Pictures

Regardless of the fact that my camera hasn't worked when I really wanted it to, I now have a Flickr account where all of my pictures will be posted as I take them. Have fun!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/swiftdo/

Making up for Forgotten Posts

God I am way too far behind on this blog… So since I keep forgetting to update this, I’m going to attempt to summarise everything that has happened in the past weeks. I won’t get to everything, but I’ll try.

Routines. Once I get settled down somewhere, I always have some sort of strange, unpredictable routine. Which is basically the opposite of what a routine should be, but then, when do I ever do something normal and by-the-book? Occasionally, but that’s beside the point. Basically, it comes down to this: Wake up around 8, screw around, get dressed, spend a few minutes checking the good old-fashioned $1300 computer, then leave for class at 830. Walk my convoluted back-way through campus to Building 90 and somehow get to class on time. Sit in class from 9-1230, with a 30 minute break to have my breakfast of champions: קרואסון שוקולד and Pepsi (I really need to learn to drink coffee, but it still tastes nasty to me). Then go back to the room, make myself some strange thing that constitutes a lunch. But after that, it’s basically a free-for-all. Some days there are group programs or lectures or don’t-do-this speeches, some days I spend all afternoon watching Dexter (up to Season 5). That’s not to say I just sit in my apartment every day. Some days I’ll make a run down to שופרסל or מחסני השוק, the two grocery stores close-by. Others I’ll spend a few hours at the pool, which is right across שד' בן גוריון and is gorgeous. But for right now, every afternoon is just a relaxing way to spend the hours I’m not in אולפן.

And now for a paragraph about my 3 ½ hours of misery, torture, and learning to distinguish whether the Germans are speaking Hebrew or German or Gerbrew. I started אולפן in כיתה ד', the high advanced class. But that just wasn’t working (thanks Vlad), so I moved down to כיתה ג'. Such a better class, considering I can actually understand 95% of what my teacher, אילנה, says. It’s sort of similar to a 3 hour class with Nitsa without any English, for the most part. And I’m definitely improving my Hebrew, just not at the pace I hoped. We still have to spend time waiting for one of the Germans, Nikolaus, to understand anything, but he’s an older man so I forgive him, sometimes. But I’m working on it, and one of these days I’ll be able to go to the grocery store or basically anywhere in באר שבע and not get yelled at for not understanding anything the checkout girl says.

Now about באר שבע the city. I’ve talked to many Israelis who live in תל אביב or ירושלים who feel sorry for me that I have to spend so much time here. And I can honestly see why they would think so. תל אביב has everything and everyone anywhere and anytime, ירושלים is one of the holiest cities with amazing history and always something new to learn. And באר שבע is an industrial city, with a lot of construction and not-so-nice areas and שכונות. And the same thing can be said by people who drive the New Jersey Turnpike through Northern New Jersey. But you don’t see Hoboken, Weehawken, Metuchen, or Short Hills from the Turnpike. And most people see באר שבע from a bus or train window, and only see the part of the city visible from the highway or rails, which is the worst view wherever in the world you go. So I challenge anyone who gives באר שבע a hard time to get off the bus, get off the main highways, and go exploring. Because hidden away are some pretty amazing restaurants, fun nightlife (Hi Mom), and some interesting people that might not be as welcoming to outsiders at first, but like all צברים have a nice and friendly side hidden away. I’m not saying that the nightlife holds a candle to that of תל אביב, or that the city is as breathtakingly gorgeous and historic as ירושלים, but באר שבע has a different character than other cities. It’s a special character. An acquired taste, but a good taste, like coffee (regardless of the fact that I refuse to drink it) or גולדסטאר (Hi Mom). And besides, האוניברסותה is on summer break, so there’s over 25,000 residents of the city missing. I’m confident that once the Israeli students return, the atmosphere will change for the better. And if it’s not up to any par, the train to תל אביב is 30 NIS and only 1 hour long. But I’m here to stay… for 5 months (relax Mom), so I’ll keep you updated. ליהנות!

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Interesting Finds

Kampai: A sushi restaurant located in קניון הביג. I went there with a fellow student, Sam, and had Bamba Sushi. Let me tell you, I’ll run for most anything with peanut butter, but Sushi coated with a Peanut Butter tempura? YES. Definitely the best sushi I’ve ever had (not saying much, but hey, it was really good). And for only about 40 NIS, not horribly overpriced either. We sat at the bar, and the atmosphere there was young, fun and exciting. We did a few shots with the whole bar, preceded by the lead bartender ringing a gong and cheers of לחיים! And that dessert, (in a George Takei voice) oh my. It was a plate with 3 סופגניות, which were filled with liquid chocolate, and 3 hot dipping sauces, toffee, milk chocolate, and white chocolate with mint, with a giant scoop of ice cream on the side. Indescribably good. Definitely worth going to.

