A sample from my weekend with Noa :)
Me and my cousins! Taken during Sukkot in Kfar Saba.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Pictures!
I've been too lazy to put pictures up, but here goes!
A sample from my weekend with Noa :)
Me and my cousins! Taken during Sukkot in Kfar Saba.
My nivutim (navigations) group! Supaaa fun
In the Golan on our hike through Nachal Zavitan.
The picture from the museum that we saw in the Golan about the Syrian Druzim who live there (refer to previous post).
Me and Ayelet at the Idan Riechel concert we went to! It was organized by Masa, which is the organization that helps to bring Jews from outside of Israel to Israel. Almost every program in Israel is associated by Masa, so I saw a lot of people I know there from Chicago!
A sample from my weekend with Noa :)Me and my cousins! Taken during Sukkot in Kfar Saba.
Saturday, October 23, 2010
The Golan and Everything Since
It feels like I haven't written in forever, and I always think about things I want to write here but then I forget. I'll do my best, though.
Last week, we were on a week-long trip to the Golan (in the north of Israel). We spent a lot of time getting on and off the bus, visiting different historical sites mostly. We hiked one day in the Zavitan, which also has a lot of natural springs there, so we went swimming and it was really fun! The most interesting thing we did in the Golan was on the last day, when we visited a Druzi museum. Most Druzim in Israel are very loyal to the country; they serve in the army even though they are not required to. Some Druzim in the Golan, however, still consider themselves Syrian (Israel conquered the Golan in 1967 from Syria). These Druzim do not accept Israeli citizenship, they do not serve in the army, and they cannot obtain Syrian citizenship either because they live in Israel. It was very interesting to hear their point of view, although some of the things we saw in the museum were very disturbing. For example, there was a big map of the Golan labled "The Arab Syrian Republic," and there was also a picture of children standing on the street doing something that looked very similar too the Hitler heil. We asked our tour guide about it, and he said it was part of an exercise for gym class in a summer camp they have every year. We were still pretty offended by it, and later he said that actually it was just the children saluting their flag, because apparently that is how everybody salutes their flag (according to our guide). Our tour guide tried to draw a large distinction between the Jewish people and the Israeli people, and said that the fact that we tie those two things together so strongly is the reason why peace cannot be obtained. It was a little disturbing to hear all these things, but it definitely made us think.
Funny story from the Golan: I convinced my friend that I had a pet mouse living in my room with me, and I'm pretty sure he believed me. Basically, around a month ago, my roommate was on her laptop and she couldn't find the mouse for it, so she was looking around yelling, "Where is the mouse?" and I thought that she was talking about a real mouse, so I was like, "A mouse?? We have a mouse??" They think this is the funniest thing ever, so they have been telling people about it. So I was walking with my roommate and another boy, and my roommate asked him if he heard about me and the mouse. So I just made up a story about how I have a pet mouse and I keep him in my drawer in my room and take him on walks and everything.
During the weekend, I stayed in the north at Kibbutz Ga'aton with my friend Noa, who is there on a dancing program. It was so much fun! I met a lot of the people she lives with, and I got to put faces to names I had heard on the phone. It was very fun.
This week at the mechina has been very interesting. I have been planning nonstop a class with my friend Tali for next week, which is our week dedicated to the Holocaust. We are going to talk about different ways to look at the Holocaust, like from the point of view of a righteous gentile, the Pope, non-Jews who were also victims, and other countries (such as the US). I hope it will be successful-I think it will be.
Last week, we were on a week-long trip to the Golan (in the north of Israel). We spent a lot of time getting on and off the bus, visiting different historical sites mostly. We hiked one day in the Zavitan, which also has a lot of natural springs there, so we went swimming and it was really fun! The most interesting thing we did in the Golan was on the last day, when we visited a Druzi museum. Most Druzim in Israel are very loyal to the country; they serve in the army even though they are not required to. Some Druzim in the Golan, however, still consider themselves Syrian (Israel conquered the Golan in 1967 from Syria). These Druzim do not accept Israeli citizenship, they do not serve in the army, and they cannot obtain Syrian citizenship either because they live in Israel. It was very interesting to hear their point of view, although some of the things we saw in the museum were very disturbing. For example, there was a big map of the Golan labled "The Arab Syrian Republic," and there was also a picture of children standing on the street doing something that looked very similar too the Hitler heil. We asked our tour guide about it, and he said it was part of an exercise for gym class in a summer camp they have every year. We were still pretty offended by it, and later he said that actually it was just the children saluting their flag, because apparently that is how everybody salutes their flag (according to our guide). Our tour guide tried to draw a large distinction between the Jewish people and the Israeli people, and said that the fact that we tie those two things together so strongly is the reason why peace cannot be obtained. It was a little disturbing to hear all these things, but it definitely made us think.
Funny story from the Golan: I convinced my friend that I had a pet mouse living in my room with me, and I'm pretty sure he believed me. Basically, around a month ago, my roommate was on her laptop and she couldn't find the mouse for it, so she was looking around yelling, "Where is the mouse?" and I thought that she was talking about a real mouse, so I was like, "A mouse?? We have a mouse??" They think this is the funniest thing ever, so they have been telling people about it. So I was walking with my roommate and another boy, and my roommate asked him if he heard about me and the mouse. So I just made up a story about how I have a pet mouse and I keep him in my drawer in my room and take him on walks and everything.
During the weekend, I stayed in the north at Kibbutz Ga'aton with my friend Noa, who is there on a dancing program. It was so much fun! I met a lot of the people she lives with, and I got to put faces to names I had heard on the phone. It was very fun.
