Day 160: A New Week Begins...

7/2/10

Work was bliss today. I made incredible candle holders, made a new friend, and added two new penguins to the family! I moved my table last week to a new spot, and so I'm working with a new group of people. It's a little odd being the only girl in the room, but the guys are great, and even though my Russian/German is slim to none, we have fun trying to understand each other. I tried to help teach them origami today, and it possibly the funniest experience I've ever had. My new friend is this week's cracker/cookie server. He speaks German, and I have yet to understand his name since his accent is too thick for my American ears. He speaks a little hebrew though, and every time he brings me my cookies, he says "aht yelda yahfah" (you're a beautiful girl). I think it's adorable. I'm thinking of making penguins for my friends at work. They all have their specialties, so I might make each penguin do each task (paint, cut, etc). I think they'd like them since every time they see me making a penguin, they compliment with "yafe me'od" (very pretty). The more time I spend at Yad Lakashish, the more I feel the family dynamic the workshops have formed between the workers, the madrichot, and even the volunteers. A lot of the time, it feels more welcoming to walk into work in the morning than it feels to walk into my apartment at the end of the day. I'm not sure if that's a good thing...

After work, I hurried home to do an interview for a Year Course blurb. Unfortunately, the journalist got confused and went to Bat Yam instead of Jerusalem, but hopefully myself and the other three chanichim who were chosen will get to speak to her next week. I feel flattered to be one of the few non-Young Judaeans picked repeatedly to be interviewed/lead Haddassah around. Even though it can be frustrating to suck up at times, I do feel at home in the "teacher's pet" motif. =D

Class was amazingly fun today! We looked at the formation of the state and the war of independence and how art evolved to fit those times. Watching old movies of "Army Bands" was fantastic. In a very "Over There" style, the IDF has a band for every section of the army, and over the various wars, these bands have transitioned from entertainment, to encouragement, to popular media protest. The famous peace song "Shir LaShalom" was in fact first performed by an army band. Youtube these performances if you get a chance, they are remarkable! I thought it was funny how when watching these videos, I felt more attached to Israel than on the everyday basis of living here. Perhaps it's because I connect to life through music or because we watching videos of a much more passionate time, but during class, I felt so connected to my homeland, and I wanted to do whatever I could to help it. I like this Zionist feeling!

It's freeeeeeeeezing out, so tonight looks like another night of hot cocoa and movies. Not that I mind those at all.. =D

All my Love,
Rachel