This week has been dedicated to the prep work needed for Pesach, which starts next week. Most of the schools are already off on Pesach break as are the Gans(pre-schools).So this week, instead of us volunteering at our usual volunteer places we got to do other work in the community to help get ready for Pesach. Some people got to go to Lake Yerucham and help clean it up before a large festival that takes place there every year at the end of Pesach. I had the opportunity of going to the Shul and cleaning it for Pesach. I was also lucky enough to work a MADA shift every day this week and even work a few doubles. I helped clean the MADA station and get the garden outside of the station looking pretty before Pesach. I also got to wash the ambulances and cleaned them on the inside. We are also starting to clean our apartment for Pesach and sell our Chametz and finalize our individual plans for Pesach.
I really don't have a lot to report from this week. It was a relaxing week more of less and you can certainly smell Pesach in the air.
This week for Shabbat, I am spending it in Yerucham and going to my host family for both meals as well as going to shul. I hope the minor down pour of rain we had this morning subsides and we have a pretty Shabbat in Yerucham.
Send your prayers for Sarah bat Basha and Channah bat Pesha Chana.
Shabbat Shalom,
David
Friday, March 26, 2010
Monday, March 22, 2010
Kiubbutz Ein Tzurim and MADA DImona
I am about to go and work a MADA shift, but I wanted to just check in and write a short post about the past couple days. I went to Kibbutz Ein Tzurim over Shabbat. The Kibbutz is the home of the other half of Nativ for the second semester. It is a very nice Kibbutz and the people are very friendly. However, it is not for me. I am not a Kibbutznick at all and I am very happy that I am living in Yerucham and have the opportunity to volunteer and have an active role in the community. Nevertheless, I am glad that I had the chance to visit the Kibbutz and see what it was like.
I headed back to Yerucham after Shabbat and worked an easy graveyard shift for MADA. When I got there on Saturday night, they told me that they were in need of an extra set of hands on Sunday from 9am to 5pm working in Dimona with one of the Yerucham drivers. They volunteered me and I accepted the invitation. So on Sunday morning after I finished the first shift, I went home and prayed and ate something and then met the driver who I was going to be working with, Tzachi, and we hitchhiked to Dimona. We got to the Dimona station, which is much bigger then Yeruchams, and we just relaxed and got settled. Tzachi let me do a complete check of the ambulances supplies and then we gave the rig a bath. We didn't actually get a call til about 10:30. The first call was a woman who was having heart pains and had elevated blood pressure. We got her to the hospital and all settled and we headed back to Dimona.
Our next and last call was a car accident around 2:30ish. A mid 70 year old man was driving and most likely had a minor heart attack and crashed into a barrier on the side of the rode. Tzachi and I were the first ones on the scene. I was excited for the real action but yet nervous at the same time. We got our of the ambulance and ran to the scene. We evaluated the man and determined that he wasn't going to be able to get out of the car by himself. I ran to grab a neck brace and the backboard. Tzachi braced his neck and I set up for the back boarding. We got him onto the backboard with some help of the police. After that we lifted him onto the bed and rushed him into our ambulance. We gave him oxygen but he said he didn't want any. We immediately called for a backup ambulance that has more equipment and more staff as well as drugs. The other ambulance came and we transported him from ours to the other.
After that Tzachi and I headed back to the station about 2 minutes away. We weren't even back in the station for 15 minutes before we get another call. Tzachi and I sprint out the door and race out of the station. We got called back to the original scene. Our patient's that was stable when we left was crashing and they had started CPR. Tzachi and I once again sprint as fast as we can to the other ambulance. Tzachi goes inside to assist the other 2 medics and volunteer that were already in there. I stayed out side and waited til I was called. I didn't expect to be called into the ambulance to work but they called me in about five minutes later. I went in and they told me to start compressions. I grabbed a hold of the cardio-pump and started doing compressions as fast and strong as I could per the instructions of the head medic. I did compressions for about 7 minutes without stopping and my arms and back were killing me since I was leaning over the patient with unstable balance. I then switched to pushing the AMBU bag(the bag that is attached to the tube in the throat to help the patient breath). AFter squeezing every 5 seconds for about 10 minutes, I then switched and went back to doing compressions. The patient had to be shocked about 4 times and the finally got a very weak pulse and heart beat after about 45 minutes of CPR. The head medic and driver of the other ambulance decided they would make a run for it to the hospital in Beer Sheva, about a 25 minute drive away. Tzachi and I quickly got out of their ambulance and headed back to ours and headed back to the station. That was all we could do, it was now up to the other medics and the hospital to do the rest. Tzachi and I returned back to the station to rest and fill out the paper work. We ended our shift around 5 and got a ride back to Yerucham and Tzachi took me home. While we were heading back to my apartment Tzachi got a call from the medics from Dimona that our patient had passed away at the hospital.
