It feels like we've been waiting for this since we said goodbye to our Israelis at NAS. Our first night with our home stays went well and we all already bonded with the families we're staying with. Last night, Meytav took me to meet up with all her friends and most of the other teens staying in Karmiel. We spent some time trying to overcome the language barrier, but I was really impressed with how well everyone knew English- even the non-Diller teens.
The Zuzels immediately made me feel right at home. To get to know each other better, we sat outside and talked over frozen yogurt. I hate to admit it, but it might've been even better than Razzyfresh! I only met her mom and sister last night, but they're both so friendly and hospitable that I'm already dreading the day we have to leave.
Our first full day of ISS started with Amazing Race: Karmiel-Style! We were split into groups and given clues to follow. Those clues led us EVERYWHERE. We went from a park, to a mall, to another park, down a road, and eventually to the pool. The parks were gorgeous! We passed a waterfall and had to navigate a maze made out of tall bushes, and eventually at the mall we had to record a video of someone watching us do The Macarena(a video which will hopefully not be posted, but it was pretty funny).
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My team raced the second team to the pool. Once we were there,'we spent a few hours in the shade or in the water, and another hour in beach chairs after we found out where ice cream was.
We returned to the Rayman's for lunch and a few games of foosball before heading out to the kibbutz where Alon lives. I'd never been to a kibbutz before, so it was a really cool experience to see what ideas I had about them that were correct as well as learn things I didn't know before, like how people in a kibbutz can have professions outside of their community. A special thanks to Alon's dad for the stellar tour and for being a great speaker who grabbed our attention from the start!
After walking around the kibbutz and seeing the dairy farm it has, petting the newborn cows, as well as taking a few "cow selfies" (taking a picture with a cow... We're all still very American), we retuned to the Rayman's and began a unit discussion on guest vs. host.
Lisa led my group and got us all thinking about how we all recently switched roles from NAS. Now the Americans are the guests. I was finally put into Maria's shoes when she stayed with the Gorby family, and I should give her credit, being a guest can be scary. New adjustments are sometimes hard, but we're lucky to have a group we already know so well to have these experiences with. We also discussed whether we feel the role of a guest or a host in Judaism. This really made me think. In Pittsburgh, I always felt the role of a host, but here, in Israel, I've seen so many new Jewish things that I have humbly switched titles to "guest."
We ended the night as the Pittsburgh Dillers sitting in a circle, sharing funny stories and accidental mishaps from the first night with our Israelis. Apparently they were all very worried we wouldn't understand how to use their showers correctly. Rest assured, we all showered with little-to-no problems.
Tomorrows Army Day, and I can't wait! For now, I'm off to the Karmiel Dance Festival!
Lilah tov!
-Lindsay Gorby