The Train

She pulled her thin, black jumper tighter across her shoulders, shielding her from the cool morning breeze that was blowing through the train station. She had slipped into the ladies room to fix her make up before buying her ticket for the 5:45 train home. The toes of her boots were dotted with raindrops that had started to fall from the dark clouds above, she looked down at them. They were scuffed and a bit tattered, but she loved them all the same.

"Oh, what fun they had together" she thought, a wry smile spreading across her lips.

A low whistling and a rumble of the steamtrain engine could be heard way in the distance. She took one last drag from her cigarette before dropping it to the dampening ground and stubbing it out with the toe of her boot. Amelia gathered up her belongings that she had absent mindedly cast to one side of the bench, the one without the sleeping man spread across it; her ticket grasped tightly between her fingers as she eagerly awaited for the train to arrive.

She shivered a little.

On the train, she pulled a thick, black journal with weathered yellow pages and a pen. There were other passengers on board, but most of them were asleep having been on the train all night. Amelia began to write. The scratching of her pen against the paper echoed through the dimly lit cabin as the sky outside turned a lighter grey. The train chugged through the landscape and into the city before disappearing underground and plunging the train into semi darkness before the attendants turned on the florescent lights. People had started to wake now and were rubbing sleep from their eyes. A mother in the seat next to her was cooing gently as she shook her two children awake, touching their shoulders to rouse them while folding their blankets into a brown duffel bag. 

Amelia closed the book she had been scribbling in and stuffed it hastily back into her bag, ready to make her departure. 

*

A delicious smell of sugar and hot coffee filled the apartment as Amelia slipped in through the front door, her keys jingling as she dropped them into the bowl where they kept their keys. 

"I'm home!" she called to the house as she dumped her bags at the door and pulled off her shoes as she walked. 

"'I'm starving!" she groaned taking a seat at the counter and looking over just in time to see her room mate take a bite out of her toast as she leaned against the counter looking at Amelia suspiciously.

"Good night then I see" she said over her toast, as she took another bite.

"Great night! But I'm not sure this hangover or the endless, early morning train ride are worth it".

Her room mate scoffed as she walked over to a cabinet and pulled out two mugs and set the kettle to boil. 

"What did you end up doing?" Amelia asked as she made her way into the kitchen in search of food to ease the growling that had erupted in her stomach again. 

"Oh, you know, same old same old. I finished my shift around two and then Roberto tried to hit on me again. He followed me all the way down the street begging me to go for a drink with him bu-" 

"Did you?!" Amelia exclaimed.

"Of course not! He's a slime ball and I'm getting over it. I cant work there any more, the long hours, the bad tips. Its all too much for me to bare, not to mention school!"

"Maybe if you just give him a chance..."

Jessa took one last bite of toast before she had to leave for her classes in town. Amelia stood in the kitchen for a little while longer, letting her imagination run wild for a bit at the thought of Jessa and Roberto on a date, but soon, also dismissing the idea as a moment of insanity. She finished her tea and padded up the narrow wooden staircase to a nice hot shower and her blue toothbrush sitting in a the cup by the sink.

Inspired by: http://thetruestoryofameliapickles.wordpress.com/

Before the Rain

I have slowly been rediscovering my love for photography and taking pictures. I took to the wilderness that is my garden, something I rarely do due to the fact that I'm allergic to the world that isn't connected to the World Wide Web. Just kidding. I had a fragile childhood.

Here are some pictures of flowers and the Creatures of the Wilderness I found on them.

Plum Blossoms

Orange Cliveas

A bee friend, amoungst the Lavender, for me.

Purple Bougainvillea.

Yellow Clivia. 

A forgotten Door.

Wall Pot Planter

The old Lemon Tree that used to be my Tree House.

Berries.

Hades

Pink Bougainvillea

After it rained on Sunday night, most of the blossoms are gone, but the grass is looking a little greener. The days have started to get unbearable hot already and the sun, as it always does in summer has started setting later. It looks like its going to be scorcher. 

Better get out my Summer clothes

&Kathryn

Nothing to write about.

Why do people go jogging?
Why does slow motion exist?
Why does Alcohol work?
Why is nothing ever how we want it to be?
Why do things change?
Why does the sound go up and down on the radio?
Why do people have to get married?
Is it wrong for me to not want something thst others cant have?
Why do people make other people angry?
Why are you so interested?
Why do people make art?
Does art make people?
why do we listen to other peoples questions?
Why do people disagree with reason?
Why do people get sad?
Why is it okay for rich people to be rich?
Why is being poor a bad thing?
Why do people get happy?
Why doesn't it last?
Why am I more important than other people?
Why cant everybody dance?
Why do people judge each other?
Where did religion come from?
Why do people ask questions?
What's up with that?
Who made cartoons?
Why does the phrase "Don't cry over spilled milk exist"?
Why are some people uncomfortable with things that others find normal?
Why are some people morning people?
Why does language exist?
What even is that?
What is a friend?
Why do they need things?
Why does nail polish make you girl-y?
What makes cars manly?
Why do we box ourselves in with these gender roles?
Why don't people find that strange?
Why is it called Westernisation?
What is paradise?
Why cant everyone just get along?

Tuesday

She leaned on her elbow, the beige, leather couch barely a support for her tired head. He sat next to her, legs outstretched enjoying the space that the carpeted floor provided him. A half empty beer bottle between his fingers. She licked her lips before speaking. Her mouth was dry. His scent, all to familiar in this setting was stronger as they sat close together. The light tendrils of her hair fell around her face just brushing the top of her dark blue jumper that covered her shoulders. The light in the room was a mixture of reds and oranges giving the room, although empty pizza boxes lay scattered across the low coffee table, a romantic glow.

He was talking softly and she was listening intently to what he had to say, bringing her own dark brown beer to her lips, ever so slightly sipping the bitter contents of the bottle. She smiled, a half crooked; tired smile filled with longing. He laughed as he straitened himself out, moving ever so slightly closer to his companion. He mumbled something and she blushed turning her face away shyly as he reached up to move a strand of hair that had fallen into her face. His large hands gently brushed it behind her ear as she gazed into his greenish-blue eyes. His hand rested on her neck where it had stopped mid action. He looked more intently into her eyes, she smiled ash his lips brushed hers.

