The State of the Etgar Flat

I'm sitting on the couch in that lovely 'after dinner' rest mode.  Naomi is on the couch across from me looking confused as she talks on the phone with someone.  Alyson is on the couch perpendicular to mine making a calendar of when the girls are menstruating so the boys know when to be careful around us.  Dan R is sitting next to me listening to music that is too loud for his headphones, but I'm not complaining because I want to hear.  Jeff is playing music and dancing around the open area.  Jake and Emily are having a duel in the Dojo.  Jemma just went to sleep.  And we lost Josh a while ago.
I can barely hear anything, people are shouting and yelling and singing and making dramatic statements.  Tensions were high just a few minutes ago during an intense debate and drama sesh about Machon.  But now we've hit a hysterical point.  And I can't even keep track of what's happening.  Jake's outside and we just had an entire conversation (if you could call it that) using just sign language.  Alyson is being Alsyon.  And we still haven't found Josh.  And there goes Ariel, having just taken a shower and forgotten to bring clothes, walking past in just a towel.  Koreem just came out, so more and more people are venturing outside. It's really cold, but I might join them anyway.

Etgar: "Lay some happiness on me"

"Tell me I'm great and I'll be greater."
Put me in the advanced Hebrew class with the fluent speakers, and I'll study harder to be able to keep up with them.

"Empty that cup of trouble and sorrow."
Ear infection -> trip to doctor -> doctor speaks only Hebrew -> wait for the wrong bus home -> wait on the wrong side of the street for the right bus -> finally get home and start my antibiotics: sleep for almost 20 hours.
One little ear infection can cause so much trouble, but instead of sulking about it, I found the bright side:  the antibiotics are making me finally get enough sleep!

"Fill it up with a happy tomorrow, we got some living to do."
Shabbat Shalom l'kulam!  I have a restful day of Shabbat planned, and then another week of interesting educational activities, and in the future, so many more amazing things to come.

"Cuddle me up and I'll squeeze tighter."
Oh the Dojo.  I've got such amazing friends here, and we spend so much time in the Dojo.



How did my first week of actual Etgar classes go?  Amazingly.

Sunday: We had Hebrew at 9am.  I went to the classroom (well, Dan A went to class and I got a piggy back ride).  When I got there I was sent to the other classroom for the advanced students.  I am in a Hebrew class with two fluent speakers, one almost fluent speaker, one very good speaker, and me.  I can barely keep up, but it's challenging me to actually try very hard to keep.  I've never had to study or attempt to keep up in a class before, so this a challenge for me.  But the word 'etgar' means challenge, so I guess this is what's supposed to happen!  We then had a class on Hadracha (leadership) led by our very own madrichim (leaders) and I know it's going to be very relevant and useful.  Our last class was a Tanach class that we all loved, having learned and discussed and become more knowledgable.

Monday (Sprite Day): A very interesting history class that included a tiyul to the Temple Mount and the Church of the Sepulcher.  We ended our trip early when we got a call from Israeli Security telling us that we should probably leave.  The day before there was a rock throwing incident, and tensions were high that day, especially in the areas we were visiting.

Tuesday: Hebrew again, I understood more this time and I am beginning to think that I'll be able to stay in the advanced class.  I even made a joke in Hebrew! After Hebrew, we had a class on Reform Judaism with a hilarious teacher called MKK.  Everybody is sure that this is going to be our favorite class.  We spent a half an hour introducing ourselves and getting to know each other, and then an hour discussing and learning about The Meaning of Life, which ended in MKK driving home the point of Reform Judaism and the basis of the fundamental concepts that make up our ideology as Reform Jews.  After, we had a Yom Tnua with our Machon group (the other half of Shnat Netzer who are doing a different program right now).  We had some fun time together and then went out as a group for Jade's birthday.  Despite our best intentions, we keep going back to Nadine's.  Luckily, the reason we left wasn't our own fault but we went to Kings instead and met up with lots of new Machon friends there.

