The Last Week

Here we are in our final week of the Yahel Social Change Program. This year has been at times emotionally difficult and incredibly rewarding.

Our group project, Desta Fest, was an incredible success. I led the crafts booth, and I learned about traditional Ethiopian clay crafts, basket weaving, mancala, and card games. At my booth, the kids got to play with clay. While they didn't make the very intricate clay Kessim, like the ones below, they still got a bit dirty and had a great time. My booth was definitely popular! We had so many people come the fair, both young and old, from Shapira, and not from Shapira (even a Birthright group stopped by)! It was by far a success and in our debrief, I said that I felt pride about how well it turned out.


This last weekend, we went north to spend our final Shabbat together. At the beginning of the year, we spent our first Shabbat at Hof Dor, and this time, we also spent hours at the beach. We had so much great food, including a three course watermelon-themed Shabbat dinner on Friday night.

This week, we are finishing our placements and cleaning the house. I had my last day at school today, and I'll be saying goodbye to teenage girl I've been tutoring all year as well.

Like I mentioned in my last post, I am so grateful that I had this experience, and I'm so glad I'm coming back at the end of July. This year has been incredible, despite AND because of its ups and downs, and I wouldn't change it for the world. I don't feel finished with Israel yet. I have much more to learn, and I'm looking forward to learning at Pardes, living in Jerusalem, and finding a new community in which I can further grow and explore.

Don't worry! I'll still be blogging! There may be a gap until my next post, but rest assured, I won't forget to keep you updated on my life in Jerusalem.

1.5 Weeks to Go

As our program winds down, we've been talking a lot about saying goodbye and next steps, and have done quite a bit of reflecting on the year.

I'm so grateful I have had this opportunity to come to Gedera and be a part of the Yahel Social Change Program. I have spent these last 9 months growing professionally and personally, and I'm glad to say that it has been an incredibly educational yet rewarding experience. Obviously, nothing is perfectly stress-free, but I have highlighted the positives and figured out how I've changed in a good way during the course of living here.

We are putting on the Desta Fest tomorrow, a street festival that we have been planning and working on for the last 9 months - starting with a needs assessment and moving into implementation. I think it will be great, and we're expecting people both from our own community and from all over Israel, including MASA representatives.

I think as time passes after leaving Gedera, I will be more aware of how this experience has affected me and in what ways I have changed and grown.

After this program is over, I'm headed back to the US for a few weeks. Then I'm returning to Israel to move to Jerusalem and study at the Pardes Institute for Jewish Studies. where I will continue to learn about Judaism and social justice. Looking forward to it!

10 Best Things About Israel

1. People can be so warm and inviting. I can always have a place for Shabbat dinner if I need one.

2. Shabbat. It is an experience here unlike anywhere else. The beautiful quiet when no cars are around. You can walk in the street. You connect with people on a different level because there are no distractions.

3. I love using YALLA as a way to say, "Ok, I'm really leaving now," instead of the thousand goodbyes we have in the States.

4. I love the number of playgrounds. Double points for covers in the summer so you can stay in the shade and still enjoy being on a swing.

5. That you learn about Judaism without even trying.

6. Jerusalem. What else can I say? You have the religious and secular, history, culture, and politics all in one.

7. You can be at the beach and in the mountains in the same day. Everything is only a few hours' drive.

8. Making fun of Israeli fashion. I'm not sure who came up with the fashion here, but I have tons of fun trying to understand who decided that t-shirts tucked into leggings is a good fashion decision.

9. How small this country is. Everyone seems to know everyone. I'm sure if you are American, you've heard of the Six Degrees of Separation game. In Israel, it's more like 2. I'm not kidding. I met someone who knows someone who knows Director of the Jewish Agency Natan Sharansky (who I have also seen speak twice I think).

10. The music. You hear such a wide variety of music all the time. American music is about 10 years behind here, so I hear songs that I haven't heard in forever. You also get to hear a lot of Mizrachi music that doesn't bother me anymore. Also, in public places when the radio is playing, it is not uncommon to hear cuss words. I've learned about a couple of great Israeli musicians who blend a lot of types of music together, and it comes together very nicely!

Only in Israel

1. I'm always pleasantly surprised when I find toilet paper and soap in public bathrooms because many usually lack these things.

2. The buses are NEVER on time in this country. You can guarantee that if you come late for the bus, you've missed it, but if you arrive early, you have to wait an extra 10 minutes for the bus to come.

3. It's incredibly easy to point out the Americans here. It's even easier to spot the Taglit/Birthright groups.

4. You will receive someone's advice and opinions when you don't ask for any.

5. Everyone I meet tells me I should make aliyah. There's not an understanding of why Jews would want to live outside of Israel.

6. Offers to make a shidduch (match for marriage). When I first got here, every third person I met would offer to make a shidduch for me.

7. Reading English transliterated into Hebrew. It is incredibly difficult to read these words. Street signs in English are never standardized. On one corner, the street name is Eedelson and on the other corner, it is spelled Idelson. Also, misspelled English words in public places and on products are a frequent sight. I can point to a dozen examples. This is crazy, since there are so many English speakers. Here are a few examples:


8. Blunt racism. I think this happens because Israelis are more forward than Americans. I've heard some comments that make me incredibly uncomfortable, but there's only so much I can say as an American living here. If my kids at school say things, I address it (both racist and homophobic speech).

9. Lack of customer service. In restaurants. On the phone. In stores. Related is the rudeness. Israelis are sabras - a fruit that is soft on the inside but very prickly on the outside. You have to make an effort to try to get to know someone.

10. LGBT invisibility. It took me about 5 months to meet LGBT folks, and after that, I didn't meet or see any other LGBT folks until March.