Their lips met in perfect unison, his hand, more firmly now, felt the back of her neck as she let herself melt into his strong figure. His shoulders were broad her fingers soon found out as she gingerly moved them to touch him. They had become intertwined with one another. The music seemed to grow louder as sparks ignited between the two entangled on the floor amidst fiery passion and the thought of the last night they would have together.

They broke apart, her hand still touched his unshaven cheek as she bit her lip and looked at the figure in front of her. Her eyes shined bright with the thoughts shooting through her mind. She leaned back on her elbow and stretched, leaning her head backward and settling into a more comfortable position. He touched her leg as he looked at the angelic figure, pale and smiling in the dim light of the small apartment. He leaned over and kissed her on the cheek before rising and heading to the kitchen for two steaming hot cups of coffee.

Smog

Its been far too long since I've done anything worth doing, and even longer since I've allowed myself to feel any emotions worth feeling. I've spent many hours on the phone across the ocean trying to grasp hold of the memories and people that are slowly slipping away. I've spent hours pressing tiny buttons trying to recapture the way it all used to be before we left, started new, maybe picked up the old or simply faded away into the bedsheets that have now become our only home - our only hiding place.

I used to think that it would be weak, although not really. 

I think I'm just babbling.

The music that fills the room does not match the face of the boy that sings it, but it is beautiful none the less and it is lovely. It makes me feel lovely. 

He sits across from me in the too warm class on a Wednesday afternoon. For a brief second our gaze meets. He quickly turns away and I keep looking after him, letting my mind wonder to a fantasy where we would talk endlessly and he wouldn't look like a vampire. I look slowly back at the lecturer speaking excitedly as the students around the room fight as hard as they can not to pass out from hours of lost sleep. Their eyes have glazed over, weather it be from smoke, or from sleep, I am not sure.

Our eyes do not meet again, but a look back at him. His arms crossed, his mind buzzing and a smirk across his lips. 

There has been bad news happening all around me. Drifting through me - not really sinking in. 

Death, destruction, loss, unhappiness. 

I feel as though I have to be the one that's smiling. I have to be the one that isn't crumbling, falling, flailing and hyperventilating because everyone is doing that. Everyone is struggling to stay a float in this crazy life. I have to make jokes and sarcastic comments, and If I stop, for even a minute, I know all the sadness will catch up to me, pull me down and I would never be able to climb out of the pit that it sucks you into. 

I don't want that.

Tonight.

Tonight I feel, I've finally been able to let the emotions that have been bothering me out. 

Today.

Today was hard. The day was long and the wind blew a chill through my bones that had them shaking and writhing inside me until I could barely move, barely breath and not even utter a single word.

My teeth are clenched against all the things I'm forbidding myself from saying. 

The voice has changed and I can imagine his face clearer and --

I'm screaming.

I'm screaming again as my eyes are filling with big drops of salty tears and I'm struggling to type. 

I'm screaming.

I am surprised that my chilled finger tips remember the exact position of the keys as the fly across the keyboard making small tapping noises. As my fingers press down, applying more pressure to the area, my mind is reeling, revelling at the wonder and mystery - beauty to an extent - of muscle memory. 

Pressure. 

That's what this all is. Were just little bottles all pressurised emotions with no way to let it all out.

The music speeds up as I wipe my nose on my sleeve. It hurts, I am stiff, In pain. 

From the top of the hill it looks as though the city is under siege from pollution. The buildings are faded against the backdrop of dull morning sunlight and the dust that has been kicked up by the cars and people for the last three months. 

They're drowning. The people are drowning but not in water, in the city. We're overwhelmed, over tired and ready to burst. We're angry and there is no fresh air going to our brains so were all tense. Were all walking on a tight rope where we're all about to fall to our deaths and we cant do anything about it. Were slowly sinking and, how ironic, we need the rain to bring us back to the surface and bring us back to the clear air, the clear light of spring and the breaking of the smog that has our souls and spirits oppressed.

Nothing is working out and the days seem to drag on as the nights settles over the smog in the city. 

We need to break free from all this.

With thanks for the inspiration of your beautiful voices:

https://soundcloud.com/drewgageofficial/

https://soundcloud.com/matthew-mole

Chai Tea and Hot Chips

We had now made it a tradition to catch up with each other over some Chai lattes and Hot chips at the mall in between our houses.
Te nights always started the same, we would plan to meet at a certain time, but always be late. We would deliberate over what to order, but decide on the same thing as last time. It was nice though. It felt comfortable.
Sometimes I worry that I wont have much to say, but when I get there its always fine and the conversation moves comfortably from one topic to the next.
Its these moments that make me feel the most. I have so many emotions all the time that its hard to think of a time when I don't have something going on in my life. I like talking to her though because it gives me a chance to actualise most of these thoughts. Something that rarely happens in day to day life.
I miss having people to talk to.

The First Day of Winter

The air was crisp and cold as I stepped outside for the first time in what felt like weeks.
The rain had been pelting down all over the city for the past three days and this had been the fisrst time it had let up since it all began. I took a deep breath, letting the clean air penetrate my lungs filling them with cold cold air that felt like I was choking. It tasted so familiar. It tasted like winter felt. the air was thick.
It reminded me of the afternoons we would spend on the field at school when I was younger. The grass would turn yellow and would fall out. We would collect as much of the grass as possible turning it into massive sculptures that could take all week. We developed a sure fire way to collect the grass efficiently, using the cardboard boxes that the fruits were delivered in. They had large holes in the bottom that would allow the grass to shoot up through the holes and be collected in the back. This could only be achieved by running with the boxes across the field. We would gather it all in one area and after deciding on what to make we would set to work. In the morning, the sculpture would be covered with frost and the orange light from the low sun would catch the raised image casting a long shadow across the ground.
The best sculpture we ever made, and probably the biggest was that of a skeleton. After that the teachers banned us from doing this,mostly because the grass was being damaged and I think they thought we were a little weird.
Ill never forget the smell and the feeling of those crispy winter afternoons though. The wind blows right through you and your toes hurt from the cold of your leather shoes while in the sun you could be tanning on the beach. The sun shining down on you, warming your limbs.
I felt like I was twelve years old again.

