Dialogue in the dark

who would have thought that there was snow in israel? well there is...sort of. At the very top of the hightest mountain in Israel there is a little snow. My israeli friend on the program put it the best way, he my friend jamie and i were talking and he was telling us about the snow in Mount Hermon, he asked her 'where are you from?' 'North Carolina' she said. 'ohhh there's TONS of snow in the Hermon, Steph you're from Baltimore right?' i said yes

...'yah there's no snow...' So seeing as most of the people reading this are probably from Baltimore- or maybe a few from out west in Idaho :-D, you get the idea of how much snow there was. Still, to a bunch of excited 18 and 19 year olds- it doesn't matter. 

Saturday we traveled 4 hours up north to the Hermon (Mount Hermon). A 4 hour drive in the state to a mountain isn't considered too ridiculous of a drive- for the small country of Israel- well let's just say we stopped 4 times to get off the bus for a break in our 4 hour drive. I think with adapting to the cultures and lifestyles here, my bladder has also shrunken in my attempts to be more like the Israeli people. The Hermon was a lot of fun- after we went to see an old Fort- Nimrod's Fort with a lot of history in it. Then we all went and had a BBQ. The part that was the most interesting to me was driving up to the Hermon- when we got close we were soo far up north, close to Syria. As we drove through the towns I almost felt like I wasn't even in Israel anymore, but still I looked around at the signs in hebrew and knew that I was, but only a few Kilometers away was only arabic. I felt like way up north where we were near the Hermon was like the remote places in the States that people sort of forget- like Iowa, New Mexico, Driggs Idaho--:). I also felt the same about the remote location of the Hermon as I do about the remote locations in the U.S.- they are the hidden jewels- the most beautiful and pure locations of the country. 

This week has been a normal week of work and class. Had a test in Hebrew on Monday which I believe went very well- we will see the result though. Tuesday we had a mandatory all day seminar. The seminar basically explained that when we returned to our college campuses in the states how to deal with the people who are anti-israel. It got very repetitive and personally even if i do agree with the things that the speakers were saying seeing as I am of course a supporter of Israel, I'm not a fan of the "brain-washing Zionism" although some great points were made and i do feel like i learned a lot. The climax of the day was in the end- the head of one of the organizations leading my program brought in an old friend from College who was a Jew and supporter of Palestinians. We sat there for 30 minutes while he explained how Israel is a terrorist state and why he supports the Palestinians. 

Everyone has their own way of dealing with things. Some people left the room, some people got very very emotionally upset and you could see it physically, some people yelled out and were disrespectful. I am a firm believer in "once you 'lose it' you lose the argument". So i sat and paid my respects and listened to the points and only calmly argued with him, never raising my voice. As his time was up he surprised us all my telling us that he in-fact is a Zionist and does this type of thing often in order to give students like us an idea of the people we'll face in life. As much and i'm not sure whether or not I agree with the whole deceiving fake presentation, it definitely gave me a scary idea of the people i hopefully won't have to face- but may. I also realized something about myself- i'm not so much of a fighter because i know that my opinion won't change as won't other peoples, all we can do is move on a look to the future.

This brings me to my experiences today. This morning was amazing- as I was awoken very early for something that I voluntarily signed up for I asked myself- "why did I decide to do this!?" I got on the bus and headed to my destination. Got a little lost on the way- of course. My friends and I that signed up arrived around 8 A.M. to the Blind and Deaf museum. We were taken in, put our bags away, anything that could produce any light. Then we were taken into a dark hallway where we met- and when i say met i mean heard the voice of, our tour guide for the morning. Liran, who was blind himself, took us for a 1 and a half hour, as they call it "dialogue in the dark". It was so dark you couldn't see your hand in front of you- in fact once i decided to test myself- i put my hand in front of my face and slowly moved it toward my face to see when i would be able to see it, well what i saw didn't change, but i did to my surprise soon felt my hand hit my face. 

On the tour we were taught to use our other senses. We went into one room that was like a rain-forest- the reason i know this is because of the sounds of the birds and animals I heard, the smell and feeling of the misty air, the feeling of the trees and water from the waterfall. After and hour and a half of going through rain-forests, going on motor boats, going through markets and into a music room we had lunch in the dark. I went to the counter, ordered, paid and ate in the dark. We all sat around and talked with Liran, a man who 3 years ago went from having full eyesight to none whatsoever in no longer than a week. This is where my idea of moving on and not fighting was reinforced. Someone posed him with the question, do you remember what people look like? And when you meet new people do you imagine what they look like? He explained, yes of course i still have a little memory of what people look like, but i try not to. Part of adapting to my new life is moving on, and if i sit and imagine things from my old life, how am i supposed to move on. No, i don't think about what people look like, I'm moving on. 