It was a first of many things for me. It was the first time that I was in an emergency situation and had to act quickly but smartly. I had to be able to follow orders that were give very quickly and my actions had to be instant and precise. I was happy that I got to take part in such a difficult task and that I was involved in it all. It is scary work to be a medic and work under the pressure of the patient, the family screaming outside the ambulance, and the overall surroundings of the situation. I feel accomplished and feel that my training payed off. It is sad to know that he didn't end up making it and the reality check of that is the worst part. I felt like I was in an episode of ER or Chicago Hope and the doctors do all the can to say a patient, but in the end the opposite result takes place.
It is hard work, but someone has to do it...
David
I headed back to Yerucham after Shabbat and worked an easy graveyard shift for MADA. When I got there on Saturday night, they told me that they were in need of an extra set of hands on Sunday from 9am to 5pm working in Dimona with one of the Yerucham drivers. They volunteered me and I accepted the invitation. So on Sunday morning after I finished the first shift, I went home and prayed and ate something and then met the driver who I was going to be working with, Tzachi, and we hitchhiked to Dimona. We got to the Dimona station, which is much bigger then Yeruchams, and we just relaxed and got settled. Tzachi let me do a complete check of the ambulances supplies and then we gave the rig a bath. We didn't actually get a call til about 10:30. The first call was a woman who was having heart pains and had elevated blood pressure. We got her to the hospital and all settled and we headed back to Dimona.
Our next and last call was a car accident around 2:30ish. A mid 70 year old man was driving and most likely had a minor heart attack and crashed into a barrier on the side of the rode. Tzachi and I were the first ones on the scene. I was excited for the real action but yet nervous at the same time. We got our of the ambulance and ran to the scene. We evaluated the man and determined that he wasn't going to be able to get out of the car by himself. I ran to grab a neck brace and the backboard. Tzachi braced his neck and I set up for the back boarding. We got him onto the backboard with some help of the police. After that we lifted him onto the bed and rushed him into our ambulance. We gave him oxygen but he said he didn't want any. We immediately called for a backup ambulance that has more equipment and more staff as well as drugs. The other ambulance came and we transported him from ours to the other.
After that Tzachi and I headed back to the station about 2 minutes away. We weren't even back in the station for 15 minutes before we get another call. Tzachi and I sprint out the door and race out of the station. We got called back to the original scene. Our patient's that was stable when we left was crashing and they had started CPR. Tzachi and I once again sprint as fast as we can to the other ambulance. Tzachi goes inside to assist the other 2 medics and volunteer that were already in there. I stayed out side and waited til I was called. I didn't expect to be called into the ambulance to work but they called me in about five minutes later. I went in and they told me to start compressions. I grabbed a hold of the cardio-pump and started doing compressions as fast and strong as I could per the instructions of the head medic. I did compressions for about 7 minutes without stopping and my arms and back were killing me since I was leaning over the patient with unstable balance. I then switched to pushing the AMBU bag(the bag that is attached to the tube in the throat to help the patient breath). AFter squeezing every 5 seconds for about 10 minutes, I then switched and went back to doing compressions. The patient had to be shocked about 4 times and the finally got a very weak pulse and heart beat after about 45 minutes of CPR. The head medic and driver of the other ambulance decided they would make a run for it to the hospital in Beer Sheva, about a 25 minute drive away. Tzachi and I quickly got out of their ambulance and headed back to ours and headed back to the station. That was all we could do, it was now up to the other medics and the hospital to do the rest. Tzachi and I returned back to the station to rest and fill out the paper work. We ended our shift around 5 and got a ride back to Yerucham and Tzachi took me home. While we were heading back to my apartment Tzachi got a call from the medics from Dimona that our patient had passed away at the hospital.
It was a first of many things for me. It was the first time that I was in an emergency situation and had to act quickly but smartly. I had to be able to follow orders that were give very quickly and my actions had to be instant and precise. I was happy that I got to take part in such a difficult task and that I was involved in it all. It is scary work to be a medic and work under the pressure of the patient, the family screaming outside the ambulance, and the overall surroundings of the situation. I feel accomplished and feel that my training payed off. It is sad to know that he didn't end up making it and the reality check of that is the worst part. I felt like I was in an episode of ER or Chicago Hope and the doctors do all the can to say a patient, but in the end the opposite result takes place.
