(Written on May 30 and posted on June 12, 2016.)
Wow! Tomorrow I celebrate my 2nd month in Israel. Time flies when you are having fun. The month was packed with newness, excitement, emotion, challenge and inspiration, to say the least. I will do my best to summarize the highlights.
Yom HaShoa, Yom Hazikaron and Yom Ha'Atzmaut
These solemn and heartfelt days were my first in Israel. I took in, as much as I could, the feeling of nationhood and peoplehood that these occasions bring out for all Jews, and particularly to Israelis who toil the soil, fight the war and face to rockets of fire in real time. My experience of these occasions was enhanced by the focus given to them at Ulpan Neve Tsedek, both in the classroom and in the school assembly, activities that are bookmarks in the page of Jewish history and Jewish life.
I regretted that on Yom Ha'Atzmaut I did not honor my desire to join the crowd at the Rabin Plaza, where speeches, performances, fireworks and all kinds of displays took place. I chose to join Yaffa and her bohemian friends in Be'Er Sheva as it is their tradition to hold a Yom Ha'Atzmaut picnic. I thought it was better to be with friends than alone on such a special day, yet later regretted missing out on experiencing the central act that was apparently beyond amazing. Fortunately, considering my hunger for this communal experience, Yaffa convinced our hostess to drive us to the Be'er Sheva City Hall and park, where festivities were taking place, as in every city of the Country. There were thousands of families, from grandmothers to newborns, all gathered to celebrate the birthday of our young nation. Children amused themselves with fluorescent gadgets sold at the entrance to the park like hot cakes. There was a good band on stage playing groovy tunes, and vendors of various sorts, including apple candy that led Yaffa to unyielding temptation. I truly got a gist of the feeling of nationhood and community thanks to this experience.
We slept over at Yaffa's friends, and the next day we left the house at 9:00 am to head out to reserve a picnic spot, effort that was unnecessary because there was nobody lining up to set up tent on such a distant, dusty and unbecoming land. Food was abundant, conversation was pleasant, comfort was non-existing, and mosquitos ate us alive. However, the overall experience was very positive and I met interesting people. In the area stood the structure of a army headquarter that housed the British troops during the occupation, and later was used by the IDF. For this alone, I thought, the dusty road was worth our visit. I am attaching a few shots to give you a flavour of the day.
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| Picking Sheshek (Israeli fruit) at Rony's home in Be'er Sheva |
Ulpan Neve Tsedek
I continue to enjoy learning Hebrew at Ulpan and I am slowly getting on with the teaching style. On a positive note, I love the cultural diversity in the classroom and I am starting to connect with the students. I think I have made a friend, Natalie from France, whom I liked from the moment I met. She is classy, attractive, smart and very focused to learn Hebrew. Our friendship is evolving, as we are finding out more things in common. I am grateful to have met her.
The style of teaching continues to be challenging, as is the attitude of the teacher. I have been "brushed off" by her a few times when I wish to share something that I deem relevant. She does not appear interested in fostering an interactive classroom, and in my books she is more of a lecturer than a facilitator. I sense that she is married to the textbook, the lesson plan, and her narrow delivery of new information. She does not welcome spontaneity, cuts people off, ignores others, and keeps total control of what is said and done in the classroom. On the other hand, she is a Hebrew guru, and that counts. Have I got a choice? I know this is not the type of teaching I ever want to implement in my classroom.
On a positive note, Natalie and I have become good friends. The two of us enjoyed our time together over lunch at a trendy cafe on Rothchild Boulevard, two blocks away from our school.
Housing
I will be moving out of my current apartment in the south of Tel Aviv. My new shared accommodation will be in Yehud, an area that will require longer busing to and from school. What is positive about it is that I will be living with an elderly lady, relative of a reliable friend, who wishes to have someone in her nice home. She appears to be amenable, kind and clean and I have a good feeling about our arrangement. It is hard to believe that at this stage of the game in my life I find myself sharing space, rather than having my own, but I admit that there is some excitement about it as I do not have to face the responsibility of carrying a home on my shoulders as I have for the past thee and a half decades. Time will tell how I adjust to these change.
Discovering and Connecting with my Hispanic/Mexican Background
I took the time to visit two offices located in downtown Tel Aviv. First, Instituto Cervantes of Israel, and then the Mexican Embassy in Israel.
I visited Instituto Cervantes with Yael Levy, a lovely 24-year old girl from Spain who made Aliyah a few years ago. One would say... what is a mommy my age doing with a young lady like Yael? Well, Yael and I are good friends, get along, speak, discuss and share a lot of things in common. She is truly a delight and I love spending time with her.
