As all things here seem to be, today is extremely emotional for me. I am surrounded by good friends on this day of mine but I am missing the family that birthed, raised, and saw all of my past 19 birthdays.
Part 1:
I worked today and had an awful work day. The only part that was even manageable was when my friends would come periodically on their time off to wish me the best. I did the work of myself and 2 people who didn't come to work. This would have been hard but alright except that when I would juggle them and switch between my work (most important) and the others people would yell at me for not doing the work of the others... so I would switch to that and get yelled at by someone else for not doing my job. I ended up leaving upset and exhausted. I am now sitting in the sun writing just being as calm as I can be. Knowing I am not going back to work no matter what tomorrow, even when they need me. Oh yeah also my closest family at work all forgot it was my birthday. Everyone but my co-worker who does the same thing as me that I trained and teach english to.
I look back from this day to last year's festivities on this day. I worked and then with Kim walked to meet all my friends at the Standard (then Hooligan's). All I could think about was love. I drank a glass of Vodka Noah tricked me into and had a great time. I walked Kim home in the middle of the party so she could see Matt. I returned and don't remember much until the walk home.
Tonight I am going to Ramat Hashofet for the first time in 3 weeks. I plan on drinking whiskey with my friends and dancing my heart out. I am curious as to certain factors of the night like which soldiers will be able to come home tonight. We shall see.
Part 2:
The festivities kicked off with the volunteers presenting our Purim presentation for the organizers. We would be showing it to hundreds of people the next night. I took 3 shots of Arak to prepare myself for what I saw as impending doom. The "skit" we were preforming was a little provocative to say the least (I will try to find a copy to show you all). We preformed it a little tipsy and had a blast. Half the small judging audience stood while clapping while the other half covered their mouthes in horror (as I expected).
As we walked off stage I yelled out "Lets get drunk" and we began my birthday party. We marched upstairs only to find a Parve (Parve is chocolate without dairy so that you can eat it with meat and keep kosher" cake with candles. Being volunteers we don't have cutlery or plates easily available (I have a stock in my house) so the obvious decision was to eat with our hands. I served the cake to everyone and took a "slice" to my self. Before I knew it one of the pieces I had handed out was pressed against my face. That is when it began. Before I could count to 10 everyone around me was covering each other in cake. It was glorious! After mass showering we began listening to music and drinking. A lot more arak was consumed as well as whiskey and vodka. At 11:50 we stumbled towards the bus stop to go to Ramat-Hashofet. I climbed on and sat with one of the girl soldiers to talk about my love life and the past weeks events. Upon arrival the 20-30 of us climbed off the bus only to notice it was Ramat-Hashofet's Purim (costumed holiday) party. We were the only ones without crazy garb. Oh well. We danced the night away, had a lot of talking, and drank more arak.
As the night wore on and the tireless dancing continued, our bus arrived to take us home from this glorious night. With love in my heart and music in my head I got on the bus and sat down beside Avital. Avital and I listened to music we both loved and held hands on the way back. We walked each other upstairs once the bus arrived and said our good nights twice. I continued walking to my house where I happily rid myself of my clothes and landed in a content sleep.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Updates: Life and ...
I have been away from home for 4 months and one day. Since then a few things have changed that I thought you should all know... somethings are still changing and I am thinking about heavily before I choose but here it goes:
1: Daniel can grow facial hair! After 19 years of pushing those face muscles to the max they have finally forced out fair onto my face. Yes I have to shave daily or bi-daily now... I looked forward to the day so extremely now I hate it!
2: Daniel weighs over 130 pounds! Yes people I know I know... I finally reached the benchmark of 61 kilos I always wanted and dreaded at the same time. Am I bigger? Not at all, but I can cary alot more ;)
3: When leaving I planned to remove alot of the hair from on top of my head. Seeing as I was moving to a new country and alot of changes were occurring I decided to leave it as the one thing I would have that was the old me. Now after an extra 4 months of growth my hair is almost down to my nipples. I can't bring myself to let someone who doesn't speak english take control of my head and cut it the way I want.
4: Language. During the first month here I think I learned absolutely 0 Hebrew. Now that I live on Kibbutz with 900 / 1100 people speaking little to know english I have been forced (not so bad) to speak Hebrew more regularly. I learn a new word a day and I have an alright vocabulary. My sentence structure is awful still because each word has a boy and girl version and their are different words when asking and saying things. I am happy with my progress and am now thinking about how not to loose it when I get home.
1: Daniel can grow facial hair! After 19 years of pushing those face muscles to the max they have finally forced out fair onto my face. Yes I have to shave daily or bi-daily now... I looked forward to the day so extremely now I hate it!
2: Daniel weighs over 130 pounds! Yes people I know I know... I finally reached the benchmark of 61 kilos I always wanted and dreaded at the same time. Am I bigger? Not at all, but I can cary alot more ;)
3: When leaving I planned to remove alot of the hair from on top of my head. Seeing as I was moving to a new country and alot of changes were occurring I decided to leave it as the one thing I would have that was the old me. Now after an extra 4 months of growth my hair is almost down to my nipples. I can't bring myself to let someone who doesn't speak english take control of my head and cut it the way I want.
