Shalom! So this jet lag is no joke! I landed Friday morning and I have not been able to get on any schedule. I either sleep only 2-4 hours or I oversleep and I’m out for 12 hours. It’s now Sunday, June 23rd 7:06 as I write this. My roommates and I are watching a movie in the living room, trying SO HARD to keep each other up because we have been sleepy since 2pm. We are hoping if we can stay up till 8ish then we can get On Jerusalem time.
Speaking of Jerusalem time, we had our first staff training for Project Harmony Israel at the Hand in Hand bilingual school for 5 hours. My first training was a success but MAN OH MAN talk about being overwhelmed with so much content about the conflict in the Middle East while simultaneously trying to build a team of 16 people from all over the world to help the youth through the summer program. Today was awesome and I would not have it any other way! I got to hear first hand from people who have been raised with this Palestine/Jewish hatred among one another. I have been taught to be vulnerable to the concept of community and background. I have met so many different amazing people from all over the world that give me hope for this world.
With this small group of 16 young adults, the admin of Project Harmony, & Hand in Hand, I feel like we can change the world little by little. There is so much HOPE and something so powerful in trying to do something on a smaller scale. It’s only been the first day and I already feel like I can go back home to Cali and make an effect of those around me to see how the Middle East conflict is something more then just the problem of the Middle East but a MAJOR problem that humans face in a social & cultural aspect. We all struggle with this in our own planets, continents, countries, states, cities, and neighborhoods.
One thing (if you reached the end of my blog) I would like my reader to walk away from this blog post is to remember when talking to anyone from a different social and cultural background, is to have E M P A T H Y. Listen to them! There is no right or wrong answer and sometimes people just need to be heard.
Thank you for reading! I will try to post some more things later when I’m not dead. Here is a fun picture (below) of a street sign.
Alexandria's blog 