I really shouldn't be writing this because I should be studying for winter semester finals instead. But what the hell? Procrastination is a good friend for people in college and beyond. I still have a take home final to write, an exam to study for, and two projects to finish.
In the evening on February 9th, I mentioned that I was going to a party at Lima Lima to celebrate Oranim 75 arriving in Israel. Right before the party, my program had an enrichment on the Arab-Israeli Conflict. We watched a video about an orthodox guy and an Arab guy who have day jobs in Jerusalem, but at any moment's notice, they could get a call to go help someone in need -- they are both volunteer EMTs. One of them could have any kind of call and may be going into a section of Jerusalem in which they may not be welcomed, based on their background. The orthodox guy once had to go into Silwan, a predominantly Palestinian village located in East Jerusalem that has no street signs or house numbers. However, often in Silwan, it doesn't matter who is tending to whom in times of emergency, as long as everyone is safe. Jews and Palestinians don't necessarily treat each other like brothers, but they recognize that fighting each other over identity and culture at that present moment is not the most important thing because someone's in danger. The second video introduced a Palestinian family that has lived in Silwan for 2-3 generations and refused to be removed from their property. They argued how the Israeli government is evil, how the City of David used to be a Palestinian village until the government kicked them out, and so on. It's unfortunate that the video only provided one view. It would have helped if they showed an Israeli family in a similar situation in the West Bank or Gaza. The party was very fun, I got to dance a little and hang with my friends.
Tuesday February 14th was Valentine's Day. Yes, I had a valentine but only one. She's not currently in Israel but she's coming back shortly. During the past couple days, I had seen a bunch of stands selling Valentine's Day-related products, so the holiday is big here but not as big as in the U.S. Everything now is so commercialized in the U.S.; corporations look to squeeze as much money as possible out of consumers. Sometimes, I wonder if the commercialization has almost ruined the holidays because people feel like they're obligated to celebrate it. It's different in Israel which is nice. Regardless, it was a great day. Class just took up the day and I relaxed when I got home.
Knicks phenom Jeremy Lin
Since then, I have volunteered more helping to tutor children in English, worked more on Zao projects, and I worked hard on the Conflict Management project which was due on Tuesday. Adam and I were a duo, and knowing him as one of my best friends here, he and I get into quite a few conflicts, granted they're small and sometimes stupid (but fun). We disagreed over what company to do the project; he wanted to do Quiksilver, the boarding apparel company and I wanted to do the Red Sox. I thought the Red Sox would be a good company to do because the sports world is a turbulent environment filled with unpredictability. They have a new GM, new manager, and about a quarter of the new roster is new (while Tim Wakefield and possibly Jason Varitek have retired). We compromised on doing the New York Knicks. The 2011-2012 NBA season is currently going on, and the Knicks are in such a chaotic area, it's not even funny. The third-string point guard Jeremy Lin has become a dynamic force after injuries sidelined Carmelo Anthony and Baron Davis. He is the new most popular player in the game, even with race issues with ESPN and new signings coming into play. Adam and I worked on the whole project together, so it was literally a 50/50 job. We got into many of our own conflicts writing the paper and making the PowerPoint, but we make a great team.
A painting representing Cain and Abel
This past Wednesday, Adam, Alex, and I went out to celebrate Alex's birthday. With the plans of going to a club, it went in a completely different direction. We went to this nice outdoor restaurant on the beach to smoke some hookah and enjoy hanging out, then went to Allenby St. to walk around and grab a bite. It was an early night but fun. Last night, the majority of my program went to the Tel Aviv Museum of Art. If you know me, I'm not one much for art except for maybe the really historical and classical pieces. I would love to go to the Louvre one day. I wasn't too impressed with many of the pieces but they were cool. It was a nice way to get out of the house from studying for a couple hours. On the way back, my friend Samantha told me to try some awesome pizza at Dizengoff Square; I'm going to have to go there again.
So until next time, I have exams to study for and projects to do. After Tuesday, I have ten days off to relax and chill, maybe take a trip or two around Israel. No Eurotrip this time. L'hitraot!
