Shvil week 1

So last week was the first week of Shvil Yisroel. It was so much fun. The first two days were a bit hard, but great. At the end of the second day we went up a mountain and the guide played Bridge over Troubled Water and we all looked out and just enjoyed that moment. I won't forget that. The food is great. We start off the day with snack, we get on the trail and first break we listen to morning song that one of us chooses and Yoash, the guide, tells us what the day is going to look like. Second break we have our breakfast. We take more breaks and around 1 usually we have lunch. After the hiking for the day we get to the campsite and one of the staff members, Har-El, makes soup and he almost always has it ready by the time we get there. Its the best soup ever. Then we make dinner. Everyone on the trip helps out with every meal, we clean, make, and eat the food. Its great.

On the third day of shvil I actually had a bit of hypothermia and I was dehydrated so I had to join Har-El and our night guard Gil for the Jeep ride of that day so I would get better. I got to see where the food comes from and all that good stuff. I got to sleep for most of the day. Once we got back Har-El set up the campsite and I helped him with the soup and then everyone came and I was really happy to see them. It was weird not being with them that day. The rest of the week went much better I stayed hydrated and warm. I can't wait for the rest of shvil, also its such a great group of people I'm with, I love them all so much. Pictures will be posted soon.

Eliat v`od

So this past few weeks I've gone to Eliat twice. Once most of us went for our Madrich, Eyal's birthday. He turned 23. It was a lot of fun we went to a place called Barbis which had the best seafood ever!! My friend and I split a Shrimp Calmari classic, so good!! This past time we went we bought things for our hike, which is tomorrow. I will be on Shvil Yisroel for 3 weeks just not really in a row. We start tomorrow and end Thursday. Thursday is the start of winter break and then we get back from break on January 1st and the next day we do the hike some more. Once again we get back Thursday night and stay on the kibbutz for the weekend. The following Sunday we finish our last week of hiking. So each week we hike we start on a Sunday and end on a Thursday. I'm excited but a little worried. Today, I did a mini hike near the kibbutz. I went with other volunteers on the kibbutz along with one other yearcourser.The pictures on the top are from the hike today. Now I need to pack ;)

Kibbutz Life

I've been on the kibbutz for eleven days. After the first of arriving to the kibbutz, Elana Friedman and I started working in the laundry room, folding, sorting, and putting away clothing and linens. There were three jobs presented to us one of them being laundry, the other two were kitchen and dining room. We work 6 days a week for about 8 hours. I enjoy being in laundry, we have a boss that has been on the kibbutz for a while and has taught us specific methods of folding that I know use with my own laundry. Being in laundry room allows me to meet new people, because kibbutz member are always coming in to pick their laundry and often they smile and say hello.
Another part of being on the kibbutz is enjoying the community aspect. Everyone supports each other and knows each other. The other night I went to the host family assigned to Elana and me and I decided to go to services while Elana stayed at the host family. I went back to get Elana for dinner and I forgot how to get to the host family's house. People were walking around and I asked where to go and they knew. That's how tight the community. Everyone works together, eats together, celebrates occasions together, and enjoys each others presence.
Just today there was a Bar Mitzvah for a boy on the kibbutz. Everyone knew about and celebrated it today at lunch, where there was nice tablecloths and decorations just for the occasion. And there was chocolate-vanilla cake, my favorite.
Many opportunities are given us living on the kibbutz. If we would like to ride a horse we help out by grooming the horses or whatever is needed to help in the stables and the staff there will let us go for a ride. This is just one example of how we have less responsibility here, but we still have to take care of our jobs that we were given. At the kibbutz nobody worries about doing their laundry or cooking meals to eat. Instead the dining hall and laundry staff takes care of our needs. As long as we show up to work. Its nice to take a break from so many responsibilities and enjoying the communal life.

Kibbutz Ketura

So last week every section moved. My section has moved to Arad. Although, I and 9 other people chose to be on Kibbutz Ketura instead. I'll get to that in a moment. Before arriving to the kibbutz every section came together for an over nighter in a bendoin tent in the Negev. Which was a lot of fun. There was great tea, great food, and lots of camels. I got to ride one of the camels the following morning. It was so much fun. My friend took a picture of me on the camel, if its on facebook I'll take it and put it on my next post. Anyways, there were 3 hikes that day, easy, medium, and hard. I decided to take the easy hike, BUT I didn't have enough water for the hike, so I had to wait on the bus for the hike to end along with some other people who forgot stuff. After the hike we went to a mall, I got some cheap new nose rings and I chilled with friends. Once that ended we headed to the buses and to a spot were we could get organized by section and leave to our respective new homes. This day was one of the longest days of yearcourse so far. We got to Arad, and we had to wait till all of our luggage got sorted, it was a very long process.
Finally, we got everyone who was on our bus into their new apartments and we headed to the kibbutz. It was 10 o`clock. So we all went to bed not to long after we got here. The next day we met Aliza, the volunteer coordinator. She introduced us to everything we needed to know, especially the jobs that we are doing now. There were 3 choices, kitchens, dining room, or laundry. My friend Elana and I knew we didn't want to be in the kitchen or dining room, so we are in the laundry room, folding, sorting, and putting away clean clothes. Fun, right? Well, it is what you make of it. Our boss sounds like the swedish chef from the muppets, so thats kind of cool. Here are some pictures of my flat as Brits would say