Transitions

So this has been something of an eventful week.

Rosh'Hashana has ended and the holiday of Sukot begins soon. I've been spending a lot of time with my Hebrew teacher and her friend Sapir, and that's been great. I've made a fair few friends so far in Israel- it's hard moving to a country where you cannot speak the language. But these are among the first friends I have made who are Israeli.

I got my first introduction to the Israeli education system- their high schools are both very much, and very different from those back home. The grades of the school I visited in Arad has grades 8-12, and the classroom setup is arranged like those back in the states. The air conditioner was at least two decades old, whereas the projector was brand new and Toshiba. Hebrew lined the walls, and there was no English, something strange to me since the class is an English class.

Much differently, there are no desks for the teacher. This suggests to me that teachers have different classrooms, but I suppose I will see.

I met a great guy named Dan/Roshem (his Hebrew name) who is an immigrant like me from the States. He is already teaching in the school system, so he has already taken the path I would like to with getting certified and acquiring a job in the education system.

He invited our group to sit in on his class, and half of us did, the other half visiting another classroom. There is a lot, a LOT of shouting in the classrooms to manage them. And that is something common in the education system. Very different from the U.S., but I have to admit, it was necessary. You would not be able to teach otherwise.

The class was composed of eighth graders, and I can tell you from firmly established memories from my own time how difficult such an age group can be to teach. In my own English literary class the teacher had to take a leave of absence because of an engagement falling apart and how ridiculous my own class was.

We were supposed to meet at 7:45, but there was a last minute teacher union strike, so we began at 10. I ended up almost being late because I had to rouse my roommate to avoid being late, and he was extremely hungover. I'm not happy about that, but am happy I did my duty and helped him get there.

I like Dan, we've had some good talks, and he's helped introduce me to dungeons and dragons. That's so surreal to me- playing Dungeons and Dragons in the Middle East. They are catering to me and we are playing in English. But I hope to be able to transition to playing the game in Hebrew as soon as possible. I am playing a Monk, and somehow at level 1 managed to one hit kill a creature, dealing 30 damage. That's ridiculously rare, apparently.

Granted the others were playing my character for me, as I had to leave the room to attend a group learning on the old testament, the focus on Yom Kippur, another holiday fast approaching, and the most important in the Jewish faith.

I also have the pleasure to announce I managed to get an affirmative yes for a date with a really cool Israeli girl, my teacher's friend. Her name is sapphire in Hebrew. I think this really cool- the idea of dating at all was something I would not have been able to do for perhaps years after coming to Israel.

I'm thinking I will cook dinner with her and watch a movie. Then go to the top of the building I live in with her and watch the sun set. It's low key, and should be nice. Of course I will also take into account whatever she would like to do. She's really, really cool. Cannot put enough emphasis on that, and a former soldier. So a real Israeli woman, as far as I understand them to be considered here.

On a different note, my father is currently vacationing in and around Croatia, and I admit, I am a tad worried about him. With the border restrictions to Hungary becoming severe because of the Syrian migration occurring, my father as an already established immigrant himself now living in Hungary may have serious difficulty re-entering the country. Perhaps not, we will see. But I worry.

That's all I can think of for now, but I will keep y'all updated as usual.

Rain Drops In The Desert

This isn't the most dramatic post I'm sure, but something very rare occurred yesterday. I'm watching American Sniper with some friends I've made in the building. Screaming 'Murica! everytime an American shoots a gun.

So anyway, yesterday,

I stepped outside with a friend to take in a kitten for the night, and found myself facing rain.

I'm near the Dead Sea in Arad, as far west in the Negev Desert you can go in Israel and still be within Israel.

I took a video of the thunderstorm, to say it was beautiful is an understatement for me.

Where I come from it rains a lot. A LOT. There is forest everywhere. Spilling out onto the roads, and surrounding your homes, threaded through many of the towns, especially in Northern Virginia and Maryland. Sometimes it rains five days out of a week. And when we have a draught, it means we probably hadn't had rain since last week.

But here, rare is rain. There are no clouds where I am- just an ever present line of dust. I'm told it rains maybe once every six months, if that.

The storm here reminded me of home. And it's very strange weather for this area. A dust storm and then a rain and thunderstorm.

As one put it, perhaps in a way it like God's fireworks- celebrating the new year.

Rosh Hashana

L'shanah Tovah! (Happy New Year).

It is now the year 5667 in the Jewish Calendar, and my Rosh Hashana has been pretty good.

There is the belief that what happens during the day reflects what you will experience throughout the year. So if you have a fight with someone, well you might be doomed to that nonsense until the next Rosh Hashana. Did you have some wine? Well, I hope you're looking forward to a merry year.

