It Has Begun... [Tironut]

I have officially been in the army for two weeks now! It's absolutely nuts. Until last Wednesday we were still in our orientation groups. During that time, we commemorated Erev Yom HaZikaron (the Eve of what is a memorial day for fallen soldiers and citizens who died in terrorist attacks) on May 5 by having an official military ceremony. It was our draft's first ceremony, and it was very emotional and special. The next day, we went home for our free day on Yom HaAtzma'ut (Independence Day). That night, I went to a barbecue with friends and then the kibbutz celebration and it was really exciting because it was my first Yom HaAtzma'ut in Israel! There was a slideshow of all the kibbutz soldiers, and then they also showed the kibbutz Lone Soldiers, and it was so much fun to see my name, pictures, course, and base up on a big screen. It was kind of silly because I am the lowest ranking soldier on the whole kibbutz but I have one of the longest names.

Cutie Pie loves Israel

Middle school dance performance

Patriotic dessert

The next day, I went to another barbecue and slept a whole lot. When I got back to base that Wednesday, we officially started our tironut (basic training) after dinner. After we were all assigned a new tzevet (smallest group), our machlaka (next biggest group) got into formation to meet the sergeant. As we finally got it right, there was a flash of lightning. The moment the sergeant came out and started to speak, there was more lightning and then it started to rain.Very dramatic! We moved to a warehouse, and continued to go back and forth between formation and pushups. I still can't tell you how long it was, but at one point we got back in formation and instead of going back down to pushup position, our new mefakdot (commanders) started to hand out these pieces of fabric and plastic. We were told to put them on the shoulder part of our uniforms, and that they represent what machlaka and pleuga (next biggest, in my course all the girls are in the same pleuga) we are in. There ended up being a freak storm that lasted all the way through the next day, so our first full day we were COVERED in mud, which wasn't as bad as it sounds. So far, I have only taken pictures in my aleph uniform, which is what we wear to ceremonies and when we are off base. But on a regular basis, we wear what is called bet, which is more comfortable and designed to get really dirty. So when we got mud all over our bets, it wasn't a big deal and actually kind of fun (in retrospect).

At that point I still didn't know how to wear my beret, nor did I get my boots yet
The red stripe means pleugat lahava and the black means machlaka 2

My first weekend of tironut I went to visit the Muszkats in Jerusalem. Some of the group who travels there from the base invited me to a chanukat bayit for the new office of the Lone Soldier Center. It turned out to be a great opportunity to meet new people and learn about yet another organization that supports Lone Soldiers. Before I left, they gave me the contact information for the office in Haifa.

Grabbing a selfie with my buddy Jesse at the bus stop

The Lone Soldier Center is dedicated in memory of Michael Levin

I got to see my long-time friend Nina before she leaves Israel

This past week has also been very eventful. On Sunday, we started learning about the M-16. Monday, we were assigned our own M-16's (100% not loaded) to carry around literally all the time on base. Even when we get dressed, we have to keep the strap around our necks! They are really serious about weapon safety in the IDF, and coming from the US (as opposed to soldiers from countries where citizens cannot have guns, where they don't necessarily know how dangerous they can be), I appreciate it. Another thing that we learned was that if an animal has died we are supposed to move our lesson away from the site out of respect. My new mefakedet (we'll call her M) is really cool, but most of the time she is really tough on us. As a result, we are already making progress in a lot of areas. M is in charge of most of what we do, in addition to teaching us the practical parts of our tironut. We've also started Hebrew classes. I got into Tzevet 8, which means that we are the only girls' tzevet for kita dalet (the fourth and highest level), and it is really hard. We even have homework this weekend! I know that I will learn a lot, but I hope I can catch up to some of the other girls, who are really cool with all my questions in class. In the upcoming months, they will be my new family, so it's really good news that we get along and are already starting to be really close.

On Wednesday, we got to leave base early! Thursday was the first ever Yom Sidurim (errands day) hosted in conjunction by the IDF and Nefesh B'Nefesh. I traveled down to Tel Aviv in the morning (in uniform) and got so much done at Beit HaChayal, where they had both private and government organizations represented to help us have the most successful Yom Sidurim possible. It was incredibly helpful (there were things I was able to organize that I didn't even know I needed to do), and it was fun seeing my friends from base. It was a little weird because the Michve Alon Hebrew course staff was all there, including our commanders, but it was mostly helpful because they know us and what we needed to do, even if we were totally confused (like me). They also got to see us being kind of silly with the boys (my SUPER TALL friend Dror and I hopped across the room as if we were in a three-legged race, but with our middle legs up in the air). We also got to meet Lone Soldiers who have been in the army for a while, who gave us advice and just hung out.

All different units, ranks, and from 3 continents! Sweden, US, and South Africa

Yesterday I learned how to shave my kumta (beret) from my friend Ziv, so it will look much better, older, and wiser from now on, especially when I wear it (which I also learned how to do from M before we left Wednesday). I go back to base tomorrow, and this week we do a three-day stint in tents for field training. Should be interesting, but probably no photos. But I will be sure to get a photo of what a look like on a normal day on base before we leave!

Yours truly, Shirit

P.S. I did get my boots Wednesday afternoon before we left, so a picture of them will also be on the way next time around!