Shabbat- the most boring day of the week.

This whole "on the seventh day he rested" thing has been taken to the extreme here.  Major cities like Haifa and Kiryat Ata (the town nearest the kibbutz) resemble ghost towns.  Nothing is open, only the taxis and a few cars are on the roads.  But, unlike anywhere else, at around 8pm coffee shops open, restaurants open, convenience stores open, the buses and trains start running again until around 11:30.  There's a big electronic billboard in town that shows when prayers should start, and when shabbat should end, and about 30 minutes after that the cities come back to life.

I found out the other night that the trains here put the U.S. to shame.  For around 8 shekelim you can ride the train from Haifa to the closest "checkpost," which is basically an israeli term for a transportation center.  The trains are clean, fast, and you can get pretty much anywhere in the country by using them.

My first kibbutz job is to work in the hadarochel, or cafeteria, and its a somewhat frustrating job for being so incredibly easy.  I found out that I cannot cut tomatoes properly, despite several attempts by an english speaking Israeli to show me how he wanted them cut.  I ended up peeling beets, and then cleaning up in the cafeteria itself.

Language classes are going well.  I've learned some new phrases and vocabulary beyond "I don't speak hebrew."  That said, being able to speak a mix of Spanish, English and Hebrew has helped out immensely.  In fact, I don't think I have spoken this much spanish since being in Barcelona...maybe not since learning it in high school.

Not much else to say right now, its just a lazy shabbat afternoon here in Ramat Yochanan.  Maybe I'll go for a swim, or play some ping pong in the bomb shelter.  Peace!

PS: here's some more photos to enjoy, this time with labels.  And I'm going back to edit my other post and put in descriptions of pictures- at mommy's request hahahaha.  Peace.

taken from the entrance of Carmel Hospital looking down at the valley on the other side of Mt. Carmel.  (No, I wasn't at the hospital for medical reasons.  My friend Josh had to meet with a family member to get a birthday gift, and I felt like exploring that day.)

I forget the name of the valley :(

A much better picture of Camel Beach in Haifa.  There's a Columbia store somewhere close by with a 4 story rock wall that I really want to find and climb.

The atmosphere is soooooooooo laid back around Haifa.  Its as if no one is in a hurry to do anything or go anywhere...but everyone is doing something, and/or going somewhere.  Its kinda like the southern US, but only in that sense.

Camel Beach at sunset

A slightly better sunset picture, in my opinion.

We took the train back home..

  The train lets you off at the Lev-Hamifratz checkpost, which has a pretty large mall next to it.  The mall was open at 10pm, but all the stores inside were closed...  weird..

I can find amusement with anything...even a beach towel.