The Green Falafel: A tiny hole-in-the-wall פלאפל stand on ר' טשרניחובסקי which has been in business since 1950. And the taste is just as good now as then. Fresh פלאפל with fresh hot פיתה ו חומוס and any topping you could ask for, for only 13 NIS. So good. We found it by accident, after getting lost looking for 3 other restaurants, and it was definitely worth it.

Another Desert Border, or Two

[was supposed to be posted on Saturday night]

     Trying to determine if the fence you're walking along is the Kibbutz fence or the fence separating Israel from Jordan isn't how most people spend their weekends. Realising that the fence is the latter, then running back to the Kibbutz fence to watch the sunrise hoping that either nation's army doesn't shoot/arrest you, is how I spend my Saturday mornings. At least when I'm at Kibbutz Lotan.

     The OSP office thought that a good way for us to spend our first weekend in Israel is to go on vacation. Someone in that office knows how lazy college students work. Spending the first 1/2 of a nice hot day on the beach at Eilat was definitely a nice break from flying, bus rides, paperwork, and Ulpan (something I'll cover next time). The Red Sea/Gulf of Aqaba water is crystal clear, allowing you, when standing on the floating dock, to see straight down 20 feet to the gorgeous coral reefs. And the beach is owned by a bar, but that's not that important, right? (Hi mom) The landscape around the beach is so non-threatening that you forget that you're in Israel, across the water from Jordan, 3 Km north of the Egyptian border, and 15 Km northwest of Saudi Arabia. You also forget that Israel has issued stern travel warnings against travelling to the Sinai, and that terrorists just murdered 12 Egyptian policemen, took their convoy and tried to enter Israel. (Hi mom) But hey, I'm at the beach. Forget all that. Wait, we're leaving? Why? A kibbutz? Away from the water? Oh boy...

   Arriving at Kibbutz Lotan, I woke up. Having slept through both the bus ride, and the explanation of what we're doing here, all I knew is that we're at this Kibbutz, in the middle of the Arava Desert, right on the Jordanian Border, for the next 2 days. What I didn't know is how gorgeous the views were. What I also didn't know was that I wasn't supposed to sleep through the next group activity. But, hey. I'm not perfect. Nor am I ever opposed to sleep. But enough about my laziness, more about the Kibbutz. Lotan is an ecological, sustainable Kibbutz, with never-ending research being worked on by students from across Israel, the Middle East and the world. It also has a tour guide named Mike. Who is obsessed with composting toilets. And saying pee-pee and shit. Interesting. Also, the Kibbutz is situated directly on the Israeli-Jordanian border, something I learned back in 2008 from Kol Am's (my congregation) tour guide David Schoneveld, who lives on Lotan, but never realised how it was literally on the border. It's a small world/country after all.

Spending Shabbat on the Kibbutz held a multitude of emotions for me. For one, it's my first weekend here, and man am I happy to be here. I woke up early (must be jet lag, because once the semester starts, if that happens, something's wrong), and watched my first sunrise. As in, I've never seen one before ever, and watching the sun rise over the indescribable Jordanian Mountains was more than inspiring, it was friggin awesome (Frickin, for my Mainer friends [Hi Cassidy]). There were also some not as upbeat emotions. למשל, waking up and smelling the composting toilets all across the Kibbutz, which when combined with the desert heat (well over 100 in the shade) made me wonder if all Kibbutzim smelled this terrible. But I realised that Israel is a country comparable to New Jersey, and if I think that, then if Camden smells, then everywhere in NJ smells, and we all know that's not entirely true. But to put it in a few words, I'm really glad I put up with a 11 hour flight surrounded by crying babies, strange Haredim, and mean Israelis who didn't say a word to me the whole flight, and then suffering through jet lag in 110 degree heat, because, holy sh...land, I'm in Israel.

Also, I love the desert. And if I ever figure out how to do it, I'll put up some of my pictures from this whole experience. One of these days...

First Impressions

[was supposed to be posted Thursday night/Friday morning]

ברוכים הבאים לישראל

This is going to be an interesting year. My first weekend in Ben Gurion University and I've spent less than a day here. But from the 12 hours on campus, I've made some interesting finds. My dorm complex, Me'onot Gimel (G Dorms), seems like a small prison. Every building is made from thick concrete, the apartments themselves are small and have tiny windows, and the bed is smaller than my crib as a baby. But they're cool in a strange Israeli way. But the food. Oh the food. If I could make a list of reasons for choosing Israel over other places, food would definitely be number 1. Just walking around campus by the few restaurants makes my day. And after going to the grocery, I want all Middle Eastern food. Now.

