Author: Sophie Jacobs
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as a kibbutznik(it)
I stood on a ladder and painted a rose on the water tower as the sun’s heat waxed, until all that was left was a chill and red. The red was everywhere. On the ladder. On my hands. (ALL OVER my hands, as if Lady Macbeth had suddenly taken up a predilection for paint). On…
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Nice things
Today I learned that you don’t have to pay 5 shekels for a shopping cart at grocery stores – the 5 shekels is just a pikadon, a deposit. You get the shopping cart back once you return it to its proper place post shopping. The garin Instagram page I run is a source of news…
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The חול
I left home so that I could come back and remember why I love the land. I left so that I could miss it. I left while I still had the freedom to do so. So that when I go back, I am ready to defend it. I left because Israelis are annoying. On the…
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The line at the Tel Aviv Central Bus Station
Last week, I returned to my kibbutz from the מרכז via the New Central Bus Station (CBS). My mind was set into overdrive as I entered South Tel Aviv, taking in debatably the most diverse area in the entire country. For a block, I heard no Hebrew. I passed shops I had never seen before,…
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Day of the 100
The bus dropped me off at 7:34 in the morning, in some nondescript area between Ramat Aviv and Ramat Hasharon. I walked toward a building, which looked more like a high school than an army base. I found my fellow Garin member and we approached the curious structure, entering a lobby of Israeli twelfth graders,…
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Routine – שגרה
In light of the חגים ending and my schedule including and excluding structure, I thought it was about time to chronicle what my regular days (Sun-Thurs) have consisted of throughout the past few months: 6:12 – first alarm goes off, snooze. 6:15 – second alarm goes off, snooze. 6:18 – third alarm goes off, finally…
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A 2nd person perspective of הר הרצל
You get off the bus – making sure to thank the driver as you begin your decent down the steps – and follow along, up the slight incline of the paved parking lot. Through a gate, past a small kiosk selling coffee and candy and chips, and straight to a line for the bathroom, because…
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In my beginning
I loved Israel before I knew what Israel was. I grew up listening to cassettes and CDs of Israeli songs in the car and I said the שמע before bed. I learned Hebrew in school and supplemented the language with daily lessons about my people’s origin story, far greater than that of any superhero or…
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What’s in my backpack for a day of Israeli bureaucracy, another list
Phone Phone charger Portable phone charger AirPods Sweatshirt Jean jacket (the Middle East has air conditioning) A big bag of cariot 2 Master Cafe coffee drinks (tiramisu, obviously) ID Immigrant ID All other forms of identification (passport, birth certificate, driver’s license, Tulane Splash Card, etc.) Documents (see above ++transcripts/ health forms and other miscellaneous documents…
Sophie jacobs 