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

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

21st post - sickness

I know that much of my blog has been positive and very much written with a love for my new life and Israel.  There are many things however, that are not so great about this country and I wish I could ratify. As I write rockets are hitting the south of Israel.  100+ katushas have hit where my friends live and other citizens both jews and muslims .
Healthcare in htis country is bull.  I was majorly sick and i waited for the dr for 4 hours.  finally i burst into his office and demanded and he sees me and send me home.
So drs. here are incompetent and i need a break to feel better.
Tonsillitis sucks 
that is all for now,
Michali

20th post

i admit i havent writen in a very long time.  I have been super busy.  Since I have last written I finished my second course that specialized in weapons and knowing their opperation, history, parts, bilistics, and different shooting practices. After this course we were each given a base to go to.  I was expecting to work with reserves.  It is not as prestigious out of all the jobs but I thought I would be better equipped being 22 and more go with the flow. To be honest i was ready to take on what ever job happily and do the best I could.  The last day we had a ceremony to mark the ending before we found out our placements.  I recieved Mofet which is like best all around from what I gather, of the course. Yay.  Then I went in first for the placements and the head of the depertment asked me how the course went.  " It was one of the most exciting and great things I have gone through"   He took a moment and looked me over and said "well good because you are staying here."


"what?"


So this placement was the very last thing I thought I would get .  I didn't even put it down as an option when they asked me my preferences. WHat this placement means is that I am a Mitkan Adam girl.  It is one of the perstegious jobs for shooting instructors.  Your home base is Mitkan Adam (where I did my course) and every week you travel to a different base to teach different type of soldiers shooting.  There are pros and cons to this.

Cons: every week you have to travel with your gun and huge bag and go to a different base
you dont know anyone on that base ( excpet my garin boys )
its harder to make friends
I wont know where the things on each base are like the gym
I never know my missions ahead of time


Pros: I get out every Thursday!!!
I get to wear half uniform
I get to see all the guys in my garin : ) since we have guys in every infantry unit
I  go all over the country
I make friends with the two or three people I travel with to the base
I can have fun and have no distance from the soldiers


So this past week I was in Mitkan Adam to meet everyone and get ready to instruct.
Next week I go to the paratroopers (Tzanchanim) and get to see three of the guys in my garin so excited : )

I will updated you all about it. 
Other then that I am excited to start my job and am loving life.
I really appreciate every amount of free time I get to spend with my garin.  They have become my brothers and sisters and I love it here.  In Israel i feel free and happy and myself.  I dont always feel that in America.
But we will see.
I am trying to get premission from the army to coem back 30th of april for a month : )
Love you all,
Michali

19th post

This weekend was the perfect weekend.  It was my roomie's birthday. She turned 20 and I decorated the room and got her a present and we went out to a nice dinner with her host family and went out dancing at night.  Then today we slept till 2 am and hung out with the guys from the garin who were home.
Tomorrow I am headed back to my base and much like the other soldiers in this country, I am outraged by the new law that passed.  Till now all soldiers could ride public transportation for free. Now starting this week they are charging soldiers who take the train full price sundays from 6 am - 11 am . 
Right, it's not enough we are defending this country, you want us to pay to be tortured.  Got it. Assholes.  Excuse the language but this tottaly screws up my comfortable nap time. I had a routine down and starting tomorrow I say goodbye to being comfrotable and might have to stand for the journey.  We are very bitter. 

In any case this course is going by so fast.  I am really liking it and think its challenging but a lot of fun.  I don't want it to end.  Which is a weird thing to say about the Army. 
I am missing everyone very badly and wish everyone a great week.  Its machine gun week so I am pumped.
Lots of love,
Michali

18th post

I am back home to Regba with Gimelim (days off for sickness) since I kept myself up with coughing , dizzyness, shaking and snot.  ew.
In any case last night I stayed awake in my adopted family's house and witnessed as my best friend in the entire world took the most amazing important step in her life and got married to the love of her life.  I watched it all on a skype cam that connected me an ocean away.  She was the most wonderful perfect person I have ever seen.  That is not biassed .  It broke my heart not to be there but I was so greatful for skype and the way it allowed me to see her place a ring on his hand and  look into his eyes. 
This event was the hardest for me to miss since I have been here. A thousand times harder then missing my mom my dad my friends my college my cats or my warm bed. 
I think this is the first time this move to Israel hit me over the head in such a big way. I am missing out on so much and I have taken for granted so much being in the states so close to everything.  Here while laying in bed sick I don't have my mom to make me fake chicken soup or be misrable and watch horror movies with my best friend till we laugh and spit out m&ms .   dont have the luxiery of going to a Pilates class.  I cant just go and hug my dad.  I cant curl up with my cat and cry if I have to.

Here I have to pretend  to be tough.  and sometimes thats not easy when all you want is to watch youve got mail and veg out on the couch.
Still this is not a complaint this is just a realization that the little things in life make the biggest difference. My new life here is wonderful as well. My adoptive parents gave me a key to their place and told me to come over when ever i wanted watch tv and eat veggie soup they made me.

As for the army.  I am finishing my certification on the Rovay this week (M16 , Tavor, Flattop, and MicroTavor) I am really enjoying this course and people in it.  The only moral delima came along when we had to learn final Bilistics. 
Which is basically which bullet goes through a body at what vilocity and what is most deadly= which we want to use.  Where do we want to aim to "stop" a person.  *the Israeli army is a humane army and therefore we are not allowed to say kill only stop. or so I have been told.
This lesson was really hard for me.  As I stied about the blacktalon bullet which once it hits the body breaksoff into 6 different shards that rip through tissue which is even too dangerous for the dr to remove without damage to him/herself.  I thought to myself a year ago I was at Purchase learning about Duchamp and his Fountain. 
Things have changed....

I am still morally conflicted about how I feel about knowing this type of information.  everyone in my class seemed to be ok with knowing this .  I am a vegetarian  animal rights pacifist . 
and now I will be teaching people how to aim for the right body parts.
sigh.


As for now the fat incompitant idiot russian dr toldme to sleep a lot so I am going to do that.
Best wishes for the most wonderful couple,
Lots of sicky hugs,
Michali

17th post - new base

I just moved to a new base to start a new course for two months.  My first week there I just came home and I am loving it.  This place is called Mitkan Adam and its near Modeim - it has a very cool history of counterterrorism training and lotar. The entire base is built like a kibbutz it has a lot of trees and flowers and a mini bus to take us from place to place on base. My course is built out of 35 people - including guys and girls.  The guys in my course are mainly combat soldiers that fell from their position based on injury so they are a little bitter but they are really really nice.
The girls are most of my friends from the previous course and otheres that joined from education branches and airforce. 
We have no distance with our commanders - I call mine by her first name (Anna) which is Hebrew for I am a Russian girl who has pretty blonde hair and am going to speak really fast so you dont understand anything in Hebrew about your weapon.
I got really lucky and got a Micro Tavor which is one of the newest weapons in the IDF I call her Lucy.
The food is pretty crappy and my cot isnt  the greatest but the company of my friends and the many Americans on the base makes up for it .
I love the more chilled out atmosphere and I am learning a lot of really cool things .
Everything and anything about the weapon and the balistics behind it .
I love you all,
Shabbat Shalom going to celebrate my new years in style in Tel Aviv with my Garin family,
Michali