This will probably be the second-to-last entry before I head home. In 25 days I touch down in the O'hare airport. I can't believe it. Before I started this trip eight and a half months seemed like forever. But it hasn't been nearly long enough. But l keep reminding myself that I have plenty of time ahead of me to see all the places I want too. The last few weeks have been relaxed and enjoyable. I visited Rabea in her hometown of Braunsweig and went to another juggling convention. We spent a day in Berlin, which was really cool. It was kind of eerie to think about everything that's happened in that city within the past 100 years. We went to the Holocaust memorial there. It's simple, yet powerful. A grid of square stone columns ... read more

Well I've been a bad girl, haven't I? I haven't blogged for what? 3 weeks? 4? But who's counting really? I feel like i'm writing a long-anticipated Harry potter sequel. I just hope the people at home reading this aren't like me, because I got sick of waiting and moved on to other reading material. So be warned: you are receiving this installment of blog-payment in a lump sum. So where do I start? Purim. Was absolutely nuts. On kibbutz lotan, the Talmudic interpretation of Purim is this: read the Megillah, stick eveyone underage in front of a movie, and then the whole kibbutz gets drunk. I prefered to witness the event sober, and it was a blast. The theme was Woodstock, as if kibbutznikim, especially the folks in the bustan, aren't hippies enough. So there ... read more

I've been finding that when I'm really enjoying myself and living in the moment that I don't have as much incentive to blog - it ruins it. But i'm still under the illusion that there are people back home who want to know what I'm up to, and it is some pretty interesting stuff. There's so much to tell, but I'll sum it up a little. I've been doing a lot of mud-building here. It's really interesting, although even in the desert it rains sometimes, and if the structures aren't oiled there can be problems. Yesterday we were doing a lot of repairs on the domes, which got damaged in the biblical flooding of a few weeks ago. So that's another fun part. I love in this awesome mud and straw dome. There will eventually be ... read more

So I'm not actually in Eilat, I'm on Grofit, one of the kibbutzim along highway 90, that cuts through the Arava valley of the Negev. The kibbutz itself is only where I live/sleep. I work at the Hai Bar חי בר which means "wildlife" in Hebrew. It is part wildlife refuge, part national park, and part zoo. But all the animals there (except for this one random specie of parakeet) are from the region of the Negev, which is pretty cool. There are Fennecs, Sand Foxes, Jackals, Ostriches, turtles, Spiny mice, snakes, owls, leopards, hyenas, hiraxes, bats... I could mention more but I think this gives the idea. Working in a zoo is a dirty job. It involves a lot of cutting up/preparing food for the animals, feeding them, cleaning crap and cleaning old food and ... read more

This blog entry is brought to you by Daniel Shaw (dad), who convinced me last night to write another entry, because apparently it's been too long between installments. I'm starting to feel like a primetime TV drama. But maybe this is an anxiously-awaited installment, because people at home are very curious about Israel. What probably won't surprise you is that I've had more ideological and philosophical experiences here than in my escapades elsewhere. Of course, I have some little adventures to tell about, too, but most of this entry will probably be me reflecting about what I've seen and heard and been told here and my reactions to it. Which is partly why I've put off writing this entry. Because it's not as fun to hear about political and social issues as it is to hear ... read more