More on the MDA course

MDA COURSE

14 12 11

When I first got here, I was so surprised at how diverse our group was.  As an American, I’ve never really been a minority in that sense, but here I am.  We had students from Brazil, Venezuela, Guatemala, England, Holland, Australia, and Hungary.  We all have at least a basic understanding of Hebrew and English, but after that it differs.  We’re all between the ages of 17 and mid twenties.

            We started off learning basic by-stander CPR without equipment, then learned with the equipment.  We learned team and solo, and mevoogar, yeled, v’tynook (adult, child, and infant).  That night we had situational practice with our crazy instructor afterwards.

            The second day we learned more CPR details and practiced our skills, but soon moved on to more complicated treatments scenarios.  We were taught about respiratory distress, syncope, CVA, diabetes, hypo- and hyper-glycaemia, and many other things.  That night, Danel took us for a run (well, some of us ran…), and then we had some group bonding afterwards.

            Today (Wednesday 14 12 11) we are learning about the cardiovascular system and problems that can occur with it, but we stopped class early when we got the chance to go see a Natan ambulance.  We played around with the equipment and took pictures for a while, and then it was time for lunch.

            A word about our instructors: they’re crazy.  But really intelligent.  We have two.  One is an Israeli-bred guy, Danel, who has the weirdest accents.  In the same lesson we’ll hear a very deep Israeli accent, a perfectly normal American accent (with even a Southern twang, sometimes), and everything in between.  Our other instructor is an Aussie who frequently travels.   While the Israeli, Danel, takes us for a run late at night, Ben, the Aussie, will invite us to yoga in the morning and make fun of the British girl’s accent.  They’ve both been working with MDA for a very long time and they both know all the in’s and out’s of everything.  They can answer almost every question we have, and if they can’t, they find out right away.

            The class itself is a lot of fun, too.  It is a very intense, fast-paced class, and I love it.  We’ll do a slideshow and learn everything about everything that has to do with electrocution, watch videos of actual electrocution occurrences, and then practice dealing with a hypothetical electrocution situation.  We’re also learning much more Hebrew as it is incorporated into the class as we move on. 

            Our off-time, also, is just as interesting as the classes.  The area we’re in is sort of a dead zone in Jerusalem, but we can see hills and forests and there is a zoo nearby.  There’s a group of hundreds of teenage girls here, however, and there’s not a moment that goes by, whether it’s 3am or 3pm, that we cannot hear them yelling somewhere.  As much as we complain to their director, they just won’t be quieter!  Despite that, a good aspect of Beit Yehuda is the food.  Every meal is loaded with amazing food, and every lunch and dinner has a very chocolaty dessert afterwards.

21 12 11

            The class was amazing.  Really, it was.  Everything, from the lessons to the practice to just hanging out with the group was perfect.  I made such good friends in a short time, and I really miss them all already.  We tried to study together, but it was hard because we just kept laughing.  We eventually had to separate ourselves into different rooms to actually get some studying done.  In our off time, we watched movies, learned Krav Maga, worked out, danced, sang, did ‘girly’ things, and just had so much fun together.  We spent so much time together that we have multitudes of inside jokes and we all know each other pretty well.  At the Beit Yehuda guesthouse, where we stayed, we ate rice every single day for both lunch and dinner, and had the chocolate cake or white creamy stuff afterwards.

            During the course, the stress piled on until test day, when we were all hysterically worried.  We took a written test and then had three practical tests (CPR, PHTLS and back boarding, and vital signs with dressing wounds and stabilizing fractures).  After we tested, our evil instructors made us wait what seemed like an eternity until we found out our results, but I passed!!!  We spent our last night and day together relishing the relaxation and reminiscing.  Two other girls and I made a slideshow of the class that we showed at the end, which had everyone laughing.  We stayed up late talking, and had a very emotional goodbye when we all split up this morning.  We already have plans to see each other soon, though.

            Tonight, however, I need to get some sleep (after our Hanukkah party, of course.  Dreidels with ‘pey’ instead of ‘shin’), because my very first shift is tomorrow afternoon!  Chag Sameach l’kulam!

Newly Certified First Responder for Magen David Adom!

I took the 60 hour MDA course and passed!  My first shift on a MDA Lavan Ambulance is tomorrow at 3pm!  Chag Sameach!
I'll write more if I ever manage to catch up on sleep...

Also, the picture is of my instructor Danel, my Aussie friend Gabi, and me.

Who's a big girl now?

There was a time in my life when I got lost driving home from work.  Today, however, I navigated a Shirut ride, a train ride, two bus rides, and a long walk, all without a single problem.  Look, mom, I really am growing up!

Our Crazy Kehilah

There are nine of us living in a small flat here, all between the ages of 18 and 20.  We come from all over the USA, Spain, and Germany.  You could not imagine a more diverse group; we have everyone from the rapper wanna-be from Cincinnati to the maternal intellectual to the crazy German to the Barca obsessed Spaniards.  We have different ideologies, different opinions, different privileges, and totally different personalities.  Not two people are from the same place, and we all live such different lives.
However, we're a family.  We support each other.  We fight with each other.  We throw chocolate at each other.  We laugh with each other.  These eight other people, who I didn't even know three months ago, are my family.  They know me and I know them.  We all know our little quirks and our big quirks, and we know what to say and do when someone's feeling down.  We know how to defuse situations and fight constructively now.  If any of us needs something, there's someone we can go to.  We have traditions and habits and inside jokes.
We realized that we've finally hit that point where we're officially bonded irreversibly.  We Karmielniks, we're a family.  You can hate your family or love your family, but they're always your family.  When we go away, we know we'll have something to come home to and someone to miss.  Even if we split up, we'll always remember that one chocolate fight, or the fight at the club, or the game at the pub, or all the soccer games, or getting lost on the way to soccer, or getting lost during Closed Shabbat, or the ridiculous discussion during Closed Shabbat, or Jeff telling lame jokes, or looking up lame jokes online, or ALWAYS being online, or ALWAYS playing music, or fighting over what music to play, or fighting over milk and chocolate.
Tomorrow I leave for ten days, and it's going to be so different.  I haven't spent for than two days away from any of these people since we met, and now I won't see them for over a week.  What am I going to do without Becca being my mommy?  How am I going to figure out what to wear without Noa's closet? Whose music will I have to overplay if Jeff's not there?  Who is going to challenge me to soccer contests without Ariel with me?  If Naomi doesn't ask me how my day was because she actually cares, who will?  If Alyson is gone, whose crazy outfits am I going to laugh at?  Who am I going to help find stuff without Jake losing his things?  Who is going to shout, "nein nein nein!" if Dan's not here?
Just imagining being without my family is mind-blowing.  My crazy Karmiel kehilah!

