For Yom Nativ this week we did a scavenger hunt around Yerucham in the morning, pizza for lunch, and then TOP CHEF: cultures of the world. Each apartment got a different country and a 70 shekel budget- we got Yemen. We made malawah and Yemenite honey cake. One of the boys apartments won- they had India.
Today in the Gan we painted the kid's faces (tigers, lions, rabbits, clowns, etc.), got dressed in costumes, and paraded around all of the Ganim in Yerucham singing מי שנכנס אדר and other Purim songs, in honor of Rosh Chodesh Adar. Today I also got a giant hole in my jeans so I had to wear my sweatshirt around my waist for the entire day.
That's about it :)
-Sarah
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Monday, February 23, 2009
GAN TAMAR
This week so far has finally shown me what a normal Gan schedule is like. Yesterday the kids arrived, we did morning tifilot, and then they had a music class. It was pretty cute to hear the Israeli kids singing "Doh Rey Mi Fa So La Ti Doh", and pretty hilarious to watch the teacher do a pantomime of the three little bears. However, there was one minor catastrophe. During music, one girl who really likes me a clings to me a lot, put her head down on my lap, and that's when I saw them: the lice. I FREAKED OUT. I got up from my seat planning on calling my mom, but then the teacher said someone was at the gate for me. It ended up being our staff, Ariel, and she could not have arrived at a better moment. She checked my head (and she checked again another 2 times yesterday. And my friend Misha checked me today), and then helped me tell the Ganenet what had happened. The Ganenet proceeded to tell me that it's common and many of the kids have lice. EW. So now I plan on wearing my hair in a braid every day and having someone check my head every day as well. After the lice and a snack, all of the Ganim in Yerucham went to a play. Lice girl tried to sit next to me at the play, but I had to very nicely get away from her. I avoided a 6 year old. All of my friends who work in other Ganim were freaking out as well. After the play we had lunch, and then played for a while before it was time to go home. Last night after a delicious dinner of macaroni and cheese (the oven baked kind) and salad, I watched the movie Doubt. I love Meryl Streep, but the movie was ehhh.
This morning after doing some stuff in the classroom, the kids were split into 2 groups. One group played outside while the other did this 6 year old level Jazzersize-type activity. It was adorable. Then, after lunch, a blind girl came to tell the class the story of Purim, because tomorrow is Rosh Chodesh Adar.
Please pray for me that I don't get lice. I've never had them in my whole life and I REALLY don't want them now.
:)
-Sarah
This morning after doing some stuff in the classroom, the kids were split into 2 groups. One group played outside while the other did this 6 year old level Jazzersize-type activity. It was adorable. Then, after lunch, a blind girl came to tell the class the story of Purim, because tomorrow is Rosh Chodesh Adar.
Please pray for me that I don't get lice. I've never had them in my whole life and I REALLY don't want them now.
:)
-Sarah
Saturday, February 21, 2009
כמה נהדר בגן תמר!
What a crazy week this has been!! Yesterday in the Gan they had a ceremony to dedicate the new Torah they received, so this entire week pretty much consisted of preparing for that. These preparations included me attending a parents meeting Wednesday night from 8-9:30 p.m., which was all in Hebrew. Woo hoo. Because of the craziness this week, the kids haven't been doing much learning, so I've spent a lot of time outside watching the kids while they play. It's a long day, working in the Gan from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., but I get free lunch, which is nice.
Anyway, for Shabbat I went to my mom's friends Arik and Yael. They have 4 kids: a boy about my age, a girl Rebecca's age, and twin 8 year old boys (so cute). It was a lot of fun, and it's nice because they only live 15 minutes away from Yerucham, in a place called Midreshet Ben Gurion.
Shavua tov!
-Sarah
Anyway, for Shabbat I went to my mom's friends Arik and Yael. They have 4 kids: a boy about my age, a girl Rebecca's age, and twin 8 year old boys (so cute). It was a lot of fun, and it's nice because they only live 15 minutes away from Yerucham, in a place called Midreshet Ben Gurion.
Shavua tov!
-Sarah
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Yerucham: Shabbat, first days of volunteering, Yom Nativ
Our first few days in Yerucham were insane. We got here last Wednesday, unloaded our bags from the truck, and spent the rest of Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday unpacking, cleaning, food shopping, having meetings about our volunteering, and pretty much just organizing ourselves and setting up a life in Yerucham. Friday night, after services at the closest shul called Afikim Ba Negev, we all got assigned host homes for dinner. Mine was lovely! We were in pairs, and I was with my friend Eliana. They were vegetarian, but the food was still really good, and they had 5 cute kids. Saturday we had lunch as a group and then Saturday night we had another meeting where they told us exactly where we would be volunteering, and we started work on Sunday. I work in a gan called Gan Tamar. The kids are 5 and 6. Most are really cute, but there are a few really wild/rough boys. The way it worked Sunday and Monday was I was pretty much outside with the kids all day, while the teacher called in 5-10 kids at a time for small group lessons. There are 30 kids in the class. What these boys would do is line up at the fence of the gan (the gate is locked), say, "ready?", and then all climb the fence at the same time. It's like vertical whack-a-mole for me, trying to get them all down. It's crazy.
