Back in Israel

Hey Everyone:

Sorry its been a while since I last updated. Here's what I've been up to. We had normal week after keshet seminar. We had a really cool session about the IDF (Israeli Defense Force) where we focused more on the cultural aspect of the army and not so much of the political conflict that often comes up on the topic of the army. In the field, the big piles of bags were finally getting to an end, and then the other workers decided to deliver huge new piles, so our work with the date bags are nowhere close to over. On last Wednesday, we took another hike in the Arava. It was a beautiful hike through the Eilat mountains... we learned about the daily life of Bedouins in the desert and made a few stops at beautiful lookout points. We spent quite some time at a cliff overlooking an incredibly massive canyon and riverbed... and the view was like nothing else. Ill post pictures later.

We had a great afternoon in Eilat and got back to Kibbutz with time to relax a bit before getting a good night's sleep. Thursday, we volunteered in the morning, and I was asked to help in the kitchen. It was a lot of fun getting to know the chefs and being able to actually cook most of the food to be served for lunch that day. We really got to know the chef, Johnny, and we learned about the Kibbutz and his story as we worked.

We all are getting into the groove of things, and daily life here feels more natural that before. The group is getting along, and we are starting to really connect with each other. Each one of us is feeling more comfortable with the community. I am really excited for the next week as we become more and more a part of the Netzer community and as we try harder to integrate with the Kibbutz community.

I will post some pictures and then share in another post what I did this last weekend!

L'hitrayot,
Ethan