The Dead Sea, school volunteering and a rescue mission

Hello again everybody, again sorry for a big gap in posts (my biggest yet this time...). A lot has been going on these last 3 weeks or so so here's an all in one update for you. 

2 weekends ago I headed to the Dead-Sea with Osama (our go-to driver). The drive down took us through some pretty barren desert before the Dead Sea came into view. We had an hour and a half to enjoy the scenery, float in the water and get a good covering of the sea's famous mud (legendary for the good it does for your skin). Due to its VERY high salt content its almost impossible to swim and so you just float and enjoy the sun. Its a very weird experience! Getting in and out is a mission though, the mud is a nightmare to walk through and not having flip-flops close to the shore when you get out can lead to burnt feet from the sand (as I discovered!). Defiantly a great place to experience and the views were amazing!

View of the Dead Sea, looking towards Jordan

Dead-Sea mud.....don't know it until you try it :)

Just chillin' :)

 Work at Paidia slowed down for the next 2 weeks so they set me up to go and help out at a kindergarten in Bethlehem in the mornings. The day after I started I was joined by another volunteer and house-mate, Tati (from San Francisco). Since then we've been splitting our time between the kindergarten in the morning and Paidia in the afternoon. Julian (our fellow house-mate) goes out and about on his work for the Abraham Path (a project that aims to establish a trekking route across the Middle East!) but he's usually home in the evenings.

Our work at the school sees us helping the kids learn shapes, numbers and colours mainly through colouring exercises. We also read them stories every now and again and playing with Lego is a favourite when work is done. Its great fun helping them learn but they can be a handful at times, especially when Lego starts flying around the room!!

Tati helps Jonathan with his colouring work

Me and Charlie mid-colouring exercise

Me reading to the class, Zeid and Alfred (lying across their tables) prefer to  take a nap!

Our evenings have been filled with movies, AIC lectures twice a week, games of "Carcassonne" (a classic city building board game) and the occasional night trip to Manger square for a beer and some people watching. I've really got to know the area over the past few weeks and the maze of streets now feel a lot like home. Learning local landmarks such as Manger Square has been a a great help in getting around.

Globalisation gone wrong?

So, what of the rescue mission in the title? Well, last Friday we found an adorable puppy hiding under a car from some stone wielding local kids. We talked the kids away and gave the puppy a temporary home in our courtyard whilst we searched for a more permanent home for her. Luck was on our side as yesterday Tati was able to take her across into Israel and to a shelter outside Jerusalem. The staff there will work to find her a loving new home in Israel. Dogs here aren't given the best chance of life here so it was nice to give just one a chance :).

Me and the puppy on the afternoon of her rescue

Final cuddles with Tati the night before Tati took her to the shelter

Work at Paidia culminated last week with the starting of a thursday "after-school club". We gave kids a chance to use the climbing wall, play a bit of football and get messy with paint whilst their parents drank coffee. It was great to muck around with the kids and I swear I'm getting better at football! Hopefully this project will continue after I leave. On the subject of leaving my last day of work here is a week tomorrow! And after that it's only a day and a half until I fly home! Time has gone really fast these past three months and I've had an amazing time. But it 'll be nice to get home and catch up with friends and family :).

That's it for this entry guys, thanks for reading and see you again real soon.

My first 2 weeks in Bethlehem

Hello again everybody, again sorry for the delay on the latest post. I've been very busy these last few weeks getting settled into the routine here in Bethlehem and I've only now had a decent chance to check my photos and get the blog written. So, here's what's been going on in my first 2 weeks here in Bethlehem.

 

I arrived on friday the 16th and was greeted the other side of the check-point by a crowd of taxi drivers keen to show me around. Luckily Paidia's (the charity i'm volunteering with) driver, Osama, found me and got be safely to the volunteer house in eastern Bethlehem. After a welcome brief from Rana (a Paidia staff memeber who looks after volunteers) I unpacked (into a wardrobe for the first time in nearly 2 months!) and settled in. Lila (my "up until wednesday just gone" house-mate) came home in the afternoon and gave me a run-down on what's best to do in my spare time whilst i'm here.

 

Saturday offered me a chance to finish settling in and explore a little, in the evening Lila and her friend Jon took me to the AIC (Alternative Information Centre). It offers bi-weekly talks on issues in the West Bank so its a great way to understand what's happening here. After the talk we headed to the AIC bar for a beer and chat with some of the other people at the talk. 

