I have always been a more sensative person . But lately I have been very awake to the reality that my friends and living companions are in some serious situations. I always knew that they would be combat soldiers. This weekend one of the guys came home talking about hte activities he had in his tank and how they stopped boarder crossers. This is very scary to me and I just wish they could gaurd tel aviv or something. I know i am simple minded and niave and that this is what they came to do. but i am scared and wish that the state of israel didnt require my best friends risking their lives on the boarders of Gaza, West Bank, Egypt and Jordan.
Love.
Michali
Saturday, August 11, 2012
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
cultural differences
we had a fun week with our unit.
The first day we went to Musuem of protection (museon haganah) which was really cool. It really is interesting in which intentions this country was developed as well as the people who saw it through. I learned a lot from it. Then we ate lunch and went back to base where we had a fancy dinner. and by fancy i mean it was the same normal food we would eat just on tableclothes. so yea...
The next morning we had a sports day which included a bunch of cometetive team games like basketball and soccer. My favorite was the tug of war. We (mostly female shooting instructors) competed against Lotar (which can only translate to freakishly huge guys in very small shorts ) clearly we were the winners... not. but we tried .
Then at night we had a stand up comedy act which was cute and came back to base to sleep.
The next day they took us on a hike in the Golan which is really beautiful but hiking with the other units from our base (who all felt they had something to prove) we had intense inclines that had me huffing and puffing. Still it was really fun and we were rewarded with beautiful springs and waterfalls.
I feel like the israeli countryscape is beautiful and so different you can go from the north to the south and see such different scenery.
but let's be real mostly its hot and dry and hot and dry and then some hot and dry.
After we got on the bus and went to a waterpark. We slept awkwardly on a mattress (not like a real person mattress half the length and width of a real mattress more like a little yoga matish) on the lawn of the waterpark. good planning army.
it was a lot of fun and they put on tons of music and we had so many sandwiches.... overload.
this morning we went into the pool and the slides and came home where it took me 4 hours to get home from a ride that should have been 45 mins tops. once again thank you bus system. you never fail to anger me.
some of the cultural differences ive noticed .
warning : generalizations don't take it to heart.
israel is the most homoerotic/homphobic country: before you start arguing- let's be real the israeli army is not very big on accepting gays and lesbians. even though there is a strict do your thing and be you thing, guys will call eachother "homo" and mean it as an insult.
still guys in the army wear very short short short shorts (smaller then gay pride shorts) and kiss eachother on the cheeks. and grab at eachother. and are all over one another. and when we are at a club they literarly only dance with one another in a big group of epically uncoordinated post pubescent awkwardness. Last night when we were dancing to music the guys literarly forced us girls off the dance floor so they could huddle and dance on one another. They also pee together and admit when their friends are good looking. all very confusing stuff.
other cultural things . in israel if you are a child under 4 you will be naked at the beach. in america not socially acceptable.
in israel a 5 year old child will yell at you if you don't pass her the towel she asks for on time. no shame.
in israel a 64 year old religious woman will flirt with the felafel worker who is 20 and tell him all about her foot bunions. he will of course listen and give her her pita while empathizing and tell her to give her husband a good loving later. not ok.
in israel the Misrachi songs- which are the israeli version of id say coutnry music are all about "if you leave me i will be a 0 . stay here with me , you drive me crazy in your love. let me go jealous over you." in america what is big is "b****es and hoes and grass and getting bling" in rap songs .
both styles of music i love btw and can't handle for more then 24 hours at a time.
in israel you take 5 buses and the bus driver will never fail to talk to himself curse at little children crossing and give you a hard time about wanting to open up the down stairs compartment for your big bag.
oh israel....
love ,
michali
The first day we went to Musuem of protection (museon haganah) which was really cool. It really is interesting in which intentions this country was developed as well as the people who saw it through. I learned a lot from it. Then we ate lunch and went back to base where we had a fancy dinner. and by fancy i mean it was the same normal food we would eat just on tableclothes. so yea...
The next morning we had a sports day which included a bunch of cometetive team games like basketball and soccer. My favorite was the tug of war. We (mostly female shooting instructors) competed against Lotar (which can only translate to freakishly huge guys in very small shorts ) clearly we were the winners... not. but we tried .
Then at night we had a stand up comedy act which was cute and came back to base to sleep.
The next day they took us on a hike in the Golan which is really beautiful but hiking with the other units from our base (who all felt they had something to prove) we had intense inclines that had me huffing and puffing. Still it was really fun and we were rewarded with beautiful springs and waterfalls.
I feel like the israeli countryscape is beautiful and so different you can go from the north to the south and see such different scenery.
but let's be real mostly its hot and dry and hot and dry and then some hot and dry.
