Getting All Caught Up

Hello again everyone. I know it's been a few days since I wrote so I'll try to give you the heads up on my wheelings and dealings this week. My work at Ofakim is getting more comprehensive as I take more responsibility and require less instruction from the administrators. I worked with one of the girls independently yesterday afternoon during the physical therapy session, which was a first. Usually I have been observing or helping out when I am asked to. It wasn't a total success; the girl had a headache and was pretty intransegient, and we barely got through all the exercises. Even so, we did do the whole exercise set.

Outside of that, it's been a normal, albeit not particularly exciting week. I've been to class and had an Arabic quiz, I hung out with my roommates, got a shawarma near the Horev center and caught a movie in the moadon. I did got a haircut this week, the first such haircut since I arrived in Israel. I feel almost aerodynamic now! You'll get some photos of my new do when I post again next week. After months of waiting I am going back to try again to go to Jordan. The plan is to check out Petra and Amman, and hopefully Jerash if we find the time. I'll let you know all about it next week. Shabbat shalom.

A Series Of Stupid Decisions

The international school had their first organized tiyul of the semester, two days hiking through the central Negev. We left Haifa at 6:30 on Friday morning and headed for Be'er Sheva. I dozed until about Netanya and then woke up again for good and listened to my mp3 the rest of the way. We got to Be'er Sheva at about 9 in the morning and waded into the Druze market on the southern edge of the city to get some breakfast. While there, Nate and Elan bought keffiyahs. I had brought the one I bought in Cairo (I got it expressly for hiking purposes) and once on the bus, Nate and I started playing around with them. One of our staffers, Oshrat was walking back counting heads when she came to our seat and did a double take. Can't say I blame her.

This photo was taken in Beirut in 1977

Our destination on Friday was the Small Machtesh, a large erosion crater of which there are several in the Negev and the Sinai Peninsula, and nowhere else on earth. In fact, the Hebrew word machtesh is the scientific term describing the phenomena. Thats pretty cool, says this observer.

Looking out across the machtesh.

We climbed down a steep, sheer cliff face into the crater. It was slow going to keep anyone from meeting their maker as a fleshy smear at the bottom of the machtesh. This was the kind of steep that would have given my mother a heart attack just being near the edge. Me, I loved it. Everyone was still nice and energized because we hadn't been out in the heat for that long, so we kept a lively chatter all the way down to the bottom. Once the ground leveled out, we picked up the pace and hiked for another half hour before pulling off the trail into a wadi to find some shade for lunch. We found a nice little overhang out of the sun where everyone piled in and munched.

Lunch was a subdued affair. Everyone was just passing around whatever they brought to eat and talking about movies. Our tour guide told a couple of racy jokes before we get moving. This one sticks out in my mind: Why are camels called the "ships of the desert?"
....................
"Because they are filled with Bedouin semen."
Fantastic. We rolled out after an hour or so. The terrain was a lot easier in the machtesh, which was more or less flat. Along the way I found a great walking stick that I kept with me for the rest of the day. We stopped briefly at the "colored sands" of marginal fame, before winding our way out of the machtesh and towards the waiting tour bus.

Lea and I on a rust colored sand dune.

I dozed off on the bus with an hour's distance to get to our camp site for the evening. When I came to, it was dusk and we were pulled off to the side of the road: Our bus had broken down! Always what you want when your on a back country road in the middle of the Negev. The driver was outside throwing buckets of cool water on the engine. I was talking to Eli on the phone about our weekend plans when the engine roared to life again, and we began to crawl forward. I was not in the mood to get out and push anyway. That night we stayed in the eternally cliche "Bedouin tent" again. We had a nice kabbalat shabbat program in the tent, with singing and a few Jewish morality themed stories. We made a feast as usual, with tons of meat, several different kinds of salad, fresh tehina and pita that we made ourselves over the campfire. Afterwards we roasted marshmallows for s'mores, and then a group of people climbed up a nearby hill to look at the stars.

Standing around the campfire.

