What a great week it has been since moving and settling into Yerucham. It has been full of smiles, giggles, good HOMEMADE food, bonding and relaxing. I am so thrilled about the way that this past week has gone and I can't wait for the rest of the time in Yerucham to be as fun filled as this past week.
I started working on Monday at the religious elementary school in Yerucham, Kol Yakkov. I am working with five other Nativers and we are all teaching English to 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th graders. It is quite harder then I expected. Imagine that you don't speak your native language of English, and you are having people try and help you learn English but you are unable to communicate with them because you speak a different language, its tough. My Hebrew teacher in high school would probably tell you that my Hebrew is near fluent and that I speak and write very well for an American. It is extremely hard for me not to speak Hebrew to the kids to help them understand what it is that they are learning in English class. I know that I have only been teaching English at Kol Yakkov for a week now, but I am not the largest fan of the English Program that they have at the school. I feel that the English program just force feeds the kids the language, but they don't understand what is that they are learning. I can't say that I have been 100% truthful about not knowing Hebrew, like the teachers want us to be, but I also feel that when I do speak in Hebrew to explain things to the kids, it helps them understand what it is that they are learning and they have a better chance of wanted to learn more in the future.
Since I only work from about 8:15 in the morning to about 1:35 in the afternoon, my afternoons and evenings have been free. I have been playing soccer in the park with friends as well as starting to run again which is enjoyable. We have also been doing a lot of bonding with in the apartment and within the boys in the group. We had our first of hopefully many Mens Pasta Nights. That was really fun cause we all got together and cooked and then ate different pastas together. It was a great bonding experience. Also, every night at 9 we have started to say Maariv at Affikim, our base shul. It has been a fun 15 minute activity to end the day. At first it was just us Nativers who went, but now that the people know about it we are starting to get a little more of the people of Yerucham which is great. Yerucham is just an awesome place to be living. On Wednesday night, Ilana and I went to our host family for the evening. You never know what to expect when you go to an Israelis house for dinner that is not Shabbat. We walk in and we sit down at the table and all of a sudden we have dough in our hands making our meal of pita. Fresh pita is so incredible. We ate it with Hummus(which I still don't eat), cream cheese, butter, cottage cheese, eggplant spread and other tasty treats. It was such a good evening. The kids are adorable, the pita was yummy, and it was a break from cooking for myself or the apartment.
Anyways, the week came to an end on Thursday afternoon when I had my USY on Wheels interview for my summer job. The interview went well and I think I did fairly well. I then hopped in the car with Elkana, the assistant director of Nativ, and Aviva who works with USY and we headed to Jerusalem where I met up with a bunch of friends. I am spending Shabbat with my friend Seth at my friend Elan's apartment. We are having dinner with Jules and Yehidis Gutin and then lunch with some friends that I was at the Yeshiva with. It is set to be a nice and relaxing Shabbat. Motzei Shabbat I will head back to Yerucham for another great week of work and then at the end of next week, PURIM!!
Shababt Shalomt to all and a Refuah Shelemah/Speedy Recovery to my Aunt Susan, Sarah bat Basha!!!
David
Friday, February 19, 2010
Monday, February 15, 2010
My New Residence... Yerucham
I never thought I would say this, but I love living in Yerucham. It is such a hospitable and welcoming community. Let me catch you up on what I have been doing in Yerucham since Shabbat.
Friday night, the boys in the apartment and myself huddled around our small stove and lit our Shabbat Candles from my candles sticks that I use every time I travel over Shababt. It was a pretty cute experience if you ask me, but one that will not happen very often with all of us together. Friday night we went to our Home Base Shul, Affikim B'Negev. It is a really nice shul. It is nothing compared to the shuls that I go to in Jerusalem, but I enjoy the davening there. We were graced with the opportunity to lead services, so Judah led both Kabbalat Shabbat and Maariv. After services, we all gathered outside the shul and started to go to dinner with our host families for the semester in Yerucham. I got paired with my friend Ilana and an absolutely incredible family. They have 5 kids(3 girls and 2 boys) ranging for 14 to 3 years old. They are so adorable. We went to their house for a great and fun Shabbat dinner. We were there for about four hours just eating and then playing with the kids while the parents just relaxed. We had so much fun. I can't wait to go back there hopefully this coming Wednesday.
