Yesterday I took the children of Laila to the market and the
park. It was our last day together but it was rather chaotic because the
children didn’t want me to leave and Ambre had a severe nosebleed. After lunch
Lailas husband took me to the Arab College For Education and a student brought
me to my new family in Ein Mahel. I stood several minutes in front of the house
because I was impressed by the beauty of it. Raeda and her family were glad to
see me and she introduced me to the family. I was just arrived and we already had
to leave for a family meeting. Raedas sister invited the host family and me for
a dinner at her place. It was a typical meal with an enormous amount of rice,
vegetables, bread and meat. After dinner we were offered fruit, coffee or tea,
icecream and biscuits. Their hospitality knows no bounds.
While we were eating the various desserts I talked with
Raedas daughter and niece. They told me about the entrance exam for the university.
Every year it becomes more difficult. The girls told me that this exam is a way
to reduce the influx of Arabic students. The government makes it so hard that
Arab people, with their limited resources for education, hardly succeed. And
even when you are the lucky one who succeeds for the exam, it’s no guarantee
that you can start your studies. For instance: in the medicine department there
is only space for 10 Arabic students. If you overcome that stumbling Block and
you find a job that matches your qualifications, you lose more than 50% of your
income just by taxes that go almost entirely to the Jews. If you want to escape
the system, you can study in an other country (many Arabs go to Germany). But
when you want to return to Israel and work for which you have studied, you have
to make an exam. That’s a very sad situation…Today it was independence day but for the Arab people it’s a sad day and they don’t take a day off. Actually I wanted to see the festivities of the Jews but during this internship we only see the Arab side. Perhaps the Artevelde College can change this in the coming years so you experience both sides? In response to independence day, the Arabs remember the expulsion on 15 may. The children are not allowed to go to school that day and their parents take them to the abandoned villages. Teacher must be present at their school because they work for the government.
It wasn’t only a Jewish holiday, it was also my first schoolday
at the elementary school in Ein Mahel. Today we worked on the preparations of
the English Day on Saturday. It’s the final project for the 6 American
volunteers. Ryan and me will organize a play with a few students of 3th grade.
The play called Little Red Riding Hood. We have only Wednesday and Thrusday to
prepare the play and to paint the backgrounds. Sounds almost impossible!
Tonight we ate dinner with the whole family and also the
American volunteers (Scott and Ryan) who stay here. I try to compare the habits
so I can form a cultural imagery but it’s not easy at all…Two of the three host
families eat their dinner early (between 5 and 6 o’clock), two of the three
host families eat together, two of the three host families are highly educated
and stimulate their children to go to the university and only one family supports
their children to sport. But I found much in common: they love their family,
they live to eat, the children stay awake till 10 o’clock, they always use the
car (even though you can easily walk), they don’t sort waste and they always
drink form plastic cups…It’s great to observe their culture and learn more
about it!
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