I spent the holiday setting up a character for the Dungeons & Dragons group (Yes, apparently Israel even has those!) I joined, and downloading a new game, which unfortunately I still cannot make work.

I ate a shit-ton of rice. So I guess I'll have a lot of rice in my future also.

I was invited to a dinner with someone I met in our building. I went and it was an orthodox dinner, and there was quite a bit of good food. Never had chicken stuffed with couscous before. There was a lot of singing, and my host's father ended up dancing a bit also.

I'd say it was because of the alcohol, but it was only 3.8% so I think they were just high spirited because of the new year.

Unfortunately because they were orthodox I wasn't able to take photos (many consider it rude). I'm going to assume they figured any photographs would steal their souls.

I'm hoping for a good new year. I'm not having the greatest time with my roommate, and it came to a head the night before Rosh Hashana, so hopefully that will get settled. The last thing I need is strife in my life.

I haven't had the greatest track record with roommates, but usually the issues come from my end- not cleaning the area enough, or leaving dishes, or drinking belligerently. Whatever, you name it. But for once it's the other, and I've got to say that's leaving me a bit without a clue how to react.

Hopefully we can has it out- the rest of the group comes back within the next few days, and our group leader tomorrow.

I'm wish y'all a great New Year. Let's make 5667 kickass!

The Forecast Today Is Dust

Well these last 24 hours or so have been certainly interesting.

I remember a movie once, Stranger Than Fiction which spoke that there are two kinds of characters in a story; those who move the story forward, and those who the story move forward in it. But there's a third kind, a person who does both move the story forward, and who the story moves forward as well.

I tend to fall into that category.

Usually I have to find the adventures to record in things such as this blog, but sometimes I just walk into events. Like when the dog bit me, or today, when I left the building I was greeted by a massive dust storm that has enveloped all of Israel.

That building you sort of see is across the street.

Israeli fog is apparently hazy dust.

Edit: I just came across this video, and it is perfect.

So far I've heard two theories on the dust, one plausible, the other conspiracy. The conspiracy is that this may be a side effect of 'cloud-seeding' where chemicals are dumped by planes to promote cloud growth and rain. This is very unlikely what happened, because it wouldn't be possible to affect the entire country and several surrounding. In more likelihood this is from a sandstorm that originated in Libya.

Either are cool in my book, honestly.

We spent today and yesterday visiting the Immigration Absorption Center, and a local boarding school for children who have been abused, or their parents were caught up in drugs, or unable to support them. They are wonderful. The latter I was unable to take photos of, but we did have a great dinner tonight where we celebrated Rosh Hashana. 

Here are some photos I grabbed from the immigration center;

The kid on the left is Israel, and the kid on the right Ethiopians.
Or maybe it's vice-versa, both kind of fit the situation.

Painted By Ethiopian Immigrants. Pretty cool.

I also that day went to Arad's Shuk, or marketplace-bazaar. It's pretty neat.

That last photo blew my mind. Back home when Muslims pray, there is a rug always used. It never even occurred to me other means could be used. And seeing someone use a cardboard box is just so different, that chances are I could only see it in Israel.

I then visited the part of Arad I know of as 'Little Russia'. Around forty percent of the city's population is Russian, though it seems like the whole city at times is either Russian or Haseidi.

Virtually every product in the store is Russian. And the price seem to me incredibly reasonable.

I spent the rest of the day taking pictures of the surprising amount of greenery in the city;

This is so kickass. For about the size of two soccer fields I would have sworn I was back home in Virginia. Like seriously, who the hell thought there might be clovers in the middle of the Negev, a huge, barren desert? I didn't.

I made one last stopover on the short trek back to the building I am staying in.

Another Map of Arad. Israel's first city to have been completely fore-planned with infrastructure.

Stay posted guys. Who knows, maybe I'll fight a camel next time I write.

Desert And Camels.

The last two days have been fairly entertaining.

We are beginning to move into what the core of the project 10 program will be; we delegated duties. I ended up being part of the group of us that will focus on media; mainly keeping people updated through facebook, a blog we will start about the program, and instagram.

Seems pretty fitting.

We spent the evening before today at a lookout over the expanse of the desert surrounding Arad. It is beautiful for sure. I took a good photo of a fellow volunteer, a Jew ironically named Christopher.

On the way back we had a bit of a fun surprise; several camels were wandering the street. They were extremely docile, so much so we believe they are actually bedouin camels that are allowed to forage on their own when not in use.

So there's not only stray cats, but camels also apparently. I managed to get pretty close, too.

I have named it Sheba.

We began studying hebrew also. I am fortunate that I went to the ulpan back in Naan a month or so ago, and seem to be fairly well equipped to pick up where I left off. I still have all my notes naturally, but the worksheets and study aides will prove fantastic in the days ahead.

