Thanksgiving weekend at Eilat!

After my section had a siyur at Kibbutz Quetura, we went to visit Eilat. A bunch of us had decided to take advantage of this opportunity and spend the weekend there!!! I was super excited because this was my first time ever visiting Eilat even though I have been to Israel a million times. We got dropped off and then my friend and I broke off from the group to find our hostel. It literally took us an hour and it sucked because we were carrying our luggage and my shoulder bag is SO heavy. When we finally got there, we checked in and were pleasantly surprised with how cute the place was considering how cheap it was for two nights.
Some pics of the hostel (the hostel has a few cabins and they are outside and the whole place is decorated with the owner's artwork):

After we were settled in the hostel and we showered and got ready for our first night in Eilat, our friends Sarah and Emma from Marva finally arrived to Eilat so then we all went out together to visit our friends that were staying in a different hostel. We were celebrating my friend Rory's birthday by having a little pre party before and then going out. Too bad almost all the clubs in Arad are 23 and older... so we called it an early night..

The next day was literally so much fun!!! We woke up and got some breakfast and then met up with all of our friends at the beach! We were all chilling and eating and swimming all day. I even got to get some journaling time and that was very relaxing. We were hanging out next to the place where you can do different water activities so my friends and I got a free boat ride which was super fun and then a few of my friends and I went banana boating!! I literally had so much fun because I had never done that before. The whole time I was screaming my lungs off because I thought I was going to fall!!!!

We spent the rest of the day eating delicious food and traveling on the boardwalk buying a bunch of cool things and just enjoying each other's company. That night I had the most delicious shawarma ever for only 30 shek!!! YUM!

The next morning we woke up bright and early for a hike! We hiked up to the top of a mountain in a nature reserve and I literally stopped every five minutes to take a picture because the view was so gorgeous! I could even see Jordan so clearly! Once we got to the top we listened to country music, snacked and just had fun soaking in the view and reminiscing.

We ended the day with lunch on the beach and a little shopping ;)

Had such a fun filled with my section 3 arad family from Thanksgiving to Quetura to Eilat!!! 

I really feel like I went on a vacation! Yay for my first vacation with no parents!

Siyur to Kibbutz Quetura!

For our siyur this past Thursday, we went to visit Kibbutz Quetura which is a kibbutz that is about half and hour from Eilat and was founded by a bunch of yearcoursers who wanted to make Aliyah about forty years ago. Pretty cool!
Before we got to the kibbutz we made a pitstop at some random place that had a bunch of animals (no one knew where we were) and my friend Hannah and I rode a camel for 10 shek!!

We started our tour with an introduction of the kibbutz and how it actually works. This was my first time on a kibbutz so I was very interested. Although I knew some information previously, I was eager to learn more. A kibbutz is basically a socialist community where everyone is equal. No matter what job you have and what income you make, all of the money goes to the kibbutz and comes back to each member in equal amounts. Every house is the same and the size only depends on the size of the family. No one is allowed to own a car. The kibbutz has about ten cars and you can sign up for one whenever you need it. Also in order to be a member of the kibbutz, you have to apply and then visit twice just to be considered. After that there is a two year absorption process and then after that the person is officially a member. These are just a few basic guidelines of a kibbutz. The idea seems cool but I don't think I could ever permanently live there. I think that Capitalism is the way to go.

Our first stop on the tour was to the solar field of the kibbutz. The field is about 20 acres and in the next four years they are expecting to multiply this number by 8! They sell power to the national electric company of Israel and this is a very nice profit for the kibbutz.

Next we went to the cows! They have so many cows I couldn't even deal with it. There were normal cows, pregnant cows and baby cows!!! AWWWWW. Each cow needs to be milked about 3 times a day....

After the cows we went to the laundry station. Ever kibbutz member has a colored and numbered tag for all of their clothes. They separate the clothes into different chutes and then pick it up when it's ready.

After that we went to the dining room and ate there. To be honest it just felt a lot like camp!

Our last stop before we went to Eilat was a visit to these beautiful sand dunes! We were literally in the middle of the desert, there was no one around and we were all just frolicking and playing in the sand like two year olds. The sky was so beautiful and all of a sudden it started raining and there was a rainbow! So pretty!

Thanksgiving in Israel with Section 3!

Right before Thanksgiving, I was starting to become very homesick because I knew that all my friends are going home and I'm going to be staying in Israel. Not that it's a bad thing at all but it was just very hard for me to adjust to being "alone" for my first major holiday. However, my dinner with my Section 3 family here in Arad for Thanksgiving made me feel so thankful to be here on yearcourse and I am so grateful that we got a chance to do this!!!
My roommates and I were assigned dessert for the dinner so we decided to make brown sugar cupcakes with chocolate frosting (using a Thanksgiving cupcake decorating kit that I got from my parents' most recent care package). We also made delicious apple pie. We got the recipe from my roommate's grandma and she was very happy that we used it!!
The finished products:

We cooked all of that in about 2 and a half hours and still had time to get ready and do our Ulpan (Hebrew class) homework!!!

I went to the dinner dressed as a Native American!

So we had regular Ulpan classes and then the feast had begun!!! What is really funny is that the head staff member of our section, Jon is British and this was his first Thanksgiving! So cute :). Jon had us all go around and say what we were thankful for. Of course almost all of us said Yearcourse!! Our dinner had chicken, stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes with marshmellow and an assortment of different veggies! Each apartment had to bring something and I think it's safe to say we all did amazing!!

