On Friday, our day off, we practiced one last time for ‘English
Day’. The play ‘Big Carrot’ went well and the costums are finished. The final
rehearsal was very chaotic: the music was not tested, the teachers were
screaming to the pupils, there was too much noise, no one had an overview of
the show and we restarted the play several times without finishing. While Ryan
and me were practicing with the children, three teachers were also involved.
That is just too much! They disturbed the play and the pupils were confused. I
asked them friendly to give me back my role as director. I let the children
talk and play their role. When they did something wrong, I gave them personal
feedback. Now we are making progress! It’s annoying when different teachers are
giving contradictory instructions,
so it’s better to designate one person as the leader.
After the final
rehearsal we went home and some of the American volunteers came to visit my host
family. Raeda prepared a huge meal. She
has outdone herself, wow! She made french fries, fried fish, scampi and several
salads. The family and the volunteers went hiking but I was still sick, so I
stayed home.Saturday, the big day! We arrived at school at 8 o’clock because ‘English Day’ would start at 9 o’clock. But after living in Israel for almost one month, I know that we will not start before 10 o’clock and probably we will enjoy a big breakfast first around 10.30. Mike and me prepared the information stand for The United States of America. We drawed the White House on a big plate styrofoam. I also helped with the stand of Jamaica. Around 10.30 (just as I thought) the show started! The principal had prepared a speech in which he thanked us for the efforts and love we brought to this elementary school. Two pupils and one of the American volunteers explained the program and the purpose of ‘Friends Forever’. Suddenly the principal called our names, one by one. He handed us a certificate as a reward for the commitment to charity. I felt honored! I wished that I was here since the start of this program and I really hope that Artevelde College will co-operate in the future with this incredible school and organization...
Now it’s time to
present the plays, the dances and the songs of the pupils. The program of the day
was changed again so my pupils (and me of course!) were confused. But at the
end: everything went smoothly. The whole school must be proud of these performances. At the end of the show
all the pupils were invited to dance on
traditional Arabic music. The atmosphere was great! We talked with some parents
and we made pictures as a reminder. At the end of this long and intense day we
went to my host family and the American boys came over to visit my family and
me. Actually they came over to visit the couch...They fell asleep after 10
minutes! While they were sleeping, I read my book until dinner. Raeda bought
some falafel and shoarma. After dinner we went to Tiberias to enjoy the silence
of the nature around the Sea of Galilee. We watched the sunset and drank some
tea.
Every Saturday night
in May is a music festival in Nazareth. We wanted to go but we arrived too
late. We walked through the streets of the old part of this beautiful city and
eventually we ate ice cream in a fancy bar.
On Sunday morning
we rented a bus to make a day trip. The teachers from El-Abhara elementary school,
the principal, the American Volunteers, Jens, the different host families and
me started the day early to make the most beautiful trip of this internship. On
the bus trip to the Golan Heights we stopped two times...to eat! The first time
was for breakfast. We brought soooooo much food with us! It’s enough to feed a
small army. We ate some pastery, vegetables, fruit, bread, humus,
cheese...Everything you wanted to eat, was present. The second stop was to buy
some cherries. In contrast with Belgium, it’s possible to taste the food. I saw
one of the teachers buy a whole bucket cherries. That’s a lot!
Around noon we
arrived at the Golan Heights. The view over Syria was breathtaking...This place
is so beautiful but on the other side you can feel the pain after the two wars that
took place here. The first war was in 1967 when the Israeli army conquered the
Golan Heights. In 1973 attacked Syria the Israeli on Yom Kippur (= the most
important Jewish holiday) to win back their Golan Heights. They did not succeed.
On the top of one of these mountains, Mount Avital, you can see the borders of
the security zone between The Golan Heights and Syria. As protest the Syrians
didn’t rebuild the damaged section close to the borders. In this way they want
to remember the people of the devastating wars. We visited also an old military
bunker in which the soldiers were hiding during the war.
After a moment of
silence, it was time for some fun with the families and teachers! We went to a
place where you can kayak on the Jordan River. There was a competition between
the men and the women during kayaking. We splashed with water and made jokes
with each other. Of course we enjoyed the view of nature close to the Jordan.
We even saw people who were horseback riding. We arrived first to the finish
and we waited for the other groups. After this activity, it’s time to...eat!
What else did you expect? :) We ate together at a large table and afterwards I ‘talked’
with the women while eating fruit and nuts. Sam, Naomi and me climbed up a tree
to relax after dinner. We talked about our experiences of the past week. They
will leave on Thuesday and I will miss their company.
At 8 p.m. we went
back home with the bus and it was a crazy ride! We sang, we danced and we clapped
the whole time. It’s was so much fun! These women love to party...Suddenly we stopped
in Tiberias. As usual there is no schedule for the day so new activities are
added. We went on a boat trip on the Sea of Galilee and we were invited to
dance the whole trip. I danced with the women on Arabic music and we even did the
traditional Arabic dance. I got compliments about my dancing skills, the women
said I danced like a local. That was nice to hear!
No comments:
Post a Comment