Wednesday:  We have volunteering time in the morning.  Alyson and I volunteer at a vocational rehabilitation center for adults with disabilities.  Our directions on how to get there were kaha: take the 18 bus to the roundabout with the huge gas station called Oranim.  It's the last stop for that bus.  In actuality, we needed to get off at an intersection.  We eventually found that gas station, but you can't see it from the intersection.  And having taken that bus route another 15 minutes past our stop, I can assure you that it is not the last stop on that line.  Due to intense luck, our map, and my sense of direction, we made it there on time and went to work.  Three hours later, our fingers were raw, we had messed up an entire order of something, we made a new friend, and we got three Twix bars.  On the way home we got mamash taim falafels.  And then we got lost again, kind of.  I think that there should be a different word for 'not being lost, but not being where you're supposed to be.'  We took the right road home, but made a few wrong turns and ended up trekking through a mid puddle and finding Barcelona on accident.  We finally made it to Beit Shmuel, where I burnt my finger, thanks to Jake.  We then had Hadracha time with our lovely leader Dana.  Afterwards, our heads all hurt after thinking so much about such deep topics.

Thursday: An interesting discussion on the Birkat Hamazon which ended in no productivity.  A 'Q&A' with a rabbi that involved no Q's or A's, but was interesting all the same.  Hafsaka that included coming up with Hidden Agendas for the next session with Madricha Noa.  The game Hidden Agendas can be played a number of ways.  The way we played on Kibbutz Lotan was that we all had tasks to accomplish by the end of the night (usually pub night).   They were things like 'lick 4 elbows' because if someone licks your elbow the right way, you can't feel it.  The next day we would go over who had done theirs and who hadn't.  The way we played during our session with Noa was that we all had something different to do or act like.  For example, Dan R and Ariel had to switch clothes.  They actually changed their entire outfits, and changed back, throughout the course of our session.  Kitty had to act like Jake, so she kept getting confused, bringing up Hummus Ben Sira, and singing Ain't No Rest for the Wicked.  Jeff had to make anti-America comments.  Dan A had to relate everything to Star Wars. Needless to say, we were laughing so hard we were in tears before we were even halfway through the session.  The whole purpose of the session (planning a Purim party for kindergardeners) was not being done, so we gave in and explained it all to Noa.  After, we actually planned the party and all was well.  This day ended with a fun-filled trip to the doctor's office.  I went, conversed in Hebrew, got some prescriptions, waited for the wrong bus, waited for the right bus on the wrong side of the street, went home, and stayed up late to skype with someone but fell asleep just minutes before that person was available to skype.

Friday:  I missed most of Friday.  Antibiotics make me sleep more, so I didn't wake up until just before 5pm.  I attended an amazing service at HUC (Hebrew Union College) that I loved, despite having just put in ear drops so my hearing in my left ear kept changing.  Now I'm sitting on the Internet Couch (the only couch that gets internet in our flat), having just made a video not to be seen until the end of Shnat for fear of backlash of Jeff and Kitty, and eating ice cream and eggs made by my lovely Alyson.  Some more coffee for me, and then if nothing exciting happens, I'll go off to bed.  A lazy day of Shabbat is predicted for tomorrow, and then a whole new week of classes next week!

There's an essence of Etgar, but it's hard to explain.  It's getting up early to discuss the Birkat Hamazon.  It's debating the difference between butter and margarine.  It's never drinking coffee out of a mug with a handle.  It's making sandwich after sandwich after sandwich, and then wondering why we're out of bread and cheese.  It's eating home made ice cream.  It's the Dojo.  It's spending way too much tim eon the Internet Couch.  It's asking which room is 117 every day.  It's wondering who's moving the washing machine forward.  It's your snif trying to take over Kab Shab.  It's making fun of Josh singing.  It's finding cheese in the Meat Fridge and knowing who did it.  It's Sprite Day.  It's disrespecting Sprite Day.  It's enforcing Beit Shmuel rules to our visitors.  It's using the wrong button as the doorbell and wondering why nobody ever answers the door.  It's never being on time to class.  It's never having a bad day, it's always having a bad hair day.  It's loving your madrichim and gossiping about the teachers.  It's loving where we are and why we're here and what we're doing and why we're doing it.  It's new adventures and experiences.  It's etgar.