The Invisible Kind

I feel like there are three kinds of communications in relationships. Not just sexual relationships but with friends and families too.

1. The Physical:
That's things like the hugs and the pats on the shoulders. Things that physically show intimacy or trus within people. Its a sign of being comfortable enough with some one to have that.
That's why it freaks me out when people touch me all the time and I don't know them. It took ages for me to get comfortable with my Shnat friends enough to actually touch them and hug them.

2. The Verbal:
Obviously, we are a communicative people. We have languages and all sorts of instant ways to connect and contact each other. But it goes deeper than just a text every-so-often. People need to have face to face verbal communication to have a functioning relationship. You can bottle things up inside and hope that this person can read your mind and know exactly what you're thinking.

3. The Invisible Kind:
People that have the other two types of communication down will have an inherent ability to trust each other. Its like communicating without communicating.
I know that my really good friends will still be my really good friends and nothing will have changed between us even if I don't talk to them for a year.
I know that when I see them again, we'll just slip right back into that knowing and it will be like we had never been apart.
I don't need you to call me all the time or text every five minutes. I just need to know that you're there and that if I do need to talk or something, I can count on you.

These things are beautiful, and if we can do this- this whole being super in tune with each other that we never have to talk or see each other but still be fantastic people - I will gladly spend the rest of my life being that way with you.

xxx

The Deep End:

The large, white table that took up all of the room was intensely daunting. I stood at the doorway for a few seconds before pulling myself back in with a deep breath. I was shaking. My fingers went cold, I couldn't feel my toes. The warm sun shone through the window and I cursed the fact that I had to be here, in this cold, large room, with the white table and the bad blood circulation, instead of outside. 

I sat down gingerly at the first seat I could find. Making it just in time before my knees gave way under the sheer amount of pressure this whole debarcle was creating. It was all probably in my head. This was no big deal. No one else thought so anyway. The old men milling around, greeting each other and shaking hands were at ease. The other people, who had obviously done this a thousand times looked a lot more comfortable than I'm sure I did, even if not entirely. 
The proceedings commenced and  found it hard to concentrate on the words the Chairman was saying. It all sounded like gibberish to me and I had to try extra hard to understand. 
The floor was opened for comments or questions and the boy next to me put up his hand. This seemed to be a big, important debate - I had just missed the topic.
Listening intently I picked up on what they were saying. He was speaking calmly. Phrasing his points clearly and concisely from the scrawled notes on the table. 
Shouting. Stuttering. The Chairman had started to shout. I was taken aback. How had this all escalated so quickly and why could the boy not speak.
The Chairman repeatedly said No. 
I leant back in my chair, trying to stay out of the way of verbal fire.

We were nearing the topic of which I had to discuss. I crossed my fingers, my toes, my legs my arms and willed with all my being that I would not be chosen to speak first. 
I was.

Gingerly I pulled the microphone towards me. My hands were so sweaty I'm surprised it didn't slip out of my hands. 

I panicked.
I rushed.
I skipped a few really important points.

It was all a blur of confusion, nerves and sweaty palms.
I sat back in my seat and spent the rest of the meeting obsessively picking off my nail polish going over and over what I had said, wondering if it was adequate.

I was so relieved to go home that night, and hope never to be thrown in the deep end again. 

Calm Before The Storm, Thrown in the Deep end and other cliched phrases that make sparkly nail polish seem like a good idea right now.

I'm basically swamped with work and barely able to function like a normal human being. My eyes are watering and stinging from being awake for so long. My nose is ruining and I've had a cold for the past three months because my College doesn't understand air conditioning and my bones all hurt.

At least after this weekend I have a fantastically, delicious dinner (I hope) to look forward to, and at least five whole days of one, Lily being in town. We can do all sorts of things, like talk and hang out. Because after living in each others lives for a whole year and a half. seeing each other literally everyday - four months has been to long.

While I appreciate the fact that I have work to do and that its important work, I feel like my life has the tendency to go in patterns of Everything all at once, to nothing and back again. Over and over until I feel like there is no point any more and I should curl up under my douve and pretend the world doesn't exist.

Here's to a long weekend of homework.

Cheers.

I Wish There Was More Time

I sat in my hard wooden chair, staring out the window, listening intently to the conversations happening at the table. I was paying attention. I was. I adjusted and recalibrated every word that entered my mind, rolling it around in my brain. Its like I could feel the letters slipping in and out of the mushy grey matter that made up the inside of my skull. My ears started to ring and my brain started to contract. I could feel it coming up inside my throat as it passed through my ears, rolled around and settled on my conscience. It was half way through March already, and I knew almost exactly what I would be doing for the next few months as the information I had slowly started to process hit me. There wasn't much time left. It was over before it had even started. I began to curse every fibre of my being. My being here and not there, my inability to take part in life, my being too quick to judge and make assumptions without knowing.

In the car on the way home I thought about what it all meant and why on earth it could be happening and how I could make the next few months as worth while as possible.

I thought back to that night. It had been dark, but we had sat at the end of the table discussing all the plans we had for the city. I remembered, gingerly, my day dreams about adventures and was painfully brought back to reality with the realisation that it might all end without any thing of the sort.

It was, after all, too far fetched.

Existentialist Musings

Curiosity.
That's my problem.
Its mostly the reason for all my "Romantic Experiences  over the years. I cant seem to not do something and maybe it has to do with my FOMO but I need to be able to realise when its something that's way worth doing or if I'm just Curious. While curiosity is a good thing, it often seems to be the ONLY thing that's fuelling my actions rather than emotions and the actual want to do something. So, after I've realised what is actually something real, and what isn't I need to decide on the appropriate course of actions to then take.
And here we go again with my curiosity but, how will I know without trying? Maybe I should stop trying things all together.

Inspiration (or lack thereof)

I prefer days when there are clouds in the sky and when the road is wet and steaming. I prefer days when the air is cold and the wind feels like its blowing through you. I prefer days when you curl up in an over sized jumper and watch the world pass by on the other side of the camera lens.

These days have been few and far between over the past few months. When they do come around, my life is all too full of commitments to take advantage of the fleeting security brought to me by the universe.
Today, though, I'm taking advantage of the cool breeze flowing through the house and the fact that I can wear my jumpers and press the neglected buttons of my laptop.

