Start of Something Big

It has been about 6 months since I last posted and wow has a lot happened in my life.

On May 1st, I was accepted into a teaching program called TNTP in Nashville, TN.  On May 24th I had my car packed up and drove down to Nashville.  Just like that, moved out and on track to start a career.  I didn't really know what to expect.  I was excited, maybe a little scared, but mostly excited to once again, live in a new place with new people and a new culture.  I hit the ground running when I arrived and my orientation/training started on May 28th.  Today is the last day of Pre-Service training and it has been the most challenging month of my life.  Every day I was working my butt off from 7:00 AM - 6:30 PM in training sessions, teaching, or preparing for future lessons.  Additionally, I was working on lesson plans at home and on weekends.  Everyone in the program was basically working 14+ hour days.  On top of that we were getting evaluated and if we did not perform well enough we would not pass the training.  So, yesterday I received my final evaluation and PASSED with a score of 2.39 out of 3.  I needed a score of 2.2 to continue.  What a stress relief.

At times I was beat, felt down, or wanted to quit.  But I would stop, think, work hard, and think about how I will do better the next time.  I knew I could do it and now I can focus on the next step, which is teaching 8th grade physical science in the fall.  Oh, by the way, on Thursday, June 12th I was hired at JT Moore Middle School.  So I had a lot to lose if I didn't succeed.  But I succeeded, for now.  The most incredible part of this whole experience is that working as a first year teacher is going to be even more difficult than the Pre-Service Training.  I couldn't be more excited.

For the past 2 years I have been considering a career as a teacher.  My first step was to dip my toe into the teaching ocean by teaching English in Israel.  Then I went back to Ithaca and worked in schools for more experience and learned more about how the public schools operate and tried to soak up as much as I could by watching professional, experienced teachers.  This Pre-Service training was a test.  Can I actually do it? Is this really what I want to do? Should I commit my life to teaching? The answer is yes.  The realization that I can do it, and just as important, the opinions of my coaches, co-workers, and other people that know me agree that I can do it.

The start of something big happens now.  Even though I passed the training, people have faith in me, and I have faith in myself, this first year is really the final test.  This next year is going to be a huge step in my life and by far the most challenging year of my life.  Bring it 8th graders, we succeed together.

PS.  I just graded the summative test that my students had to take at the end of summer school.  They averaged an 87.5.  I am blown away.  I guess I did teach them something after all

Readjusting and figuring out my life

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My 10 months in Israel were beyond amazing.  It is difficult to express to people how much my experience impacted my life.  I also probably don’t even realize how much it has impacted my life.  It reminds me of the first thing my philosophy professor said in class.  He said that if you really take anything away from this class, you probably won’t realize it until 30 or 40 years from now.  Maybe that is a little drastic for my experience in Israel, but I think it changed me more in the long run of my life than the short term. 

Anyway, this post is more about my life after I got home.  It has been about 5 months since I arrived back in Ithaca.  I went to Israel to dip my toe in the teaching world to see if it was right for me.  I have come to the conclusion that it is the correct choice for me for a few reasons.  For one, I have an ideal personality to make a good teacher.  I am kind, patient, smart, and a positive role model.  A career as a teacher is rewarding and it will give me a lot of time to do other things, such as traveling, and pursuing other hobbies.  Teaching is going to make me very happy and I will be excellent at it.  Even thought I am almost positive I want to teach, I still wanted some more experience, so that is what I am doing this year.

Back in February 2012, I started thinking about what I wanted to do when I returned home.  I decided that I might want to work at the Elizabeth Ann Clune Montessori School of Ithaca.  This is the school that I attended from when I was about 3 until 12 years old.  I know a lot of the staff, and have connections so I sent the principal an email regarding my interest.  She was thrilled.  Some more information was exchanged and soon enough I was signing a contract to work with the after school program with the upper level age group (grades 4-6).  

Let me tell you something about this Montessori school.  It radiates love, kindness, and peace.  This may sound corny or cliché but it is contagious and cannot be avoided.  The person responsible for this is Andrea B. Riddle, the founder of the school.   Andrea was the principle of the school until she died of cancer just over a year ago.  Andrea never gave birth to a child of her own but she had hundreds of children that she loved and cared for like her own, me included.  Her life’s work was this school and her love, too, was contagious.  One day I was talking to the current principle, Laura, and we were talking about Andrea and how the school has rebounded after her loss.  We talked about how sometimes it takes loosing something or someone like that to bring a community together to thrive.  Not that the community wasn’t already strong, but Andrea was a mentor to the people there and they had to step up and take the lead when she was gone.  The best part about working at Montessori is that I too, feel that Andrea is my mentor, I am just a 2^nd generation student of hers.  The staff members who are there right now care so much about the school and its success.  It is inspiring to be around people who love what they do and it is something many schools lack.  One thing that makes an amazing educator and school is the love and community that is so apparent at Montessori.  People are really happy there and it is very clear.

