Struck Out

the Negev...the desert can be beautiful!

me, Danielle, and Anna having girl talk in teh Bedouin Tent

Sam, Danny, me (short!), and Mike hiking in the Negev--Mitzpe Ramon

view from the University

at the beach, in love with the fact that I can hop off the bus and walk to the ocean

And the strike continues. I'm getting antsy and anxious, worrying about when this semester will finally start and whether it will be prolonged or, worst case scenario, cancelled. The courses I'm not taking right now because of the strike are two courses that I need for my major requirements in order to graduate Vassar on time. I'm also restless because this has been the longest summer of my life. I finished my sophomore year in May, and its now almost November, and I still haven't exactly begun. On the other hand, I feel completely relaxed. I remember what its like to have three papers and three hundred pages of reading due in one week, and I'm thankful that I haven't been that stressed out in half a year. My Hebrew class, although challenging, only meets eight hours a week, and my Talmud class (which is so amazing!) meets for three hours a week. Aside from that, I haven't been very bored: I'd like to find a job (hopefully tutoring English), and I've already started two volunteer positions!

The first is with an Organization called Tzeva, which stands for Tzeirim Bonim Atid, or Youth Build the Future. It's an after school program for "underprivileged" children in grades 3 and 4. They are children who come from single-parent families, or poor families, or families of immigrants (mostly from Russia/former Sovient Union and Ethiopia). They're also kids who have social or academic difficulties. The way it will work is this: there is an hour of one-on-one tutoring and helping the chilren with their homework, and then an hour of structured social activity/play. Then there is a half-our staff discussion about the day and how things went. The way its working right now, though, is that we're spending the entire two hours with the kids just getting to know them through loosely structured activities.

I am the only person, volunteer or student, who is not a fluent speaker of Hebrew. Most of the kids know another language (either Russian or Ahmaric) fluently, because either they or their parents were born there. When I get embarrassed to speak because I make mistakes and am slower in my Hebrew, Lian, the head of the program, tells me the kids are all used to this because most of the people at home are not fluent Hebrew speakers. The program is EXCELLENT for my Hebrew. When Lian talks to us volunteers, she speaks in rapid-fire Hebrew, and doesn't slow down or baby me (because I'm the only one and everybody else understands perfectly). It's difficult in the beginning, and I may miss a point or two (or ten), but my ear gets adjusted and its really great for me to be exposed to the language like this. Like working in the gan yeladim (preschool) on the kibbutz, working here means that I have to communicate in Hebrew with the children, and I can't fall back on my English--because they don't know any!

The kids are all really sweet, but you can tell that they're not used to so much positive attention. They are thrilled not to be yelled at or beaten for two hours. At the very beginning of the program, on the first day we met the kids, one of the cleaning staff came into the room with her mop and started shouting in Russian, pointing her mop, finger, and big red face at this little boy. This is the way these kids are treated most of the time. Lian ran in and interfered, and setteld the situation more quietly.

During hafsakah, the ten-minute break in the middle of the program, we all went outside to play in the yard. There were all these kids hanging out there, on the other side of the fence, who had no place to go and nobody to take care of them after school. A lot of them were too old or too young for Tzevah, but they wanted to participate in our game of tag, and they tried to hop the fence. A guard ran down and chased them away, but its so sad to see these kids who are so neglected that they are trying to break into an afterschool program. And some of them are so young!

The school is in a really bad neighborhood in Haifa. Its okay arriving there, because its still light out, but leaving at the end of the program is dangerous and we leave together as a big group. Its so interesting (and sad) to be doing a program like this abroad, where the issues are the same as inner-city or poor areas in the States, but the causes and details are different. Russian and Ethiopian immigrants to Israel face many of the same problems as Hispanic immigrants living in city slums in New York, for example.

Today I also had an orientation for the other program we're doing. The tutoring (7th grade Ethiopians) will be in the immigration absorption center, so they showed us around today. Next week we'll be meeting with our kids!

*

This weekend I went with ROSA (a friend of the family's from when we lived in Israel in 1989) to a "Shir BeTzibur," which is roughly translated as a sing-along. It was in memorium of Yitzchak Rabin, who was prime minister of Israel and assassinated in 1995. It was all in Hebrew, of course, so I didn't understand a lot of it, but there were speeches and stories about Rabin interspersed with songs sung by informal choirs and individuals. They had a screen where they displayed the words of the songs, and the audience sang along. At the end, Moti Caspi, a famous Israeli singer, performed, so that was pretty cool.

There's No Water in the Desert

This weekend was our first tiyul (trip), and we traveled to the Negev, which is, of course, really hot and dry! We left at 6am yesterday (Friday), and stopped at this historic center where we learned about an ancient people who developed a trade route from East Asia to Damascus, and had all these really impressive ways of surviving for months in the desert with perfumes and spices and a caravan of thousands of camels! We saw some of the ruins of a few of the centers they had built on the secret route that only they knew of.

