A belated post...

[bluejayfic]

Since September, I have been on a volunteering program in Israel. Israel, where the landscape is foreign to a Russian-born Bostonian, and the mindset is painfully familiar. Israel, where kids in schools act the way they do at home, and their teachers yell at them the way they would yell at their kids. Israel, where these same kids go into the army

Comments

[rthstewart]

Oh my. I had not heard this about the educational system. And yes, the news has been full of the fighting here, if not about our fiscal cliff and Newton, CT.

Have you lived overseas before or is this a first? It sounds like a fabulous experience but yes, harrowing. Stay safe!

[bluejayfic]

The educational system is not that bad, really, given that I'm at a very poor school. But it's very informal. Kids hug their teachers all the time, call them by their first names, don't raise their hands to talk, and get up in class when they want to. I'll write a post soon about the more mundane aspects of living here.

I have not lived outside the US since I moved there at the age of 6. I barely remember Russia, so this is all new. It is wonderful, really. The thing is, I decided to write this post when I realized that my mindset on the rocket attacks was closer to standard Israeli than standard American. I was thinking about it like I would about a bad hurricane back home: there's no need to take foolish risks, but I'm far enough away from the center of events that it's unlikely anything will happen. (I was right, btw. Nothing happened in Ramle. I only heard the siren once, and that was in Tel Aviv. The rocket missed by a long way.) But even many Israelis don't think that way, and very few Americans

[rthstewart]

When you are living under the threat of rocket attacks, is there any other way to cope, day to day, then as like life in a hurricane zone or tornado alley during the season? You take precautions, you are prepared, but if it is going to hit, it's going to hit and there's not much that can be done about it, I suppose, other than to leave the area entirely. Your method of coping seems very healthy.