A picture of my plate:

After dinner we had dessert (the best part obviously) and we even had a little surprise! Our madrichim had previously contacted our parents and had them write us a little note telling us how much they love us! So cute, of course a bunch of people were bawling. The funniest letter was when the kid's parents were telling him all about how they were off to Cabo for Thanksgiving without him..... hahahahaha!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Update

It's official. As of last night, rockets from Hamas reached the center in cities near Tel Aviv such as Bat Yam, Rishon Lezion and Holon. All of these cities had "Tzeva Adom" warnings and the citizens had to hide in bomb shelters until it was all over. I have friends and family in these areas. Other YearCourse participants are located in Bat Yam and they were evacuated to Jerusalem until the authorities tell Young Judaea that it is safe for them to return home. A friend of mine who just recently finished his term in the army is waiting to hear if he has to go back in case of war. This is not a joke. Up until this point things have only gotten worse. Again, I strongly suggest for everyone to get informed the CORRECT way. (ynet, jerusalem post or haaretz are great sites).
I pray that my friends and family will be okay.


"Israel was not created in order to dissappear - Israel will endure and flourish. It is the child of hope and the home of the brave. It can neither be broken by adversity nor demoralized by success. It carries the shield of democracy and it honors the sword of freedom."
-John F. Kennedy

Good news: The iron dome has intercepted over 100 rockets out of almost 300 since Saturday......

I can't say enough how grateful I am too be safe. Thank you from the bottom of my heart to each and every person who has taken the time to make sure that I am okay. Even people who I wasn't close to back home. It means the world and I have never felt more love than I am now :)

On a bright note today is Shabbat and I can't wait to go to services and then Shabbat dinner at Rafi's house (the teacher that I work with for volunteering)!!!!

The Situation with Israel and Hamas...

Since Saturday, there have been over 200 rockets that have been fired at civilian towns of the state of Israel from Gaza. Since we gave the Palestinians that land years ago, there have been about 12,000 rockets fired at Israel. These are not point of views but stone cold facts.

Now that I am living in Israel and I am only an hour and a half from where these rockets are landing, I am very dedicated to educating myself to the fullest extent as to what is going on. Israel has every right to protect itself and its citizens by retaliating. After Hamas (the governing body of the Gaza Strip) had been firing at civilians, Israel went ahead and killed their military chief who has been responsible for DECADES of terrorism. And for that Hamas has stated that "Israel will pay for this".

Just last night over 50 rockets were sent into Israel from Gaza and I don't think it will stop there. 

If you are reading this post and you have not yet educated yourself on what is going on please log on to websites like ynet.co.il or haaretz.com. These are websites that will show you all the facts unlike CNN who only broadcasts negative news about Israel.

I am not telling you what side to choose, I am simply stating mine and asking YOU to be informed.

I will ALWAYS stand by Israel no matter what. It is my home and it deserves to stay that way forever.

עם ישראל חי

My Weekend! (Machtesh Ramon and Shabbat Byachad)

Hey Everyone!
I feel like I haven't really posted anything in a while but this past weekend and this weekend will contain a lot of cool stuff I'm sure!
This past weekend the Aradians and I went on a siyur to "Machtesh Ramon" which is supposedly the biggest crater in all of Israel. After that we were joined by our friends that are in army training and our friends that volunteer in a youth village in Haifa for Shabbat. We call this Shabbat Byachad because it is the only time that we all get to be together because right now we are all split up.
Our siyur to Machtesh Ramon was absolutely beautiful. We had a really cool tour guide that played many different games with us throughout the hike just to make it a little bit more fun. What was really cool about this trip was how close we all were. I felt really connected to all of my friends and we had an amazing time. I would love to go and hike there again because in all honesty it was so gorgeous.

These pictures are just a few examples of how beautiful the crater really is. It is absolutely huge and took maybe an hour to go around the whole thing. The crater is supposedly very romantic because it is in the shape of a heart!

My roommates and I came back to Arad with our friends from Marva waiting for us!!! We were so excited to see them and hear all about how their life sucks in the army. hehehehe. Our weekend started that night with an informative program about the journey to Poland that I will be going on in March and then a little bonfire with tea and pita.

After the bonfire my whole section went out together for the first time since our first weekend in Israel. Let me just say that it was the BEST night!!! I had so much fun with all of my friends that I have been missing so much :) It makes me happy to think that for the next two sessions I will always have this luxury because we won't be separated in Jerusalem and Bat Yam.

 The next day was Friday and we had a bunch of programming on why we came to Israel for a year and what our goals for this year are. We even went to shul in Arad and I saw the teacher from my volunteering there!!!! He introduced me to his son and told me that if he didn't have a girlfriend he would totally set us up.... (SO TYPICAL). I am also very excited because he invited me to his house for Shabbat dinner!!!!

 On Saturday we again did a bunch of different programs and even talked to one of our counselors about making Aliyah (moving to Israel) and how she likes it, how to do it etc.  After two very long days of programming we finally had Havdallah and were free for the rest of the night. We all went out again before the rest of our friends left for their respective homes.

 My favorite part of the weekend was a tiny kitty that my friend found in the streets. Even though I usually don't ever touch stray cats, this one was different! It even followed me home that night!!!!! We named it James :)

The view of Arad from my friends's rooftop!!!!

Yay for a great weekend!!!!!!