After six long weeks of travel, last Thursday we were finally able to move into our house in Arad. The six of us that are supposed to be living in Kiryat Malachi have been indefinitely relocated to Arad. Four of us stayed in Jerusalem for a night for a conference with Zara and Adam going bravely ahead to move into our home first. Six long weeks of army bases, Egged buses, living off of eggs and sweet tea were about to end. Until Zara got a phone call saying our house in Arad had termites. They were not allowed to enter the house until Friday afternoon after the house had been fumigated. However, when all of us finally moved into the house, it still had not been fumigated. We have a couch we've nicknamed the termite couch which is now being kept on the porch to protect the house. We're not really sure how this helps, especially since its the whole house and not just the couch that has termites. Israeli logic is a magical thing. The date of fumigation is still TBA.
Arad is a fairly small city right near the Dead Sea. It is home to many Ethiopian immigrants and a large community of refugees from Darfur. According to wikipedia, it is also a hotspot for asthmatics worldwide because of the dry, clean air. The whole city is surrounded by desert. It's beautiful and very peaceful. From our back porch, we can see desert and across the dead sea to Jordan.
Our house is a very special place. It was donated by Robert and Dora to the city after they died for writers to live in so that they can be inspired by the beauty. We know that it was donated by Robert and Dora because they left us mugs with their names on them. Much of the stuff here still belongs to Robert and Dora- there kids should be here any day to pick it up.
The house came furnished- but I'm using that term loosely. There are chairs, but the backs fall off when you lean against them. There is a stove and an oven in our kitchen with decor from the 70's, however they don't work. The pipes are too old and it leaks gas. We have an electric kettle so we can at least have hot water. Unfortunately every time we plug it in, a fuse blows. We also have a washing machine. Unfortunately when we tried to use it, it leaked water all over our bathroom. There is also 1.5 bathrooms. However, to use the toilets, you need to turn the water on and off each time. It seems when they installed the shower, they forgot to put in a curtain. To shower, we need to sit down in the bath tub and just wash yourself off. And you need to do it quickly because we run out of hot water very fast and who knows when the power will blow.
For the six of us living here, we have 2 bedrooms and only 2 beds. In one room, Rachael and I share a bed and Justine sleeps on a mat on the floor. In the other room, Sarah and Zara sleep on the bed with Adam on a mat. Both rooms are quite crowded. To leave the room, I need to climb diagonally across the bed and then step over Justine without falling on any of the suitcases surrounding her. It's quite an adventure to go to the bathroom at night. The beds themselves are also a little unique. Rachael and I both roll off the edges of ours at night. In the other bed, whenever one of them get up, the other goes flying.
Yesterday, we found a lizard in one bedroom. It was climbing on Sarah's pillow. They were not able to catch it the first time, but it appeared later, about to crawl down Sarah's shirt. They were able to catch it and put it outside this time. We were all ready to move out after that, until we found out this morning they're lucky.
I know it may sound like I'm complaining about all this, but I'm actually not. Every time something happens, we all just burst out laughing. Despite all of the things that have happened to us in this town, we all much prefer to be here in our group of six than to be in another group. We get along really well. And the city of Arad has been amazing. Ofra, the federation coordinator, is the most organized and efficient person I've met in Israel. We'll all be sad to leave her when we go back to Kiryat Malachi. And we are all very excited for our volunteer positions that we have set up with her. I'm going to be working in an elementary school, in a center for toddlers with emotional and behavioral problems, and in an afterschool center for Ethiopian teenagers. We're all excited to finally begin.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Life Back in Olive Green
While Rena and I were enjoying our stay in Spain, the rockets coming from Gaza into Israel intensified. Two OTZMAniks were spending their vacation staying in Kiryat Gat. After a rocket fell in the city, they had to be evacuated to Tel Aviv. Later, that happened to other OTZMAniks staying in Beer Sheva. When we heard that Israeli air forces began to attack in Gaza, all Rena and I could think about was coming back to Israel. While we knew it wasn't safe to be here, we knew we wanted to come back.
When everyone left the base at the beginning of winter break, we were all so excited to start Track 2. That is the part where small groups of us were supposed to be living in development towns and putting all of our energy into volunteering there. I was supposed to be in Kiryat Malachi. On December 30th, rockets fell in Kiryat Malachi. That was the furthest city into Israel that they had managed to hit (at the time). There are no words to describe the feeling you get when you hear for the first time that you're home has been attacked, and Kiryat Malachi definitely felt like home to me.
Rena and I tried to enjoy the rest of our trip and we definitely had fun, but we were both definitely stressed during it. Early on, we knew we were not going to be able to go to our homes when we got back to Israel. Between Spain and our stay at the army base, we had already been traveling for a month. All of our belongings were being stored in Beer Sheva so we didn't know when we would be able to see them again.
