Wish I could say that this week was the best week ever, but I can't. I've been home all week, sick with a sore throat and a leaky faucet biologists refer to as a nose. I have been sick and miserable all week, unable to go out unto the holy land and return with interesting snipits of information to relay to all of the people who don't read my blog or at least read it but refuse to comment, making it impossible to really know if I'm the only one who cares about what I post up here.
Sorry, it's been a long week.
Gillian, like the trooper she is, put up with me, even going so far as to fold my students into her classes and not bitch too much about it. Teaching one class is hard enough without having to teach two at the same time. Especially considering their skill levels are all over the place. She has also made me tea countless times and also made soup.
I do have to point out one funny thing about the whole being sick situation though... You see, when Gillian and I teach the Ethiopian kids we do so several miles away from where we live. Our commute by car is at least 30 minutes. Sure, it doesn't sound like a big deal, but when the only person registered and insured to drive the rental car is the schmuck with a sore throat and a fever, getting to where you need to go becomes a logistics problem.
For the past two days I mustered up enough energy to drive her and kill some time in a local mall where I didn't have to speak to anyone in my sandpapery tone, however today was a different story. Today, Gillian drove herself, uninsured and unsure of where she was going but got there all the same. Sure, we broke the law, but hey, I have a stuffy nose. Anyhow, she returned unscathed and reassured that driving is not a skill one easily forgets how to do. Remember, she hasn't really been behind the wheel of a vehicle since before she left for France way back in October. Applause are most certainly in order...
In other news, I hope you all have been following the steady stream of lousy stories emanating from our homeland in the past few days. From anti-abortion law to selling the control of our ports to foreign entities with ties to terrorism, few positive things have happened of late. Between the violence that swept across the world regarding the cartoons of Muhammad, the U.N.'s call to shut down the Guantanamo Bay prison camp, along with the mosque bombings in Iraq, I can't help but ask if we deserve to eat whatever's in the pot we've been stirring. If nothing else, it's impossible to say that we live in boring times...
It's just good to know that all is right with the world when the photographers who were stalking Princess Diana on the night her limo was run off the road have been brought to justice. That's right, they have been made to pay for the role they had in her death. One whole whopping Euro each. Wow.
Oh wait, before I go, I would be remiss to leave out two of the most important stories of recent news cycles. It's hard not to link these two stories in some sick, uncomfortable, unpleasant, unfortunate way, but it's a tough pill to swallow that they aren't karmically connected anyhow.
It's always an interesting week in the news when the Vice President of the United States shoots a man in the face and only a few days later the first school shooting of the season takes place. Of course, in a normal, sane and just world the NRA would have it's hands full...
That's all I've got for now. Be good.
Friday, February 24, 2006
Sunday, February 19, 2006
Your Show of Shows...
Here is the first true installment of moving pictures from the holy land produced by me.
Click above or click here...
Click above or click here...
An Afternoon In Nahariyya
Nahariyya is a nice town in the North of Israel on the Mediteranean. Although it isn't more than a 25 minute drive from Karmi'el, today was our first excursion to that neck of the woods. We spent the afternoon on the boardwalk, ate cheesecake that had the consistency of flan, and finally found a Chinese restaurant that serves Chinese food. Actually, they serve really good Chinese food. A triumph that punctuated an absolutely gorgeous day.
Insomnia Is Beautiful
I couldn't sleep last night. Just couldn't do it. I simply didn't feel like being unconscious. So, I stayed up to watch the sunrise over Karmi'el and much of Northern Israel. Good thing I didn't forget my camera...
Now With Video!
Sure still pics are great but every once and a while I may feel the need to share a few frames of video with you as well. I hereby officially upgrade The Cultural Deklein from a plain ol' blog to a fancy new vlog (or video blog). Pretty cool huh?To start out I've posted my best work to date just as a test... Back home I freelance for an A/V company and in the office, every Thursday at 4pm, Eugenia the cleaning woman tends the plants.
