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Published: August 27th 2007
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Monday night, the 20th, was our first weekly movie night. We watched an Israeli musical from the 1970’s that was a cross between Grease and West Side Story and God knows what else. The movie was about a small village in the desert whose residents didn’t have enough money to maintain their property. The government, refused to help them fund repairs and threatened to destruct their town unless it was properly renovated. Meanwhile, everyone in town has an opinion about the budding romance between the most beautiful eligible bachelorette around and the town criminal, a Moroccan immigrant and gang member. If I remembered the name of the movie correctly I believe it was called “Casablan” but I’m really not sure.
After ulpan on Tuesday we traveled to Kfar Adiel, a local student community, and then hiked at tiyul leili. Kfar Adiel is a student village that is part of the Ayalim Association, whose mission is to build up the Negev, the area that David Ben-Gurion believed was the future of Israel. Their mission draws from the ideology of early Zionists, who focused on agriculture and turning seemingly dead desert into thriving, vibrant land that people could be excited about inhabiting. All the people who live in this community are college students who spend one year there, contributing roughly 10 hours of community service weekly to the surrounding community (hospitals, after school tutoring programs, etc.) and physically constructing the houses in exchange for full college scholarships. During their year of service, the students also raise money for local causes by throwing parties for other university students and helping to spread awareness. The houses in the community are built entirely by the students who live there, from the plumbing to the electricity to the walls, roofs, and lush gardens. Knowledge of each of these trades has been passed along from the first students who lived there. The community is absolutely gorgeous- the houses, which are connected by vine-covered wooden paths, look like they belong on a newly built beach resort on the coast of California. After graduation, students commit to starting businesses in the surrounding area and therefore assist in turning the Negev into a thriving region. Admission to this program is competitive and roughly 100 out of nearly 1500 students were accepted this past year. (Each year, the capacity of the program grows as the students build more houses). Visiting Kfar Adiel was incredibly inspiring and served as a prime example of an incredibly successful grassroots effort to accomplish that which many might assume impractical if not impossible. (To me, the Negev seems mostly incredibly empty, dreadfully hot, and filled with never-ending areas of sand and mountains, making it a rather undesirable place to live.) Often times, it can seem nearly impossible to create change by starting from scratch, without a large organization to provide funding or expertise, but these students are living proof that it’s not only possible but is happening as we speak. Not only that, but everyone involved in this project is a college student and their hearts and ambitions and desires to create change in the world remind of my Davidson friends whom I miss dearly.
We had a light, night hike with glow sticks at Tiyal Leili that was absolutely beautiful. Dotan, our 27 year old leader, is our guide of the hikes and it is rather comical to see everyone struggle through the dark on the rocks as Dotan takes off into the distance without giving us much guidance. I learned rather quickly to stick close to the front with Dotan and the soldiers. (I failed to mention that anytime we partake in a group activity were are accompanied by soldiers with guns which I found daunting at first but the sight of guns is soooo common in Israel that you fail to notice it after a while.) Many parts of the trail were uneven a rather narrow especially as we attempting to travel through numerous tunnels. Midway through the hike, we stopped to catch our breaths and Dotan made coffee while sharing stories about the people who used to inhabit the area (the Nabateans, I believe). The idea of stopping periodically to make coffee or tea in the middle of the desert is VERY Israeli and happens all the time. One aspect of the hike that I found rather intriguing was that in the middle of the desert, late at night, on our way back to the buses we ran into a group of approximately four observant Jews lost on the trails while talking on their cell phones. The idea in and of itself is interesting to say the least and our surprise was indescribable. Tradition and an extremely conservative lifestyles combined with the modern age of the cell phone is prevalent throughout Israel.
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