Catching Up!

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.

Until next time. Peace!