So, the Ulpan ended. I am very sad to be leaving Kibbutz Ramat Yochanan. I had a really wonderful experience, that at some point I will blog in more detail about. The last weekend we had a big party, with a big dinner, a talent show, slide show, and dance party. I couldn't have asked for more.

After the Ulpan ended Hannah and I traveled for about 10 days. We went to Jerusalem for Jackie's birthday, then north to the Tel Dan nature reserve and Tzvat. We then took the LOBGEST bus ride of my life to Eilat and then spent a few nights in Tel Aviv with Eado and his family (related to the Cohens and their amazing family in Haifa). (Pictures of all of these places will follow, but my computer cord is in Jerusalem, and I am not).

In Tel Dan we hiked all day. It is absolutely gorgeous, and there is an awesome hollowed out tree called "Pooh Bear's Tree" that I fell in love with. There are also old ruins from the tribe of Dan during biblical times. There was a Christian tourist group there with their Pastor. They were from Mississippi and very sweet. Hannah and I sat and listened to the Pastor's explanations/sermon, and for the most part I enjoyed it, although I had a really hard time staying quiet when he started to talk about the golden calf archeologists found at Tel Dan. When the tribe of Dan came there, they established it as an alternative religious cite, but it was cultic, unlike the Judaism being practiced in Jerusalem. He said that since they found the calf, and it was only the size of your hand, it didnt reeaallly count as an idol, and so they werent really cultic/pagan... Since they were already kind of staring at us, Hannah and I also got a kick out of acting like a couple...holding hands and being cuddly to really freak them out. Unfortunately I think it bit us in the ass. Later we needed a ride to town when they were leaving and they did NOT want us on the bus...ooops.

Tzfat is one of my favorite places in Israel. It is beautiful and old, and all winding roads and artist colonies and ornate old synagogues. It is the home of Jewish mysticism, and I swear you can feel something in the air up there, it is just different. To start off our stay, Hannaha nd I managed to royally piss off the ultra-religious woman working the front desk at the Ascent hostel (a jewish learning hostel that provides classes, sabath meals, and many other things that I have forgotten...it is a very interesting place, although a little too restrictive in atmosophere at times). We asked if it would be ok if we got a bottle of wine and brought it back, thinking this was a fairly innocuous request and that if it was a problem she would just say no. Instead she just threw up her hands and looked at us sideways in akward silence for a few moments. Apparently this was an odd request and she just didn't know what to do with us. She didn't seem to want to say no, but she made it veerrryy clear that it was not socially aceptable. So, like the trashy 16 year old rebels we truly are at heart, we got a couple of bottles of wine, flavored cigarretes and chocolate covered halva and drank on some steps in town. It actually turned out to be an awesome night. Since there is absolutely nothing to do at night in Tzvat (its small and 70% religious) there were a couple of girls also hanging out on the steps. They only spoke hebrew, but we hung out with them for 3 hours!!! It turns out that when there is no alternative, we can communicate pretty well in hebrew.

Eilat was gorgeous, and we met up with two other Ulpanists, Ramon and Kirsten, who were also there. We went snorkeling and just hung out in the beautiful warm weather. Tel Aviv was great, but very rainy at first. We went to the art museum and just generally bopped around. Imet up with Rachel, a girl fromt he Ulpan who has been teaching me to bellydance for the last 5 months. I went with her to her dance class, and I did pretty well if I say so mysel! The teacher was incredible and I am really excited to find a place to bellydance around Boston this summer.

When I got back to the north I returned to the kibbutz to stay with my adopted family there and see some friends, then I went to Haifa to stay with the Hechts and help celebrate Anat's birthday. Her family and friends were so nice and very interesting. I met a wonderful, very passionate left-wing zionist named Noga who lives in an "urban kibbutz". It is a new movement trying to return Israel to its more socialist roots and I am very very interested...

