The rolling seas

So Monday wasn't too eventful. I went to work- I'm going to be helping edit the new website (I'll post the link when it's up.) I'm still working on the Implementation Plan. There is so much to be done for it. Very small details, but all the details are extremely important. After work I went back to my apt and we had to clean it a little, and after cleaning Rachel, Eric, and I went to the mall for dinner. After we headed back and then Rachel and I decided to feed this kitten that was outside our apt, who has a broken leg. It's so cute but cries in pain constantly- it's such a sad sight to see. We were then late for a speaker in Israel Advocacy. I didn't think it was that interesting, but others did.

Tuesday I went to work and got a few interesting projects to work on. About 10 years ago, Richard Gere said something about how he would fund an organization that was working towards peace. So now one of my side jobs while I'm here is to try to get into contact with him... if anyone has any suggestions or leads LET ME KNOW! I spent most of the day finding foundations for Windows to apply to this year. I soon will probably start writing some grants. After work I went to meet up with Ari Orenstein. I walked from Windows to the shook near Shenkin street. It was a very nice walk- about 20 min. We then walked through the shook and then started walking to where we were going to be meeting her parents for dinner. We did some shopping on the way and I got 2 dresses. For dinner we went to a place called Japanika, which is really good and not super expensive. After I hailed a cab to Jaffo to meet up with my group at a place called Cafe Jaffo for a concert. After the concert, Amy, Shay, Eric, and I went to the Jaffo port to just look at the water. I sat on the rocks and just watched the waves roll in. It was so peaceful and calm to just stare into the sea. Nice to reflect for a bit, and the view was amazing. To my right was Tel Aviv, and to my left was old Jaffo. After we went to hang out with Shay's cousin for a bit.

Today I got to sleep in before work which was fabulous. At work I worked mainly on the implementation plan, which is hopefully almost completed. I also tried called the British Embassy in Jordan because they needed some visa stuff straightened out for the Palestinians for their trip to Scotland, but that didn't work because they dont talk to people about Visas over the phone. After work I just came home to relax. We have a program with the scouts and then I may or may not be doing stuff afterwords. Tomorrow we are going to Hebron and we have to leave at 7:15 am.

This weekend I will be in Jerusalem so I will post another blog Sunday evening most likely.

lots of soccer... and a dirt road

This past weekend was pretty relaxing. Friday, after going to the beach- Marisa, Rachel, and I went to Tel Aviv. We did some laundry at the Davis's apt, and then went to the port for dinner. The Chile v Spain game was on and so we watched it while we were there. The manager came over to us at one point and asked where we were from, we said the states we were from and he was like perfect. We were a little confused but then he asked us to help someone that needed to figure out how to call the states. A few minutes after I went over to help, he came over with passion fruit smoothies for our help. After dinner we walked back to the Davis's apt before Marisa and I went to meet Dana and Ashleigh at a party in a farm like thing. It was pretty fun- though the taxi driver wouldnt drive on the dirt road and made us walk. It was supposed to be a 10 min walk... but about half way we got picked up by a car to drive us the rest of the way. At the party there was a guy that was playing Israeli folk songs... I didn't recognize most of them, but the ones that I did recognize I loved hearing- I felt like I was back at camp. It was very much like song session at Chi on Friday nights. People were dancing and singing along to the music.

Saturday, we spent most of the day at the beach- where I ran into some guy from Minnesota/Emtza region that were on Muss, who all know Sally. Since I was so burnt from being at the beach for a few hours Friday I chilled under an umbrella the whole time- and slept most of the time we were at the beach, it was extremely relaxing. After we went back to the Davis's apt and chilled napped- after Shabbat was over we went to get Sushi take out and went back to watch the USA v Ghana game. After we went back to Bat Yam and I skyped with my parents and then went to sleep.