Ulpan

We had our first Hebrew classes today, and I forgot to wear shoes.  It was raining so I stood under the eaves until someone came by who would carry me the few meters to the classroom so I wouldn't get my socks wet.  Luckily, Dan A came by and I got a ride, but when I sat down the teacher told me I was in the wrong room: I was placed in the advanced class with the fluent/near-fluent Hebrew speakers.  I didn't even notice how wet my socks got as I ran over to that classroom.  Kita Bet, here I come :)

Etgar Beginnings

Yesterday I and thirteen fellow Shnatties got on a bus (at way too early in the morning, in my opinion).  We drove to the desert, but missed most of the ride because we all slept.  When we got off the bus, we were still tired.  However, a hike was soon to begin so we got excited and set off, carrying helmets, water, and harnesses.  We walked up into the mountains off to the side of the Dead Sea, played games galore, and then commenced the real reason for this adventure: rappelling.  We rappelled down a cliff (they told me the height in meters, which, as an American, I mostly ignored because I don't understand it.  But I'm fairly certain it was around 40 meters.) had coffee and tea the Israeli way, and rappelled a different cliff.  I'm sure I'll never forget Jemma double- and triple-checking that the anchor was watching her as she rappelled, and Alyson having a huge freak out half way down the second mountain.  There was a ledge that you could stand up and walk around on, and she was hanging less than a foot above it, screaming her head off in terror, despite being perfectly able to just stand up.  Needless to say, those of us on the ground below her were doubled over laughing.  And yes, we recorded it.

After, we stopped off at the Dead Sea because we had extra time.  When people say, 'Don't drink the seawater,' they really mean it.  It tastes terrible.  But the whole place was so interesting because you can see the salt deposits in the sand and on the rocks.  We also saw some Russian celebrities.

Our next stop was our last that day: the hostel.  We had a successful asefah, showered, played games, and hung out until dinner, after which was another asefah with a tragic game of Mafia, and Dan R accidentally offending some Israeli boys.  I then proceeded to make a fort out of Ariel's bunk bed, and was joined by four other people.  At one point we had six people in that fort, but alas, it did not last and we realized that you can't even fit four or five people in there comfortably, so we abandoned the idea and went to sleep.

Today we got up even earlier than yesterday, but couldn't sleep on the bus because of certain people *couchRSY* chanting camp sings loudly.  We finally got to Masada, took the easy way up, and met up with our guide, Amy's husband.  We had a short, personal morning service on the mountain, and then started our tour. It was so interesting and I loved learning about all the events that had happened there, from the great and fabulous to the tragic.

Another interesting cool thing that happened was seeing the Israeli Air Force.  In Kibbutz Lotan, every once in a while a plane would fly over the mountains next to us.  In Karmiel, we heard the planes because of the Air Force base that was quite near by.  Near the Dead Sea, where we were today, the Air Force has special permission to fly even lower because it is the lowest place in the world.  We could actually see the planes doing formations and maneuvers in the air right over us.  We watched the Israeli Air Force in action, how cool is that?

After we finished on top of Masada, we hiked down the Snake Path- the hard way.  I realized something about myself today.  I always thought of myself as someone who follows the rules, but after hearing, "Rebekkah, stop running," over and over again I changed my mind.  I am someone who will follow the rule Do Not Eat on Masada and the rule Do Not Litter, but if someone tells me not to race down the treacherous mountain path as fast as I can, I'll consider that a warning and after the guide lets us pass him, we sprinted off.  Luckily, no one was hurt and we finished the hike and had lunch.  We then went to Ein Geti, had a wonderful time in the springs by the beautiful waterfalls and then went home.

This brings us to Now.  Sitting in the only comfortable sofa-chair in the Etgar flat, surrounded by 13 people I really enjoy being around, people who make me laugh and smile and happy, with dinner cooking and a soccer game later, I couldn't be happier.

And to top it all off, it turns out I pull off a Beduin-style head wrap really well.

End of MDA...

My MDA experience.  How am I supposed to put this into words?

