Kacha, Marva....

So, I started Marva on a cold Sunday morning in the beginning of January. The first week, we all got our uniforms and got situated in our base in Sde Boker- about an hour away from both Arad and Beer Sheva. We got oriented, then started to have classes about guns- because then on Wednsday, we went on what is called a Masa- journey of about 3 Kilometers, after which we had a ceremony where we got our M16's. At first, we all hated our guns- they are big (the boys bigger, cause the girls got shortened M16s), and we have to carry them everywhere, including the bathroom and the shower- and you have to sleep with it under your mattress. Sitting in class with a gun on your lap is not the most comfortable thing in the world... But we did get to go to the shooting range and shoot real M16s (not our own, since ours are plugged with cement and have the wrong firing pin)- but that was cool. The best thing about the first week is that no one got punished- they just told you that you should get punished- and then we had our first Shabbat on base, which was a very interesting and enjoyable- the longest break we had gotten in a week, because we only get an hour break every day before we go to sleep, and to have a chance to take a nap was wonderful. That night, i had kitchen duty, which meant I had ot wash all the dishes that got ditry on shabbat.. which was alot, and the whole job took 5 hours... ugh.

The next week was a tough but worthwhile one. We walked a few kilometers to a campground closeby, and set up camp for a week in the feild. We slept in 2 person tents, ate o the ground, and had no shower or bathroom for the entire week, but it was really fun in teh end. Each day we had classes about what soldiers do in the field- by actually doing i- the running, crawling, and dropping to the floor, as well as a weapons class on how to shoot our guns in the field- without bullets of course. It was physically challenging, as well as being really difficult in the mornings and at night, as it was extremely cold, but we got by with the hot tea they gave us at night and in the morning. The food was also pretty unpleasant- tuna every day, but we had to share 3 people per each can of tuna. The best parts were the competition between tzevets (groups of 16 people)- and the last night when we were able to put all of our newly acquired knowledgeto use: all the kids ad a mission to try to steal a glowstick that one of the higher commanders had, and all the other commanders were helping her guard it at the top of a mountain- if they saw you, they sent you back to the bottom of the mountain, and it was really hard to sneak up there, but in the end one boy jumped out of nowhere and grabbed the glowstick in midair. It was really cool, brecause right afterwards, everyone started cheering and stood up, and about 50 kids were within 10 feet of the glowstick without the commanders knowing.

Then we had a weekend off, where I went with Shalem on a shabbat byachad in a kibbutz near Jerusalem, which was nice, but mostly I just caught up on sleep and food and did laundry :)

The next week we spent up north in a base where new immigrants who need to learn Hebrew go, and we toured around the north that week. It was really rainy every day, and cold, but I had fun, although we spent alot of time on busses that week. We spent shabbat on base again that weekend, which we all needed.

The fourth week we spent back on base, and learned about navigation in the field. We split up into small groups and actually plotted a course that we used a compass and maps to follow the next day. It was cool to ba able to plot our own way through the desert.

That weekend we got off on thursday and got to go home till sunday. I just stayed in Arad, and hung out with people as well as got laundry done, and slept alot :) yum

The fifth week of Marva was supposed to be sports week, but the place we were supposed to go to for that week was closed or something, and for that reason, we had a few random activities throughout the week.

We had talks about aliyah on sunday in Jerusalem, pretty intense, and then on monday we went to this base meant for kids deciding what they want to do in the army before they join, so we learned about the differents parts of the army. We also learned all about Ben Gurion, and visited his home, as well as going to visit the Air Force museum and base on a different day. On Friday, however, we got to see a show that a few kids from each group put on as a suprise making fun of everything and everyone- which everyone really enjoyed before having our shabbat on base.

That weekend was really rainy, so we couldn't sleep outside in the tents we usually do, we slept inside some of the classrooms. But in the end it didn't bother us because we left Sunday morning to go to a Golani base in the north.

