Leaving Israel

My apartment.

So, I finally decided to leave Israel. I had been thinking about it for a while. I wasn't happy at my school, ulpan classes weren't great, and I basically realized that I don't want to be a teacher. Maybe at some point I'll teach college or adults, but I really don't want to teach children. It was okay to teach in Spain for a year, because I knew it would be over in May. After some soul-searching/thinking I realized that staying in Israel was, ultimately, a waste of time and I was just procrastinating joining the real world.

I came to this decision after talking to my parents on Sunday night. Then I realized that I would be illegal in Israel as of Thursday because they screwed up when I entered. I was only given a one-month visa because I was expected to get a student visa asap. So, on Sunday I emailed the program directors, Monday morning I bought a ticket for a flight which left at 12:05 am Wednesday morning. I also canceled my bank account and wrote my roommate an email. He was in Russia on vacation. I sent him a note t

o tell him I was leaving (and, therefore, breaking the contract). His English isn't good so he called his former roommate who called me to tell me he got the email.

Monday and Tuesday I packed and got organized. I said good-bye to people and had breakfast with Sam. My meal came on the largest plate I've ever seen. Two large compartments held salad and eggs, which five small ones held cheese, butter, more cheese, eggplant and tuna salad.

Tuesday evening I took a taxi to the train station and a train to the airport. The flight home was pretty uneventful; I was asleep before take-off.

More adventures in baking

So, I tried to re-make the wheat-free challah, and attempt number two was actually worse than the first one. This time the challah got nice and crunchy on top, but practically burned on the bottom. The inside was still raw. Once again, the dough never rose.

Semi-frustrated, I turned to corn bread, a much simpler bread to bake (when you posses all of the ingredients). Problem: I didn't have baking powder. I had baking soda, but not powder. So, I omitted it. The bread was tasty and did resemble corn bread, but it looked kind of strange when I removed it from the oven......

Jerusalem

Sunday morning we took a mini-bus to Jerusalem. There was traffic on the main road so we took a (wayyyyyy toooooooo long) detour through the windy, steep mountain hill roads, arriving an hour late.

We went first to the Tower of David where we looked down on the old city.

From there we went to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher where Jesus is supposedly buried. I had been there before, but was happy to return because the building is incredible. There are so many nooks and crannies, all of which are decorated with mosaics and other designs.

Next, we had a lunch break and then walked to the Western Wall.

Dome of the Rock!!!!

Then we went through water tunnels in the City of David, the oldest part of Jerusalem. These weren't that worthwhile. It was interesting to learn about the history, and, yes, it is important that cities have a water source. However, I don't feel the need to walk through shin-deep water for 45 minutes. Even though it was warm outside, we were underground and after a while the water's chilly temperature started to get to me.

Back outside, we climbed back up to the starting area, changed and got ready for dinner, which was at a board member's house in a residential part of the city.

I had talked to her on the phone to discuss foods, so she has some stuff set aside for me: plain chicken and plain potatoes, etc. The food was tasty. During dinner, different board members sat at our tables so they could get a chance to meet us and afterwards, we had to introduce ourselves to the whole group.

By the time we returned back to Tel Aviv, we had been gone more than 12 hours. It was a really long day and I was pretty tired.

Netanya

Friday I met Lisa and Lindsay at the shuk where we shopped for groceries before taking a city bus to the central bus station to catch an inter-city bus to Netanya where we took a sheruit (shared taxi) to Lisa's family's apartment. They had suitcases, so it was quite a process.

We made shabbat dinner: roasted veggies, quinoa and salad. They bought a challah and I made a wheat-free one, which never rose and was somewhat gummy. It was nice to be out of Tel Aviv. We could see the water from Lisa's apartment and there was a breeze on the balcony, where we ate our dinner.

Saturday we sat by the pool, but it was really hot so we went back inside and turned on the A/C. We returned to Tel Aviv late Saturday night to get ready for our field trip to Jerusalem Sunday.

Last Day at Gretz

I think the straw that broke the camel's (my) back was that my school wanted me to call parents and explain to them why their son/daughter should not be in my class. The parents, of course, want their children to be in the "special," native English-speakers class rather than the regular English classes. I didn't think it was my place to call parents, but figured I'd wait to tell the program directors when I saw them in Jerusalem on Sunday. I did call one parent and she told me that she would "be very disappointed" if her seven-year-old wasn't in my second-grade English class. I pointed out to her that her daughter could not read or write in English while the other kids in the class were bored and wanted to read Harry-Potter-level books. She didn't seem to think this was a problem.

2nd grade know-it-alls

Today wasn't so terrible at school. The secretary had neglected to make my photocopies by the time I needed them. Apparently she has to have everything approved by the principal who didn't do it yesterday and is the only person with the key to the photocopier (I think this actually means code, but the secretary doesn't really speak English). She did them quickly, just as the class was starting. So that worked out.

I also had second grade for the first time. They're going to be my challenge class. One kid just got back from the states where IwenttoRosaParksElementaryinBerkleyCaliforniait'sinthebayareanearSanFrancisco(pause for air)ofcourseIknowhowtoreadI'vereadalltheHarryPotterseventhoughI'mseven.........blah blah blah blah blah. He has a partner in crime in the same class. It's going to be hell. When they left class they told me it was soooooo boring because they didn't get to write anything. They're in second grade! The problem is that half their group can't read or write and these two can do everything. There is another girl who can read and write because her parents are British. I'm going to have to come up with activities to keep the crazies busy while I bring the other kids up to speed.

Limor's solution is to ditch the slower kids and send them back to regular English classes. She's on a bit of a rampage. I'm not sure I'll have any students left by the end of the week. One of our conversations today went like this:

Limor: Who did you see from alef (1st grade).

Me: A girl named Ohr from alef 2.

Limor: Who is she?

Me: You talked to her parents in the hallway about being in native speakers. The other morning (look at Limor questioningly).

Limor: How does she compare?

Me: Well she's in class with the 2nd grade Belgian girl who went to the English school in France, so Ohr was a bit behind.

Limor: Oh, kick her out of native speakers. Why was she there anyway?

Me: I don't know. You talked to her parents.

Limor: They're Israeli? What did they say?

Me: I don't know. You talked to them the other day.

Limor: But they're not from an English-speaking country. Why is she in native speakers?

Me: I don't know. You talked to her parents and told me to take her.

Limor: Good, get her out of your class.

(The poor little girl is only five years old. She will be pretty confused.)

I also have to kick out a 6th grader, a 3rd grader and a few 2nd graders.

Limor also had me write a letter to the parents of the native speakers. She actually wrote the thing (or tried to) in English, but she's not too good with a computer. So, I polished it and printed it up. Basically it explains that I'm here to teach their kids English, they have to get their kids a binder for my classes and there will eventually be a book to purchase. It also announces my after school English club, for which I'm still not sure what I'm going to do. (The letter says I'll be doing fun and games!)

Yesterday, my principal

wore converse sneakers to school. Seriously. White. Low-tops.