If I had one wish I probably wouldn’t be able to make up my mind.  But, I want to sit down with Andrea today, and talk to her as an adult.  Maybe she will come to me in a dream one day and I can thank her for everything, because I never got a chance to really say thank you.

Leaving Israel I had a job lined up in Ithaca, NY and I planned on living at home with my parents.  But 15 hours a week at the after school was not really enough and I knew I needed to get another job.  I decided to apply to substitute teach in the Ithaca City School District.  Getting this job was fairly easy since I was once a student in the district and before I knew it, I was getting called almost every day to sub somewhere.  Working in the ICSD has been great but the difficult part is that I don’t get to work with the same class every day.  However, for the entire month of January I will be working with a 2^nd grade class at South Hill Elementary.  This will be a great experience and I will work hard to become a better educator.

2 jobs just were not enough.  Coming back with this profound experience and new perspective on Judaism, I wanted to get involved in Jewish education.  At first I applied to teach at the conservative synagogue but I withdrew my application at the last minute because I thought it would be a little too religious and slightly intimidating.  I am also not conservative or a religious person so it just wouldn’t have been a good fit.  Instead, I applied for the Humanistic synagogue call Kol Haverim, which means “all friends.”  After doing some research and looking into what humanistic Judaism is, I knew it would be a great fit.  The best part of working with them, though, is that I get to create the 4^th/5^th grade curriculum.  This is a challenge and I am learning a ton about what works and what doesn’t and how long things take and so much more.  I have a class of 4 students and my goal is very simple.  My task is to light a spark in my students minds so that they will be interested in learning and they will continue to learn later in life.  So my job is to make Judaism fun.  I think so far I am doing a wonderful job and I am impressed with my organization and how my lessons turn out. 

So, I am living with my parents in Ithaca, working 3 jobs, not spending much money, and saving a ton.  Is that fulfilling? It is extremely fulfilling and I am very busy.  But there was one thing that I was worried about when coming back to Ithaca and living with my parents.  What was my social life going to be like?  Most of my good friends either live in New York City, California, Boston, or elsewhere.  I probably wasn’t going to meet too many people my age where I work.  But it worked out wonderfully.  The after school staff members at the Montessori school are great people and getting to know them has been wonderful.  They are warm and interesting, they like to go out and socialize, and are very welcoming.  Within the first few weeks of everyone working there we all went to a potluck.  The host, Allie, is Filipino and mad a ton of egg rolls and other Filipino.  This was the first time that some of us got together outside of work and we have a small community of our own now.

So, after 5 months of being back I am working my ass off, meeting new people, and having a great experience living back home in Ithaca. 

Now I need to start thinking about my future.  In short, I am starting to study for the GRE and soon I will apply to graduate school in education.  I am not sure where I want to go or what I want to be certified in.  I will figure that out soon enough and the trend of amazing, positive things is bound to continue in my life.  I want to leave you with a quote that just popped into my mind that should stay in the background of my life.  It is by Randy Pauche in the book The Last Lecture.  He said; “luck is where preparation meets opportunity.”  It is about living in the moment, seizing the moment, and realizing that good things happen to people who deserve it.  Recently, a woman has become a part of my life and it may seem like luck, but really it is the result of seizing the moment and both of us deserving good things in our lives. 

Final Thoughts for an Israel Teaching Fellow

When I came to Israel I had three goals.  First, to do what I came here to do and teach English.  Second, to learn some Hebrew.  Third, to make some new friends.  Now that everything is over, I can say I accomplished my goals. 

When I arrived in Israel I didn’t know any Hebrew.  Now I can say with confidence that I can understand Hebrew.  After 5 hours of Ulpan (Hebrew class) per week for 10 months, and numerous hours on speaking, reading, and listening to Hebrew in every day life.  I have learned an astonishing amount of Hebrew.  Now I want to continue practicing Hebrew.  I will still speak to some of my friends in Hebrew and on WhatsApp.  I might even be teaching Hebrew to little kids next year.

I have new friends from all walks of life, and all over the world.  American’s, Israeli’s, Ethiopians, Europeans, and more, both young and old…There are even a few students that I can call friends and I really hope to see them again one day. 

