A Cabbie’s Proposal

 

Ashley gazes up in awe at a cliff on Mount Arbel.

If you’ll humor me, I’ll start this post off with a funny anecdote. The story includes a cab driver, his daughter and a marriage proposal. A bunch of us went to Tiberias (city on Sea of Galilee) for the weekend. We took a cab to hiking spot and I seized the opportunity to practice my Hebrew. We start off, the cabbie and I, with casual conversation — where are you from? how long have you been a cabbie? do all the Israeli girls look like models, etc. — and then he starts inquiring into my financial background. I tell him I have money (a white lie to spur conversation), and he tells me he has a daughter. I tell him I am interested, so he calls her and puts her on speakerphone. We chat in Hebrew. He talks to her, too. I have no idea what they are saying. End of story: I give him my phone number when he drops us off and he promises to pass it along to Vered, who, by the way, has a boyfriend! He didn’t mention that until later. Nice guy, though.

Ok. Now if you’re still reading, I’ll include some meatier information. This weekend, like I said, we went to Tiberias. About 15 of us camped out on the beach one night and shacked up in a hostel the other night. We braved a 3-hour hike through the mountains and an ancient Jewish settlement (4th century AD).

This weekend we have off for Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year. I am going back to my friend’s place in Modiin, which is halfway between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. No significant plans yet other to elicit a few laughs at the holiday table with my shaky Hebrew.

Ulpan continues to progress. I study about four hours in class and then maybe two outside. On Thursday, I volunteered at an after-school hangout spot for kids, where they come to get out of their house and talk about life. The kids were great. And they even spoke English!

Thanks for reading!

A New Year

 

 

Ethiopian Jews, who are new immigrants to Israel, hosted a New Years party at the Absorption Center.

I came to Israel in search of a world perspective. Last night, that perspective emanated from a charismatic group of Ethiopian Jews.

In the absorption center in Upper Nazareth, where new immigrants to Israel come to establish a springboard for their new lives, everyone congregated on the center’s basketball court to bring in the Ethiopian New Year. There was dancing, drinking, eating, joke telling, poetry reading, all which spurred the intermingling of Jews from Ethiopia, Ukraine, Lithuania, Israel and our group of bright-eyed Americans.

Last night embodied the optimism and hope that drives families from across the world to come to Israel. And we, the Americans, are here now in Upper Nazareth, to help cultivate that hope and help them succeed. Sunday, we start our Hebrew classes (from 8:45AM to 12:45PM), and in the afternoon, we will all disperse in the town and the absorption center to offer our skills to anyone in need. Mostly, we will be teaching English to the kids in the center and also venture into the town to mentor troubled youths. There are a multitude of other opportunities, but I will not list them in respect to your time.

We have already been here a week, but we have, for the most part, been tourists — sightseeing Jerusalem and the Dead Sea, hiking, and staying in a Bedouin tent. On Sunday, the whole reason for our being here will commence. A bit of nerves pervade our group, but most people are excited to start — as I like to facetiously say — saving the world.

-Brian

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