Niran was truly inspiring- he explained that within 3 months of his new condition he was back to living independently, cooking and cleaning on his own. He explained how he is even also an english teacher at a public high school, and how he deals with his students in different ways because of his "minor limitations". 

A little bit of America in Israel

It's been a crazy week. 

On Sunday night for the ravens game some friends and i went to the American Sports bar, Mike's Place. Well the game here didn't start until 1 30 A.M....needless to say I walked out of the place sadly around 5 A.M. Two nights later I was back at Mike's for the inauguration- it is the only public place that really broadcasts all important american events. There were some reporters there from NBC and a bunch of israeli reporters recording and taking pictures of our reactions. It was very interesting being all the way over here in Israel and being surrounded by Americans all watching the same screen. When he was sworn in everyone started clapping and cheering. It was great to witness such a historic event, even if i was half way across the world from it. Obama's speech was great and my personally favorite line- especially after having lived here in Israel I would say was "Your country will judge you by what you build, not what you destroy." 

 

Last night was great. Some friends and I went to a dance show here in Israel. The concept of the show was very interesting. We walked in and the stage was elevated above us. The stage itself is filled with holes and we- the audience stand under the stage and pop our heads up through those holes. It was hilarious when we first did- all you saw was your friends little heads popping up as if everyone was decapitated. It was truly and interesting perspective of the show. At times the dancers got right up in your face and looked right at you (by the way everyone had two metal bars around the head to protect you). Towards the end we moved and sat in front of the stage. Although as I said it was elevated so sitting you couldn't really see the top of the stage- instead we watched the dancers weave in and out of the holes in the stage- the things they did with those holes and that stage were ridiculous. The show was all about relationships and it was very moving. 

This evening some friends and I went into Tel-Aviv to see a movie- Slumdog Millionaire- it was verrrrry good. We all really enjoyed ourselves. Heading home something happened that made me laugh. In the cab home my friend who is going through a tough time turned to me and said "isn't it ironic when the song that happens to be on the radio seems to be telling you everything you need to hear?" The song was fitting for her situation and was seeming to give her the 'pick-me-up' she needed. We both started smiling. At that exact moment the cab driver changed the station to some horrible childrens music, or something we're not quite sure what it was. My roommate and I just burst out laughing. It was as if we were in a movie and in the moment where the character seems to find resolution, and then the driver switched us [literally] back into reality. It almost reminds me of Israel, there are great times of peace, but reality will come back and each time Israel will defend herself. 

Tomorrow a group of us are heading wayyyyy up north to Mount Hermon- pretty much the only mountain in this little country that has snow, it should be a good time. 

- Goodnight all- Steph

"ani metnadevet"

So, I am just getting to write in this thing because I have not been back in my regular routine since i got back to Israel until now.

When the situation with Gaza broke out, a branch of the I.D.F. called "Sar-El" contacted Young Judaea Year Course (my program that i'm currently on). "Sar-El" is basically a program for volunteers from around the world to come work on an army base for however much time they'd like (one week minimum). Sar-El has worked with my program before and with the situation in Gaza they asked for some volunteers as they were really needed. 

It was amazing how many people from my program were ready to just drop everything for the chance to give back to the country. Last week from the 11th- to the 16th I was on a base between Tel-Aviv and Jerusalem called Nachshoanim. As you can see from the pictures we were required to wear uniforms at all times other than in our barracks. During the day we either cleaned guns, packed packages for soldiers in Gaza, sorted bullets- things of that sort. Most of the days I cleaned guns along with many other soldiers my age.  Now think to yourself how many guns you think you could clean in one day. The average was about 4- it was hard work and i found my self saying "libduk?"- (check) and having the answer be "lo naki" (not clean) a LOT.  We worked with the soldiers, ate the same food, had the same break times and slept in the same buildings. It was a very real experience.

