Ten hours plus a hop, skip, and a jump later, I am finally in Israel! I arrived on Wednesday morning and navigated my way to the Israel Experience offices in Jerusalem on Thursday. All of the ITF-ers (official name for the Israel Teaching Fellows) for Petach Tikva and Rishon LeZion were meeting in Jerusalem before heading to the Almog Kibbutz in the Judean Desert for an orientation seminar.
The purpose of dragging 45 jet-lagged ITF-ers into the sweltering desert in the middle of the Israeli summer you ask? Well, the word desert in hebrew is מדבר (meed-bar), the same root letters as the word מדבר (meh-da-bare), which means to speak. As an orientation program, it only seems fitting that our new ITF cohorts come to the desert in order to "get talking" and break the ice to get acquainted with one another before we collectively enter this new chapter in our lives. The desert is also a place where one comes to find solace or clarity, examples of which date back to biblical stories of King David and Moses. Reflecting on my decision to be a part of this experience, this metaphor truly resonates with me and the emotional/psychological/personal/professional crossroads I am at. Having the opportunity to understand the backgrounds and motivations of these other Fellows on a personal level, and make new friends along the way definitely cultivated a greater sense of community between us.
Among many traditional team building exercises (thankfully "Two Truths and a Lie" did not come up) and some more authentic and surprising ice-breakers like planning Kabbalat Shabbat and Havdalah programs, we also hiked in the oasis of Ein Gedi National Park. Our team stopped at the Ein Gedi Kibbutz, which is the only Botanical Garden in the world that humans actually live in, fun fact.
The purpose of dragging 45 jet-lagged ITF-ers into the sweltering desert in the middle of the Israeli summer you ask? Well, the word desert in hebrew is מדבר (meed-bar), the same root letters as the word מדבר (meh-da-bare), which means to speak. As an orientation program, it only seems fitting that our new ITF cohorts come to the desert in order to "get talking" and break the ice to get acquainted with one another before we collectively enter this new chapter in our lives. The desert is also a place where one comes to find solace or clarity, examples of which date back to biblical stories of King David and Moses. Reflecting on my decision to be a part of this experience, this metaphor truly resonates with me and the emotional/psychological/personal/professional crossroads I am at. Having the opportunity to understand the backgrounds and motivations of these other Fellows on a personal level, and make new friends along the way definitely cultivated a greater sense of community between us.
Among many traditional team building exercises (thankfully "Two Truths and a Lie" did not come up) and some more authentic and surprising ice-breakers like planning Kabbalat Shabbat and Havdalah programs, we also hiked in the oasis of Ein Gedi National Park. Our team stopped at the Ein Gedi Kibbutz, which is the only Botanical Garden in the world that humans actually live in, fun fact.
The main industrial but controversial endeavor of the commune is bottling Ein Gedi natural spring water, which naturally piqued my interest from a sustainability standpoint. In a desert country where freshwater is far from abundant, I have to wonder the effects that depleting freshwater sources will have on the oasis ecosystem. Working last summer for the Jerusalem Bioregion Center for Ecosystem Management, I visited several urban gardens throughout the city and saw how drip irrigation and smart permaculture could create thriving agricultural hubs. And yet, I am curious about the regulations and restrictions (if any) exist from the government on the extraction of this water. Taking the bottled water question one step further is the problem created by the actual bottles themselves- waste. Public recycling in Israel looks pretty embedded into the culture when you walk on the street and see these "bottle cages" on city streets. However, learning the Israeli mentality would convince me otherwise. I'm not trying to make vague generalizations here, but the main point is that these questions about natural resources being allocated and operating under conditions of scarcity are helping me to shape larger questions that I would like to bring back with me to my city of Petach Tikva. Better yet, I am hoping to use these questions as a driver these next couple of months as I think about my volunteer project and community service in the city. I want to understand the whys and hows behind this decision-making process and see where I can fit in, whether it be working at the municipality level or with Israeli residents at the receiving end of these policies.
Ultimately, our MASA ITF orientation was eye-opening in more ways than one. I got the chance to learn about my new peers, friends, and my environment. We received our schedule for the next few weeks and a year-long calendar (eerily fit all onto one page), and I know more about the support we will receive in the coming weeks to improve our Hebrew and mold/solidify our teaching skills. More confident in myself after this retreat, I am ready now more than ever to get started and finally move to Petach Tikva and get settled in before the next ten months unfold!
Ultimately, our MASA ITF orientation was eye-opening in more ways than one. I got the chance to learn about my new peers, friends, and my environment. We received our schedule for the next few weeks and a year-long calendar (eerily fit all onto one page), and I know more about the support we will receive in the coming weeks to improve our Hebrew and mold/solidify our teaching skills. More confident in myself after this retreat, I am ready now more than ever to get started and finally move to Petach Tikva and get settled in before the next ten months unfold!