It's Thursday! This has been the fastest week ever. I realize I never explained how the weeks work here...
Our Sunday is the American Monday. We go to work Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday, and then our weekend is Friday and Saturday (because of Shabbas). Tuesdays we go on Siyur (field trip) to different places around the country. Thus, I am now celebrating TGIT!
Today is my second day of my everyday blog entries. Going strong! ;)
Big things actually did happen today, though, so I have much to talk about.
Silly, but happy accomplishment of the day: I successfully made eggplant parmesan without a recipe and having never made it before. I am so full, so happy, and so proud! Ah, cheesy wondrous dinner, how you soothe the soul....
On a more serious note though, today, we hosted members of the National Board of Hadassah. The sole sponsor of Young Judaea, the members came to talk to Year Course participants and see the new campus (because of Madoff, we moved from the original campus near Mt. Scopus to our new location in Baka). While I appreciate everything Hadassah has done and currently does for Young Judaea, I found it very unsettling that we were being forced to put on aires and pretend that Year Course is different than it is. I say different rather than better because the idea of what Hadassah receives is simply different from reality, not necessarily better. In preparation for their arrival, two apartments were completely redone - new paint, framed Hadassah photos on the walls, and Tanachs on the tables. This is not Year Course, and I find it sad that we have to hide behind the ideals that Hadassah wants to see in order to impress them. Year Course is not a bunch of perfect Jews living in hotel rooms. We are a strong, but acceptably flawed, group of teenagers living in college apartments on a year abroad. We do not hang pictures of our sponsors on the walls and we do not sit around reading the Torah all day long. Before meeting the Hadassah members, a group of us were also coached in what to say and do. "Big smiles, you love Year Course, you love Hadassah, you're full of energy, and you're honored to see them". Truth: most of us do love Year Course and are incredibly grateful for the opportunity to be here. Lie: Year Course is perfect, we have no issues, and we're constantly thinking about how lucky we are to have Hadassah. I don't have issues with Hadassah itself, I simply have issues with how the two organizations deal with each other. I think it would be better for Year Course and Hadassah if representatives would come and really listen to us - the compliments and the complaints. They'd know who we are outside of our family legacies and we'd appreciate the fact that they truly care about us outside of a perfect image. That said, I really hope no one from Hadassah is reading my blog because I'll probably get my head chopped off tomorrow...
The rest of the day was fun, but standard. Volunteering, class, and fun times with friends. I went to the doctor as well, but Israeli doctors frustrate me beyond anything else in this world, so I'm not going to talk about that. =D
Ani ohevet atem b'America,
Rachel
No comments:
Post a Comment