By Wednesday working was well under way on kibbutz, with
routines slowly being formulated in order to ensure people arrive to their various
forms of employment both awake and fully nourished. For those relentless enough
to get themselves out of bed in time for breakfast at the dining hall, reward
was fully received as Basil served up shakshuka, a sight which had many of the
girls’ mouths watering. Whilst others, such as myself, took the lazy option and
purchased themselves cereal and milk in a fiendish plot to eliminate the need
to make the trek all the way to the dining room whilst still in a state of
sleep-depraved inebriation. Following breakfast all set off to work, in their
various areas of kibbutz. The gardeners found themselves trimming the hedges of
the local cemetery much to the disgust of some, myself and Rachel struggled to
adapt to the demanding life of a chicken coop worker, and the hospitality crew
found themselves much happier painting tables rather than having old chairs
fill their airways with dust. The banana boys breakfast was mouth-watering as usual
and those stationed in the various kibbutz kindergartens (Sarah, Jared and
Alexa) continued to attempt to learn the names of their children whilst
avoiding the laughter of their fellow employees and bosses due to their attempts
to converse in a foreign tongue.
Work was separated by lunch, a meal which Basil called
shwarma… it certainly was not shwarma. Pieces of meat in sauce along with salad
and sides, not exactly what is universally recognised as shwarma. Following
another hard session at work, we called it a day and undertook a program led by
Amir about various forms of Israeli foreign affairs and a different perspective
on them, through the use of YouTube videos by Israeli group Latma. Debate
stemmed greatly from these clips, which often used stereotyping and offensive
language to draw a response in its audience to get across its message, a method
which not all agreed was effective.
Next up was dinner and finally a relaxing movie night
rounded out the day. We watched The King’s
Speech, a movie not enjoyed by all, however a decently popular choice. Thus
ended another day on kibbutz and we were all prepared for another one ahead.
As we awoke on day 29, there was a buzz in the air owing to
the knowledge that later that day we were to be released from kibbutz and
granted another free weekend. The day began early for some, with Ulpan lessons
being staggered for the three classes, beginning at 8:30, 10 and 11:45. After
learning some new verbs and vocabulary which Morah Meital believed would
benefit us out and about in Israel, we headed off to lunch. There was pasta and
bolognaise sauce on offer, not a disappointing meal. Our next program began at
roughly 4PM, promptly after our passing of a brief room inspection conducted by
Tracey and Daniella, who will replace Oded for the week as he resides in London
for the week due to a work commitment. Our program was led by a friend of
Tracey, Ariel Shapiro, who recently made Aliyah. We debated various issues of Zionism,
and post-Zionism, in small groups, in an overall very enjoyable manner. We were
then allowed to depart for our free weekend, with many heading to Tel Aviv and
Haifa, leaving 9 participants at Kibbutz Yechiam due to leave in the morning.
As per usual, I shan’t be divulging the activities of any one’s free weekend.
Another awesome couple of days down, 121 days to look
forward to!
Jake
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