What a week!

Whew... what a whirlwind week! I realized I haven't posted in a bit (and yes, I'm aware I still owe you all some photos from Purim on the kibbutz...), so I thought I'd sit down and type out this last week. I can't be bothered to upload photos right now, but I'll add them at some later date. Adding photos can literally add 2 hours to my blogging time between the slow uploading and the terrible formatting...

So, Friday afternoon I left to go to Tel-Aviv for the weekend, and invited a few friends over for dinner. For those of you who forget things quickly, I love cooking, and I love hosting even more.

So, Friday early afternoon (things close around 4 for Shabbat), my friend Avi and I planned to go to the market, and instead walked outside to a torrential downpour. Naturally, we walked a half block instead, just to get to the local supermarket.

The Chefs:
Me
Avi (23, Chicago)

The Guests:
Karyn (18, Venezuala)
Simon (18, Mexico)
James (26, San Diego)
Gil (22, Tel-Aviv - one of the soldiers from my birthright trip)
Will (20, Miami)

The Menu:
Tomato Basil Soup
Roasted Chicken
Roasted Potatoes, Sweet Potatoes, Onions
Rice
Fruit Salad

The success:
AWESOME! Everything came out amazing. Avi and I were both really surprised and proud of ourselves.

After digesting for a bit over wine, we dragged our newly fat asses down to the Tel-Aviv Namal (port) where there are many bars, clubs, and stores. It's a new area that attracts a young crowd. We then spent the next half trying to find a couple friends (Ryan, 23, Australia and Jonatan, 20, Argentina), which ultimately ended in us all frustrated with each other. Upon success, we ended up grabbing a cab to another "hopping" street called Allenby, where we went to a nice low key pub, that we all enjoyed. Some people left early, but those of us who stuck it out lasted until about 3:30ish. We started walking back (a good hour walk, at least), and the rain started up again so we hailed a cab who agreed to take all 5 of us (they usually only take 4) for very cheap. Arriving back to the apartment at 4:30 meant sleeping in until about 1.

So, 1 o'clock Saturday morning... er... afternoon... rolled around and we all stumbled awake and finished up cleaning the apartment. We headed down the street for a light lunch of sandwiches, all pretty happy with how the night turned out, but also still rather sluggish.

I left the crew at around 5pm to head over to Anita's, my mom's best friend from high school, and I could not have asked for a more enjoyable way to spend Shabbat. Rivit, her older daughter, just gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. The two of them came over with Rivit's husband and 3 year old son. And then, to my happy surprise, Talya (Anita's younger daughter), her husband, and 2 year old daughter also came! I found myself in the middle of a wonderful Shabbat gathering at Safta's (grandma's). It was truly an honor to be invited into such a beautiful family event, and I hope that I will find a way to continue to return to Israel as frequently as my parents brought me so that I can continue to be a part of it. (side note: Tamar and Yuval, if you are reading this, we better all live near each other once we start settling down. It's really special to see the way Rivit and Talya's families interact and how the kids get along...)

After extending the Shabbat family lounging into a Shabbat family dinner, I sadly had to leave and head back to the kibbutz. I met up with my friends so that we could all take the train together, arriving back at Ma'agan Michael around 11.

Sunday was pretty uneventful. I worked at the refet, as usual, and went to the beach. Monday and Tuesday we got off for Pesach (Passover) so I was a little frustrated at having to return back to the kibbutz just for a half day of work. Well, Sunday afternoon, I hopped back on to a train, south bound again, to spend Pesach at my aunt's place at Kibbutz Dvir (near Beer Sheba). I managed to sleep past my stop, but luckily woke up right after we left the station and called my aunt to meet me at the next one. Also, fortunately, there are only 2 stops after mine, and they are both in Beer Sheba (one is at the University). Once we got back to her place, I played with my cousin for a bit, went to dinner, and retired early for a nice sleep.

