"Back To School, Back To School, To Prove To Daddy I'm Not A Fool"

Hey folks,

So it has been an incredibly eventful week. In the past week, I have taken in a little local culture, gone to a MASA Mega Event, started teaching school, played a few rounds of poker, and cleaned, cleaned, cleaned!

Starting with last Saturday, with no transportation and no shops or movie theatres open, one must try to be innovative when filling the day with activities. Two of my roommates and I decided to take a trip over to Ashdod's Art Museum to check out the exhibit. Entrance was only a few dollars and there were three floors of exhibits to look at. Unfortunately, the majority of the artwork was by one single artist, and her style was not one that appealed to me. In fact, it was a style that I truly disdained and it incited a genuine negative emotional reaction. In this respect, what she does must be considered artwork on some level, able to provoke such an undeniable distaste from me, even if it seemed like her work could be replicated by a 3 year old with anger issues.

The terrible artist's intepretation of a butterfly, this being one of her best at the exhibit to give you an idea of the caliber of her overall work.

After the art gallery, we went out for an afternoon beer at one of the only restaurants open in Yud Alef on Shabbat. The overall feeling on Shabbat is one I actually quite enjoy. Everyone is very relaxed and free of anxiety, the stresses of the work week lifted away and deposited in a safe for 24 hours. This is the first time in many months that I fully have my weekend to relax. Despite the fact that my job at Ray-Cam provided me with weekends off, I always had so much to do to prepare for this year that I rarely got time to just hang out at the beach or sit out on a patio with a deck of cards and the universally peaceful crooning of Bob Marley. There are also local free outdoor classes, both in yoga and tai-chi. I was planning on checking out the tai-chi one this morning but couldn't bring myself to wake up early enough (it starts at 8 AM).

On Tuesday, the majority of our group headed to Jerusalem for the night to take in the MASA Mega Event. This was something I was actually pleasantly surprised by last year on Birthright. Then again, it was a much bigger event, it took place outside in Tel-Aviv, and I got the chance to go up on stage in front of thousands of people. This time didn't really compare, and was unfortunately quite a letdown. The night kicked off with speeches from at least 5 people I had never heard of. Many people in the audience cheered loudly when their names were called so it kind of makes me wonder if they know who these prominent philanthropic individuals are or if they are simply reacting to the excitement in the air. This oratory part of the night was brutal. All the speeches were very similar in subject matter and cheesy and preachy in nature. The second act was a collection of choreographed dances, coupled with people playing with fire and acrobats doing tricks on ropes next to the aisles. These dances were introduced by videos created by past participants of programs similar to the one I'm doing. Once again, it came across as very cheesy, and the dances were near-replications of the ones I viewed at last year's event. The main event of the night was a huge band, around 12 people on stage, and they were quite hit and miss. The music was a little melodramatic and not really my style, but the band's energy was undeniable and most of the crowd was loving it. Apparently the band is one of the biggest bands in the country, and at times they reminded me of a Middle-Eastern version of the Vancouver band Five Alarm Funk. All in all, the night was a little disappointing but still worth the trip for the company of my group-mates.

As for school, I started on Sunday and had five days of teaching this week, five hours each day. It has been a very positive experience so far, although not without its challenges and frustrations. Unfortunately, the week was not completely set to routine, mainly because the English teacher we're supposed to work with was sick the entire week and we were stuck with a crazy-ass subsitute. Despite these difficulties with staff, what's important is the kids and they really are very fun and intriguing to work with. Their desire to learn English is quite admirable and impressive, but their behaviour differs greatly from the average North-American elementary school student. These kids get away with murder in the classroom! They talk constantly and it is a never-ending struggle for the teacher to be heard. The kids walk in and out of the classroom as they please, and it is not uncommon to see kids roaming the hallways in the middle of a period (or playing with cards on the floor). I work outside the classroom in the hallway and generally take 3 to 4 kids a period. Some groups are advanced students who speak English quite well and others are the kids who struggle and really need a lot more help learning basic reading and writing skills and pronunciation of their vocabulary. This week, we worked a lot in their books but next week I'm going to take a different approach and simply have conversations with them. Speaking the language is the easiest way to learn and that is generally how I am progressing the fastest with my Hebrew so I figure it will be comparable for my students. I'm actually using Hebrew close to 50% of the time with my students after only two weeks learning the language! Granted, it's a broken version of Hebrew but I can dole out instructions no problem and be understood. My favourite expression to use with the kids is "Ani more ve talmid," meaning "I'm a teacher and a student." This encourages them to pass on important vocabulary to me as well and I have already jumped to the intermediate Ulpan class because of it.

