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 :).
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