Ein Gedi/Teva School/Dancing on Bars/King David (2nd Coming)

Yesterday marked the one month mark since I arrived in Eretz Israel. It seems like just yesterday when... well, I'll spare you. It's gone by quickly.

Since I last posted, our group took an excursion to the Dead Sea and Ein Gedi national park on the Eastern edge of Israel. Originally our group had planned to hike the hills of Haifa but severe weather conditions there (light rain and clouds...serious for Israel) forced a change of plans.  Consistent with most sites in Israel, the Dead Sea has significant historical roots. Blockbuster stars of the bible such as King David used this place as a welcome respite grom the glitz, glam and paparazzi culture of Jerusalem in the 10th century BCE. Herod the Great had a villa along its' shores where he could be found when taking breaks from rebuilding Solomon's temple and his murder sprees. Jesus had a second home here (citation needed). The Egyptians used the salt to make balms for mummification (that one is actually true). Situated in the middle of the Judaen desert, it's the anti-oasis of oases. Although it is completely bereft of life, it has always drawn life to it. Even in today's historical context, it is still hotly contested between Jordan and Israel. Our tour guide told us that every year Jordan and Israel meet to decided upon a new half-way point in the middle of the sea because it changes levels every year due to continental drift. In Hebrew, it is often referred to Yam Hamavet, which can be translated to "Sea of death." Morbid stuff.  It is a popular tourist destination year-round, and for good reason. It's sunny 90% of the time there, and due to the salt content the water is always warm. It's also a great place to go for old men to wear tighty-whitey's and do plyometrics or work on their flexibility. The general trend seemed to be the more transparent the better. The beach was littered with these types of tourists, who carry no shame in how their inner thighs look while wearing translucent "bathing suits" and working on their lunge form. It was entertaining but slightly uncomfortable comic relief.

Typical Dead-Sea Tourist..definitely not an American.

My friends and I jus floatin'. Mountains of Jordan in the distance. 

Before we got to the shores of the Sea of Death, we first did some hiking in Ein Gedi, a national park famous for it's (freshwater) waterfalls, pools, and wildlife. My group isn't the most.. hmm how should I phrase this.. athletically gifted. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but I will have to wait another day for an actual challenging hike. But we slowly ascended the hills above the Dead Sea, and the higher we got the better the views became. We came to a famous spot there with an excellent viewpoint over the dead sea, Ein Gedi Kibbutz, and the Judaen mountains in Israel and Jordan. One of the participants quipped that this is where the Disney classic "Lion King" was filmed, due to the rock formation's resemblance to "Pride Rock" from the movie. Me, Big Cat Ben, and some others began a harmony of "The lion sleeps tonight", and soon every one around us was singing either the "weem-a-wap" part or the falsetto. Due to my excellent vocal range, I was a leading member of the falsetto section. Other tour groups..and our tour guide for that matter..looked at us like we were crazy. It was a nice moment. Andy from the Office would have loved it. 

"Simba, Everything the light touches is our kingdom"

 From L to R: Masha, David Hamelech, Tel Aviva, and Crazy Rina

 Pointing at nothing in particular. 

 The Big Cat sheltering Aviva (livin' la Aviva loca) from the sun.

 From L to R: Medium Mike, David Hamelech, and Inadequate Dan

Backstreet Boys music video shoot?

I use Pert Plus, in case you were wondering. 

 On the semi-serious side of things, I started my internship last week. I will be working as an english tutor and instructor at the Teva school in south Tel Aviv, near the border of Jaffa. The school houses grades 1-9 and boasts one of the most impressive campuses for an elementary or middle school I have ever seen. The Teva school is one of a few magnet schools in the area, and is a private institution that focuses on science and environmental studies. I will be working here between 20-25 hours a week in small groups and with individuals working on reading comprehension and conversational english. I know how to read and converse, so I'm perfect for the part. The children (yeledim) all seem really excited to have an American to bounce questions off of such as "Why do you live in Cleveland?" and "Do you know Justin Bieber?". In all seriousness, the kids all seem interested in learning english and respectful of their teachers. I'm hoping to have a significant impact at this school, and also to gain some valuable teaching experience. It's exactly what I came here to do. I'm one happy camper.

Apart from a dedicated english department and the best and brightest youth in Tel Aviv, the school also has an "ecology center" which is basically a contained jungle of flora and fauna for the students to interact with. While some animals like peacocks, roosters, ibex, and exotic birds roam free, the ecology center also has a wolf, pigs, pelicans, snakes, hephalumps, and all kinds of other creatures in cages. The teachers use this center as an interactive learning center to teach lessons on biology, chemistry and environmentalism. I was shocked by all of this, but was blown away when I saw that they had a cage for wolves. Wolves. At school.  The Teva (nature) school is the bee's knees of learning institutions. It's the cat's pajamas. It's the elephant's instep. It's the Donkey's Danglies. I like it a lot.

 Teva school from the front

 Rooster. In the school. 

 Ecology Center

Snake. 

5th grade students

 This photo may seem out of place. This is what I come home to every day. Big Cat Ben and sometimes adequate Dan jus' cuddlin'. 

 Student enjoying a pita

5th Grade girl inside the bird cage. Not a punishment.  She was just taking pictures of a new cockatee family.

Last night many of us went to Backy Bar on Ibn Gavriol (hardest street name to pronounce). We walked in to "ghetto superstar" blaring from the speakers by Maya and Busta Rhymes, so we knew it was going to be a great night (90s hip-hop and pop? Yes please.) After some shmoozing, I was challenged by a south african employee of Oranim to dance on the bar in exchange for her buying me a drink. I of course obliged, and stood up above the bar and did my best to work out some dance moves while being conscious enough not to tumble to my endless embarrassment over the bar or into the crowd. Evidently I did ok, as I was given a free drink by the bartenders. I thought I might get kicked out for my hooliganism, but instead I was rewarded. This is after we were almost not let in because we were under 25 years old. The bar caters to and wishes to be viewed as a more upscale establishment, yet they encourage young men such as myself to make a fool of themselves by dancing on the bar with free alcohol. I <3 Israel and it's contradictions.

The majority of clubs and bars I have been to here have played a mixture of American music and Israeli hits. Until now, I haven't been able to recognize the Israeli hits or artists until recently. When this song comes on, Israeli's go nuts and now us Americans are beginning to admire such artists as Hadag Nahash. I have no clue what the lyrics mean, but the song has a great beat and the video is pretty
sweet. Enjoy!