Reflections on Diaspora Judaism versus Israeli Judaism

This is my first time in Israel, and being an American Reform Jew, I’ve heard a lot about the culture here.  Good and bad, from NFTY in Israel participants, community members, random strangers, various rabbis, and lots of other people.  As controversial as the topic of Israel is today, everyone seems to have an opinion, not only of the politics, but the culture as well.  For example, I knew to watch out for the yogurt (it’s delicious, but not as healthy as it seems).  Some things don’t surprise me, like the superior quality of the falafels.  One thing in particular, however, did surprise me.

            During an interview I had before the program, I was asked questions about what makes a person Jewish.  I thought about Jewish identity and all the topics youth movements love, but eventually I ended up talking about things like regularly attending Kabbalat Shabbat services and observing holidays at temple with the community, among others.  When I came to Israel, I expected it to be the norm to attend services and that everyone would be a bar/bat mitzvah.  I was so wrong.  Here, the question is: do you keep Shabbat?  From what I’ve experienced, attending Shabbat services does not “count.”  Yes, I drive on Shabbat, I text and go online and if I have homework, I’ll do it on Shabbat.  I also don’t keep kosher, which surprises most Israelis.  But the things we do or consider “Jewish” are completely different.

            Last Friday, I went to my host family’s house for dinner.  They said the prayers for the wine and hallah before eating, but didn’t attend services.  They didn’t do any of the traditional prayers or traditions, but they spent the whole evening together, not in front of the TV, but just being together.  Their version of Shabbat is one hundred percent reversed from mine back home.  I would go to Shabbat services at my temple, either with a few family members or alone, and then go home, usually eating again with a few members or alone.  Shabbat is no different than any other night at our house, whether that’s because of my parent’s jobs or our schedules or society or our Jewish community or something else entirely, I don’t know.  I do know that this is the way I acknowledge and celebrate Shabbat.

            So which version is the ‘more Jewish’ way?  Which one is better for Jews?

            When they were asking me about how I lived ‘Jewishly’ at home, it came up that I had a bat mitzvah, which astounded them.  My host sister didn’t have one, and they were impressed that I actually studied and went through the whole process despite being a girl.  It was also surprising for them that my parents are in an inter-religious marriage, which is normal, if not more common, where I am from.  So many things that we each considered ‘normal Judaism’ were challenged by the other’s way of life.

            Today, we had a class with a woman who grew up in Israel and leads youth programs here, but has also spent considerable time in other countries.  She asked us what our first Jewish memories were.  I thought of Friday night services with my family, going out to ice cream after, and then begging my parents to carry me in from the car because I was too tired to walk.  I thought of loathing Sunday School because I had to wake up early on a weekend, but forgetting all about that and loving it while I was there.

            The woman, Hila, grew up in Israel and lived a Jewish life from birth.  Her first ‘Jewish’ memory is from when she was 23 years old.  How can you live and grow up in Israel without having a Jewish experience?  We watched a YouTube clip of a man who was born in South Africa and moved to Israel when he graduated high school.  He was on a kibbutz raising pigs and asked, “how is raising pigs Jewish?”  Someone answered him, “You’re in Israel, you don’t need to be Jewish anymore.”

            In some ways, this is true.  You don’t have to, ‘be,’ Jewish, you just are.  Whether you want to or not, you’ll end up keeping Shabbat much more than anywhere else.  Schools close early on Fridays, buses don’t run, stores close.  It is extremely difficult to find a restaurant that is not kosher.  A non-Jew here might be considered ‘more Jewish’ than a Diaspora Jew somewhere else, just because of the societal norms he or she is forced to practice.

            On the other hand, does having to make a conscious choice to apply something make it more meaningful?  I think that this is the basis for a lot of Reform Judaism: choice through education.  I choose to not work on Shabbat versus school letting out early for everyone.  Someone can choose to keep kosher rather than just eating what is fed to him or her, thankful that it happens to be kosher.  This raises a lot of questions.  First, would an Israeli who moved somewhere else still practice the same traditions that were handed to them before?  Would they do more, less, or stay the same?  Does it mean more that an entire country acts as a community, choosing the same beliefs and traditions, or that an individual chooses it for himself or herself?  Because I choose to attend Shabbat services, does that make me more Jewish than someone whose family forces them to go?  Does choosing to work on Shabbat make me less Jewish than someone whose work does not operate on Shabbat?

            And, on this line of thought, what makes something more or less Jewish?  I had to actively try to be Jewish.  It was not easy.  I was a teenager and I was different; I celebrated different holidays than everyone else, missed school and crucial social events, I was asked, “do you speak Jewish?” more times than I can count, and I’ve been made fun of and I’ve been the butt of vicious jokes.  I had to get in my car and drive to services and Sunday School and Hebrew School and holiday celebrations and youth group meetings.  It wasn’t just down the street; it required a serious time commitment (a half an hour drive both to and from).  It was hard.  It meant devotion and passion.  Being Jewish, whatever your definition, in America is not just something that happens, you have to actively work for it.

            In Israel, however, Jewish-ness is hard to avoid.  Even if you tried, you couldn’t completely hide from it.  You can either live like everyone else, Jewishly, or you can actively try not to conform.

