Leket, Yom HaMeah, Baror

Unfortunately, on Thursday I learned that I had racked up enough mistakes that each equalled a Shabbat, so I stayed on base this last weekend. I worked in the kitchen for lunch on Saturday, but mostly rested and talked to my family. Sunday morning, those of us who had closed and the mefakdot we were with left to meet up with the rest of the pleuga in Afula. Everyone left from there to head to Nahalal, the moshav where I went to the swap meet a couple times before my draft. We changed into half-bet (aleph is the travel and ceremonial uniform, bet is the uniform owned by and worn on the base, half-bet is bet pants with a T-shirt), and picked corn for this program called Leket. They travel to different farms around Israel and gather volunteers to harvest the parts of each harvest that is, by Jewish tradition, left for the poor. The corn we harvested went to over 500 million hungry families in Israel. It was crazy fun, and good honest work.

Shabbat on base wasn't all that bad, we were allowed time to buy ice cream on Friday afternoon

After picking corn all day, we had mud everywhere

We returned to base and learned a bit about what was going to happen the next day, Yom HaMeah. Yom HaMeah is traditionally a day of personality, social, logical, and technical testing for girls before they go into the army to see better what kind of job they should be assigned to. For us, it was a day for the girls of higher Hebrew levels to do all the same things before we are assigned jobs, but the whole day in uniform and with girls from our course. For me, I felt a little silly at first being there because it has no connection to girls wanting to go to combat positions. But once I got started, it was great. I had so much fun showing off my leadership skills, building little marble slides, and even the computer tests weren't all bad (despite how hard the Hebrew was). It was in Haifa, so it was weird being about 10 minutes from the kibbutz without actually getting to go home, but the day passed pretty quickly. We returned to base exhausted, right before bedtime. That same day, some girls had already had their combat (kravi) interviews a few weeks back, so instead of going to Yom HaMeah, they went to the Bakum to exchange their alephs for kravi alephs and kravi boots. It was hard to see them already accepted into their jobs, but I know my day will come.

The next morning, they changed some of the rules. Now, we are allowed to wear the army-regulation amount of jewelry, allowed to go for runs during our free time before bed, and, biggest of all, we can call our mefakdot by name. When I say that, I mean that we call them, for instance, "HaMefakedet Shirit," or "Mefakedet Shirit." So, from now on, M's name is now MN (initials, obviously, mean protecting her privacy). It was weird at first (okay, it's still weird), but it makes things a lot easier than EVERYONE just being "Mefakedet" or "Mefakedet [Tzevet number]." Funnier still, if we don't ask, they don't correct us or tell us what name we should call them by. So there's still a lot of "HakShev Mefakedet" (Attention, Mefakedet)'s flying around. We also earned longer times to clean up in the mornings, so it actually takes less time now than it did before (strange-sounding, I know), but ten straight minutes is less time than two sets of five because of standing attention in formation in between.

We also met some girls that used to be in our pleuga, a few courses back. It was interesting, but it was hard to pay attention. We were all thinking about what we knew would come the next morning, our fitness test. We got up before the sun and did a set of pushups and ran three kilometers. Considering we had barely had any exercise in the last two months, we all did incredible. I was very much in the middle (my number was 34, but they were missing a few so it was actually 29 or 30), but about a third of the girls didn't finish in time and the best time was about 17 minutes. The average time (my approximate time) was around 18:30-45, which in the grand scheme of things is not that great. Honestly, I was just happy I passed. The girls that didn't will have to retake it later.

"Travel with caution, soldiers are running in front of you"

That night, we finally had our driving safety program. It was so much fun to do simulations, ask questions, and lead discussions with small groups from the machlaka (my station was all about seatbelts). They really got to see me in my element, in a teaching situation, for the girls that I wasn't with on Yom HaMeah. The mem mem complimented us on our two weeks of hard work and that we took it so seriously and that the program went off without a hitch on our parts. It was such a good feeling to see the girls working together and participating without the involvement of the staff. We were really told what to teach, how to teach it, and from there the rest of the time was ours, and we felt like a properly working unit. When we got back to the barracks, some amazing people from the Nefesh B'Nefesh Lone Soldier's program had come bearing cakes, hugs, smiles, and advice. As it turns out, the American/English speaker representative was Hadar's soldier! Hadar was the mem pay (mefakedet of the pleuga) for this group of people working on Hummers, and Dganit was one of her soldiers. The world is so small...

