Got a Job

It looks like starting Thursday things will start to get on a regular schedule.  I found out that I will be working in the moadon, which is like the ulpan common area.  There's a dinning room where we eat dinner every night but we hang out there too because that's where the internet is and a patio area right outside.  Then the classrooms are attached to that but you have to walk outside to get to them. I guess we (me and who ever else i work with, not sure who it is yet) are in charge of cleaning up that area in the morning and then getting dinner ready for the ulpan at night.    The other choices of girls jobs were laundry or kitchen (which i think means cleaning dishes and tables in the main dining hall).  Apparently I got the best job.  One of the Kibbutzniks was saying that the other day and Nava, the Ulpan house mother said she likes to pick people she likes for this one because you work with her.  She also emphasised that nothing we do is a rush just like you know take your time, do some stuff, take a 20 min break, do some stuff.  Also seems like we get a break every two hours.  Break when the classes have a break, break for lunch, long break in the afternoon.  We'll see how it actually is in two days. 
So the way the whole system works is that there are two groups for school alef (me), and bet/gimmel.  Alpha goes to school sun, tues, thurs and works mon, wed, fri and the other group does the opposite. I don't know if that means you don't really see the other group a lot or what but there's a lot of time in afternoon/night to see everyone i guess too.  Going to enjoy the last couple days of relaxing before the real work starts...

Day at the Beach

This morning was more of the same kind of hanging out but we all had to be here to take our hebrew placement test. After lunch we went to Camel Beach in Hof HaKarmel.  It was really really sunny and the water was incredibly warm.  It was fun and nice to get out a little.
When we got back a whole bunch of new people had come, including my other roommate.  Now we have people from Russia, Hungry, and Canada too.  There are supposed to be more Russian people coming tomorrow to finish up the group.
After dinner tonight a small group of us walked around the Kibbutz a bit.  There were lots and lots of cows, some horses, some little clusters of houses...we'll have to check it out better in the day light.

Shabbat Shalom

Sorry I don't have more exciting things to say but we are just hanging out today.  We tried to go into town but nothing was open so we just stopped at a convenience store for some water and snacks (Matt and Allie, i got those things that we ate a lot that are like wafer tubes with chocolate in the middle!).  These lazy Saturdays will be really nice I think once we are busy all week and get used to this more calm lifestyle.  It does feel pretty good though to have absolutely nothing that I need to be doing.

Other than the store, the main event of the day has been putting my things away in my room.  They were not kidding about limited space.  One (large) suitcase and a half packed gym bag's worth of clothes didn't even fit.  I had to keep all of the cold weather stuff in the suitcase under the bed.  My roommate is from Montville, NJ. She was to be a Rabbi but her Hebrew is not good enough to go right to Rabbinic school yet. So she'll learn here and then go back home to go to school.  We are supposed to get another one so i guess we will meet her tomorrow.

It's been interesting to get to know the other people at the Ulpan.  Everyone is here for really different reasons and comes from really different backgrounds.  Most people are from the US but some from other places (France, Holland, Brazil so far) and most people are staying here after this.  I can't believe that the number of people is going to double tomorrow. 

I'll try to take some pictures soon so you can see what it looks like here.

Made It

I'm here! I got to Ramat Yohanan this afternoon, checked in, got my room, met a lot of people.  It's all kind of a blur.  There's a lot to take in and the jet lag is not helping.  Tomorrow we have nothing to do so I'm hoping we can explore a little and get our bearings. But the nerves are gone.  I'm just excited to get to know everyone and get things started.  It's really hot and sunny and humid.  About half of the people (20) are here so far and the rest come on Sunday.  There's a pretty good mix of people just here for the 5 months and people moving here for good.  The girls seem to be like 23-25 and the guys are more like 20-22 (the ones that are staying will be going to the army after this). 

That's about all i know right now.  We are really just hanging out not doing too much. 

I'm Off!

It seems like we've been talking about it for a long time but it's finally here...tomorrow I'm off to Israel!  Five months of learning Hebrew and kibbutz life. I have no idea what to expect (which is kind of fun and kind of scary) but I am sure it will be an adventure and an amazing experience. Just a few more things to pack up and I'm ready to go.

Next time from holy land...