Now, I am working on a farm in Rosh Pina, in the north. My friend Ben and I found this farm through WWOOF, although Mark, the guy who owns it refuses to call it a farm. He says it is a "Happy Hippy Homestead". He and his wife Amira are in their late 50s and she had a stroke 5 years ago, leaving her without the use of the left side of her body. Even so, she can do an amazing amount of work, but they need help. They have goats, chickens, a bakery and they make cheese. On Fridays they open a restaurant and store in their house to sell all their baked goods, cheese and other amazing food. They used to distribute on a larger scale, but it's too much for them now. We have been here for 3 days, and so far I have baked, cleaned tooonnns of dishes, done lots of gardening (it has been neglected since Amira's stroke, so there is so much to do) and MILKED A GOAT!! I am beyond thrilled to be here and I think that Amira is going to teach me to make homemade hummus this week!!! And, next week is my birthday, and then I move to Jerusalem!! I am pretty sure I couldn't love life more right now :)

Today is the 13th day of the Israeli operation in Gaza. Operation Cast Lead had not affected me much until yesterday when rockets from Lebanon hit Na-ariya, about 20 miles north of me. Before that I felt safe here. I am in the north, far away from Gaza and the rockets being sent into southern Israel on a daily basis. We even went on a trip to the Negev this week, and though I could see the military planes and helicopters flying overhead, I felt safe. Israeli's have lived with terror and war for so long that they have learned to live their lives despite the situation, and I am so amazed by them. I have felt safe because everyone around me has been relaxed and unconcerned. Everyone talks about what is going on in the south and fears for their families there, but they do not stop their lives, it doesn't affect their daily activities. Yesterday a terrorist group in Lebanon (apparently not Hezbolleh...they have more advanced, longer range weapons, and they would have sent 100 not 4) sent rockets into two towns in northern Israel. Thankfully, they were met with a swift response from the IDF. For the first time, the kibbutzniks started asking me if I knew where the bomb shelters were and what to do in case of a Siren alarm.

I was really anxious all day yesterday, because this is a situation I have never had to deal with before. As my dad said, no one is sending rockets to Burlington, not even to Woburn. But I do not want to go home. Part of this is because I honestly don't feel that I am in very much danger, especially not on the kibbutz. The northern front has been quiet until now, and the fact that Hezbolleh allowed a smaller group to send a few rockets is being generally interpreted here as a show of support and solidarity with the Palestinians, but not a real threat against the safety of those in the north of Israel. Also, here there is a government that cares about its citizens. There is a warning system in place and safe places to go in case of emergency. There is such a disproportionate number of civilian deaths because Hamas does not care about its people. The IDF calls homes before they bomb them, but that is the only warning the people get. Hamas has not installed any warning system or given the people a safe place to go. Beyond that, they hide their weapons and their terrorists in the civilian homes, deliberately making them targets. I hate war and violence in all forms, and I want peace here as much, if not more than most, but Israel is not the one blocking it. I read the papers and I get so upset about the way the world is perceiving this. People in America are chanting "Palestine from the river to the sea". I can't tell if they are just stupid and do not understand that this is a call for the destruction of the Jewish State at all costs, or if they truly want that. In either case, the anti-war people who support the palestinian people are joining a side who's solution to the conflict is the complete destruction of another country.

I am planning on leaving Israel at the beginning of April, and I am going to stay here for as much of that time as I can. I know I am not a citizen of this country, and I would never stay in any other country when it was at war, but this is not just an attack on Israel. Hamas wants the destruction of Israel becuase it is a Jewish state. I do not want to run away from an attack on the Jewish people. I am no hero, and I will probably leave as soon as I am in serious danger, but I can't leave now. Partly because I would feel like a coward and like I was running away, and partly becuase I think that if I came back to the States right now, I would end up fighting with too many people and I would just be angry and unhappy. I am very liberal, especially in terms of American social policy, and I am generally anti-war, but it has become clear to me that you cannot be completely anti-war when there are groups that want nothing more than war and destruction.

For everyone at home that I love and miss, I am totally safe, and I promise to do everything I can to stay that way. (My travel plans for after the Ulpan are very dependent on what is going on where and which areas are definately safe, I do not want to take chances). Despite everythign that is happening here, I am still having a wonderful time and I am loving my life :)

CHAG SHEL CHAGIM - HOLIDAY OF HOLIDAYS



Haifa has this great festival every saturday in December in an area called Wadi Nissnass. It is a loud hectic amazing fusion of Muslim, Jewish and Christian traditions. People sing songs, roast chestnuts, sell everything you can think of and even have snakes to take pictures with...