The most amazing part to me was that I was there in the middle of the Gaza situation. My "Sar- El Madricha" (counselor for the week) who is currently working for Sar-El as her army service once said to us, I guarantee you that every soldier on this base knows at least 5 people in Gaza right now. After hearing that you would expect the general attitude to be very down on the base. This is what I love about the Israeli people- everyone know's the reality but doesn't let it control their lives- if they did no one would ever be happy. The soldiers I cleaned guns with used the open and non loaded guns as slingshots and they goofed off and shot cleaning supplies around the room. I could just see young Dad and Larry like those goofy soldiers just trying to make their cleaning job a bit more enjoyable. I could see Michael as my commander for the week who had to tell the soldiers to stop using the guns as slingshots, but turned around and started cracking up at the humility of their actions. I could see Marjie in my cheerful Sar-El counselor, who while her boyfriend was fighting in Gaza, she was making friends with us and kept a smile on her face the whole time. 

The thing with Israel is that while the constant fighting hurts the country and the rest of the world's perspective, the people here are unlike any other people in the world. The country continues, up here in Tel Aviv you would never know about the war on the South on the streets in peoples attitudes, but there are signs of support everywhere. Right now I even wear a bracelet that says "Levi bedarom" (my heart is in the south). 

Each morning the soldiers lined up for flag raising- as we did alongside with them. One morning i was given the opportunity to raise the flag (shown in a picture above). It was a very amazing experience standing up there in front of a group of soldiers about my age in my uniform and madricha's buret, raising the flag and the saluting the commander. 

I am back to my normal schedule of working in a school and going to school myself and I am still a metnadevet (a volunteer) here in Israel everyday. Every citizen here serves their country in some form of the army- and while I can't just drop everything and go to the army like Israelis my age it feels good knowing that I am at least serving the country as much as I can in this one year being a "metnadevet". 

Hello Holon Again

I find myself saying hello to Holon again coming back from my break. It was very nice to be home for a week and a half, great to see family and friends. After being spoiled for a week with tons of food and a nice shower, I somehow find myself still in love with my crappy shower tiny stipend for food, and am happy to be back in Israel. 

Bus drivers are always either very nice, or completely mean. Today i had encounters with both types. Walking to the bus on my way to class today i was on the phone with Michael. When the people i was walking with saw the bus already at the stop they began to run. Distracted by my conversation i didn't notice at first. Then as i began to run i realized i wasn't going anywhere with shoes with no backs quickly, so i took them off and began to run in my socks. The people i was walking with jump on the bus and as i approach the driver is closing the door, i can hear the people yelling at him to wait, and he looks at me and drives off. He was a great example of a MEAN bus driver. 

So as i put my shoes on, with 15 minutes to get to class i began to walk to a street close by where busses come every 5 minutes. Well, it just wouldn't be a great morning without getting lost. After nearly 10 min of power walking i realized i didn't know where i was and decided to walk back to the original bus stop and just be really late- what else could I do? At that moment a bus pulled up. Well here comes the silver-lining of this otherwise pointless story. I got on and asked the driver if he was going where i needed him to go. He was extremely nice and not only told me no and let me get off the bus but told me to make a right and the number 18 will take me where i needed to go. While it was a horrible start to the morning it quickly brightened up when i found my way completely on my own, speaking only hebrew and somehow got to class only 5 minutes late. 

I'm sure everyone is really interested in the war and how it is affecting the people of Israel. I work with an 18 year old girl and today we were talking about our families and siblings. She told me that she has 3 older brothers, she followed that with "they're all in Gaza". I said "Wow i'm so sorry, i hope they'll be alright and i'll pray for them". She nearly interrupted me saying "why are you sorry, we should have gone in there years ago." My israeli roommate also feels this way as do most israelis. The general consensus here is that it's just another war that we have to face and it's absolutely necessary. For those that don't know places like Sderot (right next to Gaza) have had rockets on a regular basis for too long coming into their towns and homes on a daily basis- with only 15 seconds to find shelter. Israel really just said "Maspeek- (enough)." While the country doesn't feel all that different up here in north of Gaza, a friend of mine who was recently in Ashdod told me the city is basically dead and that multiple times a day they have to find shelter. Israel is strong and as most people agree, it is doing the right thing. I don't feel more threatened or scared than i did when i left the country 13 short days ago. 

Check this out and get a quick idea of how Israelis feel-

http://sderot.aish.com/SderotPetitions/15Seconds.php