Israel and Palestine Trip

Hello from En Gedi! We have been gone for a few days because we traveled to the West Bank and had no internet access at our hostel. I had an amazing time there, interacting with the kids we met up with from Al-Quds University, and seeing the sights! But before we got to the WB, Erin and I got the chance to stay with my friend Josh, who previously went to OSU, on the kibbutz where he has been living for about a year and a half now. He lives on Kibbutz Ein Gev, on the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee. It was absolutely gorgeous there, and it was really cool to see where he has been living and the friends he has met. All kibbutz are different, but at Ein Gev they have around 30 volunteers who work either at a restaurant (there is a fish restaurant and a meat restaurant, because they keep kosher), or they fish, which Josh does (yeah…he fishes on the Sea of Galilee, pretty cool).  Then there are the members, who have to be voted into membership by current members…this is a long process to get through however. For example, Josh’s girlfriend was born and raised in Ein Gev, both her parents are members but she (at 20-something years old) isn’t a member yet. Children move out of their parent’s houses into their own room around 16-18 years old so they have their own space (also done because the houses are simple with not too much room for a whole family). All Israeli citizens have to serve in the army here (men for 3 years, women for 2) right after high school; on the kibbutz the kids enjoy having their own space when they come home on the weekends from the army (they get a weekend off every few weeks or so). Being able to interact with the kids there was awesome….that night we meet kids from Israel, Australia, New Zealand and the US. The atmosphere there was amazing…so laid back, but how can you not be with a view and weather like they have! All-in-all it was an amazing 24 hours, and only wish it could have been longer (I hear Aaron, after watching us reunite when Josh picked Erin and I up, thought we would never come back!) Hope all is well in the States!

-Tiffany