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WOW. All I can say is that everything happens for a reason and things truly DO work out in the end. Not that anything was truly that bad...knock on wood.
When we last left Andrea she was writing from a hostel in Tel Aviv. Cold, lonely and not quite sure where the next few hours would take her,Andrea walked the four blocks south to Frishman Street, marched right up to the Kibbutz Program Center and said, "I want your best Kibbutz in all of Israel and I won't take anything less!"
Actually, she said nothing, politely knocked and waited in the waiting area. The rest, they say, is history.
Well sort of. I was immediately placed in a Kibbutz called Geva (pronounced Gay-Vah) in Northern Israel about 20 km from the country of Jordon. (It's not as close as you think, there are mountains in the way). The Kibbutz Program lady explained to me that there were about 20 volunteers and that the Kibbutz was very large (there are about 700 people living in Geva). I couldn't wait.
Soon after I was asked to pay a fee for my 2 month Visa, then I was given directions to the Kibbutz via bus. Boy oh boy was that an adventure. This is me. This is my bag. Now double that (I had two bags) and try taking them all across Israel on four different buses…and not know the language. I won’t go into detail, actually I’d just like to block those few hours out of my brain. They were strenuous, embarrassing and hot.
When I arrived at Geva, a beautiful sabra boy named Dagon helped me with my luggage . I was met at the dining hall by Brenda, the volunteer coordinator. This woman is my soul mate. An English drama professor living on a kibbutz. She told me I’m going to help with her drama students on the kibbutz. After lunch (it was kosher Asian food) I was taken to my room and began to unpack.
My Australian roommate named Courtura (pronounced Co-chur-ah)was cleaning our bathroom that we share with the boys in our building. The room is pretty large, it’s supposed to have three people but the third girl (from Sweden) doesn’t arrive for a few more weeks.
Once I was unpacked I was given sheets,blankets,towels,a laundry bag and told that the room next door is filled with clothing,shoes,jackets…etc and if I ever needed clothing to just take some. I know.
I was immediately welcomed by the majority of the volunteers. Aside from myself there is only one other American (from Arizona). There are 3 Canadians, 2 Germans, 3 volunteers from Holland (Dutchmen?),2 Mexicans, 3 Australians, 2 volunteers from Ireland (Irishmen?) and 3 Koreans. Who needs to travel when you have the world next door!
When I was officially signed in and set up, Brenda (the volunteer coordinator) gave me 25 Shekalim for the night. In other words, real currency is not used on the kibbutz,. Let me explain. Breakfast and lunch is served in the dining hall everyday, while dinner is not. All the families and volunteers have kitchens and must fend for themselves, well not really,
Because this is a kibbutz, and no one really gets paid, we use monopoly money. Not really, but really. Look.
This is the currency here. Every night we go to the markolit (or grocery store) on premises and purchase whatever goods we need. Last night I bought this. And this.
The great part about the system is a) you can trade the funny money in for real money whenever you want, b) you can save up your funny money and just eat leftovers from lunch every night, c) all fruits and vegetables are free…as are eggs,milk and yogurt.
After dinner the volunteers and I went shopping. Not really, but really. Like the little room for the volunteers, the entire Kibbutz shares clothing. Seriously. While there is a “for real” clothing shop with new clothing available for purchase, the store next door offers a wide variety of used clothing for work or whatever. I took a pair of sweatpants and some t-shirts for Sunday when I start work in the dining hall. Like Bellmore Bagel Café, I start at 6 AM, unlike Bellmore bagel café I get an hour for break and am done by noon.
There is a gym here along with a music room, a volunteer lounge (with a TV, kitchen, internet), a library, pub (there’s an open mic tonite and a party later one), pool and many other amenities for the volunteers and members.
The kibbutz makes money through it’s factories (it makes hydraulic doors and pipes-all the doors here are automatic, it’s awesome) and other means. The milk, cheese and yogurt are all sold locally to businesses, the horses are available to visitors and locals to ride (for a fee) and the farms provide a sustainability for the people living here.
After dinner and shopping my roommate and I went to the music room to jam out…well we went to listen to some guitarists but ended up having a sing along. It was very fun.
At 8 pm Brenda had planned a discussion among the volunteers about the politics in Israel. On Tuesday, Israel is having an election for the new Prime Minister, work is cancelled that day (we’re taking a trip --weather permitting)
After the discussion we all congregated and smoked hookah, it was the perfect end to a wonderful adventurous first day. I can’t wait for the next month and a half.
Here are some pictures from my walk around the kibbutz.There are way more to look at if you click the link
right here. Sorry no faces, just wait a few days!
A sign painted on the wall of the milking room
BAAAA!!!
Ben and I on a rock next to Cacti
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