Introduction to Israel

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Hi Everyone,

I have now been in Israel for 6 weeks and am writing my first blog ever. This is my way of keeping everyone at home updated on where I am and what I’m doing, but please by all means feel free to email or facebook me. I will try my best to update this more often. Here are some basics of my program and trip so far:




The Program:

There are 23 people on my program from all over the US. For the first 2.5 months we are all living together in Karmiel at the Mercaz Klita (aka Immigrant absorption center). The dorms are cramped to say the least, and the entire building is dominated by 200 or so new Russian immigrants, mostly 16-18 year olds. It often feels like a college dorm, but smaller and with no A/C! We are centrally located in quiet Karmiel and only a 20 minute ride to Akko where there is a train, so it is easy to get around. We spend 1 day a week on an educational day where we explore the country and learn about the history and politics going on here. 4 days a week we learn Hebrew, and twice a week we focus on our volunteering projects. Fridays and Saturdays I am free to travel and visit family.

Orientation Week:

In our first week we traveled to the Dead Sea, hiked in the dessert canyons and visited Jerusalem, all in an effort to get to know our group better. Everyone is 22-26 and a college grad. Most people are from the East coast but there are also a couple of people from CO (woot!).

The 2 hikes we did on the first days of the trip were the best part. The first had a good amount of climbing up and down stairs and rocks, and the 2nd led to a waterfall in the middle of the dessert. We spent the nights at a Kibbutz in Arad and one just outside Jerusalem. We also went to the pool, swam in the dead sea and went to the pubs in Jerusalem. After 5 days we said bye to the teacing fellows group and made our way to our new home in Karmiel.



My next blogs will be about Volunteering in Karmiel, Traveling in Israel and Education Days, stay tuned...

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Photos

Merkaz Klita
My new home in Karmiel

The Kiosk
Where we always hang out