לחיות בצפון | Living in the North

Shalom l'kulam! Apologies for the huge gap in blog-age. I've been living here on a kibbutz in the north of Israel for six weeks, and I am enjoying it immensely. My program ended on Monday (Nov 23) but I've decided to stay until the end of June 2010 (pending approval from the Ministry of the Interior).

As I mentioned before, we moved to Kibbutz Yechiam in mid-October. I was skeptical but it definitely turned out to be for the best. The North of Israel is a beautiful place. On and around the kibbutz, there are tons of trees (all planted by the early kibbutznikim in the 1940s and 50s). The kibbutz is on a small mountain, and we have a Crusaders' fortress, which is really really cool. From the top of the fortress, on a clear day, you can see Lebanon to the north, the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Haifa and Akko to the southwest, and lots of Arab villages to the southeast. I'll post pictures eventually.

The kibbutz does have its disadvantages, however. There is a pub on the kibbutz, but other than that, there is absolutely nothing to do. In order to go anywhere or do anything, we have to pay to take a bus (₪8.6 / $2.30), the nahag bayit or "kibbutz taxi" (₪12 / $3.20) or a taxi (₪50 divided among the passengers) to Nahariya (the closest city, 10 miles to the west). We even have to go to Nahariya just to get cash from an ATM. There is a small grocery store on the kibbutz, but it is rather pricey and they only accept cash.

We spend most of our free time on the kibbutz, just hanging out, although last weekend we went to Tel Aviv (₪72 / $19.20 round-trip for a 90-minute train ride) to celebrate Marty's birthday, and two weeks ago, a bunch of us took a day trip to Haifa (₪35 / $9.33 round-trip for a half-hour train ride). Public transportation is remarkably cheap here.

As for volunteering assignments, I have been very lucky. In Ramla, we had a different schedule each week and we went to a different place each day, whereas here, we go to the same volunteering location all the time. City Coordinator's prerogative, I suppose. For the past six weeks, I have been working at Ofek High School, teaching English to students in Grades 7 - 12. Ofek is located on Kibbutz Evron, which is located immediately south of Nahariya. We meet the school bus each morning at 7:55, and we get back to Yechiam each afternoon around 3:15. By the way, school buses don't exist here as we know them in the States. Israeli schoolchildren travel in style: our school bus is a coach bus that happens to be yellow. Teaching at Ofek (which means "horizon") is very rewarding, as well as very fun, and that is one of the main reasons I decided to stay. The school year ends on June 20th, and I'll be returning to the States on June 27th. A more detailed post about Ofek will be coming soon to a blogosphere near you.