It is hard work, but someone has to do it...
David
Friday, March 12, 2010
Soo Hottt....
This week in Yerucham it has been unbelievably hot for the beginning of March. I just can't get over it. The weather at night is so beautiful and pleasant but during the day you are drenching yourself in sweat. Oh well...
This week was a good and typical week as far as Yerucham is concerned. I worked everyday teaching English at school. On Monday afternoon I went to work two shifts at MADA. I worked from 3pm to 11pm with no calls and then at 11:15pm we got a call for a transport of a 30 year old woman who was pregnant who was suffering from bleeding so we took her to the hospital. We made it back to the station around 1:15am and I was in bed by around 1:30am to be later woken up at 4:30 for a transport of a man who had so called "chest pains." The two other medics I was working with and I all thought it was a bogus case but we took him none the less. We returned around 6am to the station and I really didn't go back to sleep.
Tuesday morning was Yom Nativ and we spent the majority of the morning cleaning up the Shul that we all go to and started making head way on a beautiful new garden. It needs a lot of work but it should be quite the garden when finished. We spent the rest of the morning and beginning half of the afternoon doing other activities and finally finished Yom Nativ around 3ish. For the rest of the afternoon I just hung around the apartment and hung out with some people. I went to bed at 9pm that night cause I had been up since 4:30am.
Wednesday was a normal day of English teaching and that night I went to my host family with Ilana and we were invited to the daughters Bat Mitzvah which is next week. They Bat Mitzvah is going to be at the top of Masada. I am not sure if either of us will be able to go, but it was a great idea for a Bat Mitzvah and a very thoughtful thought to invite us. Thursday I taught in the morning and then did the grocery shopping for dinner that night of Baked Ziti and the shopping for Shabbat afternoon where I will be hosting 10 people. Baked Ziti turned out really well and the apartment loved it. And as I am typing this I am waiting for my chicken to be down so I can turn the pan to the opposite side. Our stove isn't the best in the world and it will take me a few makes to figure out how it works. I am excited to host Shabbat lunch and just to have people over since we just redid the living room with brand new couches that were donated to us. Shabbat should be great. Last night I worked from 11pm to 7am at MADA and got one call around 11:30ish. It was a transport from Mizpe Ramon to Beer Sheva of a 18 year old Russian immigrant who also had bleeding during her 3 and 1/2 month of pregnancy. She and her "male" counterpart didn't really speak so much Hebrew so I tried to talk to them in English and it worked for a bit but after a few things I was trying to ask them they just stopped answering. Luckily when we got to the hospital, a woman who was cleaning spoke Russian and she was able to help. We got back to the station around 1ish and then I was in bed til 7am this morning.
So this week was pretty good minus the heat. I am really looking forward to Shabbat. Shul then dinner at my host family. Shul in the morning and then lunch at my place. It should be a nice and relaxing Shabbat.
Shabbat Shalom to all and Refuah Shelema to Sarah bat Basha.
David
This week was a good and typical week as far as Yerucham is concerned. I worked everyday teaching English at school. On Monday afternoon I went to work two shifts at MADA. I worked from 3pm to 11pm with no calls and then at 11:15pm we got a call for a transport of a 30 year old woman who was pregnant who was suffering from bleeding so we took her to the hospital. We made it back to the station around 1:15am and I was in bed by around 1:30am to be later woken up at 4:30 for a transport of a man who had so called "chest pains." The two other medics I was working with and I all thought it was a bogus case but we took him none the less. We returned around 6am to the station and I really didn't go back to sleep.
Tuesday morning was Yom Nativ and we spent the majority of the morning cleaning up the Shul that we all go to and started making head way on a beautiful new garden. It needs a lot of work but it should be quite the garden when finished. We spent the rest of the morning and beginning half of the afternoon doing other activities and finally finished Yom Nativ around 3ish. For the rest of the afternoon I just hung around the apartment and hung out with some people. I went to bed at 9pm that night cause I had been up since 4:30am.