Now more about the campus. As I mentioned, the buildings are all made of concrete, which gives the campus an initial prison-like feel, but they are strangely appealing with the landscaping and the design of the campus. The campus itself takes up a few city blocks, and it's surrounded by a fence, which can only be entered at one of a few gates. Here's one thing that Americans find odd about Israel: everytime you go into a public building or place, you must go through a metal detector and show your bags to the security guard. For those from Europe and the States, this seems weird and a bit invasive. But when you think about where Israel is and what the nation as a whole has to deal with on a day-by-day basis, you come to understand it, and eventually find it normal. It might take me a few days to remember, but I think I'll get it down soon. So once you're inside, the campus is bustling with students during daylight hours, some sitting on the grass studying or chatting, or in one of the many cafes and eateries. The oddest thing for me, coming from small, expensive Dickinson, is that there is no meal plan and no cafeteria on campus. There are plenty of restaurants and coffee shops, but I can't just use my student card like at the Quarry or SNAR. But the choices are awesome; falafel stands, coffee shops, Glida Beer Sheva (ice cream and pizza, awesome combo), Cafe Aromah (chain cafe, an Israeli Panera, but better), and a strange Chinese/Asian buffet in the Beit HaStudent (Student Union Building). About the other buildings, there are enough classrooms and labs for the 30,000+ students here (most of whom I haven't seen because finals are this week, and most of them are home already) and the campus is big, but not big enough that one can't take more than 10-12 minutes to cross campus by foot. While I haven't explored much of the immediate surroundings outside of campus yet, it looks like it will be interesting to discover what lies beyond the walls.

So after doing a few things on campus, the group of us (about 20 in total, so far) walked a few blocks down Sderot (Avenue) David Ben-Gurion to שופרסל (which I haven't yet learned the proper pronunciation for), the neighbourhood grocery store chain. Walking in, it reminds me of a brighter/cleaner ShopRite-type store. With the amount of Hebrew I've learned in Nitsa's & Sally's classes, I'm able to navigate the aisles and find what I'm looking for pretty much without help from the Madrichim (counselors). But checkout is a different story. We used Dora's (one of the Madrichim) שופרסל card to get discounts, but the checkout girl either couldn't read the number, or just wanted to give the Americans a hard time (the latter more likely then not), and it turned into a Hebrew yelling match between the madrichim and the checkout girl, who kept trying to ask us things in Hebrew, which we responded with random grunts, and for those of us with some Hebrew experience, an "אני לא יודע" or two or twenty. Then Dora tried to get me the form so I could get my own card, and I needed my passport number (which I didn't have at the time), and that turned into another arguement, which I ducked away from. I did eventually get a temporary shoppers card, which I'll probably use a lot throughout the semester. I walked away, for a little over 100₪, with water for the weekend, a bottle of soda, some yogurt, a few packs of Bamba's (I'm in Israel, how couldn't I get some of these. If you don't know what they are, look them up), and some plastic utensils. Not bad, Doug.

So now, I'm getting ready for bed and writing this on my laptop without internet (I need to pay and can't until I get back on Sunday) with growing anticipation about this weekend's trip to Eilat and Kibbutz Lotan in far southern Israel. Hopefully by the time I get back, I'll have internet and be able to post more often, but for now, I hope you'll read this soon. As we say here in the Holyland, להתראות (see you soon) for now, and Swift travels.

The Beginning

     5 months & 10 days. A lifetime for me. 7 lifetimes for my mother. Time which will be spent across an ocean, 2 or 3 continents (depending on your mood), 7 time zones, 5742 miles, 9240 kilometers, countless countries and cities away. Beer Sheva, Beersheeba, באר שבע, however you want to spell it, that's where I'll be. Far from home, far from school, far from family, friends and the grand ole US of A. Ben Gurion University of the Negev, get ready, cause you're about to get a grand old helping of Douglas Gage Swift. Good luck, to all of us.

     But less about them, more about me. MEMEMEMEMEME. I'm a junior at Dickinson College in Carlisle, PA. My major is Middle East Studies (hmmm, why Israel then?), and my minor is going to be Environmental Studies. I'm 5' 9", brown haired, blue eyed, and enjoy long bike rides through the countryside and lobster dinners. I spend my summers working on a lake at Kenmont Camp in Kent, CT. I grew up in Freehold, NJ, have travelled up and down the East Coast of the US, once to Israel with Congregation Kol Am, and once to Russia with my high school Russian teacher. Potpourri is a great noun to describe me; I'm random, eclectic and strange, not at all sarcastic, have decent sense of humour, and I like to use British English when writing to spice things up a bit.

     But less about my history, more about what I want to do at BGU. If there's one thing I want to get out of this experience, it's... something. I guess I don't really know exactly what I want, but I do want to enjoy the experience. Recently, I've been reading and re-reading travel journals, specifically those of Jack Kerouac and my favourite author, William Least Heat Moon, and I've come to understand that you can't plan a journey, you need to just go and experience it as it happens. 

As Heat Moon said in his best seller Blue Highways (1982), "I can't say, over the miles that I had learned what I had wanted to know because I hadn't known what I wanted to know. But I did learn what I didn't know I wanted to know".

     So that's what my game plan is: go with it. And this, my friends, compadres, family, חברים, חברות ומשפחה, will be my logbook, my Blue Highways, of what I experience, whether good or bad, fun or boring, ups, downs and diagonals. So sit back, or if you're my mother, on the edge of your seat, and enjoy the ride. Because I certainly will :)