Leaving Ashkelon

I left Ashkelon about a week ago and left behind all of the Otzmanikim I've been living with for the past three months as well as daily Ulpan and consistent volunteering. It was difficult to walk away from each.

While I never really loved the city of Ashkelon itself, I've made endless memories growing close to the other Otmzanikim in the group over the last three months there. From now on it is going to be a big change to not constantly be around the entire group of 38. While I think the initial peace and quiet will be a welcome change, I'm sure I will quickly come to miss the dynamic we've developed and the constant company.

Ulpan was also really beneficial to me. Although not everyone in the group would agree with me about the helpfulness of Ulpan (mostly those who chose not to regularly attend), I can really say I got something out of the class. My teacher, Miri, was an excellent teacher who had a lot of experience working with beginning level Ulpan classes (I changed from Nana's class to better fit my Hebrew level). The class gave me a lot more confidence to then use my Hebrew in the practical necessary ways that come with living in Israel. I would call myself functional after the past three months but far from truly conversational (that's what Part 2 is for...).

My volunteering in Ashkelon was slow to start with all of the holidays at the beginning of the school year. In my last month there my schedule finally began to become more regular and even in the one short month I managed to grow attached to the kids I worked with. Once a week I worked in a preschool with young kids who were adorable and offered me a great chance to practice my Hebrew. The kids in the classroom far outweighed the number of teachers, giving me a chance to offer some assistance once I learned how to overcome the language barrier.

Twice a week I found myself volunteering with a program called Atidim (meaning futures). This after school program, targeting communities in the periphery of Israel, was in Kyriat Gat (a neighboring city to Ashkelon).

Myself and three other Otzmakinim went each week to work with the same group of high schoolers. Once a week we would show the group a movie or TV show in English and have a discussion about what they watched. The other day was more structured because we worked with an English teacher and helped the kids one-on-one with more specific homework assignments. We were all sad to say goodbye to the kids, and were invited back to come visit whenever we're in the area.

In the week since I left Ashkelon behind, I have been busy traveling in Haifa, Tel Aviv, Kyriat Ata, and back to Tel Aviv now before I leave for Istanbul, Turkey in the morning. So far the trip has been relaxing and full of taking in the Israeli sites. I admit I spent a lot of the week in movie theaters trying to catch up with all the movies I've already missed (unacceptable for me!). I'm really looking forward to the adventure of traveling to Turkey beginning tomorrow morning. Once I return to Israel, break will be over, and I'll be headed straight to Jerusalem.

In Jerusalem I will be studying for two weeks with other members of Otzma at Pardes, a non-denominational yeshiva. This will be a great opportunity to study Jewish text for the first time and see what life is like living in Jerusalem. At the end of this program Max, Tali and I will have our big move to Yokneam where we will settle for the next three months. As excited as I am for all the things to come in the next few weeks, I am definitely looking forward to the relief of settling in again and being able to unpack!

...And Looking Towards What's Ahead

(Note: This blog picks up where a previous post at Show Me the Shawarma left off. If you want a recap of the past three months, head over there and check it out! Aren’t crossovers fun?)

So now that our time in Ashkelon has come to a close, what’s next for your intrepid St. Louisans? Well, I can’t speak for Andi, even though my sources tell me she is currently vacationing on the beaches of Haifa before beginning Pardes in Jerusalem in two weeks. As for me, as of tomorrow I am beginning an army program called Sar-El. We will be living on an army base meant for paratroopers, and doing volunteer work there during the week. Mainly, we’ll be packing bags and cleaning guns. From what I hear, it’s actually pretty fun, and hopefully I’ll learn a good amount about the army. We also get kicked off the base during weekends, so hopefully we’ll have some more adventures in Tel Aviv/Jerusalem/Eilat/somewhere fun!

After Sar-El I start a two-week vacation, and my entire family is coming to visit. My parents have never been to Israel, so we’re doing the whole tour. Some places I’ve been to, some I haven’t, so it’ll be interesting. More importantly, it’ll be great to see my parents, brother, and sister-in-law, as I haven’t seen them in months and won’t again until the program ends. Needless to say, I’m pretty excited.
The group seems to be splitting into three categories: Those whose families are coming to Israel, those who are traveling abroad (destinations include Turkey, Germany, and even London), and those headed back to the U.S. In any case, I’m looking forward to seeing my family!

