03 May 2011

First days in Israel

Well, hello everyone! I'm back, so to speak, as I am away again, but back on this blog...
I left Strasbourg again on May 1st to take the plane from Basel airport. When you board a plane going to Israel, you are immediately in the ambiance! Picture the scene: half the plane was Orthodox Jews all dressed in black as befits their tradition, with the appropriate number of children and strollers and suitcases to suit that number. We all settled into our seats with more or less discipline, the men putting up and taking down repeatedly bags, cases and other belongings including wigs (!), I am not kidding, and the plane took off. As soon as the seatbelt sign was turned off, all the men got up and put on their prayer accoutrements and started praying, pacing up and down the aisle, it was Mea Shearim in-flight!

I land, all goes well at passport control, very fast actually, I retrieve my suitcase (not lost this time!) and off I go to get my shared taxi to Jerusalem. The drivers are arguing vociferously in typical Israeli style. Our driver drops me off as planned right near the Abraham Youth Hostel where I am to spend a couple of nights before heading off for the desert and my project. I meet a nice young girl by the name of Rosie who is also going off on a project a few miles away from mine, and we hang out together for the time we are at the hostel. I'm sharing a room with four other girls but I'm soon to learn that in hostels people come and go, and lo and behold, the second evening, I walk into my room and there is a guy in one of the beds! Nobody told me it was a mixed room! So, last night, I had to share my room with two other girls and two other guys...definitely a new experience for me!

This morning we got up to catch our bus toward our projects. We needed to catch the 444 direction Eilat and were looking forward to about a four hour bus ride. We get to the Central Bus Station with our reservation which we had been given by the GoEco representative and proceed to the ticket counter to retrieve our tickets. Picture this again: there is this girl, talking on the phone, chewing gum, no “hello, may I help you?” or any nicety of that sort....she shakes her head over to the left and says “the machines!”.....ahhh, welcome to Israel and its people....full of charm and goodwill;-)

After four hours, I am dropped off in the middle of.....NOWHERE! It's desert all around with the Jordanian border about 500 meters away. Fortunately, one of the members of the kibbutz came to pick me up in her car and drove me the short distance to the kibbutz. I was shown to my own private geodesic dome lodging and taken on a very short tour around the kibbutz. It is very small with only 55 members and a few other people too who aren't full fledged members. Luckily for me, they have given up on the passive cooling system as it really gets much too hot here in the summertime and doesn't cool down at night, so they gave in and put ceiling and floor fans in our rooms. I was shown the showers and the “dry toilets”, not a favorite of mine, but I have to admit, there was no foul smell. Everything here is recycled, composted and communal....An interesting way of life indeed. For me? Hmm, not so sure.. But the strange thing is this: I'm in a totally remote part of Israel, in the middle of the desert, with goats chatting outside my window, not a town in site and full internet connection! Now, ain't that amazing?! What a world we live in!

Tomorrow I start my work at 6AM. I am expected to work until about 2:30PM with a break for breakfast and in the afternoon, I can chill out by the pool, finally work on that tan I'm longing for and prepare assiduously my veterinary course for which I was awarded an A- for the Module 1...apparently, the old brain is still functioning a bit... So I will leave you now with a few photos and will be in touch soon with more news..

Cheers to all ;-)

 My room with the goats in the background
 No description necessary
 Yard in front of my room
 Another view of the yard and other rooms

 Showers and toilets
 Now, who can that be?!
This is what my geodesic dome room is made of

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