Things that would only happen in Israel...

1. I was in a cab the other day with friends when the driver asked if we wouldn't mind waiting while he pulled over to get some dinner. He didn't exactly pull over though, he stopped in the middle of the road. He both blocked in parked cars and completely stopped traffic in one lane. We were being honked at in all directions while he was inside the restaurant putting toppings on his shwarma.

2. As a going away present my friend was given a necklace with a Kabbalah symbol on it. The necklace is meant to help her attract a boyfriend. She was also told that at the ripe old age of 23 her clock was ticking. This was done with no other motive than the genuine hope that it would work for her. There was no shame, no embarrassment. It seemed completely logical and in no way offensive.

3. Do not mispronounce the word for cup in Hebrew when ordering ice cream, it is highly embarrassing and offensive. I learned this the hard way.

4. When I speak Hebrew I am so concentrated on the words I'm saying that I don't even begin to worry about my thick American accent. For this reason I suppose, on more that one occasion I have spoken Hebrew to an Israeli and the response has been "I don't speak English".

5. In the fall I went to Tel Aviv with a group of girlfriends for the weekend to celebrate a friend's birthday. We took a Sheirut (a big taxi) from Ashkelon to Tel Aviv on the way there. It cost 20 shekels each, that's about 5 dollars. At the end of the trip we got in a Sheirut to head back to Ashkelon expecting the cost to be slightly higher because it was Shabbat and there were no other transportation options. We begrudgingly agreed to each pay 35 shekels, about 9 dollars. After five minutes of driving a man gets on the Sheirut (presumably the driver of another Sheirut) and tells us that the journey will cost us 5000 shekels. After the same drive had previously cost us 5 dollars each, we were told the return would cost us all together 1500 dollars. After a long debate and many threats to exit the Sheirut, we each payed 35 shekels.

(The driver did not realize that we understand Hebrew and asked on the radio how much the drive from Tel Aviv to Ashkelon should cost on Shabbat. We all heard as he was told 32 or 33 shekels.)

6. Gifts, without fail, always have a religious Jewish context. Always. (I love it!)

7. Max, Tali, and I were all late to a meeting with the Yokneam mayor the other day (luckily he was running even later than we were). Arkady, who works for the partnership and was given the delightful responsibility of being in charge of each of our lives for the last three months in Yokneam, declared that we had officially completed our absorption into Israeli society. We were, after all, late for the mayor.

8. About a month ago I was visiting a friend in Kiryat Shmona over Purim. I arrived on Friday afternoon and we went directly to her adoptive family's house for lunch. Every Friday her adoptive mom makes enough Kube to feed an army. I wasn't particularly hungry when I arrived (and everyone had already eaten) so when she asked me if I wanted some Kube I very clearly said "No, thank you." A minute later there was a steaming bowl of Kube in front of me as she told me I was lucky because this was the last of it. Now, there are two very plausible explanations for this...

A. She was not listening to my response because it was never really a question. What I said

didn't really matter, there was only one right answer.

B. She heard my response and continued to get me Kube because again, my answer didn't

really matter.

Either way, the outcome was the same. I didn't even comment as she put the bowl in front of me. I just realized my error and ate my delicious lunch.

9. A couple weeks ago Max was walking through Daliyot and saw two kids doing some kind of project with an empty bottle of Jim Beam. He asked them what it was (as he got a whiff of the leftover bourbon stench) to which they simply replied, "a bottle." Concerned, Max told the Vice Principal who immediately handled the situation. She explained to the arts teacher who had brought in the bottle for a project that in the future the bottle needs to be thoroughly cleaned and the label removed before giving it to elementary school students.

10. Most of the above are all ridiculous stories that have happened to either friends of myself over the past seven months. But there are of course many other things that would only happen in Israel that are more of a testament to the country than these silly anecdotes.

A. People here are honest to a fault and while intimidating at times it is above all, genuine.

B. Random acts of violence do not exist here to the same degree they do in the states and

so children and women can feel safe in a way that is often lacking at home.

C. Families invite you into their homes for a meal or an extended stay without considering

for a moment the imposition you might create.

