The first Shabbat:

Time of writing: Sunday 08:48
The past few days have been fantastic! Already I’ve had a real taste for different lifestyles amd different activities in the Holy Land. For this Shabbat, we went to a Kibbutz.
For  anyone not in the know, a Kibbutz, or a traditional one, is asmall collective where people share possessions, or they work to their ability and receive to their needs.  Many kibbutzim no longer follow these rules,  but it so happened that ours did. The Kibbutz itself is called kibbutz Alumim, and is located 4km East of the Gaza Strip. So, one can understand why our group felt a little ill at ease on arrival.
We were hosted by various families who lived on the Kibbutz. Each family was chosen to host us becasue they had gone on gap year wirh Bnei Akiva before moving to Israel from England. They were very hospitable and,at least for the family hosting the boys, amazing cooks. They showed us how Kibbitz life was both private and public. On Friday night we ate with our families whilst at Saturday lunch we ate in a communal dining room. Since it was a collective Kibbutz they received many food items for free, but had to pay for luxuries, such as coffee or jam, with their allowance of money. It struck me as a very fair system,  where everyone was equal and took care of each other.
It was also this weekend that we set ourselves goals for the year. Mine were to improve my Ivrit (“Ani rotze ha cherutim” means “I need the toilet”), and to learn about the culture and politics of Israel itself, rather than just Judaism. Hopefully these goals will maximize what I get out of the year.
Finally, we Ben Yehudah Street and Crack Square as last hurrah for being last night of the group being composed only of Brits. The other people start arriving today, and I cant wait for the programm to begin in ernest.
In short, don’t worry about me, I am having anamazing time!
Sam.