Click here or on the video window to tune in...
Saturday, February 18, 2006
Ethiopian National Project
So the past few weeks have been crazy. Padded cell crazy. As in "I've stabbed myself with a spoon and need to be placed in a padded cell" crazy.
About 4 weeks ago we got a phone call from one of the women in charge of our stay here in Israel. She runs the English program in practically all of the ORT schools in the country. She informed us that there was a new program desperately in need of teachers that we'd be perfect for. Naturally, she told us that the person in direct charge of the program would get in touch with us to discuss the details. For two weeks we waited by the phone. No call. Then, one Sunday afternoon, while driving around the North of Israel looking for supposedly pretty flowers that grow on the side of the road (the excursion came highly recommended) we received a phone call reminding us to be at a school in Kiryat Bialik at 4pm. The only problem was that no one had mentioned it to us in the first place. So, after cutting our flower hunt short, we arrived at aforementioned school completely unaware that we were walking into a trap.
Unprepared, unready, unequipped, uneverything, Gillian & I were handed schedules and shoved into classrooms where we met the first of many classes we were charged with teaching English. Given no materials to work with, no background on our students, no clue what the purpose of the program was or expectations for the students or ourselves, we submitted to the excruciating experience of being thrown to the wolves.
Now, after a week or two of being stunned, petrified and stuttering and stammering through each classroom encounter, we each teach approximately 6-8 classes of anywhere between 2-7 students, attempting in each session to evaluate their current skill level and inventing the best way to move them forward. At first we had no idea how to proceed (you know, NOT BEING TEACHERS and all) but we recently sat down for a few hours with a British lady who provided us with many worksheets and directed us to a number of resources on the web for struggling ESL teachers.
Anyhow, now that my nightmare has come true, perhaps I should tell you about the fantastic kids who have been put in the unenviable position to be taught English by yours truly.
As the name of the project implies, all of the students in our classes are Ethiopians. You might ask, "But the Ethiopians are from Africa, not the Middle East. Why are there Ethiopians in Israel?" Well, the answer is somewhat complicated, but I'll take a stab at it: They are Ethiopian Jews. "Black Jews?", you might say to yourself, to which I reply, "Fucking awesome, right?"
Anyhow, the simple explanation is that these Ethiopian Jews claim to be the lost tribe of Israel and have either been practicing the traditions for thousands of years or had been forced to convert to Christianity and are just now returning to the Jewish faith. They lived for many years in Ethiopia, often under persecution, and have been immigrating steadily to Israel since the 1980s. However, the majority arrived within one 36-hour period in 1991, when Israel air-lifted almost 15,000 Ethiopian Jews amidst growing political destabilization between the two countries. Operation Solomon as it was called is quite an amazing story.
Many of the students we teach are either first generation Israelis or were very young when their families immigrated. Most of them come from huge families of up to 12 siblings. Their English skills range from "able to communicate" to "barely understands a thing", but throughout they all seem like great kids and we've enjoyed meeting all of them. Below is a picture of a few students Gillian and I worked with the other day. It was Valentine's Day and we taught them about the holiday and had them make valentines for loved ones at home. If you haven't guessed yet, it was all Gillian's idea.
They even made valentines for us...
The thought of being a teacher scares the shit out of me and I'm not sure I'm cut out for this sort of thing but I'm trying and will hopefully not fail too bad. Gillian is much more enthusiastic as usual and seems to be taking quite naturally to the tasks of creating lesson plans and molding young minds. I for one am happy just to make them laugh every now and then between vocabulary words. Of course it's a lot easier to make someone laugh when they understand what you're saying but we're working on that... Also, if nothing else, I think my Hebrew is improving ever so slightly each time a student turns to another student to ask if anyone knows what the hell I'm talking about.
Frankly, I'm not so sure I know what I'm talking about half the time. English is a tough language...
