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