After we got on the bus and went to a waterpark. We slept awkwardly on a mattress (not like a real person mattress half the length and width of a real mattress more like a little yoga matish) on the lawn of the waterpark. good planning army.
it was a lot of fun and they put on tons of music and we had so many sandwiches.... overload.
this morning we went into the pool and the slides and came home where it took me 4 hours to get home from a ride that should have been 45 mins tops. once again thank you bus system. you never fail to anger me.
some of the cultural differences ive noticed .
warning : generalizations don't take it to heart.
israel is the most homoerotic/homphobic country: before you start arguing- let's be real the israeli army is not very big on accepting gays and lesbians. even though there is a strict do your thing and be you thing, guys will call eachother "homo" and mean it as an insult.
still guys in the army wear very short short short shorts (smaller then gay pride shorts) and kiss eachother on the cheeks. and grab at eachother. and are all over one another. and when we are at a club they literarly only dance with one another in a big group of epically uncoordinated post pubescent awkwardness. Last night when we were dancing to music the guys literarly forced us girls off the dance floor so they could huddle and dance on one another. They also pee together and admit when their friends are good looking. all very confusing stuff.
other cultural things . in israel if you are a child under 4 you will be naked at the beach. in america not socially acceptable.
in israel a 5 year old child will yell at you if you don't pass her the towel she asks for on time. no shame.
in israel a 64 year old religious woman will flirt with the felafel worker who is 20 and tell him all about her foot bunions. he will of course listen and give her her pita while empathizing and tell her to give her husband a good loving later. not ok.
in israel the Misrachi songs- which are the israeli version of id say coutnry music are all about "if you leave me i will be a 0 . stay here with me , you drive me crazy in your love. let me go jealous over you." in america what is big is "b****es and hoes and grass and getting bling" in rap songs .
both styles of music i love btw and can't handle for more then 24 hours at a time.
in israel you take 5 buses and the bus driver will never fail to talk to himself curse at little children crossing and give you a hard time about wanting to open up the down stairs compartment for your big bag.
oh israel....
love ,
michali
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
2-something post .?
I came back from the states last week. I was on a visit that lasted a month. I wish that someone had written a manual about how to seperate from your friends and parents every 9 months. It would be called something like 9 months of anxious israeli/american birth. Or something not so weird.
In any case coming back is really really hard and I not only feel that I am emotionally not here but physically I have become sick. I came home on gimelim today ( the type of letter that allows you to leave your mission and come the hell home to not get everyone else sickly ). I was throwing up and had shilsul. Funny the American side of me didnt want to advertize that last part but oh well. I think it was a mixture of being on my period, being jetlagged , and over heating.
This job is physically and mentally taxing. It is hard to move from base to base and be in the heat all day running from the firing line down to check the bullet markings and back.
It is almost like double as hard to come back to Israel this time around knowing what to expect. The late night calls to your parents. The playing skype phone calls with your friends, the missing everything while your friends go on with their lives and live in brooklyn or nyc or grad school.
I guess my life is static for now. not in a bad way just in a homesickness.
It is also weird because when I was in the states i felt like it was a visit. i didnt feel like that was home. Here, Israel is home.
I don't know what I would do without my Garin. Having a deeper connections with many of my fellow lone sodliers that I live with than I have made over the years in America means something. Also my amazing host family has been a constant source of support and lovingness.
Still I wish I could somehow merge the worlds in a way I could convince my best friends and parents to move here- if only for a little bit. So that they can fall in love with this land and people as much as I did. Every stupid rude Israeli, every cacti, every bad fashion statement, every bus that breaks down and never lets you get to where you want on time, every 1 pm Chummas lunch that you are sure would not have been approved by the nyc standards. I love it all. And now i've puked on most of that .
We are having someone from our Garin leave,
I am not going to state reasoning but just say that I willl miss him very much and it is also very hard to think of our family loosing someone. I wish him the best and know he will amount to great things while he is in the states : )
It is time to go puke again and then go to bed,
Lots of hugs,
Michali
In any case coming back is really really hard and I not only feel that I am emotionally not here but physically I have become sick. I came home on gimelim today ( the type of letter that allows you to leave your mission and come the hell home to not get everyone else sickly ). I was throwing up and had shilsul. Funny the American side of me didnt want to advertize that last part but oh well. I think it was a mixture of being on my period, being jetlagged , and over heating.
This job is physically and mentally taxing. It is hard to move from base to base and be in the heat all day running from the firing line down to check the bullet markings and back.
It is almost like double as hard to come back to Israel this time around knowing what to expect. The late night calls to your parents. The playing skype phone calls with your friends, the missing everything while your friends go on with their lives and live in brooklyn or nyc or grad school.