Hey, so my friend Shelly, from the Tel Aviv Internship program that started the same day I did, recently interviewed me for the Israel Way-Oranim newsletter. Typically included in the newsletter is a description of popular upcoming events around Tel Aviv, Hebrew Phrases of the Week, information on a characteristic or place in Israel, and a participant interview. I am the featured participant of the week! I'll write a new post in the next few days. Check out the article below:
Participant Interview
This week we interviewed Josh Rubock. Josh graduated from the University of Connecticut (UConn) last May with a double major in Psychology and Communication and a minor in Business. Josh is currently receiving his Master's on our NYU-Poly Master's in Israel program. The NYU-Poly Master's in Israel program gives participants the opportunity to receive their Master's degree in either Business Management or Organizational Behavior. The NYU-Poly Master's program is an the amazing opportunity to receive a Master's degree in a year or less at half the price of the degree in the States, all while living in fun-filled Tel Aviv.
Josh came to Israel once before on Taglit-Brithright in 2009. "It was an amazing trip and I knew I had to come back." Josh has had the most amazing time on the NYU-Poly Master's program so far. "I've made great friends, enjoyed the trips around the country and am enjoying the program immensely....I've done things I wouldn't have done otherwise in the 4 months I've been here so far."
"What attracted me to this program initially was the fact that I could live in Israel for 10 months and receive a Master's degree. I wanted to learn more about Israeli culture and know more about the Holy Land that God gave to us thousands of years ago.....The benefit of getting my degree through Israel Way - Oranim is that I get an international focus with a renowned university(NYU). I never got a chance to study abroad in college so this was the perfect opportunity to do so in the best country in the world."
Josh is studying towards his Master's of Science in Organizational Behavior (MSOB). "I like my classes so far; all the teachers have a different teaching styles and I have enjoyed and adjusted to each teaching style provided to me." Some of Josh's favorite classes include Human Resource Management, Organizational Theory and Design and Conflict Management. He loves learning about conflict management, "it was one of my favorite classes during undergrad." Josh likes Human Resource Management because it covers a lot of the important bases that have to do with the career in HR. Upon graduating Josh plans of pursuing a career in HR. When asked about life in Tel Aviv, Josh replied, "Tel Aviv is a bustling city, there's so much here that I can do. Go to the clubs and bars, the beach, the malls, and neighboring cities....I love having the opportunity to visit Jerusalem on a weekend, go to the beach in Eilat or hike the mountains in the Golan at just a drive away. "
Josh takes classes 2-3 days a week and Ulpan (Hebrew class) and Enrichment (education on Israel Zionism) once a week. The NYU-Poly program also goes on trips around Israel once a month. Josh volunteers in Neve Tsedek, the first neighborhood of Tel Aviv, helping kids with their English homework. He also participates in an Israel Public Diplomacy course at Tel Aviv University. Josh's activities don't stop there! He is a marketing/HR intern at Zao. Zao is "a start-up company that willsoon be selling an applicant tracking system (ATS) which focuses on referrals through social networks, such as Facebook." Josh tasks include writing blog posts and emails to potential customers in English-speaking countries. On top of all that Josh is also part of the Partners Program. The Partners Program is a joint group of Israel Way - Oranim participants and Tel Aviv Academic College students. Josh thinks the Partners program is a great way to meet Israelis the same age. "I wanted to be a part of this program to make more connections, make friends with Israelis, to learn more about them and Israeli culture."
To learn more about Josh, his travels and his studies check out his blog!
So I went on the Eurotrip a whole month ago already, and all I've written about since then was the Eurotrip. So here's an update on what I've been doing since then. It's been relatively quiet because I've been tired and sleeping a lot, but in Israel, you're always doing something.
