Archaeology of Jerusalem- our first field trip, to the City of David, is tomorrow.
Colloquial Arabic- after learning the letters for 2 years at Muhlenberg, I had hoped I could go further, but none of the professors think I know enough to study Modern Standard Arabic independently with a tutor, so I'm here in Colloquial where I'll learn basic conversation in the urban Jerusalem dialect, but here's the stumper: everything is written in English.
Hebrew- Just like before, so this past week of "Ulpan continued," we learned everything we had learned over the past month, again! I'm working on a way out...
Colloquial Arabic- after learning the letters for 2 years at Muhlenberg, I had hoped I could go further, but none of the professors think I know enough to study Modern Standard Arabic independently with a tutor, so I'm here in Colloquial where I'll learn basic conversation in the urban Jerusalem dialect, but here's the stumper: everything is written in English.
Hebrew- Just like before, so this past week of "Ulpan continued," we learned everything we had learned over the past month, again! I'm working on a way out...
JESNA Interns- Here is something different. I have a class that discusses/explores/etc. Jewish education in America and Israel, but I also have an internship of my own. Late last week I met with the Ethiopian National Project , a non profit grassroots organization that works to create programs for Ethiopian immigrants, including scholastic, crime prevention, parent programs, and others. So where am I in this process? As of now, I'll be traveling each week to communities around the country, interviewing residents for their stories, learning Amharic, taking pictures, and recording my experiences on a blog on their website! My first visit is Wednesday in Beit Shemesh, located right outside of Jerusalem.
That was this week. Now, for the second consecutive weekend, rain was in the forecast, so once again, I tried to escape it. Assuming that my very basic knowledge of the environment is accurate, rain almost never falls in deserts, right? Wrong! I'll get to that later, but basically I chose simply stunning southern seaside city of Eilat , for its beautiful beaches, summer-like weather, and amazing views of the mountains of Jordan, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia.
Now the details become a little strange. I took a 7am bus Friday morning from Jerusalem to Eilat, and on the way down, through the Negev desert, I couldn't help but notice, while I sat next to an old man who looked like Frank Meisler , that it was strange to be spotting a few puddles in this area. How interesting, I thought, and fell back to sleep...
Arriving in Eilat, I found my place of residence- a bungalow in the backyard of some Eilat resident named Aharon- faster than the rest of the group that I was staying with (mostly counselors from my summer camp). I must point out that this weekend I watched easily fifteen episodes of "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia," a Seinfeld-style sitcom of a gang at a bar that always ruins it for everybody else. Very funny. At night was a cookout, in the calming confines of Aharon's backyard...
But the highlight of Eilat was Saturday. My old JC from Camp, Ben Kurland, and I went on a date swimming with the dolphins, and I say date, because one of the rules of our snorkeling adventure at Dolphin Reef was that we had to hold hands. It was a great ride, because the corral reefs were right under us, we could play underwater catch with the jellyfish, and dolphins came right up to us. Even afterwards, one of them spat on me through his/her air hole (sorta like that scene in Jurassic Park, but not sick and not severe). I felt very relaxed once I had overcome my fear of breathing under water.
The last adventure of this weekend was the ride home. Remember when I considered Eilat because it was a desert city and desert cities don't get rain? Well I found this headline on JPost.com when I arrived back in Jerusalem:
"1/3/09 8:27 Highway 90 was closed to traffic near Ein Gedi on Sunday morning due to flooding in the area. Drivers were advised to avoid the area and use alternate routes."
That was this week. Now, for the second consecutive weekend, rain was in the forecast, so once again, I tried to escape it. Assuming that my very basic knowledge of the environment is accurate, rain almost never falls in deserts, right? Wrong! I'll get to that later, but basically I chose simply stunning southern seaside city of Eilat , for its beautiful beaches, summer-like weather, and amazing views of the mountains of Jordan, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia.
Now the details become a little strange. I took a 7am bus Friday morning from Jerusalem to Eilat, and on the way down, through the Negev desert, I couldn't help but notice, while I sat next to an old man who looked like Frank Meisler , that it was strange to be spotting a few puddles in this area. How interesting, I thought, and fell back to sleep...
Arriving in Eilat, I found my place of residence- a bungalow in the backyard of some Eilat resident named Aharon- faster than the rest of the group that I was staying with (mostly counselors from my summer camp). I must point out that this weekend I watched easily fifteen episodes of "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia," a Seinfeld-style sitcom of a gang at a bar that always ruins it for everybody else. Very funny. At night was a cookout, in the calming confines of Aharon's backyard...
But the highlight of Eilat was Saturday. My old JC from Camp, Ben Kurland, and I went on a date swimming with the dolphins, and I say date, because one of the rules of our snorkeling adventure at Dolphin Reef was that we had to hold hands. It was a great ride, because the corral reefs were right under us, we could play underwater catch with the jellyfish, and dolphins came right up to us. Even afterwards, one of them spat on me through his/her air hole (sorta like that scene in Jurassic Park, but not sick and not severe). I felt very relaxed once I had overcome my fear of breathing under water.
The last adventure of this weekend was the ride home. Remember when I considered Eilat because it was a desert city and desert cities don't get rain? Well I found this headline on JPost.com when I arrived back in Jerusalem:
"1/3/09 8:27 Highway 90 was closed to traffic near Ein Gedi on Sunday morning due to flooding in the area. Drivers were advised to avoid the area and use alternate routes."
I wish I had known that before I took a five hour bus ride on Highway 90. Our bus driver was some kind of hero for taking us over at least three completely flooded crossings. In the desert, when it rains, there's always a flash flood warning, because the wadis come to life, and that's exactly what happened. There were tens of cars of the side of the road and people taking pictures on both sides of the floods. Unfortunately my camera battery died at Dolphin Reef, so I present to you the fantastic photographic genius of Ben Kurland (Ben's camera was injured during the flood, but once recovered, it yielded sights of desert splendor!)
No comments:
Post a Comment