Why "On the Fringe"?

     After struggling with the header for about an hour, I've decided to just start writing. It's not the way I'd like it to be, but that's OK for now. I'll return to improve the aesthetics later.

    As to the title, David actually suggested my blog be titled, "Learning to be Illiterate," as that is a large part of what our first 2 weeks here have been about - and is likely what we'll be grappling with for the next 4 months. With David's zero knowledge of Hebrew and my weak grasp of it, even after 2 years of biblical Hebrew at UMich and some odd years of classes at Beth Israel, it is very clear to everyone here -- we are ILLITERATE. We are learning to embrace this fact. As educated people, this is not how we normally see ourselves, and it's not a state we feel fully comfortable with. But it's the truth of our state here in Israel. Very fortunate for us, many people here do speak English and speak it very well.  But not everyone does, and some seem to be mildly irritated by our lack of Hebrew, though it's a bit hard to know for sure because many Israelis seem to have a no-nonsense get-things-done attitude - and don't believe in smiling. At least not at strangers. When we interact with them, I can't really tell if they are irritated or just doing their job - or maybe a bit of both. I never realized how much I used smiles to navigate social interactions until I arrived here. Then there are the baristas at the coffee shop David frequents daily. Despite initial aloofness, they have quickly warmed up to us over time. Now, they know David's standard drink order, and one even teased him the other day when he deviated from it.

    "On the Fringe" mainly refers to how we see our position in Israeli society for the next four months. We very much feel on the fringe. We don't speak the language; we don't know how things are done; we don't know social norms. Our illiteracy goes well beyond language. Ultimately, we don't fit in to standard Israeli society, nor do we currently have the tools or background to help us do so, nor do we expect to gain them since we're here for only 4 months. 

    We are also keenly feeling the loss of the community we had in the US. I think this has been the most disorienting thing so far. When we first arrived in Haifa, we felt very isolated and vulnerable. We were in a big city where we knew not a single soul. Who knew what could happen to us -- and if it did, would anyone care? Would anyone even know? It is amazing how strong the need for real life connection is. This is what has driven us to visit multiple churches each weekend and to foster the few connections we have made. After only 2 weeks, we already feel much less isolated because of these connections, new as they may be. 

    These four months will be an enlightening adventure - though not an easy one - as we spend some time as illiterates, not fitting in and separated from our home communities. Already, my thoughts have drifted many times to immigrants in the USA and students at MLC. Is this anything like what they experience upon first arriving in the US? As we think about the US immigrant experience, we are also well aware that our time here will differ from it in a few key ways: It will be limited, and people here do speak our native tongue. In addition, we will regularly don our tourist hats and take on a role which is both comfortable for us and well understood in this heavily toured country. Though we can't truly walk in the immigrant's shoes, we are excited about this opportunity to slip our toes into them for a short time.