TEKES TEKES TEKES

Me, Zach, & Ben

So you're probably wondering what is a tekes is or what it means. Well it basically means "ceremony" in hebrew. Usually when you say you are going to a tekes, you're going to an army ceremony. My cousin from America had his 3rd tekes in the army last night and it was really amazing! He has had three since he's been in the army, and I went to two of his. The unit he is in is a combat unit called Givati. Givati is the main infantry brigade stationed near the Gaza Strip. They are in charge of fighting terrorism in the area, along with the other IDF forces. It's a very intense unit and difficult. This tekes was for completing his advanced training and he received a purple beret (which was green before). He is now going to a Givati special force training, which will be even more difficult! My aunt and cousin flew in from America, so I met with them also. My cousin Ben actually surprised his brother Zach (my cousin in the army) at the end of his 40 kilometer hike the night before his tekes. I was not there, but Zach was so excited to see his brother. Anyways, so the tekes probably lasted an hour or so. It was all in hebrew of course and all the boys were filled with joy and accomplishment. I am so happy I was able to go to this tekes and to see my family.

Zach receiving his purple beret

the boys at the end of their gibush

After the tekes my cousin and aunt went out to eat and just chatted for a few hours. Everything worked out well and then I took the train back to my kibbutz. I got home around 11:30 pm and was extremely exhausted. I could not go to sleep though because all the boys went to a gibush. I am not really sure what the translation for gibush is in English, but it is basically an army workout. In the army, they test your physical and mental ability. It lasts for a few days and it is non stop running, crawling in mud, climbing ropes, anything you can imagine really. You probably receive an hour or two of sleep per night as well. The army does this to see how strong a person is. So, the boys went to one but this was just to get a little taste of what it would be like. It started around 9 and ended at 1 am. It wasn't so long, but I knew they would wake me up when they were finished so I decided to stay up and wait for them to arrive home. All the boys were covered in mud, but they had so much fun. I think if I had to do that, I would not consider that a "fun" activity haha. They were all so loud and hyper too, so I was not able to go to sleep until 3 am. The next morning we all had to wake up at 6 am for hebrew class, and everyone was exhausted. It's a good thing the teacher understood and let us have an hour break in between class to sleep! Everyone just fell asleep in the classroom on the floor or chairs. haah well anyways its almost midnight here and I need to finish my hebrew homework! xoxox