Day 5: Movin' in and movin' my hips!

Today I got permanent quarters, or at least as permanent as any transient can have. I'm all set up with space, and I'll make it mine over the next few days.

In the afternoon I worked with compost. It wasn't too tough. I just had to loosen it up and move it from barrel to barrel. Then by the time I walked down to the grove, it is about a 15 minute walk, they were already done with work. So I got to ride back up.

The oldest daughter, Rotem, was in a concert last night. She plays the flute. So the family took us to the moshav where the concert was held. It was cool because it was people from all over the area performing music and singing. It was a fun time, and it was great to mix with the locals.

This morning I fed the goats. I also learned that I'll be the one milking them on Thursdays when the family goes to the market. I'm so excited because I've never milked a goat before. When I was young I milked a cow, so hopefully I'll get it pretty quickly. I have to learn to feed them in order and how to do what, and this is what we will do after our break.

During my break I'm going to make finish a video for the family. They don't have a camera so I videoed Rotem playing her flute.

We had lunch with Tamar, the mother, because the children and father are in Beer Sheva looking at the kids' new school. It was amazing and wonderful to hear Tamar's tales. She spoke of her childhood on a kibbutz where she lived with all of the other children in one building away from their parents. She spoke of growing up a happy child and after leaving the army yearning for something exciting to do--a challenge, she called it. She told us of meeting Avi in Australia. What a wonderful experience coming to know another who is so different from me. I am walking in the footsteps of some wonderful people here in Israel, and I know I will be bigger and better for it.