Some aspects of my life in Be'er Sheva have become relatively routine. First, there are classes. My body automatically walks to the correct building for class every morning (Sunday through Thursday). Each morning I begin with an hour and half of Hebrew class. My teacher, Irit, is kind and very skilled. Each day Hannah or I give a presentation. She teaches us words related to the subject we present. Afterward, we learn some grammer and/or read a story. If there is time we might watch a movie or sing songs. On Sundays and Tuesdays I have two other classes in the afternoon. Israeli Society is taught by a religious, Jewish, politically conservative, middle-aged man. We talk about Israel from a sociological perspective. The class is mostly informal. The professor asks us a lot of questions and expresses a lot of opinions about the society here. I find the course to be interesting (it links very very well with my interest in social justice for Israel) but thus far it is very basic. Our professor spends a lot of time talking about simple concepts, for example demographics, as if we do not understand him. The class is just three people and the two other students both speak Hebrew better than me. If I can understand him and I am getting frustrated with his constant desire to explain everything excruciatingly slow, I cannot imagine how they feel. Fortunately, my second class is moving at a much quicker pace. We are studying film and media in Israel. I am learning fun words and phrases like "identity" and the "melting pot". After classes I usually have plenty of homework to do. I spend a significant amount of time doing exercises, reading, and writing in Hebrew. Outside of my studies I tend to relax by cooking and keeping in touch with friends and family via Skype. I have also gone to fitness classes (my favorite being Zumba) in the dorm I live in. I know all the important things like where to buy groceries, how to get to the market, and I can basically navigate the area surrounding the university. I am really happy that I am starting to feel more at home here.
There other aspects of my life that make this experience much more of an adventure than a routine. Last week I went on a bike trip with the Student Union here. This week I went on another trip with them to see an area with a lot of flowers and to watch the sun set. The bike trip was great exercise but it was very hilly and was, therefore, little scary. The walking trip was also scary but in a different way. There was a lot of forced mingling on the trip and it required me and my friends to interact with particularly flirtatious Israeli men. A group of them were very amused that I would not speak English to them and made a game out of trying to force me to speak to them. Otherwise they were very nice. They even helped me to climb a frightening ladder to reach the top of an old look out tower. After sunset we had dinner and a dance in a student village close to Be'er Sheva. It was nice to dance and spend time with Israelis but I was not fond of how touchy they were getting. One Israeli friend of mine actually asked me if we were okay or if we needed him to help us. We did not take him up on the offer but we did leave the party on the first bus back to campus.
I went to another party this week called "beer and singing" (rough translation). From what I understand, it is a common type of party in Israel. I was invited by my Israeli friend (the same one mentioned above) that I made through a program connecting foreign students to Israelis. The party consisted of one hundred or so college students in the backyard of somebody's house in a residential area on a Tuesday night. A band, couches, and straw mats were set up outside. A white sheet was tied between a tree and the fence. They projected the lyrics to each song the band played unto the sheet. All the songs were old famous Israeli songs. In the back of the house, there was a cut-out counter where they served beer. All around people were smoking, drinking, talking, singing, and dancing. It was the most authentically Israeli party I have attended. At around midnight the band stopped playing and most people cleared out. We stayed a while and mingled. Meanwhile, somebody played acoustic guitar to small circle of people. On the way back to our dorm we picked up some pizza and talked some more. It was very possibly the most fun I have had in Be'er Sheva.
This Shabbat was also especially fun. I spent it at a student village named Ashalim in the Negev. The village is part of an organization called Ayalim. Their mission is to populate the "periphery" with students. In the case of Israel the periphery is the area people do not currently live. For example, the Galilee, Negev, and Golan. It can be challenging to live in an unpopulated area where you need to build yourself and plan a village yourself. Students living there through Ayalim receive free transportation to their university, subsidized housing, and a scholarship for their studies. In return they volunteer and help build these villages. The students who choose to live there want to help realize Ben Gurion's dream of making the desert bloom. The idea of these villages is that these students may choose to continue to live in the periphery once they see that they can do it and once they meet other young people that want to do it with them. It was amazing to see what the students in Ashalim have built in nine years. I stayed in a house that they built a year ago. It was definitely not perfect but I cannot even begin to imagine how much pride the students feel living in place they designed. Although they have accomplished a lot, the students were humble. I was part of a group of foreign students and a couple of Israelis to join the village for services (they have a Rabbi), a potluck Shabbat dinner, a walk in the empty desert surrounding their village, and an open dialogue. It was both an informative and relaxing Shabbat. I was incredibly impressed by them and their hospitality. I have reservations about Zionist organizations settling in Israel because of the reality that Israel is not currently an exclusively Jewish state; however, I think that the people in Ashalim are actually quiet open-minded. It was also beautiful to see secular and religious people with very different ideologies living together and working together. Visiting Ashalim was for me a refreshing taste of what Israel, in my opinion, should and could be.
Today I was officially accepted as a volunteer for Beit Enosh. Beit Enosh is a place where people with mental illnesses can socialize and be rehabilitated. They are given the freedom to come and go as they please. In the morning and afternoon they can choose to join activities where they are taught skills to help them be functional and happy members of society. The people who work there are also available to help people organize outings. Their building in Be'er Sheva is just a couple minutes from my dorm. I will be volunteering there three hours a week. Today I went to have an orientation interview with the man who oversees the volunteers. I was was ecstatic when I learned that my duties will include assisting in a dance activity they do every week!
I am excited to get started at Beit Enosh but I will not be beginning until after the Passover break. Emma and Rebekah, my friends who are currently studying in Haifa, are coming to Be'er Sheva on Tuesday. (We are reuniting the dream team after a month apart). On Wednesday we are traveling, along with a friend I made here, to the Dead Sea, staying near Masada that night, and climbing Masada in the morning. We will return to Be'er Sheva on Thursday night. Friday night is Passover. We are still not 100 percent sure on our plan for the Seder but we have many options. On Sunday we are traveling, along with a friend of Emma, to Jerusalem for the day and then to the Galilee/Golan (using Tiberias as a jumping off point) until Thursday. Thursday morning we want to see the sun rise on the Kinnert and travel to the West to see it set on the Mediterranean Sea. I will spend Shabbat with Emma and Rebekah in Haifa and travel back to Be'er Sheva in time for my classes on Sunday.
As you can imagine, between classes, homework, volunteering, and trips, I am speaking a lot of Hebrew at this point. Everyday speaking Hebrew is less exhausting than the day before. There is still a lot for me to learn and it is difficult for me to see the improvement I have made. Though I can tell that I really am really learning when I am able to have complex and candid conversations with Israelis and when I can understand newspaper articles in Hebrew. Against my nature and my best efforts, I have had to become accustomed to making embarrassing mistakes. I have grown a thicker skin and now I am much more willing to sound like an idiot than ever before. I have had the fortune of meeting very kind and understanding people who do not judge me...too much. Every time somebody compliments my Hebrew, I feel a little bit better and regain a piece of my confidence back. It is a testament to the kindness of my new friends and acquaintances that I have done so many cool things this week and that I have been able to advance my Hebrew speaking skills.
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