D. Etc, etc, etc.

So Long, Farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, Goodbye

As our time here in Yokne’am draws to a close, the goodbyes are coming in hard and fast. Today was our last day at Dalyiot, and I think I can speak for all of us when I say that we are sorry to see it come to an end! Even though we have another week here, the school is going on break for Passover next week, so our volunteering will be limited to the youth center and Kol HaLev.

The students weren’t too happy to find out we were leaving (Sidebar: Well, for the most part. I think a couple kids had a big smile on their faces.), so the day was filled with a ton of big hugs and kids asking why we had to leave. One fifth grader told me flat out that I wasn’t leaving and that I was going to stay at Dalyiot, no questions asked! Sadly, that’s not the case, and we finally managed to make our way out for the last time, promising to come back and visit when we can. I don’t think we could have asked to be placed in a better school with a more supportive staff, and we especially had some fantastic students to work with the past few months. So, from the bottom of our hearts – thank you to all of them.

I took some pictures of the school today before we left, so enjoy! (click to enlarge)

Finally the Weekend

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.

'Cause I Was Walking in Yokne'am

Since we've been in Yokne'am, we've been hearing a lot about this event called the "Yokne'am Walk" that was coming up, how it was such a huge deal, how everyone went to it, and how much we should be looking forward to it. Well, last Saturday it finally came! Basically, this was a huge American-style festival, with game booths, a moon bounce, junk food for sale, people selling random trinkets, and a stage set up for various bands and dance groups. Along with the carnival was a marked path for a little hike of either 6 or 11 kilometers. First, we checked in at the Dalyiot booth which was being run by my adoptive mom (who's the vice principal of the school) and Yuval, my 4 year old adoptive brother. After Yuval gave me a hat and some candy (but none for Andi and Tali - he's shy!) we headed out on the walk.

We were looking forward to the whole thing, but we were especially watching out for a booth set up by the kids at the youth center. Well, to our surprise, it wasn't just a booth - it was a whole other carnival! They set up about 30 minutes into the walk, and had a lot of the same features as the first carnival. We were really proud of them - they came up with everything and ran the whole thing themselves. Even Nadav, the youth center's director, was able to just sit back and watch them at work. It was really impressive!

Following our stop, we headed out for the rest of the whole 11 km walk/hike. The landscape in Yokne'am is really gorgeous, and it was the first time we really got to see it all. Along the way, we ran into a bunch of people we had met over the past few months, including a ton of our kids from Dalyiot.

After completing the hike (and returning to a shut down and empty carnival - guess we took a while), I decided I was tired of walking, so I gave Efi (my adoptive dad) a call to see if he could come pick us up. He did us one better, offering to bring us to their house where they had "a lot of food". Well, the reason they had so much food was that his ENTIRE FAMILY was there to visit! I was shocked, as I had just had Shabbat dinner with them the night before and he didn't mention that anyone was coming. Turns out that they had been planning on inviting us all along, but they didn't know when we would be done with the walk. So, we were treated to an amazing Shabbat lunch after a long hike, and Andi and Tali got to meet my extended Israeli family. Just another reason why I love Shabbat in Israel!

I could go on, but I think in this case I'd rather show, not tell. Enjoy!

Rain, Rain, Rain

It's the rainy season (aka fake winter). I guess in Israel you never really know what this will mean but this rainy season there's actually been rain! ...a lot of it. A few weeks ago I spent the weekend visiting an Otzma friend in Kiryat Shmona, a beautiful city up north that sits in a mountain valley so that anywhere you walk provides a spectacular view. My friend's adoptive family insisted on taking us on a Shabbat road trip to see a couple waterfalls up north. They insisted, it was urgent. And it wasn't just going to be us, we left at 8 am on Saturday morning because people were coming from all over the country. But it wasn't that us or any of the other people were going to see the waterfalls, instead the huge crowds were going for the excitement of the water itself. The water that had arrived with the pouring rain that to me seemed to be never ending.

