One Week In

It has officially been a week since I arrived at Kibbutz Ma’agan Micheal. I have finished a week of class, four days of work, completed a load of laundry, and taken five runs. As an update to my post “Maybe it’s jetlag, maybe it’s the coffee.” I figured out why I couldn’t sleep. It was neither the coffee nor the jetlag. It was the mattress and the lack of a pillow with any cushion. Luckily, I was able to get a second pillow and switch my mattress. I can say with certainty that I have been getting my nightly eight.

Today, a lady from MASA came to check up on all the tourists. She told us that around this time in the program we should be getting over our first hump of acclimation to Kibbutz life. I would say her assessment is pretty accurate. I don’t get lost anymore. I have a great group of friends who I can talk to and feel comfortable hanging out with. My room is not a mess anymore.

This week I have been testing the waters with a new form of exercise. No, it’s too cold to swim. I have been running all around the kibbutz and on the beach. Most of my runs have been after class lets out, but today I decided to take run between work and class. The strong beach breeze provides a great way to cool off during the run. Here are some of my favorite pictures from my runs. The sunsets and sunrises here are so beautiful

Life is really laid back here. With the myriad of cultures on the Kibbutz, it is really fun how almost nothing is off limits for conversation: from shit to stereotypes. For example, today in class I asked my Mexican friend, Moses, what kinds of maids and housekeepers they have in Mexico (I meant this to be a little jab at him since he had to be the maid of the class this week: sweep, and clean after class). He calmly responded mostly Mexicanas and Guatamaltecas. Needless to say he got the joke.

Actually, my Spanish has been super helpful here on the kibbutz. About half of the program is from a Spanish speaking country. Without Spanish, I would be lost.

Today I found out that every Thursday in the kitchen we have a staff meeting where we celebrate occasions. Today it was someone’s birthday so we had pop ice cream and cake.

For now the week is over and Shabbat is near. I am not going anywhere this weekend, but next weekend I plan to venture out somewhere. L’hitraot for now.