I’ll be up for a while since I slept all day today, so I’m taking my break from homework for some blogging. Shabbat is a nice, much needed, change of pace from the week – I am excited to wake up at six tomorrow morning for garden work, don’t get me wrong, but I definitely needed this weekend to relax and have some fun.
Thursday night, after a long day of classes, working on our mud bench, and eco-neighborhood potluck, we went to the pub at nearby Kibbutz Qetora, which is literally across the street but I had yet to visit. It was fun, but I found there was something missing in the air – the spirit of Lotan is strong, and leaving for the first time since I got here made me feel it even stronger. If I haven’t said it enough, Lotan is truly magical. Everyone is so welcoming and fun, and the atmosphere is full of passion. We got back from Qetora late, but I somehow managed to wake up on time for our 6:00 AM shift at the date plantation. Over 15% of Kibbutz Lotan’s income is from their farm of dates, so we spent about 5 hours Friday morning helping pick the medjool dates – this is the prime harvest season. It was hot, so shaking the palms and collecting the dates from the bags they fall into was very tiring. However, the experience was very meaningful for me. I think most people overlook the effort that goes into food production. In five hours, the twenty of us harvested about 300 bins of dates... the work was very humbling.
Friday afternoons are normally left open for us, since everybody likes to take time to transition from the week to Shabbat. A few friends and I took the bus down to Eilat, a 45 minute ride that served as a mini-tour since there was a stop at every Kibbutz on the way South from Lotan. Although it was a bit touristy, I thought Eilat was very fun. We got some iced coffee (yes, I am still addicted to coffee) and took a cab to the beach. The Red Sea was beautiful for swimming – though very salty, it was amazingly blue and clear, and brilliantly colored fish swam right up to our legs from the coral reef. From the Israeli beach we could see Jordan across the water (within swimming distance), and we could see Egypt’s shore not far away... Eilat is a very cool port city, which is small but borders both Egypt and Jordan. We got a nice dinner and then got a ride back up to Lotan at around 10:00 in time for the weekly Friday night party.
I slept all day today, and woke up only to go to the pool for a few hours. Then I did some homework, observing various architecture in the Kibbutz and working on my Hebrew, and then it was time for dinner. On Saturday night there is no dinner in the dining hall because people eat with their families... I will have a host family that takes me in for this meal starting next week, but they were out of town this week so I was invited to eat dinner at one of my teachers’ houses. As you should all know, I am a very picky eater, but I came to Israel promising myself I would be open-minded when it comes to food. So far I have tried a new food at almost every meal, and don’t know if I can even call myself a picky eater anymore. Lunches and dinners are adventures, and I love how my plates are becoming more colorful. My teacher is an amazing cook, so for dinner we ate some carrot and squash soup (amazing), Jerusalem salad (also amazing), and potatoes (yes, amazing as well). For desert we had medjool date/chocolate balls and homemade ice cream. These too were amazing.
My horizons are not only expanding when it comes to food. I feel myself becoming a different person, more open minded and interested in a broader range of ideas. I fail to describe my experience here because it is so new. I decided to defer an additional semester to the University of Denver – I am not ready to start school this winter. I want to see more of the world, maybe traveling and volunteering in Israel. There is so much to explore. I think it is awful that there is such pressure in the United States for people to rush into college, locking themselves into debt and commitments when they are so young. There is always time for that, but for now I want to discover more about myself and the world around me.
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