the real world: jaffa

imagine this- six strangers (3 arab, 3 jewish) picked to live in a house, volunteer in non-profits, youth groups and community organizations around the country and maybe have a couple hours of their lives taped (if some happens to have a video camera). but unlike mtv's version, the past 4 seasons stayed in the same house. this years season is moving to a new house, but it wasnt ready in time so they spent their first three weeks in the old "commune." they moved out this week, leaving behind 4 years and 3 weeks worth of dirt, junk and colorful paint on walls, which had to be taken care of before turning the key over to the ed-like landlord.

no, this is not where i am living, but it is one of the main programs of Sadaka Reut: "one year of life for coexistence," a leadership program for 6-8 high school graduates. so really, its not that much like the real world at all, but i cant help but make the comparison. and this scenario is quite real; a good part of my week was devoted to scrubbing, scraping, painting and cleaning the walls and floors of this house. it was tiring work, but a good bonding experience and i feel like i know the six volunteers much better now that we've cleaned the grime off a house together.

on my housing front- i did find an apartment this week. but unfortunately i cant move in for another week so my vagabonding will continue. at least i have some great friends who've graciously shared their beds, couches, towels, kitchens and even underwear with me over the past 2.5 weeks. despite the wonderful hospitality, its been really frustrating not having a place of my own. i've started to create a life for myself (complete with work, friends, ultimate frisbee with the 'holylanders,' and oom kalthoum tribute concerts) and a home is the only thing missing. but it does feel better at least knowing there is a definite end date to my nomadic days.

other than that, i still stumble over clumsy hebrew words that i know i know, but my speaking and understanding are both improving every day. its been harder than i hoped to practice arabic. i catch a lot of words, but just cant get a grasp on the dialectical differences. that too will come with time, i hope.

annie is planning on joining me in tel aviv tonight for a healthy dose of secular israeli living. last weekend i got to see her and adler and their new place in jerusalem. i'm sure i will return soon for more of the holy, "belly button," city. but for now, i'm feeling really good about my decision to be in jaffa and anxiously counting down the days until i can say goodbye to 40+ minute bus rides and move into my sweet apartment (details soon to come).

what does mixed city really mean?

jaffa is considered to be a "mixed city" and statistically it is just that. of its roughly 50,000 citzens, 20,000 are arab and 30,000 are jewish. it is divided into neighborhoods, most of which have a more arab or jewish character, but they are somewhat interspersed. however, its not quite ready to be a poster-city for coexistence.

for example, a conversation i had with a landlady yesterday (roughly translated from my broken hebrew):

"hi, i'm responding to the ad about the apartment, can i come look at it today?"
"sure, actually i have two apartments you can see. but there are arabs in the building."
"ok."
"that doesn't bother you?"

i arrived at the building to find a sign posted on the front door that rat poison had been used on the premises. rats and their poison (as well as the near-condemned condition of the building) do happen to bother me and had she mentioned that on the phone i might have declined to see the place.

her attitude came in sharp contrast to the optimistic and inspiring sadaka reut annual report, which describes numerous successes of joint arab-jewish youth groups participating in community service projects. so im reminded that there is a long way to go, even in this so-called "mixed" city.

feeling safe in the bombshelter

its hard to believe ive only been here a week. my apartment seach has continued, but still no success. and im only a little bitter that annie and adler found a great place with a balcony on their second day of looking.

after very little deliberation, i decided to work at both organizations (really, i can do whatever i want with this fellowship). i got a really good vibe from both meetings so now i am working on figuring out how i will divide my time between the two, and within each organization, which specific projects i will get involved with.

this week i started at Sadaka Reut with some office work (down in the bombshelter office), which will be part of my job at both places due to my stellar english skills. at least they are good for something in these hebrew-arabic circles that im frequenting. ive been given the task of proofing the 50 page annual report which describes in detail all of the individual projects and is very interesting. but also sometimes challenging and frustrating to edit because it was written by a non-native english speaker. some changes are easy: thirstiest anniversary was clearly meant to be thirtieth, but other times its a lot harder to discern the meaning of a sentence or paragraph.

my other projects will probably include some english tutoring gigs- one at an Arab elementary school sponsored by Al-Rabitta and another at a youth center for high school dropouts and students who are considered at risk for dropping out. hopefully as my language skills progress i will be able to get involved in other things too. and i want to make sure i dont spend too much time in the windowless basement.

but the sun is hot, the ocean is warm and i've gotten to spend some time at the beach.

shalom aleychem wa'aleykum salaam

while my apartment hunt has been unsuccessful, my job search has been much more promising. granted, I had the advantage of emailing with organizations all summer. however, I am still pleased to find that the people at the office do not include a crazy chain-smoking woman who tells me if the police come I have to pretend I don't live there, a bartender named momo whose pimped-out place is advertised "for someone who wants to live in style," or a woman who has 5 puppies and their poop all over her porch.

i did find at Reut-Sadaka (which means friendship in Hebrew and Arabic), some really wonderful, enthusiastic people who are dedicated to promoting equality and tolerance between Arabs and Jews in Israel. their office is located in an old bomb shelter in a public garden in Jaffa (not for safety reasons but because it was a gift from the Tel Aviv municipality). they run multiple programs ranging from afternoon jewish-arab youth groups, to a "commune" of post-high schoolers who live and volunteer together at the organization, to community outreach and programming for the city of Jaffa. Jaffa is a historical port city with a relatively mixed population and I'm leaning towards living there if the right apartment ever shows up.

the second organization that i might also work for is called Al-Rabitta, or the League for the Arabs of Jaffa. I've been in touch with them and have a meeting with them tomorrow and assuming it goes well I will work part time at both places. this fellowship is a win-win situation. its good for the organizations because they get a volunteer and great for me because these aren't real interviews since its hard to turn down someone who will work for free.

Just over a week until I leave for ten months of social justice. Hopefully what exactly that means will become clearer soon. But for now, I guess its time to start my 2nd blog.