Saturday morning we went to different shuls in the community. A unique fact about Yerucham: Yerucham has 27 different shuls. I went to a Persian shul for services which was a unique experience, but it was something I was somewhat familiar with being that I have Persian cousins. After shul, we had a session with a speaker in the park that was about a Jewish text. The teacher will be offering a session to Nativers once a week for those of us who want to learn a little. After lunch we had a nice shluf session back in my apartment. After shulffy, we gathered back at Affikim for Mincha and another session about volunteering from the potential new Mayor of Yerucham. After that we had Seduat Shlishit and Maariv to end Shabbat.
Motzei Shabbat I decided that since I wasn't going to be working until 1:30 in the afternoon that I would go and work the graveyard shift for Magen David Adom. I was really excited to work a shift for MADA because it was my first shift and because I was the first Nativer to do it this year. I worked from 11pm to 7am. I got two calls over the course of the night. The first call was around 11:30pm. It was a 74 year old man who suffered a stroke. We immediately rushed him to the Hospital in Beer Sheva which is a half hour away. The second call was around 3:45am and was a 54 year old woman who was suffering from hypothermia and a lung condition. Her case I am still not entirely sure about, but needless to say we also rushed her to the hospital in Beer Sheva. It was a busy night for Yerucham standards. It was a great first shift. I look forward to many more shifts in the upcoming days and weeks.
On Sunday afternoon I had a meeting at the religious elementary school that I am working at, Kol Yakkov. We met with the English teachers and they helped us get familiar with what will be doing. We are going to be assisting the kids in English class in any way we can without speaking Hebrew to them. Out of the 6 of us working at Kol Yakkov, I think it is going to be the hardest for me to not speak Hebrew. I figure it will all work out for the best.
Well that is what I am up to. I will be posting hopefully on a regular basis since I am in Yerucham.
Keep the comments and emails coming.
David
Friday night, the boys in the apartment and myself huddled around our small stove and lit our Shabbat Candles from my candles sticks that I use every time I travel over Shababt. It was a pretty cute experience if you ask me, but one that will not happen very often with all of us together. Friday night we went to our Home Base Shul, Affikim B'Negev. It is a really nice shul. It is nothing compared to the shuls that I go to in Jerusalem, but I enjoy the davening there. We were graced with the opportunity to lead services, so Judah led both Kabbalat Shabbat and Maariv. After services, we all gathered outside the shul and started to go to dinner with our host families for the semester in Yerucham. I got paired with my friend Ilana and an absolutely incredible family. They have 5 kids(3 girls and 2 boys) ranging for 14 to 3 years old. They are so adorable. We went to their house for a great and fun Shabbat dinner. We were there for about four hours just eating and then playing with the kids while the parents just relaxed. We had so much fun. I can't wait to go back there hopefully this coming Wednesday.
Saturday morning we went to different shuls in the community. A unique fact about Yerucham: Yerucham has 27 different shuls. I went to a Persian shul for services which was a unique experience, but it was something I was somewhat familiar with being that I have Persian cousins. After shul, we had a session with a speaker in the park that was about a Jewish text. The teacher will be offering a session to Nativers once a week for those of us who want to learn a little. After lunch we had a nice shluf session back in my apartment. After shulffy, we gathered back at Affikim for Mincha and another session about volunteering from the potential new Mayor of Yerucham. After that we had Seduat Shlishit and Maariv to end Shabbat.