            So which is better?  Which way is more preferable for the future of Judaism?  Does it differ by sect?  Should it?  Which way is more Jewish than the other way?  Can you be more Jewish than someone else?  Whose decision is it?  Mine?  Yours?  The person in question’s?  The Prime Minister’s?  G-d’s?  How do we, as a religion, a people, a family, and a kehilah kedosha, choose?

            The easy answer is to pick one or the other.  But let’s face it, even if we do, not much will change.  Obviously the places with higher concentrated amounts of Jews will create a societal norm for others to end up following later on, and the ones in smaller populations will end up paving their own original path over and over again.

            Another answer would be to make an honest effort to create a worldwide balance between the two.  This might even be more difficult, because it requires a universal agreement on what needs to be observed and what is optional.  Of course, some would argue that all are required and some would argue that all is optional.

            The third answer is to leave it as it is.  Let geography and local society choose.  My community decided for me what I did and did not have to do.  By chance, I ended up having to do a lot more to ‘be Jewish’ than the average Israeli, who ended up living a more ‘traditional Jewish life’ than I did.

            So really, there is no solution.  There might not even be a problem.  But it does affect my life and my friend’s lives and the lives of Jews everywhere, whether they live in Germany or Spain or Argentina or Ecuador or USA or Israel.  And we can choose to segregate and discriminate each other based on what we see, or we can embrace the differences and learn from each other.  Personally, I hope we choose to use this as an opportunity to bring us together.  We may be different, but we can still accept and respect one another.  In the YouTube video about the South African man who moved to Israel and raised pigs, the man tells a short tale of just before he left for Israel.  His dad woke him up and said, “good-bye!”  He asked, “Where are you going, dad?”  And his dad replied, “I’m not going anywhere, you are.”  So he asked, “Well, dad, where am I going?”  The answer his dad gave him was this: “You’re a Jewish youth and there’s a Jewish state over there.  Get going.”  Well, I’m a Jewish youth, and here’s a Jewish state.  Let’s see what I make happen.

Pictures of the Karmiel group!

 These are two pictures of our Karmiel group.  One picture is of us on our couch with our coordinator, Galit.  The other is us in a green house at an agricultural farm.  For the couch picture, from left to right it's Alyson (USA), Jake (USA), Jeff (USA), Naomi (USA), me (USA), Ariel (Spain), Noa (Spain), Dan (Germany), Becca (USA), and Galit our coordinator (Karmiel)!  The garden picture, from left to right, is Alyson, Jeff, Dan, Jake, Becca, Noa, Dan, Naomi, and me!  Come visit us!

6 12 11

In a few days, it will be Two Months since I arrived in Israel (Hodshayim, as I learned today!).  So much has happened, and it's hard to believe we're so far into the program already.  We're settling nicely into life in Karmiel, even as I prepare to leave for the MDA course in a few days.  I still love working with the kids, I love the classes we're taking, I love learning Hebrew, and I love the place.  The nine of us decided on our, 'family roles,' last night.  We have a grandfather, a mom, a crazy Spanish aunt, an uncle(?), an older sister, two bickering twins (I'm one of them), a preteen sister, and a little brother.  Then we had dinner and a small chocolate food fight; I'm sure pictures will be online soon.  Stereotypically, our mom (Becca W.) cleaned up after us.
A few of us have started a Saw marathon, which does nothing to help our lack of sleep that we typically get.  It's actually pretty terrifying walking around the pitch-black flat after watching one of those movies, especially if the boys are deliberately trying to scare us.
I discovered a trail that starts on one side of our little mountain, goes through a park/forest, down the side of the mountain, and wraps up the other side.  To be fair, Ariel helped me find it when he got us lost on the way to soccer practice one time, but I followed it and it's a really nice trail.  We've also found the best pizza place and the best shnitzel place and the best ice cream place, which does nothing for our waistlines.  We've heard that everybody gains weight on Shnat and it's no use trying not to, but we all still have our hopes.  Hopes that are fading, however, as we learn that our gym passes are being delayed over and over again.
It's really amazing.  Everything is amazing.  From discussions about Israeli Jewry versus Diaspora Jewry (which is so interesting, it might warrant a whole other blog post), to missing the bus to soccer practice, to, 'who used my toothbrush?!' it's just all so amazing.  We're a family that lives and loves and fights and argues and shops and talks and plays together, and we're also a piece of the Karmiel community.  We have to fight the battles of public transport and budgets but also get to relish in the kehilah that gives us numerous invitations to Shabbat dinners around town.  There are a mall, two parks, numerous sports fields, shops, food places, bus stops, and so much more within walking distance of our flat.  And our flat has become a frequent visiting place for other youth groups we've made connections with.
But it's also hard.  I get to point out the planes to the three year olds and show them how to run around with their arms spread wide making, 'whoosh,' noises, but how and when do you explain to them that those are army planes, practicing to defend the country from an attack, which is an ever-present threat here?  Do we stay out of the Kfar for fear of harassment, or go to experience the so-called best humuus place in the north, a place that is owned by a friend of a friend whom we trust very well?  As teenagers on a budget, we tend to ignore the, 'on a budget,' part, and shop relentlessly, but then have to decide whether to order pizza for dinner or go to Ultrasound next weekend, do both, or do neither.  But whatever we choose, it's our decision.  We have to live with the rewards or consequences, and then use them to make our subsequent decisions.  I love it.  I love it all!

