AHAHAHAHA I'm so lazy, sorry
It's...been quite a week. On Shabbat the abandoned newborn kitten I had been trying to take care of (dumped on my by my roommate who had initially wanted to be its mother and then went on vacation) died. I knew that since it was newborn and the diluted milk I'd been giving it didn't have the right nutrients, the kitten would most likely die, but still...if it had lived one more day, it would have lived.
Sunday, I went to meet my host family (having finally been told about them...that morning) after the ma'ariv, or evening service at the synagogue. They had also invited two former ulpanists who had met at Sde Eliyahu and had gotten married not long after and their children, and some of their own children and grandchildren for a total of twelve people ranging in age from probably a year to fifty or sixty years old. We were each given a Haggadah to read along with, and we began the Seder (sorry for all the Wikipedia links). Contrary to what I believed would happen, there wasn't really much in the way of storytelling concerning the Exodus. There was, however, a lot of prayer and a LOT of singing, which I thoroughly enjoyed. The hostess, a woman I worked with in the laundry, helped me to read along, as my reading is still painfully slow with Hebrew text (I have been practicing, though). The food was also absolutely delicious. However, when I tried to praise the hostess, she told me it had come from the kitchen in the cheder ochel, as had everyone's on the kibbutz. That was a bit of a surprise, considering I expected everyone to cook for their own families at least for the first seder. However, home-cooking is very rare because food from the cheder ochel is free, and getting raw foodstuffs from the colbo costs quite a bit, even if it's cheaper than shopping in any nearby city.
We sang and ate and drank until midnight--four hours of revelry until we had to clean up and say goodbye.
I also posted episode two of Israel: Unscripted.
The next day I got another mild shock--holidays like Pesach and Shovuot operate by nearly the same rules as Shabbat: The only time you can 'light a fire' is to cook. Otherwise, no electricity, no nothing. You sit and read and pray and talk. You also can't go anywhere (which incidentally is what happened today as well). Another thing I learned was that unlike in the Diaspora (anywhere outside Israel), only the first and last seders are observed, as opposed to the first and last two.
Speaking of Pesach, one of my favorite Jewish rappers recently reposted this via Facebook:
Wednesday, tired of having no one left want to go anywhere and itching to explore since apparently all of our trip locations (minus the obvious: Jerusalem, which is still pretty big in itself) are a secret, I went to Tverya (Tiberias) to have a look around. The city is named for the Roman emperor Tiberius and sits on the edge of Yam Kinneret (the Sea of Galilee). I took a look around the boardwalk, but for being out there for six hours, I didn't get too much done besides see some ruins and gawp at sculptures. Also, pretty much every single person in uniform, even on the bus, was toting an AK-47. This was actually...pretty awesome, despite reminding me just how much more common bombings and the like are over here.
Here is the footage of my visit:
Also, here is the footage of the water show I was unable to stick around to see, because by that point it was getting very late and I wanted to be sure of actually getting home.
It's a playlist, so...be prepared to sit for a while. And have your mind blown.
Thursday and Friday were back to work. On Thursday, I worked in the laundry and discovered I'd hurt my knee walking around for six hours straight. Not as bad as two months ago when I damaged a tendon in my foot so badly I couldn't walk for a week (going to DC to get my visa and then walking around for six hours straight...only in sneakers). I get told that Friday I get to work in the cheder ochel.
As you may recall, the last time I worked there I ended up being run ragged because only two of us were working, and it was a horribly busy day, and there were extra people. This time it wasn't so bad. My knee felt better on Friday, and most of the first part involved merely setting tables for Shabbat dinner. There weren't as many people for breakfast, and there were more people working there, none of whom lazed about. There was also lunch, the first such time lunch has been instituted on a Friday. This meant more to clean up, but I didn't mind very much.
I spent Shabbat with my father's friend Jessie. We spent quite a bit of time talking about Sde Eliyahu, the surrounding area around her home, and about the West Bank. Gan Ner, where she lives, is a lot closer to the border with the West Bank, not very far from the last Arab village before you hit the barrier. We also had a kickass barbecue, and I met a couple of her children and grandchildren (though some of us had already met). All in all, I had a great Shabbat, and early Saturday evening I returned to Sde Eliyahu.
