Yesterday, I took the bus from Dimona up to Yoqniam and I didn't get lost! Despite changing buses about 3 times, I still managed to get there and with plenty of time to spare before the chag started.
Yoqniam is at the foot of Mout Carmel, overlooking the Jezreel Valley. But of course I didn't bring my camera, so you'll just have to take my word for it that it was breath-taking. From her house I could see the monastery that Christians built on the sight where the Prophet Elijah challenged the priests of ba'al to a God v. god showdown (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elijah#Challenge_to_Baal ). From her house! She hikes up every now and then because it's pretty much her backyard. That's pretty damn cool.
Before chag started, I went with Yifat to the statue of Alexander Zeid, founder of HaShomer (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Zeid ). In the statue he's sitting on a horse, on a hill, looking out over the plains. We sat around, smoked some hookah and drank from coffee (yes, I had some too) with some of her friends. Apparently, it's the big chill spot in town. In American kids hang out in parks and people's basements and in Israel they hang out in ancient monasteries and Zionist monuments. Just saying.
I then went to shul with her father. I had never been to a Yemeni service before. Instead of singing, everything was chanted out loud by everyone at the same time. I had to keep my eyes on the siddur to whole time so I could follow along. I looked up once and wasn't able to figure out where we were until they stopped. The chanting has a wave-like pattern that builds up and comes down that combined with shuckling really pulls you in.
On the way home, her father made a comment about how I responded differently during the Kaddish. He said, "You say it that way and we say it our way because of the Exile. Since we were all over the place we developed different traditions. We don't know which one's right, so we each do our own until the Messiah comes and tells us how to do it." I thought that was a really nice way of looking at things.
On to the Seder. We sat at a long table that was covered with lettuce, onions and radishes. The Hagadah was pretty much the same as ours at home, except there was no English and there were parts in Yemeni Arabic (I wasn't able to follow it but I did make out "Long Hand and Outstretched Arm). It was surprisingly quick. Most of the Hagadah was chanted by her dad while the rest of us tried to follow along. I hadn't really gotten to eat anything all day other than a small snack, so after the first cup of wine (which I was told I had to drink all of and was in a very big glass) following along was a lot more difficult than at shul.
The matzah they used was more like pita than the matzah I'm used to. After Yifat's Dad tore off the Afikhoman, he wrapped it up in a challah cover and threw it over his shoulder like a pack and swayed side to side like he was walking off into the desert. Instead of horseradish, we used lettuce as maror and when it came time to make the sandwich, we wrapped the matzah in the lettuce instead of the other way around. Ma Nishtana was chanted by everyone, lead by her father, like the rest of the seder. When we came to part where there was a song, the women interrupted and got us all to sing. Most of the tunes were the same but there were a few new ones. During Hallel, instead of singing or reading silently, her father lead and after each line everyone responded "Hallelujah." He had me and Yifat's uncle each lead a part of it.
Today, after lunch, we hiked up one of the hills nearby that has the ruins of a 12th Century Byzantine church on top. It seems like there isn't a hill up north that is just a hill.
When chag finally ended today, we got on the train to come back home, but it was so crowded. We were squished up a against a wall where we made friends with two girls who were also unable to move. One of them just happened to be from Paramus and went to little Schechter (my elementary school) but was two years behind me (shout out Aliza Romirowsky, do you remember Dafna Barzilai/do you read my blog?). Just goes to show you how small the Jewish world is. I also ran into Hannah and Harel who got on the stop after us and just barely had room to breathe. Thankfully, when we got to Tel Aviv the train emptied (people were moving to slowly so I yelled "come on, time for the Exodus. Let my people go." Just when you thought I couldn't get any cooler...
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Monday, March 29, 2010
חג שמח! Happy Passover!
Yesterday Boaz and I cleaned the caravan fro Pesach. I think we have the cleanest apartment that guys have ever lived in. We cleaned everything - microwave, oven and even got all that ice that was stuck to the back of the refrigerator out. Then we went to the pizza place a few blocks away to get some dinner since we didn't have any chametz left.
Now I'm off to Yokeam for seder with Yifat.
Here's a picture of some people burning their chametz this morning:
Now I'm off to Yokeam for seder with Yifat.
