Showtime

It's crunch time.

Just as my absorption period as an Oleh Chadash (new immigrant) in Garin Tzabar had started, so to has it ended: with kittens. We have several new garfield-looking types living outside of our apartments.

It's the circle of liiiiiiife.

My draft into Israel's Armored Corps (שריון, or Shiryon) is tomorrow. In honor of this, the section titles for this week will be "What Am I Doing Tomorrow," "How Does it Feeeeeel," and "Thanks."

What Am I Doing Tomorrow
Tomorrow (November 24th,) I am drafting into the Israel Defense Forces. After waking up at 6:45 and eating a breakfast of champions (that's Hebrew for "cottage cheese"), my rakezet, my adoptive mom from Beit Rimon, and a few other friends from my garin will drive to the Tiberias recruiting center. There, a bus will be waiting to take me and the rest of the armored corps recruits in the area to the Bakum, an induction center outside of Tel Aviv. There, I will receive my uniform and other assorted army gear, attempt to learn how to tie boots (a daunting task, coming from a guy who always ad-libbed his ice skates), get poked by enough needles to pull off a passible hedgehog impression, meet with my army social worker, sleep, and be on my merry way to Shizafon (my base in the South - about eight hours away from Beit Rimon).

How Does It Feeeeeel?
Thanks for asking, Bob Dylan!
In truth, the idea of me drafting into the Israeli army simply stuns me. As an admittedly unathletic, socially awkward, trash 'stache sporting kid, I never pictured myself as "cool" enough to ever do anything as awesome as draft into the IDF and defend my people. Now, I feel as if I am where I need to be, doing what I need to do, because I'm awesome enough to do it (if you'll forgive the fear-induced bravado).
While I certainly feel a sense of destiny coming on, I also feel a sense of dread. It's a similar feeling to the one I had before transferring from my tiny Jewish day school to the massive public middle school down the road - complete with bizarre images of 8th graders managing to sneak onto my base and steal my lunch money. That being said, I survived Twelve Corners Middle School; I can survive training in the IDF.

Hell on Earth.

However, all in all, my overriding emotion is childish excitement. I'm going to be operating a tank within two months! All those times playing with toy soldiers? Now it's real! Super soaker? Howsabout an M-4? I have to wear green all the time? I look GREAT in green!

Thanks
I could not have gotten to this point in my life without the help, guidance, and influence of many people and institutions. I plan expressing this via phone conversation or in person, as I'm not sure my blog is the best place for it. However, just know that I couldn't have done this without you, soon-to-be-called-masses!

Now I'm off to finish packing (for my procrastination knows no bounds), and then to bed. Next time I write, it will be as a soldier. See you all next week, my handsome, handsome, readership.

The Quickest of Updates

It's Crunch Time?

It's been a busy few weeks on Kibbutz Beit Rimon for The Jake. The various members of my Garin - including myself - have been swamped with pre-army preparations (those socks certainly won't buy themselves...), as well as some last minute bureaucratic errands and/or tribulations. As it has been a fairly no-nonsense week for us all, this post will simply be an update as to what's going on in my garin in terms of drafting, as well as my acceptance into a combat unit.

The Garin Update

As of now, the "Absorption" period of Garin Tzabar has concluded. It was quite successful, with many of us becoming more comfortable with Hebrew through Ulpan classes or interactions with the Kibbutz residents, most of us already choosing adoptive families on the Kibbutz, and a significant portion of us getting our desired placements in the army. By the time this post has been published, three members of my Garin will have already drafted. In order of draft date, members of my garin have drafted to:

תותחנים (Totchanim, or Artillery): A combat unit that is mainly made up of self propelled howitzers and Multiple Launch Rocket Systems (MLRS), although it utilizes some other nifty gadgets, including drones and the sophisticated Tammuz missile. Notably, the member of my Garin who drafted there is now part of the 10% of Israeli women draftees who volunteer for combat units. Totchanim drafts on November 25th this year, although the draft for women combat soldiers was on the 14th.

חטיבת גולני (Chativat Golani, or Golani Brigade): The Golani Brigade is one of the most storied foot infantry units in the Israeli army. It has fought in every one of Israel's wars, and had active, if not historic, roles in all of said wars. It is made up of the 51st, 52nd, and 13th Battalions. Like all other infantry brigades, it contains a Palchan (demolitions division), Orev (anti-tank division), and Palsar (reconnaissance division). Golani also contains Israel's guerrilla fighting force, Egoz. This weekend, the member of my Garin who drafted to Golani plans on beginning his Gibush (trial) to be allowed to train and deploy with the Palsar. Golani's draft date was November 17th. However, due to a bureaucratic fluke, the member of my Garin who drafted to Golani drafted on the 18th.

חטיבת כפיר (Chativat Kfir, or Kfir Brigade): The Kfir Brigade is the youngest foot infantry brigade in Israel, as it was established in 2005. Depending on your political affiliation, they operate almost exclusively in Judea and Samaria/The West Bank/Chuck E. Cheese's. They specialize in counter-terrorism operations, and generally see the most "action" during peace time. Kfir is made up of  the Nachshon, Shimshon, Haruv, Duchifat, and Lavi Battalions. Also included in Kfir is Netzach Yehuda, a battalion made up of entirely religious soldiers with rigorous religious guidelines (ex: mandatory prayer three times a day), as well as Oketz, Israel's K9 division. Kfir drafted on November 19th. It is the last brigade to draft a member of my Garin until my draft date, bringing me to...

The Jake Update

Since my last update on my bureaucratic and health situation, I have spent a combined 14 hours on busses to and from pulmonologist related appointments, 2 hours on the phone with insurance companies, five minutes of nearly crying to said insurance company, and another half hour of inhaling asthma-test powder, it pleases me to write that I have finally received a combat profile. With a little extra push from Garin Tzabar, I plan on drafting to שריון (Shiryon, or the Armored Corps) this Sunday, November 24th.

That's it for now. I plan on publishing a more expansive, encompassing, and lively post within the next two days to sum up my experiences so far as well as to look forward to the next chapter in my time as an Oleh Chadash (new immigrant) in Israel.