The next day we hiked through Ein Bokek, a trail that is dominated by hot springs and wadi's that had some water in them due to the recent rains. We stopped at a natural pool and my better prepared colleagues started changing into swim suits. I had forgotten mine. I lay out on a flat rock to sun myself when I heard about the second pool nearby that was small enough to wade into without actually swimming. This would prove to be the start of my downfall. I headed over with the intent of washing the sweat and grime out of my hair. I waded in about knee deep and dunked my head into the water - and the rest of me followed shortly after. Thoroughly soaked and marginally embarrassed, I climbed out, only to feel an unwelcome weight in my side pocket - I reached in and pulled out my cell phone. It was off and wasn't turning back on. I let out a stream of curses and then took the thing apart, hoping that if it dried out it would work again.

The swimming hole.

Having already gotten all wet, I figured I may as well go swimming, so I ditched my shirt and climbed down the narrow crevice into the water. Nothing could have prepared me for this cold. My testicles were up somewhere near small intestine. I swam across to the bank on the other side to get out of the water, when I felt the second unwelcome weight, this time in my back pocket. I pulled out my waterlogged wallet and pondered it for a second, before cutting loose with a second string of F-bombs. Dejected, I lobbed the wallet up to some friends sitting on the ledge above, hoping my money and cards would later be salvageable. I waded back into the water, ready to face the chill in the hopes of at least accomplishing what I initially set out to do, and wash my hair out. I dunked my head a second time, shook it out and then came up blind: my motherfucking glasses had fallen off and disappeared into the murk! Bless my friend Colleen, she refused to let my moronic decisions doom me to a lost pair of glasses on top of everything else. She found them and pulled them out of the water for me, very much intact and no worse off.

At least I didn't do something stupid in this photo.

Our final stop on yesterday's trip was at the dead sea. I actually went in the water this time, for the first time since I was 17. It was pleasant. I only had one minor cut so there wasn't much stinging or discomfort this time around. I floated with a group of people, and then showered off and changed into dry (but not clean) clothing. I smelled like a cross between a rotten egg and a foot all the way home. The ride home was actually one of the highlights of the trip. We took the road from the dead sea to Jericho, and then traveled through the West Bank to Jerusalem. Along the way, Danny Moss busted out with his guitar and myself and four or five other guys serenaded the group for a solid 45 minutes. People were singing along, clapping and having a grand old time. After a stop for food and diesel, I headed to the back of the bus where Diana and Josh were performing slam poetry. It was a sweet ride home, and a relaxing way to close out the evening. By the way, my phone is dried out and working again, and my cards and money are all in working order as well. Mallory gave me the idea of putting all the phone parts in a bag of rice overnight, as the rice would absorb the moisture. I don't know if that's what did it, but the phone works again so I owe her one. The wallet is the only thing that wasn't salvageable, but that's not a huge deal. I can laugh about it today.

Jews marching through the desert.

Hailey celebrating wide open spaces.

Our tour guide caught a desert scorpion.

Bill and I on the edge of the crater.

A rest along the way.

Hasbara

I'm well aware that Israel needs to promote itself, but sometimes that gets a little out of control. Planning moadon bishul on tuesday afternoon, I had settled on making shakshuka and was searching online for recipes. (I know it's easy, I just wanted a little guidance.) What I came up with was a recipe posted on the ministry of foreign affairs website. Check it out here: Shakshuka Recipe.
Maybe I'm splitting hairs here, but it just seems to me that they can put the time and bandwidth to better use.

As you can probably guess, it's slow around here. I'm getting into work at the school and my classes. The international school is going to the Negev for hiking and a little touring over Shabbat, so I will write it up when I return. Shabbat shalom.

Ofakim

I started work at the Ofakim school today. Hoping to get a jump on my first day of interning, I set my alarm for 7, with the intention of getting up to shower, dress nicely and have a nice, calm breakfast. These plans never work out for me though. I snoozed my alarm the first time it went off, which is standard behavior for me. I even build in a single snooze when setting my alarm. Unfortunately, the alarm did not ring again. I blearily glanced at my cell phone seemingly minutes after putting my head back down, before I leapt out of bed in a panic: It was 8:05 and I was due in Hebrew class in ten minutes! I rushed a shower, pulled on the first collared shirt I could find, grabbed a handful of kumquats on the way out the door and only arrived 5 minutes late to Ulpan.

