Security Update

The merkaz klita is made up of a number of 2- and 3- bedroom apartments, and I’m incredibly lucky to be living in a 3-bed with only 3 other roommates. But there are a number of families who have moved here from the likes of Cuba, Russia, and Ethiopia who are also living in these tiny apartments, and one of our volunteer activities will be entertaining the children from these various backgrounds in the afternoons after class.
Tonight, I was sitting in the breezeway reading with some of the other people in my program when a few children – perhaps 9 or 10 years old – approached me. They started motioning toward my bag and yammering in a language I did not understand – it could have been Hebrew, Russian, or Spanish, they all sound the same to me. I just smiled and mumbled “lo, slicha” (no, sorry) until they ran away giggling. My companions appeared to understand what the children were saying so I asked them to translate. Apparently, the little varmints had asked to look in my bag and then called me a whore and a bitch in Russian and Spanish, respectively. Yeah, I’m definitely looking forward to babysitting these monsters.
On another note, on Wednesday (before the beach) we did our part to feed the hungry people of Israel by picking beets in a field on a random kibbutz near Tel Aviv. It was through a program called Table to Table and we supposedly picked about 4000 pounds of beets, although I highly doubt the reliability of their method of measurement.
In other news, today we endured the grueling testing process to determine our placement in Hebrew classes. It was conducted as a one-on-one interview that should have lasted about five minutes, but mine was only around 30 seconds – the time it took them to realize I had no idea what they were asking me. I also had to fill out a questionnaire, but as all of the questions were written in Hebrew, all I could do was write my name at the top (in English) and “I don’t know anything” next to it.