Motzei Shabbat I decided that since I wasn't going to be working until 1:30 in the afternoon that I would go and work the graveyard shift for Magen David Adom. I was really excited to work a shift for MADA because it was my first shift and because I was the first Nativer to do it this year. I worked from 11pm to 7am. I got two calls over the course of the night. The first call was around 11:30pm. It was a 74 year old man who suffered a stroke. We immediately rushed him to the Hospital in Beer Sheva which is a half hour away. The second call was around 3:45am and was a 54 year old woman who was suffering from hypothermia and a lung condition. Her case I am still not entirely sure about, but needless to say we also rushed her to the hospital in Beer Sheva. It was a busy night for Yerucham standards. It was a great first shift. I look forward to many more shifts in the upcoming days and weeks.
On Sunday afternoon I had a meeting at the religious elementary school that I am working at, Kol Yakkov. We met with the English teachers and they helped us get familiar with what will be doing. We are going to be assisting the kids in English class in any way we can without speaking Hebrew to them. Out of the 6 of us working at Kol Yakkov, I think it is going to be the hardest for me to not speak Hebrew. I figure it will all work out for the best.
Well that is what I am up to. I will be posting hopefully on a regular basis since I am in Yerucham.
Keep the comments and emails coming.
David
Friday, February 12, 2010
Where in the World is....? David Helfand
Yes, I am alive. I know that some of you have been wondering if I am still alive, and the answer is yes. It seems like so long ago when I wrote my last blog post, but then again it was. Lots has happened over the past few weeks. I will give brief overview of the main events that have taken place over the past few weeks.
Israel Experience Week
This was the week right before Winter Break. We had three options to choose from. We could do Gadna(Israeli Army Simulation), Archeological Digging, and Volunteering and Touring in Haifa. I decided to do the volunteering option in Haifa. I was one of about 20 other people who went to Haifa for the week to do different volunteer options. They options ranged from working in a zoo, working at an old age home, a special needs school and working at the children's hospital, which was what I did. I got to work in both the Oncology Wing and the Internal Medicine Wing playing with the kids and just being assistants to the teachers in the different wings. It was an amazing experience and very different then any volunteering in hospitals that you do in the States. The independence level in Israel was incredible. No formal training is required for people to go and spend time with the kids. It is a very warm environment. The parents are very friendly and very willing to pass the kids off to you so that they can get a break. I really enjoyed working in the hospital and spending time with the kids. In the afternoons we got to tour Haifa and see the sites and take in the history of the city. I am very glad that I decided to do Haifa and I will always remember the volunteering opportunities that I did.
Winter Break
For Winter Break, I decided to go back to the States for a week and a half. I had two reasons for going home and I think I accomplished the goals very well. The first was to visit my Aunt in New York. Not only did I get to visit my Aunt, but I got to visit my cousin and new baby cousin who joined us several months ago. It was a great chance to see some of the family who I don't get to see very often. I also got to spend Shabbat with Corey and Jenny, which is always a great time. After several days in New York/New Jersey, I got on the plane to KC to spend the rest of my break at home. The one reason for me going to KC was to see my best friend, Jamie, who is at KU. So, being a master of surprises,I decided I would surprise Jamie. But I had to do it in a perfect way. Several weeks before I was going home, I asked her to send me her class schedule so I could plan accordingly for our frequent Skype Conversations. Oh course she did as I asked, not knowing I would show up at her door after she returned from class one day. So after two perfect surprises, my winter break was a complete success. It was certainly not my first choice in winter break plans, but it turned out to be a great winter break. It was relaxing and a great get-a-way from the group in Israel.
Israel Today Seminar
After a closed Shabbat in Jerusalem to end the first semester and before we move down to the south, we had a three day seminar in Jerusalem that covered various topics in current day Israeli life. We learned about Israeli culture, arts, politics, society and other topics. Some of the highlights included a visit to the Israeli Supreme Court, a Blind, Deaf and Mute performance in Yaffo, and several other museums. It was a great and relaxing few days before we began our trip down to the south to start the second semester.
