Sort of Bringing SBB Back

Rothberg was liberated from the strike today, so as the Israeli government and Senior professors continue to ruin lives, they have decided to spare mine. I'll be in Israel until June. Sorry, Mere and E and everyone else in NYC that I miss...

I'm not so much done with my work for my thesis, or with one of my midterms, but I figured it was time to post SOMETHING. Below are pictures of things that happened in Ulpan, before the strike and during Hanukkah. There are also pictures from visiting a funny falafel/schwarma place on Ben Yehuda street (a precursor to my Birthright Season post, coming soon!), and from the shuk, where I often find things interesting, or hilarious.

Countdown to 26: 4 days! Also, Merry Christmas to all of those non-Jews that turn to my blob for Jewish education.


"Do you think I'm on Birthright? Because I'm not." -- Fun at a schwarma place on Ben Yehuda. Highly recommended because of customer service and flavor of the food!

It worked on me, as you can see from the picture above. Also, I've been documenting ridiculous Israel spellings in translations of things here. Translation errors may be my most precious joy in life...

Fellow Ramah Aleph students join the guitar guy on the stage at the front of the classroom during our 8th-day-of-hanukkah shirah session. I felt like I was at camp. It was amazing. And it ended with free donuts. Heaven.

Mr. Ulpan Rockstar.

I walked into my Hebrew class to see my worst nightmare: Math. In Hebrew. And not even calculus!

The past two Friday nights, I have going to services at two different Breslav shuls -- one in Har Nof, which is super-dee-duper religious, and one in Katamon, which is also pretty religious, but not as fun. Their mechitza involves an upstairs, a separate door, and a latticework wall between you and the air above the men. It's pretty extensive, and not as good as the Har Nof shul. Points to Har Nof! (Rafi liked Lecha Dodi better at Katamon, but what can I say...he's cute, not perfect!)

Rabbi Nachum of Breslav was the big deal rebbe for these chasidim, which is why he has his own song. In the Hebrew it is: ...נ נח נחמ נחמן or in English: Na, nach, nachma, nachman... It's pretty sweet, it's just adding another letter each syllable. I find myself humming it when the Breslav mobiles blast it from their Ram Kol (microphones, like on cop cars, but louder) when they're going down the street. The other thing I like about Breslavers is that they wear Shtreimels. I LOVE these beaver (yes, I said beaver) hats. They're super-expensive, super-warm, and super-hilarious.

Signs like these let me know that I'm enjoying super-shmittah carrots.

I Know Better...

My mother taught me, at some point, that if I don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all.

As usual, I am disregarding that statement. The Israeli Senior Educator strike is trying desparately to ruin my life. Will I go back to NYC? I don't know yet...but time is running out for me to make a decision. I'm FURIOUS at Israel and socialism and bureauocracy and corrupt govenment and people that are more stubborn than I (who knew such a thing existed?).

Michelle says the drop-dead date for the strike is Dec 30th. JPost reports it's January 13th, or they'll cancel the semester.

I'm still trying to get stuff for on my thesis, and working on a midterm that is due on Wednesday, even though my teacher isn't teaching. I've had off from Shprockets for 2 weeks, because the professor was sick, and tonight he's doing Christmas services in Amman, Jordan (he's so cool). That class will be back on in a week, so no worries. I've also taken advantage of the strike-freed time to go to an academic conference, which taught me that I am not a fan of academia, although it was interesting. The best part was the mini-concert and conversation with Shaanan Street, from HaDag NaChash.

The Davidson trip is in Israel, so I hung out with some of my classmates last night in Jerusalem. "Birthright Season" started last week, and soon, I will post pictures of my great-great grandlittle and my great grandlittle, my 2002 Wheelnik (who was STAFFING), and my old Wheels 1997 friend Miritski. As Birthright Season continues, I hope I'll be here to play with them.

For now, it's papers and preparing for my birthday Oneg. Just a few days until I'm 26!

"Do I Look Like A Prophet To You?"

"Do I Look Like A Prophet To You?"
(A high-up member of the Hebrew department's response when asked about the next 6 weeks / months of my Hebrew education here at Hebrew U.)

A visit to the Hebrew department proved to be more frustrating today than helpful. The person we spoke to was nice (well, mostly), but just like EVERYBODY ELSE in this ridiculous country, they have no clue what's going on with the strike, that has metastasized to the international school, thereby ruining my life. As a good friend points out, I was once an observer of the strikes in Israel. Now, I am another victim.

