danger of death

Just when I thought it would be a good idea to climb the power line support tower, this sign (with spikes!) saved me:

This evening was parent's night in MEET. All the kid's parents were invited to come see the lab where their kids come every day. Every parent brought a home-cooked meal from their family. This was one of the best meals ever, getting to sample a huge variety of home-cooked meals. I'm a big fan of laffa, along with some cornbread-like-stuff with veggies and meat cooked in.

(MEET students and parents gather)

The parents night was also an opportunity for the parents to meet a number of people they wouldn't otherwise meet -- students and parents of a different nationality, plus the instructors.

Tomorrow, we're off to Tel Aviv for the day!!

field trip to the coast

Hi! Today the year 2 students went on a trip to Caesarea on the Mediterranean coast. They did a number of activities, something like a 'team-building' session. Everyone had a really good time, myself included.

Also, this morning for the first time this summer we saw dark clouds and even felt a couple drops of rain.

Also, don't fall into giant holes:

teaching HTML

Just a quick update before I go to bed. Today I gave a lecture on HTML (aka how to write websites). For better or for worse, I decided to do the lecture in the computer lab, so that the students would get a chance to try out HTML first-hand and create their own websites. This went well, with the caveat that once the kids get their first chance to touch a computer, getting them to listen to more lecture is a challenge. I do have some secrets in my back pocket for keeping their attention though :) It's really fun getting better at teaching this age group - it's very different from college students, but in a good way.

Went to the climbing gym again tonight. Hopefully when I get home I will still be in reasonable shape for yosemite :) good night!

MEET begins!

Hi again! I finally have a few minutes to write - the kids are busy with an activity that other people are running.

(MEET 2009!)

One week of MEET complete, and a new one just beginning! The biggest news: I now have almost 30 new friends (this year's Y2 students). They're a great group, all with very unique personalities.

(Roni, Omer, and Omar)

The technical instructors (like me) are with the students all day from 9-5. We give lectures and/or programming labs every day. There is also a concurrent business curriculum, and occasional events for the students like sports and 'team building'.

(Security at Hebrew U. Main Gate)

The students this year really like writing actual code. Before lectures we often get asked "When are we going to be back in lab!?" Once challenge in creating and proctoring these labs is the wildly varying ability of the students. Some kids can implement a sorting algorithm in half an hour, while others struggle with iterating through a list. My goal of course is to challenge each and every student. Sometimes it feels like there is a pressure to help each student complete each lab, but it's good to remember that fully understanding only part of the lab is far better than partially understanding the full lab.

We require that the students speak English only, with 5 infractions leading to expulsion from the program. This overly-serious-sounding rule is meant to encourage the kids to interact - otherwise they tend to form separate groups - one speaking Hebrew and one speaking Arabic. I was skeptical at first, but the system does work quite well. One cute exception we allow is Israelis teaching Arabs Hebrew, and Palestinians teaching Israelis Arabic. The kids started doing this on their own and we decided it's a wonderful thing.

(Aalaa, Liel, and Mustafa)

Back at home we usually spend every night preparing the curriculum for the next day. Year 2 is especially exciting since we are rewriting the entire curriculum this year. I also found a climbing gym (!!!!); Ted and I have been doing push-ups and sit-ups; and Sally, Brian, and I have been running a little.

(climbing gym in Jerusalem)

Last week the MEET students got an all-day tour of HP here in Israel. We saw some huge printing presses:

And last weekend we had a short tour of famous landmarks in Jerusalem. Probably the highlight was an underground cistern in the Old City that was dug to provide water for the building of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. We went down inside it - a huge cave with water in the bottom. One of the instructors, Amelia, is a wonderful singer and sung in this cave - the sound was amazing.

Finally, one of the most experienced people in MEET, Max, has been taking time away from his Ph.D. research to be here in Jerusalem with us. This is either his 5th or 6th summer of involvement with MEET. He has been incredibly helpful with all sorts of issues from coding to file sharing to teaching advice. Tonight is his last night here with us - we will miss him.

we moved! and blood!

We moved out of our temporary housing in Hebrew University and into apartments. My six-instructor apartment has started a grocery pool so we can cook dinners some nights. Here is Brian and my room:

In Jerusalem there are cats everywhere. They are all over the Hebrew U. campus. Here's one right outside the computer lab:

Tomorrow the program starts for our students! We have some great lectures and labs planned. I just finished coding a 'Treasure Hunt" lab, where the students will have to implement Java code to find hidden websites and eventually a 'treasure'. To start the lab, the students will go to this website.