Now, I am home for the weekend, and just two more weeks of the official course left!

Jerusalem, Shmirah, Jerusalem

Let's go back in time, to about three and a half weeks ago, after Shavuot. I met up with my pluega in Jerusalem, at Yad Vashem. We split into groups of Russian, English, and Hebrew, and began the tour. It was very special to be there and be representing not only the IDF but many of us were descendants of Holocaust survivors (myself included). I got stopped during a break by a tourist who wanted to know why soldiers would want a tour in English. I explained to her that we were new immigrants and in a Hebrew course. She was very shocked but visibly pleased that the IDF takes care of its immigrants so far as to teach them the language. I agreed with her and went on to say that the course I am in is the only one of its kind in the world, of any military. We finished the tour and went outside to take in the view and started walking over to Har Herzl.

Har Herzl is the central national military cemetery in Israel. At the very top, of course, is the grave of Theodore Herzl, who is said to be the father of Zionism. The ring of graves on the level below hold Prime Ministers and other important Heads of State. The bottom level (the biggest) holds space for any soldier that died during service (even if it was a car accident or illness). The interesting thing about this level is that all soldiers are considered equal. There are Chiefs of Staff buried next to First Lieutenants, who are buried next to Major Generals buried next to Sergeants. The only order is chronological, so many times they are grouped by war. There are also sections for those who died during their illegal immigration back during the British Mandate, soldiers missing in action, and an entire memorial for those killed in terrorist attacks. We toured by tzevet, led by our mefakdot. M gave us a brief history of most heads of state (we had just learned about Herzl in our Zionism class), and took us to all the important places to see and visit. We placed rocks on whatever graves we chose. When I saw the Hannah Senesh grave, I suddenly realized it had been exactly a year (a few days off, the same week) that I had last been to her grave with Birthright, and sang to her and imagined what it would be like to tour this incredible place in an IDF uniform. When we finished visiting the terrorist victims memorial, she threw us all off guard by telling us a personal story of a boy she went to school with who was in the Maxim restaurant bombing in Haifa over ten years ago. He lost most of his family and his eyesight in that attack, but she told us how he continued to be a funny and strong-willed person. We were all on the verge of crying while she told that story (of course including M), but there was an unspoken promise of "I won't cry if you don't cry." Near the bottom, and subsequently the end of our tour, were the newer graves, and I stopped by Michael Levin's (a famous American Lone Soldier that was killed in action in the second Lebanese war). A year prior, it was at his grave that I really pictured myself as a soldier, and this time I wanted to complete the circle. I left him a rock, and we finished the tour.

I left Har Herzl with some of the girls to go enjoy the rest of the Jerusalem day. We headed over to the shuk and found ourselves in a tiny coffee shop. Galya told us this shop handmade an Egyptian drink called sahlab, and she had her heart set on getting some. We decided to hold off on ordering anything until we tasted what she had been raving about the whole way over. It was a lot more like a pudding, and made from orchids, but still incredibly tasty. Most of us ordered our own (mine without coconut), and they were so delicious. All of a sudden, Galya insisted that she take a picture of me, to document my first sahlab for my blog. I was in complete shock, and it was really cool to know my friends have been reading it. They said that they love being able to go back on things that they might have forgotten from our long days (that tend to run together) in the army. After the cafe, we headed inside the shuk and decided to find the best cherries around. We ate so many cherries tasting them from vendors, we almost weren't hungry anymore, but when we finally decided on what kind to get, we finished the half-kilo in just a couple hours. We also figured we should probably get a real meal, so we ended up with some amazing felafel on our hands (and in our stomachs!).

