First Education Day in the Negev!

This week we had our first education day that OTZMA sets up for us.  We were going to spend the day learning about the Negev. We left Ashkelon at 7am and drove to our first stop in Be'er Sheva.  One of Israels major universities is located in Be'er Sheva it was put there to attract more Israelis to this city in the desert. We went to visit one of the more needy neighborhoods. A group of 30 Israelis after the army decided that they all wanted to live together in a kibbutz style after the army but instead of living on a kibbutz they created what is called a Kehillat.  Of of the 30 members live in the same apartment together and share meals together through out the week.  They chose this area in Be'er Sheva to help the community that was living there.  The participate in different kind of social action in the neighborhood while do their own studies and jobs.  One of the big projects this group invested in was the building of a cafe.  They hire teens from the neighborhood to give them a place to go after school and make some money.  They raised the money to build the cafe and the plan is to allow the staff of kids from the neighborhood to take over the running of the cafe some day.

Kids Waiting for Us at school

Our next stop of the day was to a school in Segev Shalom Bedouin Village.  When we arrived all of the kids were outside and really excited to see us.  They all stood on either side of us as we walked into the building it was like we were putting on a parade for them. We went inside and talked to the principal of the school about what they educate the students on and the culture of the Bedouins.  The Bedouins are a muslim society they live in tents that are much more long term then they used to be.  In the school they teach about the religion and the culture of the people.  The children are taught three languages in school Arabic, Hebrew and English.  These kids live in underdeveloped part of Israel, the land is not taken care of properly and can be quite a difficult place for them to live.  The Bedouins are considered Israeli citizens the males serve in the army.  These communities are living in the desert and are very secluded from major society this doesn't allow for money to come into the community.  It is difficult for the men to find jobs and they must travel to Be'er Sheva for any possibility of making a decent amount of money.  The principal also told us a few stories about the beliefs of the Bedouins and the transitions that they have made to keep up with an always changing technological society around them. 

Whit and I on the playground

We then stopped for a quick picnic in the town of Yerucham.  Two of the participants of OTZMA will be living there starting at the beginning of November.  We stopped at a playground that of course none of us could resist going to.  It was a chance for us to stretch our legs in between stops and we definitely made the most of it.  I would say most of the us were running all over the playground like a bunch of elementary school students!
After lunch we went to David Ben-Gurion's desert home.  There we disucssed his accomplishments in the country of Israel.  On the tour we were also informed that Ben- Gurion had a special intrest in the Negev. He knew that the desert encompassed most of the countries land and that it was extremely important that it was settled.  He spent a great deal of time living in the Negev and shining a positive light on living there.  It was written in his will that the house become a museum. It was really interesting to walk through it was a big time warp with separate bedrooms for him and his wife.

Goats being milked

Sunset in the Negev

Our last stop of the day was at a goat farm.  A family started the farm about 7 years ago.  The family started with 50 goats and now it is a booming farm.  They make their own goat cheese.  They told us a little bit about the farm and got to see them milk the goats.  We got to interact with goats and walk around the farm a bit.  The sun was setting as we walked around the farm and being in the desert it was so beautiful. The best part was that we got to taste the goat cheese!!! It was delicious and it tasted even better knowing that it was made right there.  We got to try three different kinds!
After that we got back on the bus to head back to Ashkelon.  The rest of my week consisted of Hebrew and volunteering.  
We had a super fun weekend in Ashkelon and I am headed off to my next education day tomorrow!

Sukkot break and My first trip to Tel Aviv!!

I think that it is interesting that I am given a vacation from the program that has felt like its a constant vacation.  My first few days of vacation I went with my roomate Whitney to visit her host family in Emek Hefer, which is a kibbutz close to Netanya.  It was a relaxing two days.  Our first night there the kids on the kibbutz were putting on a show for sukkot.  We went with the family to watch the show it was really cute, but unfortunately I was confused most of the time since the show was completely in Hebrew! Her family took us to the beach and it was beautiful! It was a very hot day so we didn't stay that long but it was nice to go for a swim.

Whitney and I in Eilat

We returned from Emek Hefer and had a few days before we were leaving to go to Eilat.  We just hung out in Ashquelon went to the beach and just spent more time relaxing.

On Monday the ten of us going to Eilat piled into a taxi and headed south.  The ride took about four hours for us to get down there.  We got two hotel rooms for the ten of us so we had to sneak two people in. Our hotel was a five minute walk to the beach! I had never been to Eilat and the scenery of all the mountains looked fake like a movie set! We took a walk around the area but it was so hot that a few of us decided to walk back to the hotel and take a dip.  That night we got our first taste of Eilat night life and it was a lot of fun.  On our third day in Eliat me and three other people on the trip walked down to the beach and decided to take part in some water activities.  We spent the afternoon jet skiing, tubing and paddle boating.  The hole day was a blast!
After a nice vacation it was time to get serious with Hebrew.  We had a full week of Hebrew classes and by Thursday I wasn't sure if my brain could take in any more Hebrew! We learn so much in each class that it is vital to study in the evenings.  On Tuesday I went to my first day of volunteering.  For my volunteering in Ashkelon I will be working in a thrift store for underprivileged teenagers. The thrift store was created by a local youth group and teens must be given permission to shop there.  On Tuesday I went to the store for the first time to help clean up and get the store ready to be opened.  The store was really nice and it was clear that a lot of hard work had gone into creating the store.

Sunset in Tel Aviv

I was ready for the weekend when it came.  We spent Thursday night in Ashkelon but me and Whitney woke up and got ready to catch the bus to Tel Aviv.  The bus only took an hour and was very inexpensive.  We were with one of Whitney's friends from her high school youth group and we were going to stay with another friend from the youth group as well.  We got to the central bus station in Tel Aviv and had to take another bus to the friends apartment.  We got off the bus in front of Tel Aviv's big open air markets (shuk).  On our walk to the apartment there were so many people out and about shopping that it was hard to walk with out bumping into any one.  It was amazing to see that the street became nearly empty as shabbat began.  We took a walk to the beach and wondered over to a drum circle that forms outside of a drum store.  There were people playing the drums and people dancing to the music it was a lot of fun to see. We were on the beach when the sun set and it was beautiful.  We went out to a nice dinner that night at place recommended to us called King George.  We spent Saturday laying on the beach and going swimming.  It was a great way to spend the day.  We headed back to Ashkelon that night.
Ready to start a new week full of learning Hebrew.