Yom Hashoa (Holocaust Remembrance Day)

On the eve of Yom Hashoa, my section and I had a short ceremony to commemorate it outside of out "Ulpan" building. During this ceremony, a few idiots from the area thought that it would be funny to walk into our circle completely disrupting everything. It was absolutely disgusting. Here we were, trying to be respectful to the people who perished in the Holocausts and these guys are screaming during our moment of silence and yelling over our counselors voices. And for what? A few laughs?  At first, I wanted to stop and go somewhere else but then I realized that then these guys would win. We continued the ceremony as planned ignoring the disturbances around us because that is what our ancestors deserve.
The next morning, I had volunteering very early and missed the siren. In Israel, there is a nationwide siren in the morning of Yom Hashoa and the entire country shuts down. A minute of silence is taken and when it is over, life continues. The most amazing place to watch this happen is overlooking the main highway here. You can see the cars stopping and everyone getting out to pay their respects.

Video of the siren this year:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s24x68QNmxQ

The rest of the day was very emotional for me. We had a program and another ceremony led by the scouts. We read testimonies and sang songs doing our best to commemorate the lives that were lost. After visiting Poland this year, my knowledge of the Holocaust grew so much and the whole day I was thinking about my trip. About all the places I went to and all of the stories I read about. One of the stories that we read during the program was a story that was also told to me in Poland. A story that I will never forget. It is of a young couple in the Holocaust that met in Auschwitz and fell in love. One day, she was called to the "hospital" to be sterilized. Of course, the doctor that was doing the job was Jewish. She cried in front of him begging him not to do it but it didn't help. Somehow both she and her boyfriend suvived the war and they got married and made Aliyah to Israel. After a few months, she started to gain a lot of weight and she didn't understand why. The Jewish doctor never sterilized her and because of that, she was pregnant!!! Sadly, the doctor ended up losing his life because the Nazis caught him. But this story always brings tears to my eyes.

NEVER AGAIN.

Bat Yam Volunteering!

Throughout Yearcourse, I have gotten really lucky with my volunteering placements. In Arad at the school and now in Bat Yam. Out of all of the choices that we were given before we got to Bat Yam, there was only one that  caught my eye. That would be Save a Child's Heart (SACH). An organization started by Israeli doctors that brings kids with fatal heart issues from all over the world to Israel and pays for them to stay here and have the surgeries that they need. After the surgeries, they live in a beautiful house in the city of Holon (right next to Bat Yam) until they are healed and ready to travel back. Most of the kids come from Africa but there are also children from China, Romania, Russia and many Arab countries.  My job as a volunteer, is to come for a few hours twice a week to play with their kids and brighten their days. What is better than that? Not only do I get to be part of this AMAZING organization, but I also get to have fun while doing it. The kids are amazing and so grateful to see us and hang out with us. We play outside, do puzzles and play cards. I am hoping that eventually I will be able to go visit the kids in the hospital as well as hanging out in the house. I have already been around to see a few kids go home because their surgeries were successful. Although I was sad to see them go because of the connection we had, I was so happy to know that they would be going to their hometowns healthy and happy.
Everyday has its own fun story and I am SO excited and grateful to be a part of an organization that is so incredible.

Fatma

Monika and Nema

Nema

Fatma

Yamarium

Sulha

On the one day of the week that I don't volunteer at Save a Child's Heart, I go to the local soup kitchen here in Bat Yam. It is called "Fat Meir's", named after the owner. This kitchen is unique because it is specifically for children. We make sandwiches for them to bring to school and provide lunch for them to eat once they get out of school. The owner, Meir is an absolute inspiration. He used to be a lawyer but about ten years ago, he suffered from a stroke that paralyzed one whole side of his body. After physical therapy he was able to move and talk again, but he wasn't the same so he decided to work at a shelter for homeless kids as a cook.  After a few years, he realized that helping kids was his passion so he opened Fat Meir's to help feed the hungry children of Bat Yam. He is such a nice man and everything he does is for these kids. He could have easily retired after his stroke but instead he is using it for the better. It's stories like these that really make me believe that everything happens for a reason. This was his fate.
At the soup kitchen, they feed us breakfast when we arrive and lunch before we leave. For example, today he made us omelets for breakfast and stir-fry for lunch YUM. We prepare and package hundreds of sandwiches every morning and then help prepare food for the kids that come to the kitchen to eat lunch.

I am so excited for my volunteering for the next few months. At both places, I really feel like I am making a difference and that makes me so happy!!!!

My overnight with the Scouts!

On my program, there are Israeli kids who only live in Bat Yam. They are part of a youth movement called the "Tzofim" (Israel Scouts). They are all really great kids and it is super difficult to get chosen to this program (they are the best of the best).  A few of them had to go to a seminar for the Scouts that are going to America this summer. This delegation is split up into two groups: the counselors and the Caravan! The counselors go to different Jewish camps across America and work with the kids and the Caravan is a group that travels America singing songs about Israel. My camp, JCA Shalom has scout counselors and the Caravan every summer!!!! The Caravan is easily my favorite night of camp hehehe. 

As a favor to my friends, I went to help out for one night. My job was to be an American. I could only talk to them in English and they practiced programming on me and asked me questions about American camps and the campers. It was very fun for me to pretend that I don't speak Hebrew. I got to eavesdrop on their conversations about me. Apparently they thought that I thought that they were really weird. I didn't!!!! They were all super sweet and made it so fun! That night, the Caravan performed for us and that was sooooo exciting!!!! I'm a Caravan Super Fan! Before I left the next morning, I informed my group that I speak Hebrew fluently. Their jaws dropped!! Some claimed they knew but I doubt it. Every single person who hears me speak Hebrew for the first time is completely shocked. It was fun tricking them for a while though ;)

I'm really excited for these kids and hope that they have a fantastic summer!

Siyur to the BEAUTIFULLLLLLL Kineret!!

So after weeks of being sick and staying home watching T.V online (not how I wanted to spend my last week of break and first full week in Bat Yam), I have started to feel better and I got to go on a beautiful hike with my section!  Now that we're in Bat Yam, we take a course on Zionism and our first siyur was up North to go visit the Kineret (Sea of Galilee).  This is linked to Zionism because the first Aliyahs were to this area and this is where the first Kibutzim were established.
We visited the most beautiful cemetery called the Kineret Cemetery. It is overlooking the water and is home to the graves of many famous Zionists such as Berl Katznelson and Naomi Shemer (writer of Jerusalem Shel Zahav).

After we learned about all of these amazing Zionists and how hard they worked to make this land ours, we hiked the gorgeous Mount Arbel. We took in the amazing scenery and just appreciated the views in front of us!!!

an ancient castle built by King Herrod:

Israel, you're pretty.