I some how thought this post would be more entertaining and profound, but its not. I only added the picture to make it slightly more interesting.


Over and Out

The Weekly Report: 24/11/2012

Dear Parents, Sniffim and Shnattim. Shalom Rav,

The Spanish announcement will be followed by an English one J

"Todo pasa y todo queda, pero lo nuestro es pasar, pasar haciendo caminos, caminos sobre la mar" "Caminante no hay camino se hace camino al andar", Joan Manuel Serrat (basado en el poema de Antonio Machado)

"All comings and goings are transient but ours are ephemeral, making our paths passable, paths over the sea" "Traveler there is no road, you make your path as you wander", Joan Manuel Serrat (based on the poem by Antonio Machado)

This week we are surrounded by endings, our southern group after being in Israel for nearly 10 months, their Shnat has come to an end. Some will continue to travel and prolong their journey, some will already be going back home, back to the snif.

This has been a journey that you have done as individuals and as a group. This has been a personal journey as it has been a collective one. You have shown us how much you have grown and matured during this year, we are very proud of you.

We want to wish you guys the best of luck, we our very proud of the journey you did and hope that we have left our mark on you as you have left your mark on us.

Our northern group has just finished their first period of Shnat, they have finished the Kibbutz group experience and will be embarking on a new journey, some will stay on kibbutz working in the different fields the kibbutz has to offer, and becoming part of the kibbutz community. While others will be traveling up north to the city of Karmiel where they will take part in different volunteer projects and interacting with the reform community in Karmiel.

This weekend they will have a sikkum weekend, the aim of it will be to give closure to the month they have spent as a group in Lotan and how to still reaming a group even though they are splitting into two groups.

We wish all a good weekend and Shabbat shalom,

Michael Vainberg



For the southern group weekly report please open this link:

The Weekly Report: 08/11/12

Dear Parents, Snifim and Shnatties. Shalom Rav,

This has been a week full of commotions, a statue was dedicated to Winston Churchill here in Israel, and Shimon Peres is in Russia inaugurating a Jewish Museum. It also seems that our British shnatties have not come alone form Great Britain to Israel, we are being visited by Robins (UK national bird, although I think it is not officially the national bird) and every November 4th a Robin appears in the back yard of an Israeli citizen to begin his own Shnat while it waits for better weather in Europe.

Estatua de Winston churchil.

Lately our relations with Turkey have not been great (to say the least), this week the commanding Israeli officers that were on duty when the event with the Marmara "Humanitarian" ship took place have been put on trial, even though they are not even present. The Turks are calling for 18000 years imprisonment for each of the officers. I wonder how much of a fair trial they are actually going to get.

9 people died on the Marmara and that is a tragedy, however it was not a humanitarian ship but a provocation ship, they were armed on board waiting for the Israeli Soldiers and there was no trace of anything humanitarian on the ship, but putting this aside, because we definitely could have a long discussion if it was a humanitarian ship or not, it is not in my intention to come up with any sort of political statement but I would like us to take a moment and remember the Struma ship, which left Rumania in 1942 with over 700 Jews fleeing for their life, it hardly arrive to Turkey because of motor problems, the Turks did not allow the Jews to disembark and after many negotiations they towed the ship towards the Black Sea where they abandon it with the Jews on board and the ship was torpedo by a Russian and 768 Jews died.

And please let's not forget who gets offended each time the Armenian Holocaust is even slightly mentioned.

As for our shnatties, the southern group had their last week on Lotan, the had their last day of work and Hanna took them to Naot Smadar for a sikkum session, even though it was their last week they were kept quite busy, they had a farewell dinner with the kibbutz youth, a farewell activity for the kibbutz and our northern group invited them to a farewell dinner and activity night. This Saturday our southerners will arrive to Jerusalem to begin their Sikkum Seminar, their last week of Shnat.

Our northerners will be starting their last week on Kibbutz as a group, next week they will have a sikkum weekend and then they will divide themselves into two groups, one group will be staying on kibbutz Lotan and one group will be travelling to Karmiel, and with this they will be beginning their second period of Shnat.

I want to wish you all a great weekend and Shabbat Shalom,

Michael

Weekly report by Jordy K (Southerners)

So here it is my friends. The SECOND last delicious weekly report for you to fixture you eyes upon. This week has probably been the most confusing, heart wrenching, exiting, depressing week for the old' Southern Shnat Teva. We had our last host family dinners, last work days, and last time seeing some of the most beautiful kibbutzniks you've ever met that sadly, are leaving even before we are.

Friday night Sophie had her last pub night which ended in her refusing to leave until the place turned off the lights and closed the doors. We said a sad yet temporary goodbye to her on Wednesday as she headed off to New York for some bar mitzvahs with the family, with a return on Monday to sikkum her Shnat with the rest of us - HOPE YOU'RE HAVING FUN SOPHIE YOU SLY MINX! SEE YA LADYFACE ON MONDAY!!!

Anyway, the night before, Tuesday, we all gathered our bodies and wallets and went down to Eilat to have a 'see you soon' dinner for Sophie. We ate at her favorite - Burgers Bar, where everyone devoured their outragously scrumtious burgers, chips and drinks, to then bus home all in food comas.

Saturday brought everyone's last host family dinners, lots more incredibly good home cooked food and new family photos.

Sunday, Monday, Tuesday we slowly said goodbye to our work branches with some of us lucky shnatties receiving farewell cake and goods! Some of us also receiving nothing but a hard day of work - but whatever?!?! We still love our jobs?!?!

Wednesday morning we all bought some Lotan tshirts (OMG) and then proceeded to go to a close kibbutz called Naot Smadar where we were given a tour by a volunteer and all went through a ideological crisis where we discussed whether the members of this kibbutz were absolutely incredible or completely insane. To be honest. The answer was both.

That afternoon we rushed home to quickly make a buck load of cakes, cookies and pancakes to share with the whole of Kibbutz Lotan! We were scared no one would come - turns out people effing love us and it was a massive tea and cake party with families and volunteers and shin shins and shnatties from South and North. Ah. What a night.

Today was the day we sikkumed with our Hebrew teacher and gave a load of feedback to Hanna about our time on Lotan. and were invited to the bustan by the northern group for a farewell diner and activity

So mums and dads, husbands and wives, men and women in relationships and anyone else who reads our weekly reports (weirdos) we'll speak to you next week when we send our LAST weekly reply :O

Love DJ Korn.

