everyone,

Last night was our third shabat dinner.  Back in the US I don't think I celebrated shabat once but here it is almost impossible for shabat to slip through your mind.  We don't do too much for the holiday but we say the blessings for the candles, wine, and challah.  After that we eat dinner and everyone brings a dish to pass.  Last night my apartment hosted shabat and I would say it was a success. 

On another note we finally finished training at the college in Holon.  This involved 2 weeks of taking a bus 30 minutes to Holon and sitting through lectures and classes that may or may not be useful for the next 10 months.  I am sure some of the stuff will be helpful but they tried to pack too much information into a short training period.  But now that training is over we start working in the schools.  The other day we received our placements and I am very excited about mine.  The only negative part is that it is the farthest away, but that is an easy problem to deal with.  I am working with Becca who is very easy going and I think we will work well together.  The school is in Lod and it is a newer school in a newer area.  They also have a focus on environmental education and this is the first year they are having ITF members there.  I start on Wednesday so I will have more details by then. 

Last Tuesday bot the ITF group and the Community Involvement Groups were invited to the September 11th ceremony near Jerusalem at the memorial.  I thought it was a huge honor that we were invited to the event.  The US ambassador to Israel was the first person to speak and then after that a bunch of other people spoke.  The main thing that stuck out to me was when someone spoke about the Israeli's that died in the attack.  There were 5 native Israeli's.  I'm not sure of the details of each person but one was a CEO and graduated Summa Kum Laude from MIT, he was also the keynote speaker on the 100+ floor that day.  Another was on one of the flights.  Apparently he acted because they were speaking very nervously in Arabic but when he acted, another person behind him stabbed him to death.  He was also a highly decorated member of their military and served in some elite division.  It seemed as if every Israeli that they talked about had an amazing successful life before this tragedy, leaving newborns, wives, husbands, and family.  From the Israeli point of view it is easy to think about 5 people and keep track of their stories and successes.  But in the US we had over 3000 people and I don't think I could tell you one of their stories.  Here are a few pictures from the ceremony

 This is the memorial

 After the ceremony we could go put a rose on the memorial

The next day, Wednesday, we didn't have training because we were going to a school in Ramla and then in the afternoon we went to Jaffa to listen to some speakers.  The school was a high school so we were all a little confused as to why we were going there but it was a great experience.  The name of the school translated into "Last Chance High School."  This was because no other schools wanted these kids, who were all trouble makers, and never did anything in school.  Even though the students were on their last chance, it was successful.  This is probably because of the principle (who is no longer there) named Chilli (pronounced hilly).  In the documentary we watched about the school, someone said something about him that stuck out to me.  They said he is a great teacher because he has a quality that you can not acquire, people will follow him with their eyes closed.  This is a type of quality that I want but unfortunately I don't think I have it.  Very few people have a leadership skill like this but for some reason it is very powerful and you can not really explain it.  My birthright tour guide has this quality and now he is not a guide, he trains people in the army.  The other reason for the school's success is one of the teachers who won the National Teacher of the Year award.  She is also no longer with the school but will come back next year.  It was a really cool experience and we got to ask some of the students questions.  One of the questions someone asked was, why do you think these people had so much success? and they answered that they truly cared about the students.  Failure was not an option, and teaching was a 24/7 job, inside and outside of the classroom.  This was their key to success.  

Later in the day we went to Jaffa for some speakers who had a lot to say.  The only problem was that I was finding it hard to draw a connection to what they were talking about and what we were in Israel to do.  But after the lectures, we had the choice to stay in Jaffa/Tel Aviv, rather than taking the bus back.  I went with a few people to rent some bikes from the public bike system.  We had a bit of trouble figuring it out at first but it was great once we got the bikes.  We just coasted along the coast from the old port of Jaffa to the new port of Tel Aviv.  We stopped for frozen yogurt and then circled back to the beach.  One of my friends from Ithaca is also in Tel Aviv, studying abroad.  David Barken met up with us at the Tel Aviv port and biked back to the beach with us.  Then we just got some food and jumped into the Mediterranean.  By the time we swam it was dark and then we just went home.  It was a lot of fun and the bikes were only 30 shekels for the 2.5 hours.  The great thing about the bikes too is that you can lock them up in any station and then take another one out later.  Although I may get my own bike here since my school is located far away.  

