And the smiles continue...

Hi friends!
My last 2 weeks have been so great! I hope you are all in good spirits as well :)
Since my last post (only a week ago...) I've continued on the path of good times. I spent Friday, Saturday, and half of Sunday happily just relaxing on the kibbutz. Friday nigh I went to the pub (club) here on the kibbutz for the first time since my second week here! There are some people that find that the pub is getting old and boring, but that's only because they never leave the kibbutz, and face the same crowd and same music ever week. I, on the other hand, had a lot of fun! It's a great opportunity to meet some of the local kibbutzniks and other Israeli's who come in from the surrounding area. And what does that mean? I get to practice my Hebrew! And lets face it, foreign language skills always improve after a couple of beers :-P
The rest of my weekend was spent on the beach. Having a beach less than 10 minutes away by foot definitely has its advantages :-D I lounged Friday afternoon, all day Saturday, and Sunday early afternoon. Nothing like sun and a swim to cleanse the spirit!
Sunday afternoon my mom's cousin came to pick me up and drive me to dinner in Haifa. To my happy surprise, it was a nice family get together! My mom's family is all really close, and as such, I know her aunts, cousins, and their kids... but some of them I haven't seen in years. So dinner rooted in Bella's family (my great aunt). We had her sister (my other great aunt), her 3 children (my mom's cousins) and their spouses and kids, and a close friend of hers. For those of you who have read my last post, as long winded as it was, you should have figured out that I really like being part of the Israeli family gatherings. But what was also exciting about this is that I got to reconnect with the only family that I have around my age. Gabi (one of my mom's cousins) has 3 amazingly charismatic boys, aged 15, 21, and 24. As soon as they heard that I was planning on spending the night at my great aunt's (their Safta - grandmother) they insisted that I come spend the night with them instead. I was more than happy to agree. So I went back to their house for a bit, and then went out to a bar with the 21 year old and a couple of his friends. I know that many of you get to see your family pretty regularly, but for me it's really nice to be around them, and especially to get to know those my age. This was the first year I was able to hold a flowing conversation, and felt comfortable enough (both with them, and with my language) to be able to talk about nearly anything.

The more I get out of this kibbutz and interact with Israeli's the more comfortable I feel in this beautiful country. I knew that by improving my Hebrew and living here for a while I would become closer to my family. But I also came here hoping to find some connection to my heritage, and homeland. To be honest, I had my doubts. Tamar's always been the one who really felt her roots were here. But the last couple weeks have definitly solidified it for me. I was sitting in my apartment in Tel Aviv a couple weeks a go and for the first time really felt like it was somewhere that I was supposed to be. I'll be back in Tel Aviv this weekend - hopefully the feeling will resurface :)

Much love,
Michal