The week we spent in the Golani base in the north was really cool, because we got to talk to actual combat soldiers about how the army is for them. Also, we got to go through the obstacle course that the combat soldiers have to pass during basic training, including jumping over a wall, monkey bars, climbing up a rope, and crawling and such. It was really hard but it was really cool to be able to try it out. Also, we were all able to shoot a Tovourg and an M4 on the shooting range, which was pretty cool.

Nw, I'm on my free weekend- the last one before Marva ends- Next week we're gonna be in Jerusalem, and the last week is back in Sde Boker, but it will be just a wrap up of the course and then we have our closing ceremonies..

So far, I've enjoyed Marva, and I feel like I am definitely experiencing Israel in a new way, but at the same time, waking up at 5:30 every day isn't muy cup of tea, so i'll be somewhat relieved whten its over.

That's it for now, but I'll for sure blog again in 2 weeks to give more in depth info on Marva that I dodn't get a chance to give now..

Love you all and I know I suck at keeping in touch, especially when I'm stuck on an army base with no internet connection...

peace and love

<3>

:)

The first taste of Arad

I haven't had a chance to blog for about 2 months now.. I know that's a long time to catch up on, so i'll break this up into a few posts- starting out with the first three weeks of Arad:
So, on Sunday, we packed everything up and cleaned the apartment one last time, said our goodbyes to the madrichim and scouts, and piled onto a bus heading south. Me, Shayna, and Masha are all roommates here in Arad, only the three of us, but that made it much easier to divide up the rooms and shelf space, and also to make meals and such. At the same time, though, it is much emptier than what I am used to- never before have I lived with only two other people.
Anywho, for the first three weeks, all us three did (since all of us are on Marva also) was go to classes from 9-6 every day. Since we're on Marva, we need to jam all our classes into the 3 weeks we had in Arad before winter break. But for anyone who has now clue what I'm talking about when I say I'm on Marva: Marva is a 2 month program run by the Israeli army (IDF) and it is basically like being in basic training, but it is meant for 18-19 year olds who are thinking of making aliyah and moving to Israel and are interested in the army. So, since it is 2 months long and we only had 3 months in Arad, one week of which was winter break- tha left only 3 weeks for classes- and in order to have them be worth credit, we had to put in 3 hours a day, 4 days a week. It was hard to do after having so much free time in Bat Yam, but I was glad to be busy again.
I had 3 classes: History of the IDF.. which was one of the most boring classes I have ever had; Absorption of Immigrants- very interesting, and which I really enjoyed; and Ulpan.. cause we all hafta learn Hebrew. So every morning, I had Hebrew from 9 till 12, but it weas really enjoyable. The teacher's name is Eti, and we went on a feild trip outside of the clsasroom or watched a movie in Hebrew, or played a game almost every day, so I was glad to finally have a class where I used my Hebew instead of practicing it in a useless conversation with the class about what we did that day. We even went one day on a trip to the Telma factory, which is a cereal factory where they make all the great Israeli cereals, like Cariot- chocolate filled crunchy pockets. And when we were there- having a tour in Hebrew of course- the tour guide let us taste the cereal as it was falling out of the machines- so I got to taste it all fresh, and hot- it was the coolest thing I've ever done in class.
Next, after an hour lunch break, I had IDF history class- which was only 1.5 hours long, since it is paired with our time on Marva as hands- on time or something like that. But either way, that was the longest hour and a half of my life, every day. Yikes- well, I learned alot about wars, but I do not enjoy listening to lectures from someone who mumbles everything and on top of that has an impossible Israeli accent and also just shoots facts at you... But afterwards, I had Immigration class.
Immigration class was great- we learned all about immigration waves to Israel since the foundation of the state, but also about identity changes the people go through, as well as their reasonings for going and coming and such. The teacher was very knowledgeable, and the class reminded me a bit of how Ms. Page's class was, but this was more laid back, and there was nearly no homework.
SO, i had a final after 3 weeks of class, and then had a weeklong break to get ready for the start of Marva- and to visit with my parents :)
I had a great time- we went to the Deaf exhibit in the children's museum in Holon, went to see Petra which was beautiful, then spent New Years and Shabbat in Mitspe Ramon- we went on an amazing hike in the Ramon crater and watched High school Musical and When Harry met Sally on New Years Eve. I was glad to see them, but then I had to start packing for Marva and get ready to go...

