Weekend in the Negev

Our whole program spent Shabbat in the Negev desert, which is the large desert that comprises 68% of Israel, yet only a very small portion of the population lives there (less than 10%). Our first stop was visiting a bedouin settlement. Bedouins (who are Arabs) have traditionally been associated with a nomadic lifestyle that includes raising livestock. About 155,000 Bedouins live in the Negev Desert in Israel. They have almost no legal rights in Israeli society and often lack basic services (running water, electricity, garbage collection, schools, health clinics). The village we went to was basically a collection of tents made up of corrugated metal, steel, sheets and tarps. There were camels and donkeys roaming around freely. We talked to one Bedouin woman who is actually the exception in that she is studying at university. The living situation is so sad, and many Bedouins blame the Israeli government, although this woman had an interesting perspective in that she said she blames fellow Bedouins for not taking any initiative. She served us hot tea, and Bedouin hot tea is the best!! I stayed in a Bedouin tent on birthright, but that was actually more touristy, while this was the real deal.
We stayed on a kibbutz overlooking beautiful, dramatic, desert canyons. Other than the awesome canyons, the scenery in the Negev is very much like El Paso (minus the mountains) The place we stayed is actually the kibbutz David Ben-Gurion (one of founders of State of Israel and first prime minister) spent the last years of his life at. His grave was a two minute walk from our rooms. We went on two hikes, one of which including a beautiful waterfall in the middle of a parched desert! Very interesting. We had a fun world music workshop Saturday night with a small 3 person band and everyone drumming on big drums.
It was nice to get away from the city (we really were in the middle of nowhere) and share Shabbat with the whole group. I can't believe I have been here a full month already. We only have two more days of ulpan, and then on Tuesday the Jerusalem people (only 20 of us) are moving to Jerusalem. I will be sad to move away from the beach, but I'm excited to go to Jerusalem. Tel Aviv can really be like any city, but Jerusalem is so unique. There really is no other place like it.