Kitah Gimmel Begins

I'm slowly settling into the sweet, lazy kibbutz life. Nothing is rushed or hurried here; the days are hot, people mosey slowly from one place to another. Meals are eaten in the chadar ochel, or dining hall, which is right across from the Ulpan dormitories. The entire kibbutz can eat there for breakfast and lunch, and then there's a special ulpan meal for dinner. The first two meals are bright, crowded affairs. There are babies and small children with their parents, teenagers eating at a table with their friends, ulpanists from all over the world conversing in English, French, Spanish, Russian, German, and of course Hebrew.

On Monday and Wednesdays, I've got class that starts at 8, so I have to eat breakfast before then. The chadar ochel is opens at 7, so I get there around 7:30. Everybody in my class, Kitah Gimmel, is there, and so are the people from Kitah Bet, who have class at the same time that we do. Kitah Aleph works on the days that we study, and everybody's work schedule is a little different. Class is long, we have it from 8-3 with a lunch break and a few shorter breaks, but the teacher is nechmadah, great. Her name is Sarahleh, and she's been teaching Kitah Gimel at the ulpan for 25 years. The entire thing is in Hebrew, which makes sense, because it's the only common language we all have. There are about 12 students in my class.

On Sundays and Tuesdays I work at Gan Oren with 4-6 year old children. They are really adorable and a lot of fun, even though I don't understand half of what they say to me. It's also neat to see them around the kibbutz outside of work.

Every other week we have class on Thursday and work on Friday that ends early. The other weeks, we work Friday and have a short day of class on Thursday. When this happens, we have an extra shorter session Tuesday evening. After class or work, we're free to do what we'd like. Today I went for a hike with a few other ulpanists. It was really nice to get out and do something active, as I hadn't really exercised very much since I got to the kibbutz.

I'm getting an adopted ulpan family soon. Smadar, the head of the Ulpan, told me that they have four children, and the oldest is 11. It'll be nice to be able to hang out with a family once in a while, since mine is so far away.

My big news, I guess, which I'm a little hesitant to post on my blog--but I'll do it anyway--is that I've been seeing one of the guys in the Ulpan. His name is Lazar and he's from Turkey. He's really nechmad. He made aliyah six months ago with his family because the anti-semitism in Turkey is so bad. His family lives in Tel Aviv, and this is his second Ulpan at Kibbutz Yagur. He doesn't speak much English, so we mostly talk to each other in Hebrew, which is challenging but also fun. Communication is so different like that. In a way, it's almost easier to say what's on my mind, because I get so caught up in trying to communicate in an effective way, that I don't have time to be embarrassed or hesitant about the content of what I'm saying.

We have a day off each week for shabbat. This past shabbat, I travelled with two other ulpanists, Michelle and Scott, to Jerusalem. I stayed with Dana, my friend and Hebrew teacher from Vassar, and had shabbat dinner with her family. That was also nice, to spend shabbat with a family like that. We saw an Israeli movie, Meduzot, which means Jellyfish, that I absolutely loved. I really recommend it to anybody who can get their hands on it. I also met up with some friends from my birthright trip-Lily, Shlomo, and Matt. We went to shul together Friday night, and then Lily and I hung out Saturday during the day. In the evening, we walked over to the Livnot House, where Shlomo and Matt were staying. Livnot does programs with young people in Israel, lots of community service things I think, and they had offered our friends a shabbat meal and a place to stay. There were lots of people hanging out there, and they were really interesting to talk to. People doing all kinds of things in Israel-studying, ulpans, hiking, Livnot programs.

My sister is in Israel now, which is very exciting, and hopefully I'll be able to spend some time with her soon. I know she has a free shabbat in a few weeks, and we're going to get together at our cousins' house. My friends Golan and Rachel from Vassar are also coming to Israel tomorrow on birthright, and I really hope I get a chance to see them.

Tomorrow is actually the fourth of July, which seems so strange. Mike, an ulpanist from California, is planning a BBQ tomorrow for us Americans, but I almost don't want to go. Israel feels more like my home than America in so many ways, and I don't feel any need to celebrate the 4th. This time last year, I guess I was working that hellish but fascinating job lifeguardng at High Tor. Fourth of July is one of the crowdest, busiest, most dangerous days for us there. And here, it's just another day. I've got class and that's about all.