Today was the final day of my 6-week Biblical Hebrew ulpan and it was very sad to say goodbye to Kibbutz Tzuba and to my fellow students (and teachers). I've had a great experience here and would highly recommend this school to anyone who really wants to acquire fluency in reading the Hebrew bible. We will spend the next week taking day trips around Israel from Jerusalem then fly back to Richmond on Monday the 6th.
I think one of the strangest things about being here has been how disconnected I have been with everyone back in the US. Being busy usually makes staying in touch difficult but it's been so much harder to stay in touch here with the added stresses of travel and internet problems (my connection is sort of working now). We're all looking forward to getting "home" soon. Shabbat shalom.
Friday, July 27, 2007
Friday, July 20, 2007
We finally have Internet...but now the computer isn't working
I am writing this from an internet kiosk at the hotel across the street from our apt in Jerusalem. I hope to have the problem fixed before I return to the kibbutz for class Monday morning, but for now we still have very limited e-mail access. I thought Peru was supposed to be the third world part of our adventures. Once we're back on I'll get our latest photos posted. Rae and the kids came with my class on our trip to the north (Megido, Jezreel, Sea of Galilee, Hatzor, Dan, Golan Heights, Mt. Gilboa, Bet Shean). Because we're studying Hebrew we visited sites corresponding to our Old Testament readings (Solomon's fortified cities, Naboth's Vineyard, the death of Jezebel, Jeraboam's gold calves, the death of Saul, Gideon). The best thing about the field trips has been how they have impressed the geography of the Bible on my mind. Other than the geography there is really not much to see here from the days of the Judges and Kings of Israel. It is all buried under more than 3000 yrs of Persian, Greek, Roman, Crusader, and Turkish history. This is interesting in itself but not really why we came here.
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Internet Connection at the Kibbutz is Still Difficult
We're saying good-bye to Tel Aviv where the kids and I have spent weeks 1,2, and 4. We've had a great time at the beach and the pool as well as seeing a bit of the city: Joppa, playgrounds, architecture, and the Eretz Israel Museum, a fantastic campus of exhibits including outdoor trails, hands-on historical recreations, and great indoor museums...kind of like Jamestown.
We've had terrific food from Argentinian pizza to schnitzel and falafel, and splendid accomodations, thanks to our very generous and hospitable hosts. Along the way, I'm pretty sure we've entertained a few folks as well. Four kids is an unusual sight in any city, whether it's New York, Lima, or Tel Aviv. And with all our chattering in English and antics, we've drawn plenty of stares ("Get up, go, go, this is our stop! Everyone off the bus--now!") As much as the kids miss their cousins and friends, I have to say they've been great companions for each other, sometimes completely losing themselves in their own world, whether it's hide and seek, building sand castles, this-jungle-gym-is-a-pirate-ship, or I'm-driving-this-"taxi"-and-you're-hijacking/fleeing-robbers. I have been able to do some reading and thinking in the meantime.
Week 3 in Haifa was lovely. We saw the splendid Bahai terraced gardens, where I turned the camera over to the girls. We went to the zoo--forgot to bring the camera--and the Museum of Japanese Art--CF card was full and battery low. Sorry. Elijah's cave, impromptu hiking, and the Maritime Museum were also covered. Here we learned how to take the city bus, an important skill we tried out when we returned to Tel Aviv.
We've learned a few things about ourselves and others. For starters, I don't really care for the public beach--everyone running around in their underwear gets old day after day. Also, until this morning, the boys thought that the kibbutz was the "Kibbuts'," someone else's house that we were going to visit, like the Longs' or the Browns'. We've met plenty of friendly, helpful people, seen more than a few loud, public arguments or scoldings, been scolded ourselves by artists and craftsmen who don't want us to watch them work or handle their work even though it's for sale and they're exibiting at a craft show, and been told by cab drivers that the address we're requesting is not an actual residence or not where we live.
One driver stuffed the five of us into the back seat and took another passenger in the front and then proceeded to insist that the address and name of the building I requested were not the same place. Which did I want--the address or the named building? I argued a little, since I had already lived at the address and building for two weeks, then settled on the building name when I realized he wasn't going to listen to me. I thought I got him back by paying him the grossly overcharged fare of $10 entirely in coins (over 30 of them--all that I had), but then realized that he got the last word by dropping me off at the mall entrance to my building, refusing to understand that with a large suitcase and four kids with backpacks, I was not headed shopping, but instead wanted the residential entrance to the apartments on the other side of the building.