Wednesday was a normal day of English teaching and that night I went to my host family with Ilana and we were invited to the daughters Bat Mitzvah which is next week. They Bat Mitzvah is going to be at the top of Masada. I am not sure if either of us will be able to go, but it was a great idea for a Bat Mitzvah and a very thoughtful thought to invite us. Thursday I taught in the morning and then did the grocery shopping for dinner that night of Baked Ziti and the shopping for Shabbat afternoon where I will be hosting 10 people. Baked Ziti turned out really well and the apartment loved it. And as I am typing this I am waiting for my chicken to be down so I can turn the pan to the opposite side. Our stove isn't the best in the world and it will take me a few makes to figure out how it works. I am excited to host Shabbat lunch and just to have people over since we just redid the living room with brand new couches that were donated to us. Shabbat should be great. Last night I worked from 11pm to 7am at MADA and got one call around 11:30ish. It was a transport from Mizpe Ramon to Beer Sheva of a 18 year old Russian immigrant who also had bleeding during her 3 and 1/2 month of pregnancy. She and her "male" counterpart didn't really speak so much Hebrew so I tried to talk to them in English and it worked for a bit but after a few things I was trying to ask them they just stopped answering. Luckily when we got to the hospital, a woman who was cleaning spoke Russian and she was able to help. We got back to the station around 1ish and then I was in bed til 7am this morning.
So this week was pretty good minus the heat. I am really looking forward to Shabbat. Shul then dinner at my host family. Shul in the morning and then lunch at my place. It should be a nice and relaxing Shabbat.
Shabbat Shalom to all and Refuah Shelema to Sarah bat Basha.
David
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Another Week in Yerucham, Purim, and Leadership!!!
I am starting to get back into the swing of blogging again and I am going to be doing it much more often then I did during the first semester, or at least I hope to. This past week has been full of amazing times. Sunday through Thursday were normal days of school teaching English and two MADA shifts from 3pm to 11pm. I was an hour and a half short of going to a huge car explosion out side of Yerucham on Monday afternoon. Five people were killed after their car exploded due to a semi truck swerving because of distraction. It was a horrible site to see on the news, but it is life and things like this happen. I got maybe 4 or 5 calls between both shifts and my Hebrew is getting much better because of the amount of time I am working for MADA. I am looking forward to more shifts in the upcoming weeks and months.
On Thursday after I finished school, I headed home quickly to pack up my stuff and help clean the apartment. We were all heading back near Jerusalem and eventually to Jerusalem for Leadership Week. After loading the bus on Thursday afternoon we drove to the Tel Aviv area for a MASA(organization through which Nativ is an affiliate) cultural arts program featuring a drumming company. It was a great start to an evening despite the rain and the bus driver getting lost. I felt like I was back at home having to ride in the front of the bus and give directions to the bus driver. After the drumming performance we met up with a bunch of the different year programs in Israel for a concert featuring Subliminal, a popular Israeli Rapper. It was a good concert, but it was fairly short. After an hourish bus ride to Ma'aleh Hachamisha, a resort and spa right outside of Jerusalem. We got settled into our rooms and we all crashed pretty quickly because it was a long day and we had an early morning ahead of us.
Friday morning we all went to the Land of Israel Museum in Tel Aviv as well as the Palmach Museum also in Tel Aviv. I had never been to either of the museums before, but I really enjoyed both of them especially the Palmach museum because it is a completely interactive and virtual museum that takes you through the pre establishment of the State of Israel and a underground military force. After the museums we headed back to our resort to get ready for Shabbat. We all davened together on Friday night and then had an incredible dinner at the hotel and then we broke up into different sessions. Jules was into and I got to go to his session on Amalek which tied into the Parasha for the weekend dealing with Amalek and remembering and whipping them out of our memory. After the session we had a Nativ tisch with singing and food and then sleepy time. Shababt morning and the day were pretty relaxing with services, lunch, a session with Yossi about American Jewry and then sleepy time. We also had a light snack before the festivities began.
Saturday night began Purim and we all dressed up. I didn't really put a lot into the costume because I don't normally dress up. I wore these Aladin looking pants and socks with monkeys on them. Nothing to special. We all read the Megillah together which was very nice and then we had a nice dinner followed by a dance and karaoke party to end the night. Purim morning, Sunday morning, we prayed and read the Megillah again and then had a pretty relaxing morning. We went to Bat Yam, about 15ish minutes from Tel Aviv near the water, for our Purim Seudah. It was a nice meal and a good ending note to a great Purim.
