el medio del año en israel / mid-year in israel

If you have been following any of my social media feeds, you might have noticed I was recently in Israel. Remember how I've said previously that I have the best job in the world? 

Well part of my year-long fellowship with JDC Entwine includes a week-long seminar where JDC Entwine brings together all of the 26 fellows who are serving in different places around the world to Israel to reenergize, reflect, and learn new skills in ירושלים Jerusalem.

My time in Israel included many highlights including time in the south, all of the delicious Israeli food, getting my new "thankful" Hadaya bracelet, seeing the beautiful Israeli beaches, and spending time in the old city especially at the western wall. 

But as I said before, I was in Israel for a reason…to join together with the other JDC Entwine fellows from across the world for our Mid-Year Seminar. One of my favorite moments of the seminar was going to visit a school that one of the fellows, Ron, works at. It is a religious school in a more at-risk area in Bat Yam (close to Tel Aviv) with about 1/3 Syrian Jews, 1/3 Ethiopian Jews, and 1/3 Israelis. We painted masks for Purim, took part in a zumba class, got to learn from the sixth graders, and shared a bit about ourselves. If you want to learn a bit more about Ron's students, check out this page on his blog which has some photos and stories Human's of New York style (it's incredible)! 

 

 During the seminar, Amanda Silver of Amanda Silver Consulting led some skill building and reflection sessions for all of the fellows. Our first session included us thinking of two "peaks", high points, and two "valleys", low points, from our time serving in the field. During the session one of the fellows, Hannah, said something that resonated with me. Hannah said it was harder for her to think of more recent valleys because the things that had been difficult/low points at the beginning of the placement did not seem so difficult anymore. This really resonates with me because I have had a similar experience. I have come to embrace Argentina's culture so the things that I had previously found difficult do not faze me in the same way they used to. I did share a vulnerability of mine with the group (not an easy thing for me to do) that I was at somewhat of a valley before coming to Israel because I had just spent about two weeks in the United States and found it very difficult to leave.

Spending time with the fellows at the seminar invigorated an energy in me that had somewhat faded. Hearing about their experiences, successes, challenges, and stories was incredible. Sometimes I find it hard to share my experiences with my friends and family back in the US but sharing with the other fellows did not drain away my energy as it does with my friends and family because there is a common understanding and background level that made it much easier to share for me. I found myself having deep conversations with the other fellows about their placements, hopes, futures, and insecurities and asking even more questions than usual (I'm a pretty inquisitive person). I left the seminar feeling thoroughly reflected and reenergized to come back to Argentina. I can't wait to see what the fellows continue to do in their respective placements and I also can't wait to see what my next few months brings in Argentina.