Casual update

Today was certainly no casual day, because this afternoon was our first print deadline for lecture handouts etc. We were busy ALL day. The Year 1 instructors did an excellent job. I think they completed two weeks of lecture material and lots of lab prep.

Didn't get out today (except to take the garbage down the block). So I'll talk about some other stuff I've noticed since I've arrived.

Israel definitely has a strong European quality to it. Walking around the residential areas actually make me think of a mix of West Africa and Europe. The apartments and stores remind me of Europe, but nearly all the homes are walled in with a metal gate, reminding me of Africa. Instead of dogs, goats, or chickens, there are lots of stray cats. I'll take cats over stray dogs or rats any day.

Shopping seems very European, but I have no chance of figuring out a single word of Hebrew. Most locals speak decent English, but I've encountered store clerks who don't. Hebrew is so unrelated to any languages I have experience in. And with the very different character set I definitely feel in another world. I'm working on the written words, "push" and "pull," right now. Those were helpful in Germany. I think they'll serve me well on campus this summer.

There are some strong differences here even among the stereotypical group breakdowns. Among the Jewish, they range from ultra-orthodox to completely secular. And similar with Muslims and Christians. It's only these three religions that have a large presence here. We've heard much about the bustling city of Tel Aviv in stark contrast to normally quiet Jerusalem. With Tel Aviv so close, the bar/club/hippy scene simply doesn't bother much here. The country is so small; everywhere is within a few hours and most inhabitants are less than an hour away. So the young people tend to use Tel Aviv as their night spot.

A small group went out tonight. Thursday is Friday, you know. Most of us took it easy tonight though, hoping for the chance to catch up on some sleep. Besides, we are spending one of our free weekends Tel Aviv next month, so we'll get a chance to see it. Trips on the agenda include Eliat by the Red Sea, the Dead Sea, Tel Aviv & the Mediterranean, jeep rentals in the desert, and of course continued Jerusalem exploration. I forget the rest.

We got word today that all our students from across the line received their permits to enter Jerusalem this summer. And these were granted after this most recent Gaza flare up. So it looks like all the planned students will be able to attend this year. Many of them will be going through checkpoints every day to get to class. It's our job to make it worth they're while, and we are way ready for that.

Tomorrow is a work day, Saturday is some normal touristy stuff, and Sunday we meet our students!

Museum on the Seam

(Now with embedded weblinks)

Yesterday we visited the Museum on the Seam, which was filled with an art exhibit promoting coexistence. They had displays showing different facets of the local conflict and many others concerning more general stuff. Artsy indeed, and impactful.

The building itself (residential house turned defense post turned museum) is also very interesting. It's history is described in the beginning of this article, which goes on to describe the art displays. The rooftop observation area offers a good view of Jerusalem.

Yes, we are hearing about the latest events in Gaza and elsewhere, but only because some instructors check CNN ocassionally. The local scene here has not changed yet.

Enlightened

Today was very enlightening. I heard from multiple perspectives and learned a lot about settlements, house demolitions, wall-building, bombings, rockets, checkpoints, occupation, security...much of this first-hand on the tour mentioned in this morning's post.

I spoke with Jews of various ethnicities & nationalities, and Palestinians with various religious backgrounds. Various combinations of Israeli, Arab, American, Christian, Jew, and Muslim.

One conclusion I feel I can definitely draw is that religion is not playing as much a role as many think. It's more a matter of identity and perception, if that makes sense. Empathy is very much in need.

Some of what we heard today was quite one-sided, but I was surprised at how much was reasonably open, honest discussion.

This is not the forum for strong opinions, but it is clear that sometimes people are not able to completely aggreement because of inherent differences. Like trying to reconcile different geometries based on different axioms. Parallel lines can and do intersect. It just depends on where you're coming from.

Thank you

Friends and family,

Thanks for the comments and the many email responses. In just two days, I've heard from lots of people. You're awesome. Thanks for showing interest. I do appreciate it.


Today will be a very interesting day.

Later this morning we embark on a multi-hour political tour of Jerusalem and the surrounding area. This guided tour will likely be very one-sided. In the afternoon we will hear a lecture and hold a discussion with someone from the other side. We had a dual-hosted discussion before leaving Boston, but I also think it's important to see the different views like we will today, in a fully one-sided fashion.

I think my ears and brain will be busier than my camera and tummy today...