Honestly, I'm grateful. The others have never seen the shorthand of Hebrew before, so it's neat to have the leg up. The first time I've ever been ahead when it came to a language other than English. So to my teacher Alaya from kibbutz Naan, you are seriously kickass for teaching us that in the first weeks there.

The leg has healed... mostly. Either I heal quick, or the cuts were shallow, the leg looks better and better everyday. Here's hoping I haven't contracted rabies. Never thought I'd say that, either.

The day is almost over as I write this, and I am curious to see what tomorrow will bring.

Stay posted.

Arad

So it would appear I have a fair bit of time on my hands, perhaps this means I can update more regularly.

So let's talk about Arad.

The city is composed of about 25,000 people. To be honest, though I am here to help Ethiopian immigrants, I have yet to see any Ethiopians,

The vastly predominant population appears to be Russian. Why they would come to a city in an environment that has little likeness to Russia is beyond me. I'm assuming the bad Israeli policy of dropping people off in the middle of nowhere has something to do with it.

It was once the case that the Israeli government used to take new immigrants and just transport and drop them off in the middle of the Negev, the beginning of a massive desert where little life grows, and there is even less water. It composes a huge area of Israel.

This policy has led to massive outrage among those who were subjected- imagine you immigrated to the U.S. and the government decided you would settle in the Mohave desert. As you can tell, this pissed off a lot of people. For generations actually. Even 3rd generation people in established cities stemming from this practice are extremely resentful of this having been done.

I wouldn't exactly say that the policy was canceled or even reversed either- I think they just decided to be more tactful about where they decide to send people. But it's still in the Negev. It's like somebody in the administration went, 'Hey we have a lot of immigrants. There's no one in the Negev and we need to settle it, so let's send them there. What do you mean ask where they want to go? They're lucky we're here to help them'.

Seriously, that's what the attitude feels like. And I'm being a bit fairminded in describing it as that.

Because of this Arad is predominantly Russian. There's even a 'Little Russia' section of the town. Perhaps I will be able to practice my Russian in the end. It's absolutely abysmal, though.

On the plus side, the cats (which are treated like we do in the U.S. for rats) are pretty well fed. I'm pretty sure the first cat I saw here was drunk, also.

The women are extremely beautiful. I cannot put that more plainly- they are flowers in this desert.

The building I am staying in is one of the largest in Arad. Most of the people living here are also aide-workers, nation-builders like we in MASA are doing. The rest are students. No one own cats, but apparently dogs are allowed. Everyone Russian here has a pooch.

The mall of Arad is extremely nice. And has a supermarket that's either like those back home, or like Tesco in Europe. It's really hard to decide.

The city itself has a rugged feel, and dust is everywhere. Despite that the city has a strong American feel. If you were American, you would feel right at home. I can't put my finger as to why yet, but it's there. I imagine this is what most of California feels like right now.

English is not spoken much here. So asking directions won't do much.

There is something of a vibrant night-life. But it's more personal. Instead of bars, you hold the fiesta in your own home. It's different in that aspect.

My roommates are still nursing their respective hangovers. That's what you get for partying with Russians.

I'll keep y'all posted- for now I'm going to scour reddit.

Destination Arad

So I finally made it to Arad.

Our building is one of the largest in the city of 25,000. I'll be tutoring emigrants, Russian and Ethiopian and local disadvantaged children as well as Bedouins in English.

The city itself is far more green than I expected; situated in the northern area of the Negev, it is pure desert. I have yet to see a cloud here (granted I arrived yesterday on September 2nd) but I am told they are not common. Only the haze of dust just above the ground and below its hills are. Strange considering the city is known for its extremely clean air; asthmatics worldwide used to come for treatment in the city.

The green is only within the city... you can even see where the vegetation stops and apparent sterility of the desert begins. I'll be training the Fremen within me yet, here.

There's only six of us, not including our director in our group for Project Ten. Currently five, as one of us lost their passport so is delayed. He might get here tonight. Maybe not.

We are the first cohort from MASA to work in the city, so will be constructing its program from the ground up.

I traveled from Mata to Jerusalem and then Tel Aviv and then Ben Guiron airport just outside of the city.

I got there around 10:30 a.m., limping the way. Gotta love the angry dogs in Israel.

I met Loriline, the first volunteer who had arrived at 3 .a.m. and then waited around in airport while the others gradually showed and we met the rest of the MASA staff. We left around six when our final arrival came, taking a train to Beer Sheva, and then a taxi-bus to Arad. A long day to say in the least. I traveled through most of Israel, first west toward the Mediterranean, and then East to the Dead Sea which Arad is only twenty-ish kilometers from.