Hyrax
On January 16th, we started classes for the winter semester. I'm taking Conflict Management, Organization Development, and Management of Information Systems. So far, I'm actually enjoying these classes, partially because it's an easy workload but mainly because they're very interesting. On January 19th, Oranim took a trip to the Ein Gedi nature reserve and the Dead Sea. We woke up at 5am and no one was happy. We went to Ein Gedi first to take a hike. We saw a couple hyraxes and some beautiful waterfalls. The day turned out to be a great day; I got to swim in the Dead Sea for an extended period of time and put mud on myself twice. I even got Cory to come in; it took a little persuading, but he said it was completely worth it. The next night, I enjoyed going out late with Cory and Nathalie. We walked around the beach area, went to a restaurant to enjoy some champagne very late at night, and then hung out at a 24 hour coffee shop until the wee hours of the morning. It was very relaxing.
On January 26th, we had a special enrichment program. A guy who had experienced the horrors of the Darfur massacre firsthand came in to tell us his story. He explained what he had dealt with as a kid, how he escaped from Sudan, what he currently does now, and his future plans. He escaped Sudan by himself, but met an Israeli on the way and befriended him. On his way out of Africa, he was imprisoned in Egypt for 28 days, and upon release, crossed the border into Israel and viewed himself as a free man. He applied for a temporary visa and has been living in Tel Aviv for four years. Given the status of his visa, he is allowed to leave the country, but he would have a lot of trouble getting back in. He plans on going to American University in a couple years to get his Bachelor's degree and to live in the United States. Afterwards, he would like to travel and talk about his experiences, and actually go back to Sudan. He is happy with his life right now, working and living in Tel Aviv. His brother lives with him, but until recently, he didn't even know his brother was alive. However, they left the rest of their family back in Sudan to save themselves. It was a very interesting conversation, we all asked him questions that pertained to his life and his plans for the future.
On the night of January 28th, a bunch of us from the Master's program went to Club Seret to celebrate Naum's birthday. What a fun night! Alex made an AWESOME video (which you can see to the right). We drank and, all in all, I couldn't have had more fun.
The next week had a few highlights: I wished my dad a happy birthday on January 29th (now's the time to go "Awwww!"), more and more classes, and we engaged in an enrichment program in which we learned about Israeli politics. I now know so much more about it than I ever imagined. The Knesset has 120 seats (a lot for a small country of 7.5 million people) but it's all because the Israeli government considers the opinions of every single type of group in a very diverse country. There's the main parties including Likud, Labor, and Kadima. Then there's a few Arab parties, mainly made up of Arab-Israelis and a few Jews who believe in their rights (not that everyone else in other parties don't believe in Arabs' rights because they do). There's also religious parties and secular parties. Kadima (the party that Ariel Sharon is a member of) has the most seats in the Knesset at 28, Likud has 27, and Labor has 13. Most of the rest of the many parties have anywhere between 3-17.
Zodiac sign on the Wishing Bridge
Last week, I also went to Jaffa for the first time since being here. I met up with Nathalie at the Jaffa Port and we walked around part of the area. We passed by the Zodiac Fountain and went to the Wishing Bridge. Both she and I made wishes (no, I'm going to tell you my wish) while putting our hands on our Zodiacs. If you don't know what mine is, it's Taurus. I put my hand on the Zodiac sign facing the Mediterranean Sea and made a wish. Walking around that part of Jaffa was reminiscent of Birthright, when we visited the port, too. I took a picture of Tel Aviv, a very similar one I took three years ago during my first time in Israel. I almost felt like I was living a dream.
This week has been a relatively quiet week so far; I haven't done much, just go to school. However, tonight is going to be a blast. Oranim is going to a club called Lima Lima for a welcome party for Group 75. They're the new internship group that just moved in to Tel Aviv.
Recently, I've also been reading stories about how Israel is getting ready for a possible attack on Iran. Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak has mentioned a possible attack may be in order soon if sanctions fail. As well, Iran continues to say that Israel and the Jews are a "cancerous tumor for the Middle East" and that Israel needs to be hit by 2014. What kind of craziness lies in Iran? I wish I weren't saying this, but I can see a war breaking out soon. Let's just hope Netanyahu or the next Israeli Prime Minister AND Obama or the next U.S. President can figure things out which will not lead to war in the future.