Obviously, we all came to teach English.  It is hard to recognize exactly what I taught my students but I know I made an impact in many of their lives…even just a small impact.  I can say for certain that I have encouraged them to speak and use English.  All of my students knew some, or even a lot, of English before I arrived at the school.  But since I didn’t speak Hebrew with them, the only way they could communicate with me was in English.  Sure they made a ton of mistakes, sure they couldn’t always tell me something they wanted but they did find a way to communicate with me.  Many of them went out of their comfort zone to talk to me and I pulled a lot of English out of them.  I think that if my school gets Teaching Fellows for the next 4 years, the 5^th graders, who will be in 8^th grade by then, will be considerably better at speaking, reading, and writing in English than the 8^th grade now.  The 8^th grade is also pretty good at English now so I can’t wait to see them improve.  The last day at the school was Sunday, June 30^th and it was also the 8^th graders graduation.  Becca (the other Teaching Fellow at my school), and I made thank you cards for the 8^th graders.  We made 40 cards that included a colorful card with their name, a short, personal message, and a friendship bracelet.  Together we probably spent 30 hours finishing the cards but I am so glad we did.  After we gave them the cards, I realized how much of an impact we made.  I think this is when many of them realized that in fact we are leaving.  Saying goodbye to the students and the school was one of the hardest things that I have ever done.  I will be back one day, and I will teach more students, but I don’t thing anything will ever be like this experience.  These were my first students and I will remember them very well.

It doesn’t end there, either.  I was involved in so much more than what I expected when I arrived.  I was on a softball team, a part of the Underground club, I did a program called Livnot (look at my blog post from mid October), and I even got to play the piano a lot.  Theses experiences were the icing on the cake.

The Underground Club is an English club on Monday afternoons.  It is for people aged 18-30 but really anyone was welcome to come.  The amazing thing about the Underground is that it brought Israeli’s together.  Arabs, Jews, Muslims, Christians, Russians, and South American’s.  They were all Israeli’s.  Many people don’t think all of these people can get along, but I saw it first hand.  That is one of the great things about Ramla, is that everyone lives together and everyone gets along.

The softball team was an unexpected gift.  I heard that there would be a softball team in the spring, so I had my parents bring some baseball gloves.  When the time came to start playing I was pleasantly surprised.  Our team consisted of 6 guys over 50 years old, a few medical students from Tel Aviv, and then me and one other person from Ramla.  Even though we were terrible and only one 1 game, it was so much fun.  It was nice to be a part of a team and play a sport and I love baseball so softball was great.

My journey as an Israel Teaching Fellow might have ended this week but I will always take the experience with me.  I will apply it to my next journey, and the one after that.

Next year I will continue teaching and eventually get my masters in teaching and make a career out of it.  The thing I will miss the most about my journey in Israel is that walk from the front gate of the school to the classroom where I was greeted with friendly smiles, waves, and dozens of hello’s, good mornings, and “what’s app man.” The worst part is that I will probably never see many of those smiles again.  But that is part of being a teacher, right? Every year new faces come, and old faces go, and you need to learn to say goodbye.  Many people say that you can only take away as much as the effort you put into something.  I put a ton of effort into this experience and I took away a whole lot.  Can’t agree more with this statement and I will keep this attitude towards everything I do in life. 

Thanks for reading

Next chapter…to be continued

Ted Talk of the Day

So I really like the website TED.com.  Ted talks are a lecture series.  Their slogan is "Ideas worth spreading" and I love it.  I watch a few a week and I want to start posting the ones that I see on my blog.  Ken Jennings gives a talk about how our society is losing its value towards knowledge because it is always at our fingertips.  Towards the end he talks about how there is never a time to stop learning and that we should do so every day.  I couldn't agree more, and one of my college graduation speakers said the same thing.

Here is the talk

Ken Jennings TEDTalk

Alone, Not Lonely

Many people have this great fear of being alone.  They think that if they are alone, they are lonely.  They think that others will look at them, judge them, and make fun of them, and one day they will die lonely and miserable.  They don’t understand that being alone and being lonely are completely different things. 

This week’s “How I Met Your Mother” episode was on this topic.  If you know the show Ted, the main character has this daydream about his 4 best friends who are married to each other (so he is kind of the 5^th wheel).  He is sitting in the bar alone staring at a beer and a ticket to a show.  At the end he talks about how lonely and alone he is.  I have watched the whole show and I know that he is not lonely or alone.  He has great friends who he is with every day, but he is just depressed because he has not found a wife yet.  And that is societies definition of alone.  I say fuck that.  Just because he doesn’t have a wife or a girlfriend does not mean he is alone.  In fact, its an opportunity to embrace being by yourself, which many people do not take advantage of.