Me, Jackie, and Hannah went with our adopted family from the kibbutz. They took us to the festival and then to dinner at this delicious, but tiny restaurant down one of the many winding alleys. It was basic middleeastern food, but the Hummus was home made and incredible, and I had the BEST lemonade I have ever tasted, it was mixed with rosewater.





kids from "seeds for peace", an organization that brings Jewish and Arab kids together for summer camp and other activities to foster understanding and peace.


Face painting!
Adam


Yasmine

Me, Hannah, Jackie, Denisse, Asaf, Yasmine and Adam


Israeli fashion kills me...



Capuara..brazilian martial arts/dance


We finished the day eating dessert (amaazing chalvah) at the beach and looking for sea shells with the kids.

I did a week long program on an Israeli army base called Gadna. Gadna is the program that Israeli high schoolers do to give them a taste of army life because most of them will have to serve for a few years when they graduate. It was really hard, but also very rewarding and fun. We dressed as soldiers, lived in barraks and spent the entire week running, doing push-ups, learning about how the army functions and how to behave in combat situations. I was chosen by my Mifakedet (commander) to be alef minelot, which basically means the right hand man. I was responsible for my group (the girls of the ulpan), for their behavior and for enforcing the expectations, as well as responsible for their well being. It was my job to make sure all the girls had everything they needed and to speak to the mifakedet or the samelet (the commander ahead of the mifakedet) if anything was wrong or missing or broken. At the end of the week my commander asked me if I knew why she had picked me. She said that when I spoke everyone listened and wanted to hear what I would say, she said it was a beautiful thing to see. I think that is one of the nicest things that has ever been said to me, and I really really appreciated it.

Besides all the army suff, we also had a couple of really interesting moderated discussions. We talked about what it meant to have a weapon, and how it becomes an extension of yourself, and so you are responsible for everything concerning it. If you lose your weapon or it gets stolen while in the army you can go to jail for up to 7 years. They used the same line as the NRA "guns don't kill people, people kill people" but meant it in a different, and much more sensible way.

We also talked about what the most important thing to us was. Not like your family or something tangiable, but really what you need to survive. People gave incredibly interesting answers, and because it was towards the end of the week, we had really bonded as a group and people who are usually very reserved and quiet spoke about things that they cared deeply about. One of the Japanese guys on the Ulpan, Eliyahu, was born with some sort of disease or birth defect and has little to no muscle on his lower legs. He has braces on his legs and often walks with a cane. At the beginning of Gadna I couldn't figure out why he was there, he had trouble walking and I couldn't imagine how he would manage the week. He was incredible. Even though he always got places last, he ran as best he could and he did all the exorcises and never quit. He was so inspiring, and it was great to see that everyone at one point or another helpled him out. He said the most important thing to him was God because he couldn't walk until he was 6 years old and all the doctors said he would never be able to. Through God he was able to find the strength to walk and everyday God helps him overcome every obstacle.


We were at camp Jow-Ara...here we are posing next to the entrance on the last day just before we left (note our wide smiles of satisfaction and pride)



We were always either in 2 lines or in "chet formation" We lined up like the letter chet.


We did sooo many push-ups. It was very very hard at first to always have to run from place to place and do push-ups and sit ups and planks, but by the end of the week I could do it all, and that was an incredible feeling.


we did push-ups everywhere...


We were in "sevat shalosh-essrey" or unit 13. It was combined guys and girls, but we slept seperately. There were only 4 girls, so we had extra space and it didn't smell nearly as bad as the boys barraks.


unfortunately there was no heat, so we were really cold. (this is the saddest picture of Hannah I have ever seen)



We did a day of in the field training. We covered ourselves in mud as camoflouge. We learned the different ways the soldiers did things depending on if they were doing urban combat (like in Gaza) or combat in fields and woods (like in Lebanon). There were different crawls and types of walks. The crawls were so hard and painful because they were over rocks and potholes and it was raining. We did granade drills and leanred the different signals soldiers use to communicate when they have to be silent in battle. The day was so exhausting and difficult, but I can't even express how good it felt when we were done and I was muddy and wet and exhausted and knew that I had completed every difficult thing put in front of me.



There was a competition between the Sevats to see who could prepare the most appealing plate with the rations given to us (canned tuna, canned fruit salad, a little bit of frsh fruit/veggies and bread)


this was our presentation





On the second to last day Nava (house mother) Karen (director of ulpan) and Limor (one of the teachers) came and brought us pasteries and chocolate milk and other delicious and very welcome sweets.