I guess my life is static for now. not in a bad way just in a homesickness.
It is also weird because when I was in the states i felt like it was a visit. i didnt feel like that was home. Here, Israel is home.
I don't know what I would do without my Garin. Having a deeper connections with many of my fellow lone sodliers that I live with than I have made over the years in America means something. Also my amazing host family has been a constant source of support and lovingness.
Still I wish I could somehow merge the worlds in a way I could convince my best friends and parents to move here- if only for a little bit. So that they can fall in love with this land and people as much as I did. Every stupid rude Israeli, every cacti, every bad fashion statement, every bus that breaks down and never lets you get to where you want on time, every 1 pm Chummas lunch that you are sure would not have been approved by the nyc standards. I love it all. And now i've puked on most of that .
We are having someone from our Garin leave,
I am not going to state reasoning but just say that I willl miss him very much and it is also very hard to think of our family loosing someone. I wish him the best and know he will amount to great things while he is in the states : )
It is time to go puke again and then go to bed,
Lots of hugs,
Michali
Monday, May 21, 2012
read at your own risk
This post might have things that are passionate and not to everyone's liking, in it. so if you do not want to read i will not be offended . This past week is very emotional for me. Full of feelings and thoughts. Not only is it my 23rd birthday week, and the week that I am flying back to the states for a month; it is also the week that is both memorial day and independence day in Israel.
Lets talk about memorial day. Memorial day in the states is another day for shopping, bbqs and family togetherness. What the hell is wrong with this country? I am so happy that you got 75% off your bath and body works fragrance! You seem to have forgotten the men and women that fell while serving your country. Until I became a soldier in a different coutnry did I see the irony and disgust in this day. You live in a bubble of commercialism that has no regard for the sacrifices soldiers make. I used to do that too.
Memorial day in Israel took me hard. Everyone in this country is effected. Everyone knows at least one soldier that fell in their duty. Someone in your family, someone that was in the same unit that you are in, or even a loved one. Everyone comes to the graves. This is also the most messed up things I have seen. In true Israeli culture people still make jokes about death, how it is so hot you could die. A coping mechanism when you have nothing else to say to a mother who has lost her son. Everyone pushes through and makes a lot of noise. Everyone wants to get in your business. This is all very disrespectful. Then at exactly 11 am a siren wails. Everyone freezes like statues. Sweat drips down your back and forehead and its a good 89 degrees outside in long sleeves and a fabric that does not breathe. The country shuts down and everyone thinks about the reason the country is there. The people who gave their lives unwillingly or willingly.
Then you have barly 24 hours to cope with this while people think about the sacrifices and then starts Independence day. I think it is a really stupid thing to have so much emotion in a span of 24 hours where you are supposed to go from sad to happy all in the course of a ceremony. I think the did it that way so you understand that in order for this country to live 64 years it gave it all.
Independence day we went to Regba's party which was fun. They set off fireworks and there was food and tons of familys running around.
Then we went to Haifa for a free street party. concert.
Soon I will be in the states as a 23 year soldier. I am excited for what this year hold for me. I feel old and thankful to live in this country. I wouldn't want to be anywhere else.
Love,
Michali
Lets talk about memorial day. Memorial day in the states is another day for shopping, bbqs and family togetherness. What the hell is wrong with this country? I am so happy that you got 75% off your bath and body works fragrance! You seem to have forgotten the men and women that fell while serving your country. Until I became a soldier in a different coutnry did I see the irony and disgust in this day. You live in a bubble of commercialism that has no regard for the sacrifices soldiers make. I used to do that too.
Memorial day in Israel took me hard. Everyone in this country is effected. Everyone knows at least one soldier that fell in their duty. Someone in your family, someone that was in the same unit that you are in, or even a loved one. Everyone comes to the graves. This is also the most messed up things I have seen. In true Israeli culture people still make jokes about death, how it is so hot you could die. A coping mechanism when you have nothing else to say to a mother who has lost her son. Everyone pushes through and makes a lot of noise. Everyone wants to get in your business. This is all very disrespectful. Then at exactly 11 am a siren wails. Everyone freezes like statues. Sweat drips down your back and forehead and its a good 89 degrees outside in long sleeves and a fabric that does not breathe. The country shuts down and everyone thinks about the reason the country is there. The people who gave their lives unwillingly or willingly.
Then you have barly 24 hours to cope with this while people think about the sacrifices and then starts Independence day. I think it is a really stupid thing to have so much emotion in a span of 24 hours where you are supposed to go from sad to happy all in the course of a ceremony. I think the did it that way so you understand that in order for this country to live 64 years it gave it all.
