Moving to Yagur

So I'm finally at my next step, kibbutz yagur! It's weird being here, like being that kid that shows up to college before the dorms open. There's only a few people that showed up today, none of whom speak English. We live in a converted gan (or children's) house, so all the beds are small and the railings are low. The ulpan classroom is just downstairs so on class days we can just roll out of bed and grab some coffee from the small kitchen on our way. I've been assigned to working with the babies (little or no Hebrew required) and I start Sunday! Tomorrow we are taking our placement exams so they can figure out what level we're in. I'm hoping to be in gimel (level 3) but I'll probably be in bet (level 2). I met the housemother (who is actually a guy and used to be the head of the program) and the head of the program. They're really nice, and are both second generation kibbutzniks. There's also this guy who made Aliyah 36 years ago from New York, and although he's a fitness trainer in the gym, he hangs out with us to speak English and tell stories about making Aliyah in the 70's and 80's. He's going to be helping me with my army prep and is one of the coolest people I've ever met. Here's some pictures of my trip to Haifa and the kibbutz today!




























(The puppy picture is because I'm missing Usdi and Waya)

As I know some of you may be wondering, a couple of weeks ago, I got a call from Jill saying that my dad's chemotherapy wasn't working. The doctors told her that the time between trials would be too long, so he's off the treatment and in home hospice. I've gotten to talk to him just about every other day. Some days are better than others, but even if I just hear his voice for two minutes I'm happy. This has been a long and hard journey for all of us but we fought with science and now we are fighting with prayers as best as we can. A lot of random times I remember some small detail about something we did together, while riding bikes or making pancakes (a not-so-secret lesson about carbon dioxide), some joke he told or a time I made him mad and was too proud to apologize, and I am so proud to call him my dad. We had some fantastic times, and I wouldn't trade them for anything in the world. Even now, if it's on Skype or just a rushed phone call, I treasure every inch of it. He got to celebrate his Hebrew birthday on Sunday and I called him first thing (for his morning) and sang to him in Hebrew. No matter what happens, things are okay now and Abba, since I know you'll be reading this almost as soon as I post it, I am so happy that we have the time we do now, even if it is long distance. I love you so much.

So, time to get this party started! I will be posting much more often now that I am in this new place. Let's go to ulpan!


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