A Gypsy

These days I feel like a gypsy. It is strange to move from place to place with little worldly belongings (although I must say I have more stuff than when I came here!) It's funny how stuff adds up. But you don't move to Israel with peanut butter, cereal, an extra coat, all the beauty products I inherited from my old roommates (I look like a Supper-Pharm **Israeli drug store chain**).

I am more a modern day gypsy who can't carry everything I own on my back, but compared to everyone but Jonathan I have less stuff than the rest of you. It actually feels really good to have such a small amount of "crap" as Hugh would say. It makes you love the things you do have more.

Good idea, bad idea. I got two posters since I came to Israel. Now I had a few really nice posters in the US, but I never framed them, so I never put them up. So once I got these I framed them. Good idea. Moving around the country with two glass frames. Bad idea. But oh well.

One is a cool old poster from the days of Palestine. It says come to Palestine and has a verse from the Song of Songs. I got that with mom, somewhere around the Dead Sea. The other is a stolen item and I have no shame what so ever. In November I went with friends to an Idan Raichel concert. He is so good. I think most everyone in the world would like his music. He mixes Hebrew with the most used Ethiopian language, I am so bad at remembering what it is called. He has many other singers on his albums and he is one of the most popular in Israel. The music is so beautiful. Anyway I stole a poster off the wall after the concert. My friend Lerone covered me with her jacket and I pulled out the tacks. But now it has a better home ....mine. And he is so beautiful also.

Today I went to Hadera, a near by city, the one that was bombed in September I think. I went to the unemployment office. It made me think of Ed and the Everclear song "Unemployed Boyfriend" So yes I am collecting. It was a dilemma for me at first because I figured of course I could use the money, but there are others who need it more than me. But after speaking with some folks here I decided to take it. I will be paying really high taxes here once I start working to help others like me. So that's the store. I can collect for the next 6 months while I am in another Ulpan. Which is great because that means money that I am just putting away and it is about 200 US dollars a month.

Speaking of another ulpan. I took a trip later today to Kibbutz En Hasofet. It is about a 20 minute drive east of my current kibbutz. It is smaller and has a smaller Ulpan. What is unique about it is this. All the Ulpanist are new immigrants and it is actually a 10 month Ulpan. I am just starting half way through. I didn't see much of the kibbutz because it was night once I arrived. It is a bit out of the way. There are only two buses a day that go by. So once you get to a certain junction, its time to use the finger and hitch a ride. The good thing is that there are about 4 kibbutzim in that area, so it shouldn't be to hard to get a ride.

The Ulpanists and volunteers I met seemed really nice. Very friendly and a bit older. Most were in their late 20s instead of late teens. And to my surprise the Americans also seemed really nice. Sarah a girl from Wisconsin and another girl from Belgium took me around. They told me all about everything. The rooms are bigger. And I might not have to share a room for a while, which would be wonderful.

I will work in the laundry again on this kibbutz. And classes start on the first of February. The classes are one full day of class, one day of work. So that is a bit different. The rooms are right behind the cows, so they smell a bit. That is all I know so far. I will go there on Monday. The director seems really nice and helpful. He is willing to pick me up and shlep all my shit to the kibbutz, which is really generous.

And thats the story. Morning Glory.