Independence day we went to Regba's party which was fun. They set off fireworks and there was food and tons of familys running around.
Then we went to Haifa for a free street party. concert.
Soon I will be in the states as a 23 year soldier. I am excited for what this year hold for me. I feel old and thankful to live in this country. I wouldn't want to be anywhere else.
Love,
Michali
24th post-usa
I have about one week left to my month long vacation back in the states.
I thought this would be exactly what I needed, it left me more confused.
I love seeing my parents and best friends at I haven't seen I'm 9months.
However I got a lot of questions about my life after the army.
I have to be honest I have no idea where I will be or what I want to do after my two years of service. I know that I want to give it my all the one and a little bit of years I have left.
After that I want to do the typical couple of month trip to thailand , south America and maybe India. And I think I want to be a flight attendant at el al to go back and forth between the states and Israel. Then I want to get my masters. I am not sure if that will be In Israel or the states or Europe. In Israel it would be free,
So thats a lose 5yearish plan.
My parents are pushi g me to have a backup plan since artist pays nothing and in Israel and you can't even afford a cardboard box to sleep in as an artist. They think art therapy would be a good vocation for me.
I am just passionate about art.I want to be an artist and live my life and raise my adopted child and fmkly in Israel.
Being here made me realize how much I wish I could combine the two worlds together.
I am so grateful to my parents , my best friends and the amazing month I have had here.
Soon I will be back in a very snug uniform after eating so much. And everything that happenend will have seemed a billion miles away and I will be back to skype and missing everyone.
Till then I am sitting here cuddling with elmo watching movies on my couch.
Love,
Michali
Saturday, April 7, 2012
23rd post - never have i ever
This post is titled never have i ever. Since i have joined the IDF i have overcome many obstacles, cried a lot but most of all have done things that I never thought I would ever do in my entire life. Here is a short list of things both funny, michali, and serious for you.
1) get so excited to see toilet paper- the army does not provide you with toilet paper.
2) poop in the field. (while talking to other girls doing the same)
3) not shower for a week and think that was ok
4) fire a machine gun
5) get excited about chocolate milk in a bag (shoko basakit)
6)think that the more worn out something is that i recieved the cooler it is because it shows "pazam"
7) teach human beings how to aim at a target with a face on it
8) have conversations with girls while being completely naked and showering
9) sleep standing up
10)hear about combat soldiers sleeping together in a hole and think it was normal
11) have friends that jumped out of planes (for you sam)
12) considered young even though i am older then all the comanders
13) thought i would curse
14)thought i would be ok sleeping on a top bunk
15) sleeping in a very disgusting sleeping bag
16)share everything - down to deodarant and bras
17) have saturday night upsettingness before going into the army the day after
18)call people just to complain about being tired
19)worn the same clothes day in and day out not caring about the level of grossness they are in
20)been excited for field meals because that means that its not magic puff stuff you add water too
21)meet so many people and exchanged who has it harder
22)been so tired or so happy to be doing what im doing
22 points one for every year of my life.
soon i will be turning 23 .
soon i will be in america to visit
soon i will be in the army for a half a year
wow
yours,
michali
1) get so excited to see toilet paper- the army does not provide you with toilet paper.
2) poop in the field. (while talking to other girls doing the same)
3) not shower for a week and think that was ok
4) fire a machine gun
5) get excited about chocolate milk in a bag (shoko basakit)
6)think that the more worn out something is that i recieved the cooler it is because it shows "pazam"
7) teach human beings how to aim at a target with a face on it
8) have conversations with girls while being completely naked and showering
9) sleep standing up
10)hear about combat soldiers sleeping together in a hole and think it was normal
11) have friends that jumped out of planes (for you sam)
12) considered young even though i am older then all the comanders
13) thought i would curse
14)thought i would be ok sleeping on a top bunk
15) sleeping in a very disgusting sleeping bag
16)share everything - down to deodarant and bras
17) have saturday night upsettingness before going into the army the day after
18)call people just to complain about being tired
19)worn the same clothes day in and day out not caring about the level of grossness they are in
20)been excited for field meals because that means that its not magic puff stuff you add water too
21)meet so many people and exchanged who has it harder
22)been so tired or so happy to be doing what im doing
22 points one for every year of my life.
soon i will be turning 23 .
soon i will be in america to visit
soon i will be in the army for a half a year
wow
yours,
michali
Friday, March 23, 2012
22nd post
i dont have a lot to report besides the fact that i am going to be going back to the states from april 30- may 30. its a weird type of feeling leaving home to return home.
i feel so loved here.
but cant wait to see my parents my best friends and shop .
lots of love ,
michali
i feel so loved here.
but cant wait to see my parents my best friends and shop .
lots of love ,
michali
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