We couldn't help laughing how excited these crazy people got over water. A friend of ours was told that he couldn't wait even a day to go see these waterfalls, the water might be gone! But of course in just one day the water would not be gone, why were these people in such a fuss? With full knowledge of the water crisis in Israel it was still difficult to grasp how hordes of people could put their families in a car and drive all the way up north in a hurry for a good view.

I heard someone liken the situation to a minor archeological find in the US. Something so ancient, found in the US! Wouldn't swarms of people come to see this hypothetical discovery? Israeli's wouldn't blink twice...they're not exactly short on ancient history. But water, what a novelty, how exciting for it to pour!

And then we saw the waterfalls. We tried to maintain our American nonchalance but couldn't help getting caught up in the excitement. I found myself giddy with delight as I felt the mist from the waterfall on my face and saw the full rainbow it created (look closely to see it in the second photo!). Look at the water! There was something so special about standing with people from all over the country coming to witness this rarity that I no doubt take for granted.

And by standing with I of course mean everyone pushing in typical Israeli fashion to get the best view.

I started to get it. I always understood: they don't have enough water here, it's a big problem, it rained and people got excited. But standing so close to this waterfall, watching the water rush by, the excitement that causes traffic jams worth of people waiting to see the water...it was just so Israeli.

New Volunteering Site!

As you all know, we have been busy with all of our volunteering here in Yokne'am, from teaching English at Daliyot, to helping out at the youth center, and even coaching a little bit of baseball. As of last week, we added a new site to our repertoire. A man named Yochai Yitzhari has been running a food pantry called Kol Halev since 2002, and his efforts reach around 100 families (about 600 people) in the Yokne'am-Meggido area.

After recieving a $15,000 grant from our very own St. Louis Jewish Federation, our coordinator Arkady wrote an article for the Jewish Agency of Israel detailing his efforts. I won't go into the details of the program here (you can follow the link provided at the end of this entry), but needless to say, once we learned about Yochai we were eager to join him.

The work we do isn't particularly hard, but it is certainly rewarding. If you've worked in a food pantry, you know the drill - gather the food and bag it up. The crew working there is a very warm and inviting group, and they made it easy for us to jump right in and start helping. Even though the work is simple, it's nice to be able to step back and see exactly what you did that day, as opposed to the more abstract results from teaching.

It's also great working with Yochai - the 65 year old former naval commander is full of life and energy, and you can tell how much he truly loves the work he is doing. It hasn't been uncommon for us this year to encounter people who are jaded from years of work, but Yochai is truly passionate. As he told us after driving us home (he personally is driving us to and from Kol Halev each week), his "life is volunteering", and he loves being able to provide the children of the community with food each week. It may just be for a few hours a week, but I think I can speak for Andi and Tali when I say we are excited to join his efforts!

Jewish Agency article: "Former Naval Commander Dedicates His Life to Helping the Needy"

St. Louis Jewish Federation article: "JFed Grant Pays for Food to Poor in Yokne'am"

The Perfect Storm

A “perfect storm” is defined by Wikipedia as “an expression that describes an event where a rare combination of circumstances will aggravate a situation drastically.” Besides the fact that Israel is currently experiencing its third straight day of countrywide rainstorms, I think it’s safe to say that today’s events at Daliyot School would fit that description.

So Andi, Tali, and I have been working at Dalyiot for about 2 weeks now, and have had nothing but positive experiences. For the most part, we have been working in various English classes and helping where we can. Also, I have been working with a 1st grader named – you know, let’s just call him Jed, a boy who has had some behavioral issues and has for whatever reason quickly connected with me. The school has been fantastic, the staff has been incredibly supportive, and the kids are a pleasure to teach. That being said, if you’ve ever taught, you know that sometimes you just have one of those days.

Upon arrival to Dalyiot, I headed down to Jed’s class to work with him. Apparently today was immunization day, and his class and many other students were lining up to receive their shots. I got there right before Jed headed in, and he was, as always, very excited to see me. Once we got in, however, Jed was told that they did not have his immunization card and would not be treated. Most kids might take this as a plus – hey, no shot today! Jed, however, was extremely upset to have been left out of something the rest of his class was taking part in. It became impossible to get him to work, and for a while he just sulked in the corner and took out his anger on me. Finally, his teacher and I got to the root of the issue and he pretty much spent the last 10 minutes of class hugging me as hard as he could, until recess came and he forgot all about his troubles.

