It was pretty sad for all of us to end our time in the army. We really enjoyed working there and meeting everyone. Never again will we hang out in a store room, discussing the tv show Big Brother in Hebrew as we fold shirts for reserve soldiers. It was definitely a fun experience for all of us there.
Winter in Israel came right on time- we believe winter is in fact the only thing that comes on time in Israel. December 22 it became cold. The day we left the base, there was a sandstorm. It looked like the entire base was just covered in a fog; the sand was so fine and flying in the air. it got into our teeth and our eyes and coated our sunglasses. We only saw the beginning of it. By the time we all got to Tel Aviv, a storm had come in there. The whole night there was rain, lightening and thunder.
Right now, I´m in Madrid. I came to Spain for a vacation with my roommate, Rena and her sister, Jessica. We cannot believe how beautiful everything is here. The architecture is amazing. A lot of doors and garages are covered with amazing graffiti, Madrid is actually known for its graffiti art. So far we´ve been walking around admiring everything. Yesterday, Christmas, the streets were completely empty in the morning, except for a few people walking dogs. At night, everyone came out to celebrate with friends. It almost felt like New Year´s. People were out, dressed up and having a good time. We couldn´t believe how crowded everything was.
Rena and I both can´t get over the fashion here. In Spain it seems to be in style to dress all young kids in the family alike. It´s hilarious to see everyone walking around looking like twins. We´ve also realized just how badly Israelis dress. We are shocked at how nice everyone looks here. In Israel, people seem to just throw on clothes without looking at what exactly they´re putting on. We forgot that people in the real world put some effort in.
We are also seeing how much Otzma has changed us. It´s amazing what living on a small stipend does to a person. Rena´s sister hasn´t seen her since before we left so she notices the change. Rena and I both brought peanut butter, tupperware, and silverware so we didn´t have to buy lunch. We refill our waterbottles at restaurants so we don´t have to buy new ones. We even save ziploc bags to reuse. Both of us are in shock about how nice our hostel is. We can´t believe how comfortable and big the beds are. Jessica tells us the room is okay, the beds actually aren´t comfortable and they´re just regular twin size beds. We often tell Jessica the stories about days when the water went off for seven hour and when our water heater would leak all over the living room. We told her about the time the sink regurgitated and sprayed old pasta, vegetables, coffee grains, etc over the floor of another Otzmanik´s apartment. Luckily, they´re floor had a whole in it, so everything went down into the hole and out to the street. We still have yet to determine why there was a hole in their floor. Seeing all these things through the eyes of someone who is not on Otzma really makes us see how far we´ve fallen. But the good news is, we´re all having an awesome time on the way down!
Friday, December 26, 2008
Friday, December 19, 2008
Life in Olive Green
After spending weeks stressing about how I was going to pack everything to move, it turned out not to be too bad- everything actually fit in my suitcases. Leaving Natzrat Ilit was not quite as easy. It was really sad for all of us to say goodbye to the people living there. I'm going to especially miss the people I've met through the English sessions. We got to know them really well. It was pretty sad for those of us who have made a connection to leave. It was also hard because we were able to see how much we could have done but didn't. Although the first part of OTZMA is not supposed to be about volunteering, more about learning Hebrew and getting used to Israel, it is still disappointing to see. Hopefully, we learned enough from living in Natzrat Ilit to prevent that from happening in Kiryat Malachi.
We now have a two week session before we have some time off for break and then head to our part 2 locations. I decided to spend these weeks living on an army base and volunteering through a program called Sar-El. The base they sent us to is called Tze'elim. Tze'elim is a huge base, comprised of a bunch of little parts. The part we live on is called Mali. So far, we've mostly been organizing storerooms. Every now and then we get to do something a little more interesting; I spent Thursday morning cleaning the M-16's for the reserve soldiers. It's really fun to get to know the people in the army and to hear their stories. As a group, all the girls have already fell in love of with a bunch of the boys we work with.
As we've all learned, life in Israel is neither fast-paced or organized. Apparently, nothing is different in the army. When we ask people what they do in the army, a fair amount of them tell us, "nothing". On a basic day, breakfast is from 6:45-7:30. Those of us who haven't given up on waking that early, get there by 7:25 for a couple of eggs. Then we have flag raising at 8:00. Around 8:30 we get our positions for the day. We're normally divided into around 4 groups who all do different things. We hang out until around 9 when they come and offer us coffee before we work. We start working around 9:30 and put in a good hour until we have a break around 10:30. At about 11 we'll start working half-heartedly again until 11:45 when we have lunch. Lunch lasts until 1:15, so we normally have time to take a nap for about an hour. Slowly we go back to our stations for the day, sometimes new ones, and pick up work, around 2. Work officially ends at 4:30 but it actually ends around 3. We then go and take a nap or shower, usually both, before dinner. After dinner we have another break and then evening programming until about 9:30. There's a central part of the base with a store a lounge and a little restaurant that we have nicknamed the Student Union. We hang out there and get to know the soldiers until 10:30 or 11 when we go to sleep, exhausted by a hard day at work.
As you can see, life in the army is tough for us. When we first came we worked considerably harder. Then everyone would come by and say, "Why are you guys working so hard? Slow down, take a break. Do you want some coffee?"
The army has also taught all of us to love shoko b'sakit. Shoko b'sakit, also known as boker shok! is chocolate milk in a plastic bag- but it is the best chocolate milk you have ever had. The army must get shoko b'sakit for free because they have it everywhere. It is served with every meal. In the morning, there's no milk for our cereal. In the army, you eat you're cereal with shoko b'sakit. What a way to start the day.
We now have a two week session before we have some time off for break and then head to our part 2 locations. I decided to spend these weeks living on an army base and volunteering through a program called Sar-El. The base they sent us to is called Tze'elim. Tze'elim is a huge base, comprised of a bunch of little parts. The part we live on is called Mali. So far, we've mostly been organizing storerooms. Every now and then we get to do something a little more interesting; I spent Thursday morning cleaning the M-16's for the reserve soldiers. It's really fun to get to know the people in the army and to hear their stories. As a group, all the girls have already fell in love of with a bunch of the boys we work with.
