The Biweekly Update From Ira's Intercontinental March on Community #3

One and All- The top three updates from the last two weeks were: <ol> <li>Getting to the second kibbutz of the bunch, Lotan where they go crazy for building with mud and disc golf of all things (picture 1 is me with most of the gang). The first night we went to a concert at another kibbutz where a few of the folks I was working with performed with an Israeli singer named Coby Oz and the second night we had our own performance in this guy Nehemia's room which was very special; we were all in sort of rhythmic and harmonic unison that lasted for hours and was a reminder of how Tuesday nights do not always need to be for the man. <li>Going to Jordan for a night in Wadi Rum (a valley in the, you guessed it, desert) and Petra which is a city that is carved out of the rock and blossomed during the Silk Road days as every merchant and their brother was going through town. Then somewhere along the way shipping became the main means of transport and just like that, that was that for Petra - a gentle reminder of how quickly everything can rise and fall (pictures 2 and 3).</li> <li>Going to Sinai, Egypt which is where the Israelites enjoyed 40 years (it's big but not that big, some navigator really botched that exodus) and now Israelis flock in droves to vacation. The main appeal is the hushas right on the beach which are like huts a few steps from the Gulf of Aqaba which feeds into the Red Sea and is actually pretty cool even this time of year. There was a lot of time to myself here and a pile of kids as far as the eye could see squeezing in one last dip before school starts this week, it was remarkable to see how many hours they could go on splish-splashing away (pictures 4 and 5).</li> </ol> Yesterday I got to my final kibbutz where I'll be until October 12th or so, Neot Semadar (pronounced Note Smeh-dahr) and compared to the other kibbutzim, these folks have some nice toys - a big performing arts center right in the center (where I found the piano gd), a brand new juicing facility where I taped boxes this morning as I should, and a few man-made lakes to go around. My roommate is in a one year apprenticeship to be a blacksmith/metal worker and there were two other volunteers that started yesterday too who are on a grand tour from Portugal to India looking for God-only-knows. Until the next one (or sooner!), Ira <a href = "https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1uPpaXTqqmpkbHs_RHA6b5Dl9VX3oZidM?usp=sharing" target="_blank" rel="noopener" >Photos</a>