Ok, so I have had a few days to process Gadna, and now it is time to say a few words. The thing about it, is it wasn’t that it was grueling or really horrible; but it did scare me a little about doing the army. I do know that this part of boot camp life will be for only anywhere from 2 weeks to 2 months at the most. I will explain.

If Israeli bureaucracy is a crazy and well, a bureaucratic cake, then the army is the whip cream on top. For instance when we arrived to the army base, we sat outside for two hours while all the other groups went in. Why? Because we were supposed to have 2 people come from the kibbutz to make sure everything is ok for the week; we had one lady. Basically she gets a week vacation and has to show her face a few times a day so she can make sure we are all alive. So we sat and waited while all the other groups went in and got started. All we needed was a fax from a government agency but we waited. Finally 2 hours later we got the clearance and went in.

The army base is Tzalamon base in the north about a 2-hour bus ride away from out kibbutz. It was really beautiful. We were in the mountains with all rolling hills. When the weather was clear you could see the Kinneret. There were all these Arab towns around. It was so beautiful to see their villages coming down the mountains. At night they were really special. There was quite a mix of Arab, Christian, Muslim, and Druze villages. There was one small Jewish town.

On one of our exercises outside the base our high commander told us about the geography. As we stood on a mountain looking at everything he pointed out all the towns. He told us that there was a mini-Intefada in this area, when the Second Intifata broke out. He said now there is peace with the neighbors and the number of non-Jews that volunteer for the army is growing every year. Interestingly enough, at the end of the week, or sergeant told us that commander is Bedouin, and didn’t we notice his accent was different. That was something great to see. You can be a minority and still rise in the army.

So back to the beginning. We finally get the bus inside and our Mifa-ked-et (sergeant in Hebrew) greets us with yelling. Get off the bus, stand in this certain was. All that blah blah blah. Of course the blah blah blah is in Hebrew. I can tell you that after this week I can understand so much more. Also when people speak to me in Hebrew I don’t have to tell then to slow down as much because she yelled so fast. We did have two people designated as translators, one English, one Russia. But at times of course there was no time to translate.

We went to an area and got uniforms. Now for anyone who has not had an army experience everything is timed. Go from po (here) to sham (there) in blank seconds. You say, “move” in the command form in Hebrew: zoo-zoo. So can’t you see this: groups of kids running around “Yes Commander. 20 seconds.” In some ways if felt that that was what the whole week was.

After we all changed into our uniforms we lined back up and went to our rooms to dump our luggage. Some of the girls brought SO much stuff. Its not like we had to have so much, just underwear, socks and t-shirts. I brought my sleeping bag. I was really glad I did because army blankets are so scratchy and God only knows the last time they were ever washed.

In a lot of ways this army experience felt like it was really about preparing us to shoot the M-16 at the end. We did have days with lectures on the army (all in Hebrew remember). We also had times where we went on drills outside. On the first night we went for a run outside in the dark rocky fields. But some how you don’t feel so bad having to run, when the officers are running with their guns and first aid gear.

Once we went up to this mountain and put dirt on our faces and leaves in our hair and ran around crawling on our stomachs. On the way there I had to carry the radio pack on my back. I was up front and had to keep up with the officer. Then on the way down I carried the jerry can of water. That was at least twice as heavy. And we took turns carrying a girl on a stretcher. It was pretty hard to hold the water and the stretcher. But all this stuff, just made me think, “OK, Elizabeth, the real army will be much harder.”

The little interaction that I had with Israelis that were on the Gadna also scared me a bit. There was one bathroom for all the girls. And at night we had an hour to get ready for bed. None of the showers had curtains. And these girls would stand and ask us to hurry up, staring at us naked, even when there were 4 more showers they could use. When they finally took their shower they wore bathing suits! And these are the same girls that were plastering on make-up at 4: 30 a.m. So they looked like really mature and worldly creatures, but in truth they were just a bunch of 16 and 17 year old kids. So this scared me a bit, because I am not 17. When I enter to the army I will be 23, which is pretty old.

The good thing was, although they looked really tough and bitchy; they were really nice when you talked to them. They call Israelis sabras, which is a kind of cactus fruit. Because Israelis are hard on the outside, but once you break that, they are soft and delicious on the inside. This one girl who had been giving me dirty looks ever since we came, sat next to me one day and we started to talk. Turns out her mom is Canadian and she lives in Benyamina, which is right next to my old kibbutz. She told me how hard she is trying to loose her Israeli accent when she speaks in English.

Or sergeant turned out to be really nice. On the first day, one guy from our group didn’t get any clothes that fit and he was standing in the cold with shorts and a t-shirt freezing. Finally he called her over and said: Look, either you get me something to wear or I am going to go back to the room. And she answered him in almost perfect American accented English. A few of us started to try to guess where she was from. At the end of the week she told us about her self. Her mother was American and she was born in Texas but her family moved back to Israel when she was one. She told her mom about us, that we were new immigrant and had no family and her mom told her to give us her number and if we were in the Tel Aviv area to call. It was really nice. She was very nice and very helpful at getting us the information we needed.

It was really fun to shoot the gun. It was also a bit scary. I have shot rifles before at my grandpa’s farm. But shooting the
M-16 is very different. There is much more power in this weapon. It was very loud on the shooting range. We wore ear protection. I did OK most of my bullets were near the center. Some people did excellent. This Russian couple were both trained in shooting and they did amazing. But some people who had never shot before did really good too.

The food was actually not that bad. The breakfast was a real disappointment. The hard-boiled eggs oozed this gray liquid and the vegetables looked beat. But lunch and dinner were eatable. The worst thing about the food to me was the fact that you have to hurry. I am such a slow eater. It really gives me a stomachache to eat fast, especially when I am hungry. One morning we worked in the kitchen. I had a lot of fun. It really reminded me of the time I spend on the army base with Sar-El the first time I came to Israel. I think everyone actually had a pretty good time with it.

I guess I could talk for forever, but I won’t. It was an interesting time and I learned a lot. The most important thing I learned was I have to find out about what job I will be doing in the army. If I wait to long and don’t push, I could get put in a really bad desk job or something stupid like guarding storage containers in the dessert. So this is the biggest project I have after I come back from Holland.

The pictures are such a mix and I have waited way to long to post anything. The nature pictures I took 2 weeks ago. I went on a walk with Noa around the kibbutz.

The snake in the toilet is …..well, a snake in the toilet.

I was a cowgirl for Purim. And there are pictures with other friends. Noa was a Hari Krishna.

And of course I will have so many pictures to post when I get back from Holland. It is a strange time in the life of my family. Mom and Hugh are moving right now. So is Jonathan and Ben will be traveling for his birthday.

If there is an emergency, I am bringing my cell phone. 972-052-3795332.

Hugs and kisses. I will be back on Tuesday the 28. I will try to post from there, but no promises. I hope it will be a good week for everyone.