Wow, I'm really far behind. Sorry about that, its been crazy here! I am sad to say that we are heading into our final weeks here. This upcoming week we have all of our finals. Then we are going up north for a week, then we come home.
I have been keeping note of everything we do on my phone so hopefully if i dont get it write it all out before i leave i will when i get home (yes that includes a real Poland blog and Yam l Yam). I guess ill see everyone soon!

יום הזיכרון ויום העצמאות

5/4 -Memorial Day

Since some kids had to take the SAT this morning, me and my friend Amit decided we would make them all something to have to brighten their day when they got done. So what better than some cupcakes? We made them during our little breaks during classes in the morning and she handed them out when everyone finished (I had class so I couldn't help but I heard they were a huge hit!). 

All week we've been seeing the Israeli flags everywhere. They are on every store, every house, every car, even all over the kibbutz. 

We had the amazing opportunity to go to the national ceremony at the Kotel tonight. 

We heard the president speak, and the chief of the army speak. We also got to stand as the siren went off, but this was different than last week. This time it wasn't just us watching as the cars stopped, this time it was the entire county standing at attention, and you could tell. 

Although we couldn't understand everything that was being said, we stood by people who could translate. The speeches were very moving but maybe the most amazing part was that the mood was not just within one group, but it was everyone. In Israel Memorial Day is much different than in the US. Everyone here has been affected by the army and by war. Whether they lost someone or whether they know someone who lost someone. 

5/5

The full name of this day is the Day of Remembrance for the Fallen Soldiers of Israel and Victims of Terrorism (יום הזיכרון לחללי מערכות ישראל ולנפגעי פעולות האיבה)

This morning we went to the kibbutz memorial service in the cemetery. It is amazing to think that Tzuba has been around since 1948 but has only lost 2 sons to fighting. But even two is more than should be. 

I didn't understand most of the service but nevertheless it was very emotional. One of the things that struck me was as a girl was singing a song, she broke down crying. 

This evening the entire mood changed. We went to another ceremony. This one to end Memorial Day and start Independence Day. This is something we've been taking a lot about lately in classes, why these 2 days are right next to each other. 

We arrived at the ceremony last night right as they were lowering the flag to half mast. Tonight, we watched as the flags were lifted and as the shadow which had been cast over the country was also lifted off. 

After the ceremony we did some Israeli dancing with the people on the kibbutz. It was so much fun! Obviously they were a lot better than us but we also learned the dances quickly. 

At 10:30 we left for Ben-Yehuda street. If you know how packed it normally is, all you have to do is imagine that times 30. It was crazy! בלגן! There were people everywhere. Spraying silly string and other things, dancing, screaming, and of course plenty of loud music. 

We finally got back to the kibbutz at around 1 am. 

5/6- Independence Day- יום העצמאות

We slept In and went to the beach. This is the day of the year where everyone in Israel is out and about, even in an overcast day like today. 

We did an EIE color war. We split into 4 teams, green, yellow, white and pink. The first challenge was to make a team name, cheer, and logo (to be drawn in the sand). We named ourselves the Pink Panthers. The next challenge was a wheelbarrow race relay. Then we did one where we had to fill a bucket up with a sponge and anything else we could think about. It was funny because the Israelis started watching us and were bringing us bags and bowls and things to try and help (that's called cheating). Then we took a break for lunch and had our little barbecue on the beach. After lunch the games continued with some tug of war. First pink beat green. Yellow beat white. Green beat white. Pink beat yellow. Then pink beat the madraheem and some other Israelis that we found on the beach hahaha. 

Programs

5/3- Saturday

Emma and Danielle led an amazing program after Havdallah. They did what I know as friendship circle, something we do at the end of every Kallah. We all walked together to a grassy spot by the Hader Ochel and sat in a circle with our backs facing in and eyes closed. Each person had a number 1-9 and when your number was called you got up. They would tell you to tap some one who...and you could go tap as many people as you wanted and they don't know who tapped them. Some of the questions they used were:

Tap someone who made you laugh

Tap someone who your first impression was wrong

Tap someone who has dreams that you think they are capable of fulfilling

Tap someone who you would go to for advice

Even though I've done this before, it was completely different. This time I knew everyone in the circle and have had a connection with everyone. This made it special. The entire time I was tearing up but also I noticed that i couldn't stop smiling every time I heard a new question and everyone I felt someone tap me. 

It put us all in a sad mood to realize that we only have a short time left together in this place. But it also made us realize that we have to make the best of it.

After that activity I ended up with some of my friends in a circle on the pavement singing songs with a guitar. It just added to the night. 

4/29

We had a half day Tiyul to Ammunition hill. It used to be a Jordanian "police station" (it was used for the army) but was captured during the Six Day War. It was a short Tiyul but before we left we got to walk through the trenches. 

4/30- Wednesday

After a normal school day, we went out to Jerusalem for a private Coby Oz concert with the URJ board. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJsntrAx7TE

5/1

We woke up early to join Women of the Wall at the Kotel for their Rosh Chodesh service this morning. Although we missed a lot of the service we got there in time to join them in singing HaTikvah. 

Then we went back and had J-Hist until lunch. About 3 and a half hours. 

