This Is The End.......of the ulpan

This is a crazy time in the Ulpan right now. We are at the end. Tomorrow we take our final written exam, we party all weekend and on Monday we leave for a two day trip to the Negev desert. It hard to believe that it has been 5 months.

So to give you an update on my life, here goes:

I feel rather silly to say this, but the end really caught me by suprise. I went on Monday to the army office in Haifa. It was an adventure to try to find the building, with all the bad directions that I got. Finally I gave up and paid a taxi to take me because I was so lost, and I don't know Haifa like I know other cities here.

I was very nervous. My stomach felt like when I realized I was ACTUALLY moving to Israel. That feeling of, "What the HELL is wrong with you, ARE YOU NUTS??" You know when that line goes through your brain?

I had to do a lot of sitting and waiting at the army office. But, the long and short of it is all I did was sign a paper stating that I do want to enter the army and why. Now I am just waiting to hear back from a commander if I am in or not. At the end, the female cadet who interviewed me said "Go home and wait for an answer" So that's what I am doing.

In the meantime I found out if I could stay on the kibbutz for another month as a volunteer. I can and I am still working in the laundry. Just now for 8 hours a day 6 days a week. Good thing I have some friends and a radio.

My fellow Uplanist are partying hard before the dream is over and they have to go to college and have a real life. I on the other hand have been going to bed early (eventhough it is hard to sleep with all the drunken yelling). I am having fun though. Last night my friends and I went over to Tsofit's house for dinner. We ordered Thai and just hung out talking about life and silly things. This weekend we will have fun partying for the last time.

My roommate Leonie and Danny and a few others are going to Egypt right away after our last trip on Monday. Anyway that is about it. Oh, oh, I am going to try to find a way to post my videos online so you can check them out. Thank you all for kind emails. It is great to hear from everyone.

Pictures: These first 5 are on Kibbutz Ketora in the Negev. This area of the Negev looks a lot like Palm Springs, but the desert is very varied.



Above: I know it is hard to see, but in the distance you can see a field of date palms. Remember in the bible when they talk about the holy land and how it is filled with date palms, well it is true.


Below: Welcome to my life! This machine gets to be graced by my loving hands everyday for hours and hours. This is a steam press for pants. I am one of the few, and the proud that know how to use it.

Tsofit and my closest girlfriends working on the magila. I think my mom said in English it is called the mengle. In Hebrew it is ma-gee-la. I hate this machine the most. Becuase lets be honest, do you really have to steam-roll every sheet and pillow case on the kibbutz. I love the fact that, people in the rest of the world think that Israeli's have such a struggle. Some probably think that Israeli's are riding around on camels. But when they come home from the wilds they like to sleep on wrinkle free sheets! (with their camels by their sides.









Above: This is from my last day of class today. Just a few people and my teacher Rutie.