Last days in Bat Yam

So, this week's siyyur was really fun- I went to this set of underground caves and tunnels where the people involved in the Bar Cochva rebellion hid- It was alot of fun, and I had to crawl on my hands and knees for most of it, and the rest I had to crawl on my stomach. We needed to use flashlights (as our tour guide said: torches). I loved crawling around in the dark and small tunnels :)

For the rest of the week, we didn't really do much- we cleaned ALOT and had a few talks about what Arad will look like. Tomorrow at 7 in the morning, we are all leaving Bat Yam and moing down to Arad, located in te Negev, or the Southern desert of Israel. It's supposed to be a small town, but with a beautiful veiw of montains, although with not much else to speak of. I'm not worried because I plan to join the Marva program, which is an army program (through the Israeli army) for the last 2 months of nixt semester, and the first month will be dedicated to my classes (from 9-6 every day but shabbat). So I wont really be spending much time in Arad itself.

I'm excited to move into a new lace, and to explore and such, I'm ready for a change of surroundings :) But at the same time, I'm sorta sad to see Bat Yam go. I'm going to have a much smaller aptt in Arad (only 3 of us in total) so I'm gonna miss the others that I won't be living with anymore :( And I'm gonna miss our apt itself, it's been my home away from home for 3 months now and now I gotta move into a new apt...

It's for the better, though, since I know that I would not enjoy having to live here for too much longer- it's just that the moving process is painful as well as difficult.


Some fun facts about my first semester in Bat Yam:

• There is an elementary school half a block from our apt and every school day we heard its bells through the windows: "Row your boat", "Twinkle, twinkle, little star", and "Dear old Clementine" were some of the tunes used
• Maddie made us pasta nearly every day :)
• there are millions of cats that hang in our courtyard, and I saw some of them grow from being kittens to beng adults in our stay
• It takes 30-45 minutes to get to Tel-Aviv from here by bus
• There is a wonderful bakery right net to the bus stop that I always use in the mornings to get to volunteering where I buy either breadsticks or a Sufgania (doughnut) in the morning for breakfast
• The laundramat and the little food store across the street each know me by name, since I go ther often enough (it's wonderful, I'm gonna miss them)
• We have seperate shower and toilet rooms- one with just a toilet ant the other with the sink and a shower
• We didn't know that we had to flip a switch to get how water for the first month... which means we had a month of cold showers
• We always had various horrible songs playing over and over again from Maddie's computer ("Sexy Bitch", anyone), now it's lots of Jewish songs.. slightly better
• We run out of tolet paper very quickly... and we ran out a week ago- too late to but any more, it would be wasteful, so instead, we just stole from the Ulpan and from the shul and from the Gym and other kids' apartments to last us :)
• Stipe was always running away, or not working
• I have an awesome apartment and I'm gonna miss it!! (both people and the building)

Love you guys, and I'l next talk to you from my new (and supposedly bigger- but with fewer people) place in Arad :)