Hebrew was uneventful. I grabbed a cup of Nes "cappuccino" before heading down to the bus station, and then caught a sherut to Mercaz HaCarmel. The school is on "HaYam" street, a few blocks below the Carmel Center. I arrived at about 10:40 and headed down to my classroom. I'll be working most closely with Rola Farah, the teacher of "Gan Tamar", who was trained at the Peto Institute in Budapest. She will be teaching me the "Peto method" which entails repetitive, exhaustive physical therapy that can help train a child with severe locomotion difficulties to overcome them.

The day was free and easy. I spent the mid morning and early afternoon in Gan Tamar, meeting kids, playing games and helping out with whatever the staffers needed. It was nice, except for the tiny chairs that were not designed for children over 7 years of age. My lower back hurts right now, the punishment for spending too many hours with my knees higher than my belly button. Most of the kids left around 2 o'clock and I entertained that one's who stayed behind for about a half hour. They really took to me quickly. Rola and a new group of staff members came back around 2:30 and the kids ate their boxed lunches. Then the physical therapy began. I wasn't able to participate much, and I mostly observed, but there were a few times where I was able to pitch in. The time passed pretty quickly. My biggest concern heading in was that I would be using Hebrew professionally for the first time ever. I'm thrilled to report that I kept up and even was able to crack a few jokes! This is going to work out just fine.

Where's The Beef?

Spring has returned to Haifa. The trees are in bloom, wildflowers are carpeting the Carmel park, and the whole city has been taken by a warm, wholesome air. Of course a return to spring means a spike in outdoor activities. Yesterday I was out and about all day, enjoying my new friends, my freedom and the killer weather we are being blessed with.

Budding flowers on the tree outside my bedroom.
Soon the whole area will smell like flowers again.

At about 11 yesterday morning, I met up with a group of people and we went on a romp through the park. It was never intended to be a hike, and so we took it easy, talking and joking as we wound our way down the path. Someone started talking about plans for late night, and I tossed out a suggestion: how about a bonfire in the park late that night? The idea took and I began to spread the word. We walked for almost two hours and I had begun to work up an appetite when we came back to the main road. Bill had been telling me about a "Druze Pita" stand that was only open on Shabbat. We walked over to it and I bought myself a sandwich of just baked pita, labneh, zatar and olive oil. We sat by the side of the road people watching for about an hour while I munched, indulging in lots of olives and about 8 dixie cups full of tea. It was magic.

A lazy afternoon in the Carmel park.

That evening we went to a soccer game, Maccabi Haifa versus Maccabi Herzliya. The game was astoundingly slow for the first 65 or so minutes, and then picked up for the rest. It ended in a 1-1 tie, the second tie I've seen in person at Kiryat Eliezer stadium. One of my friends remarked "There's no overtime? But aren't they required to have a winner?" Unfortunately, ties are perfectly legal in soccer. They are just patently un-American.

This look is a keeper.

One of the best things about going to Israeli games is that you get to see a side of Israel that doesn't show its face in most places. Frankly, Israeli soccer fans are overwhelmingly crude, chain smoking yahoos, the lowest common denominator of society. We rode the bus back with a group of nut job teenagers, who were thrilled to pose for pictures, chat with me about Michael Jordan, and hit on our girls with the reckless abandon of a pervert who knows the object of his lust doesn't understand a word he is saying. I told them to knock it off.

MORTAL KOMBAT!!!

When I got back to campus, David and I began our search for wood. It was awfully shortsighted of me not to collect wood during the daylight hours. Armed only with my wits and the tiny flashlight that my dad got for free from Dan hotels, I made my way off into the night in search of dead trees to strip for larger fuel. The coyotes were out last night and they were a little close for my comfort. Judging by the sound of one of their howls, it couldn't have been more than 10 yards away. I was understandably a little nervous walking around in the dark. I was searching near this outdoor bathroom stall when I heard something move in the dark, and I froze. I scanned the woods with my light but I didn't see or hear anything else, so I took a breath and stepped forward. Thats when I happened to flash my light into the bathroom for a moment, and the big red eyes staring back at me nearly caused me to stroke out. Regaining my wits a split second later, I fixated my light on the bathroom door and was treated to this absurd spectacle.