Monday we went to Casaria for the day to do leadership and team building activities. We did some fun activities to start and then we went to do low ropes activities. We did an activity where you had to get people over a 20 foot wall and I was spotting someone and they accidentally kicked me in the mouth so I now have war wounds and they look pretty good if I may say so myself. After a good day in Casaria we headed back to our old home of Beit Nativ. We ate dinner there and then headed out for the light show presentation at the Tower of David. It was an absolutely incredible show. It takes the scenes from creation all the way through today and projects them on the walls of the area. It was a first time for most of us and an incredible time it was.
Tuesday and Wednesday are Leadership seminars. We have different programs led by our staff and a few outside guests. They were all pretty solid, but I won't lie, none of them had anything to do with leadership(shhh). Anyways, The weekend is quickly approaching. I am staying in Jerusalem for Shabbat with Jules before he heads back to the states on Sunday morning. We are going to go to shul at Kol Rina(the bomb shelter shul) Friday night and eat at Prima Royal Hotel and then Shabbat morning go to Shira Hadasha and then to David Keren and his family for lunch. It should be a good Shabbat.
Shabbat Shalom in advance and please keep your prayers coming for Sarah bat Basha
David
Now some MADA Pictures
On Thursday after I finished school, I headed home quickly to pack up my stuff and help clean the apartment. We were all heading back near Jerusalem and eventually to Jerusalem for Leadership Week. After loading the bus on Thursday afternoon we drove to the Tel Aviv area for a MASA(organization through which Nativ is an affiliate) cultural arts program featuring a drumming company. It was a great start to an evening despite the rain and the bus driver getting lost. I felt like I was back at home having to ride in the front of the bus and give directions to the bus driver. After the drumming performance we met up with a bunch of the different year programs in Israel for a concert featuring Subliminal, a popular Israeli Rapper. It was a good concert, but it was fairly short. After an hourish bus ride to Ma'aleh Hachamisha, a resort and spa right outside of Jerusalem. We got settled into our rooms and we all crashed pretty quickly because it was a long day and we had an early morning ahead of us.
Friday morning we all went to the Land of Israel Museum in Tel Aviv as well as the Palmach Museum also in Tel Aviv. I had never been to either of the museums before, but I really enjoyed both of them especially the Palmach museum because it is a completely interactive and virtual museum that takes you through the pre establishment of the State of Israel and a underground military force. After the museums we headed back to our resort to get ready for Shabbat. We all davened together on Friday night and then had an incredible dinner at the hotel and then we broke up into different sessions. Jules was into and I got to go to his session on Amalek which tied into the Parasha for the weekend dealing with Amalek and remembering and whipping them out of our memory. After the session we had a Nativ tisch with singing and food and then sleepy time. Shababt morning and the day were pretty relaxing with services, lunch, a session with Yossi about American Jewry and then sleepy time. We also had a light snack before the festivities began.
Saturday night began Purim and we all dressed up. I didn't really put a lot into the costume because I don't normally dress up. I wore these Aladin looking pants and socks with monkeys on them. Nothing to special. We all read the Megillah together which was very nice and then we had a nice dinner followed by a dance and karaoke party to end the night. Purim morning, Sunday morning, we prayed and read the Megillah again and then had a pretty relaxing morning. We went to Bat Yam, about 15ish minutes from Tel Aviv near the water, for our Purim Seudah. It was a nice meal and a good ending note to a great Purim.
Monday we went to Casaria for the day to do leadership and team building activities. We did some fun activities to start and then we went to do low ropes activities. We did an activity where you had to get people over a 20 foot wall and I was spotting someone and they accidentally kicked me in the mouth so I now have war wounds and they look pretty good if I may say so myself. After a good day in Casaria we headed back to our old home of Beit Nativ. We ate dinner there and then headed out for the light show presentation at the Tower of David. It was an absolutely incredible show. It takes the scenes from creation all the way through today and projects them on the walls of the area. It was a first time for most of us and an incredible time it was.
Tuesday and Wednesday are Leadership seminars. We have different programs led by our staff and a few outside guests. They were all pretty solid, but I won't lie, none of them had anything to do with leadership(shhh). Anyways, The weekend is quickly approaching. I am staying in Jerusalem for Shabbat with Jules before he heads back to the states on Sunday morning. We are going to go to shul at Kol Rina(the bomb shelter shul) Friday night and eat at Prima Royal Hotel and then Shabbat morning go to Shira Hadasha and then to David Keren and his family for lunch. It should be a good Shabbat.
Shabbat Shalom in advance and please keep your prayers coming for Sarah bat Basha
David
Now some MADA Pictures
Friday, February 19, 2010
It's Been One Week... And What An Incredible Week!!!
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
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
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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