Israel is currently in a perpetual state of sand as I type this. A massive sand storm has engulfed the entire Middle East, leading to a Tel Aviv that is incredibly dreary. The best comparison would be to that of Denver on a fall day. The sky looks like it is clouded over, but in actuality it is filled with more dust and sand than I could ever have imagined. The sun has failed to reach through the clouds of sand for two days now. In fact on the first day of the storm it was actually possible to look through the clouds and stare directly at the sun, as demonstrated by the photo below. It also meant that the world had its own Instagram filter, as everything took on a yellow hue (which is not visible below, as that photo is from the second day, when sand had settled more).
Unfortunately this doesn’t relieve you of the heat, but rather exacerbates it. The humidity is actually increased by the sandstorm, as water droplets cling to the particles, essentially doubling the amount of humidity in the air. So on top of being hot and sticky, I am also now covered in dirt.
On the bright side I officially started Ulpan this week. For those of you unfamiliar with Israeli society, Ulpan is essentially an intensive course, which hopefully will get me started in learning to speak Hebrew. I am in the unique position of being able to read the text, but having absolutely no clue as to what the words mean. Hopefully I come out of the experience with a better grasp of the language (rather than the common use words that all Jews throw around.) Already I am seeing a difference, as my recognition of certain words and phrases has improved drastically, as I am able to notice them on signs. I may not be fluent, but I am at least getting to a point where I don’t feel entirely lost.
My days have also been filled with speakers, as Career Israel tries to keep us busy, rather than give us a chance to explore the city on our. Many of these are interesting, such as Lucy Aharish the first Arabic woman to read the news in Hebrew in Israel, while others are not. Luckily the interesting ones far outweigh the boring ones. Lucy in particular was fascinating, as she explained her life growing up as an Arabic woman in a predominately Jewish town, and the racism she experienced. She explained how she became determined to present both sides of the story to world. It was incredibly moving to listen to her talk about how much she loved this country, but also recognize that it does still have it’s growing pains that it must go through. It is an important reminder that while this is a Jewish state, it’s also the home of people of all stripes, religious or otherwise. This is a reminder that everyone needs, and was made all the more poignant by the fact that it was delivered in a setting that was designed to improve Israel’s appearance in world, while also encouraging the society to improve itself.
After listening to Lucy I decided to walk back to my apartment from her office, which was located in Jaffa. This was not my brightest idea as the walk back was 13-15 kilometers. This would normally be a somewhat manageable trip, if it had not been right by the beach, which meant the added benefit of humidity at it’s worst. luckily this was offset by the view of Tel Aviv from Jaffa, which is one of the best I have ever seen.
This weekend is the last before Rosh Hashanna which means I’ll be busy for the next few days. This means there probably won’t be any major updates for the next few days. Hopefully afterwards I’ll be able to post more.
Alex
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