Laundry Ladies

So today was my first day of work. I was assigned to the laundry room where I folded laundry all day. There was good music and no stress, so it was kind of nice. I'll probably go insane doing it everyday, but for now it's kind of fun. We worked 8am-12pm. We ended early for Shabbat. Anyone is allowed to leave the Kibbutz on the weekend (friday night and saturday), but the last bus to Be'er Sheva is at 1pm (on Fridays). This week, I'll be hanging out here, but I may take advantage of that when I start to go insane.

Next week in Channukah. Although the Kibbutz is totally secular (not even a Kosher kitchen), we still get 3 days off of work. We don't have class at all either. I'm using my 3 days to go to Tel Aviv and visit מיכאל, the guy I've been dating. I'm going back to Tel Aviv the afternoon of my birthday (Dec. 31) to have a real 21st birthday celebration, Israeli style. I requested January 1 off of work. (We get one day off a month).

The Kibbutz is, for the most part, not at ALL what I expected. I really like it though, and I've already learned a ton of Hebrew. The biggest thing is that it's not really communal anymore. Most of the residents work outside the Kibbutz, and it's pretty quiet most of the time. Apparently the fad of hiring cheap Asian labor has hit Kibbutzim and many, including this one, have employed Thai laborers to do most of the work here. The food in the dining hall costs money, although it's incredibly cheap. But the community atmosphere is still here in a lot of respects. The children are all in school and daycare here, and the teenagers get to move into apartments with their friends. Three nights a week, the Kibbutz bars are open, and most people go. The laundry (as I learned today) is all done by the Kibbutz. I don't really know exactly how everything works, but I'm sure I'll learn in time. It's more like a small all-inclusive village than a Kibbutz in the traditional sense, but it's still a really cool place to be. I've spent most of my time with the other Ulpanists, which has been fun. It's a good group of people from all over the world. There are Jews and non-jews (but mostly jews) from the US, Canada, South America, and Europe, some of whom have just moved here permanently and need to learn the language.

I'll let you know how things progress. Shabbat Shalom!