Too much to write!

So, I think it's fair to say that I completely forgot about my blog.

Purim has passed. Pesach has passed. Both were amazing. Yom Hazikaron followed by Yom Haatzmaut passed.

All of the holidays here have been really special.

All of the dogs are really good. Gucci is getting a lot bigger and is almost a full grown German Shepherd now, even though she still runs around like a puppy. Channah misses us every time we go on a trip and she cries when we get back.

This last week was Gadna. Gadna is like 5 days of army experience to show you what basic training could be like. It was really fun for all of us who went and gave me a little insight into my future.

Speaking of the army, I have gone through most of the necessary steps and have my enlistment date. Along with other non-Native Hebrew speakers in this ulpan, I will be enlisting at the end of August and spending a few months in an army ulpan, which is basic training mixed with Hebrew class.

This pretty much concludes what I will be writing about the army, as I don't want this blog to be about that. If you want more information as to what it is like for an American to join the IDF, there are literally tons of blogs out there that describe all the steps and some of the experiences.

I'll try to write a little more often about other stuff though! And I will include some pictures soon.

It's Been So Long!!!

Sorry everyone (all 2 of you that read this). I have been busy, but that's no excuse. It's been quite awhile since I've written here and so much has happened!

I have been here at Kibbutz Ramat Yochanan now for 1 month! 4 months to go here, but I am so happy here that I wouldn't mind it being a year!

I have made a lot of new friends so far and met people from all over the world. Purim just passed, and it was a lot of fun! The kibbutz threw a big party with a 70's disco theme. They brought in a huge light up dance floor and everybody drank too much.

I'm going to start writing here a lot more often and in greater detail, at least I plan to.

For now, I'd like to write about how in my first week here, I let a big labrador named Whiskey sleep in our room. The first time it was okay, but after the second time, he made the room so smelly and fur-filled that we had to discontinue our relationship. We took some pictures of the first time...

We finally started work and class!

This is me in my work outfit!

They made all of us do safety training in the plastics factory, but it turned out that many of us escaped that duty. A lot of the Russian-speaking men were placed in the factory, probably because many of the workers there are Russian.

They put the strongest two guys in the laundry instead of the factory, which was amusing to all of us.

My job is working in the ulpan area. My duties consist of cleaning all the public areas, like the moadon, the computer room, the kitchen, and the patio. Also, I cook dinner every other night. I am sort of like the protegé of the house father, Gonen, who is also called Gonzo. This is one of the best jobs in the ulpan, way better than sweeping stuff in a plastics factory!

I also started class yesterday. Each day you switch off between class and work.

I got into Kita Bet (Class B) which is the middle class. It is a little above my level, but I am keeping up and learning a lot. Our teacher is very good and very patient. She has to teach in Hebrew very slowly, and cannot explain anything in English because two people in the class speak nothing but Russian, and two others speak nothing but Japanese.

Getting up at 6:30 every morning is not easy so far, but I've managed, because there is not much to do at night and I can get to sleep early. 

Now here's an oldie but a goodie:

A Jewish boy goes to his father and says "Dad, can I borrow 5 dollars?"

The father responds: "4 dollars! What do you need 3 dollars for?"

How I Got Here

It's been only a few days, but so much has happened!!!

A quick recap:

I hung out in Tel Aviv and Rishon Lezion for a few days and did a lot of administrative stuff.

- I went to the main office of the Nefesh B'Nefesh organization in Jerusalem and picked up my Israeli ID card, called a Teudat Zehut. Pictured here:

I didn't have time to explore Jerusalem, though I plan to later. I'll probably go visit the Western Wall, but I feel way more at home in Haifa or Tel Aviv. At the meeting at Nefesh B'Nefesh, we also learned a lot about what to expect as new immigrants and some of us picked up a grant check from that organization to help get us settled in Israel. Then we sat in a Question and Answer session that should have lasted no more than 15 minutes. Instead, the elder immigrants there made it a point to ask the most useless and repetitive questions that they could. Even when the rest of us started groaning, they kept at it. Jessica, a girl who immigrated with me and is on the same kibbutz as me, and I decided it was time to leave. Before we left, we both agreed to be part of a special ceremony in Tel Aviv, which happens this Thursday. Yitzhak Rabin's daughter will officially present us with our Teudat Zehut cards, even though we already have them.

I made my way to Haifa from Jerusalem, then from Haifa to the neighboring suburb of Kiryat Atta, then from there, I took a cab to the kibbutz, Ramat Yochanan.

Now comes the weird part. Before this, I had only been to one kibbutz in my life. Last time I was in Israel, over two years ago, Tim and I went to visit a newfound friend named Elad (different from my friend Elad in Rishon Lezion) in Kiryat Atta. Elad took us to a nearby kibbutz and we walked around, met some people and a nice dog, and took a hike through the fields. It was beautiful and was one of my favorite days in Israel. Here are the pictures from facebook of that day.