I love to do things alone or on my own, as I like to put it.  I went to college alone, I went abroad to Barcelona alone, and I went to Israel alone.  You know what I learned? I learned how to figure things out for myself and solve my own problems, I learned who I really am, and I learned that it is extremely important to do things on your own.  I could have done all of these things with my best friends but I chose not to and I couldn’t be happier with the way things turned out.

I am extremely good at doing things and figuring things out on my own.  When I go to visit a friend and I don’t know anything about the place, I usually don’t learn as much as I do when I don’t visit someone.  When I visit friends they show me around and take me places but if I am not the one figuring it out, then I won’t be able to do the same thing next time.  However, if I am the one doing the research and figuring out how to get places and finding the restaurants I learn so much more and if I want to go back to that place I can easily retrace my steps and figure out what to do.  I also like to be in control of directions and schedules.  When I travel with people I usually take the lead on directions and people have told me that they feel safe when I am directing them because they trust me. 

When I am by myself, I am not really by myself, but I am with the coolest person I know.  One thing I lacked when I was younger was a lot of self-confidence.  But as I have grown up I have become much more independent and confident in my decisions and myself.  I am the most interesting person I know.  I listen to the music I want, travel where I want, eat what I want, and do whatever I want, whenever I want.  I also really enjoy meeting new people on my own.  Not because I can make up some bullshit story and be someone I am not because I can.  I like meeting new people on my own because I do in fact think other people are interesting, but I can tell people really like me for me, and not for the people I am with.  They find my life interesting and think I am mature and I think I do a great job of changing peoples perspectives of Americans.

I try to encourage people to do things on their own.  To embrace their freedom and enjoy it while it lasts.  Before we know it, that time we had to ourselves will soon be going to our pets, our kids, our jobs, and our wives/husbands.  Everyone should be able to go to a bar or travel without anyone else and meet some cool people.  That is actually where I might have met some of the coolest people I have ever met…some of whom I don’t even know their names.  But they have been very interesting to talk to, and inspiring, and after we finished talking we said bye, and that was it.   

Things Usually Work Out in the End

My family came to visit me in Israel.  It is Friday night on February 15^th and I walk into the apartment that my parents rented for a few days in Tel Aviv.  They will be arriving the next day around 10:30 and the company gave us directions to enter the apartment so I decided to sleep there on Friday night because I could.  I open the door and try to turn on the lights but nothing works.  I was a little tipsy and tired from a night out so I just went to sleep and hoped for the best in the morning.  In the morning I checked my e-mail.  There is a long e-mail from my brother explaining how his passport was expired and he could not get on the plane but luckily his wife, Kris, went along without him and will be arriving later in the day.  Luckily, my parents arrived just fine and I told them the unfortunate news.  I told my dad who tends to get upset quickly, “don’t worry, this will all work out in the end.”  Kris’s flight gets delayed an hour so we have to wait about 7 hours for her to arrive.  Did I mention that it is Shabbat on Saturday and we cannot get in touch with the renting company until after Shabbat ends, about an hour after sunset?  Kris’s flight lands and we are waiting for her taxi to come.  One hour passes, she should be here soon, 1:30, okay maybe it took a little longer, 2 hours…we get an e-mail from her that she is next door.  I went downstairs but she is nowhere to be seen.  The cab driver dropped her off at the wrong address.  I was thinking this day couldn’t get any more stressful but now Kris is lost, we still have no power, and it is dark.  Finally, Kris arrives at the apartment (thank god she took Adam’s iPad) and we get in touch with the apartment company.  He moves us to a new apartment, an upgrade looking over the long stretch of beach with a huge window facing the sunset, and we go out to dinner at a place called Choco Lulu’s in the Florentine district that I have wanted to go to.  It was great and everyone enjoyed it.  Things tend to work out in the end if you stay calm and don’t let the bumps in the road get to you.  I have noticed this a lot in life.   

Right now, I think I am in a very good place in my life.  I have been living in Israel for 10 months teaching English…what do I need to worry about, right? Not entirely true.  What I am doing here sounds awesome and everyone should be grateful to experience what I am.  However, life here isn’t so easy.  Teaching can be stressful, Israel is expensive, the language is different and exhausting, and I have no idea what I am doing after this.  Don’t get me wrong I love it here but by the time my 10 months are up I will be more than ready to go home and probably completely broke.  Many people don’t like it at all here.  Many of the people on my program could care less about the teaching, learning the language, and would go home tomorrow if they didn’t have to pay to loose their grant money.  This is where my attitude sets me apart from many other people.  My positive outlook, and ability to stay calm when the shit hits the fan helps me get through the problems.  So some days I might have a bad day, but every new day should be something to look forward to and not dreaded.  A lot of the time when people tell me about their problems I tell them to sleep on it.  Then in the morning, or some time after, do something about it.  Don’t just complain to me, face your problem and take some action.