<3>

Beit Shemesh, Efrat, paintball and syran wrap... and Thanksgiving

So, I haven't blogged in a few weeks, but don't worry, I'll update you all thoroughly. :)
First for the siyyur on Tuesday: we all went to see a one- man show about terrorism and how it happens (it was really cool, and showed how fighting against terrorism can also create the kinds of broken people that perform these acts). It was very interesting, and really made me think about how we are going about the situation the world is in right now. He showed how Muhammed the baker turned into Muhammed the terrorist, because the Israeli army (consisting of 18 year olds who are inexperienced) knocked down the wrong house, accidentally killed his family and destroyed his store, withou meaning to, and also without properly compensating him. The actor was very talented.
That weekend I went with Shayna to her family friends who live in Beit Shemesh, which was a wonderful and exhilirating weekend. We left on Thursday night with a bunch of others to go to Jerusalem, and we all hung out there, then parted our seperate ways. I got delicious falafel on Ben Yehuda, and had a minor scare when Maddie got stuck inside Ben Yehuda street cause the police blocked off the way out to explode an unidentified bag. (Israel has a policy of destroying a.k.a. exploding bags that do not have an owner that are left places- a good reason to keep track of your stuff)- but anyways, all of a sudden we all hear this loud bang and none of us know what happened (we were a few blocks away)- and when we called Maddie, she was freaking out (it's what she does, love her though :). But it was just a false alarm, thank god. That night, I slept in Emunah V'Omanut dorm with some friends of Masha and Tova's (who previously visited Bat Yam and are super sweet). When Shayna and I went into Beit Shemesh on friday morning (we met up with Elianna Mintz at the Tachana-bus stop- first) we didn't know which stopto get off on bus, and we were in major- Chassidish town, but the busdriver got on the phone with Shay's friend and got directions, and dropped us off as close as he could (we were the last ones and he was super nice). I had a great time on shabbat, with lots of little kids (one Alex's age who I did puzzles with, and one Sofies age who told me all about their birds). Also, Beit Shemesh is gorgeous, next to the mountains.
The siyyur that Tuesday was to the Palmach museum, about the first Israeli military force that helped gain the state its independence. The museum was very well done, but it was a frustrating siyyur because we had to get ourselves back by bus and our bus passes didn't work that far away from Bat Yam, so we had to pay our way back; and while it only took 45 minutes on the charter bus YJ gave us for the way there, it took 2 hours to get back afterwards. And I do not enjoy long busrides without a chair to sit on.
That weekend, I went with Chana and Tova and Masha to Chana's family in Efrat (close to the Green line). Again, gorgeous veiw of the mountains, and wonderful little kids to play with, as well as a dog this time. It was very homey and I really enjoyed it. However, on Shabbat day, Tova and Masha decided to go on a walk and accidentally crossed over the fence and into an Arab vineyard. Luckily, Chana, her cousin and I saw and were able to retrieve them, but they were just wandering in Arab land , where they take tresspassing very seriously...
So I have no lack for drama :) what with people endangering their lives and such
The siyyur that week was to the Comic museum in Holon, themed around the idea of Israeli-Palestinian conflict. They focused more on Israeli creations, so I dod not see any familiar faces, although there were American comics in the giftshop. It was not very exciting, but we heard an informative speech about how Arabs and Israelis are both affected by this conflict, and about this organization that tries to bring both sides together in the mutual pain caused by this conflict.
This weekend, I had Elianna and her friend from seminary Melissa come over for shabbat, and it ws really nice to be able to spend time with them.
For Thanksgiving, Shalem did their own special dinner, with each apartment bringing in food. The trukey was delicious and sweet potato pie...mmm....
That was really nice, and our Madrich, Avi, even came for a bit. We all love Avi and we're all gonna miss him when we move to Arad. Today he was giving us instructions on how to pack up and clean, and he said that now that there's only one week left, he's gonna be dangerous, that we should watch out :) He's funny.
Last Wednsday, Barry and his apartment bought syran wrap and wrapped Avi's car while he was talking to someone inside the Ulpan building (hwere we have our classes). Afterwards, Avi chased Barry and threatened to thro him into the dumpster, and made him clean the car in 3 minutes, but ended up chasing Barry and the tripping on the slippery- just washe- floor of the Ulpan, saving Barry.
Also, last Wednsday, Shalem went paintballing which was very fun. I was so good at it, I got 6 or 7 people out, including Avi (which is serious because he was Mr. Army, and was a sniper and all that jazz) I got him rismack dab in the middle of his back, then later on his shoulder, but i only got hit twice :)
So much fun.
So, we had our finals in all our classes and just wrapped up volunteering, and now we need to start cleaning up the aprtment for the next kids, as well as pack up our stuff.