The Epic Adventures of 30 11 11

Once upon a time in a land called Karmiel,  seven roommates just left for about 3 to 4 hours to go see a movie in the next town.  The remaining two, we'll call them R and A, are planning on going the cheap-Shnat way and downloading a movie online to watch for free.  They are arguing about which movie to watch, when suddenly a loud clicking erupts.  They quickly determine the source of the clicking (NOT a pipe bomb, HPPP fans): it is the gas stove.  A moves to fix the problem, while R begins to panic.  Then, without notice, the power to the entire flat shuts off.  R screams and thinks she is going to die, and convinces A to evacuate.  They do, and they call their madricha, G.  R explains to G how they are about to die in a hysterical manner, which causes G to ask to talk to A instead.  They discuss a plan of action, which A carried out.  He fiddles with something under the sink and then flips some grand master hidden switch.  The lights come back on, but so does the clicking, and then the power goes out again.  R runs away, A follows eventually.  R reluctantly agrees to go back to give A another chance at fiddling with things under the sink, and this time the lights come back without the clicking.  At this point, however, R is already convinced that they are going to die in a fiery explosion, so they go to the park to wait out the imminent  detonation.  When it does not occur and it gets too cold to be outside, they go back.  A turns the lights back on despite R's protests, and they work.  For now.
If you don't hear from me (I am R, if you didn't figure that out) soon, blame A (Ariel).

More musings

I'm sure this will surprise my family and most of you who know me well enough, but I have become That Roommate that does everyone else's dishes and cleans not only my own space, but all the communal areas compulsively.  I know, I can barely believe it either.  But I just cleaned the dishes and put away the dry ones without being asked or provoked.  My bed and the area around is spotless (I can't say the same for my roommates, however), and I am in the process of cleaning the kitchen and living room.  It's not my stuff, I didn't make the mess, but I'm cleaning it anyway.  I barely even recognize myself anymore.  I can't tell if this is the advertised responsibility/growing up part of Shnat, or if my eight roommates are just that disgusting.
In other news, I have 333 new vocabulary words to learn for the MDA course.  I am dreading making those note cards, but thankfully my host sister is a seasoned MDA volunteer, so I plan on begging her for help memorizing these.

Today (the day after I wrote the above^), I saw two occurrences that would warm the heart of even the biggest kid-hater.  First, there were three kids, two giraffe toys.  Anyone who knows the nature of children can see what comes next.  One girl was rightfully playing with one toy, but two boys were fighting over the other (shall I enter a comment on gender inequality of maturity?).  Eventually the fighting got so bad that I took that giraffe away.  One of the boys went off and found something else to do.  The other boy cried relentlessly for what seemed like hours.  After realizing that he wasn't going to get any better any time soon, the girl got up and gave the crying boy her giraffe toy and a hug.  He immediately stopped crying and one of those too-adorable-to-be-real smiles lit up his face.
The other situation happened when one girl was obviously having a very difficult day; she would break down in tears every few minutes.  I was sitting on the ground holding her when another little girl came up.  She was holding two dolls.   She gave one doll to the girl in my lap and said, 'b'yachad.'  B'yachad means together.  They played together without a single problem for the rest of the day.
So yes, kids are crazy and like to fight and they sometimes smell very bad, but they most definitely have their redeeming moments.
Later in the day, during the kids's nap time, one of the teachers left and brought back a huge tub of glidah (ice cream) and toppings.  If you saw it, you would think we were a bunch of preteen girls at a sleepover, not professional caretakers.
After the glidah, we set up snack for the kids to have when they woke up, and then I had an entire conversation with one of the teachers in only Hebrew!  I asked if we had any more work to do, and then told her I had to leave because I had a class soon.  My Hebrew may be coming along slowly, but it's definitely getting better.  I can talk easily to the kids now, too.

One last note about the kids: the most amazing feeling in the world is seeing almost thirty three year olds ignore their breakfast, jump up, and run to hug you as soon as you walk in the door, despite the teacher's protests.

Some things I've learned working with the Israeli kids:

1. Kids drool and drip snot and spit and are generally perpetually covered in a combination of mucus, saliva, and/or slime.  They either don't notice or don't care.
2. They also exhibit signs of mental illness.  Examples: crying and screaming bloody murder one moment, then laughing the next and talking to oneself for hours on end.
3. When given a simple command (such as: 'sit here') they will either obey immediately or absolutely defy anything and everything you say.
4. It really doesn't matter whether you speak their language or not, because almost all boo-boo's can be fixed with a hug.
5. Although language is not necessary, it helps to know whether that three year old is babbling nonsense at you or trying to tell you something very important.
6. With kids of a certain age, you can teach each other.  You point to an object ask, 'what is it?' (ma zeh, in Hebrew) and they'll answer.  Then, you can help them learn how to count the objects.  This procedure works with many scenarios.
7. Kids are hungry until they push their plates away, but if you try to clean it up, they're suddenly ravenous again.
8. 'No more,' (lo od, in Hebrew) as it applies to food is misunderstood regardless of the language or tone of voice.
9. Taking a coffee break is always, always recommended.
10. A tummy rub is the instant cure for too-much-energy-at-bed-time.
11. To calm down, some kids need to be held, stroked, and hugged.  Others need to be distracted by a toy.  Still others simply forget right away (my favorites, stam!).
12. Just because those two kids are working together and playing so adorably by themselves right now does not mean that a blood curdling scream will not erupt from them soon.
13. Kids really enjoy pulling hair and swinging fists wildly at each other when angry.  Pushing is also a local favorite.
14. A small child covered with sand, the aforementioned mucus/snot/saliva, food, and mysterious other substances will not even notice that he/she looks absolutely disgusting.  And yet they'll still manage to look adorable at the same time.

Having learned and experienced all of this, I still choose to spend 100% of my volunteer with these little yeladim.

First day of work!

