Finally on the Kibbutz

The person I met from the kibbutz was Mike, who is this awesome guy from England who has lived here for I think 23 years (the kibbutz itself is only 26 yrs old) and he happens to be sort of in charge of the work for the Eco Volunteers/Interns, which is what I am, so he is one of the people I "report" to. He gave me a mini-tour of the kibbutz, showed me my lodging (a domed hut) and the rest of the Eco Vols (my peers). There are currently 4 of us; Eitan has been here the longest and he is originally from Virginia, Tara has been here on and off for I think 6 months and she is from Toronto, and Stephanie has been here only a couple of months and she is from New York. The place where we all live is called the Bustan (which means orchard) and there are 10 huts, a communal kitchen, some composting toilets, showers, tool shed, and this unfinished communal gathering dome place in the center (where I am currently).

Where exactly am I?

This is where I am not

This is where I am

The entrance to the Bustan

I (we) also have other people that we "report" to, their names are Leah and Alex. There might be more later, but this is what understand of it at the moment. Basically they decide what sort of work we will be doing on any particular day.

The toolshed

The community dome in the center

I live in hut #8 and it is nice with a bed, desk, 2 shelf things, and like a coffee table thing. All the huts are made of dried mud and bales of straw for insulation. They have all been decorated (and built) differently by various groups who came to do this program called the Green Apprenticeship (GA). Also there is free wireless on the kibbutz, so I am in the middle of the desert, in a hut, with wireless.

Some of the domes

Home sweet home, my dome!

Other interesting things on the kibbutz include a cow dairy, a goat dairy, bird reserve, date plantation, a pub, a swimming pool, a dining hall, and a tea house. There are about 20 or 30 permanent families in Lotan that are permanent members and there are a bunch of volunteers with different classifications (there are different type of Jewish volunteer groups that I really don't understand too well yet).

Next Post: work at Lotan

Arriving in Israel

I arrived into Tel Aviv early morning on the 18th. I went through security and customs, and it was pretty easy to do. I got my two checked bags and my carry-on and went out into the city. I was going to this guy's house where I was CouchSurfing (CS), and even though the directions were pretty good, the language barrier was higher than I had imagined. Basically most of the signs are in Hebrew and Arabic, and only some in English. Also some people that I spoke to either were not interested in helping me or really didn't know English. Either way, I found my way to the CS guy's (Shaya) apartment in Jaffa, which is sort of like a part of the greater Tel Aviv area that was the original city located there.

The old clock tower in Yafo (Jaffa)

At this point I had been travelling for 2 days and had not really slept at all. I reached Shaya's apartment, showered and went out for breakfast. We went to this cafe by his place and talked for about 2 hours on politics and Israel. Later he was going to go to Jerusalem (about 40 min drive away) with some friends and I was gonna go home and sleep. However, his friend's wanted to take me to Jerusalem so we all went. There was 5 of us, speaking Hebrew, English, and Italian. We went to the Old City of Jerusalem which is where the Wailing Wall and the Dome of the Rock is located. We walked around all the quarters (Jewish, Muslim, Chrstian, and Armenian) and went to the Wailing Wall and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (people could take pictures in the church, but I did not...maybe next time). We then came back and I finally slept for about 16 hours.

The girls I was with, in front of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher

Mosque in Jerusalem, I just liked this photo

We didn't eat here, but I liked the sign

Before going to the Wailing Wall, with the Dome of the Rock behind me

Mount of Olives (with trees) next to Mount Zion (without trees)

The following day I tried to go shopping for some last minute things, like electronic adapters, but it was the Sabbath already (Friday after 4pm) so nothing was open. Instead I met up with another student from MISTI (the program that allowed me to go to Israel), Sam, and we walked around a bit.

Saturday the 20th I still did not have much luck with shopping and so I met up with Sam and had lunch with him and Shaya on these Turkish-style lounge seats on the beach.

Sunday I packed my things and headed south for my final destination, Kibbutz Lotan.

Next Post: Kibbutz Lotan

En Route to Tel Aviv

As an introductory note, I will try to maintain this blog about my travels and experiences. And as always, if you need more details on anything or want more info etc. feel free to comment or send me emails. Also, I have wireless in my hut (more on this later) so feel free to skype me, IM me etc.

I will be in Israel for 6 months (mid-June to mid-December). I left Houston (after my cousin and mom drove me from San Antonio) on the evening of June 16. I then went to London where I had an 11 hour layover, therefore I went out of the airport to explore the city since it was my first time in London. I bought a day-pass for the Underground/the Tube (subway) and the buses (double-deckers!) and also walked around a lot. Some typical touristy things I saw were Westminster Abbey, London Bridge, Tower of London, and Trafalgar Square, to name a few. Overall I liked the city; in Fernando's ranking I like London better than NYC and Paris, maybe not as good or even on par with Copenhagen. One thing I disliked was that it was super expensive, like a plate of Fish and Chips (which was tasty, even though I'm not a fish fan) was like 8 British pounds, or roughly $16!!

Double-decker and taxi cab...on the wrong side of the street

London Bridge, next to the Tower of London

Big Ben (Parliament) and the London Eye (in the background)

Me in front of Westminster Abbey

Fish 'N Chips (eaten with vinegar and pepper, not ketchup)

I later returned to the airport and watched some anime on my computer until the next plane departed.

Next post: Tel Aviv