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.