That is about it for now.   I have the next few days free for Rosh Hashonna and on Sunday my roommate, Paul, and I are going to a host family, which should be a great experience. 

The Long Adventure Begins Soon

This week we started training at a university in Holon.  The training started with some lectures in a huge hall for a few hours.  Most of the information was in one ear and out the other but a few things did stick with me.  The first is that Masa means journey.  Masa is the huge organization that the ITF is a part of.  The other is that since we have 10 months here, we need to take it slow.  When people travel for a few weeks at a time or when Birthright took me around Israel, they move so fast that you don't get to stop and look around.  You get to see a lot but you just see the icing on the cake and do not get to sink your teeth into the many sweet layers that are hidden beneath.  10 months is a long time.  At the end I know I will be saying how fast it went but for right now, it is a long time.  I love the term "Island Time" and it reminds me to take a step back and look around.  When people are always in a rush they miss things, they miss the world around them and I want to take a step back and enjoy the world around me.  They also talked about teaching and the Israeli school system but I will experience that on my own rather than letting someone else tell me what to expect. 

The rest of the training was a little boring.  They had some good advice and for the most part what they told us will be useful, but I think it could have been better.  Unfortunately I do not really feel prepared but I know I am a fast learner and I am sure I will be fine.  I just really want to start doing what I came here to do and get my school placement and meet the teachers.

Today was the first step in the right direction for me because we actually got to see one of the schools.  Our group of 15 teachers split up into 3 groups and got a tour of the schools, and sat in on some classes.  Many of the staff members tell us that we are lucky to be a part of the Ramla ITF group.  This is because it is different than many of the other groups.  First of all, Ramla is one of the most diverse cities in all of Israel so we will get to teach Jewish, Arab, Ethiopian, and immigrants from all over the world in the same class.  Many of these children have also never left Ramla and have never met anyone from the United States.  The staff says that we have the opportunity to really make an impact on the lives of these students as long as we are motivated to make that impact.  From the experience in the school today I can see that we will be making a difference.  All of the students were very interested in us and they see us as role models.  The lady taking my group on the tour explained how in our first few days the children will come up to us and touch us, talk to us, and poke us as if checking to see that we are indeed real. 

I am extremely excited to start this journey, to overcome the challenges, and to achieve my goals no matter how large or small they may be.

Am I Dreaming

I arrived in Israel about 48 hours ago, but I feel like it has already been a week.  It is not that I have done so much but probably more that I have done so little and time is going very slow.  I have 10 months here.  By the end of my trip I will look back and say it flew by but for now it seems as if I have an eternity here. 

I don't really feel like I am that far from home either.  This is probably due to the high level of internet access (including on my phone) and the fact that I have only really spent time with Americans.  There are 15 people in the same program as me in Ramla and another 15 are coming in a few weeks to do the Community Involvement Program for 5 months, also in Ramla.  I think everyone in the program will get along nicely and within a few weeks we will be in a nice routine. 

I am really excited to meet some Israeli people.  I meet Americans everywhere I go, but now that I am a member of the community in Ramla, I want to meet my neighbors, shop at the market, and do as they do on a day to day basis.  The only thing that makes this challenging is the language barrier.  When I went to Spain I could get by with Spanish, but the main difference was that I could read the signs, the names of stores, and so on.  In Tel Aviv, there is a lot of English, but in Ramla not so much.  Almost nothing is in English and this will make the first few months a little difficult.  At the Shuk (open market) today I did some shopping for vegetables.  I had a 50 shekel bill ~$13.  I went to the vegetable stand and said shalom, gave the items to the owner so he could weigh it, he said a number, I gave him the 50, and he gave me change of 45 sheckels (it cost just over $1 US).  Then I said "toda" (Thank You) and walked away with my 3 tomatoes, 2 cucumbers, and 2 limes.  For all he knew I was fluent in Hebrew.  It worked out very well, but there was a lot of other stuff I didn't even want to think about buying.  Like the cheese.  With the cheese you have to specify an amount and what kind you want.  Maybe in a few weeks I will know enough to buy cheese but for now I will just stick to the simpler items. 