Here's what I do know:

1. Some of my professors are striking, including 1 of my 2 Hebrew teachers.
2. My striking education professor has pledged to meet with me to discuss my papers and grant me full credit at the end of the semester. He is stellar.
3. If they cannot guarantee me a Spring semester with normal, uninterrupted classes, I will be returning to NY, and JTS, in the spring.
4. The offices at school claim they will know more on Sunday.

While TiVos across the states, during the current writers' strike, lie sadly empty, forcing reruns on my beloved, fellow Americans, Universities across Israel lie sort-of fallow, with some classes happening, and some not happening. Tomorrow is the 2-year anniversary of the irritatingly freezing NYC transit strike of 2005 (and, coincidentally, my 2-year anniversary with Rafi). That strike was cold, and ridiculous, and over in, what, 3 days? Not having new episodes of the Office and Grey's Anatomy makes me sad, having to Rollerblade to work in 10 degrees F is crazy, but getting screwed out of education is a CRIME. And I will not sit idly by and let Israel ruin my year and my graduate education.

What happened to negotiations? Why can't the lawyers and representatives get together and work something out BEFORE it gets to semester-long strikes? Why does everything have to be so dramatic here?

Should I be surprised that a country that has never been able work out a peace agreement with hostile neighbors cannot find a way to properly pay their professors, or at least, not force a catastrophic stop in business, the after shocks of which will be felt for years.

What the hell is wrong with this country?

[Insert Expletive Here]

Let me preface this entry by saying that I'm most probably overreacting.

I know I said that I'm on a Hafsakah from writing on this blob until I'm finished with finals and midterms, but there is some breaking news that gives me time to write:

In a turn of events that can only be described with adjectives that are not appropriate for my parents, my grandparents, schoolchildren and any civilized, public conversation, the Israeli University שביתה / shvitah / strike has extended to the International school. I woke up EARLY today to get to my Hebrew class, only to find it was cancelled.

Now, you may think that this enhances my cultural experience and that now I understand better the plight of the Israeli university student. This, however, is not the case. It just makes me angry.

If I am to complete the credits I need to transfer to JTS, to be on schedule for my third year of the MA program, and to graduate on time, then I have to complete the classes I'm taking in Israel. The repercussions of this strike could be personally disastrous, nevermind that the senior lecturer strike is putting the entire Israeli higher educational system in peril. Israeli Universities may have to cancel the ENTIRE academic year if they cannot reach an agreement, as they've already pissed away more than half of the regular schools' semester.

I understand they don't get paid enough. I understand being a teacher or professor in the Israeli education system, from K-PhD, is rough. What I don't understand is what I have to do with this. I'm not Israeli. I paid (and I was given a generous scholarship) to learn at Hebrew U. Not to show up at a teacherless class.

I may have extra time to write my papers, but what happens in a few weeks, if there's still no school? Will I chance it out and stay here for a Spring semester that doesn't happen, screwing me out of, among other things, a semester of grad school, a timely graduation, and that pie in the sky, a salary with medical and dental? Will I have to leave Israel and return to New York to take classes at JTS for the Spring semester, so I can still graduate on time? At this point, it's all possible.

There are a lot of things that piss me off about Israel. Yes, I'm having a good time, and I'm learning a lot, but that doesn't mean I don't find certain things frustrating. Why can't Israel have normal water heaters that heat water all the time? Why can't the whole world just speak English? Why don't my schools' calendars line up, rather than land me in midterms AND finals at the same time. And WHY, oh WHY, did I not have my Hebrew class today!?

Found in Translation!

The sign says "Education for the Nation, Not Limited." It doesn't make much sense unless you see the play on words. Am is Nation and limited is B"Am (the initials).

(Thank you to my cousin Gloria for this translation, regarding the signs found at Hebrew U during the Shvitah / Strike.)

That's right! Education is for the nation (whichever nation you're affiliated with, as I am not picky, and I am a fan of education in general), and education shouldn't be limited! Find the money to make your education system the best it can be.

OK, I'm putting my soap box away for now. It's time for bed -- Tuesday is Yom Chofshi, and I have to be ready to galavant around Jerusalem (b'regel / on foot), before the sun sets and it is Hanukkah!

A Day Without Sunglasses

This was written, and I thought posted, on 3 December 2007. But for some reason, it's been reverted to draft format. So, I'm reposting.

