Yom HaMe'Ya aka The Day of Stress

We returned back to the Kibbutz from our Rosh Hashanah festivities on Wednesday and didn't have much time to get back in the groove of things as the girls had to start preparing for Yom HaMe'ya which we had the following day on Thursday. Yom HaMe'ya is a new step in the army process that has been active for only a few years so far. The goal of the day is for girls to be able to show their teaching skills to see if they are fit for certain instructor positions in the army. The day is meant for girls because most boys are interested in combat units in the Army but in special cases some boys also go to Yom HaMe'ya.

We woke up early on Thursday and after waiting quite a while for the bus, made our way into the city of Beer Sheva for a long day of stations. When we got there they split us up into small groups as these would be the groups we would spend the day with and go from station to station with. My group was made up 7 girls most of which from different Kibbutzim so I didn't know them but I was lucky enough to be put with my roommate Sarah and was happy to have a familiar face to ease my nerves while participating in the activities at each station. Each group had a leader who administered some of the stations but also was there for us to ask questions and guide us as needed. The first station was a teaching station to test our skills at teaching a specific subject. We had 5 minutes to choose a topic that we would want to teach the group and write some notes down that we would be able to refer to during our teaching. Of course while everyone else was busily writing notes on the topic of their choice, I was taking 4 and a half out of those 5 precious minutes to just think of a topic. In last 30 seconds I wrote down one sentence on my chosen topic and of course freaked out when I realized everyone else had pages of notes. Considering all the nerves and the fact that I had no notes I felt like I did okay when it was my turn to teach. We had 3 minutes to speak. We had to take the first minute to explain why we chose the topic that we chose and then 2 minutes to teach it. Remember that we had to do this in Hebrew of course, so on top of just being nervous of speaking in front of a group I also had to speak in a language that I am not yet 100% comfortable with. I felt that it ended up going okay and was thankful to have gotten that station over with so early in the day.

The second station was a physical team work station where they test how you work with others. They gave us a bunch of different physical tasks we had to do as a group and would throw some challenges at us along the way by giving only 3 out of 7 girls the ability to talk to the group while the others just had to listen to what the leaders were telling us to do. This station was fun and stress-free as it wasn't something that put the spotlight directly on me for a period of time like the previous station. The third station was to test our ability to deal with various kinds of situations. This was an individual station test so it was just me and an administrator who role played as a specific character with a problem and I had to deal with the problem accordingly. For example, the first situation was that I was a worker at a Theater and I had to help customers with whatever problems I might have but I had 3 restrictions: 1. I wasn't allowed to change seats after tickets were given out 2. I wasn't allowed to give people their money back after they bought tickets and 3. I wasn't allowed to give discounts. So considering these restrictions it was hard for me to think of a solution to certain problems when I couldn't help in the way I normally would if I was allowed to do these things. Again, another challenge was the fact that I was doing this in Hebrew so you could imagine how much stuttering and stalling took place in that conversation. The second situation was more in my comfort zone and there for I felt like I succeeded more in solving this problem. The situation was that I was the coach of a volley ball team and while one specific girl really wanted to be captain the team didn't want her to be and I had to be the one to tell her that her dream of becoming captain was not going to come true this year. It was easier for me to come up with a solution because of my background experience in dealing with campers and teens with similar problems. The goal of this station was to see if you are fit to be a social worker or some kind of office worker that deals with the problems of the soldiers in the army. Although I don't really want one of those positions, I still wanted to succeed to give me a higher chance of being eligible for as many jobs as possible.

The fourth station included reading a passage for 8 minutes and taking as many notes as you possibly could on the subject and then giving a 4 minute speech on what you read. Doesn't seem too hard right? Wrong, since ya know...there is ALWAYS a trick. During your 4 minutes speech one of the two administrators that were in the room would interrupt you in some way that a annoying student or in this case soldier would while you are teaching a lesson. So for some of the girls one of the administrators would start talking on their phone and see how the "teacher" would deal with it. In the middle of my speech on reality television one of the administrators walked across the room, took a chair and started dragging it to the other side of the room back to her seat so she could use it as a foot rest. I had to stop in the middle of my speech and explain to her  (in Hebrew) that this wasn't appropriate for right now and that she was interrupting the learning of the other students. These administrators must be very well trained because they wouldn't take no for an answer. When I explained that it wasn't fair that she had an extra chair for her feet and the other students only had one chair to sit on, she responded with "Oh they want also? take, take chairs there is enough for everyone!". So I had to continue to explain that each student gets one chair to sit on, and that's it. I think it was safe to say that this was the most stressful station of the whole day and I wasn't sure how I felt about how I did after I finished.

The fifth station was another sort of team building/team work station which in theory isn't difficult to succeed in but of course, there's a twist. We were split up into two small groups and had to think of a problem that faces high school teens and then try to come up with something we can make or build to help solve this problem. While we quietly discussed as a group the administrators would watch us and take notes on how we each worked in a group, so of course everyone wanted to be seen as the leader to show the administrators that they would succeed in a leadership position in the army. It is hard to shine as a leader in a situation like this and unfortunately I felt overshadowed by the other girls since everyone was so eager to be the spotlight. Needless to say it was a frustrating station and I had hoped that the administrators noticed that it was hard for all the girls to show their leadership skills when everyone was so eager to be the leader.

