A few of you have casually mentioned to me over the past week or so, that while you know lots about my existential thoughts, you have no actual idea how I spend my time. Is it all daydreaming about Zionism? Or ordering coffee? Well, frankly that covers a large chunk of it, but there's more! So I bring you, a week in the life of Alice:
Sunday: Unfortunately, Israel is not familiar with the concept of, "lazy Sunday mornings", so I have to get up with the rest of the country and do some work. On Sunday mornings I go on "destination Hebrew tutoring." My tutor takes me to the market or the beach or some other destination, and I learn vocab words related to where we are. Then I meet up with my ladies from Machsom Watch and venture off with them to some destination in the West Bank to observe at checkpoints.
Monday: I get up early and go to Jerusalem for a full day of interning with Just Vision, which right now mostly is getting acquainted with the org, and beginning to do some editing of their English materials.
Tuesday: I go to Hebrew tutoring again, this time grammar style where I write out sentences, conjugate verbs, and mostly have flashbacks to high school Spanish. Then I spend a few hours trying to discipline myself into writing and applying to graduate school. Then I study Talmud (that's right, I study Talmud) with a friend of mine who has a wealth of Jewish knowledge. Then I go to my Arabic tutor and practice sentences like "how was the checkpoint today?" "where are you from?" I have also successfully learned how to count to 100 in Arabic, a feat I cannot say is the same in Hebrew.
Wednesday: Wednesdays I spend the mornings again trying to discipline myself in to writing. Then I usually meet with another Dorot fellow to work on whatever seminar we are planning (upcoming ones are IDF and Maps and Wars of Israel)
Thursday: Thursday is dedicated to Dorot. We have educational seminars on different topics that we choose to study. So far we have learned how the Israeli government works and explored the conflict's impact on Jerusalem.
Friday: Friday is the weekend in Israel, but because I am having a bit of a panic attack about applying to grad school, I have been spending my Fridays applying to grad school and catching up on seminar planning. I go to my favorite coffee shop here where they let me butcher the Hebrew language as I order, get a coffee and a delicious artichoke sandwich and work my little heart out. If I accomplish a lot, I go to the beach in the afternoon. Lately, though, I do not accomplish nearly enough. Friday nights I have gotten into the routine of having a group Shabbat dinner with whoever I know who is in town. Tonight I am off to the house of a friend of mine who just moved for a housewarming Shabbat dinner.
Saturday: My holy days in a very different way than most people. The weather has gotten about 10 degrees cooler and we are operating with shorter days, so beach time is getting a bit more precious. Thus I am now attempting to spend full days at the beach on Saturdays, renting a chair and an umbrella and reading Israeli literature.
So, that is what my weeks generally look like, of course with some existential thinking, spending too much money on dinners, pretending that because I cannot read calorie counts here, there are no calories on food, and walking the streets speaking to myself in basic sentences in Hebrew and Arabic. Sound exciting?
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