Machatz Begins!

The MBIers got an early morning wake up call by the beautiful sunrise this morning on Chof Dugit where they were sleeping out. They had an early breakfast, packed up, got on their buses and headed off to begin their time on Kibbutz. As each group got dropped off at one of the 8 Kibbutzim they began their varied times and experiences ahead on their Kibbutz. Each Kibbutz has its own schedule of activities for the MBIers and as such each group will have similar but occasionally different experiences. As such I will be trying to report on the various goings on as Leon will be spending his travelling from Kibbutz to Kibbutz to check-in on the groups and get first-hand updates that I will passing along. So here's a taste of what the MBIers have been up to on their first day.

On one Kibbutz they started their time by playing some icebreakers with the Kibbutzniks their age and play sports together. After settling in a bit they had a fun evening activity of participating in a Beit Cafe(literally coffee house) but often in Habonim Dror language means more than just going to a coffee shop. It was a fun activity where they got to sit in coffee shop setting and be served coffee shop type drinks from the counselors while playing games, sitting in groups and rotating around to ask questions that go beyond the surface level, and generally is a relaxed way to spend time and get to know everyone in the group better. In the morning the group will be learning about labor on a Kibbutz as they will actually planting a vineyard for the Kibbutz.

Another group has already headed out to do the outdoor/hiking component of Machatz. They are at Yehudiya where they will be going on a hike in the morning. At their campsite in the evening they had a campfire where they not only got start bonding with the Kibbutzniks their age, but they got have a delicious dinner of kebabs, hummus, Israeli salad, veggie food and more. This group is quickly learning the all that Israel's great outdoors has to offer.

One of the other groups got to the Kibbutz, settled into their living situations and headed to the Kibbutz pool to meet their new Israeli Kibbutznik friends. They got a chance to swim, relax, and play some icebreaker games with the Kibbutzniks their age. In the evening they too had a bonfire and a delicious dinner similar to those camping out. To cap off the evening they had a "disco" party at the clubhouse for Kibbutzniks their age where they got to dance to some favorites and hear some Israeli pop music as well. In the morning they will be heading off to have their own work experience working in one of the Kibbutz's orchard.

The experiences on Kibbutz thus far seems quite positive and are just another part of the experience of really understanding the different aspects of Israeli culture and society first-hand. Some of you might have been able to hear from your child via the internet as some of them have had a chance to access the internet. Some of them even posted a comment on the last post I made. Also for those you trying to reach your children via their cellphones, their time on Kibbutz while busy, will leave them with a healthy amount of downtime which might give them that extra time to call home. Generally speaking whenever they have free-time though they can call home and often the best times to reach them is 6:30-8:30pm and around 10-10:30pm. Lastly please remember to put your child's name and bus number in your Guestbook messages. More about Machatz adventures tomorrow!