The balagan subsides...so I thought mixed with lessons about understanding

WARNING: this entry gets pretty political.

I got back from Efrat, rested and relaxed from Shabbat thinking that the balagan of mine was behind me, but I was wrong. So, Monday I went to Beit Shemesh again for my internship after I talked with someone who worked at the Youth Outreach Center who told me that the two Americans that I wanted to work with to do a drama workshop were teaching dance and on a different day, so that didn't work out. So, she told me to call someone who worked at the scholastic assistance center ( a place where I would tutor English to teenagers) who told me to come to Beit Shemesh at 4, we were talking half in Hebrew and half in English again but we set a date and place etc, so that worked out.

I get there on Monday and a guy, Avishay, from the center picks me up in the center of town and walks me over with two girls who were laughing at me. He tells me about what the do and says that 2 girls come in and teach dance so...this was the youth outreach center not the scholastic assistance center. so, I figured maybe I'll try the drama thing anyway but Avishay discouraged me and said even the English-speaking girls who teach dance have trouble controlling the class with help of translators. So, I got there and met the kids who asked me "מי אתה?" "Who are you?" They seemed nice, but were also a bit wild. So, I told Avishay that this was the wrong place and so I left there, but it was nice meeting the kids anyway, it was just that I don't see what I could do there since the kids barely spoke English.

So, then I talked with Michelle from the office who arranged for me to go to Beit Shemesh at the Scholastic Assistance Centers on Wednesdays. So, that was set (so I thought)

That Thursday night I went out to eat with a bunch of friends at the Burger Bar near the dorms. Then for Shabbat, Ryan and I went to visit my cousins Avraham & Rivka and their family on Kibbutz Ein Tzurim. There we met the two of them and one of their sons, his wife, and two kids. It was a really nice time. We went to services and then had dinner while it was raining, which is great for Israel. We talked in Hebrew a bit with them, which was great for practice. The next day we had lunch and took a walk around the Kibbutz with Meir, who showed us the cows and a lookout point where you could see a lot of Israel. In the afternoon we relaxed, schmoozed and had the third meal, went to Maariv (evening Prayer) and went home.

It's always interesting for me to see the different cousins and the different places they live. From the quiet settlement of Efrat, to the mystical city of Tzfat, Nitzan, the small town of evacuees from Gush Katif (Gaza), and Kibbutz Ein Tzurim I've gotten to see a lot of Israel and It's different cultures and I've been happy to share this with my friends Ryan & Eric as well.

So, I got back to Jerusalem and the good times continued. On Tuesday, I went on a field trip with my conflict resolution class. We walked down a hill to Lifta, an old Arab town that was fled during the 48 war. This was our first stop in seeing the two different narratives of the conflict. While there we met someone who used to live there who was giving a tour to anti-war activists. He was telling his story about how he left and hopes for one day were we all can live together in peace. The next stop was a synagogue where we heard from a man who lived in a village that was mixed Jewish-Arab and he told us that they used to live in peace and then things started to get bad and people started calling each other names and things got out of hand. I could see in his face that he longed for the times when the two sides lived together. After this we went to the arab village of Abu Ghosh, where we had the best hummus ever and then had some knafe, a sweet cheese dessert. After that we went to a war veterans cemetery from the war of 48. There we talked about the young men who sacrificed their lives for the Jewish state. Afterwards we we climbed a tower where we could see almost all of Israel (without the clouds). One could see how small the area that people are fighting over actually is. We then went back to class and heard from a Palestinian professor from Berzeit University in the West Bank tell us the "Palestinian Narrative"

Let me just say, I did not agree with anything this guy said. Especially the parts where he said Jews from the diaspora aren't Jews, we all converted, and that the victims of the Holocaust should have revolted like Palestinians do (a la blowing up German cafes). Nobody in my class liked him anyway... after this I started to wonder if this is why there isn't peace. When people don't understand who other groups are conflicts arise. so... the lesson I learned from this day is that in order for a conflict to be solved each side must understand the other side of the conflict and not make up crazy stories to deligitimize the other. In other words...Coexistence through understanding!!

Moving on...The next day i was supposed to go to Beit Shemesh but I was sick with an eye infection so I went to a walk in clinic instead. I was in and out of there very quickly and didn't have to pay anything. :) Hint, hint America.

So then on Thursday night...Alma invited Eric and I to hang out with her "crazy christian friends from Rothberg." So I did...and it turned out to be a missionary meeting from Alma and Jenny's church where they handed out pamphlets about Christianity. The pastor asked me, "are you Jewish like me?" and I said "I'm Jewish- Jewish" he then said "I'm Jewish-Jewish-Jewish"

So, then I got in a religious debate with my ex-roommate Jenny and I ended it with "It's always nice to here other people's opinions on life." I was looking back to my conflict class where I learned that understanding others is good for the world and when you understand other cultures, the world would be a better place since there wouldn't be xenophobia (fear of others).

The next day Ryan, Eric, and I took a trip to the Old city. We walked into a couple churches after walking around the old city walls and climbed up the mount of olives. The mount of Olives has a large cemetery there since it is believed that the Mashiach will descend from the Mount of Olives into the Old City as the dead will rise to enter the messianic age. So, it was interesting to see all of this since it was yet again another place I always heard about but had never seen.

When we got to the top I could see all of Jerusalem. I saw the Old city and Dome of the Rock in front of me and where I live off to the side. It was interesting to see how close I live to so much history! I also kept hoping that one day the Mashiach will come down this hill... Tikkun Olam!

Anyway, had a relaxing shabbat in the Kfar with the roommies. On Sunday, I went to church with Ryan where he played guitar. It was an interesting experience, I've never actually been to a church on Sunday morning. Israel has been full of surprises!

Then that week I ended up calling the person from Beit Shemesh who said that she never heard from Michelle who told me that I should go there on Wednesdays. So, I talked to Michelle and she said that it would be best, according to the people from the field that I go to another school. I basically decided not to go ahead with it and work from the office instead...It's already December. So, finally everything was settled.

On Thursday, we all celebrated thanksgiving at a Hillel dinner. They had turkey and cranberry sauce and all kinds of food mixed with colorful women on stilts who asked me to blow bubbles. Never really understood that. Afterwards there was a concert with an Israeli band Hatikva 6.

Then for Shabbat I had people over for a pot luck dinner which was followed by a reading of my play from senior year Advanced Acting which I happened to have with me here. It was a fun night.

This week, Started working in the office at my internship. Eric and I had Ryan, John, and Kathryne over for shabbat dinner where we ate and schmoozed for a while.

So, here we are. Next week is CHANUKAH!!!.. a bunch of us are going on an organized trip to the Negev and also in my Political Communication class we're going to Tel Aviv!

.לילה טוב Good night!