Here's a picture of some people burning their chametz this morning:
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Week-End Wrap Up
I haven't been so great about posting this week, so I'll try to go over some of the highlights that I didn't get to talk about.
On Wednesday, MAPMES had a night hike in Nahal Haverim, about 40 minutes outside of Be'er Sheva, near Sde Boker. It was a lot of fun, although the sky was covered in clouds so we couldn't see any stars and barely had any moonlight. Yaley and Orit from our Spain trip came too. It was great to see them.
At some point during the hike, I don't remember how, I started talking to Noa (she runs MAPMES programing) about politics. Not the best idea. I knew that she was leftist (not a bad thing) but I didn't realize just how far left she was. She seemed to be of the opinion that it is ok to prevent people you disagree with from speaking. At which point I called her a leftist-fascist. I had been talking to Loren last week about how sometimes people go so far left, they end up on the right, I just didn't think I would meet one in person. I said the true test of free speech is letting people who make your blood boil speak (as long as they aren't shouting fire in a crowded theater or actively inciting to violence). I then brought up Benny Morris being prevented from speaking at UCL a few weeks ago because he is an "islamophobe." Dan then jumped in a called me out for not saying the same thing about the campaign to fire Neve Gordon from BGU after his op-ed in the LA Times calling for a boycott of Israel. He was right. UCL had every right to deny to anyone they want a forum to speak. However, I would expect a school like UCL to have a better barometer for who they allow to speak. If they let an Islamic extremist like Azzam al-Tamimi, a Hamas supporter and anti-Semite, speak, I would expect them to allow somewhat controversial, leftist historian like Benny Morris speak as well. If I went to UCL I would have been protesting al-Tamimi and lobbying the school not to give someone like him the forum to speak, just like I think BGU should reconsider renewing Neve Gordon's contract at school. Allowing a professor at a university who's namesake is the founding prime minister, call for the dismantling of the state, is more than a little ridiculous. He should have every right to make his inflammatory statements, but that doesn't mean he should have this university as a platform to make them.
Every Thursday night, our village opens our moadon as a pub and this was my week to help run it. Recently, more high school kids had been coming by and we got in trouble for having underage (under 18) kids in the pub. So this week I was the bouncer. I know that I am a very intimidating person so I can completely understand this decision. A group of 4 girls came by but they "forgot" their IDs. They promised that they were 18 and stayed right in front of the door for about a half hour trying to get me to let them in. One of their older friends asked to see my ID. So I got to use my favorite Israeli word "חוצפן - chutzpan" which as you might have guessed, is a term for someone with lots of chutzpah. I told him if they go get their IDs I'd show him mine.
After they finally left - vowing never to come back, as though there are other bars in Dimona - things quieted down. So I called up Eliad to see what his plans are while he's in Israel. Some guys overheard me talking and one said, "Whoa, what great English! What are you doing here you should be in movies or something." His friend then said "he can't understand you, he's English" - Israelis often call anyone who speaks English, English. So I told him that I did understand and that I'm American. I don't think I'll get tired of Israelis looking shocked when I tell them, in Hebrew, I've only been here for 6 months, any time soon.
Yesterday Israel switched to daylight savings time, so not only are we 7 hours ahead of the US again but that means that Shabbat starts late and ends even later. It's a trade off because now I have more time on Friday to do stuff, but that also means I have less time on Saturday nights. But I've been pretty lame lately and not doing much then anyway so I guess it's a change for the better.
I thought there wouldn't be so many people here this weekend because Passover is so soon, but there was a good amount of people. We even had Friday night services in the moadon for the first time and I led, which was nice. Later on, when I took Shoko on our long Shabbat walk around the city, we walked through a park and this kid yelled out, "is that shoko?!" and 5, 12-year-old boys ran over to pet him. They were surprised at how big he had gotten. One asked if I remembered him. I said no and then he said, "I was the one who came with the donkey." "Oh, now I remember you." How is this real?
Anyway, here are some new Shoko pics:
On Wednesday, MAPMES had a night hike in Nahal Haverim, about 40 minutes outside of Be'er Sheva, near Sde Boker. It was a lot of fun, although the sky was covered in clouds so we couldn't see any stars and barely had any moonlight. Yaley and Orit from our Spain trip came too. It was great to see them.