 

Me at the AIC cafe with a "Taybeh" beer (the local favourite!)

Lila had Sunday afternoon off so we met up with John in Manger Sqaure in the center of Bethlehem after a walk around the souq and back-street shops. We ended up at the peace-center cafe and whittled away the afternoon playing cards (sometimes with the waiters aswell when they got bored!) and drinking iced lemonade with fresh mint. 

Looking towards the entrance of the Church of the Nativity

Me with an iced lemonade

Me, Lila and John (on the right) playing cards at the peace center cafe

 

My first week at Paidia saw me help begin with the planning for a new community project; "FC-Paidia". The aim of this project is to get kids and youth teams from the local area into Paidia's own decent football facilities (over playing in the street or courtyards) so they have a better environment to play in.

 

The Wednesday of that week saw me head into Bethlehem for a much needed hair-cut. Well, that was an experience! The barber just sat me down and selected a clipper head at random saying "it may be a 2 or a 3"! 5 minutes later he was done and I had the shortest haircut I'd ever had! On the upside, its a lot more comfortable in the heat now!

 



Me post haircut!

 The next night me, John and Lila headed to a hillside restaurant just outside northern Bethlehem. We had a great night playing cards, enjoying the few and having a few beers with some of the people we'd met at the AIC earlier in the week.

 

The view from the restaurant

The restaurant seating area

Lila and John

 

 After a weekend of catching up on some sleep and exploring Bethlehem it was back to work on "FC - Paidia" and begin planning another project, this time an after-school session for kids. A very busy week! On wednesday I got offered the chance to help out on a caving trip run by Paidia for a local scout group. Well.... any excuse to get out and about!! The walk down to the cave system offered amazing views of an ancient wadi.

Walking down the path towards the cave system

View of the wadi just up from the entrance to the caves

 

Leaving our bags at the entrance we put on our helmets and head torches for 2 hours of crawling through one of the deepest cave networks in Palestine. It was a great afternoon and a bit challenging at times but very worthwhile, it was great to see the kids out and about enjoying themselves.

 

"Team photo" just before we entered the caves

Breathe in! Me emerging from one of the many crawl spaces

An open part of the cave network

Going down! Our guide Jameel leads the way

Me coming out at the bottom of the gap in the above picture, and no I haven't forgotten to rotate the picture!!

Yesterday, Catheryn (another staff member) took me on visit to Hebron, a city 40 minutes south of Bethlehem. We spent the morning and early afternoon looking around the sites and souqs aswell as meeting up with a few of her local friends. No visit was complete however (according to Catheryn) without buying a box or 2 of "sider delight", a local jelly type sweet (only found in Hebron!). She was right, it's definately a must-buy and at 5 shekels a box (around 2-3 pounds) a bargain! Be warned though, its seriously addictive!!

A box of "sider delight", yum :)

So then, that brings you guy's up to date with what's been happening over the past few weeks. I've made some great friends and had some really good experiences. Its all flying by very fast, a month today I finish here in Bethelehem and head to Tel Aviv to get ready for my flight home the next day. Still, 4 weeks left and I've still got plenty to do here, game on!

Thanks for reading everyone and I'll see you next time.

Hanging out in Jerusalem :)

So, the time has arrived. I'm now half way through my time in Israel after 6 amazing weeks of volunteering in the Golan Heights. I was sad to leave the great people and places of the Golan behind but its now time for the next stage of my adventure to begin. Starting with 3 days back in the sunny city of Jerusalem :).

I got back to Jerusalem on Monday afternoon after 5 long hours on the bus. After an afternoon of unpacking and some much needed internet access I headed out for an evening walk down Jaffa street in search of an ATM. Wouldn't luck have it that I bumped into Yan (who I'd traveled back with that morning) coming back from giving the latest group of Go-Eco volunteers an evening tour of the Old City. A quick chat agreed that a trip to the bar was in order :). So after a quick change of clothes at the hostel I met up with Yan and a group of volunteers from the city zoo and we headed to the "Bell Wood bar" just off Jaffa street. What followed was a great evening of fun and stories with beer and burgers. After a great evening I left Yan in the hostel reception with promises of a meet up in Tel Aviv for drinks when i'm next avaliable. Arrangements made, I headed to bed at midnight after a very long day.

Me and the Go-Eco group at the "Bell Wood bar", great night out!