As we've all learned, life in Israel is neither fast-paced or organized. Apparently, nothing is different in the army. When we ask people what they do in the army, a fair amount of them tell us, "nothing". On a basic day, breakfast is from 6:45-7:30. Those of us who haven't given up on waking that early, get there by 7:25 for a couple of eggs. Then we have flag raising at 8:00. Around 8:30 we get our positions for the day. We're normally divided into around 4 groups who all do different things. We hang out until around 9 when they come and offer us coffee before we work. We start working around 9:30 and put in a good hour until we have a break around 10:30. At about 11 we'll start working half-heartedly again until 11:45 when we have lunch. Lunch lasts until 1:15, so we normally have time to take a nap for about an hour. Slowly we go back to our stations for the day, sometimes new ones, and pick up work, around 2. Work officially ends at 4:30 but it actually ends around 3. We then go and take a nap or shower, usually both, before dinner. After dinner we have another break and then evening programming until about 9:30. There's a central part of the base with a store a lounge and a little restaurant that we have nicknamed the Student Union. We hang out there and get to know the soldiers until 10:30 or 11 when we go to sleep, exhausted by a hard day at work.
As you can see, life in the army is tough for us. When we first came we worked considerably harder. Then everyone would come by and say, "Why are you guys working so hard? Slow down, take a break. Do you want some coffee?"
The army has also taught all of us to love shoko b'sakit. Shoko b'sakit, also known as boker shok! is chocolate milk in a plastic bag- but it is the best chocolate milk you have ever had. The army must get shoko b'sakit for free because they have it everywhere. It is served with every meal. In the morning, there's no milk for our cereal. In the army, you eat you're cereal with shoko b'sakit. What a way to start the day.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
The General Assembly
A couple of weeks ago, all of OTZMA packed up and left Natzrat Ilit to go spend the week in Jerusalem for the General Assembly. It was a week-long conference in Jerusalem for the Jewish federations from North America. It was also the week my mom came to visit!
The GA was definitely very interesting. There were a lot of speakers- pretty much every major player in Israeli politics gave a speech. The best part of the GA by far was on Tuesday, when everyone got on buses and went to visit different parts of the country. My mom and I both were on a bus that went to Sderot. We visited an elementary school, a senior citizen's home and a success center to see how different people's lives had been affected by rockets that are constantly coming from Gaza into Sderot. The elementary school was the most interesting part. All of the kids were having trouble dealing with the stress of living under fire. Many had begun to wet the beds again and were having trouble focusing in school. They had come up for a song for the kids to sing every time they hear an alarm go off. The song calms them down because it gives them something to focus on and the lyrics in the song are directions for what to do. I've (at least attempted to) include a video of the second grade class performing the song.
The room we were in had a bunch of pictures the kids had drawn about how they feel about the attacks. It was really sad to see them all. One kid had drawn his family but instead of heads, he drew targets. Another had drawn his world shattering.
When an alarm goes off, depending on how far you are from the border, you have between 15-30 seconds to go to a shelter. Whenever we went to a new place, the first thing they told us was where the shelter is. Although we didn't have an alarm on my trip, a few of my friends were on a different trip to Sderot and they heard an alarm. Half of them were on the bus and half had just gotten off. The people off the bus ran into the building and hid inside the doorway. The rest just ducked down on the bus below the windows. Just that one experience had people really panicked and none of us could imagine living like that on a daily basis. Some of us will have to for three months. Although none of us are living in Sderot, two of the towns that OTZMAniks are going to for track 2 have been hit. Kiryat Malachi is not one of them.
After the GA ended and my mom returned, life returned to normal in Natzrat Ilit. We only have a week and a half left to live up here. Everyone is getting panicked about packing all of our belongings back into our two suitcases, although naturally we're all waiting until the last few days to actually do it.
The GA was definitely very interesting. There were a lot of speakers- pretty much every major player in Israeli politics gave a speech. The best part of the GA by far was on Tuesday, when everyone got on buses and went to visit different parts of the country. My mom and I both were on a bus that went to Sderot. We visited an elementary school, a senior citizen's home and a success center to see how different people's lives had been affected by rockets that are constantly coming from Gaza into Sderot. The elementary school was the most interesting part. All of the kids were having trouble dealing with the stress of living under fire. Many had begun to wet the beds again and were having trouble focusing in school. They had come up for a song for the kids to sing every time they hear an alarm go off. The song calms them down because it gives them something to focus on and the lyrics in the song are directions for what to do. I've (at least attempted to) include a video of the second grade class performing the song.
The room we were in had a bunch of pictures the kids had drawn about how they feel about the attacks. It was really sad to see them all. One kid had drawn his family but instead of heads, he drew targets. Another had drawn his world shattering.
When an alarm goes off, depending on how far you are from the border, you have between 15-30 seconds to go to a shelter. Whenever we went to a new place, the first thing they told us was where the shelter is. Although we didn't have an alarm on my trip, a few of my friends were on a different trip to Sderot and they heard an alarm. Half of them were on the bus and half had just gotten off. The people off the bus ran into the building and hid inside the doorway. The rest just ducked down on the bus below the windows. Just that one experience had people really panicked and none of us could imagine living like that on a daily basis. Some of us will have to for three months. Although none of us are living in Sderot, two of the towns that OTZMAniks are going to for track 2 have been hit. Kiryat Malachi is not one of them.
After the GA ended and my mom returned, life returned to normal in Natzrat Ilit. We only have a week and a half left to live up here. Everyone is getting panicked about packing all of our belongings back into our two suitcases, although naturally we're all waiting until the last few days to actually do it.
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Back to the Grind
For our first month in Israel, we were all told so many times that things will really start up after the holidays. We all found this to be very true. Ulpan started up with new enthusiasm and we were all given a new list of different volunteering opportunities. Although my schedule was already pretty busy I added a few new ones, such as working in an afterschool program in Nazareth and in an old-age home in Natzrat Ilit.
I went to visit the old age home for the first time last Sunday. A few friends and I sat down with an man who was originally from Gilbraltor but had lived all over the world and knew about 7 languages. He had been a teacher and we talked with him about politics and got him to read our palms. He said I was going to have four children and be financially successful; which is also what the palm reader in India said. There was also an old lady who liked telling me about all her health problems. She asked me if I worked in Carmiel. She said she knew someone who works in Carmiel who also has big cheeks and she thought I might be her.
My favorite volunteer position that I have is the English class we have in the absorption center for the Ethiopians. Twice a week, Adam and I meet with two boys named Amalu and Setkarjew. We talk to them about how life was in Ethiopia compared to Israel and the US. They're both really nice guys and it really is my favorite part of the week when we get to go teach. The classes have also really helped us to get to know the other residents of the center (We also have a class for the people living here from FSU). All the Ethiopians are much friendlier when we see them now and it's a lot more pleasant living in the absorption center when we're not completely isolated by our little American bubble.
