National Community Service Award

This past week I received a scholarship and award in recognition of the community service I did this year at Beit Noam. The community service was under the auspices of the Office of Immigrant Absorption and the Student Authority. The government provides an academic scholarship to all new immigrants, and in return asks for 120 hours of volunteer service. I, along with 49 other immigrants, was chosen from among over 1,000 students who participated in this program to receive the award. On Tuesday there was a ceremony. At first I wasn't really sure how I felt about the whole thing and I wasn't really sure what it all meant. I was pleasantly surprised to realize that it is a big deal. I didn't realize how few people were chosen to be recognized for their work. In addition, I didn't realize how emotional and proud I would feel being there with my immigrant peers, all of us working hard toward successful absorption here, and all of us giving so much to the country we want so badly to be a part of. I was the only American chosen, and that made me very proud on the one hand. On the other it made me a bit sad to see that there were many countries well represented (including Ethiopia and many South America countries) and that no other Americans participated in the program to a level that deserved national recognition. I wish I would hear of more Americans like me enjoy their community service and feel that it really changed them, like mine changed me.

David, Aunt Marilyn, and Cousin Lia came with me to the ceremony. It was really nice to be able to share with them, and I know I made them very proud. It is such a great feeling to be recognized for something that I loved anyway. I took a few pictures, but haven't had the chance to upload them to the computer yet. Hopefully some time in the next month in between the digs and tests I'll put some up.

Digging Week One

I just got back home from my first week of digs for the summer. I was at Tel E'ton and had a great time. It was the last week of the digging season for this Tel, and even though it's usually a really stressful time I really enjoyed myself. The whole waking up at 4am and then working a more than full day in the sun on little sleep and sometimes only marginal food thing is pretty tough, but considering I'll be spending a total of four weeks on digs in various capacities I tried to make sure I mostly enjoyed. It was physically challenging and I decided to treat the work like a free gym membership for the month. Hopefully by the end of this month I'll be in amazing shape!
This was a really great week. The atmosphere was fun and really enjoyable despite the hard work.
Next week I move to Tel Safi which is a whole different type of beast. It should also be a great experience... Hopefully I'll have the energy next week to give another update!
Shabbat Shalom

Gone Digging

Ok. In a few minutes I'm off to dig for ancient things for the next month! I'll be spending one week at Tel Eiton, where I dug last year, and 3 weeks at Tel Es Safi (Gath). One of the weeks at Safi I'll be participating in a Weitzmann Institute Archaeological Field School and I'm really excited. I took a course this year on Archaeological Sciences and this is the optional field experience continuation of the class. We get to do fun things in the lab and help the archaeologists answer burning questions about the chemical makeup of finds in real time out in the field. We can even determine at what temperature pottery was originally fired in about 5 minutes!!
For more information on the projects, check out the Safi blog : gath.wordpress.com
i'm not sure that Tel Eiton has a blog yet (at least not in english) but you can find information on the Bar Ilan website : lisa.biu.ac.il

Happy 4th of July and Happy Summer!

PARIS

Two weeks ago David and I took a very very much needed vacation to Paris. It was our first real vacation since we got married (sorry mom and dad, coming to visit you is nice, but its not vacation!) and we were very excited. We went for 5 days and had an amazing time.
The weather was a bit chilly, but we got to see all of the sites and really enjoyed being together.
I am now in finals mode- I just got out of my third in the last week. It has been really really intense and highlighted how important the time with David was.
Next week I start an entire month of archaeological digs. That should also be intense, but hopefully a lot of fun and educational too!
Here are some pictures from our trip:

O How I Hate Beni Brak

This is the first time since I've been in Israel that my experience GETTING TO a bureaucratic office has been more unpleasant than my time spent in said office.

This morning I walked to the Interior Ministry Branch in Beni Brak to get my first Israeli Passport (I had a legal travel document that was only valid in Israel.) All told, it took me only an hour, but the walk through Bnei Brak is just so unpleasant.

I can't stand Charedim and am completely disgusted by their way of life. The streets are filled with garbage and it reeks everywhere. I almost got hit by cars at least 5 times because they all drive as if they don't value human life. And to top it all off, they are rude. When I crossed the bridge over the highway that separates Givat Shmuel from Beni Brak I took a huge deep breath of the "clean" air and felt so relieved to be home!

On the other hand, my experience at the Interior Ministry was really really refreshing (ironic as that is). I didn't even have time to fill out the passport request form when it was my turn at the counter. The lady was really really nice and helpful and I was finished within 7 minutes. Unlike in the American system, I will have my passport within a week (probably sooner). Definitely a mixed up way to start the day!

יום שחרור ירושלים (Jerusalem Liberation Day)

Today is Yom Yerushalayim- the day that commemorates Israel recapturing Jerusalem during the Six Day War in 1967. In past years I went to Jerusalem to attend parties and celebrations in the streets and to walk to the Kotel with thousands of others dancing through the blocked off streets towards the Old City. This year I stayed home in Givat Shmuel, but it was still very special.

Last night (the Jewish date starts the night before, so it was also Jerusalem Day last night) David and I went to a wedding. One of David's friends from the army got married. During the part of the ceremony where the groom breaks the glass in commemoration of the destruction of the temple I was particularly touched: Here we were commemorating Jerusalem's destruction and ON the day that Jerusalem was liberated, a new couple is being joined into the community of Israel. It was truly beautiful and a nice way to commemorate the day.

Today was the Brit Milah for my friend Shira's baby. She is my first really really close friend to have a baby so it was especially exciting for me. In addition to being nice to be there with her and her husband, they made it extra special with the name they chose for their son. They called him Yishai, in Hebrew ישי. In addition to being a nice name, the letters form an acronym that stands for יום שחרור ירושלים which literally means Jerusalem Liberation Day (today). It was so beautiful how they were able to add such meaning to their son's name.

Israel as an Outsider

Last week I was a counselor on Ramaz's 8th Grade Israel Trip. (Ramaz is a religious day-school from Manhattan). I spent a week traveling with the kids and their teachers ALL OVER Israel. It was an incredibly exciting, exhausting, fun, crazy, hard, and interesting week. I think the most interesting part, for me at least, was getting to experience Israel once again through the eyes of outsiders.

My favorite parts of the trip were the bus rides. I would sit with the kids and just look out the window with them and gush about how much I loved the country. It made me feel so good to explain to them about the places we were going and the things they saw and to give it a personal touch.

It was pretty weird to be with a bus full of people who viewed Israel as a place where they frequently vacation, but not as home. I wonder what kind of connection they feel they have to this place. I tried to get a sense while they were here, but I'm still not sure. I don't know what its like anymore to not feel that everything I see is "mine", I wonder if they feel a similar sense of possession even if they don't live here...

These kids were 8th graders and the focus of the trip was "fun connection to Israel" rather than an educational tour, so I wondered how much they really took away from the trip. When, during the summary activity the night before they left, one of the kids said that even though he had been here many times before he had never realized just how beautiful Israel is. Even if he took nothing else from the trip, other than a great time with his friends. I feel like something has been accomplished: another person in this world recognizes Israel's beauty. If even one of those kids moves here one day, or dedicates their life to the support and betterment of the State of Israel then my time with them has been a success.