Double post: Day 149/150!

27/1/10

Okay, this should have been written yesterday, but I was sleepy, so I'm writing it now. Yesterday morning was a blur. I was absolutely exhausted and made my clay bird beads on auto-pilot mostly. I also christened the "woman, feed me" penguin, which I was actually quite proud of (don't ask... =)). I have this new thing where everyday I go to Yad Lakashish, I make a penguin. So far, I've made gambling penguin, fancy penguin, and "woman, feed me" penguin. We shall see who comes next!

At 3:00, we all gathered to hear the story of Esther, a Holocaust survivor, in honor of International Holocaust Remembrance Day (this is different from the Jewish remembrance day of Yom Hashoah in spring). Despite my usual breakdowns with anything Shoah related, I found myself oddly bored. The whole thing was very matter-of-fact, but in a way that breezed through everything so quickly that it didn't leave an impact. Perhaps that was just my impression, but after hearing many similar speakers, I expected to feel more. That's sounds absolutely horrible reading it over, but I promised to tell the truth in this blog, so that's what I'm aiming to do.

On a happier note, that night, we also celebrated Tu'Bshvat (the new year of the trees) with a beautiful seder with fruits and nuts and lots and lots of Prigot (the best juice in the entire world!). For those who don't know, Tu'Bshvat is the traditional celebration of trees and what they've given mankind throughout history. Today, it also functions as the Jewish Earth Day, and, as we will be doing tomorrow, it is customary to plant a tree for the next generation. I like this idea a lot...it means I get two Earth Days every year! =D


28/1/10

Now for today...

This morning was wonderful! I got to work and got to learn a new project! I can now make intricate bird candle holders. Well, it's technically a work in progress, but I'll get there for sure by the end of next week. It always amuses me how similar little children and the elderly are. In an effort to organize the workshop more effectively, we were trying to move people's work stations so that everyone with a similar art skill was sitting next to each other. You would not believe the temper tantrums that ensued! There were even a couple who said that if they were forced to move, they would never come back! The drama of it all made me feel like I was working in a kindergarten and I was asking two kids to switch cubby holes. Despite the drasticness of it all, my coordinator and I got quite the kick out of the whole episode.

Ulpan (hebrew class) was oddly fun today. We were all so punch drunk that we laughed with each other for two hours, learned some ridiculous kid songs, and Dan and I did the Can-Can in our chairs (much to our Morah's despair...). I think that's the first ulpan I've had that much fun in. I can only hope for repeat occurrences! Genesis parables was spent working on our midterm (which I may be working on for the rest of my life...). Until now, I didn't realize how much time had gone by since I'd last written a legitimate paper. Scarily enough, I think my last real paper was my analysis of Patty Hearst in junior year. That was a year and a half ago... Getting back into the groove is definitely a challenge, but I like it in a way. I missed the process of putting real effort into a great paper, and now I have it again! It's the most open-ended assignment I've ever received, but I didn't expect to much else from such an open-ended class. We have 4-5 pages to assess a topic relating to our class that through us for a loop and made us think. I'm looking at how my opinions on the fusion of Judaism and science have changed over the past two months and how I think they may continue to change. I might post my paper later this weekend, I have to think about it. It certainly sums up a lot of self-development since the start of Year Course. It's kind of weird to write though. You don't realize how much you've changed until you start looking at a specific opinion and how it's changed. I don't know how to describe exactly how I'm different, but what I do know is that I'm less cynical, more open to opposing ideas, and have a much better sense of self.

On that sense of self note, why can't it just be acceptable that I don't really like going out and getting shit-faced/being around shit-faced people at night? Why does there have to be pressure? I appreciate that my friends want me to come out, but I feel so out of place and so awkward and so not myself whenever I'm in those situations. I don't know how to describe why, I just know that every time I go out, I end up coming back early (12:30 is early) and not really knowing why I went out. I have some fun in the moment, but I'm very much of a homebody, and when I do go out at night, I prefer it to be to theatre or to a nice restaurant or something along those lines. Going to see "My Fair Lady" in February, so excited!!!! Am I being hopelessly anti-social or is it okay that I just don't feel like going out? =( [p.s. I'd actually love a response on that question if anyone wants to reply...].

Now it's back to my midterm writing, more nerdy reading, some Snood, some American Idol, many emails, and zzzzzzzz. =D

More love than you know,
Rachel <3