Once again, I find myself in the grips of the "people plan and God laughs" paradigm. This morning, I woke up (on time!) and emerged (not tired!) from my apartment at just the right time to get to school.

You know when you leave your apartment, and you've forgotten something, and you do a cost-benefit analysis of whether or not you really need that water bottle / notebook / scarf? Well, as I emerged from my apartment's driveway, I realized I'd forgotten my sunglasses (which proves my point that if you put stuff away where it belongs, then you're never going to FIND it.). I paused, and looked at my watch. 9:08. Hmmm. Do I walk back up two flights of stairs and get my sunglasses from their neatly closed case in my closet? Or do I save the time and just deal for the day? I decided to deal.

I was promptly rewarded for my saved time when I turned the corner to see my bus taking off for Hebrew U without me. Figures. I sat in the bright sunlight, cursing Murphy's Law, squinting down the street for the next 4א. I studied vocabulary (I know, I'm so studious!) from the time that the bus picked me up until we pulled up to the bus entrance at Hebrew U.

ACCESS DENIED!

I'd read an article earlier this week about the strikes (yes, plural) and how they were going for all parties involved. The high school teachers' strike is going to extend to lower schools. The Professors' strike was going to be counteracted by the Hebrew U student union by - get excited - shutting down the University! Shutting down the university, you should know, NEVER includes the International school.

And the University was SHUT. Students in neon green shirts (the stamp of the student union), most of whom are former soldiers, stood in front of locked gates and barricades. "THE UNIVERSITY IS CLOSED!" screamed the signs in Hebrew. And it's easy to lock down the university, since this is a high-security country. It's not like shutting down the University of Florida. It's more like shutting down JTS by merely blocking the front doors.

Nothing says "come to an agreement and end the strike" like keeping students AND teachers off campus. It's like saying "I know you have been on a forced half-vacation. Today, let's make it a full vacation!" Excuse me while I run and make things right...suuuure. (Michelle voices similar opinions on her aliyah blog.)

These are up all over school. I took a picture of these two when I finally got to school. I need an Israeli to translate this poster, although I know most of the words: "We Need Education To The ____, Not Education ____." I'm pretty sure those missing words are important. Who can help me out here?

I did what any able-bodied student would do: Ani Halachti B'Regel / אני הלכתי ברגל / I walked by leg/foot (literally). I walked all the way around the university. Now, if the bus had pulled into the regular stop on campus, instead of letting us off outside of the barricades, then I would've been on time for class. But walking around the perimeter of the university takes time (about 20 minutes), and I was hurting for my sunglasses. I followed the Bezalel (art school - they're not on strike) students to the proverbial back door - a gate behind the University. After quasi-enjoying (running late ruined the fun for me) the vista surrounding Hebrew U, including desert mountains, Arab villages and Jordan in the distance, I made the last leg of the walk (an uphill punishment walk) to the lovely International School Building, which included a shameful, backdoor (ok, gate) entrance (how DARE you try to LEARN today). A protesting student tried to hand me a flyer written in Hebrew. I somewhat mournfully, somewhat scornfully said, "I can't understand that" and I think he genuinely felt badly for me. Maybe that one guy realized today that the International students are just little pawns in their shutting-school plan.

I'm a little unclear as to why I find myself fighting to get onto a campus with this many stupid, disgusting, horrible wild cats. (Can you tell I dislike cats?)

The first half hour of Hebrew class was a discussion of teacher salaries, as classmates trickled into the room. Did you know that teachers in the states get paid way more than teachers in many countries? I got a fresh perspective on what it means to get paid a good, liveable salary. Teaching in Israel (even after 40 years) is close in salary to entry-level publishing. It's a total joke.

Living in Israel is learning about strikes. Israeli teachers and professors, when it comes down to it, deserve better compensation. Israeli students deserve the highest-quality teachers and professors that their country has to offer. I realize (as my classmates from three different continents pointed out) that tuition in the USA is ridiculously high. But somewhere between a $120,000 undergraduate education and a maybe $6,000 education lies the answer. Charge the Israelis a little more for their education...maybe then everybody will be a little more successful, a little happier and able to live, and, like most of my friends, they can pay off school loans with their hard-earned money at their university-graduate job.

It's time to go make the effort, so to speak, of walking up the stairs to grab the sunglasses. Because while it may cost you time and money, in the end, you'll be much more comfortable and better able to approach your daily life. And you'll be happy that you fixed the problem.