A Typical Day

Every morning I wake up at 5:45 to be ready to work at 6. I then work for 3 hours until breakfast time. Work could be picking, cutting, cleaning, peaking, or unloading vegetables. Breakfast is prepared for me and is always made from vegetables picked from the farm that day or food that is organic. I have also recently been drinking the organic milk brought daily to us from the cows. After breakfast I work until 11 which is a break during which more food is given to us. Then I work until 1:30 to finish out my work day. I have gotten used to the work, but the days continue to get hotter and it is sometimes hard to work in the heat.

Back to Work

I got back to the farm yesterday and it was quite different than being in he city and it was hard to adjust back. I had been going to bed around 1 am so it was hard to go to he's at 8 and wake up at 5:30. The work is going well as more and more things become ready to be harvested.

This is Tom, a guy who has been working at the farm for two years.

My Weekend

Yesterday was a great day. My friend Eliezer took me to the Mediterranean Sea and we had a blast. It was fun to be in the sea, relax on the beach, and play games as well. The funniest part was when he would pretend to not know Hebrew and that we were both tourists. It was amazing how nice people were to us and the things they said thinking we wouldn't understand were funny as well. Today will likely be more of the same and then I will take the train back to the farm. 

An Overview of My Week

In the past few days we finally finished construction on the shade net. It was very good to finish it because the work on that was pretty tough and I enjoy dealing with the crops much more. The girl from Lithuania left, but a girl named Ingrid came who is from France. We went on a nice hike, walked to a rather boring city, and had another campfire. Yesterday I also hick hiked with her for the first and last time in my life to go 120 kilometers from the farm to a friend I have who I met in Tel Aviv. Today will be nearly 100 degrees, but at least I am going to the Mediterranean Sea. 

My farm is he square in the middle.

Construction

The past two days of work have not been directly farming, I have been constructing what is called a shade net. We have been hammering in stakes, setting up wire, and hanging the net. The work is not that tough but when it is as hot as it is here it makes it more difficult. 

Weekend Off

Every Friday and Saturday I have off and this weekend and I was planning to check out the hikes in the area. I was only able to find one trail my first time out and it was beautiful. Friday night we had a bonfire that was great fun. We made smoothies from fruits and vegetables that we picked and then roasted marshmallows. After eatting only fresh organic food the marshmallows    tasted awful. Saturday I went mountain biking and it was equally beautiful but so much harder than the hike. So much of it was uphill and it was so hot that I was only able to stay out for an hour and a half of biking. 

A Guest Speaker

Completely by coincidence I have been asked to be a guest speaker for a trip I was once on. Birthright is a trip that takes Jews to Israel for free, aside from airfare, which I went on. Sitting outside the cowshed using the Internet the boss came out and asked started to make conversation with me. All of the sudden he is asking me to talk to other Americans about me experiences here and to be a guest speaker. A good opportunity I suppose.

Getting Adjusted

The past few days have been those of extreme culture shock. After going through so many years of a highly structured routine, finding myself with so much free time is strange but great. I live with a 50 year old Russian surgeon who is extremely intelligent and deeply philosophical. There is also a girl named Vaira from Lithuania, an Israeli name Ghadi, and Israeli named Tom, and a girl from Virginia named Rachel. The field work is not too hard and is actually sort of relaxing just like everything else on this farm.

First Day on the Job

My first day is not even over yet and already I love this place. The people are all very nice and all of the food I better than you would be able to imagine. I have had blackberries and strawberries that I picked and ate that were so much better than the grocery store. I also ate pepper which is my favorite food so far because it is so sweet and tasty. There is plenty more to come and I cannot even begin to name all of the things this farm grows.

Things are Crazy

When I looked out my room this morning I knew things would be crazy setting out to ride the trains here again. I only made it to my friends house yesterday because a soldier guided me all the way there. Today I survived only because I have a great friend back in the US who I was able to call to help me out. I will be at the farm soon enough hopefully and things will get easier.

The Journey Begins

This Sunday at 11 am I leave my house for the airport. My plane will take off around 4 pm and then I will land in Israel around 9 am local time.