When I signed up for my ulpan at this kibbutz, I didn't do it based on the location of the kibbutz or anything else, I only did it because of the time that the ulpan started. It was pretty much out of my hands, it was the only kibbutz I could choose.

As soon as I set foot in the ulpan area and saw Channah the dog, I realized it was the same kibbutz that I walked on two years ago!!!

I'll add pictures of Channah later and you can see how she has barely aged in two years! She's still lazy, still sleeps all day, and still puts her paw on your arm when you scratch her belly.

I took my Hebrew Test Sunday morning, and did not do very well, so I very well might end up in the lowest level, Alef, though I think I belong in Bet, where it will be more challenging.

I still have no time to go into detail about the kibbutz, because it's time to sleep. But I will later!

Tomorrow, 8 of us will go to the plastics factory and get safety training, because that is where we will be working. The plastic company of this kibbutz is called Palram.

Thursday, Jessica and I have to travel to Tel Aviv for the ceremony!

Sunday is when classes start.

Until later, Lailah tov!

Is There Something Going On in Egypt?

Here I am in my new home, Kibbutz Ramat Yochanan! Our ulpan (a period of study consisting of intensive Hebrew, coupled with labor if one is on a kibbutz) begins tomorrow. About half of us have arrived and gotten settled already.

This lovely puppy is the unfortunately-named Gucci. She is a 5 Month old German Shepherd. She likes a lot of attention, being fed treats, and annoying all the other dogs on the kibbutz until they bite her. A person in the last ulpan found her, but then had to leave the kibbutz. Gucci became one of many kibbutz dogs that wander the property. I'm in heaven!

I'll explain more about the format of the kibbutz tomorrow and will write about all the people and dogs here, but right now, it's 1AM and Gucci and I have to go to sleep. We have our Hebrew test tomorrow that decides which class we get put into. I will probably be in the beginning class (Aleph), and the proctor will probably decide that Gucci is a dog and isn't allowed to take classes that don't involve "sit" "stay" and "stop biting my shoes."

Holy crap! I'm Israeli!

The whole thing felt a little surreal. It just seemed like an annoying long process at EWR in Newark, and then a really really long flight. Even when I stepped off the plane, I was just thinking "Alright, cool, I'm in Israel."

Throughout the day, it sank in in various phases.

First, after collecting all my documents and my first payment from the government, I got my baggage from the baggage claim and headed out to the free taxis with the rest of my new Olim (immigrants). I heard a lot of screaming and cheering by what appeared to be young girls just outside of the baggage claim in the terminal. My first thought was that somebody on my flight had a lot of family. Adam from LA remarked that perhaps Justin Bieber had just landed at the same time as us (coincidentally, he does perform in Israel soon). But no, it was a welcoming party! A group of about 30 schoolgirls were assigned the task of painting signs and screaming and singing "Am Yisrael Chai." We pretty much felt like The Beatles, and it was awesome! That's when I realized that this trip to Israel was different, and it meant a lot more.

I took the cab to Elad's (my good friend in Rishon) house and we hung out for awhile. As we caught up and I ate the amazing dessert treats his chef/mom made, I resisted the urge to pass out on the table. I decided I would stay up the whole day and not get jetlagged.

Elad has a lot of exams this week, so he dropped me off in Tel Aviv and I had about 6 hours to kill while I waited for our friend Itamar to get off work (he's about to pick me up in a few minutes). I ill-advisedly tried some sushi (tuna nigiri) and was disappointed. Then I headed towards the beach.

As the Mediterranean came into view, "shit got real." The sun glinted off the water, the beach was pristine. After taking in the moment, I napped for a little while in the sand. Seeing the Mediterranean again was indescribable.

As I type this, there is a really rowdy German Shepherd puppy biting his leash and bumping into my leg repeatedly. I thought the Puppy Bowl was on Sunday?


I found this nice little internet cafe near the beach and I'll probably return here at some point. The people are really nice and the proprietor is wearing Sambas just like me! She said "Hey, same shoes." in the matter-of-fact tone that Israelis have perfected.

Tomorrow I have an interview for Garin Tzabar, but it looks pretty competitive so far. Three other guys on my flight also have interviews and I'm the oldest! Not good.

Tomorrow night I might try to go to the Israel-Serbia soccer game at Bloomfield Stadium (home of Hapoel Tel Aviv). I couldn't convince anyone else to go, oh well.

Thursday I report at the kibbutz to start my ulpan!

All of the people on my flight were a lot of fun and a couple of them will be at the same kibbutz as me. Hopefully I'll see the others again somewhere along the way.

Shalom M'Yisrael!

I'm in New York City! Hotwire.com is awesome for New York. I got a sweet room at a boutique hotel for around 80 bucks!

Tomorrow morning, I get up early and have to be at Newark Airport (EWR) at 9AM. Haven't decided if I want to take the train with all my luggage or just take a cab which will cost a lot. So excited to start my journey. Next update will probably be from Israel!!!!