From Midwest to Mideast: Internship info/Octopussy/College Basketball

So it's been approximately a week since I last posted, so let me catch you up.

(Disclaimer: Thus far, the program has been chiefly concerned with us participants getting used to our new homes, meeting friends, and drinking lots of Goldstar. The intention here is to make us feel settled and happy before we get to work. To say it more bluntly, the last week has been purely a vacation and I have treated it as such. And damn has it been a sweet vacation)

On Thursday, I met with my internship coordinator Maya, who is responsible for finding work/volunteer opportunities that are consistent with our personal goals and work experience. So Maya let me know that I have interviews within the next 2 weeks with Maccabi Tel Aviv soccer club youth development program. I had already known that working for them was an option, but I was pleasantly surprised when she told me I also had an interview with a youth rehabilitation center that works with kids who either come from disadvantageous home situations or suffer from learning disabilities. So optimally, I will be splitting my work week between these two jobs, which sounds perfect for my interests.

After these meetings we were free for the day, so we went to the beach and enjoyed the sunshine and warm meditteranean sea.

Thursday night I had my first authentic club experience. We went to a club called octopussy in the nemal (port of tel aviv). Clubs aren't really that popular in columbus or cleveland, so although I consider myself a lightweight socialite in my home circles, I was unprepared for the chaotic madness in octopussy. We arrived and there was a lengthy and unhappy line outside. Thankfully, me and my friends had befriended a promoter for the club earlier that day, so our group was permitted to skip the line and they didn't even check our ages. (clubs and bars in Israel commonly enforce a 25+ policy for men. It's weird at 23 to be told I'm "too young" to even enter the door. According to Israelis, this is to limit violence and to discourage broke young adults from coming inside and NOT spending tons of shekels)

Immediately I was struck by the sheer volume and brilliance of the lights arrangement in the club. The sound system, pumping mostly US pop hits mixed with techno beats, was piercing and literally shook my chest cavity. The light show was equally as powerful, pulsating brightly through a cloud of fog. It was a grandparent's worst nightmare. And the 50-shekel beers(approx. $13) were a jewish mother's nightmare. Nonetheless, our group and myself had an excellent time. We left around 3 am and got some shawarma as a perfect nightcap.

**I also found out on thursday that I got into DePaul (Chicago) graduate school for secondary education! It was a fantastic day.

And then there was friday. Orly, our group leader, let us know that there was a college basketball game between MTA and this other team in Jaffa (south Tel Aviv). She added that there was to be "free beer and snacks" at this basketball game. So as a group, we decided to jump on the bus and travel to a new part of our city in search of free beers and snacks and maybe a decently entertaining basketball game. In the States, a college basketball game connotes rowdy fans, intense competition, and large crowds. naturally, this is what we expected. We arrived to find a nearly empty rec-center gym with 2 full teams, 2 referees, and 3-4 fans in the haphazard bleachers. We (mostly americans) walked in and immediately increased the crowd 2-fold. Both teams and both referees looked at us as we walked in as we took our seats in the bleachers, looking lost and confused. We cursed our trip leader for recommending this event until one of the fans who appeared to be in charge of the event began passing out (forcefully, I might add) beer to all in attendance. It was approximately 12:30pm at this time. We asked who we should be rooting for, and discovered that the green team were the good guys and the blue team were awful human beings who deserved hateful cheers and boos whenever possible. In addition to booze, they also provided us with drums and a megaphone. Being a Camp Wise alum, I was quite familiar with leading cheers and happily accepted the drum and sticks.What I lack in rhythm I more than make up for in spirit (ruach) My friend Ben, a sports broadcaster, gladly accepted the megaphone and soon enough we were the rowdy, loud, obnoxious college basketball fans we were used to seeing in the states. So you can picture the situation: I'm beating on a drum and leading cheers of "DE-FENSE", my friend is giving color commentary using a particularly mega mega-phone, and behind us are 20-30 american fans yelling until they are hoarse for a team they were introduced to just 25 minutes prior in a gym no bigger than a YMCA court. It was quite a scene. After the game, which the home team lost, the players gave us a standing ovation to recognize their appreciated for our support. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera so no picture or video evidence of this event is available.

Saturday and sunday I spent a lot of time at the beach and with my new friends from the program. We spent a considerable amount of time in Hayarkon park in the north end of Tel Aviv. We played a lot of basketball and showed our jew-ball skills. I have included a lot of pictures of the park on my facebook page. If you aren't "friends" with me on facebook feel free to add me. If you aren't tech savvy, just search my name in facebook and then request to be my friend.

Today and yesterday were the first of my Ulpan studies. I've been super excited to learn hebrew, and my teacher loves my enthusiasm and eagerness. Even though its 4 hours a day for the next 3 weeks, I'm excited to learn as much as I can so I won't feel like such a tourist here. Everyone I have encountered in Israel speaks english, but often they speak to english speakers in a condescending tone and it makes me feel stupid. I cant wait till I can converse in Hebrew. So far, we have learned a bunch of basic phrases and Hebrew sentence structure. Oddly, we have learned a lot of animal-related vocabulary. So the things I can speak about in hebrew thus far are limited, but would serve me well if I went to the zoo.

Whew. Long post. Thanks for reading.. enjoy the pics and feel free to comment.