I didnt need to be at work until 11 today so I was able to sleep in a little. I spent most of the day finishing the implementation plan and helping out with some other things as well- the implementation plan is so tedious. I will also be helping out the website sometime soon. Didn't do anything special the rest of today, just relaxed... I haven't been feeling the best so I'm trying to take it easy.

There are so many homeless cats in Israel. I will be walking to the bus or to the store or wherever and there will be many cats, meowing for my attention. It is heartbreaking to see these hungry and homeless cats. I wish Israel was taking more action to help end this. It makes me miss my cats at home so much.

Also after this summer I don't think I'll need to watch soccer EVER again.

98 degrees and rising

Actually not- thankfully. The temperature has gotten back into the 80s, but the heat was blisteringly hot for a few days. Prior to going to Herzliya, we cooked dinner for some of the other people on our trip. Going to Herzliya was a lot of fun, Argentina won! Wednesday I went to work and then went back to my apartment to relax. That night we had people went bowling- an activity that the Scouts set up for us. After bowling, some of the people on my trip went into Tel Aviv to go hang out. Thursday we spent the day in Tel Aviv-Yaffo doing a musical tour of the area. We started off watching this ballet/belly dancer, then went to this art gallery, and then went to listen to this poet talk. They told us about this really cool place to watch indie music- i'm currently blanking on the name but hopefully I'll be able to go watch some shows. After I went to dinner with Marisa and then some girls from the Jerusalem group. A place called King George's. It was so tasty and extremely not expensive as well. After that we went to watch this band perform; since it was in Hebrew I didn't understand anything but it was still fun to watch. Today Adam, Loni, Rachel, and I are going to the beach in Bat Yam and then heading to Tel Aviv for the night.

Where the East meets the West

Israel is a country that is so unique. While it is a first world country it still has many qualities of a 3rd world country. There are occasionally carts being pulled by horses and often peddler carts. The architecture is very old fashioned looking. On my bus route to and from work even though it is only 30 min, the view changes often. My ride starts in Bat Yam, a lower-middle class suburb of Tel Aviv. The apartments look relatively disheveled, and the city isn't very vibrant looking. Then my ride takes me to Jaffo, the signs start having Arab in them as well and the buildings start having more of the stoney look. More of what you see in Arab countries, and then I get to Tel Aviv, there are so many stores for high end shopping, vibrant and beautiful hotels, and just an atmosphere of amazingness. Though with all the metropolitianness of Tel Aviv, there are still the disheveled apartments in most parts of the city. On my ride in I see extremely secular people, religious people, and people in between. The culture here is so different from the states, I am having difficulty articulating it.

I am extremely happy that I am volunteering during the heat of the day in air conditioning. It has been so hot here lately- it got to around 100 if not more in Bat Yam. One of the things that I am helping with at the moment at my internship is going over the implementation plan that is going to be sent to USAID. Windows has so much to do now that they got the grant, but it is going to help their organization a huge deal. Another thing that I am going to helping them with is trying to start interactions with organization in the States. One way I will be doing that is trying to find groups (youth groups, hillels, summer camps, peace organizations) that would be interested in watching a documentary that has Windows featured in it. If you are interested in watching some excepts from the organization here is a youtube clip
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SiZ7vlRf8aI.

also here is a youtube clip that is a little about Windows in general
http://www.youtube.com/user/windowsforpeace#p/a/u/0/zsxLrfzyAIo

So yesterday after work, I went back to Bat Yam and relaxed for a bit. Then we had a meeting with one of the vice director of Young Judaea. After we had a program with Michal Ben Dori, where we discussed Israeli music throughout the ages. It was extremely interesting to see how the music has changed so much throughout the years. After about 10 of us went to the beach to relax for a bit. It was so hot and humid yesterday- the cars, chairs... everything had condensation on it. It was sorta like the opposite of the frost we get at home. Today I am volunteering for the day and then heading back. I took a different bus route today and surprisingly it worked. Tonight most of us are going to Herzliya to watch the soccer game.