After vacation, we are reuniting in Jerusalem on Jan. 3rd for Part II orientation. Following that day, we are headed up to Yokne’am! We’ve got our apartment, which is fully furnished, although we’ll see what that means. Pictures include a microwave, which is a step up from the toaster oven we have now. Also, I’ll have my own room – even if the picture seems to have a couch/futon and not a bed. Actually, the couch is pretty common here, and can sort of turn into a bed. Also, it actually looks a little more comfortable than Andi’s bed in the other room! Haha, I win! I mean…

We’ll fill ya’ll in on our volunteering more when we get there, but the two main locations are an elementary school and a youth center. At the school, we’ll be working with kids who are a little behind on their English and need more one-on-one time. Also, Andi’s adoptive mom is the principal and my adoptive mom is the assistant principal, so there you go! At the youth center, we’ll be doing anything from playing music to planning events. The main job is to come up with things to attract kids to come. There’s also a chance I’ll be coaching baseball – on my application I guess I put that I liked baseball, which apparently qualifies me to coach. Should be, uh, interesting…

So there it is – the next few weeks layed out for you. I’m losing my Internet connection and computer while on Sar-El, so I’ll try and get something up afterwards as soon as I can. In the meantime, happy holidays and see you in Yokne’am!

Thanksgiving

I love thanksgiving. I love returning home each year and knowing all of my friends will be there too. I love spending the holiday with my family whether we celebrate in St. Louis or Chicago. This year was my first thanksgiving away from home. But that's not to say that I went without thanksgiving at all this year. I had two different thanksgivings this year.

The first was an Otzma celebration on thanksgiving itself. There were 60 of us squeezed into the moadon of our absorption center. There are about 40 of us on the program and the remaining 20 were made up of Otzma staff, ITC participants (a new Otzma program which places volunteers solely in Israeli schools teaching english), the building staff, Ulpan instructors as well as past Otzma alumni who have made aliyah.

We had two turkeys, prepared by two fellow Otmaniks who planned the festivities. Each one of us was in charge of preparing at least one dish for the meal. Somehow there was enough food for everyone, with plenty of left overs. We were all a little nervous about how the event would turn out with so many people with different traditions and expectations. In the end the meal was surprisingly delightful. It was a real success and we even managed to remain silent for all 60 people to quickly share what they were thankful for this year. The food was delicious and the meal was somehow still intimate despite all of the people.

On friday I left Ashkelon and went to Yokneam to celebrate the holiday for a second time with my adoptive family. Because my adoptive dad is originally from New York, he likes to put on a big thanksgiving meal every year. They invite all of the Americans and their families they know in the area. That's not to say the meal was without Israelis--there were Israeli spouses as well as the kids who grew up here who can be described as nothing else but Israeli.

So for this reason the incredibly crowded house (they hosted over 30 guests) was a complicated fusion creating an Israeli thanksgiving. The food was great but I was surprised on this American holiday to feel the Israeli influence in the dishes. Despite all the English speakers, I was still surrounded by constant Hebrew. The house was filled with people who often see each other only once a year on this day but still are able to pick up where they left off from the year before.

I experienced a very American tradition for the first time here in Israel, the day after thanksgiving lunch: Turkey Sandwich. I just had the meal for the first time with my adoptive family. My family is really missing out by leaving this particular tradition out of our repertoire, it was great! I finally understand what all the fuss is about. We're usually at the movies the day after thanksgiving but I think we would be well served to enjoy this big left over meal after the movie so that a proper nap can take place when we're all stuffed once again to capacity.

My thanksgiving(s) have been interesting and different and all together a big success. Even so, I still missed being with my own family, playing Risk until all hours of the night, and my favorite sweet potato/cranberry dish my mom creates every year. Last night I looked over and saw a 12 year old boy sit on his mother's lap and kiss her on the cheek. Before I could help it I said outloud, "I miss my mommy." Despite the fact that I'm 22 and am admitting to calling my mom, mommy, from time to time, I really do miss everyone. I wouldn't call myself homesick, I'm quite used to being away from home and spend little time dwelling on the separation. I'm usually not bothered because of the internet and my unusually high phone bill but there's nothing like the holidays to provoke a fleeting moment of realization about how far the distance really is between Israel and St. Louis.

Later this evening I'll return to Ashkelon and leave my adoptive family until moving to Yokneam next month. I'll be greeted in Ashkelon with the family we've created an ocean away from home and to be quite frank I'll probably forget entirely about that fleeting moment until the next one.