4: Language. During the first month here I think I learned absolutely 0 Hebrew. Now that I live on Kibbutz with 900 / 1100 people speaking little to know english I have been forced (not so bad) to speak Hebrew more regularly. I learn a new word a day and I have an alright vocabulary. My sentence structure is awful still because each word has a boy and girl version and their are different words when asking and saying things. I am happy with my progress and am now thinking about how not to loose it when I get home.
Friday, January 15, 2010
Interesting Points - Israel
Just some strange things from Israel I want to remember and share with you all.
Soldier Life:
Joining the army is mandatory in Israel. It is as much a part of growing up as school is to us in Canada and you plan your life accordingly.
People here join as early as the September after summer holidays from grade 12. This makes for a different mentality in teens and young adults. I find that people aged 21 - 25 (Army is 2 -3 years) are more mature then most in Canada. This may be due to what they have had to see and go through, but also the life style of being told what to do and being expected to follow orders to a tee.
Their are two kinds of soldiers here also. Israeli citizens who are required to serve, and people wishing to make Aliyah (becoming citizens through Israel's right of return policy).
I have had only short interactions with Israeli soldiers who are not originally from another country, so I will talk mostly about people making Aliyah.
On Hazore'a we have a group of soldiers living here on weekends when they are off base. They come here to a comfy bed, warm meals, and a support network. They also come to release all of their stress by getting black out drunk and partying for 3 days straight.
Soldier Rules (OK'd by the guys who live here) :
1. Give them booze
2. Be easy (sleep with them)
3. Don't bother offering a cigarette if it is not a Camel
4. Carry them to and from the bar
5. Don't fall in love with them
This list was meant to be a mockery of the lifestyle of the soldiers here but as I talk to more people and say it over and over again I find it more and more true. This doesn't go for all soldiers here, but for the most part its the life we live.
Cats:
There are three kinds of cats in Israel. Pet cats, Tame cats, and Dumpster cats. All of these "breeds" of cats are the same species and look identical (except the puss under the dumpster cats eyes) but are completely different animals by behavior.
Rus a hired worker here owns the only pet cat I have ever seen in Israel. The cat is well behaved, fed regularly, and doesn't try to kill you. The cat's name is Kss Kss (spelled phonetically) and is an orange tabby.
The second most common cat is the tame cat. There are a few of these felines around Tel-Aviv and one or two here on Hazore'a. These cats are fed by people who will never admit to it, look fairly clean, and will sit beside you on a couch outside. The volunteers here have a tame cat that lives up in our neighborhood named Hatoolito (Hatool is hebrew for cat and adding ito in spanish makes it a small cat). This cat is a year old and the size of a kitten, it has white and black spots on it and is very cuddly.
The third and most common breed of cat here is the dumpster cat. Really I think it is a stretch to even call them cats at all. They are dirty and are usually missing parts like tails and ears. These mangy things hate people and are commonly used as diet supplements for dogs. They live in allies and dumpsters (hence the name) and you can hear them following you at night if you are walking with food in a bag or your hand. Often times people here will kill them like people do rats or mice that invade your kitchen at home. I feel bad for them sometimes, then they try to shred my face while I am taking out the garbage.
Life:
Life here is simple. You work Sunday through Thursday (Friday if you are me) and party Thursday and Friday nights. Saturday is recovery and coincidentally Shabbat the day of rest.
When you start your week work is manageable and sometimes even fun. You are rested and well fed. As the week wears on your body becomes weak and your mind wonders from the tasks at hand.
What do I do you ask? Well right now I am the man to talk to when you need vegetables. I sell all the fruits and vegetables to the people who live here, receive shipments, and drink coffee. This is difficult with a language barrier but each day it becomes easier to get my points across and help people. I work fridays because people need to get all their produce before we close for Shabbat which starts at sun down that day and ends the next day at sun down. This job however is not permanent. I do this job for now because I am good at it (I talk all day) and I am the only one who can a. manage it or b. is trained to do it.
Any day now 200 baby goats will be born and I will be moved to feeding and caring for them. I cannot wait!
The weekends here are like this. Thursday you start drinking after supper and then go the bar to dance from 11ish to 4am. Friday night more people are free and the parties are wilder. You start drinking whenever you want 4pm at the earliest seems to be the norm and you drink all night until you go to the bar at 1 when it is packed. You dance again until the sun is almost up. The weekends revolve around dancing.
I find that if I miss a night of dancing either friday or thursday I have to much energy in my system during the week and I get distracted and fidgety. Dancing is how we release our stress and sometimes create new stress ;).
I have found during my stay here that dancing is a huge part of how I express myself and have fun... I love it more then anything else! That being said I was crowned king of the dance floor for Friday January 8th 2010! Cool!