This was about 10 minutes after the purchase, half gone

We met up with Galya's seminary friend and went over to Ben Yehuda to grab some more coffee. Shani was heading home soon, but Galya and I wanted to get out of our uniforms. We wanted to change in the bathroom, but it was way too small. The bathrooms were up on this balcony above the cafe so we took turns guarding the stairs while we changed into civilian clothes. The patrons below had watched us all go upstairs, and then heard us giggling and moving around. There was even a couple right at the bottom of the stairs that we eventually figured were trying to break up, but were distracted by the fact that these two female soldiers suddenly emerged as a couple of 19-20 year old girls. We hung out there for a while, and then after Shani left, decided to visit the seminary over by Emek Refaim. When we arrived, I introduced myself and said where I was from. All the girls pointed in a direction and said, "Oh! She's from Nashville, too!" The girl turned around, and it was a girl I had gone to elementary school with. Her dad, a rabbi, had done my dad's eulogy, even. I was in shock to see her, but so excited to see each other after about eight years. It was truly incredible and a once in a lifetime kind of surprise meeting. The worst part was that she was about to leave in a couple of weeks, before I finished shmirah. We talked for two hours about everything. I was so sad when I was going to have to leave, but it was so great to see her. The next morning, I met my stepbrother Moshe for coffee and then headed home for the weekend.

When we returned on base the next Sunday, we had packed our bags for two weeks. We spent Sunday through Wednesday preparing for shmirah (guard duty), studying lots of Hebrew, and enjoying our history of Israel classes. I had talked to M quite a bit about my future in the army the week before. Together, we realized the best direction for me was to train for combat and from there push to become a medic. I've decided that I really want to be in the Totchenim (artillery) unit. I learned so much about it and I would be so incredibly proud to be in that unit, and that I would have an extremely meaningful service there. M put me on the list for a special female combat soldier interview with the placement officer.

Sunday, the girls that signed up for combat started our weekly combat training, which was fantastic. We started off with a 2K and a little strength training. In the middle of the week, me and three other girls from the machlaka had been chosen by the mem mem (mefakedet of the machlaka) to run a driving safety program for her. On Tuesday night, I was surprised by M with confirmation that my request for a day off had been approved. Thursday morning, I left early to go to Jerusalem to see my stepmom Jill. It was exactly what I needed to see her, as I had been missing my dad so much lately. That evening, I met up with some kids from Nashville on a two-week exchange program called GetConnected. While I was waiting for them to show up, I was walking on Ben Yehuda, talking on the phone, when I saw some red hair and a face I thought I might recognize. When she turned her face towards me, I almost dropped my phone. The last time I had seen this girl, a childhood friend, was at my dad's wedding. Once again, Jerusalem had reconnected me with a person from my past life. I eventually had to continue on to meet up with the kids, but it was incredibly crazy and awesome to see her. I arrived at their hotel, and saw my friend Hadar (the shlicha). She was a chaperone on the trip, and all of a sudden she was handing me things from my mom. In addition, there were a bunch of letters that she said were from Akiva kids. I knew that if I read them then, I would cry. I knew they were all from kids I had been in camp with, guarded at the pool, taught them at Hebrew school, or even their whole lives. We all went out and had dinner together, and it was extremely emotional to be around people from home, on uniform. Hadar said she's coming back in a few months, so I'm really excited for that!

I came back to base Friday morning, just in time for an emergency drill. As soon as we finished, we were released for Shabbat. What that meant was that there were a few meals and activities that we had to report to, but outside of that was free time. I had shmirah at the same time as dinner, so I didn't get to enjoy from what I had heard was the best meal available on base. (Of course I ate, but in full gear and before everyone else came in and started singing.) That night, I had shmirah at sundown and again at sunrise. It was actually not as bad as it sounds. Other than that, we enjoyed Shabbat and rested plenty. I read the letters the kids sent with Hadar, and just like I predicted, I cried like a baby. The letters were so simple but perfectly sweet. Around the afternoon, we were called out of the rooms. We figured it was another drill, but as it turns out there was a huge fire on base that the girls on the emergency team had to go help with. It was absolutely crazy, but then we went back to our Shabbat routine and rested up for the week ahead. 

