This week has been characterized by a few important events. The Southern Shnatties arrived, YEAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!, we have 8 new shnatties join our family/group, 6 shnatties form Australia and 2 shnatties from South Africa.
This has also been a week of good byes, our Karmielnickim have left what the city that has been their home for 2 months, said good bye to their work places, to their host families, to their Hebrew teacher and embarked on a long day travel all the way back to Kibbutz Lotan. Our Lotanickim have also said good bye to their host families, their work places and have gotten ready to receive the Karmielnickim.
Our Lotanickim had an adventurous field trip to an alligator farm not far away from the kibbutz, don’t worry they are all accounted for (both alligators and shnatties ;)), our Karmielnikim had one farewell feast after the other.
This has been a week of seminars, the southerners had their Orientation Seminar, they are starting to get a feel of what shnat is, might be and should be, we wish them to get the most out of shnat and make the most out of shnat, hopefully some of the northerners will be able to give them some tips; while our northerners had the End of Options Seminar, where they will be sumurizing and looking in retrospect the period that has just finished and prepare themselves for the next period Etgar and Machon and this Friday both groups will get together in Jerusalem to have a Shabbat Beyachad forming a big strong Netzer group before they embark into the next period of the program.
Next week is a week of beginnings, the southerners will begin their shnat program and the northerners will begin the third and last period of their program. They will all wake up Sunday morning to leave for Etgar or Machon accordingly. Both programs will start with a short trip down to the Dead Sea area and then come back to Jerusalem where the studying will begin.
I have attached a few pictures from the southerners Orientation Seminar, which you can also find on our facebook page www.facebook.com/netzerolami.
I and the Netzer staff wish you all a great week end and Shabbat Shalom,
Michael.
Weekly report by Emily Kay. (Lotanick)
This week is a week of sadness and despair as we prepare to leave Lotan. The work branches have let us go and are now struggling desperately to survive and as we look forward to the final pub night we can only assume it will be a lonely and miserable place without us.
A party was thrown for Benjy on Friday night to celebrate a remarkable miracle. One might say he has mastered Swedish. Saturday saw our last shabbat and host family dinners of Kibbutz experience, something we have enjoyed enormously during our time here. On Sunday night, after finishing our last ever work shifts, all ten of us hopped on the bus to Eilat and sat down to a slap up burger meal complete with emotional speeches, laughter and the best garlic mayonnaise I've ever had. This morning (Monday), our madracha Hannah took us on a surprise-ish trip to a crocodile farm. Admittedly that sounds rubbish, and I'd be lying if I said we expected otherwise but honestly it was great. As well as getting to see a pool of 200 enormous "youngsters" we got to handle a tiny crocodile for ourselves. The week has also seen some progress for our "Purim Spiel" video entry to RSY Netzer's annual competition, watch this space...
It has also been a week of reflection on the last four months. It is unbelievable how quickly time has flown by and yet none of us can remember ever not being friends. It is fair to say that, with the exception of the Famous Five, no group of people has ever got on so well. I think as a group we should feel proud of everything we have accomplished here. We have all worked incredibly hard and really have immersed ourselves in the community. Both the group and the kibbutz itself will be sorely missed when we leave but we know what lies in store is going to be incredible. In just a few days we will welcome our Southern shnatties to the group and begin Etgar or Machon. The programmes will be very different to what we have experienced so far and bring new friends, excitements and challenges our way.
Emily K.
Weekly report by Rebekkah Karp (Karmielnickim
Now that we’re all back together on Kibbutz Lotan, we have been reflecting and reminiscing on our last few months as volunteers. This weekly report, however, will focus on just the past week. Friday was the day of our Tu B’shvat event for Yedid Nefesh, the Reform Congregation in Karmiel. We planned an amazing night full of singing, games, food, prayer, and, of course, wine. Though set up and preparation was a hassle, the whole night went really smoothly and everyone had a lot of fun. We cleaned up and went back home for out Shabbat dinner, which Naomi had taken charge of. The Hallah was baked and the schnitzel was cooked and the leftover wine was tasted. It was a really nice last Shabbat dinner together (with the addition of Jake’s dad, who came to visit and was much appreciated in the kitchen).
Saturday started off nicely, with sleeping in that lasted until past noon. We went as a group to the Family Park and had fun playing there like little kids, and then we went to a beautiful overlook spot and had a Havdallah service.
Sunday we volunteered some more (except Noa, who was our Pinky this week), and then came home to cook. That night we had around forty to fifty guests come to the Rayman’s Center, where we served a delicious meal and showed a slideshow of our time in Karmiel. There were lots of hugs and pictures and good-byes, and then a lot of cleaning up to do.
Monday, our last volunteer day, was sentimental and emotional for some (crazy hectic for me: a successful CPR, a cancer patient, getting lost in a hospital). I know we’ll all miss the places we were at, and maybe we’ll even go back and visit soon. I know I will. After volunteering, we went home to clean and pack and hastily get ready for dinner. Galit, her daughter and son, and all of us went to Art DeCoco for dinner to consume way too much chocolate. It was a lethargic group that went back home to pack that night.
Tuesday was so completely crazy: some of us waking up at 5am to get a jump start on cleaning, and some not waking up to help until after Galit showed up to inspect. Crazy chaotic cleaning ensued, and everything from the mold on our walls to the hair in the pipes of our bathroom got cleaned. We had a tearful good-bye and received awesome sunglasses from Galit, and then boarded the bus to Lotan. Our naptime was interrupted when we had to switch buses- we were downgraded- due to a mechanical problem. We rode the rest of the way to Lotan (stopping once for lunch, of course) and were greeted by our Kibbutznikim friends. We all attended a Tu B’Shvat service and dinner, and then rested until pub night.
I know we’re all enjoying our time together as a group, our last time as ‘Us’ until the very end of Shnat. We’re all pretty excited to meet the Southerners and begin Etgar and Machon, too. Life is very bittersweet now, and we’re all trying to appreciate it and get from it the best that we can.
Weekly report by Jade Karp and Jordana Kornfeld (southerners)
Hey parents!!
First of all we miss you lots (but not too much, don't be ridiculous) and we hope that you are surviving with out us (even though we know you're all crying yourselves to sleep), the light of your lives, your everything, your amazing (and incredibly good looking) children.
For the Australian Shatties, after 2 disgustingly long plane trips, we were greeted at ben gurion by Alice's (a little too) smiley face. Her joy mixed with our lack of sleep made for many truly dellusional photo opportunities... Ahhh Shnemories :)
We jumped straight into AZYC seminar without so much as a shower (to our general disgust) and spent the week with the other movements learning about Israel as well as each other's ideologies (and eccentric quirks... Hineini's 'Moses' was quite the experience) and making new friends (awwwwyay!) whom we were very sad to have to say goodbye to!
Then came Lily and Kathryn (our super groovy South Africans), needless to say we were not sad for long! The last 4 days have been filled with touring, exploring, getting to know each other and bonding as a kvutzah. Some highlights include a wild tour around our new Netzer home at Beit Shmuel with a Rabbi who thought he was a tiger, late night political discussions with the Palestinian bartender at Sira, waking up super early to hear the church bells in the Old City, a casual afternoon stroll through Me'a She'arim, a very hippy Tu Bishvat Seder with the crazy kids from Noar Telem (Israeli Netzer) and of course a few peircings along the way.
Not missing you at all (secretly missing you heaps!) Love Jade and Jords (and Shnat Teva South)
x