Day 10: Was just long.

This view is how we started our day. The view from the volunteer's place is due east, so the mornings are spectacular. But there has not been one like this before today--which is yesterday, really. Regardless, this magical view is how I started my day.

Road before with rocks.

And it was back to the rocks. Right now I'm clearing a road of rocks so that the bucket loader can make a road for the car to get down so that we can build a dam. One of the reasons that it is done by hand is so that we can collect the stones that will be used in the construction of the dam.

Road after still with rocks,
just smaller ones.

I was working on school stuff (teachers really don't get the summers off), and I can see out of a window that faces the Arazuni's home. I saw a police truck pull up, but I could not see anyone inside. The two boys are fiercely independent, and their parents foster and encourage this. The 17 year old boy hitch hikes around Israel. I really enjoy my conversations with him, and once he finds the right place to make himself a man he will be great at whatever he does. Still, he left school--I mean he just walked out of school because it is not right for him. He will not go back because his parents are fed up with the school, too, But as I saw the officer pull up I thought one of the boys was being brought home. Nope. Avi has volunteered to be a policeman here in the village.

Then I got to Skype call with Val. There is a seven hour difference between Israel and TN, so she was still in her jammies with my replacement--he's bald too.

Then Avi and Tamar had a huge order to fill. People really appreciate the flavor of the fruits, and that they are organically grown is just a great bonus. We spent until nearly 9pm filling the order--almost four hours. Here are the girls sorting and weighing apricots, just one of the fruits that went out in the order. There were also peaches and nectarines (This is my new favorite fruit, and we get them right off of the tree!), not to mention the myriad vegetables that went out.

It was dark when we finished and I was just plain worn out. I didn't get to do my Hebrew lessons, so I'll make up for that today with an extra one.