We started, and continued, the week with shmirah. It was mostly normal, except it was "Shavuah Ivrit" or Hebrew Week. We had a contest between the tzevets by writing essays and letters, making posters, and doing presentations. In the end, the points weren't counted completely right (they left out some points that our tzevet earned on the last day, at least), but a tzevet from machlaka 1 won. I spent the whole week translating the letters from the kids into Hebrew. On Thursday evening, right before our last night of shmirah, I got to hand out the letters to the girls in my machlaka. All the girls really loved them, and it gave us that last wind we needed to get through until Friday morning. On Friday morning, we were woken up an hour early with what we thought was another fire or drill. We asked the mefakdot, "Is everything okay??" and they responded, "NO! There's a masa!" So we had to get dressed in full gear, put mud on our faces, and go on a surprise morning masa up a nearby mountain. It actually wasn't too bad, and at the end, right before we raised the flag that morning, we each received a Tanach (Jewish bible). There were also New Testaments (we don't have any Muslims in our pleuga), but tmost of he Christian girls were okay with a Tanach. As soon as we got back, we switched guards for the last time and had a chance to wash our faces before class.

It's amazing what some shoe polish can do! This was my last day with this gun

I'm going to pause here and write the rest in a second blog, to split it up.

Shavuot

After the ceremony, we returned to base. We went deep into our Hebrew classes, and began to obtain more privileges now that tironut is officially over, even though we were still learning about a few things here and there (I absolutely loved our unit of first aid right before our tekes, and even did some practical tutoring with my tzevet). We had another Yom Sidurim, but this one was for each of us to do on our own. I had a lot to get done, so I left early Thursday morning. I am trying to get my American driver's license switched over, but upon arrival to the DMV, they told me I didn't have the right paperwork. Fortunately, I also learned that I can drive with my American license until it expires when I turn 21, but I still have three years from when I made aliyah to switch it over, expired or not. When I got back to the kibbutz, still in uniform, I decided to surprise my ulpan teachers and say hi. They were administering the final exam that afternoon, and I also wanted to see the ulpanistim and wish them luck. I got there in time to sign cards, even! I also surprised my little brother and visit him in the gan. They were headed to the dairy to meet some cows before Shavuot (a holiday where traditionally dairy products are eaten). I went with them, and we had so much fun with the cows and calfs, but not with the smell! On their way back, I decided I should probably get a shower and a nap. I gave him a big hug and kiss and promised him I would come over for dinner.

Cows are one of the only animals that say the same thing around the world- MOO

Sunday we returned to base, and prepped for yet another short week. We took our final tironut written test on Monday, and there were some things I was pretty sure I got wrong, so I was happily surprised when I got 97%! We also took Hebrew tests, which were pretty hard. We'll get the results next week. We also learned more about Zionism, especially Zionist women. There was a speaker that came in to give us a quick run-down of some of Israel's coolest women and why they are important. They've started this unit with us because we are one of a few purely female pleugot in the whole army, and it's pretty special that we can easily take a course on Zionist women and female Israelis that changed the world. Thursday, we are going to Yad Vashem (Holocaust museum) and Har Herzl (largest/most important military cemetery in Israel) in Jerusalem, so we also learned some about the Holocaust (we already learned about Theodore Herzl).

On Monday morning, I took a bit of a dive on the concrete, so I've got some bandages on my hands and left leg, but let's hope that'll be the worst of my army injuries!

When we were released on Tuesday morning, I had to stay an extra half hour. Last week, my hair tie fell out while I was running to the chet, and I had to tie it back up. A few seconds after time was up, I was finishing up, but M showed up and saw me moving. So I got in trouble for that, but it wasn't too bad. I still got home by nine, and had a nice long nap before the kibbutz Shavuot ceremony. There was a parade with floats for all the different parts of the kibbutz, lots of dances and singing, and a show of the first tilling for the season. Kids had crowns made of flowers and lots of people were wearing white. We got to see all the babies from the past year. During my sister's dance, my brother was standing in the front and refused to sit down. We tried to grab him and tell him to sit, but we only got him to move aside. And then, during my kibbutz mom's dance, this little baby was standing by me and grabbing my hand. So I grabbed both and got him to dance along. All of a sudden, he swings his leg over my lap and sits down! Everyone around me was laughing so hard, but not as hard as when I turned to his mom and asked his name. After a couple minutes, he gets up and sits down on my friend's lap next to me. We were all just hysterical, but he was so cute! Only on the kibbutz things like that can happen.

