Living the Dream

So I haven't written a blog in a while, but I thought I'd start again since every one has been asking me what I have been doing and what life is like in Israel.

I arrived to Israel about two weeks ago and I've been extremely busy with the program I am currently on. This program is called Garin Tzabar. Garin Tzabar is a program for lone soldiers in Israel. When I arrived I stayed in Tel-Aviv that night and the next day I had a big welcoming ceremony at Tel-Aviv University for Garin Tzabar. There are probably about 200 on my program who made aliyah and joined Garin Tzabar. They split all of us up though, so there are probably around 20 garinims (groups). My garin has 14 of us and we will be living on Kibbutz Sa'ad. I am the only American girl in my garin, which was a big surprise! My current roommate at our temporary kibbutz is from Belgium and the others are from France, Switzerland, Denmark, Australia, and England.

 The kibbutz we are on right now is called Kibbutz Yavne which is central Israel, just south of the city Ashdod. We are staying there for a few weeks until we are able to return to our kibbutz that we will be living on the next few years during our service. Kibbutz Sa'ad is south Israel, just 3 kilometers from Gaza. Yavne is still a little close to gaza, but obviously not as close as Sa'ad. I hear the tzeva adom siren go off at least twice daily. A tzeva adom siren is a warning that there is a rocket and we have 15 seconds to run to shelter. It is sad seeing all the children wondering what they are or crying because they are so scared. Once we are in shelter, we must stay there until we hear a large boom which means its been blown up by the iron dome. A few nights ago, I saw the iron dome and it was at night so I could see it pretty well. It was pretty cool to watch & hear it! Today, I was in Tel-Aviv and another siren went off so I ran to shelter but a little 4 year old boy was hit by the shrapnel and died. It's so sad and crazy to think I was in the same area as him. So anyways because of all the craziness there now, we are not allowed to be there for another few weeks. It's a little difficult because we are not able to unpack and get settled. Anyways, the past two weeks we have been doing a lot of programming and preparing what life will be like as a soldier. This Sunday, we are all going to an army stimulation program for one week called Gadna. I am a little nervous for it, but I know I probably shouldn't be because it's not the real army. Anyways, I do love being in Israel and I am happy for my decision but it has been a little difficult. We are not allowed to speak in English which has been pretty difficult for me. Everything is spoken in Hebrew and yes, I do understand most of it but its difficult. If you ask a question in Hebrew, either our madrichot (instructors) will make us say it in Hebrew or they will respond in Hebrew. Another difficulty I've had is almost everyone in my garin is European and their culture, language, and just way of life is so different from America. I don't really feel a connection with them yet and I'm hoping that will change once everyone is fluent in Hebrew. I am not a person who will put myself out or open up to people I don't really know, so I've been quiet. But until next time....