My apartment is supposed to be average living standards for Ramla, and after seeing it and getting settled it was about what I expected.  Nothing is new but everything works, it fits all of my stuff but it is not big.  It is practical and I think I will be satisfied living here for 10 months.  We don't have an oven and there is limited space in the kitchen but I think we will live.  There could also be air conditioning in the bedrooms because I like sleeping in the cold but soon enough the night temperatures will drop and it will be more comfortable.  Sleeping comfortably has been the most difficult task when it comes to my apartment so far.  Last night I couldn't fall asleep because I was hot.  Then I was finally sleeping and I had a nightmare.  I have not had a nightmare in a long time but I woke up screaming.  I learned in my Dreams and Dreaming class last year that people often have vivid and unusual dreams when they are sleeping in new places and this was definitely the case.  In my dream my older brother, Adam, and his wife, Kris, were visiting me, along with my other brother, Mike.  They were visiting me in New Hampshire.  Adam and Kris left a note in my car that they would be back soon and I received a call from Mike that he was in Newport, Rhode Island, ready for me to pick him up.  That was strange especially since they all live in Boston and Rhode Island is in the wrong direction.  Anyway, I thought my keys were in the ignition but they weren't so I was going to get them from somewhere else.  As I was walking away from my car a very creepy man slowly walked around the fence at the entrance of the parking lot and was staring at me with some dead, evil eyes.  I could tell something was wrong and I tried to run but I took one step and fell down.  In real life before I went to sleep we were talking about the other group of Israel Teaching Fellows in Ashdod and someone mentioned that it is dangerous.  They said "if a man approaches you from an alley they either want to mug you, kill you, or severely injure you."  As I lay on the ground this was going through my head.  I could not move or do anything.  I tried to yell and eventually, after several attempts, I let out a quiet strange yell.  At that point I woke up and actually screamed in my sleep.  This was very strange and I do not have any recollection of talking in my sleep.  Hopefully once I really get settled the strange dreams will go away and I will have nice peaceful sleeps in my hot Ramla apartment in Israel

That is all for now.  More to come soon when I start training next week, and maybe some stories from this weekend

The Israel Experience

When I first named the blog I went with "The Barcelona Experience."  That name was really good, at least I thought it was.  The blog was originally for my semester abroad and I was taking a class called The Barcelona Experience.  Originally I never thought I would keep writing after my trip abroad but now that I have, I need to rename the blog to something else.  I will be in Israel for the next section of the blog so maybe I will just name it The Israel Experience.  Then after that I can just keep renaming the blog.

While on the subject of Israel, I don't think I have mentioned anything about my past trips to Israel.  I have spent 25 days in Israel in two trips.  My first trip was in the summer of 2010.  I traveled to Israel with my brother and two friends.  Their brothers were both in Israel and we had a place to stay in Tel Aviv so we all decided to visit.  It was an awesome trip and we traveled around the country, partied in Tel Aviv, swam in the dead sea, and watched the world cup final.  Before I started my blog I kept a travel journal, and I wrote a lot about what we did.  I still have that journal and it is awesome to go back and read some of the entries.  I started the journal back in 2003 as a community service log book for a trip to the British Virgin Islands.  About half way through that trip I started using it more as a personal journal and now this blog is my journal. 

The second time I came to Israel was for Birthright.  Birthright is a program that sends Jewish kids aged 18-26 on a free trip to Israel.  About 40 people from the US go on the trip and you travel around Israel learning about your Jewish identity, history, and traditions.  I went with my brother and  3 friends from home and a bunch of other Americans.  I had a great time and got to see some new things and some of the same things from the trip before.  I probably wouldn't be going to Israel now if I had not done birthright.  Its not like Birthright changed me or anything, but I think my email address found its way into my programs website and before I knew it I had applied and gotten accepted to teach English.  It all happened pretty fast but I think it worked out well.  At least for now.  I guess we will have to wait and see if I chose the right path.

As one door closes, one more open; Part II

I officially graduated college from the University of New Hampshire on May 19^th 2012.  My family came up and we had a great celebration.  The feeling of being done with college has not really sunk in yet but after the summer I am sure it will…especially since I will not be returning to New Hampshire in the fall.  I did however; get a job teaching English in Israel for 10 months.  So in a way it is similar to another year at college but I get a stipend for living while I am there.  I also found out I got this job on my final day of class.  This was amazing, and has been all summer, because I am locked into something and I do not have to worry about applying to jobs, interviews, finding a place to live, or even too much about preparing for my trip.

