What a Week

Sunday: Attended a "Resume Workshop" sponsored by the OU here in Jerusalem. As instructed I brought my CV, both on paper and on a memory card. I was hoping that we could translate it from English to Hebrew, so that I'll have a Hebrew version to give to potential Israeli clients. But you only got about 10 minutes with your interview advisor. I met with someone named Ron Machol. He was quite helpful and gave me tips for how to rearrange the information on my English resume for an Israeli audience, and things that I could take out because Israelis won't care. I also met someone who has been wanting to talk to me about co-writing a screenplay. I've never written a screenplay. I haven't written fiction since I was an undergrad. But ... it could be fun?

Monday: There was an event for deferred Barnard students, run by yours truly. It was a great success. Out of the 52 young women in Israel for the year who are slated to go to Barnard in the fall, 43 attended the event, along with 7 alumnae. There was about 45 minutes of mingling and bagel-eating, then about an hour of ice-breakers and little group activities to force everyone to meet new people. That part was run by RivkA, and it was lots of fun. Then each of the alumnae introduced herself and spoke about what she's been doing since graduating from Barnard, and then we had cake. The students loved the chance to meet their future classmates, and overall there was a good feeling. Glad I did it.

Tuesday: OU Job Fair. I went to try to drum up new freelance work. I have two observations about this event. First, it was huge, with over 1,200 job-seekers and dozens of employers. I was very impressed with how smoothly it was coordinated. They even provided breath mints at every table (I'm big into breath mints because I'm always paranoid about possibly needing one). Kudos to the OU for all the effort they clearly put into this. Second, I realize intellectually that 1,200 unemployed people is not a lot, and that statistically it's not really a big deal. But in reality, when you see 1,200 people all together and realize that ALL of them are looking for work, it's quite depressing. When I arrived, I felt so confident. I'm talented! I'm professional! I've got a cool-looking folder! But by the time I left, I felt like a cog in a wheel. It was a very tiring experience... However! I may have gotten a second teaching job out of it for the spring. Not the type of work I was looking for, but what with the economy so bad and magazines and newspapers shutting down (one of my regular clients recently suspended publication), I figure that a temporary teaching job may help tide me over, in case things don't get better so quickly.

Wednesday: Met with Noa L, a lovely young woman who is going to run the next UYO course in Israel. I'm sooooo happy that someone else is picking up the baton, and that another course will happen without my having to do all the work to make it so! Noa is a smart cookie and very enthusiastic, whereas I am burned out, so I'm really happy that she is taking this on. I met with her for two hours, giving her suggestions, so that hopefully she won't repeat my mistakes. The next course will be May 6-9, and I will be there to help out!

Thursday: Hosted Thanksgiving dinner with my roommate. Made a 14-pound turkey with stuffing, and a great zucchini soup. Liza made mashed potatoes and 2 pies. Brought by guests: cranberry sauce, sweet potatos, green beans. There were 10 of us altogether at the table (7 American expatriates, 2 Brits, and one Israeli who used to live in America) and I think it was a successful meal. Good news: We were so organized about cooking and cleaning that I got to take a 2-hour nap this afternoon. Bad news: I was so tired before the meal even started, that I needed a 2-hour nap. It is now 11:30, I'm full of carbs, the leftover turkey is in the freezer, the dishes are being left for tomorrow, this blog post is done, and I'm going to bed!