At school, I'm working with one other group member named Boris. He's from Boston, Massachussets and we're getting along quite well and adapting to our surroundings at our new job. We are treated on equal ground with the teachers by the kids, except it's even better because they really do idolize us AND respect us. We'll see how long that lasts... As for the rest of the staff, the majority are between the ages of 35 and 45 and they are ALL women. That's right, not one single male staff. This means that Boris and I are quite popular in the staff room and eye candy for the cougars. There are two female staff in particular that I talk to daily in French and they have taken a shining to me. The female students also are happy to have Boris and I around. They follow us indiscretely and giggle and point. On Wednesday, I brought in the guitar and had a sing-along in the classroom. Never have I had so many adoring fans! They clapped along to the songs, sang loudly during Hey Jude, and even began chanting my name at one point! I must not let it get to my ego too much. Israeli Idol, here I come!

Other than school, I spent my nights this week playing poker a couple of times. Because we have no income here as volunteers, the buy-in is quite small, but enough that I made 110 shekels this week, the equivalent of $30 CDN. It's not much, but it's something! I also spent about 2 hours cleaning yesterday due to a monthly cleaning inspection and the convenient absence of over half my roommates. However, it was actually quite cathartic and a pleasure to see the house the cleanest it has been since my arrival. It was also an excuse to blast Led Zeppelin...

That's it for now everyone but stay tuned for another post next week after my cousin's wedding and a group trip to Jaffo. Hope you're all doing well and as always don't forget to update me on your lives back in good ol' Vancouver or wherever you may be.

Ciao for now,

Max

Great Elation Takes Dedication!

Hey folks,

I write to you with great pleasure from my own computer, at long last! I took a chance and bought a new hard drive, a risky move simply because the problem could have been related to the motherboard, in which case the new hard drive would have been useless. Thankfully, this was not the case and it only cost $65 CDN for a new hard drive twice the size of my last one. Technology-wise, things are starting to look up!
This weekend looks to be an uneventful one. Most of the people from my program went to Ein Geti and the Dead Sea after renting two cars. I actually would have been happy to tag along, but alas, being in the villa, I heard about the trip a little later and they had already run out of spots in the cars. Instead, I will take this weekend to enjoy some sun, a bike ride around Ashdod, and a nice Shabbat dinner with friends. I must also get over my minor case of Black Lung *ahem ahem* and start to prepare myself for this upcoming Monday, my first day of school! Things are still quite unknown for me in this department. I had a school meeting with the principal and the English teacher, but this really did not give me much information as to what my responsibilities will be in and out of the classroom. Unlike Canadian customs of politeness and saving face in front of new staff members, the principal and the English teacher got into a shouting match, the subject of which was the principal's belief that the English curriculum is boring. She even went so far as to say "I would rather die of old age than die of boredom." Despite this awkward encounter, the rest of the meeting went well and I think I will simply keep my distance from the principal. I feel like a lot of my job will be based on improvisation and personal style, a day-to-day itinerary that can transform based on the needs of my kids. Despite the slight anxiety I have about not knowing what's ahead of me, I am incredibly excited to finally get into a solid routine and start working with the kids. Starting next week, my schedule will be as follows:

Sunday-Thursday - Volunteering at Keshet Elementary School (9:00-2:00);
Sunday - Volunteering at an At-Risk-Youth Community Centre (3:00-6:00);
Monday & Wednesday - Intermediate Ulpan at Mekif Vav Highschool (4:00-6:00);
Tuesday - Enrichment Lecture (5:00-7:00).