At some point during the hike, I don't remember how, I started talking to Noa (she runs MAPMES programing) about politics. Not the best idea. I knew that she was leftist (not a bad thing) but I didn't realize just how far left she was. She seemed to be of the opinion that it is ok to prevent people you disagree with from speaking. At which point I called her a leftist-fascist. I had been talking to Loren last week about how sometimes people go so far left, they end up on the right, I just didn't think I would meet one in person. I said the true test of free speech is letting people who make your blood boil speak (as long as they aren't shouting fire in a crowded theater or actively inciting to violence). I then brought up Benny Morris being prevented from speaking at UCL a few weeks ago because he is an "islamophobe." Dan then jumped in a called me out for not saying the same thing about the campaign to fire Neve Gordon from BGU after his op-ed in the LA Times calling for a boycott of Israel. He was right. UCL had every right to deny to anyone they want a forum to speak. However, I would expect a school like UCL to have a better barometer for who they allow to speak. If they let an Islamic extremist like Azzam al-Tamimi, a Hamas supporter and anti-Semite, speak, I would expect them to allow somewhat controversial, leftist historian like Benny Morris speak as well. If I went to UCL I would have been protesting al-Tamimi and lobbying the school not to give someone like him the forum to speak, just like I think BGU should reconsider renewing Neve Gordon's contract at school. Allowing a professor at a university who's namesake is the founding prime minister, call for the dismantling of the state, is more than a little ridiculous. He should have every right to make his inflammatory statements, but that doesn't mean he should have this university as a platform to make them.
Every Thursday night, our village opens our moadon as a pub and this was my week to help run it. Recently, more high school kids had been coming by and we got in trouble for having underage (under 18) kids in the pub. So this week I was the bouncer. I know that I am a very intimidating person so I can completely understand this decision. A group of 4 girls came by but they "forgot" their IDs. They promised that they were 18 and stayed right in front of the door for about a half hour trying to get me to let them in. One of their older friends asked to see my ID. So I got to use my favorite Israeli word "חוצפן - chutzpan" which as you might have guessed, is a term for someone with lots of chutzpah. I told him if they go get their IDs I'd show him mine.
After they finally left - vowing never to come back, as though there are other bars in Dimona - things quieted down. So I called up Eliad to see what his plans are while he's in Israel. Some guys overheard me talking and one said, "Whoa, what great English! What are you doing here you should be in movies or something." His friend then said "he can't understand you, he's English" - Israelis often call anyone who speaks English, English. So I told him that I did understand and that I'm American. I don't think I'll get tired of Israelis looking shocked when I tell them, in Hebrew, I've only been here for 6 months, any time soon.
Yesterday Israel switched to daylight savings time, so not only are we 7 hours ahead of the US again but that means that Shabbat starts late and ends even later. It's a trade off because now I have more time on Friday to do stuff, but that also means I have less time on Saturday nights. But I've been pretty lame lately and not doing much then anyway so I guess it's a change for the better.
I thought there wouldn't be so many people here this weekend because Passover is so soon, but there was a good amount of people. We even had Friday night services in the moadon for the first time and I led, which was nice. Later on, when I took Shoko on our long Shabbat walk around the city, we walked through a park and this kid yelled out, "is that shoko?!" and 5, 12-year-old boys ran over to pet him. They were surprised at how big he had gotten. One asked if I remembered him. I said no and then he said, "I was the one who came with the donkey." "Oh, now I remember you." How is this real?
Anyway, here are some new Shoko pics:
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Math Tutoring
I usually volunteer on Thursdays, but since Passover break starts then, I switched to today when I don't have classes. I went over to the same school and helped the kids out with some geometry. So now I know how to say lots of very important everyday words in Hebrew, like equilateral triangles or obtuse angles or adjacent angles. Woo Hoo!
It was pretty upsetting though. I was helping this one kid who, on top of having obvious ADD, just wasn't getting it. If I explained something to him, he was able to do the problem, but he would forget right after we moved onto something new. It's hard to think how someone who can't remember that two halves of one whole are always equal will be able to pass his bagrut (Israeli regents). He really needs a private tutor to go over everything with him, but of course this is Dimona and there's no way the school has it in its budget and I'm sure his parents can't afford it. It's just kind of depressing.
