Two Normal (But Still Pretty Awesome) Days

Sometimes I feel weird posting about my normal workdays, but the ordinary days I spend here in Israel are still pretty extraordinary to me, and I still want to have documentation of all the moments I spend here. So, if you're only lookin' for some awesome wanderlust-y pics or me in a new travel destination, this post won't quite be it. But I promise to make you laugh once or twice.

Yesterday (Monday) was a productive but mentally exhausting day. Now that I'm beginning the attempt of putting my thoughts about terrorists and attacks and a millenia-old conflict onto paper, my mind basically just goes to mush. It's difficult for two reasons: first of all, I'm sorting through like ten different documents of information from about seventy different sources, which is just, like brain-boggling. Then, I'll spend a half hour painfully eking out a sentence or two--before seeing another one of my tiny bullet points that completely counteracts my progress.

When you realize that the PA, not the PLO, is the government formed in 1993

Writing a paper like this is also difficult, because I'm trying to disprove world-renowned politicians, career terrorists, award-winning journalists, etc. etc. They're all fighting and using big words and making policy changes and I just roll in like

DONKAY.

But it's all about doing the little bit that I can and contributing my eensy bit of knowledge to the vastly important subject. Of course, by the time I'm done with this paper, I'll probs be knocking on the White House door like, "um excuse me, I really think you should read this, it could help you lots, you're welcome."

*flips hair*

I also (very unsurprisingly) have befriended a cat at work and feed it at lunch with all the other interns' leftovers that I beg off of them.

Me

Other interns

I mean, yes, I'm highly allergic to cats, and yes I sneeze and rub my eyes for the rest of the day, but it's WORTH IT. All of the interns also know me so well by now; they basically understand my life goals and needs after a few weeks. *actual quote* "Aubrey, you just need to find a guy that loves cats and animals as much as you do, and then you need to marry him.... But that might be hard to do."

That's basically the Aubrey dating mantra in two sentences.

I also presented a briefing on the Middle East yesterday called "The Middle East ABC's." I was quite proud, cuz it was very clever. Feel feed to read/skip it:

ABC’s of June 29, 2015

Attacks and AccusationsOn Friday, June 26^th, jihadist attacks occurred in France, Tunisia, and Kuwait. The French attack took place in an American-owned chemical plant; the Tunisian attack was on a beach; and in Kuwait, a Shiite mosque was bombed. The latter two attacks were ISIS-affiliated. Such attacks emphasize the vulnerability of civilians in the ongoing war on terror.
 The International Criminal Court is entering preliminary investigations of war crimes committed by both Israel and Palestine in last year’s war against Hamas. Palestinian Authority foreign minister Riyad al-Maliki submitted a dossier to the lead prosecutor outlining alleged crimes committed on Palestinian soil. The ICC will most likely dismiss these files as politically motivated, but the independent investigations by the ICC could lead to a potential case against both countries.
  Border Towns and Bringing Them BackISIS attacked the Turkish town of Kobane on Thursday, slaughtering over 200 men, women, and children. The Kurds, Assad-loyalists, had regained control of Kobane by Saturday. The attack is said to be in response to the Kurdish victory over the supply routes of Tal Abyad to ISIS capital Raqqa, Syria.
 Obama recently made a speech that families who attempt to negotiate ransoms with terrorist groups holding American hostages will not be prosecuted. This change in policy is meant to give families options and reduce feelings of helplessness and inaction. However, this new allowance of negotiation could not only weaken America’s hard stance against terrorist groups but could also encourage kidnapping as a method for groups.
 Compromise and Code RedAmerican Secretary of State John Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif are holding negotiations in Vienna regarding the potential attainment of nuclear power by Iran and current US and UN sanctions against the country. Kerry says he and the foreign minister are “hopeful” about a deal in the next few weeks. While the pre-set deadline for agreement is supposed to be June 30^th, it is more likely that negotiations will last until at least July 3^rd.
 Yesterday, code red sirens went off in southern Israel as a rocket flew from Gaza. Though the rocket harmlessly landed in the Gaza Strip, it is the fourth rocket to violate the ceasefire in the last few weeks. The rockets have been shot not by Hamas but by Salafists hoping to incite a civil war with Hamas. 

It was a great presentation, if I do say so myself, and we had an interesting conversation with one of the Israeli senior researchers afterwards. While it was an educational discussion to be sure, but it definitely made me aware of how bias can affect one's perceptions and why one should be careful to keep others' experiences and points of view at the forefront when considering issues. And for the fear of overstepping my boundaries in this topic,

I went home early because one can only take so much terrorism and hatred before she says,

And I even decided to have ice cream and popcorn for dinner, because

... Then I went to see the new Pixar movie "Inside Out," so maybe I'm not really an adult quite yet (but it was an amazing movie, I highly recommend). Interesting fact: seats in Israeli movie theatres are assigned, and you are required to sit in your assigned seat. People will make you move ten to fifteen minutes into the movie if you're in their spot!

Today was more of the same--more terrorism, more productivity, more eating. Our supervisor did have to yell at some college students that refused to leave the conference room we were working in. The entire conversation was in Hebrew and there was so much sass emanating from the conversants, and the other interns and I were just sitting there like,

doo doo doo, we're just working, can't hear anything, la la la

Came home for the last real 'normal' day with my host family. Their eleven-year-old son, whom I play catch with and get ice cream with, is leaving for a three-week camp tomorrow, and Ariella, one of the daughters closest to me in age whom I really love and discuss books/eat sushi/learn Hebrew from, leaves on Thursday for two months. Their summer is actually just beginning in the next few days; the colleges don't begin their summer breaks until August 9th. I'd die--so much beach time lost!

Tomorrow is my last day before the weekend

So ya know it's gonna be a good day!

If you've made it this far through such a normal post, I love you. Send me a message or something with the words "King George" (the name of my cat friend) and I'll give you extra currency in the Aubrey Bank of Love. 

TGIT,

AubStod