Shavua Tov

Shabbat in Israel is definitely different than any experience I've had at camp, home, or NFTY. After leading a solid Friday night service for my peers (originally I wasn't too fond of this idea - leading the first weekend - but it went pretty well overall), we continued on to dinner and afterwards an oneg shabbat program - girls versus boys in a battle of the wits, Jeopardy-type game show. Mad fun to bond with the guys but of course, we lost in the end. Here's where the real fun kicks in. Apparently, what the kibbutznicks (the ones our age at least) do for fun mostly every Friday night is throw a dance party in their unused bomb shelter. Our madrichim - counselors - set a strict curfew for us and then led us to what was probably one of the best DJ'ed parties I've experienced. Sure, Israeli's dance a little differently and even more appropriately than us Americans, but the music was very similar to what you would hear if you turned on the radio any given day. As curfew hit, we ran back to our rooms, still all full of adrenaline after a great party, and hit the beds for a late night laila tov.

Saturday morning comes around and I'm the first to wake up in my room. Yoni, who sleeps next to me, is probably the lightest sleeper of us all but continuously wants more and more shut eye. So keeping our noise output to a minimum, Noah (who had woken up by then) and I ran out the door, up the hill to the kibbutz's market to buy a spontaneous breakfast of Nutella flavored cereal and Coca Cola (other than that I've been trying to eat healthy). Then came services, a little bit of free time, then the trip to none other than the holy city itself, Jerusalem. We all piled on and off the buses as we visited the Kotel (Western/Wailing/"wishing" wall) which became an emotional experience for me as I wrote my prayer and actually prayed with the hundreds of other Jews at what could be considered the holiest site for all of our faith. I realized that the one or two times I've visited the Kotel I've been with my family, or more specifically my dad on the men's side. To be away from my family at the place I've visited only with them was eye opening - it made me feel more responsible for myself and even more like an adult. Almost like a transformation. I'm still slowly realizing I'm in Israel and not home in New York but those few moments were a big step in this experience.

After our few minutes at the Kotel, we traveled to Ben Yehuda street where much buying of Israeli t-shirts, Moshiko's schwarma, and even more Coca Cola - it tastes better out of America. An hour or so passed and we boarded the bus back home to Tzuba where I quickly led a Havdalah service and went off to bed.

Today was a first real school day - painful is one way to describe it. Three hours of Jewish History followed by an hour or so of Hebrew, lunch, and then General Studies from 2 to 7 in the evening. Not a large amount of homework and the teachers are really understanding but it's definitely a new transition. Much more to come soon, probably sometime later this week.

Shabbat Shalom b'Tzuba

About three or so days ago I arrived here at Kibbutz Tzuba, 'nestled in the Judean Hills' in Israel. What has been only three days has seemed like a lifetime. To think that eighty one kids, myself included, would be spending the next four months here, learning about the land, culture, and people of Israel while continuing our regular studies at the same time - let's just say if you presented this idea to me at the start of high school,  I would have shaken it out of the picture by the time you could say "Bum didi bum bum bum." (more to come on that later) Now, being here after many long hours of nagging teachers for syllabi and completing the application process, I can say that this is truly an incredible experience. To wake up each morning and look out of my mirpeset (balcony) to see the sunrise - on clear days - over the hills seems unreal. The freedom that we kids are given to roam around the kibbutz and explore and discover; unreal as well. Don't get me wrong, I do miss my chilly, frozen over town in New York, but I'd give anything to make sure that these four months don't go as fast as they seem they could.

Although the internet is shoddy and the weather is a tad chilly (60 degrees - some of you would do anything for a number this high on your outside thermometer), we're still out and about doing everything we can. These past few days have flown by, and I've gotten to spend a great amount of time with my three roommates, Noah, Jason, and Yoni. After two days of painstakingly slow orientation, we received our Jewish History teachers as well as our General Studies teachers and finally started classes. Just the other day, we had a tzedaka trip, and the group I was assigned to was taken by bus to Saffat - the ancient agricultural structures of Jerusalem - to help rebuild what our ancestors had made many years ago. Not only did I find it interesting to continue such a different method of planting and harvesting, but the experience of building with those in my group was a great bonding experience, and I'm looking forward to more of these hopefully in the near future.

Today is Shabbat, so right now everyone's doing a bit of cleaning while I'm busy writing. Earlier today we went on a bus ride forty minutes south to ancient caves from the Bar Kochva Rebellion era (or even later - not sure) where we participated in an archeological dig. Although my roommates and I completely bashed this idea, saying that the leaders of the excavation put pieces of pots and coins back so that everyone can find something new, I have to say I definitely had fun. It was really interesting to see the ancient burial ways as well as the methods those living in the caves or the houses about them used to defend themselves from attacking Roman soldiers. I'm getting used to learning about all this history - apparently there's a lot more to come in the four months ahead of me. You'll definitely hear from me again.