Sunday 1 July 2012

Life with a Dash of Zatar

Saturday 16 June 
We woke up bright and early for a meeting with Galit where she showed us how to use a mop, hand brush, toilet brush, tooth brush, hair brush, and told us a whole bunch of information that we all forgot as soon as she had said it.

We decorated the apartment for the rest of the day, having a nice long break for swimming before lunch. Michael joined us for our first official lunch as a kommuna in Karmiel and told us to start thinking about where we would like to have our sikkum seminar sending us all back into hysterics about missing the Northerners.
Dinner.

Sunday 17 June 
I volunteer at a place called K'var Yeladim, wich is an Agricultural Farm that teaches children about the importance of agriculture, and is owned and run by an old man named Motie. My first experience in my new place of volunteering was something I'll never forget.
I sat in the office on the chair right in the middle of the room, people sitting all around me having what seemed to be an intense staff meeting and birthday celebration. I was drinking my coffee listening to speeches about how wonderful one of the teachers is, when I spilt my coffee everywhere. Panic. Already it was a super tense environment, I was new, I couldn't understand what was going on and now everyone was looking at me struggle with life, whereas before I had been doing so well being quiet and trying not to move.
I was dismissed and spent the rest of my morning watering plants in Green House Number Two and hanging out on the couch before, thankfully, Galit, Josh and Jade showed up to rescue me.

Sitting on the roof of the building with Lily that night, discussing life, just like we used to in Etgar, way back in the beginning of Shnat was a surreal experience. In a way I felt as though I was really there, and in some ways I didn't. Back on the flat everyone was hanging out in Shoshuahs room smoking hubbly and hangng out.

The night sky over Karmi'el is one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. For as far as the eye can see, tere are lights and dark patches of mountains and you can tell where one city or town ends and where another begins.



Monday 18 June
The next day I was volunteering with Josh and Shanna. Shanna and I spent the morning pruneing and replanting geraniums and these other plants that I can never remember the name of. We took a break for lunch with Josh and Motie. Fresh pierot (vegetables) from his farm and hummus with techinah, zatar and harbeh (a lot) olive oil.
We spent the afternoon repotting herbs for the herb garden and playing a rediculous game of "Guess the thing I'm thinking of" where the thing varied from Chaim Shalom to Mark Lazar and the Pringles Man.
That night, Gal came to visit and coaxed everyone into watching this weird movie, which ofcourse, I fell asleep in.
That night we all went up to the roof and hung out listening to music and eating chocolate chip pancakes.
This all accompanied with existencial crisies about socialism and my own personla freak out about being a terrible person. Meh. Just an average day on Shnat.