That leaves my Thursday nights (the equivalent of Friday nights in North America) completely free and my weekends free of course to travel around Israel and visit family in Tel-Aviv and Haifa.

As for daily life, things are going pretty well. I have settled into a nice cooking routine with my two roommates, Zack and David, where we cycle through and each cook for all three of us at least twice a week. The dinners so far have been quite delicious and a huge money-saver, with the average expense for three people averaging around 20 shekels ($6 CDN). That works out to $2 CDN a dinner and will mean that my money will go further in the long run, or at least I can worry less about other expenses, aka the repair of my computer.

Despite the overall positive atmosphere here, I do find myself getting frustrated by some of the small things, most notably, a lack of isolation and time for myself. After having lived in a fraternity with 30 people, a house with 4 people, and now a villa with 8 people, I have come to the realization that I am an individual who enjoys time for himself. Even at the fraternity and Angus Drive, I had the opportunity to escape and go to my room when I needed to reflect or simply simmer down, but that is something I lack here. Silence does not exist in my humble abode and privacy only makes a rare appearance. In other words, I need to find an escape route, a place where I can hear my own thoughts and not be distracted by bad pop music, loud conversations in Russian, or the meows of the house-cat Bika. I have somewhat found this sanctuary in my daily runs down by the beach. I can run along the boardwalk by myself and work out down by the sea, the sounds of the wind my only companion. However, I will keep looking for a better alternative.

As for all of you folks in Vancouver and the rest of Canada, I will say that I am beginning to miss you all quite a bit. This is not to say I'm homesick, because I am fortunate for this opportunity and I'm really enjoying it. Let's just say that I am prematurely nostalgic and can't help but wonder what sorts of shenanigans I'm missing on the rainy West Coast. The Americans here are quite oblivious when it comes to Canada, some of them calling it the 51st state, most of them never having ventured to the North, and all of them having no idea what the capital of our great country is. When I took a poll with two other Canadians, the best answer we received was "The letter 'C'". Silly but better than the answer of Quebec which 80% of Americans spouted out confidently. I'll leave you all with a small list of things I have done recently that I have never done before:

1. Played poker with a group of Israelis, learning the poker terms for betting in Hebrew.
2. Ate one of the best falafels I have ever had for the extremely inflated price of, wait for it... 4 shekels (approximately $1 CDN)
3. Found a cat that I actually like (our pet cat Bika) who has taken quite a liking to me and follows me around our house, despite the fact that I am allergic...
4. In a daze from being low in the middle of the night, I feasted in our kitchen and decided it would be a good idea to mix olives with Nutella. It actually wasn't bad...
5. Sat on a bus and heard French on my right side, Spanish on my left side, Hebrew in front of me, and Russian behind me. No English in earshot...

Ciao for now,

Max

"Lo Anglit, This Is Israel!"

Hey folks,

Just thought I would update you on a bizarre scenario that occurred yesterday, one which you most definitely would not encounter in Vancouver, or anywhere in Canada for that matter. It was a "melange etrange" of humour, tension, and just plain wrong place at the wrong time.
While heading to Mekif Vav, the school where we go once a week for an enrichment program (lecture on a pertinent issue in Israel), we came across a large crowd of people milling about near the stairwell down to the entrance of the school. There were cops frantically motioning people to move into the adjacent elementary school and one of them started shouting at my roommate David to walk briskly inside the building. Another girl from our group, frantic and obviously alarmed by the commotion, walked up to a stressed-out teacher who was directing people, and started shouting "Anglit? Anglit? Anglit?" to see if he could explain what was going on in English. He responded frigidly, "No Anglit, this is Israel!" and turned away from her rolling his eyes. I had to stifle a laugh because this situation perfectly exemplifies the personas of two nations: Americans, who expect that everyone must know English and be able to help them even though we are in a city where English is not even the 4th most popular language, and Israelis, who lack the patience and politeness to help a frightened girl in need during a crisis.
We were then ushered into the school and told to stay up against the wall, away from the windows, and the doors were all locked and bolted. With my minimal Hebrew, I managed to decipher by eavesdropping that someone had left a backpack in the middle of the street a few hundred metres down the road, and it was believed to be a potential bomb threat. Looking out the window, we could see several police cars and lots of flashing lights and then, suddenly and very loudly, we heard the explosion of the backpack and witnessed a cloud of smoke rise up into the air, remnants of a rucksack falling to the ground. This also seemed odd and comical to me. Why would you blow up what you believed to be a potential bomb? Is that not the opposite tactical maneuver?
Anyway, it seemed to be a false alarm, and after about 10 minutes we were released from our stuffy primary school prison. Despite this being my first time dealing with this type of situation, it really did not make me anxious or nervous, a sign of my adaptation to my surroundings and acceptance of the day-to-day reality of living in a country where you're surrounded by enemies. Nevertheless, I wouldn't say that I embrace the idea of going through minor threats like this daily. Just another day in Ashdod