But on the bright side, the weather is coming back around and I was able to break out my shorts. I'm sure in a few weeks, I'll be wishing away the heat when it's 105 degrees in the shade, but right now it's pretty nice.
I'm going to be spending the Seder with my friend Yifat and her family up north near Haifa. They're Yemeni and I've never been to a Yemeni Seder before, but I think it'll be a lot of fun. I guess this means I'll have to eat kitniyot (rice) this year. Oh well, when in Israel...
And for Flori, here are some pictures of the pup.
It was pretty upsetting though. I was helping this one kid who, on top of having obvious ADD, just wasn't getting it. If I explained something to him, he was able to do the problem, but he would forget right after we moved onto something new. It's hard to think how someone who can't remember that two halves of one whole are always equal will be able to pass his bagrut (Israeli regents). He really needs a private tutor to go over everything with him, but of course this is Dimona and there's no way the school has it in its budget and I'm sure his parents can't afford it. It's just kind of depressing.
But on the bright side, the weather is coming back around and I was able to break out my shorts. I'm sure in a few weeks, I'll be wishing away the heat when it's 105 degrees in the shade, but right now it's pretty nice.
I'm going to be spending the Seder with my friend Yifat and her family up north near Haifa. They're Yemeni and I've never been to a Yemeni Seder before, but I think it'll be a lot of fun. I guess this means I'll have to eat kitniyot (rice) this year. Oh well, when in Israel...
And for Flori, here are some pictures of the pup.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Kibbutz Ketura Shabbat
This Shabbat we went down to Kibbutz Keturah. It's a kibbutz that was found in the 70s by Americans who stayed in Israel after Young Judea Year-Course and most of the members still have really thick American accents. We stayed there for 3 weeks when we came on Neshama back in 2004. It's exactly the same.
So Friday morning I woke up at 5 am so I could take the bus to Be'er Sheva and get on our bus before it left at 7:15. Of course, later on I realized that I could have just asked them to pick me up at the Dimona Junction on the way down. Hooray Planning!
Anyway, we went down to the Ada Canyon and did a really nice hike and I got some sun.
Here's Andrea climbing up the canyon.
We saw this along the path it reads in Hebrew "Gilad Shalit is Still Alive." It's nice that no matter where you go, you can see his name and know he isn't forgotten.
Here I am posing gracefully.
Then we went over to these really cool sand dunes.
Yishai walking in the desert like our ancestors.
Avi let the guys bury her in sand. Bad move.
This is me jumping over Hannah.
More jumping.
We then got to Ketura and took a tour around. Shabbat services were really nice. They had a traditional egalitarian minyan that was just like davening back home. Yishai got a kick out of dancing with girls during a service. There was a group of 8th graders there from a Schechter in Dallas who asked us "where y'all from?" Adorable. Plus, Elana asked their 25 year-old group leader if she was in 8th grade too. Adorable.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Post
The chamsin is over now, so instead of 90 degree weather, it's back down to the 60s. Not nearly as fun, but it looks like it should start getting back into the 80s next week. I love it here.
Today I had math tutoring again. The kids are so difficult, always running around and yelling. This one girl asked me for help and then kept pretending to not understand so I wouldn't leave. It was very cute, but made things difficult when I actually had to go and help other students. If only I could get Israeli girls who are over 14 to be that interested, I'd be set.
Here are some pictures of Shoko when he found a hedgehog. He was very upset that it would unroll and play with him.
Today I had math tutoring again. The kids are so difficult, always running around and yelling. This one girl asked me for help and then kept pretending to not understand so I wouldn't leave. It was very cute, but made things difficult when I actually had to go and help other students. If only I could get Israeli girls who are over 14 to be that interested, I'd be set.
Here are some pictures of Shoko when he found a hedgehog. He was very upset that it would unroll and play with him.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Erin's Birthday and Our "Meeting"
Yesterday was Erin's birthday, so after an interesting class examining the similarities between Zionism and Colonialism (fun stuff!) I went over to her place for her party. Her roommates made soooo much food and it was great to finally be able to put some faces to the names I'd heard so much about. I don't usually get to hang out with the other MAPMES guys so much since I always go back to Dimona at night, so it was nice to spend the night on campus for a change.