A few things struck me in this journey; mainly the mindset. I met a nice elderly man on the way to the airport, who helped me with my bag, speaking with me about the Aliyah process and how it could mean I could receive a free education for my Master's degree, Or in Israel, what they refer to as Level Two upper education. I'll be most likely pursuing archaeology, with a focus on Egyptian and Nuraghe ancient history.

But what surprised me was his surprise racism. We spoke a little about my dog attack as he noticed my mild limp. What was strange was his assumption the dog's owners were Palestinian and from the perceived irresponsibility of its ownership. He actually said the Arabs are no better than the dog that attacked me.

Talk about drive-by racism I hadn't expected. Just a reminder to me of why I had come to this country.

The group is pretty neat; we're all from the U.S., three of us from relatively nearby. One is from Maryland, near where I had been living in the beginning of 2015, while the other hailed from south of me from north Carolina. It's kind of surprising there are Jews there, you just never heard about them.

We toured the city, going on a scavenger hunt. My team ended up winning as we got everything done, including the Hora dance. I'll try to upload the video once I get it. It's kind of strange how much dancing I've done in Israel in the last two months-- considering I have never done it in my entire life outside of slow dancing back in Middle and High School.

We had a brief orientation, but what was surprising was the amount of safety precautions, especially about idle bags.

Weirdly just a few hours later I had to deal with that firsthand.

You see, abandoned bags here are quite dangerous, and the police have to come retrieve them and then blow them up somewhere else.

I ended up finding a bag and had to report it to the staff, and while they are waiting to see if they need to call the police for retrieval, it is a sharp reminder how far I am from home. When you see an abandoned bag on the ground back home it's just garbage-- here it is life-threatening potentially.

And that is very different to me.

Of course I am sure the bag is garbage. And I am sure I won't get hurt, er, anymore than I have here already. But it's still eye-opening to be faced by such a different culture.

Wish me luck, I'll be keeping you all up to date on my journey through Israel.

And So A Chapter Closes

Today is my last night here in Mata, where I am WWOOFing.

The experience as a whole was quite nice. I would say it very positive.

It's just that it ended on a bittersweet note.

I suppose that's because I ended up getting attacked by a dog, and that's not fun, especially when it manages to bite you.

But, on the plus side, we managed to plant the two fig trees (both over 75 years old) and that was really nice. Josef, our host had been wanting to do that since before I even got there. So it was nice to plant them. He intends to plant at least eight trees, one of each spoken of in the old testament.

I think that nice, and I was happy to be able to help him make that happen.

I did a lot of things here over the four weeks. I dug a pond, unearthed an ancient house, dig and plant a field, install poles, concrete, and feed horses. I also cleaned a hell of a lot of planting trays. I'd say I'm an expert now in cleaning trays.

I got to experience my first shabbat dinner in many years. I believe around fifteen years, maybe longer.

I come from a Jewish family, but am myself a practicing Buddhist, so it made the experience very nice.

I got to have a good natured fight with a Brit who has made Aliyah and is a boxer- I won't tell you who won, but it was fun and unexpected. I've practiced martial arts for 21 years, so anytime I have a chance to throw down I take.

We had a lot of good discussions, Josef and I- despite have different approaches in life (He is Jewish, I am Buddhist) we found ourselves when speaking of life and morality agreeing on a lot. I got to live with an Israeli family who like me made Aliyah, which I am in the process of doing.

And there were ups and downs throughout my time here- but by far more positives.

I learned a few things from this- when WWOOFing you not only need to keep an open mind, but I earnestly advise bringing a first aid kit, of which I did not do. I am fortunate Josef had one, but when attacked by the dog I was out for the day, so I had to hunt down some neighbors who had alcohol and iodine I could treat the wound with.

Stay hydrated- I became extremely sick the second day I was here because I had not drank enough water. It creeps on you, and then smashes you like a train. You don't realize you're dehydrated until just climbing a set of stairs leaves you exhausted, and you're bent over a toilet puking.

I would advise avoiding that if possible. Stay positive- the work can sometimes be hard, and the lifestyle your host has will always be different than what you have lived. Staying positive and keeping your mind open will make a huge difference. I'm used to eating meat (I'm not the best or worst Buddhist) but the family I spent time with is vegan. That is a big, big change. 

I am happy I spent my time here. Their life is wonderful. They run a spiritual center from their home, a homestead they have built by hand between a large yurt and tents.

But all things do eventually change, and have to end. The time for me to go to my volunteer job in Arad where I will be teaching English for five or ten months and helping create a MASA program to teach English to immigrants has come, and though I am looking forward to it, I will miss Mata and the Yahad center I WWOOFed at.

And that matters- because when you leave and miss something, it was because you had a hell of a good experience. I'd do it again if possible- minus the dog attack if possible.

Wish me luck, for I'll be wishing you the same in your WWOOFing adventure.