The rest of the day was normal. We had classes and stayed on the kibbutz. 

5/2 

For our Tzadakah project today we went to a beach in Ashdod and picked up all the trash we could find in the sand. Then we got to hang out on the beach and swim for an hourish. After that we went to a mall not far away for lunch and then back to Tzuba to get ready for Shabbat

יום השואה

4/27 Sunday

ToDay was a regular school day. After dinner we joined the entire kibbutz for their Yom HaShoah memorial service. The whole thing was in Hebrew but they gave us translation packets so we could follow along. It was really nice and that was the first time we were together with the entire kibbutz. They sang 2 songs which we had sang during our services in camps in Poland. It brought back those memories but this time we weren't in Poland, we were here, at Tzuba with all these people who had also lost family in the Holocaust. We heard a few testimonies and sang HaTikvah. It was a lot shorter than I think most of us expected it to be but it was good because it kept everyone's full focus.

After the service we walked down to the Belmont (the lobby of the hotel) and heard one of the girls on the trip grandparents speak. He had only been a baby during the Holocaust but he still had memories of seeing things and still had a story of how he survived. 

It's sad to think that soon there will be no more survivors who can personally tell their stories. 

The rest if the night I spent finishing up my Jewish history presentation for tomorrow and had some bonding time with my roommates. 

4/28 

יום השואה- Holocaust Remembrance Day. Having recently gone to Poland and having been in Israel for 3 months, I have a much different feeling about this day than I have in the past. 

We learned in Jewish history the full name of this day. It's a day not only to remember the atrocities if the Holocaust, but to also remember the heroism.  In Israel, there is a siren that goes off for 2 minutes. We went to a spot on the Kibbutz where you could see the highway and see the cars stop in the middle of the road for that time. It was interesting to see this even though not every car stopped. 

In global we went to the Zula and watched a video in which the son of a Nazi talked about his life and his choices. He grew up in Germany in a house with many secrets. He did not learn about the truth of his family until he was older. When he learned he did not approve. He ended up going to live with a community of Jews and converting. He even made Aliya to Israel and served in the IDF. For most of his life he kept his past a secret until finally he decided to come out and share it and the burden was lifted off his shoulders.

For our evening activity we watched another little movie. This one was about the Israeli Air Force and also about the allied powers lack of action towards the Shoah. 

Oops, it's been a while

4/24

Today was our last full day Jewish History Tiyul :(. We started at an old police station in Latrun. There we learned about the war of Independence and also got to climb on some tanks. 

Afterwards we went to the secret bullet factory in Rehovot. I remember going there when we came to Israel but it was cool to have our J-Hist teachers give us some more background. 

Then we drove to Tel-Aviv and had a small presentation at the Independence Hall/art museums a a little free time. 

For out Thursday night outing we went to a mall for a few hours. 

4/25- Friday

Since we are all still tired out from yam l'Yam, for our Tzdakah project this morning we watched a movie called "Pay it Forward" to give us some rest. (If you haven't seen it, you should!)

After lunch I worked on my J-Hist project for most of the day until services. 

Tonight they did a different service than usual. Mitch, Andrew, and Justin decided to make it blindfolded. We all brought a shirt and blindfolded our selves then walked in a line to where we were having services. They kept the service to minimum English and everyone was sitting in his own space. The idea was that by taking away our sense of sight it would strengthen our other senses and allow us to focus more. I really liked it because all you could here was the guitar and everyone's voices singing together and you could really only here the individual voices of the 2 or 3 people sitting around you. 

Towards the end we were told to take off our blindfolds and look at the people around us. 

For oneg Shabbat, we had kickboxing in the Goren. 

After rooms in I went over to Shoshana, Tessa, and Chloe's room and we watched a movie then I slept over in their extra bed. :)

Happy Passover!

4/14

For Passover I went with Tessa, Kayla, and Ophir to his grandparents house In Rishon Lezion (which is not far from Tel Aviv). We got on the bus at Chabat Hanoar around 9 and started our drive. As we went we dropped of people along the way. The bus ride was fun but also kind of sad. Even though it's only for a few days it was sad to say goodbye to our friends. 

We got dropped of at the train station and managed to make the second train with minimal problems. Once we got to Rishon Lezion we got picked up and dropped our stuff at Ophir's grandparents house then went out to get some snacks for Yam l'Yam. Then we came back to their apartment and slept pretty much until it was time for the Seder. 

It was so cool to actually be in Israel for the Seder this year since every year we say "next year In Jerusalem." Our Seder was very small, just us 4 and the four grandparents but it was a lot of fun. It was really cool to hear the same things we say every year in Hebrew. The blessings, the explanations, and of course the songs. Now I have some new tunes and words to teach everyone at home for next year! It was also cool because being the youngest at the table i got the job of saying the four questions but I managed to get everyone to say them :).

One of the biggest differences you notice being in Israel is that almost everyone is celebrating. It is not just a family Seder, but a Seder throughout the country. Even when we were going to sleep you could look out the window and see and hear all the other families around singing the same songs and eating their meals and everything. 

Jewish holidays: "someone tried to kill us, we escaped, so we celebrate by eating!"

חג שמח!