Dear South Africa

Dear South Africa

Just a few days ago 2 police officers were tragically killed in England. The continuous reporting and outcry has been broadcasts since the incident took place.

In South Africa, police officers are killed daily. What worries me is the lack of sympathy for these people. Someone has just lost a child / parent / sibling / friend / mentor / hero while defending OUR country, and I make special reference to OUR because it is all of ours to protect, love and enjoy. These police officers have made a commitment to defend, protect and enforce the law on OUR behalf.

Granted, our police force has its problems more often than not we have more bad to say about them than good, but looking deeper into the matter the problems could stem from lack of funding, training and leadership.

Here is a short video clip of the amount of respect that has been shown for the police officer that was killed while responding to a call while on duty in England. This would never happen in SA. But why?

 

Every child at some point wants to be a police officer or a fire fighter while growing up. Partly because of the uniforms and partly because we are taught that these brave people are respected and do good for people and make a difference in the world. I think as we get older we forget that.

My please to SA is to start changing our attitudes towards out police force, appreciate that SA has a police force to help protect us. Let’s show them a little more respect, a little more appreciation and a little more admiration. Being a police officer in SA is a tough job and it takes a very braver person to go onto the streets of SA to protect a nation that is more often than not against them rather than for them.

Roll on October

So this week marked the start of a new month. October has arrived. The scary realisation that there is only 3 months left of 2012 and the realisation that I have been living this adventure for almost 6 months.

I am particularly excited about this month because I have a very exciting trip coming up. I will be travelling to Prague in the Czech Repulbic and to Amsterdam in the Netherlands. 2 places that are on my bucket list and I am so excited to tick them off.

I love that my days are filled with reading up on the history of these 2 amazing places, I am filled with knowledge and excitement at the same time.

Initially when I set off on my adventure one thing always stuck in the back of my mind. If I go alone, I will be alone. All the places I want to see are possibly going to be done solo, something that I had accepted and was prepared to do. While you are travelling you meet so many amazing people and you plan these unbelievable trips to discover the world together.

Once again, I am forced to righten up my budget and be a lot moer careful of my spending so that I can splurge out and have an unforgettable holiday. Its all worth it. And im getting quite good at this budget thing. As my build up continues I shall take you on my adventure.

Should I stay or should I go?

So often I say the words: "I will blog more" and so often I dont, however, this time I can defend myself. I had ordered a new laptop and it took forever to arrive. My order somehow managed to get lost in the system but not to worry I have it now and can continue to share with you the exciting adventure that I am on.

After being in London for a month, I will admit I struggled in the beginning. Having left my heart in Israel (I completely fell in love with the country and would never forget the experience I had)I didnt know if this was the right decision. Being in a country that spoke english, drove on the same side of the road as South Africa and had nearly the same products as South Africa, I thought I would slip right in and feel at home. This was not the case.

My confidence was down and the thought of having to start over again, for the second time this year, scared me. Making new friends. Getting into a new routine. A new job. A new house. It isnt as easy as it sounds in your head until you put it on paper and try and make sense of it. I was ready to move back to Israel and spend the rest of my time there.

I was talking to one of my dear friends a few days ago who has had such a whirlwind year (divorce, changing jobs, moving house) it has been a tough year, she had pointed out to me that although my year seems broken up it too has been tough.

2 weeks ago I spent Rosh Hashana with my Jewish family and last weekend with some childhood friends that now live in London and what a difference it has made. I can now see the world in a different light as I know that I do have support and I am not alone.

Not having access to the internet has made it difficult too as I have not had much contact with my family and friends in South Africa but now I am pleased to say that I am happy and that this is going to be a great journey.

I remember the reasons why I had decided to go on this adventure and I have new found excitement.

I've made my way back to this planet

I never actually thought it would be possible to drop off the face of the earth, but it happened. Living the Kibbutz life with limited need for technology you tend to forget about the outside world.

While I spent 4 months in Israel I did not blog a lot, now I wish I had. What an amazing and incredible experience. I just cannot put into words what it was like. You are completely secluded, out in the nature and living each day without needing to worry about the next. When needing to talk to someone, you get up and walk to their house. It was going back to the basics in every form, living with the bare essentials and having real life interaction with people on a daily basis. It really taught me so much about life and about myself. Live more simply and gain a whole lot more. Coming form a life where you have to have the best of everything and to never be satisfied, I struggled to adjust to the life that I came to love. I thank all of the incredible people that I spent so much time with, I will never forget the people nor the expereince.