Even though college is over, I am extremely grateful for my experience and I do not have many regrets.  In almost everything that I do, I try and look for some sort of takeaway: something that I may be able to apply later in life or even in my daily routine.  My biggest takeaway from my college experience is being able to go outside of my comfort zone.  In high school, I don’t think I really tried too many new things.  I wouldn’t try and meet new people, try new foods, or really go out of my comfort zone much.  When I went to New Hampshire I did not know anyone.  My only contacts were a girl from Ithaca who was 2 years older than me that I didn’t know and my brothers and friends in Boston.  I had never been in a place for an extended period of time without any of my really close friends.  It was somewhat of a challenge for me and I was even thinking of transferring.  I moved dorms between semesters freshmen year and met a lot of people there and also joined a fraternity where I met a lot of people.  At the time I didn’t really know what I was getting myself into but looking back on it, it was one of the better choices I made in college.  Fraternities have a somewhat poor reputation in our society but I can say first hand that for some it is not true.  Besides the social aspect, there is a lot you can learn from being in a fraternity.  The amount of things I took from it may be greater than anything else in my life.  I also made the most of my experience by caring about more than just the social aspect.  The next best decision I made in college was to study abroad, and as you can see from this blog, it was an amazing experience.  If I can recommend 2 things to do to make the most of your college experience it is to go abroad, and to join a fraternity or a sorority.  These experiences are things that you will not be able to do ever again in your life and you may look back one day and say “oh I really wish I went abroad in college, or joined Greek life.” 

Another thing I learned in college is that, whatever it is that I am doing I will learn it quickly, and do the best job that I can.  I got the opportunity to go abroad again in January 2012 to do an Archaeology field school in Belize.  I understood everything really well and for some reason it was just easy.  Not to come off as cocky but I am smart and am confident that I can do anything with the proper training and experience, and possibly better and faster than most people.   This is also why I will succeed next year teaching English.  The first month I am in Israel there will be 85 hours worth of training and then slowly over the next 9 months I will have a larger role in the classroom.  Then by the end my program I will have some great experience and some great references for future jobs. 

I titled this blog post “as one door closes, one more opens.”  It is a quote by Alexander Graham Bell, but I herd it in a country song and got the idea to use it as a title.  The rest of the quote says that we often focus on the closed door and not on the open door in front of us.  Some of my friends were devastated that college had ended, and they have the right to be.  I am a very optimistic person and I focused more on that open door in front of me.  I may have graduated college but I am still young and have my whole life in front of me.  I also did well and graduated from a great school with a liberal arts degree.  I can pretty much go into any career field that I choose.  I think teaching is a right place for me because I am patient, caring, smart, and will be a good role model for our future generations.  Sometimes when I tell people I want to teach they say that they could picture me as a teacher and say that I will be good at it.  They might just be trying to be nice but everyone likes a compliment here and there.  Also the program is only 1 year, so if I don’t enjoy teaching I will not have a lot of time or money invested in the wrong career choice.

This summer has been great.  I am working a lot at a new restaurant in town trying to save as much money as I can, but other than that I have just been relaxing, watching tv, reading, and went to a few concerts.  This summer has been very stress free, most likely because I already have a job lined up. 

I am really looking forward to starting my job in Israel.  My friends have started leaving Ithaca and I think by the time I leave only 2 or 3 of my close friends will still be here.  So I’ll probably be bored out of my mind and ready to take off.  I will continue with this blog but it may be a little different than the first part of it.  When I was in Barcelona I was always doing something, whether it was traveling, doing things in Barcelona, or going out with people.  This Israel experience will be much different because I will not have as much time or money.  My monthly budget will be about $750 a month (and since my program pays for rent, utilities, and local transportation that $750 will get me a lot in a month).  I will also be working/volunteering for a lot more hours a week than my course load in Barcelona so I won’t have as much time.  And lastly, I have already traveled all around Israel and there is a good chance that I will not leave the country