At the institute we picked up information on the centre's activities, mainly focused on the promotion of Spanish language and culture. They have a library and a Spanish school that follows a specific curriculum. I am to inquire further on how I can get my foot at the door to teach with them. I was told that one needs a specific certification that is regulated by the centre's headquarters in Spain.
In one of my walks I ran into a tall building waving the Mexican flag, and I soon realized that I was in front of the Mexican Consulate. I took myself to the 11th floor, and there I found a corner of my Mexico. My idea was to offer them my admin services, considering my language background, but the older secretary was direct to state that they do not have any openings. She was not particularly friendly, but offered me a phone number of the person that takes care of cultural activities.
Meeting Rabbi Miriam Gold at haHatachana
I met Rabbi Gold several years ago at Temple Sholom, in Vancouver, Canada. She was brought in by Rabbi Bregman to talk about her success story getting the Israeli Knesset to recognize her work as a Reform Rabbi and pay her a salary equivalent to the salary of any other clergy member.
Miri lives in a Kibbutz where most members are secular, and she has, over the past several years, made a significant impact in the lives of the members, who have a Rabbi to go to, for Shabbat, Jewish holidays, and Jewish milestones.
Miri suggested that we meet in haHatachana - the old train station that was recently turned into a touristy attraction. The tracks are still there, as bits and pieces of the original structure, and the rest is modern and trendy. There are boutiques and a few coffee shops and restaurants with a view of the ocean, just across the road.
Our breakfast meeting was most enjoyable, and Miri showed me her support by making several suggestions. I hope to meet her again, in the near future.
Visiting Ashkelon
The weekend of May 20th I decided to travel to Ashkelon to join a few others on an exploratory trip to the south of Israel organized by Nefesh b'Nefesh. I was foolish to travel to Jerusalem to catch the local delegation travelling to Ashkelon, which in retrospect made me go around in circles. The small delegation (4 women and 1 man) managed to get to Ashkelon on a comfortable mini-van. Each member was driven to different homes for Shabbat. I ended up in the home of an American lady, Barbara Greenberg, who lives alone and was most welcoming and supportive. She prepared a simple Shabbat dinner. I was pleasantly surprised that on Shabbat morning Barbara took me to her conservative synagogue, Kehillat Netzach Israel of Ashkelon, whose Rabbi from Argentina, is Gustavo Suraski. The service was enhanced by the upcoming simcha, bride and groom being blessed by the congregation before the wedding. It had been a long time since I went to shul, so I confess I was hungry for the ritual service, although I was disappointed that I could not follow the prayer tunes, as they were much different than my own.
After resting in Barbara's home we headed off to a Havdallah celebration at the Levine's, a couple that housed three of the guests. The walk was long and my feet were killing me, however, the walk allowed me to admire the Ashkelon landscape, a clean, quiet and modern city with a marvellous waterfront, very much asleep on Shabbat.
The social at the Levine's was most enjoyable. They are a religious couple, extremely welcoming and kind. I learned that this folks founded the group "English-speaking Olim of Ashkelon," and are doing a good job selling the city to potential newcomers who might like a quieter lifestyle, away from the big city. Personally, I did not feel it being a good place for me.
Movie, The Stars of Shlomi at Ulpan Neve Tsedek
At school we watched the movie, The Stars of Shlomi, which I had seen in Vancouver at the Jewish Film Festival, but had forgotten much of the plot. It was great to see the film in Hebrew with Hebrew subtitles which forced us students to use all of our senses to catch bits and pieces of the dialog and make sense of the rest. We then discussed the film in class and found this activity most enjoyable, given that the film has several layers of meaning. Some students in the class did not agree with the concept of the teacher putting on a video instead of teaching us the language first, but as a language instructor I know that in spite of the gaps and the frustration, the listening activity is one of the various effective methods of language acquisition.
Meeting Gloria and Ben at Sarona Park
I spent a marvellous afternoon with my Vancouver friend, Gloria Joachim and her husband Ben who came to celebrate his BD in Israel. Gloria has been my Spanish student, the best I have had, and her support and appreciation always warm my heart. We met at Sharona Park and our challenge was finding a restaurant that served hummus and pitta. At the end, we gave up. There was no hummus and pitta to be found in Sarona Park in the heart of TA. Perhaps the mouth-watering, high-protein, everyday bread and butter dip is not fancy enough for the high end restaurants in the area. What mattered most was our time together that flew by too quickly, together with the afternoon sun. May we meet again.mI asked Gloria to bring home a little gift for my daughters, on the occasion of my Carol's birthday. What good timing!
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