Week 2

Wow. I feel like so much has happened since my last blog post. This week flew by! On Wednesday 7 new children arrived to the house from Zanzibar.  It was quite overwhelming coming downstairs in the morning and seeing all these new faces.  I was told I would be accompanying them to the hospital to do their initial medical screenings. We spent almost 8 hours at the hospital.  Each kid got a blood screening for an array of diseases, and had an echo on his/her heart, where his/her heart condition was revealed.  I couldn't believe how much time/effort the Israeli nurses, doctors, and specialists were devoting to each child. While at the hospital, I also saw the children I know from the SACH house. It was a completely different experience seeing them in the hospital; I felt like they needed me more there, than at the house.    Most of these children come to Israel without any family, or even familiarity with heart surgery.  Seeing the children both pre-op/post-operation reminded me that I am making a positive difference. 

While at the hospital, I also got to visit some Palestinian patients.  Half of the SACH patients are from Palestinian territories, but do not spend any time at the SACH house because they have the luxury to go home during their recovery. 

That same day I spent time with toddler Hay-min and his mother before his surgery; I also got to see him after! He was such a champ. He kept blabbering after his surgery to his mom, one of the Ethiopian nurses, and myself.  Although I could not understand exactly what he was saying, I could tell by the tone of his voice he was confused, and enraged. I later found out he was shouting "WHO did this to me?? WHO???" How do you explain to a small child what surgery is? He continued on for a bout 15 minutes, and then asked his mom why I didn't bring him a toy. (Oops!). I found out that Hay-min's mother is my age! A couple of the mothers have asked me if I have children or a husband. Below is mama Sameera with baby Sumayah.  They were also at the hospital that day too. She is absolutely stunning. 

Like most mothers in the house, Sameera wears a Hijab. Most guests at the house are Muslim. One of the new nurses from Zanzibar prays five times a day. 

The next morning I was getting ready to leave for Tel Aviv. I was so pleasantly surprised when the new children greeted me with huge hugs and smiles when they saw I was still at the house. Even the mothers were giving me hugs. :) :) :) 

I headed to Tel Aviv where I met my Freshman year Wisconsin suitemate and another Wisco friend. It is so nice knowing I have such good friends so close by. Coincidentally when we were walking around, we ran into another friend from Wisconsin! We ended up going to Shabbat dinner with him and some of his friends. 

This morning me and my friend Steph walked along the beach. It was packed with people, music, and food. Tel Aviv does not shut down like Jerusalem does on Shabbat. 

I arrived back in Holon a couple of hours ago. I can't believe I've been here almost two weeks already. wow. 

That's it for now :). 

Shavua Tov

I cannot believe I've been here an entire week! I feel like I've been living in the house for a month now. I got my first two days off during the weekend. (I am allowed 2 full days off each week). I went to  Rosh HaAyin (25 min from Holon) with my friend Dekel.  Dekel was one of the soldiers on my birthright trip; we have been in touch ever since.  I went to his house for Shabbat dinner where I had goat soup, chicken "meatballs", schnitzel, fish, and home-made alcohol for dessert! (In addition to some cake and fruit). His family kept warning me how spicy the fish was going to be, they were shocked when I said it wasn't too hot. They wondered what kinda food we eat in America.  The next day we headed to an Arab village called "Kfar Qasam," where we went to the sooq (market) held every Saturday.  I could not believe what was there! In addition to the cheapest clothes (not stuff I would particularly wear), there were animals for sale!

The only thing I got at the market was fresh carrot juice. After the sooq, me and my friend Dekel headed to his favorite Falafel stand. Nothing like 10 shekel Falafel (that's very cheap btw!). I attempted to tell the young boy behind the counter that the Falafel was delicious, he looked at me weirdly. The old man behind me told me I was pronouncing my words the Egyptian way. Its been a while since I've spoken the Palestinian dialect. Some of the letters are pronounced differently.
We then headed to Dekel's childhood friend, Tal's. I had met Tal the last time I was in Israel. Tal, like many other Israelis I have met, was embarrassed to speak English with me. He kept telling me how bad his grammar was. Yea he referred to me as a "he" a couple times, but overall he was pretty good. He takes lessons 4 days a week. Before I left he insisted I take three iphone cases and a screen protector, which he had ordered on Amazon. He had like 15 screen protectors!
After a long day I headed back to the SACH house. When I walked in, all the kids ran and gave me a huge hug. It felt nice to be home!

Yesterday we did some fun art projects.  There are limited art supplies in the house, so it is hard to come up with new ideas every day. (Let me know if you have any good ideas!).  I've noticed that whenever we do an art project, the kids love it, and then leave them on the table.  The house mom Laura explained to me that we are raised to value are artwork.  We hang it on the fridge with magnets, and put our names on it. They don't feel an attachment with their creations.  They just enjoy doing it at the time.  We did manicures before dinner. Everyone was in shock when they saw I had over 20 nailpolish colors (Thanks Madi).  Even the moms wanted me to do their nails.

