Zodiac

Oddly true....

What sign of the Zodiac am I? Pisces 66 % Sagittarius 66 % Cancer 60 % Capricorn 53 % Aquarius 53 % Gemini 53 % Virgo 46 % Scorpio 46 % Libra 46 % Taurus 40 % Aries 33 % Leo 33 % Take the Zodiac test here!

Job?

I got offered another "job" organiting a NATO conference on integrated
water management for the Arava Institute. The letter I got was all
about work - nothing about compensation. I wish Robin was here to
consult with, but he is gone for another 2 weeks. I have some serious
thinking to do...

Jewish Comics

haha....

Some people...

Yesterday as I was leaving work to go meet my Arabic tutor there was a guy hanging out by the entrance of the complex. He asked me if I spoke Arabic, because he wanted to speak to me, so of course I said yes (why not take the opportunity to practice?!) He asked me if I was married, and then asked if I had a boyfriend. I have taken to saying no to #1 and yes to #2, just because it is safer (these questions are becoming all too familiar. Up there with ‘what is your name’ and ‘how old are you’, but this guy went right for it). He seemed old and had his hands in his pants (not in a super gross way, just in general). And he told me that he was disappointed I had a boyfriend because he wanted to get to know me. WTF??? When my Arabic tutor came and got me and we drove away, the guy was still standing there and totally staring. Now he probably thinks my boyfriend is Arab. Great…

Work (and not work)

I've been updating a bit...what do you think?

I am forgetting things, but here is a short recap of the last few weeks (months?):
-I had a cold for 3 over weeks
-I picked olives twice.
-I saw Dennis Ross speak at the American Colony Hotel
-My mom came to visit for a bit and we went to Turkey for a bit
-Her father (my grandfather) died. I didn't go home for a funeral or anything because he was not Jewish and was cremated and they scattered his ashes yesterday.
-I went to Bethlehem for Christmas; a ridiculous adventure with an Israeli (it is against the law for Israelis to go there) and another American. Long story short - too much port, the guy slipped and fell and we had a crazy ambulance ride and ended up in a Palestinian hospital but STILL made it to midnight mass in the church of the nativity. Saw Abbass from a distance. Got home around 2am
-I was accepted to study at the Arava Environmental Institute at a Kibbutz Ketura in the South for the spring semester. I will stay in Jerusalem until med feb, go down there, and come back to the states towards the end of June. I might be doing their fundraising bike ride across Israel in May, so get your checkbooks ready.
-the org i work for is a bit of a mess. The Palestinian co-director was fired. and we are at least $250,000 because a grant we were promised from the Swedish government hasn't come in yet. They keep having meetings of "what is IPCRI? what are we doing?" a couple people quit/were fired and paychecks are constantly in question. But I got my $500 for Dec, so I’m feeling ok about the whole thing....
-I have been meeting with someone to work on my Arabic and it is getting SO much better. In Jordan I was really reliant on my sister. Now I can talk to cab drivers in mixes of Arabic and Hebrew which is fun, but sometimes they get excited and start hitting on me.....so I tend to take the bus and cross my fingers that they won't explode.
-I have been to Hebron twice. I really want to go visit Palestinian areas up North and have been in contact with a young guy who was at the conference, but he keeps saying stuff like “I will never forget your angel face”, so now I don’t know if I want to go...His French Co-worker was cute, but apparently he’s left the country.


I should go be productive before meeting my tutor in 20 minutes. Feel free to comment so I know this is worthwhile...
-t