Family in Israel, Volunteering and Internet

First I just want to do a little recap of last week.

Flori and Josh got here on the Thursday before last and got to meet a bunch of my friends over at Munchilla. It was fun and I got to introduce Josh as Flori's fiancee for the first time... because they got engaged while they were in Tel Aviv! Congratulations!
Mom and Dad got here the next day and drove out to Dimona where everyone got to meet Shoko. I took them on a tour of Dimona and then we headed back to Be'er Sheva for Shabbat.

The rest of the week was pretty standard since Flori and Josh left on Sunday for Egypt and Mom and Dad were in Jerusalem. So on Sunday, I took the train from Dimona to Tel Aviv early in the morning. We spent the day going through the art fair and the shuk. I got a great mezzuzah for my caravan as a Hanukkah present (thanks Mom and Dad!). On Shabbat we walked along the tayelet and found that part of the beach seems to be designated for dogs. I'll have to bring Shoko next time. After Shabbat, we got dinner before rushing to get me to the train station and them to the airport. It was really great seeing everyone and I can't wait to see them again.


Last Monday, I began my volunteering with kids in Dimona. I'm teaching English to 9th graders. My two students are Daniel and Omer. Nice kids who act exactly like you would expect 9th graders to act. They each made fun of each other and then tried to be the first to finish their work to show they were better. That meant they went too fast and made some mistakes, but all-in-all, I think it went pretty well.

The same cannot be said for my activities today. Instead of tutoring, this week my group was doing group building activities with kids from a local middle school. Well, that is what we were supposed to do. The kids didn't want to do anything and decided that it was funny that my Hebrew wasn't perfect. This was of course in between making fun of the quiet and fat kids. Great kids. Oy. Good thing I didn't get the NYC Teaching Fellowship, by the end of the 2 hours, I wanted to smack them. Although, I found towards the end that if I joked along and made fun of myself they weren't really sure what to do. So next time I think I'll just start with that.

After spending a few hours on the phone last week with Internet companies, the installation guy finally came today. Of course it didn't work right afterwords, but Boaz helped me call up again and now I have real Internet! So please skype me or gchat video with me!

Also, Sam Thompson found the video I was interviewed for a few weeks ago. Here's a link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afpWAdXDNpw I come in around 1:40

And here is a picture of Shoko relaxing in his new favorite spot, right on my top of my laundry bag:

Day Off

Since Flori and Josh are coming to Be'er Sheva tonight and Mom and Dad are coming tomorrow, I decided to take the day off to get things done before they arrive. So for most of the day I have been sitting outside, in the sun, on the edge of the desert, reading about the Zionist resistance to the British in the 40's. Good times. This is even better because the village has become somewhat of a mini-zoo. Shoko is playing with his brother, Katanchik (another dog) periodically walks by and sniffs, and Ganja and her two kittens - Ziggy and Marley - sneak past to drink Shoko's water. This makes for slow reading.

I also just got an email from the head of the village updating us on the situation with Egged (the main Israeli bus company). We have been lobbying Egged to extend it's lines to our village and other students in Dimona, to increase accessibility for the elderly and disabled and increase the frequency of the bus lines to the distant neighborhoods in Dimona. Hooray for Israeli Activism! And in that vein, we are setting up a protest tent in front of the Egged offices. Too bad I won't be able to go since I'll be in Be'er Sheva with my family. I guess I'll cope somehow.

In deference to Zach Stern, here is the Shoko Show:

Monday in the Village

I don't have class on Mondays so I stayed in Dimona today. It was very relaxing. Someone found one of Shoko's brothers, so now they get to play together. It's very cute. It is not, however, conducive to getting work done.

I got to read more of my book for Benny Morris' class, which is turning out to be really interesting. It's called "A Squalid, Senseless War," by Norman Rose of Hebrew U. It chronicles the events leading up to and including the Israeli War of Independence. Morris recommended that I read it, but I was a little reluctant because I have already read a lot about that war. But this has a lot of information on events that I hadn't previously read about, so I'm pleasantly surprised.

