Ciao, tutti! Sorry for the long hiatus in posts, January was another transition month for me and I am finally getting back into the swing of things.
Last week, I finally had another lesson with Yehuda and we spoke about being aware of how small you are at the same time - and so that you can be part of - that you are aware of the bigger thing around you. His idea is that you must always be in yourself, in your size and shape and then build the connections to what is around you. He always has me "work" on him so that I can really understand what it is that he is doing versus what I am doing and so that I really internalize what he is saying to/doing with me. I always find it difficult and awkward to write about Alexander Techniqu, I guess I will leave that task to Pedro :) AT is truly a "hands-on" (pun intended) technique/experience, but I really enjoy my "lessons" with Yehuda. They are a mix of Alexander Technique, life philosophy, and story telling. I am so lucky to be able to work with him.
Last Tuesday, I joined the Rishon teaching fellows group again for a day in Yafo. I always enjoy my trips with them because the
madrichim really take the time to prepare interesting and thought-provoking tours. I learned a lot of things, like the fact that Andromeda (the mythological princess for whom my cat was named) was supposed to have been chained to a rock just on the coast of Yafo! We began with a food tour (which, unfortunately, I couldn't participate in, but everything smelled good!) and then moved on to more heavy topics, like life in a "mixed-city" and also the advantages and disadvantages of gentrification in the city. Yafo is a
balagan of religions and cultures that live together but don't integrate. I think this is a trend/problem the world over because it is human nature to band together with those most similar to you. Here in Israel, however, it seems that every time people start making steps forward towards peace and understanding, some extremist does something that makes everyone take several steps backwards.
The school where I teach is very much a part of this "mixed city" - I have kids from all possible backgrounds and I think it is amazing that some of them already know three languages and they're only 13 or 14 years old. However, for some kids, this proves to be quite challenging and while they may understand what is being said, they may not be able to form a response. I really like working on Wednesdays and Fridays because I have one-on-one sessions with kids and I can really tell that they want to learn and are making progress.
When I was home in December, a friend who works at a local elementary school was able to have her students write pen pal letters to my kids. She also collected a whole bunch of books which I brought back with me (and had sent to me) to the center. Now we have a whole collection of books of various levels and it makes reading practice much more interesting. I had to wait several weeks to bring in the pen pal letters, but finally started having the kids work on them a few weeks ago and most of them are really excited about them. Some girls expressed disappointment that their pen pals were much younger than they: "But we want cute boys to write to!" Oy. Kids really are the same world-wide.
I have a few more trips to write about, but rather than write one colossal blog post, I will split it up. I hope that everyone is staying warm in the apocalyptic snow storms!
Daniella :)
