Another 2 Week Gap

The two week mark seems to be when people start suggesting I update my blog. Here are some tidbits:

There's been a change to the staffing of our program (namely we'll be getting a new program director), but I'm not sure what implications that will have for our experience.

Last week Kadima El Amam had a barbecue, which was a lot of fun. A former volunteer donated the meat, and we had it on Lag B'Omer. The food was amazing. Plus, the kids really enjoyed a day off, where they weren't expected to study or learn, but simply to enjoy themselves. After the barbecue there was a birthday celebration, which was super cute.

Lag B'Omer was fine. It's a children's holiday. On Erev Lag B'Omer, the kids build bonfires and then stay up all night with them. We went to a bonfire in Qiryat Ekron, which was huge. It was very nice of them to invite us, but it wasn't a super-exciting holiday, at least to me. We had fun at the bonfire, watching people try to roast marshmallows on the massive fire--this involved lots of long tree branches with ten or twenty marshmallows jammed on the ends. Israeli marshmallows tend to be colored and flavored--usually strawberry, vanilla and lemon. It's hard not to enjoy a strawberry marshmallow.

We went on a two-day trip to the Golan Heights. I know they will eventually end up UN-monitored territory in any peace agreement, but I'm a little sad they won't stay purely Israeli. The streams and rivers in the Golan feed into the Knerret, and as the Knerret is Israel's only freshwater supply, any threat to the Knerret is a threat to Israel (this is one of the major reasons the Golan Heights were taken in the first place). Aside from being a natural and political resource, the Golan is incredibly beautiful. It's one of the only areas in Israel where you can find a hike full of shade and water. We went on a five hour hike on a mountain (the hike takes two hours in a smaller group), which was a ton of fun--I love playing billy goat.

The next day we went on a "water hike". The water in the river was a bit high, so we had to get out at points to avoid the strong current. It was incredibly fun. I'd love to do that kind of hike again. Being me, I knocked into rocks and lots my footing quite a bit, but without any noticable bruises or cuts (unlike the previous day's hike), because the water was so cold it kept bruising to a minimum.

This past week we went to Dialog in the Darkness. It's an underground museum, with no lights. The point is to experience the museum through sound, touch, smell, and taste, as if one is blind. It was a very cool experience. Yael, our city coordinator, went with us. Yael had previously gone with a group of Israeli young women. She says that the Israelis didn't cry so much about being in the dark (some people are whiny in our program), but they also didn't explore the rooms as much. There was a rainforest-like room, a "boat", an Israeli market, a city street, a music room, and a cafeteria. I enjoyed the experience, but I definitely think it would be better without people who are scared of the dark. This particular museum just isn't very fun for them.

This Friday my Uncle Ralph arrives in Israel, and is going to introduce me to our Israeli family. I'm excited to finally meet them.