Emotions:
My emotions have settled down a huge amount since I last told you all about them. The times in which I think about all the past drama have become few and far between. On New Years I stopped wearing a piece of jewelry that was a constant reminder.
Also since then I have found myself attracted to a handful of people, and maybe had a crush or two. I am back to the old me. Old me meaning I have drama up the ying-yang with a soldier (but its still beautiful).
Soldier Life:
Joining the army is mandatory in Israel. It is as much a part of growing up as school is to us in Canada and you plan your life accordingly.
People here join as early as the September after summer holidays from grade 12. This makes for a different mentality in teens and young adults. I find that people aged 21 - 25 (Army is 2 -3 years) are more mature then most in Canada. This may be due to what they have had to see and go through, but also the life style of being told what to do and being expected to follow orders to a tee.
Their are two kinds of soldiers here also. Israeli citizens who are required to serve, and people wishing to make Aliyah (becoming citizens through Israel's right of return policy).
I have had only short interactions with Israeli soldiers who are not originally from another country, so I will talk mostly about people making Aliyah.
On Hazore'a we have a group of soldiers living here on weekends when they are off base. They come here to a comfy bed, warm meals, and a support network. They also come to release all of their stress by getting black out drunk and partying for 3 days straight.
Soldier Rules (OK'd by the guys who live here) :
1. Give them booze
2. Be easy (sleep with them)
3. Don't bother offering a cigarette if it is not a Camel
4. Carry them to and from the bar
5. Don't fall in love with them
This list was meant to be a mockery of the lifestyle of the soldiers here but as I talk to more people and say it over and over again I find it more and more true. This doesn't go for all soldiers here, but for the most part its the life we live.
Cats:
There are three kinds of cats in Israel. Pet cats, Tame cats, and Dumpster cats. All of these "breeds" of cats are the same species and look identical (except the puss under the dumpster cats eyes) but are completely different animals by behavior.
Rus a hired worker here owns the only pet cat I have ever seen in Israel. The cat is well behaved, fed regularly, and doesn't try to kill you. The cat's name is Kss Kss (spelled phonetically) and is an orange tabby.
The second most common cat is the tame cat. There are a few of these felines around Tel-Aviv and one or two here on Hazore'a. These cats are fed by people who will never admit to it, look fairly clean, and will sit beside you on a couch outside. The volunteers here have a tame cat that lives up in our neighborhood named Hatoolito (Hatool is hebrew for cat and adding ito in spanish makes it a small cat). This cat is a year old and the size of a kitten, it has white and black spots on it and is very cuddly.
The third and most common breed of cat here is the dumpster cat. Really I think it is a stretch to even call them cats at all. They are dirty and are usually missing parts like tails and ears. These mangy things hate people and are commonly used as diet supplements for dogs. They live in allies and dumpsters (hence the name) and you can hear them following you at night if you are walking with food in a bag or your hand. Often times people here will kill them like people do rats or mice that invade your kitchen at home. I feel bad for them sometimes, then they try to shred my face while I am taking out the garbage.
Life:
Life here is simple. You work Sunday through Thursday (Friday if you are me) and party Thursday and Friday nights. Saturday is recovery and coincidentally Shabbat the day of rest.
When you start your week work is manageable and sometimes even fun. You are rested and well fed. As the week wears on your body becomes weak and your mind wonders from the tasks at hand.
What do I do you ask? Well right now I am the man to talk to when you need vegetables. I sell all the fruits and vegetables to the people who live here, receive shipments, and drink coffee. This is difficult with a language barrier but each day it becomes easier to get my points across and help people. I work fridays because people need to get all their produce before we close for Shabbat which starts at sun down that day and ends the next day at sun down. This job however is not permanent. I do this job for now because I am good at it (I talk all day) and I am the only one who can a. manage it or b. is trained to do it.
Any day now 200 baby goats will be born and I will be moved to feeding and caring for them. I cannot wait!
The weekends here are like this. Thursday you start drinking after supper and then go the bar to dance from 11ish to 4am. Friday night more people are free and the parties are wilder. You start drinking whenever you want 4pm at the earliest seems to be the norm and you drink all night until you go to the bar at 1 when it is packed. You dance again until the sun is almost up. The weekends revolve around dancing.
I find that if I miss a night of dancing either friday or thursday I have to much energy in my system during the week and I get distracted and fidgety. Dancing is how we release our stress and sometimes create new stress ;).
I have found during my stay here that dancing is a huge part of how I express myself and have fun... I love it more then anything else! That being said I was crowned king of the dance floor for Friday January 8th 2010! Cool!
Emotions:
My emotions have settled down a huge amount since I last told you all about them. The times in which I think about all the past drama have become few and far between. On New Years I stopped wearing a piece of jewelry that was a constant reminder.
Also since then I have found myself attracted to a handful of people, and maybe had a crush or two. I am back to the old me. Old me meaning I have drama up the ying-yang with a soldier (but its still beautiful).
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