Over the past few years my dad has given me some good advice.  The two quotes that stand out are “be proactive” and “you will never get anything if you don’t ask for it.”  Proactive was the word of the year when I was a freshman in college.  Basically he was saying that I should step out of my comfort zone and take some chances, meet some new people, and try some new things.  Maybe I might like some of them.  The second quote also encourages me to take chances.  The worst that can happen is that someone will say no, right?

I have learned over the past few years that it is great to step out of my comfort zone, dare to question and ask, and just relax when things go wrong.  Things tend to work out in the end.

Now here is a cool video and words of wisdom from Allen Watts

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siu6JYqOZ0g

A New Beginning?

The highlight of my last month was my trip to Barcelona with my brother.  When I knew I was coming back to Israel I didn't think that I would leave the country for 10 months.  The main reason was that I didn't think I could afford it.  I have also traveled in Europe and I wanted to experience a lot of Israel.  Anyway, my brother and I planned a trip to Barcelona and everything worked out fairly well.

We rented an apartment in the old city, near the Jaume I Metro stop.  This is one of my favorite areas in the city.  Our apartment had a rooftop panoramic view and you could see just about everything.  The sun rose over the Mediterranean over the Santa Maria del Mar, and set through the Steeple of the Cathedral.  I will not explain the entire trip in detail but I took him around the city, we biked, drank, ate great food, did a lot of walking and saw a classical guitarist Manuel Gonzalez perform in a different church, the Santa Maria del Pi.  That was my second time watching him live, the first was in the Palau de la Musica Catalana with my aunt and uncle.  We also went on a tour of the Palau de la Musica, which remains to be my favorite place in Barcelona. 

My last day in Barcelona was December 21, 2012.  THE END OF THE WORLD.  So everyone knows the story.  It was the end of the 13th Baktun of the Mayan calendar which lasts for over 5000 years.  First of all, the Mayans don't have any recordings of what will after the end of the 13th Baktun because their civilization didn't last long enough.  But it is more of a beginning than an ending, and that is what I like to focus on.  December 21st, obviously, is very close to the new year of the Gregorian calendar.

This idea of a new beginning has always resonated with me.  If you know me well, you know that I am a very optimistic person.  I like to focus on the good, and learn from the bad.  2013 will have a major impact on my life.  My birthday is also on December 28th so I am 23, this will be my first full year out of college and more or less independent.  How will I grow? What will I learn? How can I make the most of my experience here in Israel? I will have many experiences this year that I have never had to think about, but I am excited and ready to take charge. 

I had a post about the Rosh Hashonna, the Jewish New Year, a few months ago.  I made a challenging new years resolution about how I was going to be more open about what I want and if people are bothering me.  Today my friend, who I have not seen in a few months, asked me how that was going. I said it was going well.  In some parts of my life it is going well, but in others I think I can still improve.  I am doing a great job at my school.  If anything is bothering me, or if I have a problem with a student, I don't hesitate to take action.  I am a peacemaker and I do not like to cause drama, but I need to keep this idea close to me.  I take on a leadership position in what I am a part of and this is a major part of being a leader. 

The first Monday of every month, we have a training seminar.  This month it was in Jerusalem and included all of ITF in Israel.  The training was about interpersonal relationships.  The lecture was mostly about how a messenger can most successfully convey their message to their audience.  It kind of goes hand in hand with my previous paragraph, which I am just realizing now.  But I learned a lot from the lecture and I want to implement some of the strategies into my teaching.  This is a very positive first step in making the most of my time in Israel.  I feel that I am doing a good job teaching but I know I can do more.  I know I have a lot of potential to make an impact on my students lives.  I need to start planning my classes more and finding different, fun ways to fully engage my students. 

I have a trait that sets me apart from many of my peers.  I truly care.  We get 1000 shekels a month (~$300).  The mindset of many people in the Israel Teaching Fellows is that "I am getting paid X and I am going to put X amount of effort into my work."  This is extremely frustrating for me.  My mindset is that it is a learning experience and I am a volunteer.  I need to make the most out of this experience and there is no reason to attach a dollar amount to the effort I put in.  I only have 10 months here.  At school, I can also do whatever I want.  At the end of the year a full time teacher needs to show that their students improved that year.  I don't have to prove anything.  Of course I want my students to improve but the fact that I don't need to show results means that I can try things that are different and not be afraid to fail.  The people training me keep saying that "you are not teachers."  We are educators but we are here for different reasons.  I am a resource to help my teachers and I want to be the best resource that I can be.  I know that the more effort I put into this experience, the more I will take from it, and the more it will shape my future.  Now the question is, how do I get my peers to have a similar mindset?