 Tuesday was a day off, so I had a lie in and took some time out for souvenier shopping in the Old City. After the cool mountains of the Golan, Jerusalem seemed like the Negev Desert! After a fairly chilled out day it was time for the hostel's evening event, the "meet the manager BBQ". Me and my new American room-mates headed up to the roof for an evening of burgers, beer and free Araq (an Arab liquor) and grapefruit cocktails. A good night at the hostel and more new friends made :).

The hostel roof on the night of the BBQ

Just chillin! Me enjoying a beer at the BBQ

 Wednesday was the day i'd decided to visit the Yad Vashem Holocaust museum, much recommended by many people i've met on my travels here. Situated on the slopes of Mt Herzl, it tells the full story of the holocaust from its beginnings, through to the individual chapters of its dark story and its end and repercussions around the world. It's a truly moving place to visit as the many objects from different chapters of the Holocaust make it a very humbling experience. It was a truly worthwhile visit and one I definitely recommend for any visitors to Jerusalem.

The Yad-Vashem Holocaust Museum

 After my late morning/afternoon visit to the museum it was time to get ready for the "Jerusalem Pub Crawl" organised by the hostel. After pre-drinks on the roof with a few room-mates we hit the town. Memories of the night are a bit blurry but I do remember rolling into bed around 4 in the morning (after starting at 9 in the evening!).

A pre-drink before the pub crawl whilst writing my diary

I woke up this morning slightly worse for wear, the ideal state to be in for A-Level results day!! Luckily my fears were unfounded and came away from the computer safe in the knowledge that I have a place at Plymouth university waiting for me next year :). After that weight was lifted, I started some admin for the next part of my adventure. Tommorrow I head into Bethlehem in the West Bank to start 6 weeks volunteer work :). I can't wait to start as it looks set to be another eye-opening and fun 6 weeks. Bring it on!

That's it for this entry, thanks for reading and see you next time :)

My last week in Nimrod

Hi everyone 

I'm in my last few days here at Nimrod and since I finally have decent computer access, I thought i'd give you guys a run down of my last week here. 

My long week of lonliness finally came to an end on tuesday (i've been on my own ever since Dan, Dom and Alex left) when the next group of volunteers arrived. Nice to have some company again but sadly I won't be able to get to know them as well as previous groups as I only have until tomorrow with them before I leave. What made tuesday also significant was that it signified the end of Ramadan. What makes it so significant here in the Golan? Well it was signaled from Syria with a morning of the loudest and most intense booms I've heard in all my time here. It was also the first time I saw the smoke from explosions across the border. Seemed to bring the whole situation very close to home :/. 

The smoke cloud from an explosion in Syria 

Never-the-less, work continues at the lodge. We've been especially busy this week helping out Guy with his latest addition to the house. He wanted a wooden pergola built over the top of the decking at the back of the house to provide some shade. So we all set to work debarking branches of wood and lifting and screwing them into place. By the end of the afternoon on Thursday the work was complete. No doubt Guy has more plans for the house so David and Aaron (2 of the new volunteer group) will be kept busy during their time here.

Aaron and David put the finishing touches to the Pergola we've been building

"Left a bit, no right a bit" David makes sure the branches are seated exactly in place

We had a combined surprise visit yesterday :). Firstly from Lilach and Guy's daughter Ameet, who came home after her first week of IDF basic training and also from Yan (the Go-Eco guide who looked after us during our orientation in Jerusalem). It was great to see him again and catch up, he's here to check up on the project and to see that we're all behaving ourselves. Yan and I will be traveling back to Jerusalem together on Monday so i'll have no excuse to get lost on the bus system! 

All in all I've had a great last week here, helped greatly by the latest edition to my modes of transport; the quad bike! For little trips down to the camping site or the lodges its perfect as it saves me having to drag rubbish bags back up the hill to the bins!

Me and my new favourite ride :) 

Sadly my time in Nimrod is only a day away from ending. I'll be sad to leave the great people and scenery of Nimrod behind me but I think it's definately time to move on to the next adventure. I'm spending 3 days in Jerusalem to sort out some last minute admin before my next (and last!) 6 weeks in Israel. i hope to fit in some sight seeing whilst i'm in Jerusalem (including a visit to Yad Vashem - the Holocaust museum in Jerusalem) before i depart on Friday for my next adventure. I also have results day to look forward to on thursday :/. 

