"...And Time Can Do So Much"

Hey folks,

So another week or so has passed, and so much has happened once again. There is hardly a dull moment with this lifestyle and this last week has been one of the busiest since my arrival. First, allow me to mention my trip to Jaffa last Monday. Jaffa is an ancient port city connected to Tel-Aviv and is home to a great outdoor market and spectacular beachside views, as well as a rich history and even mythical tales from Greek heritage. For example, at the port, there is a rock that juts out in the water and is home to an Israeli flag. I remember it being one of the Kodak moments of my Birthright trip last year but this trip I actually found out the alleged background of the tourist spot. Our guide told us a story of how Poseidon sent a giant whale named Cetus to ravage the coasts of Jaffa. The King Cepheus, desperate to stop the destruction in his kingdom and the spreading fear poisoning his people, decided to send his daughter, Andromeda, as a sacrifice to Cetus. Perseus, on his way back from slaying Medusa, would not allow this to happen, however, and stopped to free Andromeda, displaying the head of Medusa to Cetus. This caused Cetus to turn to stone. Today, it is believed that the rocks along the coast of Jaffa, including the one that holds the Israeli flag, are actually the ancient remains of Cetus and proof of Greek mythology taking root in Israel.

After our brief tour of Jaffa, we ventured to the Palmach museum, a fantastic cultural haven for all the history associated with the Israeli strike force that trained and impacted the country so greatly during the decade preceding the establishment of Israel. This museum was unlike any I've ever visited. Instead of the usual cultural artifacts and wall hangings explaining history, the museum is split into 13 different rooms, each full of props and videos containing footage of actors reenacting a specific impactful event in the history of the Palmach. The rooms are complete with sound effects, light displays, and one room even resembles a crooked submarine floor and moves slightly as though on the water. I felt like I learned a lot more about the Palmach in this type of learning environment and was thoroughly engaged for the entirety of the tour. Our day concluded with a visit to Rabin square, where Yitzhak Rabin (arguably the most well known and celebrated prime-minister in the history of Israel) was assasinated after a peace conference by a right-wing extremist. This was made all the more salient based on the fact that one of the characters in the re-enactments was based on Rabin himself.

The highlight of my week was not the Palmach museum, however, as much as I enjoyed it. This past weekend, I headed into Tel-Aviv for my cousin Shira's wedding and experienced both my first Israeli wedding and first morning wedding at the same time. It was a fantastic weekend full of family, food, fantastic dancing extravaganzas, and a chance for me to see family I hadn't seen in ages as well as meet new family members for the first time. The ceremony was incredibly beautiful, located at a kibbutz outside of Tel-Aviv with a pool and fountains as a backdrop to the stage and lush gardens surrounding the extravagant ceremonial spot. My cousin and her husband were married under what is referred to as a chuppa, a wedding canopy that can either stand on its own or be held up by four attendants. In this case, I had the honour of being one of these attendants, as my cousin's best friend was delayed in his arrival. I was happy to fill in and got a front row view of the poignant ceremony and happy looks on the faces of both my cousin and her newly annointed groom, as well as the hundreds of beaming guests. The ceremony was followed by LOTS of dancing. I love dancing at Jewish weddings and unfortunately don't get the chance to do so as often as I'd like. After a sweaty dance-off, we feasted on beef bourgignon, pargiot (chicken thighs), delicious Israeli salads, and an odd vegetable stir-fry consisting of green beans, mushrooms, and brussel sprouts. I followed the wedding with a quick nap and then spent some time helping my other cousin Yoni and his wife Ayelet prepare food for close family at their apartment. It was a fantastic day and really made me cherish and appreciate what a great family I am blessed with!

Since then, I have tightened up my belt again (kind of!) and have continued teaching at Keshet Elementary School. The kids are starting to let their true personalities show and are getting a little harder to manage, however, my Hebrew is improving and I have no problem speaking my mind to them and letting them know who is boss! They really do seem to appreciate our time being spent teaching them English and it is always a competition for them to get out of the classroom for some time with the North Americans. They ask us funny questions (e.g. Are you friends with Justin Bieber?) and latch onto the usual inappropriate words in English (e.g. one little monster gets kicked out of class every day and runs through the halls screaming "Motherfucker!"), but generally, they exhibit the usual behavior for kids their age and hopefully will progress to conversational English by the time I'm done with them.

Well, that's all for now. I just had an enrichment lecture on Israeli food complete with a feast all of us had prepared beforehand and I'm feeling quite sleepy now after such a late afternoon meal. Don't forget to check in and fill me in on all of your adventures, balagan (crazy) or not.

Ciao for now,

Max

P.S. Bonus points for whoever can figure out which song the title of my post is derived from!