The bus then took us to Mitzpe Ramon, which is a gorgeous view of the Machtesh Ramon, a kind of huge crater in the middle of the desert that was caused not by impact, but by erosion. We went on a short (3-hour) hike through the machtesh, and then headed to a bedouin campsite for the night. We cooked our own dinner, had a campfire, roasted marshmallows, and went to bed because today we had to wake up early four our intense 8-hour hike through a huge section of the machtesh! It was a difficult hike because hiking in Israel is nothing like hiking in the American northeast, which is what I'm used to. Everything is desert and sand, there are no tall trees or shade, and you're under the boiling sun the entire time (even in October!). But we were prepared with four liters of water each, and we took lots of water breaks and made sure we were hydrated. We climbed up and down two mountains, plus did a lot of trekking on jeep trails and water pipe trails and other random trails all throughout the machtesh, and there were lots of incredible views of huge sections of the "crater."

I'm back at school now (and really tired!), and tomorrow I'm supposed to begin my two linguistics classes within the regular English department at the University, but there is some question as to whether or not classes will take place tomorrow because of a strike. In Israel, somebody is always striking. Last year it was the students, who didn't come to class because they didn't want tuition prices to be raised. Right now, high school teachers have been on strike for a good few weeks, so there are no high school classes, because teachers want a pay raise (and they are paid terribly--about 5,000 shekels/month, or a little over $1,000). And university professors may be striking for the same reason. So I'm not entirely sure when my classes will be starting.

I did start my Hebrew class though. I'm in class 6, which is the highest, and I think it's difficult--a lot more difficult than the kibbutz ulpan. But I'm sure I'll learn a lot, and my teacher is this fabulous woman who likes to talk to us (in Hebrew, of course) about her alternative lifestyle.

Lila tov!

Haifa is my city

Aviva, Jess, and Lauren enjoy delicious falafel in the Wadi


Gillian and I pose in front of a beautiful view of the city


the Bahai Gardens, the city, and the ocean


Today was the first day of class!

In the morning, we took a Hebrew placement exam which included:

• an essay on whether we are for or against military service in Israel
• multiple choice grammar
• fill in the blank grammar
• readings
• speaking
• lots more difficult grammar

I like using those bullets. The end of the test was really difficult, but I'll find out tonight where I placed. My first Hebrew class is tomorrow morning, and I'll have it every morning from Monday-Thursday for two hours. The International School doesn't have class on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday, which is a big change from the Ulpan, where we only had one day off a week (Shabbat). But I'm taking two linguistics classes in the University's English department, which meet on Sunday. They don't start for another week, because regular University students start a bit later than the International School.

Today I had my Introduction to Rabbinic Literature class, where we'll be focusing on the Talmud. It seems like a great class--the teacher is very dynamic and interesting, and it's so cool to be reading these old texts that I know are an important foundation of Judaism as we know it. Even though today was only the first day of class, we really dove into the material. We started by studying a Midrash on Cain and Abel. The teacher gives us a translation of the material since not everybody knows Hebrew, but he also provides us with the original text, which is really neat. We looked at the Shema, and then read the opening portion of the Mishna that asks when we are supposed to say the Shema at night. We looked at one of Rashi's commentaries that was actually a copy of the actual manuscript that Rashi wrote! A lot of what we're doing reminds me of the work we used to do in Reuben Gittleman, when I went to a Jewish day school in elementary school. I'm remembering how much I loved discussing the Torah and its commentaries, even back then.

I went food shopping last night, and stocked up my kitchen a bit. It's funny, because there are SO many stray cats around the dorms, and every time I start to cook, they come to the door and meow really loudly! I know better than to feed them, but they are so adorable and pathetic at the same time. If you're not careful, they'll also hang around the door when you're coming in and out of the apartment, and they can dart in if you're not quick enough! I've already had a few stubborn cats in my living room until I managed to kick them out again.

Haifa is a city built on a hill, and since the University is at the very top of the mountain, there are gorgeous views from here. You can see the entire city and the ocean. It's really beautiful here, and I'm starting to feel more and more like Haifa is my city. When I first got to Israel, I really wanted to be in Jerusalem, which is a great city, but I'm learning how wonderful Haifa can be, too. There is a really nice park right across the street from the University dorms, and last night we had a big bonfire and a bbq.

One more thing: I've got a new address. I'd love some mail! Send it to:

Mariel Boyarsky
c/o International School
Haifa University
Haifa 31905
ISRAEL

I'm a University Student!

I'm here at Haifa University! After I got back from Greece, I visited the kibbutz for a night, and on Thursday, Anita and I took a cab to the University with my huge amount of luggage. My apartment is really nice, it has a big, spacious kitchen, which is actually really dirty because Israelis have been living there all summer. There's a fridge, sink, cabinets, and hot plate, but no oven! I'm going to have to try to score a toaster oven somewhere. My room is really nice, and I have my own bathroom! It's a better set-up than even senior housing at Vassar. None of my Israeli suitemates are here yet, because Israelis don't start class until Oct 20.

The people on my program seem really great. They're from all over the US and Canada, and I've met people from England, Hungary, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Austria, India...

