Agree to Disagree

Skyping a friend from home, and then taking a second to realize where I am. While she was speaking to me from her bedroom in NY, I was speaking to her from my classroom on the Kibbutz, which happens to be a bomb shelter. Twice today sirens went off, once in the morning, and once again in the evening. We were warned in advance that this week there will be national emergency drills for the next couple of days.  The other day I went swimming on a Kibbutz 10 minutes from mine, and noticed something a bit odd about the childrens' swing structure. It was made out of an old missile. Playing "Call of Duty" (video game) shooting virtual weapons, and then seeing the same weapon from the game in front of me, knowing that this one had the actual ability to kill. Being told that Israeli's won't read a resume if it's longer than one page, "we just don't have time for that. there is always a war going on." A reality that the citizens of this country live in, and that I will soon be a part of.

As my program, Intensive Arabic Semester, is down to the final couple weeks, I am thankful for the invaluable cultural experiences this program has allowed me to partake in. To think I came here to Wadi Ara (a region an hour north of Tel Aviv) 4 months ago, and can now speak hours on end in Arabic, is beyond gratifying. I have been surrounded by the same group of people for the past several months, participating in a program run by an open-minded organization, Givat Haviva  (winner of the UNESCO prize for peace education). I went to Tel Aviv a couple days ago for a meeting for "Olim Chadashim" (new immigrants to Israel). I was in utter shock from the reaction I got when I told the group I was studying Arabic. One girl asked me "if the Arabs are really short." and then continued on to ask me "so they must be talking about Syria right? I'm sure that's all they're talking about right now; their loyalty to Syria." When I told the advisor of the program that I am studying Arabic, she looked at me in disgust, and asked me why. She then told me I should omit from my resume where I live. 

After returning from Tel Aviv, a city with virtually no Arabs, I have realized how just an hour south from my home, people's mindsets are completely different. How could I even go about explaining what I have learned the past several months? I can't. It's something you have to experience for yourself. 

In the meantime, I'm taking advantage of every day I have left here on Kibbutz Barkai. Soon I will be living in the crazy city of Tel Aviv, looking for a job, and studying Hebrew! I still plan to continue my Arabic studies as well. 

Today I am also thankful for the American soldiers who have lost their lives fighting for America. #MemorialDay