Adventure Time

We have every other weekend off, and this weekend is a closed weekend so we must stay on our kibbutz. We were allowed to leave after class yesterday though until this morning. Half my garin and I decided we wanted to go to Tel-Aviv. Tel-Aviv is the central part of Israel and it is such a fun city on the Mediterranean Sea. We waited about 30 minutes for the bus and it took about two hours to get there. I wanted to take the train there because it only takes an hour, but everyone wanted to just take the bus. When we got there, we went to the beach and just relaxed.

Because we arrived around 5 pm, the sun was not so strong. We stayed for a few hours and then went to the mall to eat and shop for a little bit. My friend Sara and I bought sushi, and normally I do not like sushi so much but it was really good. After this, we took the bus to Yaffo/Jaffa which is the old city of Tel-Aviv. Everything looks old and historic and it is also on the Mediterranean Sea. We walked around for a bit and decided to go to a bar. It was around 11 pm, but so many places were open and there were many people out. Yaffo is more of a relaxed environment to go out in. There are usually older people there at night, where as Tel-Aviv is more of a party city for young people. Anyways, we sat outside and just talked for hours until around 1 or 2 am. I was so exhausted. We checked buses and trains to return to our kibbutz, but there were none until 5 am. We decided just to walk to the beach and we ended up all falling asleep there. We woke up at 5 am though and walked to the bus stop. It was also freezing and I could not wait to be back in my room. We finally got on the bus and we all passed out on the bus ride back! We all returned around 7:30 am. I immediately showered and went to sleep. We were supposed to have an activity at 9 am, but we ended up not having it which was an advantage for all of us. I slept until around 1 pm. I went to lunch, went to the pool to work out, and then we had to clean our house. I am still exhausted and can't wait to sleep tonight! haha

 Tonight I am going to my "adopted" family's house. I am a little nervous to meet them, but I am also excited. I was supposed to receive my host family a few days ago, but they called at the last minute saying they did not want to adopt a lone soldier anymore. I do not think I explained what an "adopted" family is, but it is pretty self explanatory. So my counselors interview and carefully choose family's on the kibbutz who want to "adopt" one of us from now until we finish the army. We go to their house whenever like it is our house, we can do laundry, and we eat dinner with them. It's like our second family! So I am having Shabbat dinner with them tonight! Apparently they have 8 kids, so I am sure it will be an experience! haha Well I need to start getting ready for tonight, but I'll let y'all know how it goes. xoxox

Well.......

The results for all my test scores are out! I don't really know what they mean, but apparently I did well. I received a 60/90 on my kaba (logic test) and a 52/56 on another test that I am not exactly sure what it was for haha. I think it may have been for my personal interview or something around there! & lastly, my Hebrew scores! So, I did not pass meaning as of now I need to go to Michve Alon (which is the army Hebrew course I do not want to do). In order to pass this test you must receive higher than a 7 out of 9. I am not exactly sure what number I received but I do know I was extremely close to passing this test. It may have been around a 5 or 6 because I was told I was on the border to passing. Almost everyone in my garin (group) did not pass either. I do have another opportunity to retake the test in two months. I am hoping to improve my Hebrew and no more speaking English! It will be so difficult, but I know it will be the only way for me to prevent going to michve alon. Oh, and just in case you were wondering how to pronounce this it is meekvay alone. Anyways, wish me luck!

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

First call into the IDF

This says: Leescott Gius yerusalem which is basically
the army offices of Jerusalem

This past Sunday, I finally had my Tsav Rishon (basically your first call into the army). We had to all wake up around 5 am and to be in Jerusalem by 8:30. I had no idea what to really expect from this. I just heard from people what it was like, but because I had never experienced it myself I was unsure about it. I was a little nervous as well. My nerves increased because I still could not find my Israeli I.D. which is very important. I brought my Israeli and American passports, hoping they would take it. They never used my American passport, but they were fine with my Israeli one. This made me feel so much better! The first thing I had to do was a personal interview from someone in the Israeli army. It was all in Hebrew, but it was fine. The person asked me so many questions, so it probably took an hour. I was nervous and thought I would not understand anything, but I ended up understanding basically everything. When we finished the interview, she gave me a Hebrew test. This Hebrew test was probably the most important to me because this would determine if I will have to go to michve alon (three month Hebrew course in the army). There were three parts to the Hebrew test which was an oral test, reading, and writing test. I thought the oral test was really easy, but the reading was extremely difficult for me. I know how to read and write very well in Hebrew but it was about if I understood the texts and I did not. They pick the most difficult words to see how much you know. I am not sure how well I did, but I will find out my results in a few weeks. I am hoping I did well. After, we had to have a physical test by a doctor. The highest score you can receive on your physical is a 97. I received an 82, which the the second highest score. I received this because of my vision. I can still basically have any job in the army with this score though. Everything was long and a lot of waiting. It was stressful, but everything worked out well! I will let y'all know my results when I receive them! We were all there until around 4 pm, so it was a very long day. Afterwards, we were able to eat and walk around Jerusalem for a little bit. We left around 6 pm and did not get home until around 9 pm. I was so excited to finally be home and I went straight to bed.

Finally the weekend!