A Surprising Twist

Every Wednesday I volunteer at a conservative synagogue here in Ashkelon called Netzak Israel. I work in a kindergarten classroom for a couple of hours, interacting with the kids, struggling to communicate with my broken Hebrew. Their afternoons have a very specific structure: lunch time, a movie or various games, snack, story time, and then an art project. Today I found myself enthralled during story time when the teacher introduced the children's book as written by Gilad Shalit.

For anyone unfamiliar with Gilad Shalit, he is an Israeli soldier who was kidnapped by Hamas in 2006 and has since been held in captivity for over three years. A video was released last month showing a still living, albeit frail Shalit. This tragedy evokes a very raw place in all Israelis because just like them, he was drafted into his country's army at the age of 18. The issue is all too relevant and regardless of your politics, all too devastating.

This afternoon I was not expecting to hear the name Gilad Shalit in a room filled with four year olds. I was shocked to learn this was his own story. Shalit wrote a simple story at the age of 11 and it was published over a year ago into a children's book with dozens of artists filling in the pages. The book is truly beautiful, not just aesthetically but from what I could understand of the story told in Hebrew.

The story is one of a little fish and a shark. It begins with the two meeting for the first time and deciding to play together even though they were natural enemies. They then return to their homes where each are scolded by their parents who say they were wrong to go outside of their roles. The shark is supposed to eat the fish, and the fish is supposed to be scared of the shark. They avoided each other for a long time but after time passed the fish and the shark began to meet again in secret. The story ends with both the fish and the shark convincing their families that the other can be a friend and not an enemy. All fish and sharks go on to live in peace.

This simple story of a child is filled with depth and a level of foresight that is positively chilling. Most of the kids today were unaware of the story beyond the little fish and shark while every adult in the room was riveted. I looked at the innocent, oblivious faces in my classroom and was heartbroken knowing the tragedies they will one day have to learn and witness. I can only hope 11 year old Gilad's wish will come true and these beautiful children will only ever know that fish and sharks can live in peace.

Chillin' with the Rubin Trippers

First off, as a commentor mentioned on Andi's last post, Idan Raichel is going to be in St. Louis on Thursday, November 12th as part of Wash U's Hip Hop Week. (Sidebar: I really hope there's a good reason for Wash U of all places to have a Hip Hop Week. Doesn't seem like the most likely place for that. But I digress.) I won't repeat what Andi was saying, but I'll agree that the show was a lot of fun, and if you're into hippies singing very modern Israeli music, I'd go check it out. You might want to listen to the music first to get an idea of what your getting into - this blog featured on Jewish in St. Louis has more info.

Anyway, for those of you that follow said Jewish in St. Louis, you might be aware of the Rubin Israel Experience. Currently (actually, they're leaving later tonight), a group of 10 Jewish professionals in their 30s are traveling through Israel for the first time, on a free trip sponsored by Ron and Pam Rubin.

Well, last week I got a phone call summoning me, Andi, and Tali (the Atlanta participant who will live with us in Yokneam) to meet up with them in Yokneam. Now, Andi begged out to finish her rabbinical school application that was due this weekend (Psh. Like that's an excuse.) but Tali and I made the trip up, with very little idea of what was going on. After meeting up with Arkady, our main contact in Yokneam, we were introduced to the group. Much to my delight, it turned out to be a great few days.

The point of their trip to Yokneam-Meggido was primarily to actually see where the St. Louis Federation's money was going, instead of just hearing about it. We met at a local kibbutz (Kibbutz Dalia) where we spoke with 3 local Ethiopian olim (immigrants) who were very involved in the community, specifically with various youth programs. Following a typical Israeli lunch at the kibbutz, we visited the local Osem factory, a company that produces many baked goods for Israel, such as cakes, crackers, pretzels, etc.

Since we were naturally running late (Sidebar: In Israel, nothing is on time. "I'll be there in 10 minutes" typically means 30.), we only spent a short time there. After that we headed to the local youth center, where I'm going to be spending a lot of time volunteering - and right now, I couldn't be more excited about it. It's a great facility, with a computer center, game room, fully equipped music room, a kitchen, and a huge room where you can show movies, have a dance (they have speakers and DJ equipment) or tons of other programs. Money well spent, Federation!

I also had a chance to speak to the youth coordinator and one of the other staff members, and they are really great people with the best of intentions. I pretty much told them to just get me a desk, because right now I want to just work there all day every day.

