Shalom from Yemin Orde youth village!I am beginning my third week in this beautiful community in the Carmel Mountains, made up of over 500 teenagers from Ethiopia, Brazil, Russia, China, Georgia, Ukraine, and more.
The kids range in ages from seven to nineteen and both live and attend school in the village. Diversity is the norm here, where at any given moment one can hear not only Hebrew but Portugese, Amharit, Russian, and even Chinese being spoken in the dining hall and streets of the village.
The village is also home to about thirty staff families and their children, as well as alumni of the village who still call it home and are always welcome to return.
I am the only American living in the village and as such am responsible for translating numerous English rap songs and reporting on the latest MTV news, since of course I personally know all of the famous hip hop artists in the US! (Of course I did not forget to mention that being a St. Louisian I grew up near Nelly)
But wh
en I'm not explaining where St. Louis is on the map, I am very busy teaching art classes and tutoring in English. I am leading a group of kids from different countries in planning a mosaic mural for a wall of the village and have begun painting portraits of the students here. I host a nightly "English Table" in the dining hall at which anyone who wants to join speaks only English, and we discuss things such as the shnitzel we are eating tonight. It is always a lot of fun!! I am constantly trying to think of new ways to use art to bring a group of kids to work together, beautify the campus, and allow them to express themselves in new ways.One of the most beautiful things about life here is the respect given to each child's past. In the center of the village is a traditional Ethiopian hut or "gojo." It reminds the many Ethiopian students to be proud of where they came from and not to forget the difficult journey that many took to get here.
I am learning so much about life in the village that will be useful to me at Agahozo Shalom in Rwanda. The entire Yemin Orde family is very proud to be spreading their educational philosophy around Israel and into the heart of Africa, and it is very exciting for me to be a part of that process.
There are challenges of course, such as giving complex Hebrew instructions on how to make a book to kids whose first language is Amharit and battling giant cockroaches, but overall it is a wonderful and inspiring place to be.Shana tova- a wonderful new year to all!