The last station was a loooooong 2 hour computerized exam that included the most ridiculous types of tests I had ever seen. For example, one test was a black screen with different colored kinds of shapes popping up one at a time and you had to press the space bar whenever you saw the red colored square and only for that color and shape combination. If you know me well you could imagine that these kinds of tests drove me crazy and that I was fidgeting throughout the entirety of the exam. As soon as the exam was over I raced across the street, got an iced coffee, and let out a long and necessary sigh. I was so happy to be done with this day whether I had succeeded or not because at that point I was exhausted and way too stressed.
They told us that we will be receiving our manilas in a few weeks. A manila is a form that you receive after all the necessary army prep tests have been done. The manila includes a list of jobs that the army feels you are eligible for based on all the tests. When I receive the manila I will then choose my top three choices of jobs out of the list I received and soon after will be given the final decision and my placement in the army.

Although the hardest part had passed the most annoying part was still to come...the waiting. More posts about the army to come as soon as I find out more info!

A New Year Introduces a New Life

After living in Israel for a month as a citizen of the country it was finally time to celebrate the High Holidays the right way, in Israel. The High Holidays for those that don't know are the a series of holidays that fall in September-October and start off the new Jewish Calender year as Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year and is the first High Holiday celebrated in the Fall. At home, I am used to having delicious Rosh Hashanah meals with my family, going to synagogue all day, and relaxing at home. High Holidays for me consists of taking a break from the world and observing a Jewish Holiday without the normal activities such as going to school, going out with friends, and sitting on the computer all day. This year, although it still involved delicious food, was quite different.

Before the Holiday started I spent the weekend at Itai's house (my co staff from the summer I staffed wheels). It was amazing seeing him again and being able to spend the weekend with his family! I was also lucky enough to spend the weekend with Elkana, his wife Sara, and their amazing and adorable new addition to their family, Yarden! It was a fun weekend including, of course, eating, shmoozing, and relaxing. On Sunday I made my way back from Jerusalem to Ramat Gan to spend Rosh Hashanah at my grandparents. The last time I was in Israel for Rosh Hashanah was when I was on Nativ so I spent the holiday in Jerusalem. Spending Shabbat or a holiday in Jerusalem couldn't be more different than spending it any where else in Israel. You can compare the difference to spending Christmas in America and Christmas in Israel. Clearly when you are in America on Christmas you know you are surrounded by holiday spirit. With all stores being closed and most streets cleared, it is obvious that a large percentage of American Citizens are celebrating a holiday and with that brings a certain spirit in the air that gives off a feeling of happiness, tradition, and cheer.   In Jerusalem on a Jewish Holiday, you get the same feeling in the air. There is a holiday spirit that is clearly present; stores and restaurants are closed, hardly any cars are on the street, and everyone is out walking through the streets of the city. In other places of Israel, like Tel Aviv (where I was over my Rosh Hashanah) a lot of places are open, cars are all over the streets as if it is like any other day, and people are doing daily things. People don't work on Rosh Hashanah anywhere in Israel but people still do things they would do on a normal weekday. For me experiencing my Rosh Hashanah in Israel, but less observant than I normally am on a holiday was a culture shock for me and quite the learning experience. I realized that although Israel is the Nation of the Jewish people there are still all sorts of levels of observance, tradition, and religion even if most of the citizens of the country share the same religion. I enjoy observing holidays in different ways and learning the different customs of all Israeli's as I acclimate to the world of Israeli living.

On Sunday Night (the first night of Rosh Hashanah) I enjoyed a holiday meal at my grandparents with my great uncle. It was a quiet night but really nice to be with family and it made me feel as close to my family at home as possible. Of course it is hard everyday to be apart from my family, but on Holidays the feeling that you are missing people multiplies as you know your whole family is together and only you are missing. Although it was difficult, spending the holidays with my family in Israel was the best option if I wasn't going to be home and I was so happy to be here to be able to do so.

On Monday I was lucky to be able to go spend some of the holiday with my dad's first cousins family who I have become very close with throughout my many trips to Israel over the past few years. My cousins Gali picked me up on Monday morning and brought me to her house in Hod Hasharon to be able to be part of their holiday meal with their family. Besides the delicious food and great company, it was nice to experience the way others celebrate their holiday. After lunch, Gali and I went to meet a friend of hers at the movies. Remember when I said holidays outside of Jerusalem our different? It was also really different for me because usually when I am at home for holidays I would never go out to the movies or the mall on the holiday. I would go to synagogue and spend time with my family at home. But here, in Israel, after celebrating the holiday, I went to the movies and noticed that a lot more people did as well. I love that the personality of Israeli's shines through their culture. From experiencing a Rosh Hashanah like this I noticed that a lot of Israeli's feel that going to the movies or the mall doesn't take away from a holiday, as long as they observe in their own way. Everyone has their way of doing things and Israel is a perfect example of how different traditions can be observed within the same cultures or religions. After the movie we went back to the house, ate dinner, and went out to a pub with a couple of her friends.

On Tuesday I also had a different kind of holiday experience. I went with my newlywed cousins, Reut and Asaf, to the port in Tel Aviv. Its a beautiful area with restaurants and stores right next to the water. Although it was still holiday the port was filled with families eating at outdoor cafes, walking around, or shopping. All stores were open as well as the restaurants. We sat down at a nice cafe for lunch, walked around, got ice cream (of course), and watched a fun game of footvolley ball that was set up on the port. It was nice to spend time with them as always and it was a beautiful day, although again different way of observing than what I am used to at home.

Wednesday morning I headed back to the Kibbutz. After a fun filled Rosh Hashanah and Shabbat it was nice to go back to the group and share stories from the break. More to come soon on Army prep!