Every week, OTZMA gives us a food stipend of $10 a day. We have only a toaster oven and a stove to cook with, so it has led all of us to experiment a little and to polish up our cooking skills. I never had any cooking skills from the start, so this was quite a challenge for me. A few weeks in, I learned how to make my first grilled cheese sandwich. This led me to think that I could survive off eating scrambled eggs, pasta with olive oil and garlic, or grilled cheese for every single meal. That quickly became boring, so I started experimenting. I'm glad to say that my cooking skills are slowly improving. I made a vegetable soup from scratch last week and earlier today, I was part of a joint effort to make apple sauce, which turned out amazing. I'm still afraid of trying to cook meat, but hopefully eventually I'll get there. For part 2 of OTZMA, I'm living in Kiryat Malachi with 5 other people. Four out of the five are really good cooks, so hopefully they'll be able to give me some tips.
I went to visit the old age home for the first time last Sunday. A few friends and I sat down with an man who was originally from Gilbraltor but had lived all over the world and knew about 7 languages. He had been a teacher and we talked with him about politics and got him to read our palms. He said I was going to have four children and be financially successful; which is also what the palm reader in India said. There was also an old lady who liked telling me about all her health problems. She asked me if I worked in Carmiel. She said she knew someone who works in Carmiel who also has big cheeks and she thought I might be her.
My favorite volunteer position that I have is the English class we have in the absorption center for the Ethiopians. Twice a week, Adam and I meet with two boys named Amalu and Setkarjew. We talk to them about how life was in Ethiopia compared to Israel and the US. They're both really nice guys and it really is my favorite part of the week when we get to go teach. The classes have also really helped us to get to know the other residents of the center (We also have a class for the people living here from FSU). All the Ethiopians are much friendlier when we see them now and it's a lot more pleasant living in the absorption center when we're not completely isolated by our little American bubble.
Every week, OTZMA gives us a food stipend of $10 a day. We have only a toaster oven and a stove to cook with, so it has led all of us to experiment a little and to polish up our cooking skills. I never had any cooking skills from the start, so this was quite a challenge for me. A few weeks in, I learned how to make my first grilled cheese sandwich. This led me to think that I could survive off eating scrambled eggs, pasta with olive oil and garlic, or grilled cheese for every single meal. That quickly became boring, so I started experimenting. I'm glad to say that my cooking skills are slowly improving. I made a vegetable soup from scratch last week and earlier today, I was part of a joint effort to make apple sauce, which turned out amazing. I'm still afraid of trying to cook meat, but hopefully eventually I'll get there. For part 2 of OTZMA, I'm living in Kiryat Malachi with 5 other people. Four out of the five are really good cooks, so hopefully they'll be able to give me some tips.
Friday, October 24, 2008
The Cast of Characters
It's also about time that I explain who I'm living and interacting with here and Israel. Here's a brief explanation of all the Otzmaniks and others that I see on a regular basis.
First of all, the Natzrat Ilit group is divided into two parts- the complainers and the non-complainers. The complainers believe that the apartments are too small, too dirty, too old. We're not being taught Hebrew well enough. Things are not explained explained well enough to us. Volunteer activities aren't starting fast enough and there aren't enough options. Everything is better for those in Beer Sheva.
The non-complainers feel differently. We feel that everything we have encountered has been explained to us clearly. We all expected the apartments to be much worse than they are ( I have yet to see a cockroach). While ulpan is not perfect, we need to be putting far more effort to learn Hebrew on our own instead of just ditching class because we don't like it. As for volunteer work, I have a full schedule and although everyone does have ample free time, that among other things, were expected because it was explained very clearly to us before the program even began.
My Roommates
There are five of us living in one apartment. Two sleep in one bedroom, one in the other, and two in the living room.
Zara- She's from Seattle and has spent the past two years teaching preschool. Before that, she lived in Spain for a year and taught English. Zara is probably my closest friend on OTZMA. She will be living with me in Kiryat Malachi in Part 2
Rena- Rena is originally from Philadelphia but has been living in New York City. She majored in painting and after this wants to try and become a makeup artist for movies. I absolutely adore Rena. She's hilarious and has awesome stories. Rena is the second-youngest person here (after me of course). We are probably two of the most put-together and natural leaders here.
Carly- Carly is also from Philadelphia. I don't know Carly that well because she is a complainer and I can't stand how much she complains about everything.
Ashley- Ashley is from Toronto. She's a little bit insane. I originally had the room to myself but I had to move into the living room so that Ashley could have her own space. This was the best possible thing for everyone's sanity.
Other Otzmaniks
Avi- Avi lives right next door to me. He is one of the funniest people I've ever met- also one of the neatest. He reminds me a bit of Danny Tanner from Full House. He has quickly become one of my closest friends.
Within the first week that we moved to Natzrat Ilit, Avi fell out of the shower and down the stairs. He is probably the only person who could have pulled that off. He hurt his shoulder and had to go to a doctor in Nazareth to get it checked out. He was driven over by a woman from the Natzrat Ilit doctor's office. She was Arab and the first thing she asked him was if it was true if all Americans hate Arabs. He spent the whole ride trying to convince her otherwise, because he was a little bit afraid for his life. Once at the doctor's office, he spent fifteen minutes trying to explain in Hebrew what had happened- and Avi's Hebrew is pretty weak. The doctor asked him where he was from. As soon as Avi answered he was from the US the doctor said, "Oh, so you speak English." This is a classic Avi story.
Brian- Brian is Avi's roommate. He was one of my first close friends I made on OTZMA. He is also hilarious and when he and Avi are together I can't stop cracking up. I spend most of my time in their room.
Diana- Another good friend of mine. We roommed together back during orientation and got along well. Diana has also studied opera and is my partner whenever we're needed to sing at an event at the absorption center.
Eilan- Eilan and I are a lot alike. After OTZMA, he's going to go to med school. He wants to be a pediatrician in third world countries.
Malachi Crew
These are the people, as well as Zara, who are in Natzrat Ilit now who will be moving with me to Kiryat Malachi after this
Sarah- Really sweet and outgoing and an all-around fun person to be around.
Justine- Justine wants to be an ESL and Spanish teacher after this. She's really sweet and hard-working. Justine is the one who organized our English classes at the absorption center.
