Geva Goodbye

A Long Days Journey Into Afternoon

I'm writing this from Mary's dorm room in Portsmouth but I realized I never posted about the goodbye party...here's the post...

Goodbye Geva Party

We had a graffiti party for Adam and I ...I made up the geva song below with Hampus and Jasper...hope you enjoy...the premise of the party was to wear a white t--shirt then to dance and draw on each others shirt.

I will miss my Geva family so much words cannot express the gratitude I have towards all they have taught me and shown me. I learned so much about who I am and what I value in people and wht kind of people I'd like to surround myself with, I hate ended sentences with prepositions.

BARNYARD PHOTOSHOOT!

SHABBAT SHALOM!

I would just like to post some gems from yesterday's photo shoot. It was like America's Next Top Model, only in Israel and on a kibbutz...and instead of people it was farm animals...who spoke hebrew.

Cows,Horses,Sheep and Bull

A sign painted on the wall of the milking room

Me and my new friend veal parmigiana

BAAAA!!!

Sheep Butts

Ben and I on a rock next to Cacti



Milking up close and personal...



At the stables right before Ben got bit by a horse (really)


The winner of Andrea's favorite baby cow Number 962!]



Also it was pancake day and I GOT TO MAKE THE PANCAKES FOR THE WHOLE KIBBUTZ!
Click the first picture to view the entire album!



here is a video of the baby sheep just click play!

I'VE BEEN HERE FOR THREE WEEKS ALREADY?!

YA'ALA!
(Oh My!)

It seems as if I've been working and living at Geva Kibbutz for months. I love the atmosphere and laid back attitude of the kibbutzniks and volunteers. We're all here working towards the same goal...each other!

So these past couple of days have been exciting and interesting. The rain has cleared up and the mud has dried- we're finally getting over cabin fever (if you are ever stuck inside play the board game Settlers of Catan or watch "Grizzly Man" the movie about Tim Treadwell who was eaten by Grizzly bears)

Since my last update last Saturday I've been working and watching movies and relaxing, with the weather it's been hard to do anything, the highlight of my week since Saturday was starting the book "Running with Scissors" by Augusten Burrows and receiving letters from Arielle and the Pennsylvania Macy's.

The pictures in the slideshow are from Friday night pub night, we drank chocolate liquor and milk, it was delightfully disgusting! I only had one glass!

Yesterday (Tuesday) we went to Sippori, a small town near Nazareth, where Jesus' Mom was supposed to be from (Jesus' mom was named Mary, I don't know if you've ever heard of her).

Sippori is now an archeological excavation site where you can see traces of Romans, Crusaders, Jews and Babylonians. I was there on Birthright in 2007 but it was really cold and I couldn't understand our guide. Yesterday was really fun because Brenda, our volunteer leader, has family who lives there and were part of the original excavations 10 years ago. Brenda's niece was the first one to discover the Mona Lisa of the East (See picture below)






The woman above (who looks very much like an angry Aunt Jodi) is Brenda's sister and the owner of a small organic restaurant in Sippori. By the way the word Sippori means Bird in Evret (Hebrew). Along with the restaurant Brenda's sister and her family produces OLIVE OIL! Organic (expensive) homemade Olive Oil. This is her showing us the proper way to grind olives. Her husban looks like a cross between Santa and Moses (I was too timid to ask for a picture) so we decided they grow more than just olives at the farm! ;)

When we got back I got sick and went to bed, tonite we are all going to the pub to watch soccer, ahem, sorry Futbol or Football. Should be fun. And the answer is yes, I am dating the boy in the pictures. His name is Ben, his dad is a rabbi and he's American.

Next Friday we leave for Eilat and then from Eilat Ben and I go directly to Egypt! I can't wait. I even turned down skydiving to save up my shekels for a nice pyramid paper weight!!

DAY NINE-ELEVEN

Yamalo! B'tay Avon! Batslicha! SHALOM!

Publish Post

nightlife

So much Hebrew so little time! I truly am learning so many phrases and these classes I am taking are improving my conversational skills and reading skills immensely. I regret not paying attention in Hebrew skill. Maybe if I had been to Israel before I started Hebrew school I'd have more motivation to learn the language. Oh well, there's no time but the present.

Since my last update I've been studying like crazy for these Hebrew classes and getting to know the kibbutz. Last night a fellow volunteer and I went on a mission for kumquats, and found them! They are small orange-like fruits the size of grapes. Too bitter for me though.

But let me digress, I must blog chronologically or else I will be confused. Days are like years here and although life is stress free and relaxed, I know I'll forget things unless I write them down!