Today is Christmas Eve, but you would never know here in Israel. There is not one sign of Christmas. After the kids finish their "kalula" (nap in Swahili) we will make christmas trees. The Romanian children celebrate the holiday at home.

It has been a great week. I know I have another one ahead of me.

Settling In

Today was the first day I started to feel at home. I am starting to form close bonds with the children and their mothers.  It's almost as if the language barrier has disappeared. It's amazing to see how the children interact with one another coming from completely different cultures. Below is Kanzi from Zanzibar, playing with Yanut, from Romania. Yanut is one of two children in the house with Down Syndrome, commonly associated with heart defects. Many parents who come to SACH falsely assume that when their child gets heart surgery, the results of the surgery will also change their facial features.

When I woke up this morning I was exhausted. I had barely slept the night before.
I continued on downstairs where I had expected my day to start like the rest, playing with the kids.
Laura, the house mom, asked me to help distribute food in the kitchen.  Because she does not work on Friday/Saturday, she makes sure to leave enough food for the kids/moms to have on the weekend. The food is always the same: rice, pasta, eggs, chicken, tomatoes, flour, sugar, etc. Basic food, which they somehow turn into something amazing. The kids always give me the strangest looks when they see me eating a bowl of Cheerios, or a salad.  I don't think they've ever seen such simple food! Their moms prepare fresh dough each meal and make flatbread (in additions to several other dishes).

Laura then told me I was supposed to go to the hospital too meet some kids, and wanted to know when I was going. I had no idea what she was talking about. No one had told me about this hospital visit. She told me I was supposed to take the bus, which takes about an hour. I ended up going later with someone else who works for SACH. The hospital was incomparable to an American one. The doctor explained to me how in the states, each kid has a bout 9 medical staff looking after them or with them during the surgery. In Israel, only three. The Israeli doctors who help out with SACH are also full-time doctors working for different hospitals.  All the work they do is pro bono.  Pretty incredible, right? Below is Dr. Youya from Ethiopia. He also lives in the SACH house.

When I returned back to the house, I was told I needed to go back to the hospital again. This time, unaccompanied by any staff from SACH.  I was responsible for bringing two Romanian children to the correct unit in the hospital for TB testing. No big. 

By the time we got back, it was almost dinner time. Everyone eats together at around 6. I also lock the playroom then.  One clever little boy from Ethiopia, Hai-man, (in the pic below) noticed I had placed the keys in my jeans pocket.  Soon after, he pretty much did a body search on me for the keys.  I couldn't help but burst out laughing when he stuck his hands in my butt pockets.  

After a long day, I am ready for a good night's sleep!! 

Oh, and HUGE Shout Out to AEPI for having Save a Child's Heart as their national Philanthropy! 

My first day back in Israel

Shalom from Holon!
Where do I even begin. I can't believe I've only been here just over 24 hours.
I went straight from the airport to a city called Holon, 20 min south of Tel Aviv.
I arrived at an organization called "Save a Child's Heart" (SACH). saveachildshearts.org
As a I arrived, I noticed a giant Birthright bus. I was so embarrassed to go inside wearing my Hunter rainboots, side braid, and 3 bags of luggage. Not to mention I had a 15 hour travel day.
I went in where I met the house mom Laura, an Israeli with an Irish accent! She showed me my room on the third floor. I sleep on the "doctors floor" in my own room.
I was told to be downstairs by 8:45 the next morning to be ready to volunteer.

This morning I was surprised to learn that I was the only full-time volunteer. They haven't had one for ages. There are several part-time volunteers, but none who sleep in the house. My only directions were to be creative and engage the kids. Difficult task considering none of them speak English, and many of them aren't able to communicate with even each other. At the moment there are children from Ethiopia, Zanzibar, Romania, and Nairobi. If the children are under a certain age, their mothers assist them. If over 5, they come by themselves. Many of them travel in large groups from their native country. On Wednesday many kids will be arriving together from Zanzibar to be given free heart surgery. The surgery is funded solely by donations. It cost 10,000 dollars per kid, including travel accommodations. Most of the children come from very rural areas. When the Romanians arrived today, one of the mother's shouted "paradise" while looking out on Holon. When I arrived here, I had the opposite reaction.

Highlight of the day when when an Ethiopian boy named Simon put on a CD in the playroom. It happened to be one of my favorite songs, "you want it that way" by The Backstreet Boys. (Jk not one of my fav songs, but I do like it). He sang it in perfectly, although he does not speak a word of English. Naturally, I sang along with him. Below is a picture of Majuma, from Zanzibar. She insisted on using my scarf as a hijab. How could I say no to this cute face?

At the moment I am hanging out in the "common area" with two Iraqi doctors. They are here for one week, doing their fellowships. They speak fluent English. One of them visited the Western Wall the other day, and said it was a great experience. He is very interested in the Jewish culture and Israel.
I have also met a doctor from the West Bank, and Ethiopia. They are all very surprised that I am a Jewish girl learning Arabic.

It's been a long 24 hours, but I know I have an awesome journey ahead of me :).