Job on the Kibbutz (Glorified Bus Boy/Waiter)

Hey All and שלום,

Once again it has been a long time since my last post, but not a lot has gone on. I have my second job in Israel. The Kibbutz I am on has a large hotel and events center. I work in the Hader Ochel הדר האוכל which is the hotel's dinning rooms. It is a large place with four main rooms, which can be six rooms or one.  I am the only American that works there! Which is sad, but oh well. Most of the people I work with are my age. They are mostly Russian or Ethiopian (I think I spelled that right). So they all speak to me in Hebrew and I speak to them in Hebrew! It has really improved my hebrew, but my speaking is not very good. I add in a lot of English and try to say it with a Israeli Accent (Which is probably worse).  I am starting to think in Hebrew, just the basic stuff...like talking to myself about how work was or if I need to go to the bathroom...I think it is a big step. Work is long and can be hard. Running around, getting yelled at in Hebrew, picking up dishes, setting the tables, filling water... Oh and a cool, but very stressful part of the Dinning Room is that we are completely Kosher. This has its positives, but for me it is a lot of negatives. We have two separate of everything, Milk and Meat. and this week is the week before Passover פסח; so we have a third set of EVERYTHING....and I mean everything. Also we have been cleaning for Passover. Yesterday I was on my hands and knees with a scotch pad and bleach, scrubbing the place where the floor meets the wall....and today I dumped out all the salt and pepper. Fun fun fun.

So this coming monday is Passover. A fantastic holiday for us Jews. Lots of meals together and fun. Most people do not like this holiday because it is forbidden for a Jew to own, have, eat, ect.... Chemiz/Leven. Which is kinda complicated, but pretty much means nothing from a grain. This is where Matzah is famous. I took the week off to do some volunteering work. Which in my mind is the most important part of being Jewish. I have found a group that puts on a Seder (Passover Meal, in Israel we only have one, but everywhere else they have two.) I am helping them all weekend and then joining them for the meal. Then for the rest of the week I'm traveling down south of Tel Aviv for a few days for camping on the beach and helping "At-Risk" Youth that have no family or left home for some reason... I'm really excited to do this and practice my hebrew.

Two weeks after Passover, I'm taking some time to prepare myself for the Army. What could this be? Working out? Fasting? Nope.........I'M GOING TO AMSTERDAM!!!! My family is dutch and my Grandma has a few 1st cousins there still. So, my Mom and Grandma are flying out and meeting me there. So one week in Amsterdam, before the Army. Can we say Detox...jk.


I still have just over a month before I enlist in the IDF. The big day is May 4th.

חג פסח שמח ושבת שלום! Happy Passover and Shabbat Shalom!