I can't believe I'm half-way through my time in Israel! I've had a blast here in Nimrod and I can't wait to see what new adventures await me over the next month and a half. As always, I'll keep you updated as much as I can :). 

Thanks for reading and I'll see you next time.

An update from Nimrod :)

Hi everybody. First of all apologies for not posting for a while. Computer access has been somewhat sporadic at the lodge over the last few weeks. So, here's an update on what we've been up to here in the sunny Golan Heights! Firstly, Carolyn and Jehn left 2 weeks ago. I was a bit gutted to see them go but I've no got 3 more volunteers to keep me company :).

A personal update first though. My cooking skills have also been coming along nicely, I now know how to cut up a whole chicken into the seperate bits plus general cooking is coming along well. 

Me and a fully cut up chicken :)

 I've also been keeping up with writing my journal, I usually take some time in the early evening to write it in my favourite spot on the lodge; the swing seat by the pool. The early eveing views are great :).

Wriritng my journal in my favourite spot :)

 

Anyway, enough about me. The last two weeks have been full of work both at the lodge and the building site. Alex, Dan and Dom have been a great help and work has flown by :). A recent day of work involved us sorting, painting and sanding some planks for Guy to take to the building site. Took us all day but a Bob Marley playlist from Dan got us through it :). 

 

Dan and Dom get some more planks from the lumber yard

 

"Need a hand there?" Dan cuts open a new wood pile whilst Dom and Alex look on

Dom and Alex get cracking with some plank painting

Job Done :) 164 planks painted and ready for sanding

Red enjoys her new favourite shady spot

But as is always the case, the weekend is never far away in Nimrod. On friday afternoon last week, we spent an afternoon by the pool soaking up the sun and catching up on some reading. Its a great way to relax after a hard week's work. Saturday saw us have a lie in until 10 in the morning before taking a walk into Mas'Ade for some much needed supplies. Shower gel and cash being chief amongst them.

Dom and Alex chill by the pool

No Saturday night is complete without an Eagle Beer :)

 

But sadly, the weekend doesn't last forever and it was back to work on Sunday. The routine is for our volunteer team to split up each day. On sunday, it was mine and Alex's turn to head to the building site. Dan and Dom would stay behind to do some gardening work at the lodge.

The morning briefing from Guy

Work at the building site has really come on. All the walls are up and the roof supports are in place. It was time for me and Alex to help with the final roof section.

The house, looking more homely now :)

Guy ponders his next move......

 

 

 Alex was put to work sanding some roof supports whilst me and Guy headed to the roof to put together the framework for the last section of roof.

Alex sands

Guy, Alex and Farras (a neighbour's son) assemble the last roof framework

 



 The day ended witht he roof ready to be put in place. Me and Alex headed home to find the latest batch of shopping ready to be unpacked. Its a great morale boost whenever the shopping arrives, kind of gives us hope for the next few days :).

 

The essentials :); beer, humus and Pita

 

The campsite has ben very busy these past few weeks so every evening we're dispatched to give it a quick tidy up and to restock the toilet rolls. Luckily, its not a hard tasl as Guy has given us free use of his pick-up to help us around the lodge and the campsite :). Its great to have wheels to help us with the heavy lifting :).

Me and Alex depart for the campsite in Guy's pick-up

 

The work on the garden is beginning to show aswell, regular watering by the volunteers has meant there will soon be tomotoes and lettuces aplently to eat at the lodge. New planting continues all the time, no doubt fresh peppers and a variety of herbs will be on offer over the next few weeks or so. 

 

Me watering the lettuces and peppers we planted last week

 

And last night, Guy gave us a special treat. A BBQ with plenty of beer :). It was great to take a break from cooking for a night and enjoy some time to get to know each other. Guy grilled diced chicken and beef well into the night and we didn't get to bed until 12:30!! 

(from left to right) Dan, Alex and Dom at the start of last night's BBQ

Me and the obligatory Eagle Beer

BBQ master Guy grills up chicken on the grill

Wow, we didn't drink that much did we?!

 



To finalise then, I've been thoroughly enjoying my time at Nimrod and the last few weeks have flown by. Alex, Dan and Dom will be leaving on Monday :(, it only seems like a few days since they arrived and I'll miss their company. I'm approaching the end of my time here in Nimrod, only 2 weeks left on Monday. There's plenty more work to do at the lodge so I won't be sitting still over my last few weeks :). Best I crack on then.

 

Thanks for reading everbody and I'll see you again next time.