Kathryn and Mitchel Do Israel

Day One:
The Dead Sea

I examined my burnt shoulders in the mirror that evening before getting into a decidedly cold shower. They were redder than ever. I have to admit, it has been ages since I've been out in the sun let alone when its at least 42 degrees out.

The rocks beneath my feet we scorching hot and stuck together because of all the salt from teh water. I waded into the water that was rapidly rising, turned to face my back to the wide expanse of ocean before falling backwards only to be caught by the buoyancy that the salty water provides. The water was boiling, hotter than a bath. I floated between a lounging position and being upright, trying tot touch the cold water below with the tips of my toes. Not an easy feat I might add.

We washed our stinging skin off under the cool, fresh water showers and lay our towels out on the stones. We sat and talked for a few hours before heading for the change rooms and treating ourselves to ice creams at the canteen.

The bus was cool and the air conditioning soothing on my hot face, drying the sweat that had begun to form while we waited, rather impatiently for the bus to arrive. Not long after we got on the bus we both fell asleep watching as the desert whizzed past us and the sea turned into mountains.

Day Two
Jerusalem: The Old City

The bustling shuk of the Arab Quarter never seemed to end, and we found ourselves getting lost in the winding alleyways, walking past the same shops over and over again. every so often we would find ourselves down a different street. F
irst we explored the Jewish Quarter and all the old buildings towering above us, the ruins that lay below in their natural state. The Kortel was full of people celebrating, praying and tourists being tourists. I always walk up to the wall and look up at its vast expanse. I see women dovening, tourists putting notes in the wall and families rejoicing from the "wrong" side of the machitza (separation).
There is a tradition of walking without facing your back to the wall after dovening. I always feel uncomfortable doing it, and I see the look in some women's eyes that I must have in mine as I perform this ancient ritual without the true understanding.
Today I walked away normally.
We carried on wondering through the shuk filled streets and found our way to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. We entered the church along with many more Christian People making their pilgrmage to the place where Jesus was prepared for the cross, we watched as they bent down and rubbed oil on that very spot and prayed. Walking around the church this time was different than before. As well as lookign at all the historical and religious places we looked at all the artwork and how it changed form different time periods and spoke about the meanings behind all the paintings, Mitchel even throwing in some tidbits about ancient historians that thought the mural on the roof of the Sistine Chapel was a representation of Christianity being a dark religion, when in fact, it was jsut a bit dirty.
We sat down for lunch at "The Best Falafel" place and for ten sheckle it was pretty good.  
                               

Day Three: Tel Aviv/Yafo
We left mid morning on a Shirut to Tel Aviv and managed to find our way to the pier. We sat on the rocks talking for a while before deciding that it was about time for lunch. We walked for a while along the ocean, the air filled with the smell of people having family a Mangal (Barbeque/Braai) on the beach. Children were loudly playing around on the grass as we walked. I kept a rhythmic pattern of foot steps trying to keep up with Mitchels long legs. Four steps on each square of paving. Sometimes three. We walked for what seemed like forever in the heat of the day, almost dehydrating because we were sweating so much.
We stopped in yaffo for a well deserved, steaming hot pan of freshly made Shakahuka. We ate in silence, not taking breaks between each mouthful. The sweet and salty mingled taste of the tomato sauce was an unbelievbly good sensation to have in ones mouth. The bread was soft and we used every last crumb to soak up the sauce on the pan. The water dropplettes rolled down the side of the jug as we sat in a food coma.
Seeking salvation and an escape from the heat we sought a shop to sit in for a while, pretend to browse as it were. Thankfully there were quite a few Home Ware stoes and we spent about two hours sitting on all the different couches and beds and chairs, even stopping, removing our shoes and feeling the softness of the carpet.
We found our way back to Yafo and walked through the old city looking at the mall artist galleries before having an afternoon shloof in a nearby park.
We boarded a bus to Haifa that night, both of us attempting to get comfortable squeesed in to the small, familiar bus seats of an egged bus.

Day Four: Haifa Stairways
The next morning we woke up freezing in the too low air conditioning of the Hashy Apartment. We showered, brushed our teeth ad pulled on our worn shoes ready to climb some stairs. We took the Carmalit, wich is an underground subway cart all the way uptown. The view was beautiful. You could see almost the entirety of Haifa. There were small cafes and resturants all opening for the day and as we walked we talked about how it reminded us of Cape Town. The air was fresh, almost too fresh to breath properly. We walked down what felf like 1000 stairs untill we found ourselves back where we started, a little sun burnt and a little sore in the leg area, but happy and excited about what a fantastic day we had. We saw so many different kinds of houses and parts of society.

Day Five: Haifa Bahai Gardens
I woke up bright and early to the uncomfortable smell that encompassed the entirety of the Hashy Apartments. The smell got into every part of ones being and lingered for a few days. Mitch and I had decided that today was the day for the exploring of, what we affectionately called, Uptown. We hopped on the Carmel, conveniently located just outside the apartment. We arrived uptown quite early. The city was just waking up and people were hurriedly getting to work before their bosses fired them.
We quickly found the Bahai Gardens and joined the queue eagerly waiting to be let in. I had been to the Gardens before, when I was sixteen, we spent a lot of time taking selfies trying to get the gardens in the background, but this time I could actually appreciate the effort put into the building and just how beautiful the city of Haifa was. We joined the organised tour, to get a little bit more information on what we were doing. Remember kids! It leaves at 12 sharp.
The Bahai People built the Gardens as a tribute to their leader. Everything is built symmetrically and so that one can really appreciate the beauty and splendour of the gardens. There are fountains and water streams that go all the way to the bottom of the gardens, as well as hundreds of round lights, that illuminate the gardens at night.
We walked down 9 tears of the Gardens and once we had reached the bottom found ourselves some ice-y, cold, frozen yogurt the cool us off.

It was back to the Apartment for us to fetch our things and catch our bus back to Jerusalem. The bus ride was quick and comfortable, we spoke about Netzer and all the big ideas we had and about our friends and how we would handle life when we got back home after being away for so long. Neither of us had any idea.