I woke up in the morning to a loud cousin (as 6 year olds tend to be) and the smell of holiday. Man, Jew food is the best! This excitement of the holiday halted for a bit when I got a phone call from James that he'd decided to leave the kibbutz, and apologizing for not getting the chance to say a proper goodbye. He'd been talking about leaving for a couple weeks, though mostly about maybe going to Tel Aviv or Haifa for a bit - which I agreed was a better fit for him. But the news was far worse. He'd decided to fly out that night to go back to San Diego, at least for a few weeks, maybe indefinitely. While I know leaving the kibbutz was the best thing for him, it sucks to lose one of my best friends here, and my confident :( Returning to the kibbutz after Pesach hurt when it fully sunk that he wasn't here anymore...

But enough off that sad stuff. After the phone call, my cousin and I started on my mom's famous matzos cake -delicious! Matzos and a whole lot of chocolate sauce. What's not to love? In the midst of making the cake, my grandmother arrived. Hugs all around :) Well, then we realized what time it was, so I finished making cake, and joined my aunt, cousin, and grandmother for lunch in the dining hall. The rest of the day was spent helping around the house as needed to get ready for the Pesach seder. The rest of the guests were my uncles family (aka not the blood relation) and I'd never met them before. The were all very warm, and I had an overall enjoyable seder. For those Jews out there, you know it's tough! We cheated a bit and read a little of the Hagada, ate a little, read a little, ate a little, back and fourth. Also, unknown to me, Kibbutzim (plural of kibbutz) all have their own Hagada, so there were parts that I was unfamiliar with. Also, there was one woman there who was very knowledgeable and explained the important/interesting parts. It definitely made things a little longer, but with the food breaks I didn't mind so much, and the way she explained things was so smooth and eloquent that I almost wanted to be able to understand that I was lost just so I could come up with a question. Well, that was unnecessary as she explained each page in layman's terms regardless :)

Well, we finished up around midnight, as seder's usually do, and I called home to talk to my family. I talked to my dad, and later, when my mom got home from class, she called me back. Always good to talk to family, especially on the holidays. It's only my second Pesach ever away from home, so it was pretty sad. Mom and Dad: Noga says the seder went exceptionally well this year, and as a result I have to come again next year. I said only if you come too. I don't like seder's without my family!

The next day (yesterday) was yet another wonderful day! We packed up some leftovers for a picnic lunch and started driving through the back roads and rolling hills on our way to Jerusalem. (We being me, my aunt, uncle, and cousin). Half way through the drive we stopped for lunch, where, unknownst to us, there were walls of names of donors who donated money to plant the forest that we were eating it. There were some nice pillars and such around, worthwhile for a 10 minute walk through :) After a satisfying lunch, we piled back into the car and continued on our way to my grandfathers. I haven't been to his house in years, and seeing it again opened up a flood gate of memories. It was definitely nice to be back! There were several other non-blood relatives there, some of whom I had never met, but am glad to now know. And I left the house with one of my grandfather's paintings and bird cut outs, both now ornamentally hanging in my room, finally adding a little personality to the blank white walls.
Well, an hour drive (and chocolate shop pit stop) later, I found myself back at my aunts for a quick dinner before heading to the train to come back north to my kibbutz. Luckily, a friend was able to pick me up from the train station so that I didn't have to take a cab. The perks of befriending locals :-D

Today I was back at work, but there are no classes this week. Instead we have "mandatory activities" which frustrates me to no end. I don't know what they think would happen if they gave us a little freedom. Today's activity was to clean our rooms (really???) and then make kosher for Pesach cookies, since apparently they think we're 5. I skipped out on the cookies and took a nap in my newly clean room instead.

Whew, what a long update! And all about the last 5 days. Told you it was eventful!

I've had some requests for my address again, so I'm going to try to figure out how to put it on that left info bar of my blog... hopefully that'll be up tonight. No promises about how quickly I get these photos up though... it's such a pain!

Much love! and continue to send me updates. It puts a huge smile on my face to hear what you're all up to, even if it's just the same ol' same ol'. Knowing that you care enough to send the 3 line e-mail is all the matters!

Michal