About 4 weeks ago we got a phone call from one of the women in charge of our stay here in Israel. She runs the English program in practically all of the ORT schools in the country. She informed us that there was a new program desperately in need of teachers that we'd be perfect for. Naturally, she told us that the person in direct charge of the program would get in touch with us to discuss the details. For two weeks we waited by the phone. No call. Then, one Sunday afternoon, while driving around the North of Israel looking for supposedly pretty flowers that grow on the side of the road (the excursion came highly recommended) we received a phone call reminding us to be at a school in Kiryat Bialik at 4pm. The only problem was that no one had mentioned it to us in the first place. So, after cutting our flower hunt short, we arrived at aforementioned school completely unaware that we were walking into a trap.
Unprepared, unready, unequipped, uneverything, Gillian & I were handed schedules and shoved into classrooms where we met the first of many classes we were charged with teaching English. Given no materials to work with, no background on our students, no clue what the purpose of the program was or expectations for the students or ourselves, we submitted to the excruciating experience of being thrown to the wolves.
Now, after a week or two of being stunned, petrified and stuttering and stammering through each classroom encounter, we each teach approximately 6-8 classes of anywhere between 2-7 students, attempting in each session to evaluate their current skill level and inventing the best way to move them forward. At first we had no idea how to proceed (you know, NOT BEING TEACHERS and all) but we recently sat down for a few hours with a British lady who provided us with many worksheets and directed us to a number of resources on the web for struggling ESL teachers.
Anyhow, now that my nightmare has come true, perhaps I should tell you about the fantastic kids who have been put in the unenviable position to be taught English by yours truly.
As the name of the project implies, all of the students in our classes are Ethiopians. You might ask, "But the Ethiopians are from Africa, not the Middle East. Why are there Ethiopians in Israel?" Well, the answer is somewhat complicated, but I'll take a stab at it: They are Ethiopian Jews. "Black Jews?", you might say to yourself, to which I reply, "Fucking awesome, right?"
Anyhow, the simple explanation is that these Ethiopian Jews claim to be the lost tribe of Israel and have either been practicing the traditions for thousands of years or had been forced to convert to Christianity and are just now returning to the Jewish faith. They lived for many years in Ethiopia, often under persecution, and have been immigrating steadily to Israel since the 1980s. However, the majority arrived within one 36-hour period in 1991, when Israel air-lifted almost 15,000 Ethiopian Jews amidst growing political destabilization between the two countries. Operation Solomon as it was called is quite an amazing story.
Many of the students we teach are either first generation Israelis or were very young when their families immigrated. Most of them come from huge families of up to 12 siblings. Their English skills range from "able to communicate" to "barely understands a thing", but throughout they all seem like great kids and we've enjoyed meeting all of them. Below is a picture of a few students Gillian and I worked with the other day. It was Valentine's Day and we taught them about the holiday and had them make valentines for loved ones at home. If you haven't guessed yet, it was all Gillian's idea.
They even made valentines for us...The thought of being a teacher scares the shit out of me and I'm not sure I'm cut out for this sort of thing but I'm trying and will hopefully not fail too bad. Gillian is much more enthusiastic as usual and seems to be taking quite naturally to the tasks of creating lesson plans and molding young minds. I for one am happy just to make them laugh every now and then between vocabulary words. Of course it's a lot easier to make someone laugh when they understand what you're saying but we're working on that... Also, if nothing else, I think my Hebrew is improving ever so slightly each time a student turns to another student to ask if anyone knows what the hell I'm talking about.
Frankly, I'm not so sure I know what I'm talking about half the time. English is a tough language...
Friday, February 17, 2006
a few new pics
with a new camera comes new pictures!
This is Maxine Bennett. She is in charge of us at one the high schools we volunteer at.
A sunset at Braude College.
A view from the side of the road.
Another sunset photo.
Gillian and some students making valentines.
more to come...
This is Maxine Bennett. She is in charge of us at one the high schools we volunteer at.
A sunset at Braude College.
A view from the side of the road.
Another sunset photo.
Gillian and some students making valentines.more to come...
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