I am definitely taking advantage of our amazing internet connection here.  In Lotan, the wifi was scarce, but here we have our own personal wifi network that works reliably 24/7 (jealous, kibbutzniks?).  Anyway, today we all had our first day of work!  I got up and had breakfast, and then left for work.  It is literally just down the street from us; I walked there in less than three minutes.  When I got there it was a little awkward because the only English speaker was not there yet, so no one knew why I was there or who I was.  Eventually, however, it worked out and I was sent to help watch around 27 three year olds.  They played and fought and cried and laughed and fell and climbed on things and dug up sand for hours, and I got to be there watching and playing!  It was interesting because of the language barrier: I would hold up something, like a blue ball, and ask, 'mah zeh?'  They would answer, 'cadu cachol,' and I would learn the color blue is cachol.  Then we would count the blocks, and I would help them learn their numbers.  Later, I helped feed them snacks and put them to bed for their naps.  We cleaned the entire play area and, when they woke up, cleaned the nap area, too.  The ladies who work there are so nice, even though we couldn't speak to each other they made me coffee and food, it was all so comfortable there!  At four I walked home and helped clean the apartment for our weekly meeting with the local Reform rabbi, which was very interesting.  We've been hanging out, eating, going for walks, and even more eating since then, but now it's time for sleep because I have another 8:30am shift tomorrow.  Lailah tov!

Karmiel has started!

For the next few weeks, I will work three days at a nursery with kids around the ages of two to three, and one day a week at an elementary school helping fifth and sixth grade students learn to speak English.  I'll start tomorrow morning at the nursery.  Luckily, both places are close enough to walk to.
The other days of the week and afternoons will have tiyulim, meetings, classes, and other activities.  Tonight, however, I'm just about to leave to meet my new host family!
Earlier today we had our first shopping trip.  We split into two groups and went to different stores to buy food for this week and for the rest of our time here.  While my group ended up going way over budget, the other group was a little under, so it ended up working nicely.  When we got home, Noa and I organized the kitchen until it was looking perfectly clean and put away.  Our room, on the other hand, is a disaster!

End of Lotan, Beginning of Karmiel

Our last days on Lotan were full of amazing last-minute group bonding and fun!  We had peulot, services, gifts for each other, hikes, and lots of other fun activities.  We walked out to the sand dunes in complete silence, had a ma'amod, and then walked back singing songs as loud as we could.  We had a talent show featuring the ever popular box-game, rap performance, and the story of one guy's life from ages 11 to 17.  We watched a slideshow that was artfully prepared (by me) to depict our memories.  The kibbutz group made a lip-dub for us, and we wrote twelve letters for them to open, one for every week we are apart.  Eventually, however, our group of nineteen broke into nine and ten.  Ten of us stayed on Kibbutz Lotan to work in the refet (cows), din (goats), tourism, noi (garden), kitchen, and cheese manufacturing.
The better group (the one I'm in) left for Karmiel, a city in the north of Israel.  We stepped in from the hot, dusty Arava desert into the bus and got out again in the cold and windy north.  Our flat in Karmiel is really nice, four bedrooms and two bathrooms for all nine of us (plus our floor-crashing Aussie friend).  Aside from gas and hot waters problems, it's perfect.  We have a brand-new kitchen here, wifi, an outside yard area, storage room, and an amazing heater.  We walked around the city last night (and ate some of the best yogurt ever) and today our madricha showed us two nurseries and an elementary school that we can spend our time volunteering in.  We'll visit other places tomorrow, such as a zoo and soup kitchen.  In addition, I will start work with the Magen David Adom in mid-December.  After an extensive application and interview process, I will attend a ten day course in Jerusalem and then volunteer five days a week in Karmiel with the MDA.  During our time here, we'll also take classes with a local rabbi, a Netzer representative, out madricha herself, and many others.  We'll also have a tiyul day one a week.  Around our busy schedules, we'll also need to budget, cook for ourselves, clean the flat, have asefot, and build our own community.  For now, however, we're just set on working out who needs to wash the dishes from dinner.

Our final days on Lotan

It's weird to think about how one chapter of Shnat is already coming to an end.  In just a few days, I'll be leaving Lotan and about half our our Shnat group for Karmiel.  We've taken our last tiyul, had our last Ulpan class, finished our last practical work, and Celebrated our last Morning.  We have no more classes about ecology, compost toilets, the history of the Bustan neighborhood, Judaism, spiritualism, Zionism.  There'll be no more late night meetings in the White House about Hadracha and we will all go through either a tea or hot chocolate withdrawal.  We won't be fighting over the couch in the Moadome or the comfy spots in the Green Room.  We'll get to stop complaining about the spotty internet connection here in the Bustan and we'll finally get to eat something other than eggs for breakfast.  I think it's safe to say that we're all going to miss Kibbutz Lotan (those of us who are leaving, at least).
For our last tiyul, we saw ancient and archeological hot spots in the Arava, and me and a few others raced down a gigantic Sahara sand dune.  We played football and Sardines and truth or dare and hung out with the Shalatnikim (they have chocolate and cheese, two delicacies we haven't seen in a while).  Today we finished our mini-golf course, which is why I'm sitting here covered in mud and paint.  We're about to have our last ever class here and tonight we'll make our last meal in the Bustan.  It's actually really sad to be leaving the kibbutz, I know I'm going to miss it.  However, I am excited for Karmiel and the experiences to be had there.

Lotan Update

Wednesday was a more, 'normal,' day for us on the kibbutz.  We had a class on Reform Zionism with a kibbutz member, Ulpan classes, and worked on the mini-golf holes we are making.  Later that night, a bus took us, along with others from Lotan, to a memorial service for Yizhak Rabin near Yotvata.  The service itself was in Hebrew, but then we had discussion groups in both Hebrew and English.  Thursday was more of the same, until about 4pm.  Then, we had a tearful good-bye as we left the Southern group.  We had made them all cards, so we presented them, and then all hung around talking and comforting the friends we won't see for a very long time.  At 4:30, a bus came and took the Northerners to Eilat for the night, and as we drove away the Southerners left us with a sight we will never forget.  After the hour long bus ride, we got to Eilat, settled into our hostel that we pre-booked, and left for dinner.  On our way, however, 8 of us got piercings.  Ben, Benjy, and Jess got their eyebrows pierced, Becca got her second holes done on her ears, Alyson and Naomi did their noses, Abby got a little bar put through an inner part of her ear, and I got my belly button pierced.  From there we went to dinner, and most of us could barely move after all the great food we had eaten.  We went back to the hostel and took naps, and then went out for the night.  The next day, we lazed around on the beach for hours, only getting up to go swimming or for lunch.  Half of us left on the noon bus back to Lotan, but some (myself included) opted to stay and return on the 4:00 bus.  However, when 4 o'clock rolled around and the bus didn't, we realized that the noon bus was the last one.  Naomi, our fluent Hebrew speaker, bargained with a taxi driver to get us a very low price, so we rode back in two taxis.  We attended the Friday night service for the bar mitzvah of a kibbutz kid here, it was a really nice service.  Today, most of us slept in, but were sure to wake up in time for the elaborate lunch that was provided in honor of the bar mitzvah.  After, a few of us went on a walk to the sand dunes, and then it was time for the weekly soccer game (no injuries!), and now we're enjoying our Shabbat lazy time!
Kibbutz life is great, and I'm definitely going to miss it when we leave next week.