I ate fast food or a chocolate sandwich for lunch nearly everyday, I drank an average of four cups of coffee everyday, I walked to and from work everyday (yes, there's an uphill both ways) - sometimes even in the rain.  I yelled at my roommates to keep it down when I had to go to sleep way earlier than them.  I once spent five hours watching MTV (it sounds like fun at first, but I'm positive I lost about 10 IQ points that day).  I only understood about half of what was said.  I worked long hours for no pay and got many self-injuries in the process.

Would I do it again?

Without a doubt.

Actually, I am doing it again (provided I get parental permission).

Why?  Call me crazy (and you'd be right to do so), but I love it.

I had three CPR events, all successful field saves.  I had two mass casualty events: a massive car crash and a bus crash.  I had many CVAs and chest pains and head aches and shortnesses of breath.  I had broken bones and hysteria and hyperventilation and cancer and infections.  I had a lot of coffee.

I got to know the drivers and paramedics and the bosses and volunteers and the cleaning lady.  I've made such good friends that I know I will come back to visit them.  Walking away from the drama of my small flat of nine people into the station filled with the guys whose only drama is 'who has to clean the suction' saved my sanity.

From making origami to having pillow fights, from attempting to learn Arabic to actually understanding Hebrew, from eating humuus to suctioning humuus like substances from people's tracheas, from fighting over the chair by the heater to racing to get the best bed for the Lailah shift, from krav maga to kickboxing, I love the MDA station.  As much as I complain, I love the times we spend doing nothing at the station, waiting around for nesiyot.  I love the calls. I love getting to explore (and sometimes getting lost in) the hospitals.  I love getting food on the way back to the station.

There's something about it that's really truly amazing.  Something real and fun and down to earth and, dare I say, magical about it all.

I saw and experienced things I will never forget.  There were hard times and things that were tough to deal with.  Once, I was with my team preforming CPR, when the paramedic came in and told us to stop, that the family didn’t want us to continue, and he had tears running down his face when he said it.  But we’ve also had calls that have made me really appreciative.  My driver making a balloon out of a glove, drawing a face on it, and giving it to a little girl who was scared and crying, for example.

The care and compassion I saw from the MDA workers and volunteers were astounding.  These big tough guys who fought over the TV remote and wrestled with each other could be so sweet and kind hearted.  Everyone, from the girl who crashed her car while driving to the older man having chest pain, was treated with extreme care to the best of the medic’s abilities.  They held back from no one, raced to every call, and saved lives using the best of their skills, even at 3 am.

When I remember my favorite moments from the time I spent volunteering with MDA, I can’t just pick one.  Was it running past that burning car, carrying a backboard and neck brace during that huge car crash?  Was it holding that girl’s hand and seeing the relief it gave her?  Was it hearing ‘yesh la/lo dofek’ those three times?  It could have been those, or one of a million other experiences I have had.

These have been some of the best times I’ve ever had, and being a volunteer in MDA has been an experience I will never forget.

The end of Karmiel.

How do I feel about this?
Let's call it 'mixed feelings.'
On one hand, I am really excited to live in Jerusalem.  I am looking forward to the Etgar program and the flat and meeting the Southerners.
On the other hand, I'm going to miss Karmiel.  I am going to miss this group, I'm going to miss MDA and the station and the people like crazy, I'm going to miss the area and the mountains and the city.  I'm really going to miss MDA.
Today, after getting out of bed around 4:30pm (don't judge, today was only sleep-in day), we all went to the Family Park and spent time on the playground, in the maze, on the grass, playing mini golf, and just hanging out all together.  Then we found this hill with a flag pole and a view that overlooks all of Karmiel and we had Sueda and Havdallah there.  It was really nice and almost emotional in the 'our last Havdallah together' kind of way.  On the walk home, everybody was in a good mood just being with each other.
Now for a Life Lesson:
The inevitable is coming, and I can't change that.  There's no way to stop the changes that are approaching.  So instead of becoming frustrated with it and sulking over it, I should accept it, take a lot of pictures of these last few days, and keep the happy memories.  Then try to make the next part as amazing as this has been.

I know I'd change over Shnat, but did anyone think I'd become this cheesy?

All of us, Miri (our Hebrew teacher), and Galit

The design I made that went on the back of the sweater