Work

I've been on Kibbutz for almost 3 weeks now. I'm starting to find my "routine". I have been working in G'dash (gidulei Sadeh-field work) consistently now. I enjoy the work more than the other jobs I have done. At first I worked in the dining hall, cleaning tables, emptying trash, serving food. Not for me. Then I worked with landscaping, picking up branches and leaves and weeding. I really liked working in the sun and with my hands. Then, I was told to work in the fields because they needed "serious workers". Field work is hard. Not hard in the sense that it is difficult or challenging, but rather, physically hard. I work for around 9 hours (6:30 AM-3:30 PM), with a break for breakfast and lunch. I have been working with prepping the fields for harvest, and with the irrigation systems-moving pipes from one row to another, laying plastic tubes, cutting the tubes in order to attach a main pipe to bring the water to the tube, connecting the plastic tubes to the main pipe....and then moving on to the next row of the field. So far I have worked in the cilantro fields, the tomato fields and the dill fields. Today I worked in the dill field. I sat in the back of a plow. My job was to guide the plow so it plowed between the rows of dill. Plowing on each side of the dill plants allows for the plants to grow stronger and healthier. Sounds fairly simple...and it is. After 10-15 meters I jump off the plow in order to clear away the accumulated dill stalks. It crazy to think about how much dill I tossed to the sides of the tractor...bunches and bunches (a cluster of dill at a US supermarket costs around $3..I would estimate that I tossed the equivalent of $5635 [+/- $3] worth of dill today). It was really muddy today so by the time I went to eat breakfast, I was COVERED in mud. I am writing this post in my my once muddy clothing, which are now only dirty, for they have now dried from the days sun.
After work I have time to write, read, think and sleep. I try not to sleep during the day, because I need to get to sleep early to make sure I get enough sleep before waking up at 5:20 AM.
I like the manual labor. I feel like I am really contributing to the kibbutz, and not in a lofty intangible way. By jumping off a plow to clear away dill stalks, I am ensuring the success of the dill crop. Simple.
I received my army profile (a number which rates your physical and mental ability to serve in the army)- 97, which is the highest possible. That means that I will be able to serve in most units in the army. Now that i have a profile, my next step is to take the Gibush (physical test) to get into the paratroopers. I'm one step closer....

A Chance to Breath

For those who care about what I have been up to for the past 2 weeks.....but mostly for me-

On December 26th, I joined 220 other olim at JFK airport in New York. I was part of a program called Nefesh B' Nefesh, that makes Aliyah much easier for North American Jews. The program fills an EL AL plane full of future olim...what an experience. I tried to sleep on the plane...but I couldn't. The count down that remained on the screens in the plane made it more and more exciting as we got closer and closer to Israel. We decended through rain clouds untill we could see the Tel Aviv beaches. It was cold and rainy as we landed at Ben Gurion Airport. A media frenzy ensued. I gave a bunch of interviews (In my broken Hebrew, with my American accent) once I stepped off the plane to different media outlets (newspapers, radio, TV). I had the pleasure of being able to share the experience with my prents and one of my sisters. Singing, dancing, laughing and crying were all integrall parts of the welcoming ceremony. I had the honor of meeting Natan Sharansy and Danny Yatom (Kennest Member and former head of the Shin Bet). A picture of Sharansky and myself appeared in the next days Jerusalem Post (oddly enough, I bumped into Sharansky the morning that the article was published and gave him my copy).

For the next week or so, I traveled around the country. I was fortunate enough to spend my first Shabbat as an Israeli in Mitzpe Ramon, at the Ramon Inn. As much as I love Jerusalem, it was really nice to be away from the American tourists and closeminded "black hats" (sorry if that offends any of you who happen to be reading this post. Its not that I have a problem with the "black hat" part....its really more about the "closeminded" part). Motzei Shabbat I traveled to Tel Aviv to see friends and for Sylvester (AKA New Years in the States). Then back to Jerusalem to see friends and waste time amoung what seemed like 18000 Birthright trips.

This past Tuesday, I left the city to travel north to my new home, Kibbutz Sdei Eliyahu. I did not know much about the kibbutz before departing to live there. I knew that it was a Kibbutz Daati (religious) and was far away from most areas. I took the 961 bus from the Central Bus Station in Jerusalem to Beit Shaan. The ride was stunning. We traveled all the way through the shetachim/West Bank/Samaria/ occupied territories. For a while we drove paralel to the Jordanian border, past Bedouin tents, arab kids throwing rocks, army trucks, checkpoints, settelments, donkeys, arab villages and a man carrying a live goat by his hind legs (I assume the goat didnt have much of a chance for survival). American hip-hop from my IPOD became the soundtack to Roling hills and agriculture, the Jordan river and a beautiful sunset. I arrived in Beit Shaan after 2 hours and was litterally dropped on the side of the road with my 3 HUGE bags and my large backpack. 1.5 hours later, I managed to beg a taxi to take me the the kibbutz. The taxi traveled south and then turned East toward Ein Hanatziv, Tiryat Tzvi and Sdei Eliyahu. I was dropped off at the gates of my new kibbutz. Spotting a tractor in the distance I ran towards it, hoping it could assist me with my 200 lbs of baggage (Im reading a book now where the protagonist says "I wish I didnt have so much stuff, but I guess its better than not having enough". That pretty much sums up my feelings on my baggage). After speaking with a few kibbutzniks, I found the person in charged of volenteers, who welcomed me and showed my to my room. I share it with 2 others (my last place of residence was a large one bedroom appartment with 1.5 baths, a kitchen living room and a walk in closet. My personal area in this room is smaller than my walk in closet- I am not exagerating). Still, I was thrilled to be there.

I could write for hours about the kibbutz, my first day of work, the incredible food, the socialist atmosphere (I wore clothing the kibbutz gave me to work in today, and I will return it to the laundry, and recieve other clean clothing), the beautiful diversity here, the scenary (you can see Jordan, Gilboa, and even the Hermon on a clear day)...but that will all have to wait untill my next post. I'm tired from the days work and my run (gotta get into army shape). As you can see I dont want to stop writing. Its quiet on the kibbutz, nothing really to do except: work, talk, write and read (Im done working, I dont have anyone to talk to, I've read for 3 hours today, so, that leaves me with writing).

Last sentence (read: thought), then I'm really going: So far, I can tell that I have left my forner life in the states for now. I am used to bars and loud music, meetings and appointments, dramatic problems and chaos. I can already tell that there will not be much of that here. Its somewhat lonely and boring, but I think that is what I might need most in my life now. I need a chance to think about nothing and everything. A chance to look at the stars (remember stars!!!!Ahhhh, It is so nice to be away from the disgusting smog of Los Angles). A chance to BREATH.