Day Six: Jerusalem at Night
We stepped off the tram just up the road from where we were living at around 7pm. Tired, with dragging feet we walked down the hill longing for bed and the return of Lily who had spent the last two months in either South AFrica, Israel or England. Spotting the Hustle and Bustle of the Mamilla strip we took a quick peek inside and found what was almost a carnivalle. Along with the usual mass of shoppers and art adorers there were now hundreds of people watching the street performers and the clowns that seemed to be around every corner.

One woman that caught our eye was the one blowing GIGANTIC bubbles for all the kids to jump up and pop, shrieking with excitement.
She was my favourite.

Lily and Josh were home and our Group was on the way to being completely reunited. We all threw on some clean clothes and headed out to Hamarkia, the best soup place in town, for a well deserved dinner.

Day Seven: Bethlehem
It was hot waiting for the Arab bus on the side of the road. The ground was hot, the people were hot and there was a load of construction going on in the background.
We caught the bus when it came.
The fences were high, the designated pathways were long and redundant, the doors were large and there was a beeping sound whenever you went through. Soldiers stood guard waiting to search people whom they deemed 'suspicious'. We walked through without any trouble. The man behind us, who was clearly in a hurry to get where he was going, was made to walk through metal detectors and be subjected to being searched and asked to show his ID. He was not pleased.
Inside Bethlehem we walked along the separation wall, admiring the graffiti and even witnessing a bunch of what looked like 15 or 16 yearolds all working together to create a new piece of political artwork.
We spoke to a woman whose house is completely cut off from the rest of the neighbourhood by the wall. She told us of the time when they were first building the wall and how her and her family were locked inside their house. She told us of another time when there was quite a bit of conflict in the area and there were soldiers that would use her house as their base. She was distraught.
We walked around for a good few hours getting increasingly lost, but not all that bothered by it. We stopped for a delicious lunch of Hummus and Falafel before heading back passed the wall and out through the check point, onto another bus and into our apartment.

There we found an assortment of Shnatties, both from Hashy and Netzer, all back from their trips in Europe. Our group was complete again. We sat in a circle on the ground swapping stories of the past week.

I'd like to leave you with one of the best quotes of our Shnat:
Jordy: "Why dont we go to Humus Ben Sira?"
Shosh: "Im okay with anything!"
Jade: "Why dont we just go to Japanica! Thats something that no one wants to do."

The Weekly Report: 25/10/2012

Dear Parents, Snifim and Shnatties. Shalom Rav,

Our northern group arrived well to kibbutz Lotan, a beautiful kibbutz in the Arava area of Israel, just 40 minutes north of the city of Eilat. They were well received by our southern group that organized a welcome party for them and who are also in charge of the Shabbat beyachad that will take place this weekend.
Both groups were well received by rain, it stormed in the Eilat area as it has not stormed in a while, if the average amount of rain is 1.4mm for the whole winter period in Eilat, it rained during the last week 6mm and its not even winter yet.

Both groups helped out to take the Sukka down and both groups have been working hard and studying hard. Our northern group is living in an ecological neighborhood in the kibbutz, living in mud huts and learning how to take care of our Mother Earth.

On a sadder side of news, this week the oldest survivor from Auschwitz passed away at the age of 108. Although it is not Holocaust Remembrance Day, I feel that it is necessary to mention this news and to acknowledge that brave generation.

This next piece of news I don’t know if some you will see it also as a sadder side or not of the political circus in Israel, Netanyahu and Liberman have decided to join forces and will be running as one political party during these next elections that will take place in January 2013.

Back to our shnatties, I will be seeing them this weekend during our Shabbat beyachad; I will be sending pictures with our next weekly report.

I wish you a great weekend and a Shabbat Shalom,
Michael

Weekly report by Liz H (southern shnat)

This week to celebrate the end of the harvest the date girls went to Eilat on a group date and the next day had a party on a boat with the surrounding kibbutzim in the area. Fortunately for e girls the rain (yes actual rain not just slight rain) wasn't during the party although it was when I had to milk the goats and let me tell you that wasn't the most pleasant of experiences. Together as a group we took down half the sukkah on Tuesday with josh on the sidelines due to a toe injury. Kitty entertained us during the day with songs that substituted the words with...That afternoon instead of sleeping like a normal person Jordy decided to milk goats with Sandra (ex-shnattie and her host mother) which makes jade the only one of us not to. Shoshana has started to feel better and rejoined the kibbutz workforce. Sophie continues to be the best in the kitchen at making eggs and Lily is loving work as much as ever. Tomorrow the Shabbat beyachad begins and we promise to let you know how it went next week. Goodbye and goodnight

Ther Weekly Report: 18/10/2012

Dear Parents, Snifim and Shanties Shalom Rav,

What a way to finish the week, our northerners finished their orientation seminar which was very successful, there a few events that happened that I want to comment on, last Saturday we took our shnatties on a tour of the Old City, some of our shnatties have never been to Israel before and it was amazing to see their faces while they took the view in. During the tour we incorporated a Seudat Shlishi prepared by Louis P. and Gabriel P, here is a song they wrote for the group that I want to share with you:

" Sweet as Louis, sweet as Danny, sweet as Gabie on our tongues. Sweet as Sulia, sweet as Vicky, sweet as Ruby on our tongues. Sweet as Emily, sweet as BP, sweet as Horne on our tongues. Sweet as Rhiannon-e, sweet as Joe-e, sweet as Jake-e on our tongues. Sweet as Danielle-e, sweet as Liana-e, sweet as Lou-e on our tongues. Sweet as Natan-e, sweet as Laura-e, sweet as Asher-e on our tongues. Sweet as Gabriel-e, sweet as Shnatties, sweet as honey on our tongues!"

And after the song they gave everyone milk and honey.

After visiting the Kotel we went back to the Jewish Quarter to do an Havdala service led by Joe G. and Rhiannon H., the vibe was so intense that it even got the Charedi people around us swinging to the melody and a Charedy couple were so inspired by the group that they actually stopped what they were doing and felt the need to join us.

At the moment both groups are in Kibbutz Lotan, our southern group hard at work while our northern group is starting their Ecological kibbutz group bonding experience. This next weekend I will see both groups as we are having a Shabbat Beyachad prepared and led by our Southern group (Jordy K. and Sophie G.), once I come back with pictures I will post the on our facebook group.