I'll post one last Bat Yam post... sad to be leaving, but glad for the change of scenery... and it also means that I'm that much closer to starting Marva (2 months of army training)!! Yay

Love you guys, and miss you more than you know.
<3
:)

four long bus rides... and a cat named Sassy

So, the siyyur this Tuesday was in the north- I was supposed to go rapelling in the mountains, but due to severe rainage (it was STILL storming!!) that was cancelled, and we went to wee the ancient city of Acco and the Bahai gardens instead. It was nice, except for that the bus ride was four hours each way and I had to wake up at 5:30 since Shalem has davening every morning... :)
But I had fun, it was a nice change of pace , and it was pretty. Also, there was a shuk there where I bought a nice scarf for 20 shek- not a bad deal.

Friday Shalem all got up early again (for it being a Friday and usually a day off) at 6:30 and we set off again for the golan, first to Gamlah which is a nature preserve for vultures and eagles and other such large birds of prey, and then we all went to stay in this wonderful moshav called Moshav Yonatan- where Rb.Yossela's sister and her family lives. The scenery as well as the weather were wonderful, and you could see soo many more stars at night than in Bat Yam or MN.

At the Moshav, all the girls were in the same house, in guest bedrooms of a nice house. For meals, we plit off into groups of 2 or 3 and ate at the local families' homes. I had alot of fun practicing my hebrew, and got to play with little kids who reminded me insanely of Sofie and Alex. On Friday night, there was this boy named Ariel was about the same age as Alex, and acted just like him- the way he runs away fom the table, being all pouty. And on shabbat, there was this one year old who was exactly how Sofie was at the same age- spilling all kinds of things on himself, and running around, trying to join his older siblings' games.

I was very happy to find that many families in the moshav had pets- so I met a huge Yellow Lab named Popeye, and a German shepherd/Black lab mix named Skipper- both of whom were so sweet and playful. Then, near the end of shabbat, this adorable and insanely soft cat (who we later named Sassy) was hanging aroung us and letting us pet her- so we took her with us to the rooms we were sleeping at and sat and played with her. She was so adorable, but we couldn't bring her back with us to Bat Yam- even though we wanted to. :)

Just got back after another 3 hour bus ride...
love you all <3
:)

Tents in the kitchen and kayaks on the sea

So, as stated before, nothing too exciting happens on a day to day basis, so I'll just highlight some interesting debvelopments. Last weekend, all of Shalem was planning on going to Ein Gedi for th weekend in honor of two birthdays that weekend. And as I was picking up the tents from the Young Judea office, I unexpectedly recieved the second package my parents sent :) which is awesome. But anyways, we got the tentsand were all set up but people kept being noncommittal and dropping out, so in the end we weren't able to do it. So we had two tents and nowhere to use them. So we built one in our kitchen. And camped. It was so much fun, even though we didn'd get to see Ein Gedi which is a nature preserve with lots of wild animals right across the street from the Dead Sea.
Anywho, great weekend hanging out with friends and such. On Sunday night, Masa (fund for sending teens to Israel) hosted an Edan Reichel concert in Jerusalem that I went to. At first I was a little annoyed because we were told to escort VIP's to their seats and then we listened to a couple speeches and watched a few videos telling us all about how great Masa is and how it's great to send kids to Israel. But after that, it was great- the first time I heard most of their music, but I really enjoyed it. A few songs in, everyone started getting up and dancing, so me and Chana (who was sitting next to me) got in and it was a blast.
The siyyur this week was Sea Scouts, where first we wentdown t the Bat Yam beach and played some relay race- water based games, then went sea kayaking. I've gone sea kayaking with my Aunt ASliza in the Galapagos before, which was absolutely stunning, but this time it was toally different. Me and Barry were in a two person kayak, and we were a power team, the fastest and most efficient out there. Plus the weather was great for being on the beach, and the sea was beautiful. It was great.
Wednesday we had a great dating shiur from R. Yossela :) Then the girls (and whoever didn't wanna play b-ball) went to the Michal Negrin factory, where they make all her jewelery, which was interesting, but not exactly my style.
Thrusday I reall enjoyed Atara's class on Ruth, even though there were only 4 kids who showed up. She's really sweet and has invited us all to Shabbat at her house :)
This weekend's weather was ridiculous. It stormed Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Yikes. I mean thunder, lightning, and raining cats and dogs. Nothing you ever see in Israel, but it was really good for the water shortage. And it made me hgappy, cause now it's in the 60's, not the high 80's. Feels like fall.
Right after shabbat ended, I worked on lots of homework, since I have a midterm in Bible Babel tomorrow and had to do the take-home midterm for Godtalk ("let's talk about God"). Hoping I'll do well, but not worried at all ;)