First Day at Windows

So today was my first day at Windows for Peace. I though I was going to be late for my first day because the bus was taking forever to show up but thankfully it finally arrived. I knew where to get off which was awesome and got there around 10. When I got there though the person I was supposed to meet wasn't there. Instead the secretary was, and she doesn't speak much English. So we had some issues communicating and she thought the person I was supposed to be meeting with wasn't even going to show up today. So I was pretty confused about all of this- eventually she did show up though. We started talking about what I will be doing while I am there. One of the things that I am going to be doing is working to help them expand the awareness of their organization to the states, so with the little knowledge I had with the Jewish organizations from Minnesota and some from out east I started to compile a list. Donations is a huge thing that Windows needs and so we are also trying to find ways to get more donors. They just got a huge grant from USAID which is extremely exciting for them. There is a chance that I will actually get to go sit in on a meeting with them. Again if you want to see what organization I'm interning with it is www.win-peace.org. I will be working about 6 hours a day 4 days a week for 6 or 7 weeks. If you know of any groups that may be interested in watching a documentary about Windows or getting on their mailing list please let me know! Windows is a great organization working to promote peace in Israel and the West Bank through the youth.

After work I headed back to Bat Yam. The bus ride is between 30-40 min depending on traffic and amount of stops. I got home and Skyped with my parents and then took a nap. After that I made dinner with Shir and Shira, two of my apartment mates and then we all went over to Joel, Eric, and Jordan's apt to hang out. After many of us having a very exhausting weekend, it was nice to just relax tonight after our first day of our volunteer placements/internships.

Beach, buses, and Brenner

So today was Shabbat meaning that most things were closed. I got 12 hours of sleep which was amazing. Rachel Davis, her Aunt Jill, Marissa, and I walked to the beach and relaxed there for a few hours. Rachel had to get back to Tel Aviv for dinner, so we left the beach after a few hours and her and Jill headed back to Tel Aviv. Marissa and Ashleigh came over and we cooked dinner. After I headed to Tel Aviv to meet Ari Orenstein and Rachel for dessert. I had to take 2 buses to get there, and again had an adventure in the process. This whole language barrier is really difficult. On the bus the driver spoke Moroccan Arabic and French because he was from Algeria- so no English. The ladies sitting in front of me were able to help, but there English wasn't the best. I get so flustered when I am trying to speak and mess up tenses. Once I finally got to the port, I had to find Max Brenner's- and I went the wrong way. Eventually I found my way to Max Brenner's and met up with Ari and Rachel. We got a really delicious chocolate covered waffles thing. We ate it in less than 4 minutes. After Rachel and I headed back to Bat Yam; volunteering starts tomorrow and we both spent a lot of time in the sun today.

לילא תוב

First Friday

Alright well about pictures from the hike, I sorta forgot to take any... it was so hot and tiring I was focusing on not getting too dehydrated more than taking pictures of the scenery. Friday I got 10 hours of sleep, which was absolutely amazing; so needed. Rachel and I went into Tel Aviv to spend the afternoon at the beach with Rachel's family who had just arrived in Israel that morning. The beach was really nice but so hot out. I got stung by my first jelly fish though it didn't hurt that badly. After the beach we went to watch the US v Slovenia game at a place called Mike's Place an American Bar- Marissa joined us as well to watch. It was strange hearing so much English being spoken. After the game we went to the port to grab dinner; while at dinner I saw the Sandersons, who had just arrived from Minnesota. After dinner we got ice cream and then went back the the Davis's apt got the stuff from home and then took a cab back to Bat Yam.

On another note... go help Nechama with tornado clean up if you are in the Minnesota area- the tornadoes have caused a lot of destruction and those towns need a lot of help to start to rebuild!