Falafel and Swarma

Yet another nice surprise. Falafel is good. It is so much better here than back home. Besides having fresh and great falafel, the vegetables and sundry toppings were great too. I think that made a real difference. But he put french fries in my swarma!?

Funday Monday

Lots of individual prep work this morning.

Then we had a very useful teaching seminar this afternoon. Hopefully I'll find a way to post some short video clips :) We each gave a short lecture on some self-chosen topic, and boy did we have fun with some of the topics, ranging from peanut oil to neglected Java keywords, the "Big-Man's Cartwheel" and my discussion on NASCAR strategy. Yes, it's much more than just guys (and gals) driving fast around an oval.

The key was watching ourselves on video (thanks to Greg's iSight) followed by group discussion/critique for each of us. We learned a lot from each other and especially from our veterans, Max and Dan.

I am even more impressed now with our instructor team. This was the first time we all got to see each other present something formally in front of the group. We absolutely have some excellent natural teachers with a variety of styles. Our students are in for a treat!

Well, back to work on real lecture material.

Sunday, first day of the week

Today was our first busy day of prep work. Chris spilled orange juice in his laptop keyboard, followed by Dan plopping some yogurt on his. Besides lots of meetings, discussions, and individual work, various people in our group had a morning run, did some group yoga, and made some shopping runs. Shopping hasn't been much of an option until today. Big thanks to Tali and Abeer for stocking our apartment so well with food for the interim.

We toured all our class space at Hebrew University today. The cafeteria passed the test at lunch, and the campus is nice. Many stray cats roam the campus just like in town.

Wow, our apartment is definitely in a great location. We are just a 5-minute walk from an abundance of shopping, including a large area of streets closed to car traffic. We found a friendly hardware store for a few more electrical adapters, and the supermarket was well-stocked with fresh fruit and American breakfast cereals. But no Grape-Nuts :(

5-10 minutes beyond the shopping area lies the Jaffa Gate to the Old City and East Jerusalem. I hope to visit tomorrow to pick up some local Mediterrean food: meat pies, stuffed grape leaves if I'm lucky. A constant supply of fresh fruit in the kitchen plus great local food ready to microwave at a moment's notice should keep my tummy very happy this week.

I think we fixed all our major electrical and network issues today. We've got three places to plug in grounded U.S. 3-prongs, and many more 2-prong outlets scattered across the apartment. Laptop power cables string all over the floor, and we now have wireless internet access on all 3 floors :)

First day in Jerusalem

We took a partial city walking tour this morning. Saturday is Sabbath, so things were very quiet. We meandered through the shopping area (empty today) near our apartment and entered East Jerusalem through the Jaffa Gate. Lots of old walls around here (dating back to the Byzantine era?) The markets in this part of the Old City were open, as this is a pre-dominately Arab section. We browsed the narrow touristy market area and had hommos and foul with pita bread for lunch. I've never cared for hommos much before, but this stuff was pretty good.

A nice refreshing nap this afternoon served me well.

Prep week officially started this evening with a meeting for all technical staff. That includes Max and us 9 computer science instructors. We have quite a busy week cut out for us, but we are anxious to get an awesome summer rolling. The motivation is high!

The weather here is awesome. The forecast every day: high around 90, low in the sixties, sunny and clear, not too humid. So the days are warm and sunny and the evenings cool down well because of our elevation.

If you haven't checked out MEET yet, follow the link in the right column above.

Arrival

We arrived Friday afternoon to the Tel Aviv airport. Tali and Max met us at the airport, and we had a nice drive to Jerusalem (under an hour). Jerusalem really is up in the hills. The drive up took us on a windy highway, climbing through the desert to reach the city. If it wasn't for the irrigation, supposedly this place would be completely barren.

We were happy to get settled in our Jerusalem apartment. It's a nice little 3-story building in a "fairly religious" area of the city. We are so happy they found a place that all the MIT staff can live together in. The 9 instructors live in an apartment covering the top 2 floors (with little balconies), while the other MIT staff shares the 1st floor apartment. Space is a little tight as we are sharing mostly doubles and triples, but the two common areas should work well for team meetings and general hanging out. Oh, and we have two minivans to drive ourselves around.

Tali and Abeer are the local co-directors for MEET. They're the ones that filled our apartment with furniture and food! Tonight, they took us out to eat in the city and we met Caroline, another local staffer. Afterwards, we swung by the Mount of Olives for a great night-time view of Jerusalem. Jerusalem sits on a large hill, surrounded by more hills, one of which is the Mt. of Olives.