Adam- Although he was one of the last people I got to know, I really like Adam. He's a great guy but is not looking forward to sharing an apartment with 5 girls in part 2. But he's happy because of all the girls here, we're the lowest-maintenance.
Rachael- She's from Sonoma but has been working for a non-profit for the past couple of years in Los Angeles. Until recently, Rachael had been spending her time with the complainers, even though she's really sweet and none of us would consider her a complainer. Rachael went with us to the volunteer project by the Kinneret. After that, she got to know us better and I think she's going to start hanging out with us more.
Matt- Matt is our Madrich (He works for OTZMA). He's originally from Los Angeles and we all like Matt a lot- even if he is a bit of a scatter brain. When we were in Jerusalem, we saw how Jenny (Beer Sheva's madricha) would yell at her group. We're all very happy we have Matt, who is much more laid back.
First of all, the Natzrat Ilit group is divided into two parts- the complainers and the non-complainers. The complainers believe that the apartments are too small, too dirty, too old. We're not being taught Hebrew well enough. Things are not explained explained well enough to us. Volunteer activities aren't starting fast enough and there aren't enough options. Everything is better for those in Beer Sheva.
The non-complainers feel differently. We feel that everything we have encountered has been explained to us clearly. We all expected the apartments to be much worse than they are ( I have yet to see a cockroach). While ulpan is not perfect, we need to be putting far more effort to learn Hebrew on our own instead of just ditching class because we don't like it. As for volunteer work, I have a full schedule and although everyone does have ample free time, that among other things, were expected because it was explained very clearly to us before the program even began.
My Roommates
There are five of us living in one apartment. Two sleep in one bedroom, one in the other, and two in the living room.
Zara- She's from Seattle and has spent the past two years teaching preschool. Before that, she lived in Spain for a year and taught English. Zara is probably my closest friend on OTZMA. She will be living with me in Kiryat Malachi in Part 2
Rena- Rena is originally from Philadelphia but has been living in New York City. She majored in painting and after this wants to try and become a makeup artist for movies. I absolutely adore Rena. She's hilarious and has awesome stories. Rena is the second-youngest person here (after me of course). We are probably two of the most put-together and natural leaders here.
Carly- Carly is also from Philadelphia. I don't know Carly that well because she is a complainer and I can't stand how much she complains about everything.
Ashley- Ashley is from Toronto. She's a little bit insane. I originally had the room to myself but I had to move into the living room so that Ashley could have her own space. This was the best possible thing for everyone's sanity.
Other Otzmaniks
Avi- Avi lives right next door to me. He is one of the funniest people I've ever met- also one of the neatest. He reminds me a bit of Danny Tanner from Full House. He has quickly become one of my closest friends.
Within the first week that we moved to Natzrat Ilit, Avi fell out of the shower and down the stairs. He is probably the only person who could have pulled that off. He hurt his shoulder and had to go to a doctor in Nazareth to get it checked out. He was driven over by a woman from the Natzrat Ilit doctor's office. She was Arab and the first thing she asked him was if it was true if all Americans hate Arabs. He spent the whole ride trying to convince her otherwise, because he was a little bit afraid for his life. Once at the doctor's office, he spent fifteen minutes trying to explain in Hebrew what had happened- and Avi's Hebrew is pretty weak. The doctor asked him where he was from. As soon as Avi answered he was from the US the doctor said, "Oh, so you speak English." This is a classic Avi story.
Brian- Brian is Avi's roommate. He was one of my first close friends I made on OTZMA. He is also hilarious and when he and Avi are together I can't stop cracking up. I spend most of my time in their room.
Diana- Another good friend of mine. We roommed together back during orientation and got along well. Diana has also studied opera and is my partner whenever we're needed to sing at an event at the absorption center.
Eilan- Eilan and I are a lot alike. After OTZMA, he's going to go to med school. He wants to be a pediatrician in third world countries.
Malachi Crew
These are the people, as well as Zara, who are in Natzrat Ilit now who will be moving with me to Kiryat Malachi after this
Sarah- Really sweet and outgoing and an all-around fun person to be around.
Justine- Justine wants to be an ESL and Spanish teacher after this. She's really sweet and hard-working. Justine is the one who organized our English classes at the absorption center.
Adam- Although he was one of the last people I got to know, I really like Adam. He's a great guy but is not looking forward to sharing an apartment with 5 girls in part 2. But he's happy because of all the girls here, we're the lowest-maintenance.
Rachael- She's from Sonoma but has been working for a non-profit for the past couple of years in Los Angeles. Until recently, Rachael had been spending her time with the complainers, even though she's really sweet and none of us would consider her a complainer. Rachael went with us to the volunteer project by the Kinneret. After that, she got to know us better and I think she's going to start hanging out with us more.
Matt- Matt is our Madrich (He works for OTZMA). He's originally from Los Angeles and we all like Matt a lot- even if he is a bit of a scatter brain. When we were in Jerusalem, we saw how Jenny (Beer Sheva's madricha) would yell at her group. We're all very happy we have Matt, who is much more laid back.
A Long One...
After Rosh Hashanah, we had only a little time in Natzrat Ilit before we left for Yom Kippur. While we were there, we were able to have our first English class. Unfortunately there was a scheduling conflict we weren't aware of, but our class was set for the same time as the Ethiopians had programming. A lot of them came to our English class anyway and their madricha came by and found them and was pretty angry. The class was for the residents of the absorption center and there were all different levels of English. Most of the Russians had pretty good English- they could have a basic conversation about themselves. Some of the Ethiopians had learned English in school in Ethiopia so they could speak fairly well but those who hadn't didn't even have any basics.
Right after our English class, we started to prepare to build a playground. The absorption center is a lot of concrete and the only recreation area is a basketball court that people play soccer on a lot. Behind one of the buildings is a dirt area that we're trying to turn into a playground. We spent the night planting a garden and planned to start the actual playground as soon as we got back from the holidays.
There were only a few days in Natzrat Ilit before we left but we could already see the impact of our English class. People felt more comfortable saying hi to us and coming up to us. All of us got asked multiple times when we were going to do the next class.
I also spent my first afternoon in the afterschool club. All the kids in the absorption center are allowed to come and do homework, art projects, play, etc. We set up a dance class for the kids one afternoon. All of the little girls loved it and took their ballet practice seriously. A few of the boys got involved too.
