Rough Day Reflecting

We all have our rough days and nights. Unfortunately, that was tonight for me. We were having a discussion tonight about the meaning of Rosh Hashanah, which is considered the holiest of days in the Jewish year. It has always been an incredibly meaningful holiday for me, since it closes this past year and gives us a chance to reflect and repent as we move on into the new Jewish year. It is also a time of family, and spending time with those who we love. Unfortunately, some people I was talking with didn't seem to take it as seriously, and it made me close up on my feelings much more than I should've. On top of that, there was already some issues that were bothering me, such as how little time we have had on our own, and how I still felt like I wasn't really living in Israel because of how constrained I was feeling. After our meeting, I just had to get out of the apartment and thankfully found Noah and Jennifer, and we were all expressing our concerns and really there for one another. 

Our group of 27 is a great one, but when it comes to things such as Shabbat and Rosh Hashanah, where I have from Friday afternoon until Tuesday night off to spend the holidays, it feels like I should be with my family. I still do not know what I'm doing, as I'm not sure what I feel best about doing. However, I realized tonight especially that there are people there who are in the same position as me, and that I'm not the only one feeling alone in such a new environment. I definitely don't want anyone to worry about me. I love being here, and I know things will only get better from here. It's always hard being in a new place, especially when you feel so confused about it all. Hopefully by the time Shabbat and Rosh Hashanah come around, I will be at a content place, and spending time with people I can call my family.

(I'll have an actual blog post soon!)

My First Real Shabbat in Israel

I was so excited for my first real Shabbat in Israel. That is not to say last week was not real, but being stuck in Givat Haviva the whole time didn't make it seem any different than a regular day. I couldn't wait to really experience Shabbat, and see the change from busy to empty, from noisy to quiet.

I attempted to sleep in on Friday morning, but was up at 9:00am (even though I went to bed at 3:00am)…thankfully, my apartment-mates were slowly waking up, so I didn't feel as bad. The wifi also really helped since it gave me something to do without being too noisy. A bunch of people were going to the beach with the Israelis in our group, but I decided not to go since I did not know when they would be back, and I had Shabbat plans of my own. I did get to spend a little time with them, and then eventually Jennifer and I walked down to Herzl Street. From there I pretty much did my own thing, as I needed to buy a thing or two at the grocery store, and really wanted to get to Aroma. Both were accomplished (and yummy!), and I walked back by myself. It made me feel really good being able to walk on my own to my apartment, as it makes me feel much more comfortable with the city. You could also begin to tell that things were starting to quiet down for Shabbat - less people out, less cars on the road, and stores beginning to close up shop for the day. I came home to an empty apartment, which was a first for me. I do love being around people, but I will say it is really nice to be able to have time alone - plus, no waiting for the bathroom ;) I took a shower, and when I got out Jennifer was back from her adventure. I really enjoyed how little I did, and eventually the rest  of our apartment who was staying here this weekend got back from the beach. Eventually my Chetzi picked me up with her uncle, and I was off to spend Shabbat with her family. The food was delicious, and it was awesome meeting her family. Most Jews in Israel don't go to services on Shabbat unless you are Orthodox, so I was definitely contempt with a nice evening at her house. Chetzi invited me to stay the night, and we stayed up until 3:00am playing Sims 3…obviously we lead an awesome life. We did sleep until around 1:00pm, which was absolutely fabulous. After some chilling out and more Sims 3, Chetzi drove me back to my apartment. The roommates besides those also who left were all here, and they had cleaned! I definitely feel bad I wasn't there to help, but next time for sure! Eve and Rebecca made a delicious veggie fried rice dinner for us, and then the apartment (minus Sylvie and Jordan, who weren't home yet) went on a group walk to Herzl for some ice cream. I got a sorbet (don't remember what the flavor was called) that might've been banana, but not entirely sure. Still good regardless! After coming home, I was able to Skype both my brother and my parents, which is always nice. Hopefully I can Skype & FaceTime more people soon - just let me know if you wanna talk, and we'll find a time :)

Off to bed, more training in the morning…here's to a new week full of adventures!

So Much Catching Up to Do!

This next blog entry has a lot of days to cover…let's just say it's been a while since I've had wifi on my laptop!