Today we had our first Yom Nativ. On Tuesday's we don't volunteer. We plan activities and do them. Today we just talked to Yossi, the director, and gave him feedback about first semester, and then talked about future Yemei Nativ. There are 8 that we have to plan, so we brainstormed ideas and then 5 people were assigned to plan each one. My day is Purim, so that should be lots of fun! We also cleaned out a local bomb shelter that is going to become a hang out place for us.
Tonight for dinner I cooked for the first time since we got here (we have to food shop and make our own meals-but we take turns cooking)! I made chicken and broccoli stir fry and rice- it was a hit! And my friend Kesha made baked apples for desert.
That's all for now! You should all come visit Yerucham. It's special here.
-Sarah
Today we had our first Yom Nativ. On Tuesday's we don't volunteer. We plan activities and do them. Today we just talked to Yossi, the director, and gave him feedback about first semester, and then talked about future Yemei Nativ. There are 8 that we have to plan, so we brainstormed ideas and then 5 people were assigned to plan each one. My day is Purim, so that should be lots of fun! We also cleaned out a local bomb shelter that is going to become a hang out place for us.
Tonight for dinner I cooked for the first time since we got here (we have to food shop and make our own meals-but we take turns cooking)! I made chicken and broccoli stir fry and rice- it was a hit! And my friend Kesha made baked apples for desert.
That's all for now! You should all come visit Yerucham. It's special here.
-Sarah
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Israel Today Seminar, Negev Tiyul, Y-e-r-u-CH-a-m!
Sorry it's been so long again!!! These past couple of weeks have been absolutely insane.
ISRAEL TODAY SEMINAR: Feb. 1-3
Day 1: Tel Aviv
There were three different options in Tel Aviv that we could choose from, and my group focused on arts and culture. We started off the day with a small tour of Old Yaffo, and our tour guide showed us some works that were made in Tel Aviv during different periods, many of which I recognized from my art history class. We visited this Arab theatre, and then went to a Blind Museum where there are no lights and everything is pitch black, as in you never ever adjust because there is no light at all. It was so cool. There was a rain forest, a house, a boat, a grocery store (you could actually buy stuff!!), and a market. I know this because I could feel it with my hands (fruit in the market, a bed in the house, etc.). It was truly an amazing experience. Then we went to a mall for an hour to grab dinner, and then to a show called Not By Bread Alone, where the actors and actresses are deaf, blind, or both. It was very special to watch. Most of the time I forgot they couldn't see or hear. They told us their life stories. They started baking bread at the beginning, and then at the end we got to eat it! Cool!!
Day 2: Jerusalem
First we went to Meiah Shearim to learn about Haredi life, but it consisted mostly of playing with small Haredi children, and also listening to a Haredi man speak about their way of life. Then we went to the Israel Museum and then to the Science Museum.
Day 3: Givat Haviva
Givat Haviva is a place in the North that serves as a center for peace between Arabs and Jews. A man spoke to us for a really long time, and it was boring, so I unfortunately do not remember much more than that about that place. Sorry. That night we went to the light show at Migdal David about the history of Jerusalem. It was my second time seeing it, but it was still amazingly cool.
Feb. 4: PACKING DAY. We had to pack ALL of our stuff to be put on a truck down to Yerucham, plus a duffel bag for tiyul. What a balagan.
NEGEV TIYUL: Feb. 5-11
Day 1:
-Hike (every day we got to choose between hard hike and easy hike or art. I chose hard hike every day because they were the best!)
-Camel ride
-Slept at the Bedouin tent
Day 2:
-Hike
-Shabbat at Kibbutz Keturah
Day 3:
-Relaxed a lot
-Night activity: holistic healing. What a joke. It was more like an evening of trust falls. There were also the options of playing soccer with some Israelis or having a bonfire with some Israelis.
-Slept at Kibbutz Keturah
Day 4:
-Hike
-Kasui sand dunes (SO MUCH FUN!!)
-Slept at Kibbutz Keturah
Day 5:
-Hike
-We were supposed to go for a boat ride, but the weather was bad... instead they gave us the choice to go to a biblical themed amusement park (ha ha.. how silly) or to a place with paint-balling and an amazing ropes course. I chose the latter. It was wonderful.
-Free night in Eilat
-Slept in Eilat at the Adi Hotel
Day 6 (Israeli Election Day):
-Most amazing hike ever
-Tubing/banana boating (WHAT A THRILL)
-A bunch of friends and I got really cool hair wraps!!
-Made my own fro yo! My friend Ashley and I got to pick out fruit and operate the machine to mix it with yogurt and turn it into fro yo, because the guy who worked at the store was too lazy to get up from his chair.