After an exhausting week, I have never been so happy for it to finally be Friday. This weekend we have a "free weekend" meaning we are able to leave our kibbutz and go wherever we want. We got off Thursday afternoon, so I went to Tel-Aviv. I did not really want to, but I needed to go to close one of my Israeli bank accounts which was probably one of the biggest headaches! It took me about three hours to get there and it probably took 10 minutes to close the account...typical Israel! So after that, I went to get something to eat before I started heading back to my kibbutz. I got shwarma (typical Israeli meal and one of my favorites)

Shaved chicken with chips(fries), hummus, tehina, and Israeli salad in pita bread

 When I ordered, the person told me my hebrew was really good so that made me feel more confident! So anyways, I decided to take the train back instead of the bus because the bus took too long and I wanted to get back to my kibbutz as soon as possible. I got home around 9, I showered, and went straight to bed because I was exhausted! Friday morning, I decided to take a spontaneous trip to Jerusalem to meet with some of my friends who lived there. The journey there took around 2 hours, so it was long but it was okay. I got to Jerusalem around 12 and went to my friends apartment. We had lunch there and then we went to the shuk (outdoor market) in the Old city. It was a lot of fun! Every time I go to Jerusalem, I always have to go there. Every one tries to get you to buy their products and they are really pushy so you have to be aggressive and just walk away.

You can buy anything from rugs to bracelets. Everything is cheap too!

We were there for a few hours and I bought wall decorations for my room. After we were finished, I had to go back to the bus station to catch the bus.

Because it was Friday, public transportation stops around 3-4pm because of Shabbat. I made my way to the station and made it right in time for the last bus going to Ashkelon (city in Israel). Unfortunately, there were no more buses that went straight to my kibbutz. Ashkelon is about 20 minutes north of my kibbutz and that was the closest city I could get to by bus. By the time I got to Ashkelon, it was around 5pm. There were no more buses from there to my kibbutz either, so I had to take a taxi. I usually hate taking taxis because they are so expensive, but I had to in this situation. The taxi driver was nice and it was a good way to practice my hebrew. I spoke to him the whole way back in hebrew! So when I returned to my kibbutz, I showered immediately. I wanted to rest because I was exhausted, but I did not have time to because Shabbat was about to begin. I had to attend synagogue services and meet the family I was eating Shabbat dinner with there. I went to their house and I was so tired that I had no energy to think in hebrew so I just spoke in English with them the whole time. It's a little weird to go to a family's house and to eat dinner with them when you've never met them before. By the end of the meal, I got to know them very well and vise versa. In Israel, this is a very normal thing to do but I know in America you would have to be crazy to attend a dinner with a random family like this.  The family was very welcoming and very sweet. The food was also delicious and all homemade. I stayed until around 11 and finally walked back home and went to bed!  I slept in until 11 and caught up on all my sleep. It was a very nice and relaxing day! Tomorrow is my Tsav Rishon (first call to the army) and I am a little nervous for it! I lost my tzedut tzhut (israeli ID) a few days ago and it is no where to be seen which is a huge problem. I am hoping they will allow me to do my tsav rishon, but I'll let y'all know tomorrow! Anyways, I have a long day tomorrow so I am going to sleep now. Layla Tov (Good night) <3

Krav Maga

This evening, we had a required puelah (activity) to attend Krav Maga. Krav Maga is basically a self-defense system that is used in the Israeli army. In hebrew it means "contact combat". Ever since Israel became a country in 1948, Krav Maga is now practiced all over the world. Krav Maga may look like a martial art, but it is actually a form of combat that has no rules or limitations. The point of Krav Maga is to take the enemy down as quickly as possible.

"Martial arts such as Judo, Karate, and even wrestling are considered sports; Krav Maga, on the other hand, is a regulated form of combat. In fact, the point of Krav Maga is to take the enemy down as quickly as possible. Some teachers of Krav Maga explain it as "the art of going home alive," which means that groin strikes, choking, and headbutts are considered acceptable moves."

I have always wanted to try Krav Maga, so it was fun to experience it. It was a little intimidating at first because the people leading it were in special forces, plus we were with all the guys. It ended up being fine though! We just ran a lot and did a lot of different exercises. We learned how to kick and punch properly. All the guys were more serious about it than the girls were though. We did this for about an hour or so, but then I had to go because me and another guy in my garin were assigned to cook dinner for everyone.

 We went back to our house and started setting everything up so we could cook. We were assigned to make salad and toast (paninis). It was a pretty easy thing to cook, but we just had to make a lot for everyone. We made many different kinds and a huge salad. It only took about an hour or so to prepare and make everything. I love to cook, so it was fun.

First day of school, first day of school!

First, I can't believe it's already September! This means I've been living in Israel for basically two years. Where did the time go? I never really realized how fast time goes until after I graduated high school! BUT anyways, today was the first official day of ulpan (intensive hebrew class). We woke up early, went to synagogue for a little bit, & then went to Ulpan. We have one teacher for everyone. I don't really know how it is going to work because of everyone has a different level of hebrew. I am hoping that my hebrew improves to the next level, so I do not have to go to michve alon (army ulpan) which is a place no one really wants to go to. It's not the end of the world if you go, but its better not to. The reason is because sometimes it ruin your chances of getting a better job in the army. Sometimes the commanders in the army will underestimate you as well. It's not always like that, but it just depends on what unit you want and the commanders for that unit. 

Our class did not last so long though because the president of Israel, Reuven Rivlin came to speak to us. He spoke for about an hour because of all the issues that have been going on in Gaza and my kibbutz is so close to it. I did not quite understand everything because it was in hebrew. It was pretty cool he came to see and talk to us though. He was here for about an hour or two, and then we all had lunch. After lunch, we pretty much had the rest of the day free to do whatever! I slept because I was exhausted... I'm not really sure why, but I was. Anyways, that's all for now!