Beach
True Story–EverDry, the first modern antiperspirant, hit drugstores in 1903. The original formula was so acidic that it regularly ate through clothing. I’m glad for modern science, because with the heat here, there is a lot of perspiration. One of the summer school students had a family member visiting this past weekend, and she commented that the heat was not unlike “standing behind the exhaust pipe of a bus, but the bus never seems to leave”. Most days I don’t mind the heat- I’ve learned to embrace it, and that no one here in the desert really cares how sweaty and gross you are. In the evenings, the heat here is not oppressive at all. It’s warmth is actually very friendly feeling, and I wish I could somehow take it back to Boston in blanket form. I know the first rainy day I find in Boston is going to be exciting for a few minutes (or, confusing- water? from the sky?) and then I’ll be wishing I could wrap myself up in the heat of the Arava Valley. That being said, I’ve felt the effects of the sun the past two days. Even with sunblock (50 SPF in the morning, with an application of 70SPF in the afternoon!), about 6 liters of water, and a cowboy hat, my excursion into Eliat yesterday left me with a horrible, horrible headache and a stomach that felt not unlike the attack of the creature from the (stomach acid) lagoon. Thankfully, the modern inventions of advil, icecubes and the cell phone (thanks for listening to me whine, dad!) helped me pull through the night. I woke up this morning feeling a little worse for wear, but I pretty sure that I’m not dead yet.
So, what was I doing yesterday that brought on this horrible sun curse? Well, like any red-blooded American living in Israel, I celebrated Bastille Day by adventuring to the ocean. I went along with the Summer Course to Eilat; a city with the description of “Eilat- yofi shel ir”, which I interpreted as meaning, “Eilat- the city with the awesome”. (Unfortunately, actual Hebrew speakers informed me that the cities motto was actually “a beautiful city”, and that the grammar came from slang. I think my translation had a bit more poetry to it).
Our first stop was at the bird sanctuary, where we learned about the millions of birds that use Eilat as a stop over during migration. Because of the large amounts of desert surrounding the city, almost all breeds of birds that migrate between Africa and Europe and Asia, use Eilat as a stop over. The sanctuary does research and environmental education, demonstrating how the large influx of humans to the area has affected the bird population. Our teacher, Noam, explained that he felt that in order to catch birds, tag them and release them, one needed a fulfilling justification. In his case, he found that environmental education served that purpose. He brought for our group six birds that he had caught and tagged that morning. He let us look at the birds to learn what marks in their feathers meant, to hear their coos and to educate us about bird patterns and life styles. The true justification for showing us, and all visitors, the birds was the emotional attachment that was created. He let a few of us hold the
with my bird friend...
birds and then release them. Noam told us that he has found children really associating with the birds, and that the bonds created inspire them to learn more about nature and how to be more environmentally friendly. The bird I held decided it liked me, and even after opening my hands so that it could fly off, it decided to hang out with me for a while. It wasn’t until Noam came over and showed me how to encourage it to fly by tossing it up upwards gently that my buddy the bird took off. It was a cute guy, a breed of birds that actually has whiskers. I think we got along quite well, I wouldn’t be surprised if he flies up to visit me here on the kibbutz.
Noam also took us through the areas of the reserve not open to the public to demonstrate how the research on the birds was done. He also took us out into the “bird mazes”, netting constructs that momentarily hold the birds in place so that they can be captured for tagging.
Noam leading our expedition
Unlike other research sites that create traps out of netting, the birds that fly into the bird mazes can find their way out in about 5 minutes. However, we were
Bird Catcher Extrordinare!
able to encourage birds to fly into the maze by creating a line, and making noise while walking. He even taught us how to chase the birds with nets, and how to hold them so they wouldn’t feel stressed upon capture. I’m hoping to go back before I leave and to spend some more time with the birds, after all, I’d be in good company. King Solomon’s “Song of Songs” references the birds in the area of Eilat, thus giving him the title of first official bird researcher and observer in the area.
Following our time at the bird sanctuary we headed to the Eilat Field School for a lecture on the ecology and make up of Coral Reefs. No matter how many times I’m told about what coral is, I still find it hard to believe that those rock like substances that live underwater are actual living animals. I wonder if there are alien creatures who ever look at our planet and think the same thing;
Fish
“those humans. they think of themselves as living creatures? they’re so…. un-advanced and stationary! All they do is sit around all day at their desks without the capability to do [advanced alien life-form behavior]”.
After our lesson, we took that knowledge gained from the lecture over to the Eliat Aquarium and got a chance to see first hand examples of specific types of coral and fish that call the Gulf of Aquba home. I think the personal highlight was the giant sea turtles, who seemed to be having a super good time swimming around and looking wise. Eventually I had to leave the turtle exhibit, in order to fight the temptation to jump in the water and ride around on their giant shells.
Turtles
The last stop was a snorkeling tour, which I actually opted out of. Instead I enjoyed the beach, and some icecream. At that point I was already feeling the effects of the sun and the exhaustion.
UNDERWATER AQUARIUM
I really enjoyed the juxtaposition of the day. For one, Noam’s discussion about why it’s important to let individuals have an actual connection with nature was thought provoking, and very relevant when at the aquarium watching the sharks, fish, turtles and whatnot swim in circles. I remember quite clearly that when we were in fourth grade we were taught about how debates worked, and one of our debate topics was on whether it was morally right or wrong to have zoos and hold animals in captivity. I came down on the side of it being right, but I’ve had this discussion with many since being in fourth grade. Yes, on one hand, it does make me sad to see animals constrained in captivity. On the other hand, I really do think that the emotional connection one can make from actually looking into the eyes of another creature is something that can’t be found in a book or looking at a picture on the internet. We don’t all have the capability to fly all around the world to look for animals in nature, nor am I sure that its a wise course of action. But, if we can teach individuals about the importance of taking care of our world, and if the only way to really create the EMOTIONAL connection is from having a chance to actually see animals in a replication of their environment, and to learn why and how they live… well, I think it’s something very important and priceless. This is not to say all animals should be rounded up and kept captive. However, animals that are well cared for in aquariums, or the act of catching a bird, studying it, tagging it, and releasing it in a way that causes no harm to the animal or the native environment seems to me a worthwhile justification.
I’d like to conclude with another fun fact–other than paragraph indentations, the Dead Sea Scrolls contained no punctuation. Therefore, I feel a bit better about the draft like nature of these posts.