I want to wish you all a great weekend and Shabbat Shalom

Michael

Weekly report by Asher F. (northern group)

So here we are after the first amazing week on Shnat Netzer 5773!

We’ve experienced lots of amazingly fun, exciting, and helpful peulot sessions, including ones about where in Israel we can visit, Israeli politics and its conflicts with the world, and playing with bazooka bubble gum. We bonded over talks, song sessions, services, and most of all, banter.

We’re sitting here at Kibbutz Lotan being bitten by flies and 250 metres away from the Jordanian border. We were given a tour of our bustan, the part of the Kibbutz with domes that house 3 of us each. Lotan is the ecofriendly kibbutz of Israel, using solar power to heat water, waste to make fertilized soil, and mud and straw to build

the ‘igloos.’ Tonight was just a chill hangout night, as we had a long bus ride and intense heat in the day. Tonight will be very exciting because we get to meet the southern Shnatties for the first time!

With oodles of love

Mr A Fingerhut x

Weekly report by Jade K (southern group)

19 Northerners arrived this morning to share our home for the next 3 weeks

235 tonnes of dates were picked in this years harvest (of which Jade, Jordy and Shoshana were responsible for about 20%, they are very proud)

26km were travelled to an Ashram near Mitzpe Ramon on Friday for a music festival, we danced all night and ate potatoes cooked on an open fire

25 000 date sacks were folded by Jade and Jordy at work today

11 New paintings were put up by Kitty when she decorated the house today

1.5 hours was spent having a sing-along in the cheder ochel on Tuesday night

10 kitchen staff ate burgers for lunch as a special treat

700 eggs were cooked by Sophie over the past 7 days

1 guitar from Shnat Zahav was retrieved from the clutches of the infamous

Habo Australia and New Zealand Kvutzah (also knowonn as the fake shnat Teva) on a secret mission to Karmiel

4 Habo South Africans came to visit us all the way from Haifa

111 goats now live in one group thanks to Liz's special goat herding skills

8 shnatties

28 days to go

We'll be home before you know it...

The Weekly Report: 11/10/2012

Dear Parents, Snifim, Shnatties. Shalom Rav,

This week shnat got bigger; this week we received the new northern Shnat - Shnat Yam 2012-13

WELCOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SHNATTIES

we received 19 new shnatties that began their individual and group journey, 4 representatives from NFTY, 2 from LJY and 13 form RSY, at the moment they are in Jerusalem where they have their orientation seminar, next week they will traveling to kibbutz Lotan to start their group experience and will meet our southern shnatties that are about to finish Shnat and could give our new shnatties good tips on how to make the most out of Shnat.

I have attached some pictures of our Orientation Seminar and next week I will be posting more pictures on our facebook group which we invite you to join: https://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/netzer.olami/

Our southerners helped to pack away the sukka and dance with the torah on simchat Torah, it was a rather short week because of the holydays, they prepared a welcome video for our new shnatties and will be welcoming them next week in Lotan, our southern shanties are also in charge of preparing a Shabbat beyachad which will take place towards the end of October.

As for Israel news, last night for the first time since being liberated, Gilad Shalit was interviewed and he spoke about his time in captivity, it was very emotional hearing him say the things he did to keep his mind sane. How he played chess with his captives, how he would roll his socks or shirt into a ball and throw it into the garbage (basketball), how he would invent weird games to keep his mind going, how he would draw the map of Israel, of his neighbourhood, of his house so that he wouldn't forget what it looked like, to keep his imagination flowing. He still captivates us, even today a year after being liberated he is still Israel's son.

I want to wish you all a great weekend and Shabbat Shalom,

Michael

Weekly report by Natan J. (Shnat North)

Friends, family and everyone else in my life that i am having to live without. I woke up on thursday having had 45 minutes of sleep after an evening of flights, travel sickness, stress and mass american shnattee appreciation. We had arrived at the flat at 3 am, to a mini american pajama party to welcome us into Beit Shmuel. We watched the glorious sunrise over Jerusalem together from Beit Shmuel and by the morning we felt we had been there for weeks, so exhausted yet comfortable we were.

Opening Tekkes took us up to the roof of the hostel, and subsequently took our breath away. The old city lay there in front of us, sun kissed in the morning light, calling out to us. I felt so far from home, and yet simultaneously at home.

We are all well prepped after our rules and regs and are equipped with basic hebrew and cannot wait for the challenge that awaits us. A challenge we shall all rise to, and in the timeless words of Joe Grabiner, we are so so joyful.

 

Weekly report by Sophie G (Shnat South)

Ah! What a week! And now comes that time in the week where one must write the weekly report, preferably in a witty and comical way. Recollecting a week of shnat is increasingly difficult with all the chuggim, work days, yomai chinuch and such. But this week did hold some highlights, including kathryn's joyous 19th birthday, shoshana and jordana's return from their families, simchat torah and my making up a witty and soulful song about the dishwasher during my two and a half hours in the dishwashing room at work (lyrics to come).

Sunday was a chofesh day for erev simchat torah. A day of catchup, preparation and cleaning for simchat torah. The house was emptied of furniture and filled with soap and water, transforming our living room into a slip'n'slide. There was so much room for activities! But as the day grew on we showered and got into our finest clothing for the chag. The shule service was like any other, expect that it was followed by 2 hours of dancing with the torah around our beautiful sukkah. Just as those festivities died down, the shnatties were preparing for a little celebration of their own. The day after (monday) was to be kathryn's birthday, so we had planned a little surprise party, animal themed, in her honour. Starting in our house, we eventually moved to the bustan to join her in bringing in her birthday.

Monday came as a shock with 7 am toronut in the cheder ochel, actually mildly enjoyable. Being the day of the chag, no one had work. We spoiled kathryn on her birthday with little surprises and a roof top game of pass the parcel at 11 pm. And a few hours later, in the early morning, shoshana arrived home from her chofesh with her mum.