8 11 11

Today, we had Morning Celebration, and then left for a tiyul.  This tiyul consisted of going to a sand dune near Kibbutz Samar and learning about how a business is taking the sand from Israel's largest dune and using it for development elsewhere.  We saw first hand the destruction it caused and even met with students who stay at the dune almost all the time to try to stop the devastation.  Then we rolled down the dunes and got sand everywhere.
After that, we went to Timna park and saw a piece of land that is going to become a gigantic conference hall/ hotel/ theme park.  We heard about the mining there and what changes the development will have on the land.  We got to see a huge crack in the ground where developers where looking for a certain kind of element (but didn't find).  It was just left there as a crevice, with piles of dirt and sand sitting next to it.  When we were done with that part of the walk (we took a 'tour' of the hotel that was going to be built.  Our guide would point out a rock mountain and introduce it to us as the water park, etc), we were taken to a huge sand dune.  Hopefully I'll have pictures soon, so you can see just how humongous this is.  We got maybe a fourth of the way up and collapsed from exhaustion.  Eventually we made it to the top, but it took a while.  Our thighs and lungs were burning, but rolling back down was much easier!
When we got back, we had a class with Mark about Sustainable Communities and the Economy, which was depressing, to say the least.
From the class, Ariel and I (joined later by Ben, Benjy, and Dan), ran to join the soccer game, which our friend Mitch had set up as his last game on Lotan.  The kibbutz has regular games on Sunday, but Mitch and the rest of the Southern Shnat group leaves this Friday.  About 12 of us played until it got too dark to see the ball.  Of course, I was the only girl, but after Weight Training at Colfax, I'm used to being, 'The Girl.'
Then, the Shnatties, along with other kibbutzim and volunteer groups, got on a bus to go to the regional center for a memorial service for Yitchak Rabin.  It was a ma'amod entirely in Hebrew, with discussion groups after.  It was interesting, but freezing cold, despite being in the desert.
Back at Lotan for now, we're about to improvise some food and hang out with the Southerners before they go in a few days.  But not for too long, because we have an 8 am class tomorrow morning!

Some pictures

For those of you who don't have Facebook, here are some choice pictures for now.

More on Kibbutz life, Keshet, Birthday, etc...

As it's been a while since I've written anything for this, I have a lot to say.  And yes, it is past midnight.  And yes, I have to wake up very early tomorrow (later today, actually).  Anyway: we've started Ulpan (intensive Hebrew classes) and we are still doing more Green Apprenticeship work.  We built a bench around a fire pit on the kibbutz, made compost piles, planted, transplanted, harvested, and decorated pots in the garden, and we've taken many tiyulim (field trips).  We've bonded with the ShinShin-im (Israeli army soldiers gap year), kibbutz members, and other volunteers.  We've had to made our own meals on the solar appliances and we've had to clean our neighborhood (including peepee patrol once a week).  There have been three birthdays since we've been here: Jeff turned 19, Abby turned 19, and then I finally turned 18!  We've taken a bus down to Eilat for shopping and a night out, and we've played some intense games of football and ultimate frisbee (my face is almost healed!).  The Southern Shnatties led a Shabbat B'Yachad, where we had two themed services (laughter and Juno), many competitive games, and some… interesting games.  They also took us out to the Red Door, which is a red door in the desert.  We've experienced other kibbutzim, also.  Yotvata, makers of the best ice cream EVER, and Qetura, where we learned about the on-going plethora of research experiments. They have the only solar field in Israel now (although plans are being made for others), and they are currently implementing many research experiments.  We also learned about the Arava Institute on Qetura, which is a graduate program or year abroad that focuses on environmental studies with a side-focus on peace and cooperative-ness in the Arava and whole of the area.  They take students from Israel, Jordan, Egypt, the US, and many other countries, and assimilate how-to-get-along-to-fix-problems into their curriculum.

On Lotan, there have been many current events.  We had the birthday celebrations, improvised night activities, pub nights, Halloween, and many other fun things.  My Toms are barely holding up in the desert, but I only wear shoes when it is absolutely necessary (hikes and working in the eco-kef)  My legs are so mosquito bitten, I look like I have small pox.  I'm wearing jeans in the middle of the Arava because of the mosquitoes.  It's not as bad as it sounds because it does get quite cold there, not only at night.  Yesterday, we had a morning tiyulim to the Lotan Southern Nature Trail (I picked the very first date I have ever eaten.  I'm pretty sure I'm allergic).  We then went on a tiyul to various historically significant locations.  We stopped at a military bunker that dates from the Romans and at a place called Timna Park.  We watched a movie about how Timna park came to be such an important site (coal mining owned by a series of different nationalities) and then walked through the mountains.  We saw actual hieroglyphics and cave drawings, as well as a fairly elderly man climb mountains faster than a group of teenagers.   