Today I hung out with Yoni in the morning and then our Conflict Resolution group had a lunch meeting. Although we had more lunch than meeting.
Today I hung out with Yoni in the morning and then our Conflict Resolution group had a lunch meeting. Although we had more lunch than meeting.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Biden and Math Tutoring
Today I watch Vice President Biden's speech at Tel Aviv University online. He began by talking about his personal relationship with Israel and the continued heaping praise for quite some time before he got anything somewhat substantial. He finally said that it takes a friend to deliver the harshest truths and condemned the new housing tenders that were issued for Jewish communities in East Jerusalem. But he did it in incredibly watered down language and the praised Netanyahu for saying no building would probably happen for years.
While that is good news, it means that he simply doesn't understand how the Palestinians see the issue. It doesn't matter to them that the building won't take place right now and will give them time to negotiate. The fact that they were issued at all is seen as an affront and an attempt by Israel to pre-judge the final status of Jerusalem. I think Jews obviously have the right to live anywhere in Jerusalem, given the fact that Israel gets billions of dollars a year from the US, it would be nice if Netanyahu showed a little respect to our elected leaders. Also, if there is room for 1600 new housing units for Jews, I think he should be able to allow some for Arabs as well (I know he keeps saying that Arabs are free to buy houses anywhere, but that just isn't true in practice). Is there a law I'm not aware of that says only idiots are allowed to be elected to high office in the world?
This afternoon, instead of tutoring in English, I joined a different class and taught math. Luckily it was just basic algebra so it wasn't that bad, but doing math in Hebrew is still a little weird. It's frustrating when you show a kid how to do a problem, over and over in different ways and he just won't pay attention. I'm a patient person but I think I would go crazy if I did this for a living.
On my way home I stopped off to get my hair cut. I finally found someone who actually listens when I say I only want a trim. Although I guess that could also be due to the fact that my hair was ridiculously long, giving her a little leeway. Also, lots of people are doing Passover cleaning now and someone was getting rid of a dresser. So Boaz helped me carry it home and now I have a real place to keep my clothes. Very exciting.
While that is good news, it means that he simply doesn't understand how the Palestinians see the issue. It doesn't matter to them that the building won't take place right now and will give them time to negotiate. The fact that they were issued at all is seen as an affront and an attempt by Israel to pre-judge the final status of Jerusalem. I think Jews obviously have the right to live anywhere in Jerusalem, given the fact that Israel gets billions of dollars a year from the US, it would be nice if Netanyahu showed a little respect to our elected leaders. Also, if there is room for 1600 new housing units for Jews, I think he should be able to allow some for Arabs as well (I know he keeps saying that Arabs are free to buy houses anywhere, but that just isn't true in practice). Is there a law I'm not aware of that says only idiots are allowed to be elected to high office in the world?
This afternoon, instead of tutoring in English, I joined a different class and taught math. Luckily it was just basic algebra so it wasn't that bad, but doing math in Hebrew is still a little weird. It's frustrating when you show a kid how to do a problem, over and over in different ways and he just won't pay attention. I'm a patient person but I think I would go crazy if I did this for a living.
On my way home I stopped off to get my hair cut. I finally found someone who actually listens when I say I only want a trim. Although I guess that could also be due to the fact that my hair was ridiculously long, giving her a little leeway. Also, lots of people are doing Passover cleaning now and someone was getting rid of a dresser. So Boaz helped me carry it home and now I have a real place to keep my clothes. Very exciting.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Long Day
Today I was the first day that I took the bus that replaced our private vans to school. It's the regular Egged bus, but it picks us up at the village before going through Dimona. So that means instead of taking 35 minutes to get to school, it takes a little over an hour. Not so fun.
This morning Loren and I met with Professor Reli Schechter to talk about our presentation for Conflict Resolution. He taught the Economy class last semester so we thought he would be a good person to talk to about getting started since our presentation is going to be on trade between Israel and the Arab states. He gave us a lot of good information and the names of some other professors to talk to. Good start.
Then we had Palestinian Society class. Today was kind of a background building class. We didn't really discuss Palestinians at all and instead focused on the different sociological ways of examining society and individuals. Interesting stuff although I'm not sure we needed a whole class for it.