Love to all <3

October... and still 80 degrees F with no air conditioner

So, I know it's been an entire month since I last posted a blog, I have been very busy and it was difficult for me with the holidays and such... and yes I do kno that's a poor excuse. The main thing is that right now, I am postponing my much- needed nap to finally blog. Yay!!

So, here's Sukkot (hut holiday) in the one- minute version: I was with my friend, Jason Edelman (also on Shalem), and his family in teir Jerusalem apartment for both ends of the holiday, visiting the Kotel (Western Wall) a few times and on Simchat torah, a huge dancing party-thing. The food there was delicious (it may even rival yours, Grandma, although no one can come anywhere near how great your Borscht is), the hospitality was wonderful, and I had a wonderful time hanging out with Jason and some other kids from Shalem who also went for the holiday. In the in-between days of Chol Hamoed, Shalem all went to the Western wall to hear Birkat Hacohen, and the next day we went (I'm not sure where) snorkeling for techailet- a snail used to make the blue dye used for talit/tzitzit. I had alot of fun exploring around, although i did not actually find any of the right kind of snail. I did see this really cool school of fish, though, they swam together in such a way that they looked like Medusa. But I didn't bring any extra clothes, so I was wet on the bus for the hour- long journey home.

I had my birthday over Sukkot, and I had a great time, getting to hear the birthday song way too many times, but on wednesday after my birthdya, all of Shalem went out for a birthday dinner to a nice meat restaraunt. I had alot of fun going out with everyone, which doesn't happen very often. :)

Everything else the past couple weeks has been as usual, volunteering, classes, etc. are pretty much the same, nothing to note about those, the only new things to talk about are the Tuesday siyurim. So, diving for techailet was one siyur. The next one was sports day, where all the tracks (Shalem, medical, classic, bussiness, sports) played basketball, volleyball and soccer against each other in a tournament. I played 3 games of volleyball (we lost to the sports team but beat everyone else), one game of basketball (again lost to the sport track) and one game of soccer... needless to say I was totally wiped after that insanely hot and active day, but I'm pretty impressed with how we did since I was the only one there who had ever played team sports at all in high school.

And the Siyur this week was to "Dialogue in the Dark"- a blind museum in Holon. Basically the entire place is pitch black, and ther are rooms that each set up a scene- a boat, a marketplace, a street, a forest, a park ranger's lodge. Everything is in the dark, and you are guided through there by a blind or visually impaierd person. It was definitely an interesting experience, but i felt so lost the entire time, always calling to the guide to reorient me every so often.

Oh- and yesterday, i finally got my package from the Young Judea Office!! Yay!!!
Then I went to the Comic book shoop in Tel Aviv with Barry- and then Falafel for dinner!!

If there's one thing you should know about the food here, it's that both falafel and schwarma are delicious and great meals- I got mine last night for 14 shek ($3.50) for a meal!!

peace out, lovelies
miss you all and love you

<3
Anna