Southern Tiyul
The first step in our moving to the south was a weeks tiyul in the south. However we had several set backs and delays that got in our way throughout the entire week. We were delayed in leaving Jerusalem on Thursday because of the chance of snow in Jerusalem, don't worry it didn't actually rain. Once we were on our way, our first stop was Ein Gedi, where our hikes were all canceled so we had to change plans on the spot. We ended up either climbing Masada or going to a spa at the Dead Sea. I happened to not be feeling well all Tiyul so I took it easy and was able to sleep through lots of it. That night we went to the Bedouin Tents for the night. I ended up sleeping most of it because I was in such horrible condition. For Shabbat we were at Kibbutz Ketura, which is about 45 minutes from Eilat. We relaxed over Shabbat and did some pretty relaxing activities on Sunday and people watched the Super Bowl on Sunday night/Monday Morning. Monday we had a small hike and then spent the rest of the day in Eilat where some of our activities got canceled also and were changed with others. The big hike of the year was on Tuesday, but since I still wasn't fully back to normal, I didn't get to do it which was sad, but I will try to do it sometime during the second semester. The tiyul ended on Wednesday morning as both groups departed for our new homes in the south.
Welcome to Yerucham... Population 10,000.... Check that.... 10,041
We were supposed to arrive in Yerucham on Wednesday at around 2 to begin setting up our apartments, but due to a new epidemic in Israel of the Mumps, we all had to stop in Beer Sheva and receive the MMR Vaccine before we proceeded to Yerucham. We finally got all settled in our apartments around 8ish on Wednesday night and moved into our rooms and got our rooms settled and we all crashed around 10ish because of such a long day. We spend pretty much all of Thursday unpacking and getting the apartment cleaned and going over the logistics for how we were going to do everything for the 3 months that we are living in Yerucham. 7 people in one apartment may seem like a lot and very overwhelming but it should work out very well. In my room we have three; myself, Seffi Kogen- New Jersey, and Michael Gelb-New York. In the other room are; Judah Kebel-Atlanta, Seth Lerman-Chicago, Ethan Goldsmith-Chicago, and Jesse Lender-New York. It is a great apartment and will be a great semester. We spent Friday doing final cleanings and setting up and had the repair man at the apartment fixing things for a while including a new fridge that we all had to schlep up three flights of stairs and me washing all the pieces of the fridge in the shower. It was a fun and eventful day.
Now, we are all getting ready for Shababt which should be very relaxing before we get started working on Sunday. I will be working at a religious elementary school as well as doing Magen David Adom. I am very excited for the semester and I am sure it will be a great experience.
That's all for now.
Shabbat Shalom from Yerucham,
David
Israel Experience Week
This was the week right before Winter Break. We had three options to choose from. We could do Gadna(Israeli Army Simulation), Archeological Digging, and Volunteering and Touring in Haifa. I decided to do the volunteering option in Haifa. I was one of about 20 other people who went to Haifa for the week to do different volunteer options. They options ranged from working in a zoo, working at an old age home, a special needs school and working at the children's hospital, which was what I did. I got to work in both the Oncology Wing and the Internal Medicine Wing playing with the kids and just being assistants to the teachers in the different wings. It was an amazing experience and very different then any volunteering in hospitals that you do in the States. The independence level in Israel was incredible. No formal training is required for people to go and spend time with the kids. It is a very warm environment. The parents are very friendly and very willing to pass the kids off to you so that they can get a break. I really enjoyed working in the hospital and spending time with the kids. In the afternoons we got to tour Haifa and see the sites and take in the history of the city. I am very glad that I decided to do Haifa and I will always remember the volunteering opportunities that I did.
