Today marks 3 months since my dad died, but also 5 days until my draft day (sorry, everyone's counting omer, so I'm in the mood!). It's been a hell of a week, so I apologize if my writing seems a bit clipped or otherwise off.
About a month ago (picking up where I left off), I went to Tel Aviv for an army prep day hosted by Nefesh B'Nefesh. We spent the whole day in lectures learning about different jobs, what to expect from a typical base, what to bring on the first day, and scams to avoid. I got to meet a lot of lone soldiers drafting with me, and Nefesh B'Nefesh staff members that can help me, and already have!
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| Climbing the Red trail on the Carmel Mountain |
After that, the ulpan went on a trip to Jerusalem. It was really nice to get the opportunity to have a sort of refresher course on some of the history and learning about the worldly significance. We also had huge chunks of free time so we wandered around, explored, and did lots of shopping. I hadn't been back to the Kotel since my dad had died, and it felt good to take a minute and say a prayer in the same place he (fortunately) said many prayers in his life. On that note, Mount Herzl (military cemetery) was especially difficult to visit, but I put a little distance between me and the graves and promised myself I would come back as a soldier and give them the respect they deserve. It ended up being somewhat of a hard week in terms of missing my dad, so I knew that I needed to take care of myself first. In the end, it was a good touristy trip to Jerusalem, and I had a good time.
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| I worked in the kitchen one day to help the kibbutz prepare for Seder, the same night some friends back home had prom |
Sunday, I went back to Tel Aviv because my good friend Noam (soldier from Taglit) was playing a concert with his new band. Now, it was extremely important that I go because not only Eden (another soldier from Taglit), and not only Skylar (currently doing a Masa Internship, met on Taglit) were going to be there, but Skylar's sister Morgan (ALSO on Taglit, you see where this is going) was visiting Israel with their family! Aside from being friends, I am a huge fan of Noam's music, but it was just amazing to get to see so many of us all together, in Israel. We snapped as many pictures as we could after the show, and, one by one, parted ways (for now!).
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| Noam singing "Ani Holech," (I am walking), the song he wrote about his army discharge |
The next morning, I traveled back to Jerusalem to surprise the Muszkats. Arriving around noon, I was just in time to be a big help before the seder (to which I promise I was actually invited). It was incredible. At the end of every seder for my whole life, just like every Jew, I have said, "Next year in Jerusalem!" One year ago, I didn't even believe I would be in Israel for Passover. This year, I actually was IN Jerusalem! Just knowing that made the whole thing special. We had several people who had made aliyah at the table, so we each told a bit of our story. I was first being the most green, all the way to one of the grandfathers who made aliyah in the mid-forties, when the British were still here. There was a lot of translating, drinking, eating, and story-telling, which always translates to fun on seder night.
The next day, after the holiday, I returned to Yagur to work for a couple of days. My mom had a birthday! The day after, Friday, I traveled to Tel Aviv to meet with my friend Joanna. We met in the train station and took the next train to Beer Sheva to begin our journey to Eilat together! I had never been before, but it was absolutely beautiful. We stayed in my friend's dad's apartment on the 13th floor, with a stunning view of the Red Sea and Jordan. We only got a taste of the city: sitting on the beach during the day, seeing the Jordanian flag while swimming in the Red Sea, visiting her friend in a resort hotel with a pool, walking on the beach at night, and even a bit of rain on our way out of the city. When we returned from the weekend, we stayed an extra night in Tel Aviv, which meant (oh, darn!) that the next train left Monday night after the second holiday. So we spent Monday being major beach bums, too! It was so relaxing, but I got very sick right before our train.
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| View from the apartment |
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| Dinner on the porch, lit up Eilat and Red Sea view |
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| Beach in Tel Aviv with the ladies |
We returned, and I stayed home Tuesday and Wednesday to get better. Wednesday morning I got a call from the army asking me if I remembered the day of testing in Ramat Gan last month. I did, so they told me to return for an interview "tomorrow at 8:30 in the morning." I gently told them that I live on a kibbutz near Haifa, so 8:30 is a bit of a stretch. To which they replied, "Okay, we'll see you at 9. Don't be late!" I heard from them again that afternoon reminding me to be there, and again at 8:30 yesterday morning asking me if I was on my way. When I finally got there (six minutes before 9!), the interview went really well. My interviewer and I talked for about an hour, and he told me that if I get really fit at Michve Alon, he can probably find me a cool job that I can do outdoors, even if he can't get me into the medic's course. The best part was that he complimented me on how Israeli I am compared to most Americans that come through his doors, in that I seemed relaxed and informal. It was a huge compliment that I hope that I can continue to live up to! I left and ate lunch in a park, and then traveled back to Tel Aviv (I have put on some serious milage in the last two weeks) for another Nefesh B'Nefesh Lone Soldier event, a mesibat giyus (draft party), final briefing (reminders of what to bring/expect, etc.), and networking because almost everyone there is going to Michve with me on Wednesday. There are a few people whose Hebrew is very good, so they are going in the same week, but it was still very exciting to meet people with whom we will be spending the next three months.
I don't know the next time I will have time to post, if it will be before or right after the draft, but I promise there will be lots of pictures my first weekend home! It's crunch time, y'all!
