I Am

I think I should start writing on this thing again, even if it feels like it is turning into something just for me. It is cool to look back on past posts and see what I was doing and pictures. Maybe some day I will make this into a little book for me.

First off, for anyone who wants it my new and current address is as follows:

Elizabeth Schecter
Kibbutz En HaShofet
19237
Israel

Time is passing by so quickly and I am sure I have tons of things to write about, but somehow nothing is coming to mind. I am working in the dinning room of the kibbutz. Ben thought this meant I am a waitress, but that's not it at all. I am a cafeteria worker. No, thank god I don't have to wear a hair net!!!

I get to work everyday at 6:30 a.m. We prepare for breakfast. The job mostly entails cleaning. I don't do any of the cooking because I don't work in the kitchen.

Because the dinning room of the kibbutz is privatized, the members can't take food freely like in the old days. Now they have to pay for the meals, so I also work at the register. Everyone has a number for their account and now after a month and a half working there I would say I know 50% of the regulars numbers!! People really like it when you remember their number.

I finish work at 2:30 eveyday. I few days a week I babysit after work. I am regularly babysitting an eight month old, who's parents want her to learn English. I am convinced that right now it is doing nothing, she can't even speak Hebrew, but its not my call. She is a really charming little baby.

In a month I will probably start caring of an old woman on a daily basis. She is from England and doesn't speak Hebrew at all. She is the mother-in-law of one of my bosses. I worked with her, Frida, for a few days last week. I just do simple things; bring her laundry, make her bed, cook a little supper, or heat something up, take out the trash. She seems pretty content and friendly. I think its strange though that people that live in the kibbutz would hire someone to do this. She lives 5 minutes walk from me and even closer to her son. Even if she was the craziest person in the world (which she is not) it would only be 30 minutes a day that her family would have to go over and care for her.Why would you move your mother to be so close, but not want to see her?

I did get my own room, had it for about a month. I will have to post pictures. I got a nice table from Shiran's mom and I have a nice eating table that I found. Shiran found a bed frame and brought it over and then a week or so later found a matress in the garbage! Not the most luxuary matress, but it gets the job done.

Well I got my first full pay check today! This is crazy but after everything has been taken out, I am left with more than 500 dollars to put to savings!! And I only make 1000 dollars. Crazy that here I can make far less money than I was making in the US but save more. Of course if I was living in Tel Aviv so I wouldn't be able to save anything. But my rent is more than half of what people pay in the city, my laundry is washed for free, food is a little cheaper here.

It is really cold here now. Probably in the 30s-40s. Last night some places got below zero. I was walking back with Shiran from his parents house last night and it was so cold and I just said how happy I was not to be in the army anymore and how can soldiers have to sleep outside in even colder temperatures than this. And he said: I had to do it...but I don't remember how I think I blocked it out.

I saw a really cute movie this weekend called "The Band Visit" It is so cute, if you have netflicks you should order it. Its about this Egyptian band who comes it Israel to play for some opening and they get lost and stuck. It is very dry humor and the cimematography is really cute.

I will stop writing for now, but hope to pick this thing up on a daily basis.
Cheers