Life Is Wonderful

"La la la la la la la life is wonderful. Ah la la la la la la life goes full circle."

Sometimes it is nice to stop and think about how lucky I am to be here, in Israel. My routine may be stressful, difficult, or boring at times but I get to wake everyday speaking Hebrew in the Jewish State. This program I am on now was not even conceivable one hundred years ago. I am in Israel. The Israel. Like in the Torah. The one that I learned about in religious school and one that I see on the news. Except here, on the ground so to speak, there are real modern people living their lives. They are not just an ancient civilization, pioneers working the land, or war hungry combatants. They are students with families. They too like "Dancing With the Stars" and they also sit around on Friday nights drinking with their friends. 

The past two weeks have not been particularly out of the ordinary but I have been trying to acknowledge, as best as I can, how wonderful life is. Now when I want to be lazy and lock myself in my room, I don't. I get my homework done and I go out. One night I rushed through grammatical exercises to go to a concert on the lawn of the dorms and a big block party in the city. After class on Thursday I went to an Indian lunch buffet, sat around the pool, and watched an Israeli movie with my friends. I think all the little things add up. The more time I spend out there in the real world speaking Hebrew, the more I will learn.

Eight notable things since my last post: 1) I went to my first volunteer's meeting at Beit Enosh, 2) I went on a trip to Mitzpe Ramon, 3) my apartment was infested by cockroaches 4) I visited my roommate's family, 5) I sat in on classes at a dance studio here, 6) I met with the mayor of Be'er Sheva, 7) I celebrated Lag B'Omer (The 33rd Day of Counting the Omer) Israeli style and, 8) I went on a painfully awkward tour of Neighborhood Dalet (D). 

Beit Enosh is a community center for the mentally ill in Be'er Sheva. I have been volunteering there for five weeks now. At the volunteer's meeting I got to listen into a debate style discussion on the role of Beit Enosh. Most of the volunteers there are psychology students. Thus, the conversation quickly turned into a discussion of if "normal" exists and if it is really possible to rehabilitate people. Is it politically correct to say that somebody is "sick" if they are struggling with mental illness? We discuss these same issues in the United States but our terminology is different and our outlook is too. I plan on, once all is said and done with my volunteering at Beit Enosh, to write my thoughts on the differences I see in their approach to help people with mental illness from a more "American" approach.

Mitzphe Ramon is a natural site I have been wanting to see for awhile. It is absolutely beautiful and a very fun place to hike. I have been missing hiking and adventures lately so it was really nice to get out. After the trip, which was organized by the Student Union, we ate and danced a bit at another one of the student villages (this one was in Dimona).

I really do not want to detail what happened with the cockroaches. I think it will suffice to say that it was disgusting and overwhelming but the exterminator came and now haven't seen a cockroach in three days. 

Jordan, my roommate, invited me to her home in Kfar Saba for Shabbat. I got to walk around the city a little but with her, eat Shabbat dinner at her boyfriend's house, go out with her friends at night, and eat lunch with her family on Shabbat day. I had a really good time. It was nice to be with families and people of all ages instead of the college crowd that surrounds me here.

Visiting Bat Dor, a dance school here in Be'er Sheva, was like entering the twilight zone. The classes were so simular to the classes I took as a child. The big difference was the language. The teachers were all immigrants so Hebrew is not their first language. In the Ballet class the teach spoke Hebrew, French (for the names of the steps), English (to count), and Russian (because that is his first language). It was interesting to see how they could use so many languages at once. Most of all, it was nice to see that everywhere you go a Ballet class looks about the same. I am looking forward to seeing a performance of their elite group tomorrow.

Last, but certainly not least, I had the pleasure of meeting with the mayor of Be'er Sheva this week. We had a relatively informal conversation about the city and Israel in general. He was extremely charismatic and I really appreciated hearing his thoughts on the city. 

For Lag B'Omer, a holiday falling on the thirty-third day of the counting the the Omer (I am too lazy to explain more than that so here is link to wikipedia if you are curious), I went to big bonfire in the backyard of a friend of a friend's house. We ate a traditional and delicious mix of vegetables, wine, sauce, and rice that was cooked in a cast iron kettle on the fire.

My academic tour of Neighborhood D was not particularly interesting but was very uncomfortable. We visted a couple of religious schools and walked through some rough neighborhoods for almost three hours. In true Israeli fashion, my professor openly talked about how two people were on narcotics as we stood only a couple of feet away. He also told a group of students that because they are Mizrahim (Jews from the Middle East and Africa) and not Ashkenazim (Jews from Europe) they are not really the core of the society and they could be expelled like he was. Basically, it was excruciatingly uncomfortable to be on this tour. I learned more about Israeli society from his behavior than from what I observed in the neighborhood.

I could say that my life is pretty routine here right now but I could also choose stand back and appreciate all the little things that make each day special. I am trying to do the latter as often as I can. I just list listed eight interesting things that happened on eight different days in the span of less than two weeks! My life here may not be perfect but I have a lot to be thankful for, Sometimes my efforts to be appreciative are thwarted by people trying to judge my decision to be on this program but I refuse to let them bring me down. Yes, it is weird that I have to, in essence, ignore all of the International Students who do not speak Hebrew. Yes, sometimes I cry. Yes, sometimes I wish I had more friends here. But I also know that I would never be able to learn as much Hebrew as I have so far if I was on another program. I need to think about all the nice things I am doing instead of focusing on the negatives. Life is wonderful and with a positive attitude it could be even better.

One Hand In My Pocket

"What it all comes down to, my friends, is that everything is just fine, fine, fine."

