Weekly report by the Tara D. (The Lotanickim)

Hullo all. Hoping you are all well. We all are, I’m pleased to say. In my opinion, it has been a simply brilliant week. In a minute, I will interview a few select shnatties, to see if they feel the same, but first a quick word about why mine was so great: I turned 19 this week, both a scary and exciting event. I was whisked away on a surprise “girls weekend away” to Jerusalem, where I was showered with gifts, one of them being a giant pizza, fit for a party of 30, decorated with my own personal violin. I had to earn this treat with a list of birthday tasks, one of them being to perform a monologue in Ben Yehuda street. The point is, it was a really fun. Now time to hear from my lovely roommates:

Highlight of the week?

Naomi: My highlight of the week was your birthday, tara. In specific, I enjoyed haggling at the shuk, I where I brought myself a shiny new watch, which is proving itself to be very useful. I now arrive on time to milk the goats in the morning and am finding life very different. For all you people without watches, get yourself down to the Jerusalem shuk.

Something you have learned this week?

Emily: This week I have learnt, despite avoiding peanut butter my whole life, it has proven itself to be a delicious and rewarding condiment, especially when placed on a soft piece of bread, with a hint of jam. If bread isn’t available, a cracker will do just as nicely. Very shnat- make do with what you have got.

A funny moment of the week

Jess: It was actually a moment that I only heard about, but felt the repercussions strongly. Ben came back in to the cheesehouse, from a quick “pee-pee break”, his face the shade of plum and his eyes popping out his head. He looked both happy and upset. I didn’t need to ask, I just knew.  This is what had happened: He had walked in on the boss sitting on the toilet, reading the newspaper. For a long moment, they had sustained eye contact, but have not looked each other in the eye since. The boss took the rest of the day off the recover from the unfortunate incident and we all feel very sick in the presence of each other.

A challenge you have overcome

Emily: Since moving into our new rooms, the main challenge has not been the flooding bathroom or the odd unfriendly cockroach, but the local cat. At first, we thought he would be a friendly neighbour, but we were wrong. Despite his gormless ginger face and clueless waddle, we discovered he has a multitude of menacing and sly skills. For example, he has learnt to open the handle to our door, make his way over to the fridge and consume the contents, leaving his washing up for us to do.

A special time of the week

Naomi: On Friday night, after kabshab and before the weekly lotan “pub night”, we held a surprise party for Emily in the Watzu, an indoor healing pool. We all had a fantastic time jumping around and swimming like fish. We played water games and I actually held the record for one minute 18 seconds.

Someone you’ve missed this week:

Jess: yes. Ive missed Morgan. Morgan Jones, a 33 year old Canadian from Canada, a man the like of whom ill never meet again. He gave everyone the time of day and he was a joy to see around the kibbutz. Ill miss him dearly

A message you want to give to the people reading this weekly report

Naomi: I just want to give a big shout out to Sinai youth and send my love to you all

Jess: Big shout out to Netzer Germany; loved spending time with you last summer

Ruthie: Massive shout out to Gideon and Jonte- miss you guys!

Emily: Increase the peace Sheffield!