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

Senior year

Hello everyone,

Sorry it has been a while since I posted.  When I posted the summary of my trip abroad I said that I would continue to post but unfortunately I did not post anything over the summer.  I had a great summer but I feel that nothing could really compare to what I did while I was in Europe. 

Within the first few weeks of the summer two of my friends turned 21 on the same day.  Since it is a big deal in the US it is a great time to celebrate.  My friends parents got him a limo for the day and we went on a wine tour along Cayuga Lake.  It was a ton of fun and since it was my first wine tour I really enjoyed going to the different wineries.  The next event of my summer was Grassroots.  Grassroots is a music festival in Trumansburg, NY, about a 35 minute drive from my house.  My friends and I always tent there for the weekend and dance the nights away.  This year there was a heat wave the entire weekend but they did a great job getting people enough water and solving the problem.  I usually leave early in the festival to go shower at home and change but this year I got there at noon on Thursday and didn't leave until Sunday morning.  I had the most fun that I have ever had and although I was ready to leave when it ended I was a little sad.  However, I spent the next week at my lake house.

My families lake house is about an hour and ten minutes from my house and it is amazing.  The house is nothing special but it is absolutely perfect.  We get the sunset and we have a great dock, a boat, kayaks, tubes, and a wake board.  If it is nice out you can not get bored.  My extended family got it two years ago and my family will have it until my grand children grow old. 

Other than that I really didn't do too much this summer.  I went running a few times, played some tennis, worked, and hung out with my friends and family.

Right before I went back to school I went to a country concert in Canandaigua with my friends.  This was a ton of fun.  At one point we walked into the lower level closer to the stage until we got caught by a guard.  Then two days after that I left for college and that is where I find myself now. 

Senior year in College.  I am not going to lie...I am scared for what lies ahead.  This is where I need to buckle down and get good grades and look for a job so I am not living in my parents basement for the next few years.  I have talked to some people about teaching English in a foreign country or going to grad school, but I have no idea what I will end up doing. 

On a positive note I love all of my classes so far.  I am taking three Anthropology classes (my major) and one elective.  The elective is International Wine and Beverage.  This is one of the most failed classes at UNH because people think it will be a joke but in reality you need to work hard and you actually learn a lot.  The teacher also seems very knowledgeable and engaging.  My three Anthropology classes are Language and Culture, Dreams and Dreaming, and Method and Theory in Archaeology.  The first two have a specific topic and even though I will not peruse them professionally, they help develop skills in research, reading comprehension, and analysis of professional writing.  The last class (Method and Theory) is a requirement in the major.  I have started reading in the classes and everything I have read so far has been so interesting that it is hard to put down the books.  This is great because I am realizing more and more that I really do enjoy my major and I am really glad that I chose it.  So now it is time for me to focus on my future, and if I do the right things I know that one day I will make a name for myself and maybe even make some kind of an impact on this world

Hello New York City

As One Door Closes, Another One Opens

So after 5 months, 40 blog posts, 11 countries, and many new friends I am back home in Ithaca, New York.  I have been here for almost two weeks and have been pretty busy with seeing all of my friends and working a little.  But life now seems pretty normal.  I did not have any problems with culture shock which was great and easy.  So now I have some time to reflect on my travels, think about what I learned, and about how I may have changed.

So first a summary of my travels.  I went to 11 countries, and 23 cities.  Of those 11 countries I went to 10 of the capital cities.  Can you guess which one I didn't go to... It was Madrid, which is shocking since I lived in Spain.  Also in the places I went there were 10 different first languages spoken, I thought that was kind of cool.