It has been quite some time since I have written here. As far as I can tell, this is mostly because I have become used to my routine here since returning from Passover break. This blog has always been a place for me to document my travels and, right now, I am not really traveling. That being said, I still think that there is room for me to share some of the things I have been doing lately.

I am much happier living in Israel now then I have been throughout my adventure. Traveling here was always what I looked forward to but living here has been more challenging for me. It feels like I have overcome my difficulties now and Be'er Sheva has become a comfortable place for me. I go to classes, I do a lot of homework, I volunteer at Beit Enosh (Humane House), I pray, eat, and listen to lectures Beit Carrov (Close House), I go on short trips with the Student Union, I spend time with my lovely roommate Yarden, I run every so often, and I sometimes go to a party. In essence, I have formed a pretty normal student lifestyle here.

My self esteem is very much in the gutter when it comes to Hebrew but I keep forcing myself to push forward and I think my outlook is improving because of it. Some milestones for me have occurred. I now understand people 80 percent of the time! My big problem is that I cannot properly respond. It is still awesome that I can watch a play (I have seen two plays at the Be'er Sheva theater, "Why Didn't You Come Before the War?" and "Nora") or a lecture and understand it. I have also noticed that I can write and read with more ease now. My progress seems slow in comparison to other people but I am starting to accept that I cannot change who I am. If this is the speed I learn, this is the speed I learn.

Part of what has helped me to be more accepting of myself is my volunteer work. Beit Enosh is a place for people with mental health problems to come together and do activities. It is a place of empowerment and community. I volunteer from 4-7pm every Tuesday. I have found it to be a safe space for me to practice me Hebrew and not feel judged. The people are really nice and willing to help me. In a couple of weeks I hope to teach the weekly dance activity. I am preparing a Powerpoint about tap dance and teaching myself how to explain basic moves in Hebrew.

Another reason I have been feeling better has been the amount of encouragement I receive from those around me in my daily life. Meital, a amazing friend who graduated high school early and decided to come here for a semester, always helps me to understand things and tells me about interesting activities she hears about. It is because of her that I go to Beit Carrov and it is also because of her that I found an amazing Kabbalat Shabbat (a prayer service just for the evening of Shabbat to welcome the day of rest) to go to last night with instruments and people of more simular ideology to mine. Another thing I loved about the service is that it was held in a second-hand clothing store in a permanent tent on a plot of public land where the neighborhood also has a free clothing of lesser quality and a shared garden. Very cool stuff in my opinion. Meital is also the way I found an amazing clothing store in the Old City here. For the first time since I got here I bought clothing. I may have went a little crazy spending seventy US dollars but I did get a dress, two skirts, pants, and a shirt. I really do love Israeli clothing.

Lately I have spent more time with Israelis than ever before. This past week I played basketball with Israelis, sat and watched "Game of Thrones" with my roommate, played cards with her and her boyfriend, and I enjoyed the company of people at Beit Carrov both for dinner and lunch this Shabbat. I have noticed that my energy and tolerance for doing a lot of things in Hebrew in once day has increased. A really awesome observation I have made is that the things I am learning in my classes on Israeli society from a sociological perspective and on film and media in Israel are actually extremely relevant to my interactions with Israelis. I am starting to get a better understanding of the greater Israeli society and its cultural diversity. I can now compare the gay guy from an Orthodox background who does not fit in, especially in an army setting, to a very average boy from a Kibbutz (communal living community) up north and see the societal normatives at play between them. This is the first time I have ever really been able to observe a culture outside of my own in such an authentic way. 

Speaking of Israeli society, it is important to note that three holidays have come and gone since I last wrote. The first was Yom Ha'Shoah. Yom Ha'Shoah is a day remembering the Holocaust. There was a ceremony on campus and I also went to a play with a Holocaust theme, "Lama lo ba'at lefneh ha'melchamah?'' ("Why Didn't You Come Before the War?"). A week later was Yom Ha'zikaron (Memorial Day). The night before Erev (the night of) Yom Ha'zikaron (so two days before Yom Ha'zikaron) I went to a sad sing-along concert. It was sad because we sung depressing songs but the music was absolutely beautiful. That day I went to another ceremony on campus. The Erev (the night of) Yom Ha'zikaron I went to a lecture at Beit Carrov. I love Beit Carrov as a community to pray and eat but I don't agree with their nationalist view of Judaism. In the course of this lecture I was told that there is no place for Jews outside of Israel. The Diaspora is done and we should be here, in our homeland Israel. It was, to say the least, awkward. The next night was the beginning of Yom Ha'Atzmaut (Independence Day). The holidays fall one day after the other to make for a beautiful analogy about death and life. I went to Beit Carrov again because I wanted to observe how they pray on Yom Ha'Atzmaut. For them it is also a religious holiday. They signify that by doing special prayers specifically for Yom Ha'Atzmaut. Afterward we ate falafel...making sitting through the whole thing entirely worth it. I walked off the grease while wandering around the city that night. It was a lot like the Fourth of July. There were a ton of parties and fireworks and people were joyous.

Joyous might be too strong a word to describe how I feel right now but I do feel good. Writing this post has been very cathartic for me. It is nice to reflect on how good of a time I am having. Often I am so focused on the papers I do not want to write and how much I miss Brandeis University or my family and friends in New Jersey to remember how wonderful of an opportunity this is. My time here can be difficult to enjoy when all the time I am asked if I want to make Aliyah (immigrate or "go up" to Israel) and through that question I am forced to articulate what I want for the future. The truth is, I have no clue. Most likely I will not make Aliyah. But, it is really okay with me that I am not sure. I refuse to believe that at twenty years old I need to have it all figured out. For now I am determined to just enjoy the journey.