There are around 20 OTZMAniks who have been displaced by what's going on. We were all supposed to live in cities like Ashkelon, Netivot, and Ofakim- cities that are now being mentionned on a regular basis because they are being hit on a regular basis. The people who live there spend all of their time in bomb shelters. School is cancelled, so there is nothing for the kids to do. While a lot of people are afraid and were happy we were taken out, there are some of us who really want to go to our cities, all things considered. We are in Israel to volunteer and now is when our cities need us most- but now we're not allowed to go. For those of you who worry about me, the Jewish Agency for sure will not let me return to Kiryat Malachi until the rocket attacks have stopped, as much as I wish I could go there now.
Us displaced persons are biding our time living on a base in the north- we're back in olive green. On my birthday, we arrived at our base which is close to Tiberius. The base is closed except in times of emergency, so it's just been reopened. We've been spending our time working there preparing kitbags for reserve soldiers that are about to be called in. We also are helping to make sure the tanks and APCs are working and stocked with what they need in case they are needed to go into Lebanon. If you have been hearing in the news that Israel is preparing to fight against Lebanon just in case, I can verify that it is true.
OTZMA has only planned for us to stay on this base until January 15th. If at that point, if there is still a war, we will move to Arad instead of Kiryat Malachi. As soon as the war ends, we'll be moved back to Kiryat Malachi. Our volunteer part is only 2.5 months long, after we finish at the base. A lot of us are stressed by the fact that we may move because we don't know how long we're going to be in Arad. We don't know whether to unpack or not. If we don't unpack it may mean that we'll be living out of a suitcase for three months. If we do, we may have to repack in a matter of days. And volunteer work is another issue. It's hard to start working with kids and then to get up and leave them. We don't know how involved to get because we don't know how long we'll be staying. Even now, when we are supposed to be living at the base another week, we're unsure. Rockets fell in Israel today that came from Lebanon. Many of us who are at the base brought all of their stuff with them for the weekend because we don't know if it will be safe for us to return.
It has been a hard couple of weeks for all of us and for everyone living in Israel. We are all hoping the war will end soon and we can return to our homes without having to worry about rockets from Gaza falling on them.
When everyone left the base at the beginning of winter break, we were all so excited to start Track 2. That is the part where small groups of us were supposed to be living in development towns and putting all of our energy into volunteering there. I was supposed to be in Kiryat Malachi. On December 30th, rockets fell in Kiryat Malachi. That was the furthest city into Israel that they had managed to hit (at the time). There are no words to describe the feeling you get when you hear for the first time that you're home has been attacked, and Kiryat Malachi definitely felt like home to me.
Rena and I tried to enjoy the rest of our trip and we definitely had fun, but we were both definitely stressed during it. Early on, we knew we were not going to be able to go to our homes when we got back to Israel. Between Spain and our stay at the army base, we had already been traveling for a month. All of our belongings were being stored in Beer Sheva so we didn't know when we would be able to see them again.
There are around 20 OTZMAniks who have been displaced by what's going on. We were all supposed to live in cities like Ashkelon, Netivot, and Ofakim- cities that are now being mentionned on a regular basis because they are being hit on a regular basis. The people who live there spend all of their time in bomb shelters. School is cancelled, so there is nothing for the kids to do. While a lot of people are afraid and were happy we were taken out, there are some of us who really want to go to our cities, all things considered. We are in Israel to volunteer and now is when our cities need us most- but now we're not allowed to go. For those of you who worry about me, the Jewish Agency for sure will not let me return to Kiryat Malachi until the rocket attacks have stopped, as much as I wish I could go there now.
Us displaced persons are biding our time living on a base in the north- we're back in olive green. On my birthday, we arrived at our base which is close to Tiberius. The base is closed except in times of emergency, so it's just been reopened. We've been spending our time working there preparing kitbags for reserve soldiers that are about to be called in. We also are helping to make sure the tanks and APCs are working and stocked with what they need in case they are needed to go into Lebanon. If you have been hearing in the news that Israel is preparing to fight against Lebanon just in case, I can verify that it is true.
OTZMA has only planned for us to stay on this base until January 15th. If at that point, if there is still a war, we will move to Arad instead of Kiryat Malachi. As soon as the war ends, we'll be moved back to Kiryat Malachi. Our volunteer part is only 2.5 months long, after we finish at the base. A lot of us are stressed by the fact that we may move because we don't know how long we're going to be in Arad. We don't know whether to unpack or not. If we don't unpack it may mean that we'll be living out of a suitcase for three months. If we do, we may have to repack in a matter of days. And volunteer work is another issue. It's hard to start working with kids and then to get up and leave them. We don't know how involved to get because we don't know how long we'll be staying. Even now, when we are supposed to be living at the base another week, we're unsure. Rockets fell in Israel today that came from Lebanon. Many of us who are at the base brought all of their stuff with them for the weekend because we don't know if it will be safe for us to return.
It has been a hard couple of weeks for all of us and for everyone living in Israel. We are all hoping the war will end soon and we can return to our homes without having to worry about rockets from Gaza falling on them.
Friday, December 26, 2008
En España
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!
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 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.
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