Yesterday we took a tour of campus, which seems pretty straightforward, although I still don't know my way around very well. Yesterday evening was shabbat, and a few of us had a small, Orthodox-style service in the little beit-kinesset (synagogue) that's in the dorm. Afterward, we had a big shabbat dinner, which was nice, because I've been trying to cook for myself in my little apartment, with my awful cooking skills and limited appliances and food.

Today we took a tour of the Bahia Gardens in Haifa, which are really beautiful. The Bahai are a relatively new religion that took root in the late 19th century. They're a small religion, and very peaceful. Their world center is here in Haifa, and there are these gorgeous gardens there.

Then we went to the Wadi, the Arab section in Haifa. For lunch I had a laffa pita (big, thin pita) with zatar (a very good spice), and a taste of a falafel at the best falafel shop in Haifa. We stopped by the shuk to buy some produce for our empty kitchens.

Class starts on Monday! I think I'll be taking Hebrew, two linguistic courses, and Introduction to Rabbinic Literature.

Stay tuned for pictures in the near future...

How I Learned the Greek Alphabet

It figures, doesn't it, that I'd travel to Greece for ten days, and end up learning how to read Greek. In the touristy areas, like parts of Athens, signs for everything are written in Greek and transliterated into Hebrew. And that's how I learned the Greek alphabet.

I think the best part of the trip was Crete, which was beautiful, like most of Greece. The highlight was taking a really overpriced cab from our hotel to the Samarian Gorge, the longest gorge in Europe (16km). The drive over was stunning. Treacherously slim and wildly winding roads threading their way through the myriad of mountains on Greece's largest and southernmost island. The car spun around snakepath turns, climbed up and down hills, the gorgeous countryside spreading out and out and out from the windows, our eyes so happy. Green hills dotted with olive trees and goats, everything pristine and untouched all around us.

The gorge was even more breathtaking, if only because we were actually inside the beauty, instead of watching it from the window of a car. So many meters of sheer cliff and rock extending upward on either side of us, the mountains in the distance, toward the end a patch of blue that was the sea. Rocks--red, gray, black, white, and all kinds of shades in-between. A ravine running through the whole thing. Unlike hiking in Israel, not a piece of trash to be found anywhere.

In Santorini, a smaller island off the coast of Crete, a short hike led us to the Red Beach, where magnificent red sand spilled from the tall, red cliffs behind us, into the cold, glittery ocean at our feet. A longer, steeper, and hotter hike the next day lent itself to a gorgeous view of the island, a slumbering volcano and natural hot springs, the sea and sky such similar hues that it looked like one big blue blanket. At the very top, the ancient city of Thira, a pile of ruins thousands of years old.

Back on the mainland, we suffered the long, uncomfortable bus rides up north to Delphi and Meteora, where we were rewarded with more ancient ruins and views each more beautiful than the last. Delphi boasts the Temple of Apollo, among other things, and a view of mountains and lakes as far as the eye can see. Meteora has these weird, beautiful mountains that are skinny and flat on top, and reach up to the sky, poking through the dense fog. You can tour these centuries-old monasteries, but they're all really far apart and hard to get to without a car or bus.

Crete!

Hi from Crete!

Yesterday Tyler, Chen and I took a 6-hour boat ride from Piraeus (the port near Athens) to Hania, Crete. Crete is Greece's biggest island, way down south. You know how they say it's about the journey, not the destination? I've stopped feeling that--nowadays, we board a plane in one city, do our best to try to fall asleep in those narrow seats, and wake up in a completely different part of the world. But on this boat, you really feel like you're traveling from somewhere, to somewhere.

Athens

I hate paying for internet, so this isn't going to be long.

I'm in Greece!! I got in to Athens yesterday morning, and spent the day walking around the part of the city where my hostel is. I was pretty nervous before, because although I am traveling with two friends, one didn't get here until today, and the other one doesn't get here until tomorrow, so I was alone all day yesterday and last night. But everything went smoothly, the flight, finding my way to the hostel on the metro, wandering around Athens and seeing the Acropolis. I realized that I would be completely fine traveling on my own, even for an extended period of time. Still, it's nice to have Chen here with me now.

My hostel is in a great location, around the corner from the metro; around a different corner from the Acropolis; really close to the restaurant district and all the shops. There is a bar on the roof, and from there you can see the Acropolis. It's amazing to see those ruins and to think how old they are. And today Chen and I went to the National Archaeological Museum, which is huge, and we saw things like pottery and figurines from the 13th millenium BCE!!

Tomorrow our friend Tyler gets here, and at 4PM we're taking the 6-hour ferry to Crete.

It's wonderful to be on the move, to be traveling, away from the stagnant life on the kibbutz. Athens, at least the part where I am, is so touristy that sometimes it feels like there aren't any Greeks in the whole city, but I've met so many people from all over the world. Last night I talked to an older, very intelligent British man for half an hour.

Oh, and sometimes I don't like history very much, but standing under the Parthenon, it just sort of comes alive...