Taking the next step...Time to work!!

I got an Internship!!!

...Now you're probably thinking, "Wait, I thought she already got an internship at Orna Porat?"
Well, in true Israeli fashion...nothing is ever what it seems! As much as I am quite eager to work with the Israeli theater company that I found when I arrived, they are experiencing some technical difficulties with finding me work there. My contact, Chen (Hi Chen, if you're reading!) has been very kind in working hard to make a place for me at Orna Porat. However, they are extremely busy right now, and won't be able to provide meaningful work for me for another month! I feel grateful that they are attempting to make me an important part of their company, but that doesn't mean I can sit on my butt for another month here...as beautiful as the beach may be, plus I could probably be a professional matkot player by then!
Fate stepped in, and brought me back to the company that first sparked my interest on the Internship Directory for my program: Omanoot. It turns out, Leah is acquainted with one of their co-founders, Lindsay Citerman, as they are both from St. Louis (It's a small world). We met her for dinner about a week ago at Benedict, an addicting 24 hour breakfast spot that also serves "American breakfast" and wishes you a "Boker Tov!" any time of day or night! They also have great mimosas...but I digress...
Omanoot, which literally means "art" in Hebrew, is an exciting, young non-profit organization run by Americans who've made Aliyah. Their objective is to reveal the cultural, educational and diplomatic power of Israeli art. While still in the start-up phase of life, there's a LOT for me to do as an intern. Deborah, one of the founders and Director of Development, is having me collect feedback from the informational packets they've sent out all over, to use quotes on their website, which will in turn encourage donations. I will also be helping the other interns create artist pages for the upcoming Omanoot website. Basically, we're creating a database similar to Internet Movie Database (imdb.com) which focuses on Israeli musicians, artists, and films. I find as much information as possible, create a profile, and they'll use it to provide a forum for anyone to discover Israeli artists. Most importantly (to me), I will be assisting Lindsay in the educational field by doing her dirty work ie screening educational movies and writing questions for the lesson plans, while also giving her feedback on the lesson plans that have already been created or are in the process. Woo hoo! Actual, applicable work!!!
So here's how my first day of work went:
I was told to be at work between 10am and 11am..Yup that's how it works here! So at 10:10, I left my apartment with my backpack on, and headphones blasting MGMT. Allenby (the main street) is so different at this time than the afternoon...it's funny to see Israelis ACTUALLY going to work! After about 3 songs on my ipod, I arrived at the office. The door was open, but no one was there, so I sat down and got settled with my computer. This is not a joke...NO ONE was there! At 10:30am! About 20 minutes later, I met Yosi, who used to work at Omanoot but is in the process of moving his stuff out. Since it was my first day, it took us a while to figure out what I should start doing. Shortly after he arrived, I got a text from my boss saying, "Hi how r u? U at the office?" I love it. Yosi gave me two movies to watch, and told me to write questions for them. Mind you, I have no idea what I'm doing...but I figured I could wing it.
The first film I watched, Sisai, is about an Ethiopian Jew whose brother made a documentary about the journey to meet Sisai's biological father he'd never met in Ethiopia, after shortly finding out he even existed, that his girlfriend was pregnant, and trying to legally get married in Israel before the baby was born....all of this happening at age 21. Up until now, I knew very little about the Ethiopian refugees here, so I learned a lot!
The second documentary was only 11 minutes long called, Two Eyes and a Mouth. It's about a Bedouin man with 250,000 shekels worth of debt and 5 small children, who gives up his career to study film. This tears his relationship with his wife and father apart, but he doesn't give up on what he's passionate about...showing the world the life of a Bedouin. Most of you probably don't even know what that is...I certainly didn't before my Birthright trip.
Once I started my third film, I realized it was already 2:30, so I decided to go to lunch. About a minute later, I found a schnitzel place that looked good, and the girl was SUPER nice, and helped me with understanding everything. While I was eating outside, Lindsay (the Educator at Omanoot) walked right by me! Perfect timing! So we chatted about what I've done so far, and walked back to the office together. I could spend a whole entry on how amazingly cool she is, but I'll save it for when I've spent a little more time there. Anyway, she asked me to give her some feedback on a music video she's using for a lesson on Yom Ha'zikaron tomorrow (Memorial Day for Israeli Fallen Soldiers and Victims of Terrorism). I loved getting to brainstorm with her, and having her actually think my ideas are valid and good! I finished the third film, and it was already 5:30 so I went home for the day. I am pretty sure I walked the whole way back with a huge smile on my face! I'm so excited to learn, and work for a company I truly believe in...while doing something for Israel that I wouldn't have been exposed to at home!
This is why I came here!
I truly hope my feelings about this internship remain throughout the next four months!

Hebrew phrases for today's post:
Metzuyan: excellent
Tachless: slang for "the point is" or "get to the point"
Ma ha'shaah?: What time is it?
Shir: song
Sloane ve ani sharot b'yachad shirim shel Broadway ba autobus: Sloane and I sing broadway songs together on the bus