Hikes in the North

So June 16th-17th, I was in the North with my group and the Jerusalem Amirim group. We spent two days hiking and doing other activities. Wednesday we got up every early and drove to the North where we did a short hike on Mt. Meiron. After that we went to get lunch, and then went to an observation point called Misgav Am. It is a place that is right next to the Syrian border- probably about a mile away. It was so interesting to see the border so close to us. Apparently during the second intifada, people would watch the bombing from the observation point. After that we went to this soup place for dinner- it was extremely good, hummus, stew, salad, shakshook (sp?), and chai tea for after dinner. We then went to sade Golan for the night. We played some games that the Israeli scouts set up for us and then we just hung out. I actually got somewhat a good amount of sleep that night which was great.

June 17th- we actually got to sleep in a little, not waking up til 740 am. We ate breakfast and then headed for the hike. It was a at Zavitan stream. It was a four hour hike, and was pretty steep. There were ups and downs and rocks we had to climb. I kept slipping and falling, but it was still a good hike. Two thirds of the way through there was a natural pool that we got to swim in. It felt so amazing to be in the water, the weather was so incredibly hot out. The terrain in the area was so pretty and so sporadic. Over the course of the hike there was rocky, bamboo, waterfall, dry grass, cactus, trees with pink flowers on them... over the course of a few miles so much difference. After the hike we went to get lunch and then went to the Kineret to go swimming. Again the water was so refreshing to be in. There were para-sailors that we got to watch and some of them just got so high up in the air. After staying at the beach for about 2 hours we headed back to Bat Yam. Most of us fell asleep on the way back. The trip up North was a lot of fun and my group bonded a lot, plus we got to meet the Jerusalem group- more people to hang out with and places to stay now when in Jerusalem.

Not sure exactly what I'm doing this weekend. Probably hanging out around Bat Yam and Tel Aviv, my first day of volunteering is Sunday.

More updates to come in a few days.

First few days

So I arrived in Israel around 4:30 pm Israel time on the 14th. Almost all of my trip was already at the apartments in Bat Yam, so Rachel Davis and I were provided a taxi to get to Bat Yam. I am living in an apartment with 5 other girls- 2 of which are Israeli Scouts. After arrival and unpacking we all went to our meeting spot to meet each other and learn the ground rules.

Today (June 15th), I rode the bus by myself for the first time. We were all supposed to find the place we are going to be volunteering so Sunday won't be as hectic. It took 45 min for me to get from Bat Yam to Tel Aviv by bus. I didn't know where to get off and the bus driver wasnt the nicest about it. When I got off, I didn't know where I was or were to go. I walked in both directions because there wasn't a street sign for the place I was supposed to turn. I eventually asked a sales women and she told me where to go. I felt very much like I was in New England- there are very few street signs, so if I didn't know where I was going, I didn't belong. And I felt like I didn't belong there- I was so lost. So I ended up finding the location of where I was working and then decided to explore a little. I got some chicken shwarma- my first of many for the summer and walked around a little. There are many shops near where I will be working, and I think I am about a 15 min walk from Shenken Street. After my trip I was exhausted, and was so happy to get back to my apartment and took a short nap. We then all met for some more ice breakers, and then got a tour of Bat Yam so we could see some of the places that we will need to go during our stay. Hopefully I am able to sleep tonight- I got only 3 hours of sleep last night, so I am exhausted. Tomorrow we're going to the North for 2 days so I will update this more when I'm back.

Israel so soon

Hey all-
So I leave this upcoming Sunday for Israel and will be there til Aug 5th. I'm going to try to have this blog updated pretty regularly so you guys know what's going on while I'm over seas. I will have regular internet access so I can receive e-mail while I'm gone as well.

A little bit about the trip I am going on. The program is called Amirim and it is for 18-27 year olds. While there I will be volunteering 4 days a week for 4-5 hours each day. I am volunteering for an organization called Windows for Peace: http://www.win-peace.org/home.html, and I will be hopefully helping with some fund-raising efforts and other office work type stuff. During the rest of the day/week I will be exploring Israel, hopefully studying at ulpan (Hebrew class), and just having enjoying all that Israel has to offer

Hope everyone is having a good summer and I'll update this when I get to Israel.