Ciao for now,

Max

The Shuk

Hey everyone,

Hasn't been too long since my last post but I thought I would fill you all in on the splendor that is the Ashdod shuk. "Shuk" is the word in Hebrew for market, and in Ashdod, there is quite a large one which is open once a week on Wednesdays pretty much for the entire day. It takes up several city blocks, is down by the water, and offers amazing deals on everything from clothes and accessories, to freshly baked breads and pita, nuts, dried fruits, olives, as well as the freshest and cheapest produce selection you can find anywhere in the city.
The best part about the shuk is that the people are very friendly and understanding of someone in my position with very limited Hebrew skills. Although I have learned this week how to ask things like "how much does this cost?" and all of the numbers so I can ask for prices, I still have very little in terms of banter or bargaining skills, much less haggling to get prices down. Therefore, right now I'm mostly sticking to buying items that are clearly labeled. Today, for 100 shekels ($30), this is what I was able to purchase:

- A head of cilantro
- Scallions (green onions)
- 3 large red peppers
- 2 Gala apples
- 3 bananas
- 1 300g container of candied cashews, almonds, and pecans
- 1/2 kg of delicious olives
- 8 burekas (these are little pastries the size of the palm of your hand, stuffed with either potatoes, mushrooms, cheese, or sweet ones with jam or sugar inside)
- 10 small bags of chips
- 4 huge pitas baked with cheese, tomatoes, and zatar (an israeli mixed spice)
- 1 pair of polarized UV protecting sunglasses

Amazing experience at the shuk today, one I will repeat every week, and really enjoying learning some Hebrew so I can talk with the locals and actually get the full Israel experience.

Ciao for now,

Max

Adventures In Ashdod!