Winter Break
For Winter Break, I decided to go back to the States for a week and a half. I had two reasons for going home and I think I accomplished the goals very well. The first was to visit my Aunt in New York. Not only did I get to visit my Aunt, but I got to visit my cousin and new baby cousin who joined us several months ago. It was a great chance to see some of the family who I don't get to see very often. I also got to spend Shabbat with Corey and Jenny, which is always a great time. After several days in New York/New Jersey, I got on the plane to KC to spend the rest of my break at home. The one reason for me going to KC was to see my best friend, Jamie, who is at KU. So, being a master of surprises,I decided I would surprise Jamie. But I had to do it in a perfect way. Several weeks before I was going home, I asked her to send me her class schedule so I could plan accordingly for our frequent Skype Conversations. Oh course she did as I asked, not knowing I would show up at her door after she returned from class one day. So after two perfect surprises, my winter break was a complete success. It was certainly not my first choice in winter break plans, but it turned out to be a great winter break. It was relaxing and a great get-a-way from the group in Israel.
Israel Today Seminar
After a closed Shabbat in Jerusalem to end the first semester and before we move down to the south, we had a three day seminar in Jerusalem that covered various topics in current day Israeli life. We learned about Israeli culture, arts, politics, society and other topics. Some of the highlights included a visit to the Israeli Supreme Court, a Blind, Deaf and Mute performance in Yaffo, and several other museums. It was a great and relaxing few days before we began our trip down to the south to start the second semester.
Southern Tiyul
The first step in our moving to the south was a weeks tiyul in the south. However we had several set backs and delays that got in our way throughout the entire week. We were delayed in leaving Jerusalem on Thursday because of the chance of snow in Jerusalem, don't worry it didn't actually rain. Once we were on our way, our first stop was Ein Gedi, where our hikes were all canceled so we had to change plans on the spot. We ended up either climbing Masada or going to a spa at the Dead Sea. I happened to not be feeling well all Tiyul so I took it easy and was able to sleep through lots of it. That night we went to the Bedouin Tents for the night. I ended up sleeping most of it because I was in such horrible condition. For Shabbat we were at Kibbutz Ketura, which is about 45 minutes from Eilat. We relaxed over Shabbat and did some pretty relaxing activities on Sunday and people watched the Super Bowl on Sunday night/Monday Morning. Monday we had a small hike and then spent the rest of the day in Eilat where some of our activities got canceled also and were changed with others. The big hike of the year was on Tuesday, but since I still wasn't fully back to normal, I didn't get to do it which was sad, but I will try to do it sometime during the second semester. The tiyul ended on Wednesday morning as both groups departed for our new homes in the south.
Welcome to Yerucham... Population 10,000.... Check that.... 10,041
We were supposed to arrive in Yerucham on Wednesday at around 2 to begin setting up our apartments, but due to a new epidemic in Israel of the Mumps, we all had to stop in Beer Sheva and receive the MMR Vaccine before we proceeded to Yerucham. We finally got all settled in our apartments around 8ish on Wednesday night and moved into our rooms and got our rooms settled and we all crashed around 10ish because of such a long day. We spend pretty much all of Thursday unpacking and getting the apartment cleaned and going over the logistics for how we were going to do everything for the 3 months that we are living in Yerucham. 7 people in one apartment may seem like a lot and very overwhelming but it should work out very well. In my room we have three; myself, Seffi Kogen- New Jersey, and Michael Gelb-New York. In the other room are; Judah Kebel-Atlanta, Seth Lerman-Chicago, Ethan Goldsmith-Chicago, and Jesse Lender-New York. It is a great apartment and will be a great semester. We spent Friday doing final cleanings and setting up and had the repair man at the apartment fixing things for a while including a new fridge that we all had to schlep up three flights of stairs and me washing all the pieces of the fridge in the shower. It was a fun and eventful day.
Now, we are all getting ready for Shababt which should be very relaxing before we get started working on Sunday. I will be working at a religious elementary school as well as doing Magen David Adom. I am very excited for the semester and I am sure it will be a great experience.
That's all for now.
Shabbat Shalom from Yerucham,
David
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