There are a bunch of things that I will miss about Europe that aren't so easy to do or see back in the US.  The first is the amazing wine and olive oil everywhere.  It is more expensive and less accessible here.  Next is my host family.  They were so great and treated me as if I was one of their own.  I got to practice so much Spanish with them and they taught me about their traditions, culture, way of life, and more.  It was really cool to get a whole new perspective on the world from them.  I don't think I will really notice a change until farther down the road but I feel that since I spent a lot of time with them they have influenced me is some ways.  The Spanish might have been the most rewarding part of my whole trip.  I can now communicate with people in another language, and actually last night I talked to someone in Spanish for a while.  One of my goals for the summer, or the rest of my life, is to keep that Spanish that I learned and keep using it.  One day I will be fluent.  I will also miss meeting people from all over the world.  Almost every day I met someone from another country who speaks a different language.  With English and Spanish I could pretty much talk to everyone but I really enjoyed meeting these people.  In the US everyone new I meet is from America, usually from the region and at my school everyone is from the same area.  I will also miss public transportation.  Everywhere I went it was so easy to get around the cities.  My brother has our car in Boston until early July so I have had to rely on other people and my parents for rides.  I have tried to take the bus but it just doesn't run that often.  I do live in a small town of 30,000 people but yesterday I wanted to go from the main bus stop downtown up the hill to a place where a few buses come through.  My friend looked up the schedule and the next one was a half an hour.  I just started walking and he picked me up on the way, but the public transportation is just difficult here.  I will also miss a lot of other things like the actual cities and the old buildings and winding streets.

There are also a few things that I will not miss at all.  One of these is the people that sell you things on the street.  I am so glad to get away from those people because they are extremely annoying and all the money probably goes to some Mafia organization.  Also the Euro.  I will not miss the Euro for a few reasons.  The first is that it is expensive to take money out of the ATM because of fees, and things are really expensive.  Secondly, the Euro doesn't actually fit in my wallet so I need to fold them up, and lastly I always had so many coins.

I can see some very apparent ways that I have changed.  I have a greater appreciation for language and people from somewhere else.  Before I was never too interested in these aspects but now I am drawn to a person if they speak a different language or are from another country.  I also think I am more outgoing and more likely to take chances.  I used to be kind of shy and I still am in certain ways but now it is better.  The biggest way I have changed though is now I will pretty much try anything whether it is trying food, a sport, dancing, reading, music... and that feeling is amazing.  I guess after I tried Haggis I can basically eat anything haha.

Now for the future.  There are a few things I want to do this summer.  One is to keep speaking Spanish as I said earlier.  Another is to start playing the Piano again.  I have already started and my dad found some sheet music that is pretty easy.  I know most of the right hand now for a song called Somewhere Out There, from the movie An American Tail.  I will also plan some trips for the summer.  One is going to New York City and the Boston for July 4th.  Another is a kayak trip from Ithaca to my lake house that should take a few days.  And another is a camping trip to the White Mountains in New Hampshire where I go to school.

I have loved keeping this blog and my Barcelona Experience has come to an end.  Life is like a book though and this chapter ended.  I need to accept that and move on, but my book still has a lot of empty pages and I think if I read it over the rest of the story is not predictable at all.  I still have a long life to live and I am so great full that I got the chance to travel and that I have such a detailed record of it.  I still have a while but I am really excited to re-read this blog in about 10 years.  Who knows where I will be by then.

I will keep posting here too.  It might not be very often or similar to the rest but I love to write and I want to keep doing it.  So I hope you enjoyed reading, I know I enjoyed writing.

Hasta.....

Granada

My final destination was Granada, Spain.  When I first decided I was going to Barcelona I knew I needed to see the very famous Alhambra palace.  I find it interesting that it was the last touristy thing that I did in Europe.  But it was amazing. 

I got to Granada mid day on Sunday and checked into my hostel.  Online it said it was a hippies paradise which was an atmosphere I knew I would enjoy, especially because I partied a little in Sevilla.  My hostel was not the easiest to find but I eventually got there with the help of some locals.  On the bus I moved over one seat and asked the young woman standing if she wanted to sit down.  I said "quieres sentirse?"  She knew english and said "you mean sentarse...you just asked me if I wanted to feel myself."  I felt like a complete idiot, especially since I have said that many times to older people on the metro and the bus.  She ended up knowing exactly where my hostel was and helped me get there, which was very nice.  When I checked in I was hungry so I walked towards the nearest plaza to get some food.  When I got to the top of the stairs I could see the entire Alhambra right across the steep cliff.  It was an amazing site

I really wanted to come back to see this view at night too.  I got a quick bit to eat and decided to take a little walk up the hills to a place called Sacramonte.  This is where all of the gypsies live in cliffs and tiny shacks.  It was a very nice walk up there but I didn't explore the caves too much because I didn't have any water and it was a bit creepy.  The streets up on the hill reminded me a lot of the windy sidewalks in San Torini.  The old cobblestone roads that slither up the hillside and the simple architecture.  Granada is a very beautiful city but I think it is too touristy to live there. 

