The West Coast Minyan?

Sometimes, I can be my own harshest critic. This tends to be doubly true for anything involving an interview. I cannot recall one instance of coming out of a job interview feeling as if I had done well. But a few weeks ago, when I finally had my much-delayed interview for a master's program in Jewish Education at American Jewish University (formerly the University of Judaism, or "U Jew") in Los Angeles, I was certain I had come across--as I noted on my Facebook status bar--as something akin to a lunatic.

It didn't help that I hadn't prepared for the interview much. Nor did it help that I couldn't get across that working in Jewish Education is something I was sure to do for the rest of your life (it's just plain hard to come across as somethng you in fact are not). When I submitted some follow-up questions about the program a few days later and received no response, I was certain I had bombed the interview completely and that the woman to whom I sent the questions did not think it worth her while to reply.

So it came as a shock when, over the weekend, I received an e-mail from her, not only answering my questions, but stating that U Jew was delighted to offer me admission to the program. Rather than thinking me a lunatic, the admissions committee apparently "appreciated my candor" and thought I would be an asset to the program. Wonders really do never cease.

At the moment, I still have three other programs I am waiting to here from--at Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS), NYU, and Penn. At the moment, I am most interested in the program at NYU. I think it would give me the best chance to make connections in a field that is growing and prepare me for a variety of related careers in international education, international exchange, and international business. Not that I really see myself advising executives on how to behave in Japan. But there could be meaningful work as a researcher in the field, as well as in international student advising or study abroad. Despite my homesickness, I have learned a lot from my time here in Russia, and I would enjoy helping other people go off on similar journeys of discovery.

There is also a nagging part of me that still wonders if it would be a good idea to study Judaism full time. When I left university, I didn't go into a Jewish studies program straight off because I thought I was too religiously obsessed--that I had lost myself. But having become similarly obsessed with my finances in the intervening few years, I have realized that my obsession is my issue, and one I can handle with proper medication. I think there are definite ways I could contribute to the field of Jewish education. What I don't know is whether I really want to devote my life to it.

At least I have time to decide. The Admissions Office at U Jew doesn't need a decision until May, so I have time to see where else I get in. That may ultimately determine whether The Far East Side Minyan becomes the West Coast Minyan.