We went to Jerusalem the day before Yom Kippur and had a seminar their. There were a few interesting activities but most of it didn't interest me. We did to a yoga class that was fun though. The most interesting part was to see all of the people from Beer Sheva again. It was our first time seeing all of them again after orientation in the beginning. We were able to compare experiences in the north and the south. (Otzma is divided into 2 groups-half of the people live in Beer Sheva, half in Natzrat Ilit)
Being in Jerusalem for Yom Kippur was really interesting. No cars are allowed to drive through the city on Yom Kippur so everyone walks in the streets. It was really peaceful to be able to walk around. Our hotel was right by a few nice parks and as I walked through them I could hear all the kids playing and birds calling instead of horns honking.
We had a seminar in Jerusalem on Sunday so most of us decided to stay in the city for the weekend. My friend Zara and I stayed with Zohar's family. (Zohar works for Hillel of Silicon Valley). His family was very sweet and very welcoming. Neither of us had experienced a Sephardic Shabbat before. The tunes to some prayers we knew were different- and the food was delicious. Zohar's family lives on the edge of Jerusalem and we had spent the day with our friends in the center of the city, walking around the old city, Ben Yehuda Street area and Mahane Yehuda Shuk. By the time Zara and I were going back, the buses had already stopped running so we walked back. On the way, we had to walk through religious neighborhoods. As we were walking, everyone was going to synagogue. Almost everyone was wearing somber black, so Zara and I definitely stood out dressed in our bright colors. They had set up barriers on the streets so that no cars could drive through on Shabbat. As we were leaving a taxi was driving towards the neighborhood. A bunch of men were all standing by the barrier. As the taxi approached, they all started yelling, "Shabbas!" at it. The taxi turned around pretty quickly.
Our seminar on Sunday was all about the different quarters of the old city. We toured around the Jewish, Christian, and Muslim quarter. We were able to go up to the Temple Mount. It was definitely an interesting experience- once in a life time (check pictures on facebook). We also walked Via dela Rosa- the walk that Jesus made as he was on the cross. We also went into the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
After our day touring Jerusalem we were dropped off in the bus station to begin our sukkot break. Earlier that day I had called Danna (a good friend from high school who had made after graduation and joined the army) to see if she had any free time over sukkot. It turned out she was free that night so I went to go stay with her on her kibbutz. We spent the night talking and watching classic movies, just like at home. The next day (Monday), she had to go to Haifa for a family gathering and I headed back to Natzrat Ilit.
Before we had all left for Yom Kippur, everyone made sure to finish all the food they had so it wouldn't go bad before we left. Unfortunately, we didn't realize that when we got back, it would be a holiday so no stores were open for us to buy some food for the day we were there. Pretty much all of us spent the few days we were there eating pasta and ketchup.
Tuesday night, everyone left to begin a volunteer project called Students Moving Green. It was a college-student run project that did a few days of volunteer work every year. When it began two years ago it was called Students Moving North as university students from all over the country went north to help rebuild after the Lebanon War. Last Year it was called Students Moving South as everyone went south to help rebuild Sderot. This year, the project was focused on taking care of the Kinneret because of the water shortage this year. There were 500 people involved in the project and 150 of them sleeping in the kibbutz with us. We all made a lot of friends and improved our Hebrew! I spent 2 days working at a center for mentally disabled adults. The first day we had a bunch of drums and did a dance party with them. The second day, we did art projects; my group made crowns with them. It was definitely really rewarding work. They had mentioned to us that most people living there don't receive visitors and that our coming to help would be something they remembered for the rest of their life. We could definitely see how happy they were to have us there and how excited everyone was when they saw we had come back the second day.
After that, I spent the weekend in Rishon Letzyion with family friends. I pretty much did nothing except sleep and watch TV. None of us have a TV in the center and our internet doesn't work very well so we can't watch TV online. It's a pretty exciting event when we can watch TV. The six of us who are moving to Kiryat Malachi after this just found out that there's a TV and a DVD player there. All of us were so excited to hear that.
After I spent the weekend relaxing I went up to Haifa with two friends from the program. I stayed with this girl Nira that I had met on the volunteer project. Nira is from the US and was friends with one of the other girls on OTZMA before she moved. She's in Israel studying abroad for the year at Haifa University. Nira at home goes to American University, where I will be next year. She told me a lot about it. The good news is that she really likes her classes and all the opportunities she's gotten out of going to American. The bad news is that she hates it socially. I'm just hoping that the people who transfer into American and nicer and I can make friends better than she did entering as a freshman. Nira and I hung out and talked and I spent some time traveling around Haifa seeing the city. We also saw a movie at the film festival. It was an American movie called "Praying with Lior" about a boy with Down's syndrome preparing for his Bar Mitzvah. It was a really good movie. It was also really nice to be able to go see a movie. There are no move theaters in Natzrat Ilit and going to see movies is definitely an activity I
miss.
After I left Haifa, I went with Avi, another OTZMA participant, to stay in Zicharon Yakov. We spent a night there and spent the next day hiking through the city and a nearby nature reserve. It was really gorgeous there, but we definitely got lost. By the time we got back, both of us were exhausted. We then went down to Shoan, right next to Tel Aviv, to spend the night with Avi's family friends. Avi had been friends with one of the sons in college, but the only kid there was the fourteen-year-old, Roy. Roy was one of the coolest fourteen-year-olds that I've ever met. We spent the night playing poker and other card games.
The next day, Thursday, we had our first OTZMA activity in almost two weeks. It was really nice to be able to see everyone again, although everyone had realized over the break that we really do spend way too much time together. We had a seminar in Tel Aviv. I chose to see the business side of it. We went to see a presentation in Super Derivatives, an international finance company. After that we went to the trading room for Bank Hapoalim. That was really interesting to see how the run and the activity in there. After that, we came back to Natzrat Ilit for the weekend and to return to life as normal. I had a visitor come with me- Naama, from Hillel of Silicon Valley, who also moved to Israel, has come up for the weekend to visit! We were all also reunited with the internet, a beloved friend whom we have all missed dearly for the past couple of weeks.
Right after our English class, we started to prepare to build a playground. The absorption center is a lot of concrete and the only recreation area is a basketball court that people play soccer on a lot. Behind one of the buildings is a dirt area that we're trying to turn into a playground. We spent the night planting a garden and planned to start the actual playground as soon as we got back from the holidays.
There were only a few days in Natzrat Ilit before we left but we could already see the impact of our English class. People felt more comfortable saying hi to us and coming up to us. All of us got asked multiple times when we were going to do the next class.
