Where am I? I look one way and everyone is speaking Arabic. I look the other way and everyone is speaking Hebrew. I like to think I have some grasp on each of these languages, and to an extent I do, but hearing them side-by-side is just causing some major information overload. Part of it is probably the fact that we've been going pretty much nonstop since Sunday, so I'm absolutely exhausted. But I think I would be a lot better off at this point if I just stuck to one of the two languages. I understand parts of the conversations I am eavesdropping on, but when I try to speak, part of it comes out in Hebrew and part of it in Arabic. Instead of Spanglish I'm speaking Hebric? Or at least trying to.

The great thing is that everyone is really enthusiastic and patient in my sorry attempt to speak with them in something other than English. When I sit with the Arabic speaking students, one of them usually goes over the conversation with me afterwards to see how much of it I understood. A pitiful amount if you ask me.

It has been an intense few days with meeting everyone, registering for classes (they start on Sunday!), taking a regional tour extending from Eilat to the Kibbutz, and our first peace-building session this morning. We have officially finished orientation and it has certainly done its job. Not only are people more familiar with the area, the machon, and the kibbutz, but we have become intimately familiar with each other. This may seem like a painfully obvious observation, but we have learned so much about each other as individuals as well as from a social and cultural perspective.

(It has also become abundantly clear to me what my reality will be for the next four months. I thought Avodah was bad - living with each other, having programs, retreats, and shabbatonim - but here we not only live together, we go to school together, eat together, and we'll be talking about some pretty intense stuff. We'll be one big happy family...I'm just glad I can disappear into the mountains for a little while if I have to.)

Some observations:

- Israelis have a very different sense of personal space than Americans - not an earth-shattering comment, but when you're walking with someone you met 5 minutes before and they literally take your water bottle from your hand and start drinking from it, it takes on a new meaning. I love that there is a level of comfort and intimacy with people that we just don't have in the State unless we're really close with someone. Perhaps the water bottle example isn't adequate. There have been numerous interactions that make me pause - people touch each other more freely (get your mind out of the gutter), they share food more readily, and they aren't afraid to get in your face about something. I get that Americans do all of these things, but we've only known each other for five days.

- Arabs really like nargila. I mean really.

- Americans follow the rules too much. We could learn a thing or two from the way Israelis and Arabs do what they need to do even when they aren't "supposed to." It comes in handy when living in a place where that's the norm.

- In general, there seems to be a striking difference between how Jews and Muslims approach religion. I don't know how to articulate very well, but when we were discussing Succot, questions about religious practice and the Torah versus Rabbinic commentary came up. As Jews we put a lot of weight in the commentary and don't necessarily see the Torah as given directly from God. This seemed to be a harder concept for some of the Muslim students to grasp. It seemed obvious to them that the Torah was given directly from God, just like the Koran, and the role of the Rabbis was never fully clarified.

- Arabs make really good tea and coffee - ok, I knew that already, but it's been reinforced here thanks to Muhammad.

Our first peace-building session today was like Avodah all over again with twice as many people! We talked about what reminds us of home and how we define it. I found it fascinating how different people responded. In my group it seemed that the Americans considered a place home based on relationships and connections made with people, while the Arabs, especially the Palestinians, considered the physical location a central aspect of "home." It really made me think of how much Americans take for granted that we don't have to worry about the land, it's a given that it will be there. Palestinians, though, are in a much more vulnerable and precarious position where their physical home is threatened. In a way I think it is really special that they have such ties to the land, but the price for it is probably too high.

And on that note, I'm out.
- M