That was the easy part of my day.

So after that, Andi and I were supposed to go with one of the English teachers to her class. Normally Tali would be with us, but she had been feeling pretty sick and we told her to go home and get some rest. Before reaching the class, a school counselor grabbed me in a rush and started babbling about some kind of major disaster, she desperately needs our help, she can’t teach English, and on and on. Honestly, for a minute I thought I was going to walk into a room with a fire burning and kids playing catch with other kids!

Turns out there were about 5 teachers out sick that day, and they needed help covering one of the rooms. So, Andi and I moved to a 4th grade class that we all spend a lot of time in anyway. Now, I walked in expecting to take over English class, but we were then told that it was currently science class. So why was the counselor so concerned about teaching English? No clue, but if someone could explain that I’d be thrilled. So, being unable to teach science in the first place (let alone in Hebrew), the class was introduced to what would end up being 3 hours of English class.

At first (and this wouldn’t be the only time) the class was extremely difficult to get under control. This was one of those times where my classroom experience helped me survive, as I knew some basic ways to get the class under control… that sort of worked. While we were trying to come up with a lesson plan in 10 seconds in front of the class, we thankfully noticed many of the kids asking where Tali was. Not that I’m happy she’s sick, but that saved our butts. For the first hour, we had the kids make get-well cards for her, letting them learn some English while getting to draw and color, a favorite pastime of the class. Unfortunately, the counselor left (I’m sure to deal with another crisis) and we were left alone with our very limited Hebrew skills to control a class of 9-10 year olds. Admittedly, the cards idea worked out great and kept them busy for an hour – but we still had another hour to fill.

For the second hour, Andi and I decided to split the class in half and each take one group for half the time. The class had a test later that day in their actual English class, and I wanted to help them prepare. In my half, we played a game where everyone stands in a circle and tosses a ball around, and when you catch the ball you have to say a word in a certain category, such as “words that start with B”. Since the test was over hobbies, that was the category. The game went well for a little bit, but not surprisingly, it wound up devolving into kids throwing the ball at each other and running around, refusing to pay attention to the guy speaking English at the front of the room. Thankfully the 2nd half of the class went better, as I made sure to better demonstrate how the game worked and how not to toss the ball to each other.

As was par for the course today though, we wound up with another crisis. One particular student in the class is exceptionally good at English, to the point where she almost sounds like a native speaker. Unfortunately, during elementary school it isn’t uncommon for someone to get made fun of for being smart, which was exactly what happened. There’s nothing – NOTHING – more heartbreaking for a teacher than to hear a student talk about how she wishes she was stupid or that she wants to go back in time so she never learned something. Just awful stuff. Sadly, that was the end of our day – the main English teacher came to administer their test, we managed to get the student back into the class, and returned home, where I started writing this.

Now, this was a pretty rough day, and you might think that I have a lower opinion of Daliyot than when I started. To the contrary, my thoughts on Daliyot haven’t changed one bit. It’s still a fantastic school, with remarkable and incredibly supportive staff, and the kids are (normally) great to teach. But, as any teacher knows, sometimes these days just happen. Sometimes, the weather is bad and kids are restless. Sometimes, a kid is upset about something and takes it out on everyone else around him. Sometimes, teachers get sick and have to go home. Sometimes, teachers panic and overreact (Like you’ve never done that?). Sometimes, lesson plans fall apart. Sometimes, kids get bullied. And sometimes, it all happens at once in a perfect storm. But tomorrow morning, I’m going to wake up, get dressed, and head back in for another day. Hopefully, it’ll go better. But if it doesn’t? I’m still gonna do it again every day for the next 2 ½ months. And these days will happen again, and they will be offset by the great days that are much more frequent. That’s just the life we lead – wouldn’t have it any other way.