Hey folks,

So my program in Israel has officially begun and I am super excited to be embarking on this adventure in my new city of Ashdod! This city is really quite spectacular from what I've seen so far, full of life and culture, home to French, Russian, and Spanish populations, sprawling white sand beaches, and unbelievable panoramic views of the port. I'm living in a neighbourhood called Yud Alef, which is one of the newer neighbourhoods in Ashdod. In this city, regions are split up based on how new the area is and the names of the neighbourhoods are assigned based on the letters of the Hebrew alphabet, with the oldest quarters having the first letters and the newest having the last letters. Yud Alef is located about 7 minutes walking distance from the beach, specifically a beach that is home to The Citadel, ancient Arab ruins that date all the way back to 640 AD and still house evidence of cooking areas and rooms used for shelter. Yesterday, I went with a bunch of people from my group down to the ruins and climbed to the top to sit and watch the sunset on the Mediterranean Sea, quite a treat and something I'm going to make a habit of doing.
So far, this first week has been mostly about explanation of the goals of the program and the expectations and rules that our program coordinators have for us. The program coordinators, Kineret and Shiri have been wonderful so far, and have not babied us too much; for instance, they have taken us to a place in the middle of the city for an activity and then have left us to let us find our way home on our own, which has given me the chance to orientate myself direction-wise more so than if I was blindly following a leader. For the next two weeks, I will be doing intensive Ulpan study to learn Hebrew for about 5 hours each morning and in the afternoon, I will have the opportunity to go and check out different volunteer opportunities around the city. Once a week for the five months, everyone goes and volunteers for two hours, the options varying from seniors homes and soup kitchens to shelters for women, and community sport-related programs for kids. I'm strongly considering the seniors home because there are many people there that speak French and it will give me a chance to practice. As for teaching English, I don't start until the 24th and still have yet to find out which age group I will be teaching or too much information about the structure. However, I think it's pretty open to individual style and the main goal is to get the kids speaking English, not to teach them grammar and syntax out of a book.
In terms of the people in my program and my living accommodations, I have no complaints! I'm living in a villa that is quite spacious and actually reminds me of the house on Angus Drive quite a bit, run down to a certain extent but a great space for a bunch of people. I share a room with two other guys, Zack and David, and it happens to be the only air-conditioned bedroom in the house and is next to a bathroom that only we use, so essentially, I lucked out! Most of the people from my program live in apartments across the street, 8 in each one, but because I met the people from the previous program a few weeks ago, Kineret and Shiri decided to put me with them instead, and so there are 9 of us in the villa, me and one other new guy being the only ones from the October group. At first, I thought this would be a struggle and a disadvantage because they have already bonded and it meant I would be separated from my own group and not get to know them as well, but this has not been the case. I have been fully welcomed by the August group and have become fast friends with many of them while still spending time with the people from my own group and going over to the apartments on a regular basis to hang out. We pretty much are one big group rather than two separate ones.
So far, nighttime activities have been a blast! On the second night, all 40 of us went down to the beach and had a huge bonfire. I brought my guitar and so did two others and we had a sweet jam session, and everyone is super happy to have a singer/guitar player on the trip because before we arrived, no one had any instruments! The following night, it was one of the girls from the August group's birthday and so her and her roommates hosted a 90s themed party at their apartment. I impressed everyone with my fantastic neon hot pink shorts and taught a bunch of people Pickles which was a big hit. We had a big hooka session out on the balcony, and then at 1230, me and four of the girls headed down to the beach for a little late-night skinny-dipping. Definitely the warmest water I have ever had the pleasure of venturing into in the buff! Last night I spent hours chilling outside on our patio, teaching backgammon and my favourite card-game Sheizerkoff to my new friend Masha, who has very similar music taste to me and even has the same Beach House t-shirt as me from a concert she went to in Baltimore. When I first wore the shirt, she asked me if I had stolen her clothing although I'm pretty sure her shirt would not go past my bellybutton... We then headed down to the beach with one of our other roommates Karina and two of her Israeli friends and made another fire and had a Beatles singalong before once again going swimming in the wee hours of the morning. I stumbled back to bed at 5AM, leaving piles of sand in my sheets to wake up to this morning. There hasn't been a day yet where I haven't brought a little beach home with me.
Tonight, for everyone who is staying in Ashdod for the weekend, we are having a communal Shabbat dinner, with everyone bringing something to the table. This will be my Thanksgiving replacement as they obviously don't celebrate that holiday over here and I won't be stuffing my face with turkey. I have tomorrow to explore the city on one of the bikes in the house (I don't have to buy one, thank god!) and probably go to the beach to take advantage of one of the last warm days before actual winter sets in. It's weird to be able to go to the beach and go swimming in October, but quite delightful and refreshing. Next weekend, we're thinking of making a group trip down to the Dead Sea where we will try and find a cheap hostel or a place to camp. Only fantastic things on the horizon right now and it is so nice to finally be settled in and not living out of a suitcase.
As for all of you in Vancouver,  I haven't forgotten about you and I want to be filled in on your adventures and misadventures, whatever they may be. One of the biggest things I do miss is the changing of the trees and the leaves although we did have a huge thunder and lightning storm here today with a torrential downpour, so I did get a little taste of Vancouver. Hope you're all doing great and I want to hear from you all soon!

Ciao for now,

Max