Right now, however, I am Kiryat Moriah in Jerusalem for a Keshet Seminar.  This is a three day program intended to connect various youth movements on gap years in Israel.  We are here with FZY, Young Judea, and Noam.  We had ice breakers, peulim, and a tiyul already (tonight/today is the first day of three).  The Keshet Seminars were created for the British movements, but other countries can attend as well.  For example, Netzer Olami contains both RSY Netzer and LJY Netzer, which are British youth movements.  Thus, Netzer Olami as a whole is invited to the Keshet Seminar, and hence I am here because I am a part of NFTY, which is a part of Netzer.  There are also French, German, Spanish, and other nationalities here.  I think the weirdest accent is still Naomi's.  She's from Chi-caaah-go.

"What's next in my journey?" asks the inquisitive mind.  The knowledgable mind (mine) answers: I have two weeks left on Kibbutz Lotan as part of the Green Apprenticeship and Group Experience.  We'll continue using our compost toilets and working out on the football pitch.  The cows will be ridden eventually, and maybe we'll clean our moadome (a moadone is a club house, ours is dome-shaped…).  We'll say good-bye to our good friends, the Southerners, and tiyul to Qetura and Eilat.  We'll learn Hebrew but forget to do our Ulpan homework.  We'll sit around playing music for hours and play games for even longer.  We'll get more football injuries and send more Shnatties to the clinic because of sickness.  We'll continue to freak out every time we see a huge beetle and continue to say, 'I can wait to shower tomorrow…'  Late nights in the Green Room will be held.  Some people (me!) will go for runs in and around the kibbutz, while other people will go for "runs."  I'll drink too much shoko cham (hot chocolate), and everyone except me will eat too many apples.  I'll keep losing my shoes and stubbing my toes.  We'll grow really close as a group and become the epitome of kehillah.  We'll all get crazy bad fomo when we have to split up in two weeks for Options.

Basically, I'm loving it here.  And I may be in the desert with spotty internet, but I do get e-mail and Facebook and you can comment on this blog, and we can all keep in touch!

P.S.  I'm sorry if this whole post is disjointed and hard to follow.  It's past 1am here, and I've had such a crazy day.  My current situation involves me tipping my chair back to dangerous angles and heroically pulling myself back at the last moment, listening to music and singing way too loud, and wondering how my feet still aren't clean, among other things.  I'll save posting this until later, the internet here is sketch.  Until then, I'm going to go wash the Arava off my feet and, 'some sleep for me!'

Kibbutz Lotan

On the 17th, we drove from Jerusalem to Kibbutz Lotan.  Lotan is a Reform kibbutz in the south of Israel, right on the Jordanian border.  On one side, I can see the Jordanian hills (we're told that if we were to walk out past the fence, we would be arrested by the guards almost immediately).  On the other side, we can see the Israeli mountains, and all around is desert.  It's not so hot here right now because it is becoming winter, so being out in the desert really isn't that bad.

On Lotan, we're living in the eco-village, or Bustan neighborhood.  This is an entirely green neighborhood made up of ten domes, a kitchen, solar cooking tools, and eco-friendly 'bathrooms.'  The domes are basically wire frames with hay bales stacked around it, and covered in mud plaster.  They fit three beds each and have windows.  We have fans, air conditioners, lights, and electric outlets, but are encouraged not to use them as much as we can.  The bathrooms, and I use that term lightly, are compost toilets and eco-frendly showers.  Here is a link to the eco-campus website to find out more:

http://www.kibbutzlotan.com/creativeEcology/ga/ecocampus.html

We have had classes about ecology, the compost toilets, holidays on kibbutzim, and other subjects.  Last night was the last night of Sukkot, so we had a short service, and then we brought out the two Torah's and went outside, singing and dancing and celebrating for about an hour.  We sang songs in Hebrew and English, most of them I knew from camp.  After, we had tea and cake and sat around playing songs on the guitar and meeting people from the kibbutz.  My friend and I even learned how to dance a little Salsa.    It's funny because back home, people Salsa dance for fun, and go to special Israeli Dancing classes, but here it's the exact opposite.  During the celebration, we sang Israeli songs and danced Israeli dances, and I actually knew most of the dances.  It was a lot of fun, and everyone had a really good time.

Earlier this week, we went to Kibbutz Ya-hel, about a ten minute drive from here.  We all got on a bus and went to a huge Sukkot fair they put on.  There were vendors selling jewelry, food, clothing, and just about everything else.  During the whole event, there was an on-going loop of videos and interviews of Gilad Shalit projected so everyone could see.  That was the day he was finally released into IDF custody and brought home to Israel.

Life here on the kibbutz is very relaxed.  Everywhere has sand as the ground, so very few people wear shoes.  My feet haven't been clean since I got here.  Everywhere is within a short walking distance, and the people are so friendly and open.  We've gone swimming in the pool, shared meals with kibbutz members, and played with kids.  Today is a holiday, so we don't have scheduled programming until 4.  We're all just hanging out in the moadome, relaxing.  We're all sure we're going to be hippies by the end of the month; one of the Southern shnatties has even gotten dreads.

Jerusalem, Israel

Being in Jerusalem is a really interesting experience.  The first impression I got when we drive away from the airport was that it was all so different!  All of the buildings looked like they were built hundreds sand hundreds of years ago.  Everyone here is a horrible driver (that's not even a generalization, it's a fact) and they are all way too free with their honking.  There are always people everywhere, and they're so different!  Not only are they different from me, they're different from each other.  There were the Israeli boys doing backflips in the park, the Orthodox Jews wearing dark colors, the cute little Israeli kids speaking Hebrew, tourists all over the place, other students on gap years, and so much more.  Whether we're going for a jog around the Old City walls (trying to find the Zion gate, which we were unsuccessful at) for hours, walking around what is called Crack Square, buying falafels in town, spending time at the park, or wandering the Old City (the Jewish quarter, where we're allowed, of course), there is such diversity.  And there's always something new to find and somewhere new to explore!