There was a parade of all the different components of the kibbutz

Some first and second graders got to ride in the back

All the babies born this year

My sister doing a dance with her classmates

My kibbutz mom also dances! I was totally surprised by this

Sheffy got in on the dancing action

They started to work on the soil a bit right there so we could watch

Climbing on tractors

Lasagna, cheesecake, coffee, and great people to finish off the night

It was a great holiday, but things are about to sober up pretty quickly. This morning, I'm headed out for Jerusalem to meet up with everyone for our tours of Yad Vashem and Har Herzl. It's going to be pretty tough emotionally, but I think it'll be alright if we support each other. And honestly, after a month, I think I can expect that from these girls that I've gotten to know.

Tekes Hashba'ah

In Akko, there is a prison from the British Mandate that held members of the rebellion groups Haganah, Lehi, and Irgun. The prison is known for a famous break-out and a number of executions (eight Jewish ones). The majority of the prison is still intact, and its entirety is now a museum on the Mediterranean Sea shore. The room were the hangings took place contains all the original parts, but of course a few things have been added, including plaques explaining what it was, the names of those hung there, and the first few lines of Hatikva (The Hope), the Israeli national anthem, ending with ...

The Jews hung in that room may not have had the chance to finish singing the song of our people, but every single soldier last Tuesday not only had the freedom to sing Hatikva in its entirety, but also to swear our allegiance to the Israeli Defense Forces and the nation of Israel. We had a group oath, with all the details of what we were promising, a confirmation of the group oath, and then the individual swearing-ins. 

We arrived in Akko a couple hours before the ceremony. During our rehearsal, I saw my friend Ayelet! She and her sisters babysat me back when we lived in Cleveland, Ohio. I got to see her for a bit before we actually started, and she had her super cool camera and sharp eye with her so a lot of the photo credit goes to her.

This was supposed to be our time to shine our shoes, but the lines were so long I went for the spit-n-rub

Right before we got started, but were already in formation, I saw Josh, who my mom "adopted" when he was in college, and a couple of my friends from the ulpan. Tzvika Levy (huge proponent of Lone Soldiers from the west) brought gifts for Lone Soldiers that had been put together by people around the world. When we started the ceremony, it was blazing hot. We were told constantly to drink water, but got in trouble if we were moving at the wrong times (which were always our opportunities to drink). Army logic! We ended up not caring as much about staying static the whole time and more about staying hydrated. As you can see in the photos, we also had to wear our kumtot (wool berets) and keep our sleeves down the whole time, so it was HOT. Most of us were really excited to start, though, and it was fun because the group oaths were basically a contest to see who could yell the loudest. 

Can you spot me? I'm all the way on the edge

We started with the group oaths, which were led by the commander of my pleuga (the mem pay), and then the confirmations went around the giant chet (three-sided square, our regular formation) by machlaka and led by each of our sergeants. There were speeches by the commander of the base and someone else (we weren't really sure who she was, maybe an officer for one of the boys' groups. At that point, it was hard to stay focused. They talked too fast and we couldn't hear very well. We tried to stay quiet and just made sure the girls that didn't have canteens got enough water. In the middle, I saw my mom's friend Bunny from Nashville who is visiting her family for a few weeks! Finally, it was time for the individual oaths, where we ran up to the commander of the machlaka (mem mem), grabbed a rifle and holy book of choice, held them against each other, and shouted "Ani Nishba'at!" (I swear!) and then ran back to formation.

The very moment I swore on an M-16 and Tanach to protect Israel to the best of my ability

When it was my turn to go, I shouted so loud the mem mem (green beret, across from me) couldn't stop a huge smile from spreading across her face. I wanted everyone to know I meant it, and I think she could tell. If she knew how many soldiers she has in her machlaka who really truly want to be serving Israel, she would be proud.

The raised flag, after the ceremony, photo cred to my friend Jesse

We ended the ceremony with Hatikva. It was very moving and special. When we finished, we were released for some time with our family and friends. I was so shocked to see my kibbutz dad all of a sudden! I wanted to tease him for being so late, but he explained that he had been there the whole time and it was me who didn't see him from a few meters away. He has about six pictures of me almost seeing him, but never actually recognizing him in the crowd. Josh, Shaun, Arieh, and Ayelet came down from their seats on top of the wall, and when everyone was together it was the greatest feeling in the world to have everyone surprise me there. (I knew a couple of them were coming, but not everyone!) I got lots of sweets and a package from my mom that Josh gave me. Everyone got to know each other and it was fun to see people from all different aspects of my life. (Josh is my adopted brother but is not in any way connected to my adoptive dad, and so on.) When the time was up, it was very hard to say goodbye. In the end, all the girls were about five minutes late, which we paid for later that night, but didn't have to worry about while we were off base. We got a tour of the prison, and headed home.