I arrived in London, United Kingdom on Thursday the 16th August. What a disasterous arrival. I was overweight by nearly 10kgs, I had my bags searched by airport security in Israel (as they do everyone, but it is a little harder and takes a whole lot longer when you have 39kgs of luggage) my first flight was delayed causing me to frantically run through Vienna airport to catch my connecting flight 5 minutes before scheduled take off, I lost 2 hours through time zones and if that wasnt enough, one of my bags did not arrive when I did. BUT, I have had a few great days travelling around London and seeing all of the great sights. They are a lot smaller than I remember, perhaps because the last time I was here I was half the size.

I am looking forward to building a new life here and know that I will make such special memories just as I did in Israel, this time I will take you all with me along this journey.

Until next time

xxxx

Kibbutz life and updates

Apologies for my lack of blogging.

This could be directly linked to the way time works here in Hazorea. I feel as though I am on another planet, it has its own clocks, its own time and its own dates. The past few weeks has felt as though I am sitting on a bench watching someone elses life.

With so many different cultures coming together and fitting into another has been such an incredible experience.

I have gotten to know so many people, each with their own reasons for being here. Some to get away from the hustle and bustle of the big city, some to learn about other cultures, some to travel and some to serve in the Israeli Army. I have learnt so much from these various people, lessons that I will take with me and remember forever.

Some of the most important lessons that I have learnt while being here is that you should take time out of everyday to appreciate what you have, here it isnt about how much money you have or the things that you own, it is making the most out of your situation and appreciating the people in your life.

I miss home, I miss my family, my friends, and silly things like that we take for granted but I am enjoying every moment here and know that there is still such fabulous experiences to be had.

I am planning some trips over the next few weeks to make sure that I get to see the most of what I can and do as much as possible because who knows if I will ever have this opportunity again.

The beginning of the Kibbutz

After being on the kibbutz for a week and a half, I am starting to find my feet and settle in. I have started to make friends and enjoying it so much.


When I arrived it was very intimidating. All of the volunteers had their "clicks"- they had made friends and did their own thing. Being the new kid isn't easy in any situation but slowly I started to get to know everyone. 


I work in the pardes (orchards) and work with such great people, they are so friendly and really take care of you. (all the kibbutzniks - the people that live on the kibbutz - are actually). It is really tough work and physically demanding but as time goes on I am getting into a rhythm and finding my feet. I am learning so much working in the pardes, I have learnt so much about trees and how to care for them, irrigation and insects. It really is fascinating and enjoy it so much. It is so peaceful.


The volunteers are from all over the world, we are like a mini united nations, it is so interesting to hear about who all these people have come to the kibbutz and what their lives are like. After hearing why some of the people are at the kibbutz, I am reminded of how lucky I am to have an amazing family, who supports me and care so deeply for me.


I am having such a great time and learning new things all the time, at work we have made a rule that I should learn one Hebrew word a day - I am really starting to get the hang of it and can have a small conversation, I really hope that I will be able to learn a great deal more and learn as much as I can.

The Holocaust Museum, Jerusalem, Israel 2 May 2012

Gloomy day in Israel today. I wanted to go to the old city in Jerusalem but sand storms and a bit of rain it wouldn't be very nice.

Instead I went to the Holocaust Museum. No words can describe it. Its a hard hitting realization of what Jews went through during the time of Hitler; the German takeover, the killing of Jews, women and children alike. If they were not being shot at point blank range into the pits that they themselves had dug, they were being gassed in huge chambers.

You are not allowed to take photos inside the museum, there is just too much to tell about, something everyone should see, if not because they are Jewish but because it has to be heard and people should know about it. It was a hard hitting realization of what people of families went through and the tragic battle they had lost.

Throughout the museum, there were many artifacts and remains such as letters, clothes, shoes and jewelry from the people that had died.

I remember reading a book called "the boy with the stripped pajamas"today after seeing the actual 'stripped pajamas'- the uniforms that Jews had to wear during the Holocaust - sent shivers down my spine.

It is a real moving experience. A lesson I learnt from it was that no matter who you are - black, white, pink, blue, Jewish, Christian, Hindu or Muslim - everyone has a past, everyone has a dream and everyone deserves a future. We are all people and should be given the same respect and humanity as anyone else