-Got a fever :(
-Slept in Eilat
Day 7:
-Packed up our stuff and loaded the buses
-Went to a rest stop where we ate lunch and said bye to our friends
-Arrived in YERUCHAM!!!
Y-E-R-U-CH-A-M!!!
So far all we have done is:
a) Unpack and organize our apartments
b) Listen to people tell us about what life in Yerucham is going to be like
I signed up to volunteer in a Gan. Hopefully that works out.
I have my own apartment!!! There are two rooms. Room 1: Me, Becky, Ashley. Room 2: Kari, Beth, Misha, Kesha. It's so much fun, but weird to be living in my own apartment. Everything is coming together nicely. Tonight we had our first real meal of salad and tofu and vegetable stir fry. Right now our fridge is broken, so we have to keep certain things in our staff's fridge, but it should be fixed tomorrow. Our shower also doesn't work, so we have to go use one of the other Nativ apartments for now. Oh, Israel.
That's all for now! :)
-Sarah
ISRAEL TODAY SEMINAR: Feb. 1-3
Day 1: Tel Aviv
There were three different options in Tel Aviv that we could choose from, and my group focused on arts and culture. We started off the day with a small tour of Old Yaffo, and our tour guide showed us some works that were made in Tel Aviv during different periods, many of which I recognized from my art history class. We visited this Arab theatre, and then went to a Blind Museum where there are no lights and everything is pitch black, as in you never ever adjust because there is no light at all. It was so cool. There was a rain forest, a house, a boat, a grocery store (you could actually buy stuff!!), and a market. I know this because I could feel it with my hands (fruit in the market, a bed in the house, etc.). It was truly an amazing experience. Then we went to a mall for an hour to grab dinner, and then to a show called Not By Bread Alone, where the actors and actresses are deaf, blind, or both. It was very special to watch. Most of the time I forgot they couldn't see or hear. They told us their life stories. They started baking bread at the beginning, and then at the end we got to eat it! Cool!!
Day 2: Jerusalem
First we went to Meiah Shearim to learn about Haredi life, but it consisted mostly of playing with small Haredi children, and also listening to a Haredi man speak about their way of life. Then we went to the Israel Museum and then to the Science Museum.
Day 3: Givat Haviva
Givat Haviva is a place in the North that serves as a center for peace between Arabs and Jews. A man spoke to us for a really long time, and it was boring, so I unfortunately do not remember much more than that about that place. Sorry. That night we went to the light show at Migdal David about the history of Jerusalem. It was my second time seeing it, but it was still amazingly cool.
Feb. 4: PACKING DAY. We had to pack ALL of our stuff to be put on a truck down to Yerucham, plus a duffel bag for tiyul. What a balagan.
NEGEV TIYUL: Feb. 5-11
Day 1:
-Hike (every day we got to choose between hard hike and easy hike or art. I chose hard hike every day because they were the best!)
-Camel ride
-Slept at the Bedouin tent
Day 2:
-Hike
-Shabbat at Kibbutz Keturah
Day 3:
-Relaxed a lot
-Night activity: holistic healing. What a joke. It was more like an evening of trust falls. There were also the options of playing soccer with some Israelis or having a bonfire with some Israelis.
-Slept at Kibbutz Keturah
Day 4:
-Hike
-Kasui sand dunes (SO MUCH FUN!!)
-Slept at Kibbutz Keturah
Day 5:
-Hike
-We were supposed to go for a boat ride, but the weather was bad... instead they gave us the choice to go to a biblical themed amusement park (ha ha.. how silly) or to a place with paint-balling and an amazing ropes course. I chose the latter. It was wonderful.
-Free night in Eilat
-Slept in Eilat at the Adi Hotel
Day 6 (Israeli Election Day):
-Most amazing hike ever
-Tubing/banana boating (WHAT A THRILL)
-A bunch of friends and I got really cool hair wraps!!
-Made my own fro yo! My friend Ashley and I got to pick out fruit and operate the machine to mix it with yogurt and turn it into fro yo, because the guy who worked at the store was too lazy to get up from his chair.
-Got a fever :(
-Slept in Eilat
Day 7:
-Packed up our stuff and loaded the buses
-Went to a rest stop where we ate lunch and said bye to our friends
-Arrived in YERUCHAM!!!
Y-E-R-U-CH-A-M!!!
So far all we have done is:
a) Unpack and organize our apartments
b) Listen to people tell us about what life in Yerucham is going to be like
I signed up to volunteer in a Gan. Hopefully that works out.
I have my own apartment!!! There are two rooms. Room 1: Me, Becky, Ashley. Room 2: Kari, Beth, Misha, Kesha. It's so much fun, but weird to be living in my own apartment. Everything is coming together nicely. Tonight we had our first real meal of salad and tofu and vegetable stir fry. Right now our fridge is broken, so we have to keep certain things in our staff's fridge, but it should be fixed tomorrow. Our shower also doesn't work, so we have to go use one of the other Nativ apartments for now. Oh, Israel.
That's all for now! :)
-Sarah
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