Nothing so new was going on in Historiography. After class I went with Loren to the library to get some work done. I sent out a bunch of emails for the conference I'm organizing and I'm finally starting to hear back from a few stragglers I've been chasing after.
When I finally got home tonight, I went with everyone to the Moadon for a village meeting. Putting 40 college students in a room and opening up the floor to comments and complaints is a terrible idea. I know there are important things we all need to discuss, but it needs to be limited to things that are actually important and relevant to everyone.
Time to get ready for Arabic for tomorrow!
This morning Loren and I met with Professor Reli Schechter to talk about our presentation for Conflict Resolution. He taught the Economy class last semester so we thought he would be a good person to talk to about getting started since our presentation is going to be on trade between Israel and the Arab states. He gave us a lot of good information and the names of some other professors to talk to. Good start.
Then we had Palestinian Society class. Today was kind of a background building class. We didn't really discuss Palestinians at all and instead focused on the different sociological ways of examining society and individuals. Interesting stuff although I'm not sure we needed a whole class for it.
Nothing so new was going on in Historiography. After class I went with Loren to the library to get some work done. I sent out a bunch of emails for the conference I'm organizing and I'm finally starting to hear back from a few stragglers I've been chasing after.
When I finally got home tonight, I went with everyone to the Moadon for a village meeting. Putting 40 college students in a room and opening up the floor to comments and complaints is a terrible idea. I know there are important things we all need to discuss, but it needs to be limited to things that are actually important and relevant to everyone.
Time to get ready for Arabic for tomorrow!
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Geography and Avatar
Yesterday I had my Selected Topics in the Geography of the Middle East class. It's focusing almost exclusively on the land of Israel and I think it's headed for being my favorite class. Pretty clear why I think. During our break (it's a 4 hour class) I ran over to the MAPMES office with Loren to register for classes.
These are the classes I'm actually taking this semester:
Selected Topics in the Geography of the Middle East
Palestinian Society
International Conflict Resolution
Studying the Modern Middle East: A Historiographic Review B
Middle Eastern Oil Politics, Economics, and Culture
Translation and Expression in the Arabic Language
I stayed on campus last night with Hannah and finally saw Avatar with her, Samara, Ian and Aaron. It was awesome visually and a really fun movie, but I'm glad it didn't win best picture. The story wasn't new at all (Pocahontas anyone?). The idea of an Avatar, while cool, seems to just be the Matrix with nature replacing machines. Though I do hope this means more movies will start coming out in 3-D, because that was amazing.
Here are some more pictures from Spain:
This is me standing next to the national animal of Spain
This is where we spent most of our time, the bus
Me partying it up with some Israelis
This is what happens when I don't get my hair cut and go someplace windy
Here I am explaining to the director of the Science Museum that saying it's ok to leave Israel off the map since it isn't a "political map" doesn't make it right and wasn't consistent with the rest of the map
Having fun at a hotel
Me and Yezvey trying to find something we can eat on the menu
These are the classes I'm actually taking this semester:
Selected Topics in the Geography of the Middle East
Palestinian Society
International Conflict Resolution
Studying the Modern Middle East: A Historiographic Review B
Middle Eastern Oil Politics, Economics, and Culture
Translation and Expression in the Arabic Language
I stayed on campus last night with Hannah and finally saw Avatar with her, Samara, Ian and Aaron. It was awesome visually and a really fun movie, but I'm glad it didn't win best picture. The story wasn't new at all (Pocahontas anyone?). The idea of an Avatar, while cool, seems to just be the Matrix with nature replacing machines. Though I do hope this means more movies will start coming out in 3-D, because that was amazing.
Here are some more pictures from Spain:
This is me standing next to the national animal of Spain
This is where we spent most of our time, the bus
Me partying it up with some Israelis
This is what happens when I don't get my hair cut and go someplace windy
Here I am explaining to the director of the Science Museum that saying it's ok to leave Israel off the map since it isn't a "political map" doesn't make it right and wasn't consistent with the rest of the map
Having fun at a hotel
Me and Yezvey trying to find something we can eat on the menu
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Sunday
Today was the last day of class shopping. We have a week to check out all the classes before we decide and register. I had International Conflict Resolution. It was really interesting and I think I'm going to take it instead of the Ottoman class. I was thinking about not taking it so I could have Sundays off, but it's a class I'd really like to take and I guess I really should be more concerned about what I'm learning than my schedule. So instead I'll have Tuesday's off to catch up on readings and do more volunteering.