Saturday was our final day at Givat Haviva! As great as it was being able to spend a week with everyone participating in Ma'ase Olam programs, it was starting to feel very confined and I was definitely ready to leave. Since it was still Shabbat, in good old Shabbat fashion (or maybe it was just a camp thing), we had a lazy day breakfast which was definitely needed, despite my early bedtime last night. It was followed by a short Torah study with the other Ma'ase programs, and we had a break until lunch, which I used to pack the few things I had unpacked this week. Breaks seemed to be the theme, because we had another break after lunch. I used it to take a nice but too short nap on the grass with a bunch of the fellows, which was quite refreshing. We then met one last time with Adam, the educational director, to do a little more study and an activity in which we chose photographs from a pile that had a significance to us - homelessness, burned Israeli flags, and the environment were among those themes. We wrapped up by giving Adam some feedback about the week, and that was our last component of orientation. Designated packing time came after, which for me was a joke because I had barely unpacked, and was just too anxious to leave already! We eventually left Givat Haviva around 8:00pm, and got to Rehovot around 9:30-10:00pm after having to make a stop for car sickness and getting lost in the neighborhood. I did learn a fun new word game, Contact, and that kept me and a few others occupied during the long bus ride. We got to our apartment, oohed and awed about how nice it was (despite the small size of the triple), and discussed what food to buy for our first grocery shopping trip. I was supposed to see my Chetzi aka Shir, but it was so late and all I wanted to do was sleep despite being so excited. A few of us in my apartment went on a walk around the block, and then settled in for the night.

Sunday began our official Israel Teaching Fellows training. The first day was at Talpiot College in Holon. It included all six Israel Teaching Fellows programs, and it was very cool to see so many people come together, participating in the same program. The morning was spent with some lecturers, and quickly moved into an early lunch. We only had a small amount of food in the apartment that our Israeli peers bought us, so it was a cucumber, tomato and cream cheese sandwich for me. The most exciting part about lunch, besides getting some wifi, was seeing an old Camp Newman friend, Amy, who is participating in ITF Be'er Sheva. Our programs will be attending the same orientation for the next week or so, and I'm excited I have one more friend in Israel! We spent the rest of the orientation learning about the basics of EFL (English as a Foreign Language) and how to use phonics, vocabulary, and other basic skills in the classroom, as well as some technology ideas that we could apply in our classrooms. Even though it felt like a short day at orientation, I definitely took a short nap on the bus ride back to our apartments. We spent the rest of the day of Rehovot, and finally getting to unpack (something we were waiting to do for a week!) and have our first "house meeting" as an apartment. After a while, Sylvie and Noah left to go grocery shopping with the Israelis, and eventually some of the girls went to get dinner. We had to have at least one person stay back to wait for the electrician, so Sabrina and I volunteered as long as they brought us back food. It was definitely nice to have more time and room to unpack, and wanted to before seeing Chetzi (for those of you who are curious, Shir and I worked at Kalsman in 2010 and 2011 together, and "chetzi" is Hebrew for "half" - which was our thing during Kesher in 2010 with Finder and Zach). I was then finally reunited with my Chetzi, and we had a delicious late night dinner at a cute cafe called Lool on Herzl Street (the main street in Rehovot), followed by a drink at one of the local bars, Atmos. It was definitely a much needed break away from the group, as much as I love them all, but just so exciting to be reunited with one of my closest friends from Kalsman. I am so lucky to have people who live so close to me this coming year from camp, so I always have somewhere to go if I need it.