I've also been finishing up some work for David Newman for a conference that's going on next year. I'm meeting with him tomorrow to discuss it.

I was also supposed to start volunteering today in Dimona but at the very last minute (I was already on my way over to the school) I got a call from Udi saying it was canceled. But it sounds like I'm going to be helping teach English. I think I can handle that.

Now, here are some more Shoko pictures:



This is Shoko relaxing on my BGU bag that has become the Shoko transporter.





Shoko in a box.



Here's Shoko playing with my blueberry bush outside my house.

Shoko in Be'er Sheva

I brought Shoko to school today. The bus driver wasn't so happy but Shoko didn't even make any noise, so he couldn't really complain. He stayed with Hannah while I was in class and whenever he went outside everyone made a huge fuss. It was very difficult to pry him away from Hannah and Stacy but eventually they let me take him back. She took lots of picture that will hopefully be on facebook soon.

When we got back tonight, the whole village had a Poikeh. It's a big bonfire, where we cooked a big stew of lots of veggies, meat and rice. It was delicious. There were times after I moved here when I wasn't so sure if this was a good decision, but sitting outside, under the stars, with Shoko bouncing from one lap to the next and everyone singing songs, I can safely say this was a great decision. Ayalim is awesome.

Now I'm packing for our trip to Eilat this weekend and Shoko is sleeping. He was dreaming before and kicking his feet. In the words of every Israeli who meets him, "איזה חמוד!" or "What a cutie!"

And the Winner Is...

After many wonderful submissions, I have decided to name my puppy:
Shoko!
Just like the chocolate milk in a bag that is everywhere here and is delicious.

I brought him to the vet this morning and he is healthy and roughly 5 weeks old. He's too little for all his shots so I need to bring him back next week.



Now I just need to train him. He's already really smart and wakes me up to go out at night instead of going in his bed. So that's good.

I have a dog!

Name My Puppy!!

Ok so I just posted this on facebook, but I think it needs a post. I can add more tomorrow.

When I got home today, I decided to walk around the village a little bit. I ran into a bunch of people hanging out. When I walked in, Roni asked me, "Do you want a dog?"

To which I gave her the only response one can give in that situation, "Of course."

She then brought out this little black puppy that was left at the entrance to the village, which is just the thing to lift my spirits after a really tough week.

So now comes the hard part. I'm not talking about taking him to the vet, getting food or house breaking him. I am talking of course about giving him a name.

I'm not sure if I can really keep him yet, but he at least deserves a proper name, which is where you all come in. I'm looking for a Hebrew/Israeli name for him that is easy to pronounce. No easy feat. So please post your thoughts.





Some names already suggested:
Hatzot
Sahar
Sheleg
Dubi
Kfir

The winner gets a prize to be determined.
So get naming!!

No Class Monday

On Mondays I don't have class, so I took advantage of this by staying in Dimona today and running some errands.

I went to the bank and finally got my bankcard. So now I can buy things and go to ATMs without being worried about ridiculous fees an charges. But of course, since it's a bank, it took much longer than I would have liked.

I then got some new bed sheets. My old ones (actually Sam's old ones) were made for a single bed and now that I have a double, I figured it was time to upgrade sheets as well.

Then I did some very much needed grocery shopping and was able to make myself a nice lunch when I got back.

After that I spoke with someone about getting Internet and I should have that set up by next week! Up til now I've been mooching off the wifi from the village's office since it's right next door, but that isn't so great for skype.

And then I tried to do my laundry. This girl from the village showed me how to use the machines, but then she never came back to get her clothes out of the drier. They're still there now! At least 5 hours later! I was going to just take them out a few hours later but then someone else came and took my clothes out of the only washing machine because they had been sitting there for a little while. So I had to wait an hour and a half for those to finish before I could do my next load. In the meantime I had to find someone with and extra clothes-line hanger-thing, so I my clothes could dry! Very frustrating.