On Thursday a new volunteer from America arrived. His name is Ben (we call him New Ben for obvious reasons) and he's from Ohio. His dad's a rabbi. We get along well ;) If you put a "t" after Rabbi it becomes Rabbit. I wonder if there's a reason for that...*

*this is what Kibbutz life is like.

After Ben's arrival we made a bon fire and my roomate from Australia introduced the group to "Twistees" i.e dough wrapped around a stick and cooked over a fire. Once fully baked, pour maple syrup into the whole and enjoy! After one twistee we began to experiment with marshmellows...it wasn't successful! The other Ben from Holland played guitar/told scary stories and we discussed the differences between America and everywhere else.




Yesterday, Shabbat was a bit hectic in the dining hall. Mainly because Friday night is the only night that dinner is served. Meaning, table cloths, flowers and plastic covers are added to EVERY table. Oy vey. It was an effort but it paid off.

After shabbat dinner we all went ot PUB NIGHT! and repeated the events of last weekend. I played pool and failed.

Today we were supposed to go to the hot springs but instead stayed behind to watch futbol (soccer) between the kibbutzniks and volunteers. Tonight is my birthday party at the pub and Karen's goodbye party. Everyone must wear clothes from the free shop and they must be as ugly as possible!



P.S-Happy Valentine's Day and my Birthday is tomorrow!

DAY SIX-EIGHT

BEFORE I BEGIN THIS BLOG, HERE IS MY ADDRESS...
---------------
Andrea Macy
Volunteers
Kibbutz Geva
Israel
189915

TEL: 04-653-5111 X1234
FAX: 04-653-1744
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Well, a lot has happened since my last update.

Well, not really.

Let me rewind.

Afula and pub goodbyes

Monday was my second day of work at the dining hall and I have to say there is very little international difference in working in the food industry. all the tools are the same and all the jobs are the same, the only difference is, in America, crazy-steroid-using-mafia-tied- Italian bosses make you work 9 hours without a break...while in Israel everything is Sababa (cool) and we get 3 breaks.

After work on Monday a few of us went into Afula to buy necessities...i.e Shwarma and contact solution...but there was nothing really special about the day except the bonding that occurred.I posted pictures from the city, it's not very pretty, just like p. diddy only small like a kitty.

Later that night we had a party in the pub for two volunteers who left after 6 months of servitude here at Geva. It was quite fun (mostly because the drinks were free and the people all spoke English). The jukebox was youtube and anyone who wanted to went up and played a song. The only thing missing was food!



Tuesday was Election day (still waiting on the results)and it rained. And then it stopped. And then it rained some more. Pretty much we were all stuck inside for the day. Unfortunately the rain not only kept us inside, but it kept us from our day trip to Acco. It will be rescheduled but most likely on a Saturday when we don't have work. Speaking of trips, February 27th the whole group is going to Eilat! It should be fun, three days of nothing but touring and sun, I can't wait. It will finally make up for the 2 days lost on Birthright.

Today is Wednesday, February 11th. I worked from 8-3 and got in touch with Cousin Jeffrey Macy. We are going to speak over the pelephone tonite... this is so exciting. It's like the episode of Full House when Uncle Jesse's family from Greece comes and they look exactly like the tanners. I hope the Israeli Macy's look exactly like us...


Tonite I am going to a Hebrew lesson then over to the drama studio to assist the class with warm up exercises. Unfortunately the class is taught in Hebrew so I can't be much more of an assistant than after the first ten minutes.

Table of Contents

Greetings! (From my couch in my living room on Long Island...)

Okay, you got me. I haven't left yet. In fact, I haven't even left the couch yet today. I've been watching a National Geographic Channel special on identical twins. (Don't worry, I start my job at Bellmore Bagel Cafe tomorrow). The reason I decided to post today was to give an overall description of my upcoming trip(s).

Here's a table of contents for the future of this travelblog...

Chapter One: The Homeland
On February 3rd I will be flying on the Brockport group flight to Heathrow Airport in England. A mere six hours later I will be on another plane to Israel (aka the land of milk and honey). There I will work on a Kibbutz for two months. While I am not yet sure which Kibbutz I will be living on or what job I will be doing, I'm sure it will be fun and I will let you all know when I do know.

Chapter Two: The "Other" Homeland
On March 25th I will be starting my tutorials at Oxford University . I will be studying the comedies of William Shakespeare, Play Reading and Creative Writing. (Mom and Robyn will be visiting during Passover and we plan to travel to France.)


Mind you, this is only the broad plan. I hope to go to many more countries and experience many more cultures than just Israel and England.

Hopefully, Mary,Rachel and I will get to travel to Spain and Belgium. Perhaps the Harlequins Crew and I will make it to Ireland. Only time will tell...