Well, we'll be at the kibbutz with Charlie for a couple of days this week, joining his class field trip to Galilee for three days and two nights. That's week 5. Week 6 we'll be staying in an apartment in Jerusalem while Charlie has his last week of classes. Then week 7, we'll sightsee together before returning to the States. Sounds like a plan. Or something!
We've had terrific food from Argentinian pizza to schnitzel and falafel, and splendid accomodations, thanks to our very generous and hospitable hosts. Along the way, I'm pretty sure we've entertained a few folks as well. Four kids is an unusual sight in any city, whether it's New York, Lima, or Tel Aviv. And with all our chattering in English and antics, we've drawn plenty of stares ("Get up, go, go, this is our stop! Everyone off the bus--now!") As much as the kids miss their cousins and friends, I have to say they've been great companions for each other, sometimes completely losing themselves in their own world, whether it's hide and seek, building sand castles, this-jungle-gym-is-a-pirate-ship, or I'm-driving-this-"taxi"-and-you're-hijacking/fleeing-robbers. I have been able to do some reading and thinking in the meantime.
Week 3 in Haifa was lovely. We saw the splendid Bahai terraced gardens, where I turned the camera over to the girls. We went to the zoo--forgot to bring the camera--and the Museum of Japanese Art--CF card was full and battery low. Sorry. Elijah's cave, impromptu hiking, and the Maritime Museum were also covered. Here we learned how to take the city bus, an important skill we tried out when we returned to Tel Aviv.
We've learned a few things about ourselves and others. For starters, I don't really care for the public beach--everyone running around in their underwear gets old day after day. Also, until this morning, the boys thought that the kibbutz was the "Kibbuts'," someone else's house that we were going to visit, like the Longs' or the Browns'. We've met plenty of friendly, helpful people, seen more than a few loud, public arguments or scoldings, been scolded ourselves by artists and craftsmen who don't want us to watch them work or handle their work even though it's for sale and they're exibiting at a craft show, and been told by cab drivers that the address we're requesting is not an actual residence or not where we live.
One driver stuffed the five of us into the back seat and took another passenger in the front and then proceeded to insist that the address and name of the building I requested were not the same place. Which did I want--the address or the named building? I argued a little, since I had already lived at the address and building for two weeks, then settled on the building name when I realized he wasn't going to listen to me. I thought I got him back by paying him the grossly overcharged fare of $10 entirely in coins (over 30 of them--all that I had), but then realized that he got the last word by dropping me off at the mall entrance to my building, refusing to understand that with a large suitcase and four kids with backpacks, I was not headed shopping, but instead wanted the residential entrance to the apartments on the other side of the building.
Well, we'll be at the kibbutz with Charlie for a couple of days this week, joining his class field trip to Galilee for three days and two nights. That's week 5. Week 6 we'll be staying in an apartment in Jerusalem while Charlie has his last week of classes. Then week 7, we'll sightsee together before returning to the States. Sounds like a plan. Or something!
Sunday, July 8, 2007
Greetings from Haifa
I've not had internet access for two weeks due to a problem with the network at the kibbutz and Rae hasn't had a computer for the past week in Haifa. Rae and the kids have been in Haifa since last Sunday and this afternoon I'll move them back to Tel Aviv for one more week. They'll then be coming to Kibbutz Tzuba for a few days and will go with me on my class field trip to Galilee. Then they'll be spending the next week or so in an apt in Jerusalem. My Hebrew class is going well and I'm surprised how much Biblical Hebrew overlaps with modern Hebrew. I'm actually able to communicate with people here. I'm still not able to hear much out of my right ear but I'll be seeing an ENT this week in Jerusalem. It looks like I have a growth inside my ear and they need to figure out what exactly it is. I've updated our map a bit for those interested, and I've posted the rest of our June photos and the beginning of our July photos on the left hand side of this blog. Sorry for our lack of email contacts. We'll try to catch up soon.
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