I also spent my first afternoon in the afterschool club. All the kids in the absorption center are allowed to come and do homework, art projects, play, etc. We set up a dance class for the kids one afternoon. All of the little girls loved it and took their ballet practice seriously. A few of the boys got involved too.
We went to Jerusalem the day before Yom Kippur and had a seminar their. There were a few interesting activities but most of it didn't interest me. We did to a yoga class that was fun though. The most interesting part was to see all of the people from Beer Sheva again. It was our first time seeing all of them again after orientation in the beginning. We were able to compare experiences in the north and the south. (Otzma is divided into 2 groups-half of the people live in Beer Sheva, half in Natzrat Ilit)
Being in Jerusalem for Yom Kippur was really interesting. No cars are allowed to drive through the city on Yom Kippur so everyone walks in the streets. It was really peaceful to be able to walk around. Our hotel was right by a few nice parks and as I walked through them I could hear all the kids playing and birds calling instead of horns honking.
We had a seminar in Jerusalem on Sunday so most of us decided to stay in the city for the weekend. My friend Zara and I stayed with Zohar's family. (Zohar works for Hillel of Silicon Valley). His family was very sweet and very welcoming. Neither of us had experienced a Sephardic Shabbat before. The tunes to some prayers we knew were different- and the food was delicious. Zohar's family lives on the edge of Jerusalem and we had spent the day with our friends in the center of the city, walking around the old city, Ben Yehuda Street area and Mahane Yehuda Shuk. By the time Zara and I were going back, the buses had already stopped running so we walked back. On the way, we had to walk through religious neighborhoods. As we were walking, everyone was going to synagogue. Almost everyone was wearing somber black, so Zara and I definitely stood out dressed in our bright colors. They had set up barriers on the streets so that no cars could drive through on Shabbat. As we were leaving a taxi was driving towards the neighborhood. A bunch of men were all standing by the barrier. As the taxi approached, they all started yelling, "Shabbas!" at it. The taxi turned around pretty quickly.
Our seminar on Sunday was all about the different quarters of the old city. We toured around the Jewish, Christian, and Muslim quarter. We were able to go up to the Temple Mount. It was definitely an interesting experience- once in a life time (check pictures on facebook). We also walked Via dela Rosa- the walk that Jesus made as he was on the cross. We also went into the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
After our day touring Jerusalem we were dropped off in the bus station to begin our sukkot break. Earlier that day I had called Danna (a good friend from high school who had made after graduation and joined the army) to see if she had any free time over sukkot. It turned out she was free that night so I went to go stay with her on her kibbutz. We spent the night talking and watching classic movies, just like at home. The next day (Monday), she had to go to Haifa for a family gathering and I headed back to Natzrat Ilit.
Before we had all left for Yom Kippur, everyone made sure to finish all the food they had so it wouldn't go bad before we left. Unfortunately, we didn't realize that when we got back, it would be a holiday so no stores were open for us to buy some food for the day we were there. Pretty much all of us spent the few days we were there eating pasta and ketchup.
Tuesday night, everyone left to begin a volunteer project called Students Moving Green. It was a college-student run project that did a few days of volunteer work every year. When it began two years ago it was called Students Moving North as university students from all over the country went north to help rebuild after the Lebanon War. Last Year it was called Students Moving South as everyone went south to help rebuild Sderot. This year, the project was focused on taking care of the Kinneret because of the water shortage this year. There were 500 people involved in the project and 150 of them sleeping in the kibbutz with us. We all made a lot of friends and improved our Hebrew! I spent 2 days working at a center for mentally disabled adults. The first day we had a bunch of drums and did a dance party with them. The second day, we did art projects; my group made crowns with them. It was definitely really rewarding work. They had mentioned to us that most people living there don't receive visitors and that our coming to help would be something they remembered for the rest of their life. We could definitely see how happy they were to have us there and how excited everyone was when they saw we had come back the second day.
After that, I spent the weekend in Rishon Letzyion with family friends. I pretty much did nothing except sleep and watch TV. None of us have a TV in the center and our internet doesn't work very well so we can't watch TV online. It's a pretty exciting event when we can watch TV. The six of us who are moving to Kiryat Malachi after this just found out that there's a TV and a DVD player there. All of us were so excited to hear that.
After I spent the weekend relaxing I went up to Haifa with two friends from the program. I stayed with this girl Nira that I had met on the volunteer project. Nira is from the US and was friends with one of the other girls on OTZMA before she moved. She's in Israel studying abroad for the year at Haifa University. Nira at home goes to American University, where I will be next year. She told me a lot about it. The good news is that she really likes her classes and all the opportunities she's gotten out of going to American. The bad news is that she hates it socially. I'm just hoping that the people who transfer into American and nicer and I can make friends better than she did entering as a freshman. Nira and I hung out and talked and I spent some time traveling around Haifa seeing the city. We also saw a movie at the film festival. It was an American movie called "Praying with Lior" about a boy with Down's syndrome preparing for his Bar Mitzvah. It was a really good movie. It was also really nice to be able to go see a movie. There are no move theaters in Natzrat Ilit and going to see movies is definitely an activity I
miss.
After I left Haifa, I went with Avi, another OTZMA participant, to stay in Zicharon Yakov. We spent a night there and spent the next day hiking through the city and a nearby nature reserve. It was really gorgeous there, but we definitely got lost. By the time we got back, both of us were exhausted. We then went down to Shoan, right next to Tel Aviv, to spend the night with Avi's family friends. Avi had been friends with one of the sons in college, but the only kid there was the fourteen-year-old, Roy. Roy was one of the coolest fourteen-year-olds that I've ever met. We spent the night playing poker and other card games.
The next day, Thursday, we had our first OTZMA activity in almost two weeks. It was really nice to be able to see everyone again, although everyone had realized over the break that we really do spend way too much time together. We had a seminar in Tel Aviv. I chose to see the business side of it. We went to see a presentation in Super Derivatives, an international finance company. After that we went to the trading room for Bank Hapoalim. That was really interesting to see how the run and the activity in there. After that, we came back to Natzrat Ilit for the weekend and to return to life as normal. I had a visitor come with me- Naama, from Hillel of Silicon Valley, who also moved to Israel, has come up for the weekend to visit! We were all also reunited with the internet, a beloved friend whom we have all missed dearly for the past couple of weeks.