Monday was our first day of Israel Teaching Fellows training at Achva College, the college we will be going to from now on for our training. We were supposed to meet at 8:15 for the bus, and it turns out we were waiting at the wrong place for 30 minutes or so. We then went to pick up the group at Ashdod, which we had no clue about until we pulled up there. Pretty much, we got there at 10:45am when we were supposed to get there at 10:00am. Oops? We spent most of the day in one workshop focused on using children's stories as a way to teach reading. It was a really great workshop, and I got a lot out of it. I was also lucky for lunch, since I had a falafel sandwich from the night before, so it was quite delicious compared to my yucky sandwich the day before. We ended our day with talking about our school observations, which we're doing on Wednesday morning. It was a long bus ride back, but when we got back Ofir was there with all this food for us to eat. Our apartment hosted everyone, and we had a brief catch-up about the day. After everyone left, Sylvie, Jordan, and I took a walk to Herzl Street to explore, do a little shopping, and grab a drink. I took them back to Lool, which we all seemed to enjoy. We had great conversations, and it was super nice to just get away for bit and not have the whole group there. As we were paying our bills and getting ready to walk back to the apartment, I looked up and realized Chen was walking up to me…SO crazy! We wanted her to come out with us last night, but she had been in Be'er Sheva and  I thought she was still there! I was definitely in shock to see her, even though she lives in Rehovot so it was to be expected. I'm hoping that we will be able to get together sometime this week so we can actually catch up! After that awesome and crazy moment, we walked back to the apartment with a plan to make hummus and watch a movie - but as we were walking in, we saw Noah and Sabrina walking over to the other apartments to hang out with everyone and celebrate Melody's birthday. It was a fun night hanging out with everyone and not thinking about all the craziness going on with our program. 

Tuesday was the first day since arriving since I actually got to sleep in…was able to sleep in until 9:45, which was super nice. After puttering around for a while, I finally went to the local grocery store with a few others. My shopping trip consisted of Goldstar (Israeli beer), Bamba (a yummy peanut butter puff snack) & pop rock chocolate - let's just say I love being in Israel. We had a lunch as a group, followed by a group meeting to discuss issues. We decided Shabbat here in Rehovot wasn't mandatory this week, which was a nice relief. I love everyone, but sometimes you just need some time away! Late afternoon, we all headed to our first Ulpan, also known as Hebrew intensive class. I got placed surprisingly in the intermediate/advanced class…let's just say it's been a few years since I've taken Hebrew at Indiana, so that'll be interesting. It sucked because right before I got to Ulpan, and during Ulpan, I was getting texts and calls from my Chetzi and Chen to come hang out with them, but I was stuck. We then took a long walk (blisters included) to have a bonfire with the Israelis in our program. It was really awesome to meet them all, and eat some homemade pita as well. After the bonfire, a group of us went to a bar in Rehovot called Angus (or something like that!) to celebrate Melody and Aleah's birthday. A bunch of the Israelis came with us, so all in all it was a lot of fun. 

Wednesday started off being great, but unfortunately did not end on a great note for me. We were split up into groups and sent to different schools we could possibly be working at this year for observations. I went with Aleah, Yitzhak, Lexi, Ruthie, and Zoe to Begin Elementary. We took the bus for the first time, and even got there early! The school was very nice. The teachers we met were so welcoming, and the children loved seeing us. They were an ITF participant school last year, so they were very much looking forward to being part of the partnership again. We were able to meet the head English teacher, and got to observe one of her classes. We also got to see recess, which was a blast - the school LOVES to dance, and we all got to learn some fun new dances. It really kept the kids going throughout the day. We got a tour of the school with the help of three students who are considered native English speakers, and all in all it was a great morning. We were done by 11:00am, and didn't have to be anywhere until 1:00pm, so we took the bus back to Herzl Street and went to a cafe for lunch and iced coffee. We had to be at the bank at 1:00pm to open our bank accounts…let's just say they were VERY slow, and I was one of the lucky ones who got to spend 2 1/2 hours there! It was exhausting, but at least there was wifi :D After 2 1/2 hours, I was pretty beat and wanted to slowly make my way to the apartment, so a few of us made a stop at the convenience store, the liquor store, and a shwarma stand before heading back the apartments. At that point of the day, I was just starting to feel pretty out of it…but a group of us went down to Herzl Street to find Aleah some shwarma for her birthday. When we got back, a group of people came over for birthday cake, and I just decided I needed some me time. It's definitely been hard to get that here, since I can't always rely on my friends who are in Israel when I need some time away from the group, and while I love my group, I'm someone who needs time away here and there. 