Tomorrow, the 26th, is my birthday. Since I haven't received notification of work, I intend to spend the entire day exploring Roman ruins in Beit She'an (and if I have time, Tverya again) and hopefully going out to dinner and generally having the time of my life.
Until later, shalom!
Sunday, I went to meet my host family (having finally been told about them...that morning) after the ma'ariv, or evening service at the synagogue. They had also invited two former ulpanists who had met at Sde Eliyahu and had gotten married not long after and their children, and some of their own children and grandchildren for a total of twelve people ranging in age from probably a year to fifty or sixty years old. We were each given a Haggadah to read along with, and we began the Seder (sorry for all the Wikipedia links). Contrary to what I believed would happen, there wasn't really much in the way of storytelling concerning the Exodus. There was, however, a lot of prayer and a LOT of singing, which I thoroughly enjoyed. The hostess, a woman I worked with in the laundry, helped me to read along, as my reading is still painfully slow with Hebrew text (I have been practicing, though). The food was also absolutely delicious. However, when I tried to praise the hostess, she told me it had come from the kitchen in the cheder ochel, as had everyone's on the kibbutz. That was a bit of a surprise, considering I expected everyone to cook for their own families at least for the first seder. However, home-cooking is very rare because food from the cheder ochel is free, and getting raw foodstuffs from the colbo costs quite a bit, even if it's cheaper than shopping in any nearby city.
We sang and ate and drank until midnight--four hours of revelry until we had to clean up and say goodbye.
I also posted episode two of Israel: Unscripted.
Click to viewThe next day I got another mild shock--holidays like Pesach and Shovuot operate by nearly the same rules as Shabbat: The only time you can 'light a fire' is to cook. Otherwise, no electricity, no nothing. You sit and read and pray and talk. You also can't go anywhere (which incidentally is what happened today as well). Another thing I learned was that unlike in the Diaspora (anywhere outside Israel), only the first and last seders are observed, as opposed to the first and last two.
Speaking of Pesach, one of my favorite Jewish rappers recently reposted this via Facebook:
Wednesday, tired of having no one left want to go anywhere and itching to explore since apparently all of our trip locations (minus the obvious: Jerusalem, which is still pretty big in itself) are a secret, I went to Tverya (Tiberias) to have a look around. The city is named for the Roman emperor Tiberius and sits on the edge of Yam Kinneret (the Sea of Galilee). I took a look around the boardwalk, but for being out there for six hours, I didn't get too much done besides see some ruins and gawp at sculptures. Also, pretty much every single person in uniform, even on the bus, was toting an AK-47. This was actually...pretty awesome, despite reminding me just how much more common bombings and the like are over here.
Here is the footage of my visit:
Also, here is the footage of the water show I was unable to stick around to see, because by that point it was getting very late and I wanted to be sure of actually getting home.
It's a playlist, so...be prepared to sit for a while. And have your mind blown.
Thursday and Friday were back to work. On Thursday, I worked in the laundry and discovered I'd hurt my knee walking around for six hours straight. Not as bad as two months ago when I damaged a tendon in my foot so badly I couldn't walk for a week (going to DC to get my visa and then walking around for six hours straight...only in sneakers). I get told that Friday I get to work in the cheder ochel.
As you may recall, the last time I worked there I ended up being run ragged because only two of us were working, and it was a horribly busy day, and there were extra people. This time it wasn't so bad. My knee felt better on Friday, and most of the first part involved merely setting tables for Shabbat dinner. There weren't as many people for breakfast, and there were more people working there, none of whom lazed about. There was also lunch, the first such time lunch has been instituted on a Friday. This meant more to clean up, but I didn't mind very much.
I spent Shabbat with my father's friend Jessie. We spent quite a bit of time talking about Sde Eliyahu, the surrounding area around her home, and about the West Bank. Gan Ner, where she lives, is a lot closer to the border with the West Bank, not very far from the last Arab village before you hit the barrier. We also had a kickass barbecue, and I met a couple of her children and grandchildren (though some of us had already met). All in all, I had a great Shabbat, and early Saturday evening I returned to Sde Eliyahu.
Tomorrow, the 26th, is my birthday. Since I haven't received notification of work, I intend to spend the entire day exploring Roman ruins in Beit She'an (and if I have time, Tverya again) and hopefully going out to dinner and generally having the time of my life.
Until later, shalom!