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Beginning of the Holidays
On Sunday night, we left the mercaz klitah (the absorption center) around midnight to drive to Sfat. There's this thing called Slichot which is right before the high holidays. I'm still a little confused but I think you basically just stay up all night and pray. We were theoretically doing Slichot but instead of praying we did a tour of Sfat at night. The city is made of stone and it looked kind of eerie to see it lit in the lamplight at night.
The following morning we were driven to Tel Aviv to begin our Rosh Hashanah break. I spent the few days with Neta and her family- a friend of mine from when I was younger who moved to Israel. We went down to Beer Sheva to see her dad's family for lunch and then went to Tel Aviv for dinner- for those of you who don't understand Israeli geography, I basically drove from the top of the country to the bottom and back all in one day. Neta and I have lost touch since she moved, but we were actually able to find things to talk about and got along pretty well. It was really nice to spend the holiday in Israel. The whole country is covered in signs saying "Shanah Tova" (happy new year). It is kind of like Christmas minus all the shopping. It was nice to see the whole country celebrating and being happy.
Everyone was really welcoming and interested that I had decided to move to Israel to do volunteer work for a year. I was actually really surprised by the reactions I received. People kept telling me how much respect they had for me for doing this. Everyone on this program knew we were coming here to do volunteer work but when we talk about why we're here, most people mention putting off grad school or finding some direction in life. Even as I'm playing with the kids in the center, building playgrounds, or collecting food for soup kitchens, it didn't really occur to me that I was helping to improve the country. I never thought about what Israelis would think about us coming to volunteer here for a year.
The following morning we were driven to Tel Aviv to begin our Rosh Hashanah break. I spent the few days with Neta and her family- a friend of mine from when I was younger who moved to Israel. We went down to Beer Sheva to see her dad's family for lunch and then went to Tel Aviv for dinner- for those of you who don't understand Israeli geography, I basically drove from the top of the country to the bottom and back all in one day. Neta and I have lost touch since she moved, but we were actually able to find things to talk about and got along pretty well. It was really nice to spend the holiday in Israel. The whole country is covered in signs saying "Shanah Tova" (happy new year). It is kind of like Christmas minus all the shopping. It was nice to see the whole country celebrating and being happy.
Everyone was really welcoming and interested that I had decided to move to Israel to do volunteer work for a year. I was actually really surprised by the reactions I received. People kept telling me how much respect they had for me for doing this. Everyone on this program knew we were coming here to do volunteer work but when we talk about why we're here, most people mention putting off grad school or finding some direction in life. Even as I'm playing with the kids in the center, building playgrounds, or collecting food for soup kitchens, it didn't really occur to me that I was helping to improve the country. I never thought about what Israelis would think about us coming to volunteer here for a year.
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Life in Natzrat Ilit
All of us have been getting used to life in Natzrat Ilit. Every morning we have ulpan until about 12:30-1:00. After that, we spend most of the rest of the day hanging out or going grocery shopping. We don't have cars so each time we grocery shop we can only buy as much as we can carry. Some of the volunteer opportunities have started up. My favorite thing I've done so far was to work at an afterschool center. We hang out with the teenagers there and talk to them and compare what it's like to grow up in the US versus in Israel. The kids that go there like to work on their English and we want to work on our Hebrew so it ends up that they talk to us in English and we respond in Hebrew. Everyone who went to that really enjoyed it and it really helped us all with our Hebrew.
There are a few Israelis staying in the absorption center that we've become friends with. They are there to work in the local schools in a program that seems fairly similar to Teach for America. They are all really nice and a few of them have started to come to ulpan with us in the mornings to help us learn. The way ulpan is structured is that there are three classes and one teacher who spends most of her time with the beginners. The intermediate class, which I'm in, turned out to be a bit of the blind leading the blind. But now that the Israelis have started to come it helps a lot.
By now I've walked into Nazareth a few times. It's much more of a city than Natzrat Ilit. The shwarma there is also bit cheaper and better so people like to go for that. It's a really nice little city. We walked around to check it out and went to see the Church of Ennunciation. I also found a coffee shop with amazing turkish coffee- it's the only thing keeping me going since we don't sleep anymore. Everyone stays up talking and hanging out until late at night.
Last weekend was our first adoptive family weekend. I was set up with a family in Kiryat Malachi in the south, which is Silicon Valley's partnership community. It is also where me and five others will be living for Phase 2 of OTZMA. I was the only one whose adoptive family was in Kiryat Malachi so I was able to check it out for everyone. It is definitely a very small city. There are no malls, no movie theaters, one bar, and a very small shopping center. The city is also very religious so everything closes for Shabbat. On weekend nights, everyone who is not religious and is between the ages of 13-23 goes to one park in the center of the city to hang out. It's a very quiet city and when I went to the park with my adoptive sister, it was really big news that an American was there.
My adoptive family was really nice. There are five kids, but only the youngest, 15 year old Michal, still lives at home. The mother, Devorah is head of the Kiryat Malachi side of the Partnership Community project. But Kiryat Malachi is really far away from Natzrat Ilit so I probably won't be visiting them much until I move down there.
This past weekend, the group arranged to go camping in Tiberias. We found a place where we could sleep out on the beach. We had a bonfire and went swimming in the Kinneret at night. Everyone had a really good time. Then on Saturday morning, we went hiking in a national park called Arbel. It was a really nice hike down a hill. Along the way you can see remains from caves carved out during the Roman period. We're not totally sure, but we think that Jews used to hide and live in the caves there. We spent the afternoon napping and walking around Tiberias and going to the beach. Now, people are starting to get back to Natzrat Ilit to prepare for the beginning of the holidays.
There are a few Israelis staying in the absorption center that we've become friends with. They are there to work in the local schools in a program that seems fairly similar to Teach for America. They are all really nice and a few of them have started to come to ulpan with us in the mornings to help us learn. The way ulpan is structured is that there are three classes and one teacher who spends most of her time with the beginners. The intermediate class, which I'm in, turned out to be a bit of the blind leading the blind. But now that the Israelis have started to come it helps a lot.
By now I've walked into Nazareth a few times. It's much more of a city than Natzrat Ilit. The shwarma there is also bit cheaper and better so people like to go for that. It's a really nice little city. We walked around to check it out and went to see the Church of Ennunciation. I also found a coffee shop with amazing turkish coffee- it's the only thing keeping me going since we don't sleep anymore. Everyone stays up talking and hanging out until late at night.