As part of the class we have to make a group presentation on an aspect of the Israeli-Arab conflict, so Yoni, Loren, Andrea and I are examining the trade between Israel and the Arab states. I know what you're thinking, "Matt doing something that has to do with business and economics?" I know. I was surprised too. But I think it'll be interesting and we're planning on interviewing a few professors on camera and making a short documentary. So then it'll be my time to shine. Who cares if I didn't understand a word of what they were saying, at least I can make it look pretty. Go art school!
After some time reading articles for Geography under some palm trees and in the library, it was time to head home. I got my bus card today so now instead of us having our own personal van, we can just take the bus for free. It's pretty cool. I can ride the bus in Dimona, Beer Sheva and in between the two for Free! I plan on taking full advantage of that and lording it over all the other foreign kids. And yes, that is all it takes to be really cool here. You can see why I like it so much.
As part of the class we have to make a group presentation on an aspect of the Israeli-Arab conflict, so Yoni, Loren, Andrea and I are examining the trade between Israel and the Arab states. I know what you're thinking, "Matt doing something that has to do with business and economics?" I know. I was surprised too. But I think it'll be interesting and we're planning on interviewing a few professors on camera and making a short documentary. So then it'll be my time to shine. Who cares if I didn't understand a word of what they were saying, at least I can make it look pretty. Go art school!
After some time reading articles for Geography under some palm trees and in the library, it was time to head home. I got my bus card today so now instead of us having our own personal van, we can just take the bus for free. It's pretty cool. I can ride the bus in Dimona, Beer Sheva and in between the two for Free! I plan on taking full advantage of that and lording it over all the other foreign kids. And yes, that is all it takes to be really cool here. You can see why I like it so much.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Classes
So I was feeling pretty under the weather when I got back from Spain, so I stayed home the past two days, took medicine, slept and tried desperately to stop coughing. I'm not 100% yet but I needed to go to class today.
This afternoon I had my Palestinian Society class which looks like it's going to be really interesting. Very excited for that. Then I went to the office to make sure I'm on track with my classes (I am!). Now I need to run to Historiography but in the meantime, here are some more of Andrea's pictures:
Here's me and Yoni looking pretty badass.
Me and my bus-buddy Erin.
Me and Beeba looking amazing as usual.
Israelis at the Mezquita.
Anglos chilling at the fountain.
I think there was more rain in Spain this week than were was in Israel all last year. Look at this flooding!
This afternoon I had my Palestinian Society class which looks like it's going to be really interesting. Very excited for that. Then I went to the office to make sure I'm on track with my classes (I am!). Now I need to run to Historiography but in the meantime, here are some more of Andrea's pictures:
Here's me and Yoni looking pretty badass.
Me and my bus-buddy Erin.
Me and Beeba looking amazing as usual.
Israelis at the Mezquita.
Anglos chilling at the fountain.
I think there was more rain in Spain this week than were was in Israel all last year. Look at this flooding!
Monday, March 1, 2010
Back from Andalusia
I got back from Spain last night. It was an awesome trip, even though we spent most of the time on the bus traveling from place to place. But all the traveling finally caught up to me and I'm a little sick now. But I'll have to get over it since classes are starting now.
These are the classes I'm probably taking this semester:
Selected Topics in the Geography of the Middle East
Palestinian Society
Ottoman State and Society: Themes in History and Historiography
Studying the Modern Middle East: A Historiographic Review B
Middle Eastern Oil Politics, Economics, and Culture
Translation and Expression in the Arabic Language
Andrea still has my cable to connect my camera to the computer so I can't post my pictures yet. But in the meantime, here are two of her's:
These are the classes I'm probably taking this semester:
Selected Topics in the Geography of the Middle East
Palestinian Society
Ottoman State and Society: Themes in History and Historiography
Studying the Modern Middle East: A Historiographic Review B
Middle Eastern Oil Politics, Economics, and Culture
Translation and Expression in the Arabic Language
Andrea still has my cable to connect my camera to the computer so I can't post my pictures yet. But in the meantime, here are two of her's:
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)