Old City of Be'er Sheva

(This post should precede the one about the school visit , but I forgot about it until now)

After two days of training we had a day off to explore the city of Be'er Sheva a bit more. Maor first brought us to get our bus passes (I finally have unlimited travel within the city!) down by the central bus station before taking us on a tour of the old city of Be'er Sheva. The old city fans out from a very odd looking cement building that resembles something out of Firefly--although that happens more often than you would imagine around here--and is reminiscent of San Francisco's Chinatown. Tiny shops line the street and peddlers sell their wares any way they see an opportunity.

The tour's highlight was our meeting with a notorious local do-gooder named Shalom Segev. This man must have been in his late 70's at the earliest and had been working to help the Be'er Sheva community for over 30 years. To put this man's influence into perspective, look at the picture posted below and count the plaques representing a few of his many gifts in thanks of his support (Segel is the older man with a kippah on the right side). Using his experience and connections as a social worker he collects goods and distributes baskets to the poor in the area twice a week, and extra baskets during the holidays. Since many of the poor are too proud to ask for help, Shalom does all of this in secret and ensures the family's pride remains intact. Later in the month we will have the opportunity to volunteer with him, assembling and delivering holiday baskets to help the community celebrate the new year without worry of hunger.

Later that night a few (about 15) of us swung by our friend Dror's place for a BBQ. He was manning the grill with charisma as we strolled in and we were welcomed warmly by the group. The smell of kebab, skewered meats, and grilled vegetables filled the air--it did not take long for us to become comfortable. I eventually even tried a grilled chicken liver which I was not too fond of, and missed out on the passing chicken heart kebabs, but I'm assuming there will be more opportunities to come. I spent the next few hours shmoozing with Dror's friends, most of whom were chemists and engineers at Ben Gurion University down the road, practicing my Hebrew and inquiring after local nightlife tips.