Tisha B'Av

Sometimes it's sort of frustrating being in Israel, the Jewish state, living on such a secular kibbutz. Today is Tisha B'Av, the ninth of the month of Av, an optional fast day to remember the destruction of the Beit Hamikdash, or Holy Temple. A few of my friends took the day off and travelled to Jerusalem, but I was unable to since I'd already taken a day off. And as I had a full day of work and I'm sick, it would be too difficult for me to fast. But imagine what an interesting and spiritual experience it would be to go to Jerusalem and visit the Kotel, the one remaining wall of the Temple, on the anniversary of its destruction! When I expressed this to Ari, the Ulpan manager, he kind of rolled his eyes, reminded me I had already taken a day off, and told me to get back to cleaning toilets.

Yeah, cleaning toilets. My job has been switched on me, because all the girls in the Ulpan need to take turns cleaning toilets (and the rest of the ulpan) for a month. So for the next four weeks I'm not working with my adorable and incomprehensible Israeli children. Instead, I'm working with bleach and clorax. Mom, you probably think this is funny--and anybody who really knows me knows how much I HATE cleaning and how bad I am at it. Today I stormed around the buildings with my bucket of cleaning supplies and angrily sloshed water and chemicals all over the place. I'm also disappointed because I was learning so much Hebrew at the gan, and the showers absolutely refuse to speak with me, unlike the kids, who were so eager to open their mouths and spew out rapid Hebrew.

So it hasn't been a very good past few days, but on the bright side at least it's just a month. Plus, I work fewer hours (I'm done by 11 instead of 2, and I get to start an hour later). But honestly, how sexist is that! All the girls have got to do the cleaning, but the boys get to keep working in the zoo or whatever.

GRRR.