Month: September 2018

On September 6th, I attended a conversation and group discussion with Dr. Gershon Lewental about the present state of the Arab-Israeli Conflict and its future. In the past, I have taken a course with Dr. Lewental about Israeli culture and film that I thoroughly enjoyed. I have not been able to take one of his classes since then, so I wanted to attend this event to hear from him. In addition, as a Jewish person I always feel like I should be more educated about the Arab-Israeli conflict than I am. Despite having learned about it multiple times, because of its complexity the details quickly get fuzzy. I also went to this event to educate myself more about this issue.

An interesting point that Dr. Lewental made about the current state of the conflict is that the biggest change in recent years did not actually occur in Israel or Palestine. The biggest change was the establishment of the Trump administration in the U.S. Like with many other issues, Donald Trump’s rash and uneducated statements and actions, such as his decision to move the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, have led to unfortunate consequences in Israel. His decision to move the U.S. embassy gives the impression that Jerusalem is a part of the Jewish state and only the Jewish state, which is a conflict-creating move given Jerusalem’s importance to all three of the Abrahamic religions. Trump has given the more extreme members of Israel’s right wing party, which is currently in power, a sense of security. This means that the right wind party is shifting further away from the center.

In July, Israel enacted the “nation-state bill”, which while in reality does nothing, has a significant symbolic meaning. The bill says that Israel is a Zionist state of the Jewish people, which was obviously already the case, but it does not emphasize protections or equality for minorities. The rhetoric effect of this bill is that it provides support for the political far-right, and demotes Arab minorities in Israel as a group. This has resulted in protest rallies among the Druze and Arab Muslims. The Druze were the first to file a petition with the court against the law because they saw it as an attack on them and their ethnic bond with the Jews.

With these events that have had a negative effect on the Arab-Israeli conflict in mind, Dr. Lewental stressed the necessity for both Israeli and Palestinian politicians to be more proactive about improving relations. The problem, he explained, was that it is beneficial for these politicians to maintain the status quo instead of pushing for peace. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu does not subscribe to a particular ideology; rather, he does what is necessary to maintain support so he can stay in power. Right now, this means pandering to the far right. Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian state and the Palestinian National Authority, also wants to retain his office, so he has been undermining any potential successor. He has been in power for much longer than he was supposed to be, so his death will likely lead to internal conflict in Palestine over who will replace him. The situation is essentially at a standstill as both of these politicians simply try to do what is necessary to maintain their own personal power, instead of considering what is best for their people. Dr. Lewental said that the political left in Israel need to find a more charismatic figure for their party and make more efforts to persuade the Israeli public that the country does in fact have a “partner for peace” in Palestine.

Overall, the talk was fascinating but not exactly uplifting or hopeful. Although it is a complex subject about which I do not feel comfortable making any predictions, I hope that in the future politicians on both sides of the conflict will be more enthusiastic about coming to a compromise and a solution.

As part of Brazil week, there was a movie and popcorn night at the OU Bizzell Memorial Library to watch the fun, animated film Rio. The movie begins with the main character, Blu, a baby macaw, getting captured by dealers in Rio de Janeiro and being smuggled to the U.S. The truck that was transporting Blu accidently drops his box on the side of the road, where a girl, Linda, finds him and raises him with nothing but love. The film jumps forward to fifteen years later, where Blu, a domesticated and intelligent bird, is living comfortably with Linda, a now bookshop owner. Out of nowhere, a Brazilian ornithologist, Tulio, visits Linda and explains to that Blue is the last male of his species and that he has a female, Jewel, in Rio de Janeiro. He invites Linda to bring Blu to Brazil so that Blu and Jewel can save their species. One night in Brazil, Linda and Tulio place both birds in a cage at the institute where Tulio works. They leave for dinner, and while gone, smugglers break in and steal Blu and Jewel in the hopes of selling them at a high price. Through a series of events, Blu and Jewel escape their captors and befriend a group of birds and eventually help them find their way back to Linda and Tulio. Through all the crazy adventures that occur during their quest, Blu overcomes his fear of flying and both birds experience the joy of forming new friendships and tackling challenges together.

This movies was so heart-warming and, after having spent a long day studying, it was so nice to watch a silly and sweet movie to remind myself of the simple joys in life. In college it’s so easy to get overwhelmed and stressed by classes, time management, future plans, and investing in friendships. During the week, I tutor two twin middle school boys that I’ve been tutoring since they were in 5^th grade. They keep me light-hearted and remind me that there is life beyond college and that stress is a choice and should always be temporary. I am thankful that you can truly learn life lessons from anything, even cute, animated films.

As part of the OU in Puebla Mexico Week festivities I attended a screening of the movie “Coco.” It was shown in Spanish with English subtitles, which provided me with the opportunity to revisit my Spanish language knowledge and practice my listening skills in a very engaging way.
The plot of the movie was crafted around the traditions and vibrant visual representations of the iconic Mexican holiday, the Day of the Dead. Having some previous knowledge of this holiday, it was interesting to see how the filmmakers blended elements of real celebratory practices with fictitious embellishments. The bright colors and intricately animated skeletons instantly drew me in, creating an electrifying cinematic experience that made me feel as if I was experiencing the holiday first hand. While this film was very entertaining, it also carried an important message: that above all, family should come first in our lives. Even when the people closest to us make mistakes, we should recognize how important the bonds of family are and how the love we share can help us through difficult circumstances. I think this is a beautiful message. I came away from this film feeling incredibly happy, and was inspired to text my family afterward with a reminder of how much I love them.

Being back on campus after a Summer in Italy feels so different. I miss the Italy vibes; however, it’s back to reality. My traveling adventure just began this summer, and I’m ready get going to even more places. The Study Abroad Fair was so fun to get to see a world of opportunities out there. I am looking to travel somewhere in South America; therefore, I was directed to places like Chile or Guatemala or even Mexico. I love Hispanic culture, so for my semester long abroad experience, I want to go somewhere where I can get better at my Spanish. The Abroad fair allowed me to see so many possibilities. Today was fun chatting with others who have been to those places to hear their experiences. I’m so ready to travel again.

Having spent a full semester abroad in South Korea and having studied Spanish for many years I felt very well prepared for my five week stay in Costa Rica this summer. However, there were several differences that became very apparent about two weeks into the trip. Although I’ve lived in dorms before, I’ve been living alone for over a year now, and the adjustment back to the cramped but cozy home-stay with eight other college girls from all over the country definitely took some getting used to. I found it difficult to bind with people that I knew I’d only be around for a month, which was starkly different to some of the friendships I forged during my semester trip. However, I adapted and tried to spend this trip in the moment, leaving behind some of my regular anxieties and habits.

Aside from adapting to my new living situation, I had to adapt to a change in plans for my trip in general. There was an unfortunate mix-up with my plane tickets to San Jose, which resulted in a much tighter budget than I was initially planning for. I was still able to go on all the excursions provided by the program and my Environmental Sustainability class, but it did mean I had to limit my travel and spending as much as possible. I found the cheapest places to have lunch around campus (which wasn’t difficult, nor was the quality wanting) and I opted out of several weekend trips that would have been hundreds of dollars more. However, I found many affordable alternatives. I got to explore downtown San Jose and all of the bustling museums, markets, and restaurants. One of my favorite days of my trip was spent simply challenging myself to find as many new things as I (safely) could.