Since my last post, my Garin (what
we call the group of us from America planning on joining the IDF in a few
months) has been settling in and getting used to life of a Kibbutznik (slang
term used by Israeli’s to identify citizens of a Kibbutz). Saying that life in the
Kibbutz is far different from what I am used to in Oradell is the
understatement of the century. Although it is definitely a life that needs
getting used to, I am already in love with the Kibbutz. Physically, it is such
a uniquely beautiful place and exploring more of it day by day gets me so
excited to spend the next three months here.
We
arrived here on Wednesday evening after a long bus ride from Tel Aviv (around
two hours from our Kibbutz located in the south of Israel). We were dropped off
in the area of our rooms which I like to compare to my apartment back at
Rutgers as it has a very similar layout. Our area is a courtyard with two
strips of small garden looking apartments facing each other. One side has two
long buildings of two floors and the other side is just one long strip of one
floor rooms. My room is in the two floor building so my roommate Sarah and I
are upstairs which we really enjoy since we can make use of the nice mirpeset
(balcony) right outside of our door. Sarah and I were so pleased to walk into
our room to find a huge space with a great closet and even better air
conditioning! It is a great size for two people and we have really enjoyed
making it our own.
The
first night we just enjoyed some pizza and had a small talk with Gila and Ami
(the two people in charge of us here at the Kibbutz). Sarah and I unpacked that
night and went to bed since we were exhausted from all that had happened since
leaving the airport. Before I tell you how my first full day at the Kibbutz was
I will tell you that I took 4 showers that day. Yes, four full showers…so that
might give you an idea of how hot it is down here in these parts. We woke up at
the lovely hour of 6:30 am to go for a run through the Kibbutz. Instead of me
telling you how the run went let’s just say…I am screwed for basic training. So
yeah, the run wiped me out since it was still boiling hot at even an hour as
early as 6:30. After a shower and breakfast we had more time unpack and chill
out. Half of the group had to go to the nearby city of Beer Sheva to deal with
the government while some already did that at the airport. I unpacked some more
and then went outside to help the boys
lay out grass for our courtyard area. This included rolling up individual
pieces of already grown grass and laying it out on the ground. Needless to say
this is what motivated my second shower of the day. It was really cool to be
able to lay out our own grass though and I am excited for when we are able to
lay out and enjoy the courtyard!
After
lunch we had more free time and were able to enjoy our first time at the pool!
The pool is so so so nice and felt amazing in the heat of the desert. I am
hoping that a couple days at the pool will finally give me that tan I’ve been
hoping for all summer so…fingers crossed! The rest of the day was low key as we
were given a tour of the Kibbutz, ate dinner, and enjoyed a medura (campfire)
with baked apples and of course smores—nomnom! We also played a game called “ha
yaad ha ba ze…” which translates to “the next direction is” and for those of
you who ever played the line game, im going on a picnic, or green glass doors
it is very similar and just as frustrating as those games.
Friday
was nice because we don’t run on Fridays or Saturdays so we were able to wake
up and just head straight to breakfast. After breakfast we had a couple talks
with Gila about security on the kibbutz, geography of the area around us, and
played a scavenger hunt around the Kibbutz to help us get to know the vicinity
and get to know some people as we had to as citizens of the Kibbutz questions
about specific places. After a yummy lunch of homemade felafal and some free
time we met with the director of Garin Tzabar in Israel who just wanted us to
introduce ourselves and get to know her. She also played a roommate game with
us to see who knew their roommates the most and Sarah and I won! We obviously
enjoyed that game. We then had a bunch of free time so we went to the pool
(duh) and hung out. We then had a Shabbat Circle with Ami where we went around the
room and discussed something we are missing from home but also something we
found at the kibbutz that we are happy about. I said that although I miss
everyone back home I am missing my sisters as it is so hard to not be able to
see them and talk all the time. I also said that I found such an amazing
community and home here at the Kibbutz and I am so happy to live in a different
place and with different people. I am so excited to broaden my horizons and expand
myself from what I am used to a bit. After Kabbalat Shabbat (Friday night
services) and dinner we had free time and then went to the Pub on the Kibbutz!
It was actually so much fun with music, dancing, and casual drinking. I was surprised
to see more people other than our group there because we had been warned that
there are not many people around our age group living on the Kibbutz.
Saturdays
are so nice because we basically have the whole day free. We were allowed to
sleep in since we didn’t have any programming until 11 so obviously I took
advantage of that and slept until 10:45…woops. The meeting was to go over our
schedule on the Kibbutz which was helpful as I had been wondering that ever
since arriving on Wednesday night. It also made me nervous as we started
talking about how important knowing Hebrew is in order to get the job I would
want in the army. I realized I really need to start speaking Hebrew ALL THE
TIME sooo we will see how that goes. After hanging by the pool and chilling in
my room Sarah and I decided to go for a walk through the Kibbutz and take
pictures since we haven’t seen too much of the area. We walked through the
cactus garden right across from our rooms which is so cool. It has areas to sit
throughout and an awesome huge bird cage with all different species of birds
inside. I loved walking through and hearing the different bird calls…seems like
a great place to read or just relax. Our walk got side tracked a bit so we
still have to finish exploring the our new beautiful home but so far I really
love it.
This
next week includes a trip to Beer Sheva, meeting our host families, and of
course more running (can’t decide if I am happy about that or dreading it…probably
a good mixture of both) so more to come soon!
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