This week at the mechina has been very interesting. I have been planning nonstop a class with my friend Tali for next week, which is our week dedicated to the Holocaust. We are going to talk about different ways to look at the Holocaust, like from the point of view of a righteous gentile, the Pope, non-Jews who were also victims, and other countries (such as the US). I hope it will be successful-I think it will be.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
The Final Break
It's 3:30 in the morning right now-why am I awake? I am on "shmira," meaning that I am awake with another boy, and we are supposed to make sure that everybody is safe during the night. We don't have a gun or anything, so I'm not exactly sure what we would do if someone dangerous came, other than try to beat them up? But we do this anyway-every night is split up by hours, and a boy and a girl must do shmira together every hour. Technically, whoever is on shmira is supposed to be walking around outside, but most people go on the computers. It's kind of nice actually-you sit with someone and get to know them a little better, and it's great for me because more people are on facebook chat at 3:30 am :) I like that it's in the middle of the night because I get to go to sleep before and after,, but Danny (my partner) didn't go to sleep before this and will be up until 4 am..yuck.
We came back on Sunday from our last long break, which I am happy about because it means I will get to spend more time at one place for a while. I started the break at my friend Shir's house in Ra'anana, where we ate weird Israeli sushi (with cooked fish and sweet potato), saw a movie (even weireder..the one with that guy from Juno if any of you have seen it...something about ex-girlfriends), and watched looooots of tv. I then went to my cousins' house in Kiryat Ono, which was really fun! My cousin Oren picked me up on Friday night, and we had Shabbat dinner together, and then I went with Oren to a little party that his friend was throwing in honor of the haircut he got before he joins the army. Oren's friends were all very interested to talk to an American, but most of them didn't understand why I am here and asked me things like, "Is it so bad in America that you decided to come here? You have so much to do there-we have nothing to do...Why would you ever come here?" I think they were under the impression that I go to Disneyland every day. Anyway, it was pretty interesting and nice to talk to Israelis my age outside of the mechina. In the morning, we went carting (raced around a track in mini cart things) and bowling, and we wanted to go to the sea, but it was too hot. It was really really hot. I also ate a lot of cake there. Yum.
When we got back to the mechina on Sunday, we did some yoga and then got ready for our "nivut" which was on Monday--navigation. This is when they give us coordinate points on the map and we have to find them and decide how to get from place to place. We have different points for the day and night-during the day, we are allowed to use the map, and during the night, we are not supposed to use it. We have a compass the whole time. Anyway, I was dreading this because last time we did it, I did not have fun and was not a good navigator. Every person is supposed to take a section of the route, memorize it, and lead the group; if you make a mistake, the whole group gets lost. This made me very nervous, but my group was great, and we did not get lost at all, which is quite an achievement. We actually stopped for coffee once and tea once when we saw great views. I have many pictures from this day, which will hopefully be on facebook soon, and I will even upload some of them onto this blog as soon as I get the chance.
I am going to be very busy this week because I am on two committees that are working pretty hard-tiyulim (trips) and Shoah (Holocaust). Our trip to Ramat Hagolan is next week (starting this Sunday), and there is a lot to do for that. I'll spare you the details (I don't even know all of them), but I will probably be in meetings for a lot of the week. Exciting, right? But I actually am excited!
We came back on Sunday from our last long break, which I am happy about because it means I will get to spend more time at one place for a while. I started the break at my friend Shir's house in Ra'anana, where we ate weird Israeli sushi (with cooked fish and sweet potato), saw a movie (even weireder..the one with that guy from Juno if any of you have seen it...something about ex-girlfriends), and watched looooots of tv. I then went to my cousins' house in Kiryat Ono, which was really fun! My cousin Oren picked me up on Friday night, and we had Shabbat dinner together, and then I went with Oren to a little party that his friend was throwing in honor of the haircut he got before he joins the army. Oren's friends were all very interested to talk to an American, but most of them didn't understand why I am here and asked me things like, "Is it so bad in America that you decided to come here? You have so much to do there-we have nothing to do...Why would you ever come here?" I think they were under the impression that I go to Disneyland every day. Anyway, it was pretty interesting and nice to talk to Israelis my age outside of the mechina. In the morning, we went carting (raced around a track in mini cart things) and bowling, and we wanted to go to the sea, but it was too hot. It was really really hot. I also ate a lot of cake there. Yum.
When we got back to the mechina on Sunday, we did some yoga and then got ready for our "nivut" which was on Monday--navigation. This is when they give us coordinate points on the map and we have to find them and decide how to get from place to place. We have different points for the day and night-during the day, we are allowed to use the map, and during the night, we are not supposed to use it. We have a compass the whole time. Anyway, I was dreading this because last time we did it, I did not have fun and was not a good navigator. Every person is supposed to take a section of the route, memorize it, and lead the group; if you make a mistake, the whole group gets lost. This made me very nervous, but my group was great, and we did not get lost at all, which is quite an achievement. We actually stopped for coffee once and tea once when we saw great views. I have many pictures from this day, which will hopefully be on facebook soon, and I will even upload some of them onto this blog as soon as I get the chance.
I am going to be very busy this week because I am on two committees that are working pretty hard-tiyulim (trips) and Shoah (Holocaust). Our trip to Ramat Hagolan is next week (starting this Sunday), and there is a lot to do for that. I'll spare you the details (I don't even know all of them), but I will probably be in meetings for a lot of the week. Exciting, right? But I actually am excited!
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