And FINALLY, I have reached the most current day of my blog (even though it's technically Friday morning now). Thursday was our last day of training for the week. Of course the bus was late again, and there was still confusion on where to go, but we were only 15 minutes late this time! On my way there, I got a text from Chen asking if we could hang out in the evening, so that was super nice to have started the day with plans for later. We started the morning with a grammar lecture, and then our main workshop was about course books and lesson plans. After lunch, we made "lap books," which are a great tool to help display information and concepts that are being taught throughout the year. We ended the day with a debrief about our school observations. After a long bus ride home, it was time for Ulpan. I was definitely surprised by how much I actually remembered in Hebrew, so hopefully that's a good sign since I'm in the intermediate/advanced class! The moment class ended, I went outside and met up with Chen, and we went to get some food at a cafe in Rehovot (blanking out on the name right now, think it was called Joe's). It was a great time seeing her and catching up on our lives, and eventually Chetzi and her close friend came and met us there for a while. It was so nice being around some great friends, full of laughs. Afterwards, Chen drove me back to the apartment and I got a quick tour before she left (jet lag problems!). A bunch of us from the program decided to go out, and we eventually made our way to a bar called "Ma" on Herzl. It was a lot of fun, but eventually time to head back!

And there you have it folks…probably the longest blog post I will ever write. This is what happens when you go almost a week without wifi. It's 2:30am here, and I'm ready for bed…more later! Night <3

Shabbat Shalom from Israel

Hello! I decided I should blog once more before moving into my apartment tomorrow night! I know it's Shabbat, but still using electricity…definitely not doing the Shomer Shabbat thing right now, but would love to try it at one point or another while I'm here.

Thursday was definitely a long and slow day, unfortunately. We started the morning with a lesson the history and establishment of the state of Israel. While the professor was very interesting to listen to, it was all the same stuff I learned at Milken and in my Jewish studies classes at IU, so it was unfortunately not that interesting to sit through. He did have us do some group work, and that definitely help. Before lunch, we had an hour or so with Yaron, the overseas director, having us do very silly creative thinking activities to get our minds going and realize that we can't always plan for what we want to teach - and in fact, it's often better to not plan anything so you have fresh ideas going into the classroom. Post-lunch we had a break involving the typical lying on the grass and using wifi, followed by discussions about the socio-economic gaps in Israel and the laws of Israel. I definitely found the second discussion more interesting, because it wasn't something I had much knowledge about. At night there was a pool party, and while I was hesitant to go in at first, it turned out to be a blast! They also brought us fresh fruit, something we've had very little of so far, so we were all like wild animals trying to take as much as possible. Totally worth it, though! It was great fun, and I'm so glad it gave us all another opportunity to hang out. The group is so awesome, and I'm so excited to be spending the next 10 months with them!

Today is my first Shabbat in Israel! It was a stressful morning and afternoon leading up to Shabbat. The theme of the day? Our living situation. It was so much craziness trying to figure out how 27 of us would divide into groups of 9 for 3 apartments and our food situation. I wound up with a good group of people for housemates, and although it wasn't ideal for me to be in a triple, I'm in one! My roommates are Aleah and Jennifer, and I'm definitely now more excited for the year to come. I'm very excited to try a new style of living! After that was sorted out, we played another get-to-know-you game, and then Ofir read us an Israeli children's book called "Room for Rent" that was similar to the chaos we went through to do our apartment picking. We talked about what Shabbat meant to us, and it made me remember that while I don't always celebrate Shabbat, and when I do it's usually at camp, it's such a meaningful part of the week to relax, reflect, and appreciate everything in our lives and what is around us.

We then had a much needed long break, in which I spent quickly checking wifi, talking to my chetzi who will be only 10 minutes away from me starting tomorrow, and chilling out with my roommates at Givat Haviva. We got ready for Kabbalat Shabbat, and it was really nice to have sort of that camp feeling again of getting ready for services. It was an Orthodox service, so it was definitely not the type of service I'm used to, but I always love getting to experience a new way to celebrate Shabbat. Unfortunately, they chose to do it right outside the dining hall, so it was VERY distracting. I finally had my first schnitzel of the year for dinner, and then we have been free for the rest of the night. 