After leaving the youth center, we headed to a local Yeminite village for dinner, where they decorated the group leader who is getting married in a few weeks in full henna and Yeminite clothing for a full-on presentation. Interesting to say the least. After spending the night at my adoptive family's, I rejoined the Rubin group for a trip to the Golan Heights area, which included walking around an army base in the rain. We were accompanied by an officer and a private, and I realized that the private had probably screwed up somewhere when he had to go through part of the obstacle course, in the rain, on a Friday (most soldiers go home for Shabbat), just to entertain a bunch of Americans.

Finally, I wrapped up my time with the group after visiting a local village for lunch hosted by the Druze (Just look it up. It'd be easier. Or better yet, just go here), after which we parted ways. It wound up being a great couple of days, and I am very glad I had the chance to meet with the group and join them for part of their trip. I could tell what a great time they were all having, and it's pretty clear that the program will have a great impact on the St. Louis Jewish community! One of the members of the group has been keeping a blog throughout their trip, which you can read here. There are also a number of pictures, some of which I might even be in!

Since I've been linking to a few blogs in this post, I might as well link to my own as well. Head over to Show Me the Shawarma to get more updates from my travels, including a recent "travel guide" of my Sukkot vacation in Egypt. Until next time, l'hitrayot!

EDIT: Thought everyone might like to see a picture of me, Tali, and the Rubin group at the previously discussed youth center:

The Idan Raichel Project

This Sunday our whole group went to a free Idan Raichel concert put on by Masa. Masa is an umbrella organization that helps fund many, many volunteer programs that brings Jewish volunteers to Israel, for example, Otzma! Masa is funded by the Israeli government and the Jewish Agency. So, in addition to giving people money towards volunteering in Israel, they also put on events throughout the year available to all Masa participants.

This past Sunday was a free Idan Raichel concert for our entire program. Idan Raichel is essentially the leader of a group known as the Idan Raichel Project. They are a very well known group in Israel as well as among some young Jews in the States. It was a concert unlike anything I've ever seen. Idan Raichel writes all of the music and sings some of the songs while playing the keyboard. They have a big band and several lead singers who all play their separate roles in the group.

Everyone in the group comes from all over the world and is required to speak several languages for admittance into the group to even be considered. Because they come from such different places they all have very different styles yet somehow work together incredibly well. They are each individually talented and come together in this cohesive, eclectic mash of wonderfulness. Basically, it was spectacular. Below is the website for the Idan Raichel Project, you can sample there the truly beautiful music and understand the interesting group dynamics.

Enjoy! http://www.idanraichelproject.com/en

Andi

Am I "home" yet?

I was on Gchat the other night talking to my friend, Naomi, who is back in The States (I love how I would never refer to the US as "The States" when at home but the moment I cross an ocean, it's the first thing that escapes my mouth). Naomi and I studied abroad in Florence together our junior year of college and had a few talks while there comparing our experiences living in Florence to the few days we had spent in Israel on birthright.

Interestingly, we had both said how shocked we were to feel immediately at home in Israel on the trip and curiously compared our feelings to the city we grew to love after living there for 4 months. So, the other night, I shouldn't have been surprised when she asked me if I was feeling at home in Israel after being here for a month and a half. I had to really think about my answer before I gave it because the truth is, it didn't come to me right away.

I honestly can't say I feel Israeli. I still believe in the value of an organized line and I just don't know if I'll ever be pushy enough to pay for my groceries in the order I actually arrived to line in. I don't speak hebrew with any amount of ease which clearly makes feeling at home in a country more difficult.

But there's still something about it here, something I find difficult to put into words. I don't know if it's that everyone is Jewish because more than once I've felt uncomfortable being in highly religious settings. It could just be the welcoming nature of the people here or any number of other factors. But what it comes down to is that while I can't say I necessarily feel "at home" here, I do feel very close to home. I actually feel like if I wanted to I could just go home for the weekend. I know technology helps to keep me feeling so connected, but all of the same modern technologies were available when I was in Florence too and still I felt worlds away living there.

I don't know how to say it in any other way, but there really is something about being here where I just don't feel that far away. It might have to do with Florence being a smaller Italian city with relatively little American influence whereas Israel is undeniably more of an Americanized culture that makes me more comfortable. In the end, I'm sure I could come up with endless ways to explain away those feelings but I can't ignore that there is just something about being in Israel that's special to me in a way that it doesn't compare to any other place.

Erev Tov,

Andi