Two days ago we had some excitement as one of our instructors, Sally, accidentally stepped into an open sewer grate and punctured her shin to the bone. Luckily three of this year's instructors are EMT's (including Sally). We went to the hospital for a tetanus shot and stitches (which I got to observe!). Here's the stitch going in:

Today we're full steam ahead finishing our preparation for the program start tomorrow. We just grabbed some falafel from inside the Old City, which is full of people and busy shops.

Here's my favorite falafel stand in the Old City:

Finally, one of the instructors, Anna, has been putting some videos of our surroundings online.

driving

I'll start off with a few photos I took while driving the van. Driving in Jerusalem is not so bad, but everyone is super aggressive and impatient. Lanes seem to be optional once traffic is moving, but I obey them for fun. It's especially hilarious in turns - traffic necks down from two lanes to one, not because there is an actual reduction in lanes, but so that everyone can place the center of their vehicle exactly over top of the dotted white line. (alas, no photo of this phenomenon)The photo above is as we near the MEET office in East Jerusalem. We have been going there almost daily for meetings, workshops, etc.
And I bet you've never seen a light that turns yellow and red before turning green. It's so the impatient drivers can throw the car in gear and get ready to go before the light turns green. Except everyone just goes the instant it turns yellow/red. Haha.

We've also been having quite a time with security at Hebrew University. In theory we should have a pass that gets us in, but, no. We seem to meet a new set of guards every night. We attempt each time to convince them that we are legitimate. Depending on how many attractive girls we have in the car, we may or may not require a trip to the main security office for a one-time entry permit.

A group of high school students in a summer program is staying in the same building as us. I've been playing soccer with them and watching the youTube videos they want to show me. They're a riot; I've been having a blast.

I'll leave you with a photo of one of the most inexplicable things I've seen in awhile. I guess the translation from Hebrew to English didn't go so well??

hard at work on curriculum

Hi!  More pictures in this post to show my surroundings.  Here's the outside of the building we're living in for now, which is on the Hebrew University campus in Jerusalem:

And in the deep dark depths of that building is our meeting room, where we write code, create lectures, eat nutella, and enjoy each other's company (most of the time)   :)

 Today we also spent some time doing a teaching workshop.  Each instructor had 5 minutes to present a topic and then got feedback on their teaching from the other instructors.  I chose to talk about skydiving, describing a typical jump.  My technical flow chart of the jump got rave reviews.

This was taken on the street where we went to get hamburgers yesterday (at 'MEAT burger').  There are scooters everywhere in this city!

 I've often been eating falafel for lunch.  They're really delicious here.  Here we are in East Jerusalem ordering lunch:

In other news, I must have really beat myself up in the Rachel Carson Trail Challenge.  Several days after arriving, my right foot was super painful with every footstep.  We found me a pair of crutches, which I've been using to keep my weight off it while it heals up.  As of today it's starting to feel much better.  At least I did fairly well in the race.

Good night!!

robot toilets!

I almost forgot!  In Frankfurt they had a toilet that wipes the seat for you!  There's a big clamp-looking thing on the back of the seat, and when you flush it, it rotates the seat 360 degrees, wiping it off with some magic hidden in the clamp-looking thing.  Whaa!!!  So cool.

in jerusalem!

I'm here!  But first, a little on the past day or two.  Back in Frankfurt, I did find a nice climbing gym out on the outskirts of town, and did a little bouldering (although I'm still sore from my trail run).  More importantly, they had a shower, which is a nice thing between two redeyes.

(the Frankfurt train map - I'm envious)

I enjoyed flying at night past the brightly lit north shore of the Mediterranean, and into Tel Aviv.  Then by car to Jerusalem and in bed by 6am.  Here's our current (temporary) housing:

Israeli drivers are terrible!  Especially at lanes.  I've been appointed as a driver, and I look forward to defending the MEET van from the insanity.  More tomorrow, as we dive into work on the curriculum.

on my way

Hello from a cafe in Frankfurt! (I have an 11 hr layover here)  My minimal knowledge of Deutsch has gotten me surprisingly far, although I'm pretty sure I accidently stole a seat in first class instead of coach on the train.  Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof sure is a happening place compared to South Station in Boston.

Yesterday, I ran the 35 mile Rachel Carson Trail Challenge , which has left me walking around like a cripple.  Also, I must be the only guy in all of Frankfurt walking around in tennis shoes. Now I'm off to try out a German climbing gym (or should I say Kletterhalle), then on to the airport and Tel Aviv.

(from the train in Frankfurt)

welcome

Hi everyone.  I'm spending a summer in Jerusalem, teaching for MEET.  In early June, I finished my research job at MIT, packed my life into my car (see photo) and went home to PA.  I'll be overseas from June 21 to August 10th, and then move to Berkeley for more schooling, among other things.  Hopefully I'll be good about writing down what's happening here, so my family and friends can follow along.