While I do love spending time with everyone, and while "wifi-land" is quite distracting in some regards, it really does give me some time to rest from the rest of the group. It's always good to have some me-time, and I think Shabbat is the perfect time for that. It's always nice to spend time not socializing 24/7.Since I will be living with 8 other people in an apartment starting tomorrow, I really want to make sure I have time for myself.

I cannot believe that this time tomorrow, I will be in Rehovot. It is like we have been stuck in a bubble all week. I'm in Israel, but I'm not really experiencing Israel. I can't wait to see what comes next in this incredible journey.

Shabbat Shalom! <3

Another Day, Another Blog

Good evening (or morning to some) readers!

We started off the morning with some very interesting discussions. We had a talk about the Israeli education system, and how it is similar and different to the school system in the US. It's actually pretty interesting to see how the similarities and differences play out. Although for me it was even more interesting just because I went to private school, and that is something not seen much in Israel. After that, we broke into our ITF group and had a discussion about our role as an educator. We shared stories of how we felt like we did good and bad jobs teaching others. Lunch was followed by another much needed long break. The only bummer is that these breaks are around 1:00-2:00pm, and very few people are up at home at those hours. Hopefully once I'm in Rehovot I'll be able to be better about talking to people (especially my family!) and can set up weekly Skype time with people. After lunch we had a talk with the partnership development of Ma'ase, and then had a really interesting talk about the values of an educator and how we all had educators in our life that have really influenced us. After dinner, we had an awesome street drumming session, and now it's 9:00 and we are done for the night! I have a meeting in a bit with our supervisor, but if anyone is reading this (it's around 11:00 PST) and wants to actually talk, I'll be around :)

Much more later! Just trying to keep this updated!

I Can't Believe I'm in Israel!

My first blog post in Israel! Sorry it's multiple days combined...I tried writing some every day, but wasn't able to find enough time to whip out my computer until now!

8/25:

Mom & Dad drove me to the airport Saturday morning, and I had an 11:00am flight to JFK on American Airlines. Of course, the second I get through security, I head straight to Starbucks for my final iced soy caramel macciato upside-down for 10 months. Let's just say that while I will miss my Starbucks immensely, I'm so excited for all the Aroma I want. Flight went well…they showed "The Lucky One," but I thought it was super cheesy and was just overall to anxious about my second flight to really focus. So instead, I bought some wifi and distracted myself with it for most of the flight, as well as tried reading a little bit more of my Kindle (currently reading Crossed by Ally Condie, for all those interested).

Once I got to JFK around 7:30, I was all set to take the AirTrain from terminal 8 to terminal 4…super easy, right? Well, not when the AirTrain is broken. We were instructed to go down to baggage claim and their was supposed to be a bus running to all the terminals. Little did we know it would take at least 20 minutes for a bus to come. I got so desperate and sick of waiting that I almost got a taxi with 2 other people trying to get to terminal 4. But of course, once we got in line for the taxi, the bus came. So all was well. Security at El Al was just fine, and with time to kill I grabbed some food at Panda Express, talked to my parents, and checked Facebook :) I eventually went a got a snack for the plane, and when I got back another girl from my program, Melody, found me and we hung out until the flight. I'm at least 15 rows in front of her, and the opposite side of the plane, so if we don't visit on the plane we'll meet up when we get off.

8/26:

The second flight = SUPER LONG. 10 hours, to be exact. I thankfully slept for the first 6 hours or so, but with 4 hours left I was slowly going to go crazy just thinking that I'm almost in Israel. I did watch "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan" on my computer, and was drifting off during it. There are 2 young sisters sitting next to me, and just my luck the one next to me threw up twice…oh boy *rolls eyes* so fun! We landed around 5:15 Israel time, and met up with Melody after we got off to make our way to customs and baggage. We couldn't find anyone in the group, so we went ahead and got our luggage, and decided to just walk outside in case they were there. We were the last flight, so we left as soon as everyone on our flight met up with the group. It was a nice bus ride, just after awhile we all went dead silent because of how tired we all were. We were greeted with the remains of dinner that night, and after a very brief introduction we all hung out a bit before heading to bed for the night. We are currently staying at Givat Haviva in the north, where a bunch of IDF (Israeli Defense Force) soldiers who either are not Jewish or made aliyah come for training. There are 4 of us from Ma'ase Olam (3 from my program, Israeli Teacher Fellows, and 1 from the Israeli Service Fellows program) in TINY room. Like, the room and bathroom combined might not even be as large as my room at home. It's a tight space, but we all are getting along great so that helps!