One thing that struck me was the cohesiveness of history and today.  It's amazing to stand on the Herodian stones of the Old City drinking an Icearoma (equivalent of a Starbucks mocha frappe).  We can buy ancient Judaic art next to a store where we can get super cheap and tasty pizza.  People selling things and panhandling and kids running around and people praying and students studying and teenagers hanging out and tourists taking pictures and parents teaching kids about their history, pointing out sites and scenery.  It's praying at the Western Wall, and then going out dancing just down the street.  It's everything we love, everything we are proud of, everything we remember and study and look back on; it's our history.  And it's our present, where we live our lives and go about our day-to-day routines.  But it's also our future.  I see people singing Hatikvah, people protesting for change in tent villages, youth movements (like Netzer Olami) working in the community, and the overall congeniality everyone seems to have.  Whether you're an old Orthodox Jew who has lived in Jerusalem for all your life, or you're a tourist, or you're a teenager girl from California on a gap year, we all want to experience the land and the people and relish in Jerusalem.

Shnat so far...

This first week has been Orientation Seminar at Beit Shmuel, and it's been amazing!  We've done everything from building a sukkah to exploring the Old City to leading our own services to going out at night.  Two other shnatties and I led Havdalah tonight, and it went really well.

Everything here has been amazing.  The falafels and the architecture and the history and the people and horrible drivers and street life and parks and food and just everything is perfect!

Yesterday we went to the Kotel (aka: Western Wall, Wailing Wall, etc).  All the girls had to wear long dresses or skirts and cover up, but the guys didn't even have to change out of their Bob Marley t-shirts, and the genders were separated by a wall (the girls in the smaller section, of course).  It's really unfair, but it is technically an Orthodox synagogue, so I guess they make the rules.

Tonight, we split up for dinner.  The group I went with had pizza; they were gigantic pieces of delicious pizza for only 12 shekels each (around $3). Most everything here is better and cheaper so far, especially food.

I'm sorry if this is disjointed and out-of-order, but it's 2 am here and I really should get some sleep.  But the night life in Jerusalem is definitely worth staying up for!

Gilad Shalit

Most of you already know by now, but Gilad Shalit, who has been a prisoner of Hamas for over 5 years, is being released!  When we found out, we got to the tent where his family has been waiting almost everyday, in front of Benjamin Netanyahu's house.  There were hundreds of people there singing and celebrating, and we joined right in with them.  We actually got to wave the flags and lead songs, too!  It was an amazing experience and one I'm sure I will never forget.  So if you see anything in the news, look for me!

Israel!

So here I am, writing this from Beit Shmuel in Jerusalem.  After doing a little informal walking tour of the city, we had some amazing falafels, and are now back at the Hebrew Union College, which Beit Shmuel is attached to.  The El Al flight earlier was long and tiring but definitely interesting.  First, it was a huge plane, with two stories for passengers.  Second, all the announcements were made in both Hebrew and English, translated by an animated, 'flight attendant fairy.'  Third, the food was... interesting, to say the least.  And lastly, when the guy in front of me lost his kippah, he held a pillow over his head for hours until we found it.  But finally, we arrived in Tel Aviv.

We had breakfast (bagels, what else?) and then moved into our rooms at Beit Shmuel, which is connected to the Hebrew Union College in Jerusalem.  Later, we walked around Jerusalem and got to know the streets and culture around us a little bit.  We had falafels (obviously) and headed back to Beit Shmuel, where we now wait for other participants to arrive so we can formally start the program tonight.

I took some really cool pictures of our view of the old city from the HUC, and as soon as I figure out how to sync my new 90's-era phone to my computer, I'll post them here!

Some interesting facts:

• The Newark airport does not have wifi, but Tel Aviv does
• My father sucks at skype
• It's really hot here, like in the triple digit degrees.  I love it!
• Jerusalem is amazing, beautiful, cool, awesome, and interesting all in one
• I'm nine hours ahead of you west coasters
• I'm so incredibly tired

If you have any questions or anything, comment or e-mail me!

5772

Shanah Tovah!

A little more detail

As the program approaches (18 days!), I thought I should explain a little more about the organization that is putting this on.  In their own words from their website http://www.netzerolami.org/Eng/Index.asp, "Netzer is the worldwide youth movement of the World Union for Progressive Judaism."  Locally, the URJ (Union for Reform Judaism, the Northern American Reform Judaism movement), has a teen branch called the North American Federation of Temple Youth, or NFTY.  NFTY is a snif, or branch, of Netzer.  The word Netzer is an acronym for Noar Tzioni Reformi, which means Reform Zionist Youth.  It is also a Hebrew word for, "new shoot," or, "new growth."  Olami means, basically, worldwide.  Thus, Netzer Olami is worldwide Reform Zionist Youth.  On their website, the mission statement says, "The world-wide Progressive Zionist Youth Movement offers Zionist and Progressive Jewish informal education and experience to over 6,000 young people from the age of six till their mid-twenties, from Reform Progressive and Liberal communities in over 14 countries."
In short, by participating in NFTY (just about my favorite thing ever), I became a member of Netzer Olami, a worldwide Reform, Zionist youth movement.  When I go on the trip, it will be with other members from not only NFTY, but members of Netzer Olami from all over the world.

Pre-trip Fun

Today is exactly 23 days before I get on my plane to go to Israel.  I started packing a few days ago, but I'm still nowhere near done.  Hopefully when I get closer to the actual trip I'll have much more interesting things to say, but for now I'm just excited.
The program is comprised of three main parts.  First is the kibbutz community experience, where we will be building a reform community and learning how to efficiently live in Israel.  The next two and a half months will be in a city called Karmiel.  There I will stay with a host home and volunteer in some aspect of the city.  The last part, the Jerusalem experience, will have us living in a flat in Jerusalem.  We'll get a stipend and have to cook, clean, budget, and live together in a reform community.  We'll also attend seminars, classes, lectures, and go on hikes and trips all over Israel.
For now, however, my main focus is packing 9 months of, 'stuff,' into two suitcases that will conform to airline restrictions.  If I can do that, I can do anything.