Pretty picture...

So today commenced at 7:30 a.m., like most Tuesdays, with a bus trip to somewhere in Israel other than Arad. Today's Tuesday Seminar was located at Sede Boker, the site of a small kibbutz in the Negev where David Ben-Gurion made his home. The theme of the seminar was leadership, which was a fairly worthless theme, but learning more about Ben-Gurion was interesting, the view from his gravesite (the picture above, of the Little Machtesh) is spectacular, and we also got to visit an army base near Sede Boker.

Now, the next picture may be disturbing to some, who know that I have aspirations of universal domination. While at the army base, we were allowed an attempt at target practice on a shooting range. To be perfectly honest, the guns were loud and annoying. I think I still like swords better-more drama and elegance, less noise and kicking against one's shoulder. But it was an exciting thing to try for a nice little Jewish girl (or a not-so-nice one as the case may be) who had never held a gun before! I don't know if I hit the target or not, but that gun sure as hell made a lot of noise!

Just another week in Arad

Another week has come and gone, this one bringing with it the start of my second semester at WUJS. It wasn't an exciting week, but it wasn't bad either.

On Monday, we started our classes (except for ulpan, which began on Sunday). I signed up for "contemporary dilemmas in halachah," a title which makes me wonder how we will cover such a broad topic in just seven or eight weeks! On Wednesday afternoons, I have a diaspora literature class, which is absolutely fascinating so far. We had to read two stories written by an Australian Jewish author, semi-autobiographical accounts of his life as a new Australian after the Holocaust, as the child of refugees. This morning, I had a class called "Who's Who in the Zoo," which provides a look at political figures in the Israeli and Middle Eastern arena.

Other than classes, I've been involved in my music lessons. I'm starting to be able to play the piano just a little bit. I'm still pretty crappy at it, to be honest. Violin is much more fulfilling, because I get to play real pieces and not babyish crap. Singing is not the greatest, because despite all of the rain we get in Arad, it's still a very dry place. I have to drink a lot of water just so my voice doesn't go all funny.

This weekend, we were supposed to have a shabbaton in Jerusalem, but the place cancelled on us. So now we have an impromptu "Shabbat at WUJS," which basically means that we stay at the merkaz klitah like any other weekend, but unlike any other weekend, we get fed. I'm not yet sure this is a good thing, considering the quality of the food we normally get here.

That's about it. Time for bed!

Start of semester the second

It's amazing how quickly time flies when you don't have to spend four hours a day in a freezing ulpan classroom. Therefore, almost before I realized that our break had even started it was over, and this morning I found myself once again arguing with our resident Brit over how long to keep the heater on in our kitah.

Amusingly enough, we had two "reorinentation" meetings today. The first one was specifically for ulpan, in which we were told in very specific terms that tardiness and stuff like that would no longer be tolerated. After we broke up into our classes, our teacher, of course, told us that no such thing would be happening. Just as I suspected! Class was ok. We learned a few new words and constructed sentences. We went over past and future tenses of one category of verbs, and then learned the noun version of the same verbs. A highly educational experience for kitah bet, all in all.

Our second orientation was more useful, in that we basically just talked about scheduling and stuff like that. Tonight, we have our official party to open our second semester.

The weather here is weird. It rained most of the day yesterday once again, and I stick to my opinion that the Negev is turning into a rain forest. The wind here is crazy. My power flickered on and off most of the night, and the windows were seriously rattling. We had a few days of warmth, but it's now cold again. Someone told me that Arad sometimes has a false spring. Just when you think the weather is going to stay nice, it gets cold again. That kind of sounds like Milwaukee, doesn't it?

Nearing the end of break

It's been seriously nice to have no classes, and to get to do whatever I want for two weeks. I've never been totally on my own in Israel before, and I have to say that it's great to realize that I can actually get where I want to go by myself.

I went to Jerusalem for three days while Joshua was there with his Birthright group. It was pretty fun, despite the fact that it kind of went by too quickly, and I had to go back to Arad. Is it weird that my first thought upon entering the hotel was that I hadn't seen carpeting in almost three months? Yeah, I guess that's kind of weird.

However, the weirdest thing about being in Israel is how Milwaukee keeps reappearing here. The first sighting occured a week after getting to Israel in the Tel Aviv Central Bus Station. The second was at Kibbutz Keturah. The third was this past weekend on Ben Yehudah Street in Jerusalem. Someone just called my name from behind, and it turned out to be people I know from Milwaukee. Definitely weird!

Also, I've discovered the wonders of being able to travel to Be'er Sheva. To be honest, Arad is nice, but there's not much to do here. So over break, I've taken a few trips to Be'er Sheva. Once, Charlotte and I went to see a movie. We saw Deja Vu, with Denzel Washington. It's not exactly going to be an Oscar contender, but it was a movie nonetheless. Yesterday, I just went to the music store (pathetically stocked) and to the mall. It was nice to be able to follow directions in Hebrew and find my way around a new city.

Next up on the agenda: making dinner and watching a movie with Charlotte and Rivka. We've decided on my personal favorite, The Producers (the original, not the new one, of course).

Rainiest desert EVER!

Now, I'm not entirely sure about this, but I was always led to believe that the word "desert" implied an arid landscape, with little rain. Arad is in the desert. So why is it so frickin' rainy here? Two weeks ago, when we had that huge storm with the snow and hail, I was told that it probably wouldn't rain again while I was in Arad.

It rained two days later. And a few days after that. Really, it's barely stopped raining in the past two weeks. I'm fairly sure that Arad is set to become the world's next rainforest.

Other than the rain, life is good. This is mostly due to the wonderful fact that classes are now over, and I will shortly be able to see people who I have known for more than ten weeks of my life. I really never thought I'd want to see my brother. Perhaps it's because he's bringing me things I need from home. Yes, that must be the source of my excitement.

Last night, when I got home from grocery shopping, I discovered that neither elevator in the mirkaz klitah worked. As a matter of fact, quite a few Ethiopians were squashed into a non-working elevator at that moment. I don't think they were enjoying it! Hopefully, both will be up and working for the weekend.

That's about it for now. Boring, I know. Next, I'm off to my violin lesson and orchestra rehearsal.

Was that just thunder? What kind of desert is this??

End of semester blues

This is the obligatory Jerusalem skyline picture, taken from the Mount of Olives.


This is Charlotte, my room mate, with me in Jerusalem yesterday. We were supposed to be listening to a tour guide talking about the Arab village in the background.


It's almost the end of the semester, and the Peace and Social Justice track people are about to end their communal WUJS experience, and will henceforth apply their newfound knowledge to some sort of internship. Goodbye, gentle PSJers! Your hippy ways will not be forgotten by those you leave behind.

On another note, we went to Jerusalem yesterday. As a result, I have pictures. Yay, pictures! We toured the "seamlines" of Jerusalem, meaning that we saw lots of Arab neighborhoods, drove along the Green Line, and the like. It was pretty interesting, and the views from the lookout points where we stopped were breathtaking. At night, we took a short tour of the Old City, led by our intrepid madrichah Osnat, ending at the Kotel.