"You might want to give that a minute."

There was a fucking big, stupid cow staring at me from the bathroom. He seemed perfectly relaxed. I'm sure if the cow had an interior monologue, it was thinking something along the lines of "what?! I come here every night. What's your problem?!" I'm not even sure how the thing managed to turn around in there. The bathrooms are pretty narrow. My composure regained, we managed to collect enough dry wood for about an hour and a half of fire.

The humble beginnings of our bonfire.

We attracted a group of about 15 people, who mostly sat around talking, drinking wine and goofing off. The fire never got very big, but thats probably for the best. It was big enough to warm everyone's butt and keep away the coyotes, so that's all I can ask for. I'm definitely going to organize another one of these, and next time I'm collecting the wood during daylight hours.

David and Mallory warm up by the fire.

A Mediocre Evening With Idan Raichel

Some of you may remember that I attended a Masa sponsored Hadag Nachash concert last year in Jerusalem, and came away disappointed. Last night I ignored my better instincts and attended their spring concert, featuring the Idan Raichel Project. I saw them live in Champaign 3 years ago and it was one of the better concerts I've ever been to, so I had hopes for this one as well. Masa chartered a bus for us this time around so I rode with the other Haifaniks to Jerusalem directly. We got off the bus and were milling around outside before going in when I got tackled from behind. Bev Baer was hanging off of my back and screaming. I've said it before, but this sort of thing only happens in Jerusalem. Completely fucked up. She is spending the year in Ramla volunteering, and was in J'lem for the same reason as I. Unfortunately, we didn't have a lot of time to catch up because security was shooing us inside, so we had to say goodbye for the time being.

Bev and I outside the convention center.

Our seats were in the balcony, and well off to the left. The sight lines weren't great so we couldn't see the stage very well. We were treated to a half hour of verbal masturbation from a parade of self-congratulatory government officials before the band finally took the stage around 9:30. The concert itself was better than the Hadag Nachash show but just as short. They were on stage for all of 1 hour from start to finish. It's shameful that anyone would even call that a concert. Still, they were mostly good when they were playing.

Americans pretend to get excited over
songs they've never heard before.

I made my way down to the lower level to get closer to the stage, and there ran into Eli and the rest of the kids on his program. We hung out for about 10 minutes and talked about scheduling a time to go to Jordan together (yes, I am trying again.) The band closed out the concert by playing their hit single "boi", which got by far the loudest reaction, probably because it is the only song 90% of the audience recognized.

A candid shot of the international students dancing.

Because the show was over at about 10:30, we had no problem making it back to the bus by the 11 PM time we had set before going in. And to think, I had worried we were going to miss the end of the show! It was a lazy ride back to Haifa, with one stop in Netanya to drop off a group of Israelis who had hitched a ride with us. We got home around 1:15 in the morning and I went straight to bed. These kitsch , theme concerts just don't work for me anymore, and I will not be going to another if there is one. Shabbat shalom.

A Moment Of Clarity

My schedule for this upcoming semester is finally set, and since I know you have all been anticipating this for weeks, I won't make you suffer to wait any longer. I am only taking two classes this semester, Hebrew and Arabic. I have Hebrew from 8-10 AM on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, and from 10 - Noon on Thursdays. I have Arabic from Noon - 2 PM on Tuesdays and from 2:30 - 4 PM on Thursdays. Arabic will be a little different this go around, as Rina is no longer teaching us. I still have Mina for Hebrew, and as you know, I adore her.

I'll be filling out the rest of my schedule by volunteering at the Ofakim school in Mercaz HaCarmel, a school for Israelis with severe developmental disorders, predominantly cerebral palsy. I'll be there 15 hours a week, filling a number of different roles. I'll know more once I get started (next Monday), but I'm really excited to be doing something new, getting out into the city and helping people.

This photo is totally unrelated to today's post. I just like it.