Holy Crap I'm in the Holy Land!

Exactly 3 months after arriving in Israel, Pollyanna has returned…rejuvenated and ready to take on the world. My return to peppiness and positivity began with a wonderful day of teaching on Thursday. I taught a grammar class on the past perfect tense (try to hide your shock mom) where I had the kids act out the actions and draw the events on a time line to help understand when to use which tense and….it worked! I also had some wonderful discussions with my students about equality and what it means to be a Jewish person in America versus being one in Israel. They are still constantly amazing me with their curiosity and intelligence.

This was followed by a wonderful and much needed weekend in Jerusalem. I did not bring any work, nor did I speak to anyone from Tel Aviv on the phone for 24 hours. I just spent some time relaxing and thinking and just enjoying the serenity of Shabbat in Jerusalem. I spent most of my time with Guille who really helped bring me back to earth and work through everything. We spent Saturday morning on the Tayelet just sitting and watching the city. It definitely centered me and helped lift my spirits.

I had honestly no desire to return to Tel Aviv last night but I am so glad I did because I finally started to see some change in a positive direction. During my favorite class we were speaking in small groups after an activity about how we were getting frustrated with the lack of practical application in our program. Whether we have teaching experience or not we were all fairly new to teaching English, and more importantly we are new to teaching English in Israel. Our professor sat down and talked to us and we came up with some ideas about how we thought we could inject some of our plans into the program. She said she would talk to our director about it which meant that hopefully sometime in the near future things would get accomplished.

So imagine my surprise when 2 hours later I saw results! Our professor had spoken to our director and they had come up with a plan to have us work on creating units for the age groups that we work with that can be used for future program participants and teachers. With a little pushing from some of us we are also going to have the opportunity to practice these lessons in different arenas. SUCCESS!! The feeling of making a suggestion to improve our program and seeing it come to life so quickly is indescribable. It makes me feel something I have had yet to feel all semester…that I am here to become a better teacher. So excited!

I still haven’t made it to the children’s home because the director keeps being called away on trips, but I know I will get to go sometime soon. Though I am sad I have not made it there yet, I am glad that when I do go I will be able to arrive feeling like myself. These kids need me and I need to be able to give them all that I have and this way I will. Alright, enough corniness for now. Stay tuned for Pollyanna’s next adventure!

Another inevitable moment in my new life has arrived. Perky, peppy Pollyanna took a bit of a hiatus. While I am still very happy and grateful to be here, I have hit a bit of a wall when it comes to whether or not I am doing what I set out to do. As most of you know, I am obnoxiously idealistic when it comes to the idea that individual people can change the world. I came here to try and make the world better and help people that needed help, and some mornings I wake up and ask myself if I am really doing that or even on the path to do doing that. I know that my students appreciate having me around, but I feel more like a novelty then a legitimate addition to the school, someone there to help students improve so that they can succeed after high school. My masters classes are causing some hesitation as well. We are not learning a lot of applicable knowledge yet and in the classes where we might have an opportunity to really learn, a few of my fellow program participants spend so much time arguing and yelling over each other that by the time we get back around to the intended subject matter it is time to leave. Anyone who has ever been in a program like this knows the problem, if everyone in the room likes the sound of their own voice when does the time come to hear the voices of others?

I am doing what I can to improve things though. I am planning on visiting a children’s home next week. I visited this place when I was here in December and just fell in love. These children need so much and everything people do for them can have such a big impact. The woman who runs the children home asked me to come next Monday and spend the night with her and her family before taking the train to school the next morning. I think that after that I will feel more in tune with why I am here.

I am also planning to take a trip up to Jerusalem this weekend. I am going to see some old friends while I am up there and just spend some time walking around on my own. I have not really left Tel Aviv very much since I have been here and I think taking a step back and getting out of my bubble will be very good for me. I am hoping to come back to Tel Aviv feeling refreshed and ready to tackle the world again.

Don’t worry though, I am already feeling better then when I began typing this blog entry yesterday. I am doing what I can to make myself feel better and I am already headed in that direction. I also know if this is biggest problem in my life, I am extremely lucky. I have good friends around me and many things to do. I have also been trying to branch out and meet new people. I am going to grab Indian food tonight with people that I do not normally spend a lot of time with and I am very excited! I also decided to give that teachers son a chance, so we are going to coffee on Thursday.  With all these new friendships on the horizon I have no fear that Pollyanna’s comeback is just around the corner….