Tuesday: yom chinuch; always a blast! The day started with a 'hike' through the desert to lotan's pepper and melon fields, where yuri managed to successfully convince lily that the army used the nearby shed to produce tanks. They don't. Following out early morning sand dune climb, us shnatzim learnt all about the details of jewish weddings, and how these become issues in modern israel. Turns out some religious communities still do the shoe throwing thing. The day concluded with and round of "hypothetical kibbutz dilemma" solving, helping us to understand the day to day obstacles kibbutz lotan has to overcome.

Which now brings me to today, wednesday. Today we were all back at work, and what a work day it was! Liz for the first time was a second milker, with a bit of hesitance, but persisted with the goats and their new kids. Kitty has dealt with the many visitors that are at kibbutz for the wedding of the first kibbutz baby tomorrow. Shoshana, jordy and jade have been picking away at the date fields. Lily has been preparing to say goodbye to her beloved GA's in the ecokef. Josh has continued his garden adventures and has just left to go up north for the weekend. And what have i done? I hear you ask. I have fried and scrambled many a egg in the kitchen and have come up with quite the ditty, if i do say so myself, about my dishwashing experiences. And it goes a little something like this:

 

There's a spoon in the trolley, for you to eat your brocolli

There's a knife for the eggs, to get some energy to move your legs

And you know about them plates, so you can eat while your with your mates

And when you're done with all this crockery, you can laugh but i wont take mockery

When you bring them, to the dish washer

And i'll be dishin' while i'm whishin' for a permanent position you know

I think it's great when i'm scrubbing on those plates

And you can watch while i wait

For my dishwasher

I'll spray on the tray all the day all through the way

of the dishwashing cycle

I'll rinse all the mince like a prince i won't wince

when i get sprayed in the face

'cause in the dishwasher, you get sprayed in the face

 

So that is a little song to leave you with, feel free to make up a tune as you read it. Until next week! Shnatzim out.

 

The Weekly Report: 04/10/2012

Dear Parents, Snifim and Shnatties. Shalom Rav,

This week we were surprised by a very special guest, a special guest that we hope comes to stay for quite a while since Israel is in need of it, this week it started raining and it was a blessing.
on a less happy note, Israel said goodbye to a legend, Abraham Eden past away, Abraham was the commander that during the Independence War when he got to what today is Eilat and did not have an Israeli flag took a sheet and ink and drew the flag.

Israel is on vacation this week celebrating Sukkot and it is so nice to see so many balconies with sukkot in them, i took my family to the beach where my son took it upon himself to throw back all the sand into the ocean, two small fistfuls at a time, we did not have the heart to tell him that we were only going to be there for an hour and he will not get the job done, but it was fun seeing him enjoy himself.

our shantties helped build the sukka in kibbutz Lotan and some even volunteered after hours to help move the chairs and tables from dinning room to the sukka.

they had an activity with Hanna where Kitty did a maamad for them that led to start thinking and planning what they want to do before Shnat finishes, and i do hope and wish that our shnatties take advantage of the time left until the end of Shnat.

next week not only will we be receiving the Shnat group but we have a new madricha, Reut, that will join our staff and i want to take this opportunity to welcome her and to wish her luck.

I want to wish you all a great week and chag sameach

Michael,

 

Weekly report by Kathryn H.

What a week its been for us here on kibbutz, what with eating in the sukkah and all the goat milking shifts weve been picking up to help out as much as we can around the kibbutz.

For those of you who dont know, Goat Milking is quite the expirience, although Liz gets to do it everyday, the rest of us are all too happy to try out a different work branch every so often and really get our hands dirty. Milking can take up to about three hours but with good music and a whole bunch of friends it takes no time at all and is actually quite enjoyable! There are these scary milking machines with buttons to start the suction and this really complicated process of hearding the goats and screaming "Yalla!" at them until they get up on the milking platform, its all rather stressful and difficult to try not to hurt the really pregnant goats.

A few friends from Machon came down to the kibbutz to celebrate the Chag with us at the beginning of the week, we had a load of fun having ideological debates and dancing at the pub.

Josh participated in an inter-kibbutz soccer match over the chag, but alas we lost. But had a great time playing. He's still working in the garden with another volunteer. He says its hard work but he seems to really enjoy it, and that what counts!

Jade has been hard at work with Lily and myself planning the sikkum seminar for the southerners, she. Keeps us all on out toes and has amazing ideas. Shes playing guitar again and is generally smiling and happy, keeping the rest of the group smiling and happy too.

Liz has been helping out more and more in the goats and knows exactly what shes doing! She certainly helped me out the last time i went there. She really enjoys her work.

Shoshanna has been absent from our lives for far too long. Last i heard she was off galavanting israel with her family enjoying the high life of the watsu and the well awaited time with her Mom. (COME HOME SHOSH!)

Lily spent the chag with her family in Yavne, but came home briefly to say hello, get a few things and make her way with a friend to the Zorba festival. She also spent time with one of our friends from South Africa who is visiting on her gap year. It was so nice to have some more of that Saffa Spirit around the house. Holding the fort all by myself with these Aussies is not an easy task!

Sophie has been writing songs all over the place! You should really hear the one about the dishwasher she has been writing at work! Her friend is visiting us for a few days on his chofesh, so the house is gull of all sorts of interesting people!

Jordy just got back from her trip with her family, full of stories and pictures of all the fun she had with her parents and grandparents. (it seems everyones families are here)

And now me, Kathryn. This week in tourism we have been snowed under what with the chag and all. The office people had to recruit some of the shin shinim and volunteers to help us out! The laundry room has never looked as crazy as it did this past week. Mountains of laundry! I had to say goodbye to one of the girls i work with yesterday, shes off back home to holland and ill surely miss her.

Yom Chinuch this week was really interesting. We had a class with Daniel the Rabbi about the calendar of the jewish year. All the holidays make so much more sense now and having lived them in Israel and not in the diaspora has made all the more clear as to why we have them. Not only are they all connected to the seasons but to the moon cycle as well. Who woulda thought? Jade drew us an amazingly colorful diagram that were going to stick in our house. We also helped out with the clothes swap that the kibbutz ran buy sorting out all the clothes.

Channa ran a really fun peulah for us where we acted silly and ate chocolate and played pass the parcel for a good few hours, and then fell asleep on the grass in the sukah.

A you can see, its been quite a hectic week here on Shnat, but were all going strong and being cool. Thats it until next time!

Much love from all of your kids. (Is that a pun about baby Goats?)