Last weekend was our first adoptive family weekend. I was set up with a family in Kiryat Malachi in the south, which is Silicon Valley's partnership community. It is also where me and five others will be living for Phase 2 of OTZMA. I was the only one whose adoptive family was in Kiryat Malachi so I was able to check it out for everyone. It is definitely a very small city. There are no malls, no movie theaters, one bar, and a very small shopping center. The city is also very religious so everything closes for Shabbat. On weekend nights, everyone who is not religious and is between the ages of 13-23 goes to one park in the center of the city to hang out. It's a very quiet city and when I went to the park with my adoptive sister, it was really big news that an American was there.
My adoptive family was really nice. There are five kids, but only the youngest, 15 year old Michal, still lives at home. The mother, Devorah is head of the Kiryat Malachi side of the Partnership Community project. But Kiryat Malachi is really far away from Natzrat Ilit so I probably won't be visiting them much until I move down there.
This past weekend, the group arranged to go camping in Tiberias. We found a place where we could sleep out on the beach. We had a bonfire and went swimming in the Kinneret at night. Everyone had a really good time. Then on Saturday morning, we went hiking in a national park called Arbel. It was a really nice hike down a hill. Along the way you can see remains from caves carved out during the Roman period. We're not totally sure, but we think that Jews used to hide and live in the caves there. We spent the afternoon napping and walking around Tiberias and going to the beach. Now, people are starting to get back to Natzrat Ilit to prepare for the beginning of the holidays.
Friday, September 12, 2008
Ethiopian New Year
Yesterday was the Ethiopian New Year. We couldn't totally figure it out but we think it was more in the sense of New Year's Eve than Rosh Hashanah. They put on a show for all the residents in the absorption center- and gave us dinner! It was a lot more spicy than the Ethiopian food I've tried at home which just made it more amazing. After that there was a dance party where they all tried to teach us Ethiopian dancing. For the most part, that was a complete failure although one of them, Avram, told me I was the best one at the dances. This was our first real opportunity to meet the other residents at the absorption center (hamercaz klitah). There were a lot of adorable kids and everyone seems really nice. Most people come to the center in groups. There was a group of Russians who came 2 weeks ago and another who came 2 years ago. There was at least one Ethiopian woman who had been living in the center for 17 years. Everyone was really excited to meet us and honored that we had come to there celebration. I made friends with one Ethiopian boy who wants me to start teaching him English on Sunday. Teaching English seems to be a major activity for Otzmanikim (people on my program). It is a major gateway out of poverty so everyone really wants to learn.
We also made friends with some Israelis living in the center. They are part of a program similar to Teach for America. They work at a local school to help provide stability, be role models, tutor, and to help if there is anything wrong in the students' lives. They told us that there will be refugees from Georgia coming to the center in the near future. All of the political science majors are really excited for that.
This is our first weekend in Natzrat Ilit. A lot of people have decided to stay in the city. We have been so rushed with orientations that we haven't had time to finish unpacking or shopping for the apartments. Tonight everyone who is here is going to have Shabbat dinner together. We all pitched in for food and different people are cooking different parts. We all have to bring our own dishes, silverware, tables and chairs to the dinner because no one room has more than what they need for the people who live there. It should be really entertaining- especially since none of us have really figured out how to cook yet!
We still don't have internet in our rooms. Right now theres about six of us in a gelato shop near the mercaz klitah. We each have our own table so we can each have an outlet. It's a little bit hilarious to see us all shouting across the room to each other- its okay mom we're the only ones here so we're not disturbing anyone.
We also made friends with some Israelis living in the center. They are part of a program similar to Teach for America. They work at a local school to help provide stability, be role models, tutor, and to help if there is anything wrong in the students' lives. They told us that there will be refugees from Georgia coming to the center in the near future. All of the political science majors are really excited for that.
This is our first weekend in Natzrat Ilit. A lot of people have decided to stay in the city. We have been so rushed with orientations that we haven't had time to finish unpacking or shopping for the apartments. Tonight everyone who is here is going to have Shabbat dinner together. We all pitched in for food and different people are cooking different parts. We all have to bring our own dishes, silverware, tables and chairs to the dinner because no one room has more than what they need for the people who live there. It should be really entertaining- especially since none of us have really figured out how to cook yet!
We still don't have internet in our rooms. Right now theres about six of us in a gelato shop near the mercaz klitah. We each have our own table so we can each have an outlet. It's a little bit hilarious to see us all shouting across the room to each other- its okay mom we're the only ones here so we're not disturbing anyone.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Coming to Nazrat
Hi Everyone!
So I've now been in Israel for almost a week. We spent the first several days doing orientations and learning more about the program. After that we had a mini-trip (a tiyul). We went spelunking through caves, spent a night in a bedouin tent and did the most intense hike of my life. At some points in the hike, we had to climb up the cliff wall- keep in mind we were in the middle of the desert in summer. I already have a tan from that and at least 7 bruises. It was definitely a lot of fun- I show off my bruises with pride.
We first arrived to Natzrat Ilit yesterday afternoon. Our absorption center is really nice- its up on a hill so we have a great view and a really nice breeze. My apartment has 5 people in it- 2 people in one bedroom, 2 people sleep in the common room and I have a room to myself- I lucked out big time. As soon as I figure out how, I'll put pictures up.
The people on this program all seem amazing. Everyone is really nice, really outgoing and have great personalities. It's really nice to be on a program with older people- its not clicky at all. So far so good!
So I've now been in Israel for almost a week. We spent the first several days doing orientations and learning more about the program. After that we had a mini-trip (a tiyul). We went spelunking through caves, spent a night in a bedouin tent and did the most intense hike of my life. At some points in the hike, we had to climb up the cliff wall- keep in mind we were in the middle of the desert in summer. I already have a tan from that and at least 7 bruises. It was definitely a lot of fun- I show off my bruises with pride.
We first arrived to Natzrat Ilit yesterday afternoon. Our absorption center is really nice- its up on a hill so we have a great view and a really nice breeze. My apartment has 5 people in it- 2 people in one bedroom, 2 people sleep in the common room and I have a room to myself- I lucked out big time. As soon as I figure out how, I'll put pictures up.
The people on this program all seem amazing. Everyone is really nice, really outgoing and have great personalities. It's really nice to be on a program with older people- its not clicky at all. So far so good!
Monday, September 1, 2008
Getting ready to go!
Tomorrow night I fly to New York to meet everyone on OTZMA. Right now I'm half packing half watching Project Runway and surfing the web. But once I actually start the program, I'll be sure to keep you all updated on how everything is going!
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