I had almost an hour before dinner to sit down and make a blog post. And guess what I did. I spent about 20 minutes trying to get the darn blogspot program to let me upload one of my own pictures - but it adamantly refused each time! (Something about the file being too large. Grrr!) So, I settled for a silly notebook-type background, then I wandered over to Facebook to see what was happening (as the computer was thinking about uploading the picture, you see). One of the reasons I don't check FB much is because I get sucked in - and I don't have time for that! I got completely wrapped up in reading one of those links describing stupid things people say on the internet. Then another about stupid things people have made (even funnier). And now, my hour is wasted. I haven't been very productive, overall, but I do think I have produced some endorphins from the chuckles and snorts, and possibly some annoyed neighbors.
(Two hours later, after dinner...)
Well, it has been an interesting few days. From basking in the glory of being wined and dined, I later succumbed to the despair of the dreadful job prospects for a PhD student (thanks a lot for that roundtable discussion!), but was distracted as I chuckled at an old man walking by in a neon yellow speedo as I talked with a fun guy from Zimbabwe. I feel a bit bi-polar!
I arrived in Tel Aviv on Monday at about 5 pm Israel time and rented first a phone and then a car. I drove the car up to the very northern, tip-top part of Israel (Kfar Giladi), but I really shouldn't have been on the road. I was so very tired. But here I am, having successfully swerved back into my lane several times, alive to tell the tale (as are the other drivers I encountered on the way).
On Tuesday morning we had a great breakfast (we have been well-fed, I must say!) and then a few lectures that really weren't so interesting. After lunch I got to hear from a big, important guy in the Israel Studies world: Benny Morris. He landed a big bomb on the Israeli academic community when he published his 1988 book, The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem, in which he showed rather conclusively that Israel had indeed expelled hundreds of thousands of Palestinian Arabs from their homes in 1948, confirming much of the 40-year complaints. Anyway, Morris talked about the impact of that and other books like it in the 1980s and early 90s. It was nothing especially new, but cool to hear from him.
Later we boarded a bus and went out a-touring. We road to a little observatory at the top of a mountain, overlooking Lebanon (which was literally about 20 feet away) and Syria (a few miles away). It was a beautiful view and downright windy. I learned a bit about Syria and Lebanon that I didn't know before. And to look at these beautiful little villages, you would have no idea that a savage war has been going on for the last 2 years just a few hundred kilometers away.
From there we drove to a winery. I wish I could say I soaked in the beautiful view all the way, but my stomach was not appreciating the twists and turns coming down the mountain (really, I think car-sickness is all in the head - quite literally - but it comes out through the stomach). So, lay my head back, closed my eyes, and try to make sure I didn't drool or snore. I think I succeeded.
The winery was also rather uninteresting to me. It was nice - any time I get the opportunity to see rolling hillsides covered in greenery, I'm happy to just sit down and gaze at its loveliness. But the talk about Israel's wine industry just missed its mark with me. When we went across the street to the reception center and did a wine tasting, it was likewise lost on me. But the cheese was good! And so was the dinner. I tell you, they have treated us like royalty!
Now, my friends who came with me to Israel last summer will find this hard to believe, but truly, it was downright chilly! They had nice fleece blankets ready for us, and we all wrapped up in fleece blankets as a startlingly cool breeze whipped through my hair and listened to live folk music, sipping coffee (herbal tea, for me).
On the ride home, I repeated the attempt to prevent any drooling or snoring.
Today I enjoyed a little extra time sleeping in. I don't know if it's pure laziness, jet lag still working on me, or recovery from my jaunt in the Grand Canyon (I must admit, my calves are still rather sore, and my ankles have become swollen! It's embarrassing! Any advice on getting rid of swollen ankles?), but I've been ready to sleep at the drop of a hat!
We had meetings this morning in which we discussed our concerns about our work and finding jobs in academia. I'm now much less optimistic about my future, but I s'pose I'll keep plugging along.
The dinner tonight was again preceded by a cocktail, with an open bar. Now that I think about it, I could have gotten a soda, but I am trying to stay away from that too. I sat at a table with another big name in Israel Studies: Sammy Smooha. He is an older man, a retired professor, and an Iraqi Jew. His eyes don't focus when he looks at you, so he always has a little bit of a crazy look. Add to that his typical Israeli bluntness, and he's a hoot to talk to. He had caught wind that I'm Mormon (I did spell out the full name of the Church for him at one point), and he began to interrogate me. What is the Mormon position on bigamy? How do I feel about polygamy? Do I have to be married to man with multiple wives? Do I know any polygamists? Why don't I drink alcohol? Can Mormons get a divorce? How do I interact with them? Why didn't Joseph Smith get to keep the Gold Plates? It would have made his story so much easier to believe. How do Mormons feel about Jews returning to Israel? Do Jews have to convert to Christianity before the Second Coming? Why don't we proselyte in Israel? And on and on. At one point, the director of the program, Ari Roth, who knows an astonishingly large amount about Mormons (he actually told, accurately, about the period of plural marriage, and about Wilford Woodruff ending the practice - and did so as a defender of Mormon faith!), told Prof. Smooha to lay off, to let me eat. It was true, I wasn't making much progress on my veal (my first time for veal!), but I didn't mind. How often do I get to talk so openly about my faith to an Israeli? It was a lot of fun.
At all of these things, I had a good time. And it was beneficial to talk to people from all different areas and stages in their careers in topics related to Israel. But these events are so overwhelming to me! I have to really gird up my loins to get out the door and put on my confident, intelligent face. I realized, sitting there, that the reason I don't enjoy big group things like this, and especially these things meant to network and push forward professionally, is that I feel like it's all so forced. I feel so out of my class! I have to keep talking about my research, as if I have it all settled, know what theories I'm using and know what the results will be! I DON'T KNOW! I'M A BIG FAKE!
And then I go to my room, flop on my bed, and enter a self-induced coma to ignore the whole thing.
Well, at least I got to tell an Israeli all about Mormons and polygamy.
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