I have been living
in Israel for over four months now and it has been, as the Israelis say in
Hebrew, “balagan” (or craziness!). I am going to give a brief update on the
major events.
Arrival to Israel:
We arrived in Israel March 1st and immediately moved into an
apartment in Jerusalem. I was sad and overwhelmed leaving India (see last
post), yet I was excited for the unpredictable experience that I knew I was
going to have living in Israel. My parents were also here waiting for me upon
our arrival. Even though I was emotional and exhausted, it was so great to be
welcomed by them and be taken care of for a week. Together we did the typical
tourist activities in Jerusalem (Western Wall, Old City, walking tours,
museums, etc.) and even made trips to Mt. Masada and the Dead Sea in Ein Gedi
and Haifa up north. We also visited our South African/Israeli relatives that
live outside of Tel Aviv, who I met for the first time, which was really nice.
I later went on to spend the Passover seder with them and attended my cousin
Bev’s beautiful wedding. It is so cool to develop a new relationship with
relatives I never knew!
Program transfer: I
neglected to discuss this in previous posts; however, I am sad to report that
the fellowship program I was originally in was (put as nicely as possible) not
what it was promised to be. The program neglected to provide the logistical,
health/safety, and programmatic support that it was supposed to. One incident
after another and a very poor relationship with our former director led every
participant to transfer to a similar program with the “support” of MASA, the
Israeli governmental organization that sponsored us to be here. I am not going
to go into detail on the events that occurred and the wrongdoings of the
director (and the unfortunately stressful and awful process of transferring), but
I will be happy to share the details in person when I return. However, in spite
of the program failures, I had an incredible and rewarding experience in India,
and now in Israel.
Turkey: We were
given a week off for Passover break, so I jumped at the opportunity to escape
to nearby Turkey and visit Istanbul, a city that I have wanted to go to for
years. I had a wonderful time enjoying the vibrant and historical city, eating
delicious Turkish food, meeting cool people from around the world, and yes, I
even treated myself to a traditional Turkish bath. Quite the experience!
Move to Tel Aviv:
When we switched programs, we moved from Jerusalem to TA, which was great
(Jerusalem is really beautiful, but TA is a much younger, non-religious,
progressive city with a lot more to do!). Unfortunately, though, because the
cost of living is higher, we had to move from an apartment into a large dorm
building which houses mostly other young Americans and foreigners. I am
literally in a room with two beds, a kitchenette, and a bathroom. It is
challenging to live like this again (reverting back to freshman year of college),
mostly because of difficultly sleeping and having no privacy. However, since we
are with so many other people, I have made many more friends, which is nice.
The main advantage though is that our location is incredible. We are right
in the center of the city, surrounded by bars, restaurants, and shops. It is
also only a 10-minute walk to the beach, which I loveee! Although I will
say, spending all weekend at the beach is a wonderful way to procrastinate and
not get anything done. People here party like there's no tomorrow—literally. As
an Israeli guy put it the other day, "Israelis party all night because we
know we might not exist tomorrow." And he is right. Nothing closes and it
is soo easy to stay out all night and not even realize the time. There is no
stopping, and it is exhausting! But also great fun : )
Internships: Nevertheless,
I have been very busy with work. I have two internships here and feel really
lucky to have landed them. One job is working as a Research Assistant for
Clalit, which is one of the largest Health Maintenance Organizations (HMO) in
Israel. I am working for doctors doing research on pregnancy and birth outcomes
among Ethiopian immigrant women and trying to address the disparity and
cultural differences that impact their healthcare and treatment. If you didn't
know, Israel has a very large community of African immigrants and refugees. The
immigrants are mostly Ethiopian and of Jewish decent. Through the Law of
Return, they are granted citizenship here. The refugees are mostly from
Eritrea, Sudan, and West African countries and have fled atrocities back home to
seek refuge here. It is a huge topic of debate (as is any immigrant or refugee problem
in any country...) and a big source of tension in Israel. That brings me to my
other job, which is working at the African Refugee Health Clinic in the central
bus station in South Tel Aviv. South TA has a very large refugee
population, which makes it a really awesome cultural bubble in the city (with
absolutely delicious food!!). Well…I think it is an awesome cultural bubble,
but many Israelis think it is a scary, high-crime, dirty place. The clinic sees
mostly Eritreans, Sudanese (Darfur refugees), Kenyans, and some Filipinos. My
job there is to design and run health promotion lectures with the patients and
cultural awareness lectures with the doctors, as well as to work at reception
signing patients in. Three of my coworkers are refugees from Eritrea and their
stories of getting smuggled into Israel across Egypt are unreal.... Through
both jobs I am learning and narrowing in even more for grad school. I am also
taking Ulpan, which is a Hebrew language course, three nights a week.
Unfortunately I do not have (or make) as much time to practice as I should, but
I am learning so that I can communicate on a basic level.
Travel: We have gone
on several trips around Israel, exploring the country and learning about its
history, land, and the different communities. Unfortunately, Israel is
surrounded by enemies, so travel outside of the country to places in close
proximity is limited. The pictures below are from travels to the Negev (desert) and the Dead Sea.
However, my friends and I did take a trip to Jordan,
which was unbelievable. The Jordanian border is only five minutes outside of
Eilat in the south, and crossing over is quite easy to do. We spent a few days
exploring the ruins of the ancient city of Petra, as well as the unreal
mountains and red sand dunes in the desert of Wadi Rum. It was fascinating to
learn the history of the civilizations there, spend time with local Bedouins,
ride donkeys, hike through the desert, and climb the boulders. I loved every
second of it.
Despite the fun and
exciting aspects of life here, it is not always easy. I am being exposed to
life in the Middle East on a whole new level and learning in depth and from so
many different perspectives about the complexities and messes that exist within
Israel and around it. The other night my friends and I met with a brilliant
British Israeli man who is an educator on Arab-Israeli relations. We talked in
detail about the rights of citizens in Israel and the legal differences between
the Arab Palestinians who reside here and the Jewish Israelis. I have attended
several lectures, debates, tours, and events around the issue. A few weeks ago
we visited a town called Sderot, along the Gaza Strip. This town is constantly
being hit by missiles (although it has had a nice break lately). We met with
educators, human rights leaders, civilians, and students to hear their stories
and realities of living in that area. We have met with Palestinians and Humans
Rights’ groups to hear their perspectives, yet have also met with spokespeople
from the Israeli Defense Force and Jewish settlers in the West Bank to hear
their sides as well. Major takeaways: 1. Don’t pass judgment too quickly, 2.
Don’t believe everything you read or hear, 3. Try to understand all
perspectives before forming strong opinions, 4. This situation gives a new meaning
to the word ‘complex.’
Well, that is it for
now. I apologize for the major gap between posts, but I hope this gives a
little insight into my life in Eretz Yisrael!
