I realized I never did a post about what it's like to live on Kibbutz Ketura!
First off, a basic explanation about of a kibbutz. Kibbutzim are small communities that have agreed to live communally, to varying degrees. Founders wished to create a socialist community that also believed in Zionism, nationalism of Judaism and Jewish culture. Kibbutzim were originally formed around agriculture, but have since diversified economically. For instance, Ketura grows dates, and has a lucrative algae plant. Passing through the decades, Kibbutzim have also diversified religiously. Kibbutz Ketura is not considered a religious kibbutz, but religiously pluralistic. There are buildings for Jewish religious services, but members are welcome to not practice, or to practice other religions. Shabbat is kept, and all meals at the dining hall are kosher. I've attended a few Shabbat services (in Hebrew), which use a lot of sung prayer. There is a translation book, which my friends help me use.
The congregation strikes me as both humble and joyful when they join in the service.
Ketura has about 300 people living within it. Ketura is surrounded by a perimeter fence, as are all kibbutzim in this area. I think this is primarily to provide security. We are a five minute walk from the Jordanian border. That said, I feel completely safe here. It is very easy to leave, you just push a button and walk out the main gate. If you need to get back in, you call, and the gate automatically lets you back in.
Ketura is situated in the Arava desert, a hyper-arid area of Israel. The kibbutz draws its water from the aquifer, which does not recharge. However, the only people living in the area are kibbutzniks, so I am uncertain whether water supply will be a significant issue in the near future. Ketura has also committed to being a green kibbutz, so it utilizes best water use practices. For instance, we use drip irrigation in our student gardens. AIES has also just begun a greywater reuse system for our dorms. It is pretty crazy to look on Ketura from above, seeing a splash of green in the midst of so much sand. I am continuously impressed with the creativity in plant and tree choice on kibbutz, though the amount of water they must use is a bit unsettling. I was able to take a few photos Saturday, posted below. Better pics are coming soon of some of the beautiful trees and flowers.
I haven't yet had any serious discussions with non-AIES members of the kibbutz. I've applied for the opportunity to have a host family, but so far, there has been no feedback. :/ AIES, though part of the kibbutz, seems to remain pretty separate from the rest of the kibbutz. There have been some tensions between a few students and kibbutzniks, but mostly the mood is friendly. I am hoping that I get to know more kibbutzniks when the pool opens after Passover Break. It was over 90 last week, during a heat wave, 70's this week. There really isn't much of a spring season here, but rather a rough transition from fall to summer. When the pool opens, I'm hoping I will have an opportunity to spend time with my future host family's children.
Food: My diet is very different than what I was eating at Allegheny. I usually have some sort of soy product, rice/grain, sweet chili sauce, lettuce, 1 tomato, 1 cucumber for lunch (meat meal). About twice a week, they serve chicken wings, which are pretty awesome when you add sweet chili sauce and tabasco over the italian sauce. Dinner is much less varied, so I almost always eat rice, more salad, bread, cottage cheese, jam (delicious), and olives. At week 5, I'm actually starting to be ok with them! I definitely don't crave them yet, as many of the Israelis, Palestinians, and Arabs do, but olives have definitely improved in my mind. Success.
Fun: I have a bit more free time than at Allegheny, but it's so hard to choose how to spend it! I am gardening and celebrating/mourning the growth/death of my four basil varieties. I'm not writing or blogging nearly as much as I'd like, but I am trying to write down unique events and experiences which I imagine I'll finish after the term ends. I am also playing a ton of cards. I've learned a new game, Yaniv, which is a lot of fun. I've yet to learn a Jordanian card game, but I've been promised a lesson. I've taught euchre, spades, castle, and ERS to my friends so far. Castle was the favorite for the first few weeks, and yaniv is the dependable game for when we have a lot of time. Yaniv and euchre can also be played on Shabbat, which is a plus. I haven't hiked since the last posts, but I did go out to the desert again to star gaze with 7 other friends. We froze, even with our many layers and blankets, but it was a lot of fun. I'm also continuing to dance. I haven't waltzed in a few weeks, but we are still salsa-ing. We just learned how to bachata, which emphasizes more of a stiff upper body and swaying hips. And as always, we practice our free-form dance moves at pub every Thursday. Ha.
Some of my happiest moments, though, have been general conversations with the other AIES kids. These can be extremely funny, as there are language barriers. But I think it's mostly because students here love to joke. An example:
Cookies: "The Shit" vs "Shit"
I was looking at one of my favorite photographer's blogs, and I saw an awesome mountain shot taken in Alberta. I wanted to share, so I turned my computer screen to one of my friends, H, and said, "Canada's the shit." (H will be coming up shortly in the next post). R, another one of my friends, laughed, and turned to H. "See, there is a difference between calling something "shit" and "the shit." I chuckle-groaned, saying, "This is why English is so damn hard to learn." R continued his explanation to H. "For example, if someone makes cookies, and S eats them and says they are "shit", that means they are terrible. But if she eats them and says they are "the shit," they are awesome." H laughed, shaking his head. So did I, thinking about the ridiculousness of American slang.