This was when I *finally* found my kibbutz dad Sheffy

Because we did tironut and some Hebrew classes at the same time, we didn't finish all of tironut before the tekes. So, ironically, when we got back to base we almost immediately went into classes to finish learning about some basic stuff, and were completely exhausted when we went to bed.

Shetach

I am really starting to feel like a part of the army. I have met some great people, and my Hebrew is coming along.

Waiting for the bus, touching up the shaving job

Getting ready for bed

3 AM wake up, ready for the shetach (field). Minus the glasses, what I normally look like around base

Monday morning we traveled to a nearby training base. When we arrived, we strapped on vests, filled our canteens, loaded up food, jerrycans, targets, and bullets into an ambulance. As soon as we finished, we trekked down to the shooting range, where the ambulance was waiting for us. Everything was unloaded, and we split up into groups of twelve before eating some lunch (our first tastes of the military rations). After that, the next ten hours were a blur of helping set up shade, loading magazines, eating, waiting, learning about the upcoming round of practice/testing, and lots of shooting. Late into the night, we finally returned to camp to get some sleep and keep guard. We got up the next morning to do it all again, but that afternoon we had a truly special surprise. Kids from around Israel had written notes in school to send to soldiers around the country, specifically lone soldiers. They also sent us snacks, but when the Mem Pay (officer of the pleuga/company) told us about the letters, I was so touched and excited to receive mine. When I was a kid, at Akiva Jewish Day School, I remember writing letters to IDF soldiers all the time. To be on the other side of that was an indescribable feeling. I got a very small, short note that I can fit in the wallet where I put my military ID, so it will always be close to my heart. After a while, in late afternoon, we were sitting and talking...and realized all the commanders were gone. I mean every single officer, sergeant, everyone was nowhere to be seen! Finally, we hear an almost simultaneous boom from the range, and we realize our higher ups are practicing, too. When they come out, some of the girls were clapping and whooping from a distance because it was so cool, but we all got a really long lecture for that a few minutes later. Later that night, after the night shooting, we were hanging out again, and all of a sudden we hear whooping and shouting and screaming and all of our commanders came running out towards us with their faces painted up and in their vests. We poured water on the ground, put the mud on our faces, lined up, and prepared to go on our first-ever (and for some girls, only) masa (basically a hike). Our masa ended up being very short, but after every masa IDF soldiers earn something. This time, each tzevet in our pleuga earned a name outside of just a number. As of that moment, I am a part of Tzevet Gefen in the Hebrew course at Michve Alon. Gefen is the word for grapevine. We were told to get down on our hands (which always means pushups), and we were confused as to what we did wrong. Instead, M also got down on her hands and we did pushups together while shouting "TZEVET GEFEN HACHI TOVOT!" (Tzevet Gefen is the best!)

The next day, we got up and started to learn about some hardcore fieldwork like camouflage, how to run with our guns (then hit the ground and aim), and crawling. It was actually really fun because I was used as an example for the camouflage exercise and got to paint my face with mud, wear branches in my hair, and hide from the mefakdot. We didn't win the contest, but it was still interesting and I loved learning about it (and all the funny looks because of how well my tzevet painted my face with mud). By the time we finished and were heading back o base, almost everyone was talking about how excited they were to go "home." Yup, after only three days in the shetach, almost all the girls considered the base to be home and were excited for the food and beds it holds. And since most of the girls assumed the showers would be full when we did arrive, I had a fantastic shower that night!

We started our full days learning Hebrew and Zionism (mostly history, wars, and important people, commanders are not allowed to talk about politics, just like in any American public school) on Thursday, and it was exhausting. It's about eight hours just in the Hebrew classroom, but altogether it ends up being about sixteen to eighteen hour-days if you factor in meals, Zionist classes, and gun checks (remember how I said they were big on safety? We get checked a few times a day to make sure we are clean of bullets).