8/27:

Monday was our first full day of Ma'ase Olam training. I luckily had my melatonin, so I had taken it Sunday night to fall asleep. Didn't wake up once! I feel bad for everyone who was up at 4:00am! After breakfast, the Israeli Teaching Fellows group met for a morning of getting to know each other and start learning more about the program. After lunch, we had more time with the group, and the founder and director of Maase, Mike Nevo, came to speak to us. He was a great speaker, but I feel so bad because I was definitely drifting to sleep during it. We pretty much did a lot bonding as a group yesterday, which will really help. After dinner we hung out around the dining hall for a while, and then watched the 2nd half of "Easy A." By 11 or so, I was definitely exhausted and ready for bed!

8/28:

I didn't take my Melatonin last night, but I only woke up once during the night briefly. This morning we did an activity involving drawing maps of Israel, and then our group spent a lot of time discussing the year and details such as living arrangements, holidays, etc. It was really helpful, but still a lot of unanswered questions! We also learned a lot about the school year, and the ITF training that starts on Sunday. We also took a Hebrew placement exam for ulpan…let's just say I don't remember much, even with Milken and a few semesters at IU. This will definitely be a struggle! We were lucky and had a LONG break after lunch, which involved finding wifi, laying on the grass while others played frisbee, and walking around Givat Haviva. This afternoon we did outdoor group bonding, similar to what we did my summers at camp at the ropes course. It was long and hot, but we got to make our dinner which was pretty sweet! I helped make pita to go with cheese, tahini, Israeli salad, Indian eggs (an egg inside of a baked potato), and banana boats for desert! 

So far it's been a great experience…it's been so hard to answer people when they ask how everything is. It's weird because we've been at Givat Haviva all week, and will be here until Saturday…so we haven't seen much of Israel. I'm so excited to move into my apartment (more on that later) and start exploring Israel! I'm also glad I finally figured out how to call people in Israel properly so I can see my camp friends and what not :) It's definitely been overwhelming so far, but I'm so excited to keep going!

I promise pictures will come soon! Feel free to iMessage, Whatsapp, email, FB, etc! I don't have constant wifi this week, but I should starting Saturday night (and then I can actually FaceTime & Skype!).

Love & miss you all!!!

One Week

I can't believe that in a week, I will be in Israel. It is beyond unreal to think that an idea I had almost a year ago is actually becoming real in just a matter of days. 

For all of you who have just started looking at my blog (mainly because the only place I posted a link to it previously was on Facebook) - I made this blog a few months ago just so I knew I had a place to write while I was in Israel. I've never been great at keeping a journal, but this is something I am going to try really hard to update. I hope to keep in touch with many of my friends and family members while I'm gone through email, iMessage, Skype, Whatsapp, and any other awesome social media outlet, but this will always be something I can look back on (btw, if you want my email, Skype, phone number, let me know - I'll send it to you privately!).

Tomorrow will be the day I start to pack, in between lunch and dinner plans with friends. I was at a cousin's Bar Mitzvah this past weekend, so I've been using that as my excuse to hold off on the packing. Unfortunately, I can't procrastinate much longer...so hopefully I actually start doing it! This week will be a crazy and emotional one, as I'm saying goodbye to my friends and my family almost daily. It's a shame I can't see everyone, but I'm fortunate that technology is so awesome these days that it won't be much of a problem to communicate.

The next blog post I will write will be once I am in Israel, since who knows if I'll have time or remember to write anything this week. I just wanted to make sure I wrote something. My emotions are so crazy, as I'm excited yet nervous all at the same time. Not to mention stressed with all that has to be done, and making time for everyone I want to see!

So, for anyone who is reading this, please make sure I have any contact information so I can keep in touch - for those who I am not Facebook friends with - either add me or I'll make sure you get emails when I update this :) I love keeping touch with people, and I want to make sure I am able to do that while I'm gone!

Next week in Rehovot...oh boy!!!