Move-In

This one goes out to all of the pomegranates out there.

This past Wednesday, I had the good fortune to finally move to my new kibbutz, בית רימון (Bet Rimon, or "Pomegranate House"). In honor of my relocation to my new hilltop home, today's section titles will be "Soldierly Doings", "Comrade Jake's Socialist Paradise Experience for Glory of Mother Country", and "Kibbutz Happenin's."

Soldierly Doings

On Wednesday, August 14th, I attended a תכס פתיחה (Tekes P'ticha, or "Opening Ceremony) for Garin Tzabar, the pre-army program I have joined. The unexpectedly adventurous journey to said ceremony wound through the Tel Aviv University campus and was replete with conflicting directions, treks up nonsensically placed flights of stairs, and bizarre street signs (including one with an arrow pointing directly away from our ceremony, in true "Little Rascals" fashion). I am convinced the route I had to take was specifically designed to weed out the weak from the program. That being said, I am pleased to tell you that Our Hero was able to brave the perils of upper-middle class Tel Aviv and eventually arrive at Smolarz Hall, the site of the ceremony. Upon my arrival, I located my fellow Garin members, filled out some paperwork, and attended a ceremony full of many nice people who said many nice things to the many nice new Garin Members in Hebrew, and then departed to my kibbutz, bringing us to...

Comrade Jake's Socialist Paradise Experience for Glory of Mother Country

So as it would turn out, my Kibbutz is not actually socialist. Roughly ten years ago, the Kibbutz (which had fallen upon hard times) made the decision to privatize. In practice, this means that members of the Kibbutz pay a tax that ensures them some sort of economic safety net as well as entitlement to an education stipend as well as bonds for the businesses (such as the kibbutz refet, or cowpen) that operate on Kibbutz grounds. That being said, there is no communal laundry, or dining hall, the two most commonly found. In fact, there is even a fully privatized housing development on the Kibbutz, which does not receive any of these benefits, but lives in markedly nicer housing.

Less of this...

...and more of this

However, despite "lacking" these services, the kibbutz more than makes up for it with its truly warm population. The folks over here at Bet Rimon have been nothing but welcoming, and a couple on Kibbutz even gave our Garin the gift that keeps on giving: stray kittens. The youth has been particularly welcoming, and has joined up with us for many village pow-wows, box socials, and the like.

Kibbutz Happenin's

So what are these pow-wows, you ask? Most recently, most of the Kibbutz youth (aged 14-19) joined our group for a "poike," a South African pot-luck style stew that is understandably popular in Israel, given that it tastes like the sweet, sweet nectar of the gods. One of the more memorable events that occurred during the poike involved one of the youth, who upon finding out that my Hebrew skills were a bit absent, decided to educate me via rapid fire bursts of Hebrew, shouts, and laughter. 24 hours later and I'm still not sure if

1) she was happy, angry, or amused with me

2) whether what was said was many sentences or one, very complex hebrew word that I have yet to decipher.

*Bonus Section:* What is Garin Tzabar?!
In short, Garin Tzabar is a program that aims to acculturate new immigrants to Israel through a series of pre-army exercises, hikes, אולפן (Ulpan, or Hebrew Language course), and settlement on a Kibbutz. In addition, the program aids us with  sets us up with "adoptive" families. We ( the future soldiers) can go to these families while we are on leave for meals, emotional support, or the odd game of Jenga if the mood so strikes us.