The second to last day we did a series of exorcises and games to test the things we had learned, and our ability to function as a group.
We had to race the other groups to cary the log around a curcuit as many times as possible in a certain amount of time, switching people every circuit.


relay races carrying strechers with jerry cans full of water to weigh them down


and relay races where you had to dissasemble and re-assemble an M-16



On the last day we went to the firing range and shot M16s


At the end we got to take off out uniforms, and our commanders came, told us their names and spoke to us in a non-commander capacity. Our Mifakedet, Rafaella, was incredible. She was so poised and so good as motivating us without being too harsh. She was incredibly mature for being only NINETEEN!

Sebastion and I were the two Alef minelot (him for the guys, me for the girls). This is our Samelet, the commander above our mifakedek that we reported to.


The girls with our Mifakedet, Rafaella


Sevat 13!!!!



There are a million more stories and great things we got to do, midnight hikes where we pretended we were moving into enemy territory and had to walk silently and crawl and make it back to the base safely and other great discussions, but this is already wicked long. The last thing is, our group won the award of Sevat Achi Tov (the best unit) because we worked so hard. :)

The Ulpan took a trip to Jerusalem a couple of weeks ago. We started at a beautiful look out point to get an idea of the entire city.



From there we went to this old aquaduct that was built when the city was being attacked (by the romans...?) Anyway, there was fear that the water source would be cut off, so an aquaduct was hastily dug through the mountain so the water could be diverted straight to the city. Now it is totally dry, but we got to walk through it. It was about a mile long and completely pitch black. About every third person had a flashlight, so it took quite a while to get through as we all tried not to hit our heads when the cileing got low or trip over the sudden dips and twists. The pictures are decieving because it was a very strong flash, but we pretty much couldn't see. The tunnel was very narrow for most of it and at some points we had to turn sideways to fit through. It was very cool, but slightly panic inducing.







We went to Mount Herzl, where Throdore Herzl, the father of modern ploitical zionism, is buried. It is the National Cemetary and many other famous Israeli leaders, including Golda Meir and Yitzak Rabin are buried there as well.


Herzl's remains were moved here after the State of Israel was created.





Many soldiers are buried here. All of the soldiers' graves look exactly the same, regardless of their rank in the army.



Our teacher Limor led us in singing "Jerusalem of Gold" in front of Rabin's grave. There was a guy working on construction near by. He stopped what he was doing and came over and sang with us.


We entered the Old City through Zion gate. I love the Old City, I could walk around all day just running my finger along the ancient walls and sliding my feet along the stones that are now worn completely smooth and slippery. I cannot wait to move to Jerusalem in March.






We went to the Southern wall, where people used to enter the Temple Mount from. The stairs up to the wall are unevenly spaced to make you think about the steps you are taking, so that you are very aware of the fact that you are approaching Temple Mount.



This is the view to the right as you climb the steps (you can see a bit of the mount of olives)




Around the corner from the southern wall are the souther wall excavations. This used to be a street in the time of the Temple, you can see where the Robinson Arch collapsed and crushed it.




These are the people that I love...Ezra, me, Matt, Ben, Hannah and Jacki. In this picture we could totally be a 90's sitcom.



a trebuchet



a cool mural of what the area was like in the time of the Temple. Jacki and I are pretending to be part of it...






We went to the Kotel just before sunset. Going to pray at the wall never fails to move me. It always helps me to remember how lucky I am for all the people in my life that I love so much. I feel like it is the one place you are guarenteed to have God's ear and I always want to say thankyou for everyone and everything that I have, and just attempting to do that, and to pray for everyone I know needs love and protection, makes me feel so overwhelmed, and grateful.






For dinner we went to the Makoya House. There are three Japanese guys on our Ulpan. They are from a sect of Japanese Christianity called Makoya. This sect is completely zionistic and they highly value the ability to read the tenach in hebrew, so every year a few students come to Israel to study in Ulpan or in University and then they live at the Makoya House in Jerusalem and study the Torah. They made us an amazing Japanese noodle and veggie dish that I cannot remember the name of now and showed us a video explaining their sect's mission. Its really interesting, but a little cult-like. However, they hold huge pro-Israel rallies and parades in Japan, so I am a fan.


aaannndd we were bored on the way home...

Hannah


Victor, Suku, Sebastian


Jacki and Jake