This past weekend was filled with tons of food, hiking, and a little bit of chaos. Welcome to Israel. It started Thursday night (the beginning of the weekend in Israel) at a Masa culture day event. Otzma is one of many Masa programs so we are often privy to attending Masa events for free or at a small symbolic price. I chose to attend the Israeli film section, although dance, literature, and theater were also offered. The film spoken about was Waltz with Bashir, the 2009 Oscar nominated film. But before the actual event, it was quite the hassle to get to Tel Aviv, where the event was held.
Masa volunteered to send buses to take us down to Tel Aviv since so many Masa participants finds themselves spread out all over the country. Several of these buses were canceled the day before and day of the event so I was lucky there was still a bus coming to Yokneam. I had several friends taking the public bus to Yokneam to then catch the Masa transportation. Everyone hurried to get in, to make the 3:45 pm bus on time. They all made it just in time. Except that the bus actually showed up at 5:15. We all realized that after being in Israel for 6 and a half months, it was really our mistake for thinking the bus would be there when we were told.
We still made it to the event in plenty of time and the film discussion was really very interesting. It was only about an hour though and so each speaker unfortunately had to be cut off. We heard from Ron Ben-Yishai, an Israeli journalist whose real life experiences in the first Lebanon War are documented in the movie as well as Tal Gadon, the lead animator for the project. We were then told we needed to hustle to a bus waiting on a busy Tel Aviv street because it was going to take us to the next portion of the evening.
Each group was then taken to one venue for a Subliminal concert, an Israeli rapper. I wasn't familiar with his music before that night and while I'm not a big fan of hip hop, he is very talented and I found myself enjoying it more that I would have thought. The entire event I anticipated running from about 8:00 pm until 11:00 pm at the latest (and really I thought it would be over earlier). I got home at 1:30 am. After the concert ended it was really by sheer luck my friends and I found the right bus back to Yokneam.
So, after the unexpected late night on thursday, came an early morning on Friday. There was a high school group from Atlanta in Yokneam this weekend. Tali, a visiting Otzmanik Yael, and I all met them Friday morning for a hike and jeep ride in a nature reserve just outside of the city. They are all high school seniors (from a Jewish private school) who are all but graduated and are now in Israel for the next three months until they return to Atlanta for graduation. They are spending these months in Israel traveling throughout the country on organized seminars and were in Yokneam this weekend to see their partnership city and to meet Israelis their own age. We tagged along to show them other work the partnership does, and let's be honest...to promote Otzma.
The hike was on the same trail as the Yokneam walk the week before (I forgot my camera but to see pictures of the area check out Max's last blog) . I was thrilled to get to walk through the same gorgeous scenery as before and this time without hordes of people. Afterwards we went on jeep rides through the area. Israelis are already crazy drivers, so I was a little more than nervous getting into a vehicle where the purpose was to drive wildly through rough terrain (and even more so when the driver instructed me not to wear my seat belts because it was unnecessary...I'm sure my mother will be proud to know that I did not take his advice and remained buckled). The ride was a lot of fun, and safe presumably, although I guess I'll admit that a screech or two did escape my mouth. We were sent home from that excursion with a huge box of leftover food from the provided lunch...dutifully fulfilling our role as the always desperate volunteers.
After a little relaxation and much needed showers, Yael and I were off next to Shabbat dinner with my adoptive family. As always, it was a delightful evening with a delicious meal and great company. Friday night dinners in Israel are a staple, incredibly important to all families, religious or not. Two of my adoptive sisters were present (the third was busy working and studying in Tel Aviv, where she goes to college). Also in attendance was my adoptive dad's sister visiting from the US. The oldest sister's husband spent a significant portion of the meal showing off his self-proclaimed most prized possession, his iPhone...his pregnant wife seeming used to the obsession (this wasn't my first time witnessing his excitement over the gadget).
After the delicious meal, prepared by my adoptive dad (who loves to cook) and his sister, and the deserts...or the masterpieces my adoptive mom produces for every occasion, I was again sent home with a bag full of food. However, this time I was thrilled to accept the homemade kube, homemade bread and a bag full of nana...a kind of mint Israelis put in tea (I'd say it has changed my life, or at least the way I'll forever drink my tea).
Yael and I then spent Saturday lying around the apartment, catching up on the important goings on in the US, namely Grey's Anatomy and The Office. Our plans for Saturday evening, of course involved more food, in more ways than one. Tali, Max, and I all volunteer at a food pantry called Kol HaLev. Another woman who regularly volunteers there invited us over for dinner on Saturday night at her home in Haifa. This invitation was even more generous than usual, considering our conversations are usually limited to "how many oranges go in this bag?"
Anyways, we gladly accepted (minus Max who was out of town for the weekend).
While we were on our way out the door I realized that I had forgotten to buy wine or flowers as a thank you for dinner. Luckily we were warned to bring a few go-to gifts from the US for situations such as these. I grabbed a St. Louis ballparks book and was out the door. A friend of Vivette's, our host, who lives close picked us up in Yokneam. Confusion over whether or not we were supposed to be waiting for him at the Junction or Central Bus Station caused a slightly dramatic beginning to rest of the calm and interesting evening. The very gentle and nice man, clearly did not like to be kept waiting.
Once we arrived in Haifa, Vivette took the book as if it was the most random gift she's ever received. I guess I should have expected that. I tried to explain the connection between St. Louis and Yokneam and the importance of baseball in not just the US but St. Louis in particular, even so I'm pretty sure that was all lost. At least I wasn't empty handed!
As per usual we were treated to a huge Israeli meal. But it was really the company that was most fascinating. We were seated at a long table so I spent the night talking to those on my half of the table. I was sitting with two people who were both born in Israel, grew up the States, and then moved back to Israel permanently. Also there was an Israeli engineering professor and of course Yael. The five of us spent the evening discussing various topics, some serious and others light. I was surprised to find out that most of the people there had met at a cafe they all frequented that played jazz music. They all happened to meet one another there and have formed bonds that have lasted years. They have created this unexpected family, the sum just as welcoming as all of it quirky parts. They were all of various ages from various backgrounds and I had a fabulous time spending the evening chatting them all up.
Afterwards I found myself exhausted from the long weekend, all those big meals wore me out, and had a nice restful sleep since luckily my volunteering doesn't interfere with my much needed Sunday morning laziness.
As anyone who has met him can attest, Arkady might very well be one of the most capable people in the entire State of Israel. A recent recipient of the prestigious Nahum Goldmann Fellowship, Arkady is fluent in at least three languages, is an experienced world traveler, and in dealing with us, he may have run into his most difficult challenge ever. (I kid, I kid. Sort of.) Arkady was able to answer any question we had (no matter how stupid), defuse any situation we ran into (no matter how ridiculous), and help us with anything we needed (no matter how trivial). Furthermore, his ability to remain calm and gracious no matter what the situation was continues to amaze us. Somehow, no matter how flustered we might have been, a conversation with Arkady always seemed to relax us and solve the situation.