First off, a basic explanation about of a kibbutz. Kibbutzim are small communities that have agreed to live communally, to varying degrees. Founders wished to create a socialist community that also believed in Zionism, nationalism of Judaism and Jewish culture. Kibbutzim were originally formed around agriculture, but have since diversified economically. For instance, Ketura grows dates, and has a lucrative algae plant. Passing through the decades, Kibbutzim have also diversified religiously. Kibbutz Ketura is not considered a religious kibbutz, but religiously pluralistic. There are buildings for Jewish religious services, but members are welcome to not practice, or to practice other religions. Shabbat is kept, and all meals at the dining hall are kosher. I've attended a few Shabbat services (in Hebrew), which use a lot of sung prayer. There is a translation book, which my friends help me use.
The congregation strikes me as both humble and joyful when they join in the service.
Ketura has about 300 people living within it. Ketura is surrounded by a perimeter fence, as are all kibbutzim in this area. I think this is primarily to provide security. We are a five minute walk from the Jordanian border. That said, I feel completely safe here. It is very easy to leave, you just push a button and walk out the main gate. If you need to get back in, you call, and the gate automatically lets you back in.
Ketura is situated in the Arava desert, a hyper-arid area of Israel. The kibbutz draws its water from the aquifer, which does not recharge. However, the only people living in the area are kibbutzniks, so I am uncertain whether water supply will be a significant issue in the near future. Ketura has also committed to being a green kibbutz, so it utilizes best water use practices. For instance, we use drip irrigation in our student gardens. AIES has also just begun a greywater reuse system for our dorms. It is pretty crazy to look on Ketura from above, seeing a splash of green in the midst of so much sand. I am continuously impressed with the creativity in plant and tree choice on kibbutz, though the amount of water they must use is a bit unsettling. I was able to take a few photos Saturday, posted below. Better pics are coming soon of some of the beautiful trees and flowers.
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| View to the West-I live on the second story |
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| We harvested a lot of sunflowers during the first few weeks at Ketura |
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| View of the East, towards Jordan |
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| The Caravans, one type of student housing. Some of the furniture you see has a mud exterior. |
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| A herb spiral, part of the Caravan Gardens. Makes me think of the Carr herb spiral at Allegheny. |
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| Cacti and date trees |
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| Compost in back right |
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| Student Compost |
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| Wicked house, eh? |
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| One of my favorite spots. Messed around with a few camera settings, here. |
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| Ditto. Love the textures. |
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| Our Student Garden! I'll post later about my plants that I'm growing in Org. Ag. class :) |
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| Tree outside the Mercaz, where we hang out during breaks from class |
I haven't yet had any serious discussions with non-AIES members of the kibbutz. I've applied for the opportunity to have a host family, but so far, there has been no feedback. :/ AIES, though part of the kibbutz, seems to remain pretty separate from the rest of the kibbutz. There have been some tensions between a few students and kibbutzniks, but mostly the mood is friendly. I am hoping that I get to know more kibbutzniks when the pool opens after Passover Break. It was over 90 last week, during a heat wave, 70's this week. There really isn't much of a spring season here, but rather a rough transition from fall to summer. When the pool opens, I'm hoping I will have an opportunity to spend time with my future host family's children.
Food: My diet is very different than what I was eating at Allegheny. I usually have some sort of soy product, rice/grain, sweet chili sauce, lettuce, 1 tomato, 1 cucumber for lunch (meat meal). About twice a week, they serve chicken wings, which are pretty awesome when you add sweet chili sauce and tabasco over the italian sauce. Dinner is much less varied, so I almost always eat rice, more salad, bread, cottage cheese, jam (delicious), and olives. At week 5, I'm actually starting to be ok with them! I definitely don't crave them yet, as many of the Israelis, Palestinians, and Arabs do, but olives have definitely improved in my mind. Success.
Fun: I have a bit more free time than at Allegheny, but it's so hard to choose how to spend it! I am gardening and celebrating/mourning the growth/death of my four basil varieties. I'm not writing or blogging nearly as much as I'd like, but I am trying to write down unique events and experiences which I imagine I'll finish after the term ends. I am also playing a ton of cards. I've learned a new game, Yaniv, which is a lot of fun. I've yet to learn a Jordanian card game, but I've been promised a lesson. I've taught euchre, spades, castle, and ERS to my friends so far. Castle was the favorite for the first few weeks, and yaniv is the dependable game for when we have a lot of time. Yaniv and euchre can also be played on Shabbat, which is a plus. I haven't hiked since the last posts, but I did go out to the desert again to star gaze with 7 other friends. We froze, even with our many layers and blankets, but it was a lot of fun. I'm also continuing to dance. I haven't waltzed in a few weeks, but we are still salsa-ing. We just learned how to bachata, which emphasizes more of a stiff upper body and swaying hips. And as always, we practice our free-form dance moves at pub every Thursday. Ha.
Some of my happiest moments, though, have been general conversations with the other AIES kids. These can be extremely funny, as there are language barriers. But I think it's mostly because students here love to joke. An example:
Cookies: "The Shit" vs "Shit"
I was looking at one of my favorite photographer's blogs, and I saw an awesome mountain shot taken in Alberta. I wanted to share, so I turned my computer screen to one of my friends, H, and said, "Canada's the shit." (H will be coming up shortly in the next post). R, another one of my friends, laughed, and turned to H. "See, there is a difference between calling something "shit" and "the shit." I chuckle-groaned, saying, "This is why English is so damn hard to learn." R continued his explanation to H. "For example, if someone makes cookies, and S eats them and says they are "shit", that means they are terrible. But if she eats them and says they are "the shit," they are awesome." H laughed, shaking his head. So did I, thinking about the ridiculousness of American slang.
Entertaining as always. Glad to see both of my youngest have access to a hammock.
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