most other days in Israel, was a long, but exciting and meaningful day. It began in the camp, and was a little bit easier than yesterday, and a bit more organized. That is, until the different groups had pool time and went a little bit crazy. But after a little while of the Americans trying to communicate with them and the Israelis yelling as loud as possible, everyone could have good, safe fun in the water. Afterwards, the kids had time to play sports, and by the end of the day everyone was singing and dancing along to the camp song. From the camp we boarded a bus and headed to Tel Aviv, Israel's New York. There, we had time to walk around, experience the city, and of course, buy things! Nachlat Binyamin street was crowded by vendors, and it was so interesting to see all of the different things they were selling: soap, art, sheep, belts, cold drinks, grains of rice with your name on them, bling, etc. I personally had a lot of fun watching an older man over his blowtorch, shaping glass into any animal you can think of (including the mythical ones too). Close by was the Shuk HaCarmel, the Carmel Market, which Ofir, my stylish Israeli brother, refuses to enter because he claims, "It is dirty!!!".
At night we went to an amazing place in Yafo called "Na Laga'at" (Please touch). Na' Laga'at is a cultural center that has a theatre, cafe and restaurant where all the employess are deaf, blind or mute.There, we were served by waiters and waitresses who were deaf and taught us sign language, which is apparently different in Israel than in America. After a delicious meal we headed to the other side of the building, where we were in for a treat. Immediatley upon entering the theatre, we saw a group of people, who we later found out were deaf, blind, or both, kneading dough. Throughout the show that they put on for us we learned about each of them, and they showed us that there is much more to them than their disabilities, the basic bread of their lives. By the end, the bread that they were making was ready and we were all invited to join them on stage and share it with them. Everyone was simply speechless. I thought that it was amazing to see them communicate with eachother. They would make signs on each others' palms with their fingers, pass signals down the line they were in, and even reach out to touch each others' faces.What we saw from the day as a whole was that words are not necessary to communicate. In the camp, we might not be able to tell the kids, but they know by our tone of voice and body language that they're misbehaving, although they might not really care either way. Even though most of the performers we saw could not speak or see us, they were still able to send us a profound message. Even in the shuk, I didn't need to tell the man that I wanted orange juice, because pointing to it was all that was necessary (but I did anyway just to practice some of my new Hebrew words!). As we go into our last week in Israel this is something that we should keep in mind. And speaking of the last week in Israel... Mommy and Daddy, I might not come home when I'm supposed to!
At night we went to an amazing place in Yafo called "Na Laga'at" (Please touch). Na' Laga'at is a cultural center that has a theatre, cafe and restaurant where all the employess are deaf, blind or mute.There, we were served by waiters and waitresses who were deaf and taught us sign language, which is apparently different in Israel than in America. After a delicious meal we headed to the other side of the building, where we were in for a treat. Immediatley upon entering the theatre, we saw a group of people, who we later found out were deaf, blind, or both, kneading dough. Throughout the show that they put on for us we learned about each of them, and they showed us that there is much more to them than their disabilities, the basic bread of their lives. By the end, the bread that they were making was ready and we were all invited to join them on stage and share it with them. Everyone was simply speechless. I thought that it was amazing to see them communicate with eachother. They would make signs on each others' palms with their fingers, pass signals down the line they were in, and even reach out to touch each others' faces.What we saw from the day as a whole was that words are not necessary to communicate. In the camp, we might not be able to tell the kids, but they know by our tone of voice and body language that they're misbehaving, although they might not really care either way. Even though most of the performers we saw could not speak or see us, they were still able to send us a profound message. Even in the shuk, I didn't need to tell the man that I wanted orange juice, because pointing to it was all that was necessary (but I did anyway just to practice some of my new Hebrew words!). As we go into our last week in Israel this is something that we should keep in mind. And speaking of the last week in Israel... Mommy and Daddy, I might not come home when I'm supposed to!
-Jason
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