I returned to the hostel and wrote my name down for eating dinner there, and then went down the hill to grab a drink.  In Granada when you order a drink at a tapas bar you get food with it.  I just ordered a beer, watched Nadal win the French Open, and ate some french fries with a ham and cheese sandwich.  I was very content.  Then I returned to my hostel to eat dinner.  There were 5 of us, two australians, a spanish girl that worked there and made dinner, and an older woman from the US.  I was most interested in the Australians.  The next day they planned to go to this place called Bonoficio in the Sierra Nevadas, which is the mountain range you can see in the distance.  Next time I come to Europe this place will be on my list because it is extremely off the beaten path.  This is a small community of people and the concept is similar to a Kibutz in Israel.  When you arrive you are not allowed to bring alcohol or drugs and you need to bring water.  Then you chip in for food and help them make crafts or teach people a trade if you have one.  They said that the whole idea is to be accepting of anyone and to learn and share ideas.  It sounded really cool and if I had some more time I might have gone to see it for myself.  After dinner I just relaxed and then went to sleep. 

I got woken up around 8 in the morning by a song.  "Good Morning, good morning, (REST OF SONG) (ADD LINK).  I thought it was hilarious and it was a great way to start the day.  Others didn't like it too much but I could see if you were there for more than a few days it would get annoying.  As one Englishman put it "It's fuckin' awesome, wake the fuck up and eat some free toast and coffee."  I got a nice chuckle from that line, and the way he said it with the British accent. 

I had a reservation for the main palace of the Alhambra at 6:00 PM but could enter at 2:00 in the afternoon.  The first half of the day I went and checked out some Graffiti a few blocks from the city center.  The Graffiti was very artistic and nice but nothing special.  Then I took the bus up to the Alhambra and started walking around.  I walked to the first palace through some elaborate gardens only to realize that I had lost my ticket, which you need to enter any palace.  I panicked a little but went back to the ticket office where to guy selling the audio guides asked me what was wrong.  I told him of my problem and my ticket was at the front gate because I had forgotten to take it back when they scanned it.  Disaster diverted.  I went back and looked at the entire palace with about an hour to spare.  My favorite spot was the largest tower closest to the city where you had an entire view of everything for miles.  I have a video but it is not comparable to the actual site.  There is also a hill above the palace with stairs and railings that act as aqueducts.  The strong current had carved into the railings for over 500 years and showed the power of water and the elaborate design of the water system of the Alhambra.  While waiting I decided to do some stretching and a girl from Montreal who was on a run started chatting with me.  Since I had a t-shirt and gym shorts, she thought I was running too.  We talked until I went into the main palace and planned to meet up later.  The main palace was everything you would expect.  I slowly walked around from room to room, admiring the unique architecture, writing on the walls, and intricate stalactite arches forming large doorways.  In the center of most forums there was a still pool of water that reflected the view of the opposite facade but had a slight ripple.  This gave an illusion that gave life to the architecture.  The only disappointment was in fact a major disappointment.  There is a main forum area, I think called the fountain of 12 lions.  This forum is the gem of the main palace as my audio guide said and it was completely under construction.  My audio guide also said that the fountain is stronger and the reflective illusion is the most powerful and beautiful.  Great!  I was slightly let down but there was nothing I could do about it so I just let it go. 

I went back to the hostel to get my phone and change to something warmer and then I went to go meet up with my new friend.  She was couch surfing and studied in Madrid.  We got some tapas and talked for a while.  She was very interesting and taught me something.  Her spanish was excellent, and she just started that year.  She did know french fluently which is much harder than spanish but she completely immersed herself in the language and talked to everyone in Spanish.  In my 5 months I learned a lot of spanish and I can get bye, but she was close to fluent and I was very impressed.  We also talked about how I didn't really see that much of Spain.  I should have traveled through the entire country but I only stayed on the coast.  Although she was only 20, she had been to Australia 2 times, Europe, South Africa, and South America.  So she had dome a lot of traveling and this was my first time doing anything like this so I wanted to get see all of Europe, which I did, but maybe not enough of Spain.  Anyway, after the tapas we went to the plaza where the view of the Alhambra was...and it was breathtaking.  I could only hear the wind blowing over the hills, the faintest sound of water, and the occasional sound of the city and people.  There were even some stars out, which I have not seen in a long time.

I woke up the next morning at 5 to catch a bus and a flight back to Barcelona where I was staying one last night with my host family and then heading home.  It was great to see them again.  Before I went back I ate lunch at a place called Ciutat Comtal which was my dad's favorite place and Kris's favorite place.  I got one of the mini hamburgers and some other food and it was delicious.  Then I went back to my home stay where they had prepared a ciesta lunch with the family so I ate another lunch.  That night I just relaxed and caught up on sleep and prepared to leave in the morning.  Now I am on the plane to Boston.