It was such a great feeling to arrive at the train station on Friday. Everyone was tired, but after shetach week we were so much closer. I met with a bunch of people in the Haifa train station for coffee and breakfast before we went our separate ways for the weekend, and it was so relaxing to get to know everyone outside of the army setting (despite still being in our uniforms).

This upcoming week, I have my swearing-in ceremony on Tuesday! I'm really excited to finally be taking the same oath as every other soldier in IDF history in a very important city (Akko), but I'm not sure of the significance yet. We will be spending the whole day there to learn all about it. Until next time, wish me luck in classes and putting in my final placement requests!

My friend Oren from Nashville came to visit the kibbutz with his family for a bit today! I love seeing people from home!

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!

Soldier Girl

סוף סוף אני חיילת!

(Finally I am a soldier!)

I will have to apologize in advance, this post will not be as long and exciting as you might expect (probably a low ratio of pictures to words), but life since last week has been absolutely nonstop. Until Tuesday night, I was making sure I had everything I needed for the army while still attending classes and going to work! Of course, the real excitement began Wednesday morning when I arrived at the Navy Museum. Two friends from the kibbutz came with me, and when I arrived, my friend who was a staff member on my Birthright trip met me there before her class. I wasn't there for long before I got on the bus to the Bakum, or army processing center in the Center of Israel.

There was a REEEAAALLLY big boat 

On the bus to the army processing center

There was a lot of traffic, but when we got there, we already were required to start calling people "Mefaked," or commander, and stand in double lines. Most of us turned our phones off and put them in our bags (like we were told), and thusly did not have them for the whole time we were there, so I don't have any pictures. It wasn't that exciting, just a lot of things to get done, like getting our photos taken, getting vaccinated, and talking to a career officer. One line I even had to wait for over two hours, but it gave me the opportunity to meet a lot of people. Everyone had a different order of the path they had to take in order to make sure that the lines were not overloaded, but everyone's last stop was receiving first our IDs, then bags, then trying on our uniforms! We all looked so different, a lot more mature, with our uniforms on. From there, we waited some more, and then got on a bus to the base.

My friend from Peru and I, our first picture in uniform

The whole ride was interesting, in that we had to sit a certain way, and we learned what to do in case of an attack, being an official military trip. When we arrived, it was already fairly late at night, but we got down to business. We were separated into small groups (a tzevet), and began learning the rules, how to speak to commanders, and filling in information.

I was so exhausted and confused, but made sure I took a full-uniform picture for my family

For two days, we wore the same uniforms (they gave us more, but hey, it's the army!), stood in formation, ran here, walked there, counted, counted, counted, and said, "Ken, Mefakedet!" (Yes, ma'am!) probably five hundred times. We only have an hour for showers, phones, and changing before bed, so I have almost no pictures. What I can tell you is that my Mefakedet is really cool. She tells us when we do something well, and when we don't, she doesn't yell. Somehow that makes us feel even worse about not doing the right thing becauase we really want her to be proud of us! Because of what is called distance, but I call Distance, we don't even know her name or anything about her. When we speak to her, we have to say certain things to show respect (but are not necessarily polite, very strange is the Hebrew language!). Unfortunately, she is our orientation mefakedet so we change our tzevet and everything tomorrow. Also, you can see in the photo above that I have these really awesome boots. Sadly, this is not true. It wasn't until I got onto the base that I realized that these boots are a size too small. The first day I thought they were supposed to be that tight, but when I realized while I was getting ready for bed, I was horrified. Everyone, I mean absolutely everyone, had said to triple check your shoe size at the processing center, and that I did not do! The next morning, me and one other girl told our mefakedet that our shoes were too small. She promised we would receive new ones that day. Over the course of the day, we were told to wait longer and longer, until about two hours before we went to sleep, they said we could change to our civilian sports shoes. We had to also get permission slips to show to the military police to make sure we don't get a ticket over the weekend. Hopefully we will get proper boots tomorrow because I look pretty silly with my pink sneakers!:

It's been a lovely weekend, but also very busy because my friends all wanted to see me in uniform, so I even ate lunch in it, even though I was home at the kibbutz! I have to go to sleep, now, though, because it is very late and I am back to the army tomorrow morning. I'll post again soon with more coherent stories!

My kibbutz family!

This picture is going to be on display for the kibbutz Israeli Independence Day celebration

Brothers and sisters