It is really starting to hit me that I'll be away for four months. Goodbyes are always a little overwhelming because I know that I will miss people that I was already starting to miss. And I'll be honest, I'm kinda nervous.
BUTTTTTT, I am so (so!!!) excited to run away to South America and connect with different people around the world. I will try to blog and I will try to take pictures, but I can't promise anything.
A little background: From March 23-July 15 I will be traveling in South America. I'm leaving alone but plan on (hopefully) meeting many great people along the way. I land in Bogota, Colombia and fly home from Brazil.
I'm struggling with something though, and I was hoping that writing this and hearing some feedback would help me out. See, I believe in traveling. I believe that there is more to it than having fun and exploring the world. Something much deeper and much more personal.
A lot of my conversations with myself go like this:
Me: So Mati, why are you traveling?
Me: Well, after a couple years in the army and before a few years in med school, it seems like a nice break.
Me: No. Why are you really traveling?
Me: Maybe to explore the world and meet cool people?
Me: MATI STOP. Why are you traveling and if you don't tell me the truth you will never be able to tell anybody the truth.
Me: I feel empty after my army service. I don't know where I belong, I don't know what I will do next. I want to find myself. I want answers to questions that I still do not know and words to the songs that I haven't finished writing. I want to fix myself I want to breathe I want to look at a mirror I want to cry I want to laugh I want to feel I want to act based on how I feel and not based on how I think. I want to get inside my head and I want to stay there.
Me: What was that? I stopped listening.
On the other hand, I really do want to explore the world and have fun and meet new people. I want to hike in the mountains and eat weird foods and sleep in huts with no hot water and mosquito netting. If that's how I look back on my trip, I will be more than happy. I have so many emotions and expectations that it is hard to know what is realistic and what isn't. But I have this itch, this belief that there is more, and I want it to find it.
For all of you who have traveled the world, let me know if you have had these questions and aspirations as well! For those of you that are waiting and wanting to travel, what speaks to you about the travel experience?
Until next time,
Mati
P.S. I wish I didn't have to depend on facebook to get this out, so please share this with anybody that might have something to say! You can also write me some emails to matisegev@gmail.com. And if you include your address maybe you will get a goofy postcard.
Sunday, March 23, 2014
Saturday, March 17, 2012
Best of...Basic Training!!!
Welcome ladies and gentleman to my way of letting all of you know how my last four months have been! First, I'll give you a quick update on my life. On November 27, I started basic training in the armored corps (tanks) unit in the IDF. I had two months of basic infantry training, two months of learning and working with tanks, and one week off. Tomorrow I go back to my base to begin advanced training which means living/breathing/sleeping tanks for the next few months. One of my goals for this week off was to write a blog entry. Obviously, I am starting this entry the night before I go back.
So here's how this will work. I'm about to make up some categories. Then I'll write some stuff about each category. Here goes!
Best Story: Allow me to set the stage. Me and my platoon are in the שטח (shetach...a word that means "field" in English but in this context translates better to "middle of nowhere") during Chanukkah, training for the week. One morning we wake up and are tired, cold, and hungry. I had a pretty crazy dream that night so I decided to tell everyone about it. It went like this:
I was in the middle of a tank battle. My commander in the tank was the second-in-command and definitely the "bad cop" of all the commanders. All of a sudden he ordered me to find jelly donuts. I start looking but man I cannot find those jelly donuts! I am panicking here, and starting to freak out, when all of a sudden I find thousands (THOUSANDS) of donuts. Then I wake up.
Everyone laughs a little bit (okok, I pretty much had them on the floor with tears in their eyes), but then got back to work. Then, about five minutes later, another one of my commanders comes up to me. He hands me a jelly donut and says "Mati, I hope this makes your dream come true".
Tallest Obstacle: In order to pass basic training, every IDF soldier has to complete this big obstacle course. In full combat gear. This includes: gun, heavy ass boots, heavy ass army pack with a lot of heavy ass stuff in it, and a heavy ass helmet that goes on your heavy ass head. In addition to the obstacle course, there's a 600m sprint to start, and a 500m sprint to finish. The obstacle course has monkey bars, a rope climb, plenty of crawling, and, worst of all, the wall jump.
I hated the wall jump. I hated it so much. Once we started practicing this course with gear on, I just couldn't make it over. I didn't understand why the wall was the same frickin height for that 6'6 guy and, well, me! I really hated this thing. Even a week before the final test I couldn't get over the wall with gear on.
Well, I guess you guys can all guess what happens on the final test. But I will tell you anyway cuz it's my blog not yours.
I made it over! And got a pretty sweet time.
Coolest Zionist Moment: Even though the whole purpose of an Israeli army is, well, zionistic, it's pretty easy to lose sight of that.
Almost every week we did a מסע (Masa=journey. In this case it most definitely means a forced march done in silence in the middle of the night with all of our gear). Sometimes they are really epic, sometimes really hard, sometimes a little boring, but by the end everyone is pumped up. The last few km of each masa are done with someone on the stretcher and our whole company carrying him. Usually the commanders pick a big dude to get strapped to the stretcher. When we finish, everyone gets under the stretcher and lifts it high up into the air. We do some call and response war cries with the commander leading the masa and then put the big dude down. On one particular masa however, our officer (someone higher than a commander) was leading. While the stretcher was still in the air, he played an old Israeli song for us called אין לי ארץ אחרת, I Have No Other Country. It goes like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNkIphPfaPA
Coolest Scar: In the shetach, we have these huge rusty stakes. Once I was running and ran around a stake. Well except for my leg which decided to run through it. So now I have a scar on my thigh that basically looks like a bullet wound.
Best Tali Moment: First of all, Tali is my sister. Second of all, Tali is living in Jerusalem now! Until June!!! So my best Tali moment is when they let me leave the army on a Wednesday night and I was kinda close to Jerusalem, so I just hopped on a bus and gave her a call and said "see you in a few sis!" and she said "sweet broseph! I hope you like shakshuka!" And I do like shakshuka.
Best Sleep: At the end of infantry training, we had shetach week, or as you may recall, middle of nowhere week. This week was actually three days. We spent almost the entire time wearing all of our gear, and carrying heavy bags for a long long time. We also learnt a lot about surviving in the middle of nowhere. One of these survival tactics was digging holes for us to sleep in.
My boy Sergei and I were paired up (slash our eyes met from across the middle of nowhere) and started digging. Obviously, our commanders took us to a part of the desert that was not sand, but rocks. We dug for well over an hour, until blisters formed on our hands and our beds were ready.
That night, I was somewhat skeptical about the amount of sleep I would get, but once I snuggled into Sergei, and noticed that we were completely blocked from the roaring wind, I passed the f$%* out.
Speaking of which........GOOD NIGHT!!
So here's how this will work. I'm about to make up some categories. Then I'll write some stuff about each category. Here goes!
Best Story: Allow me to set the stage. Me and my platoon are in the שטח (shetach...a word that means "field" in English but in this context translates better to "middle of nowhere") during Chanukkah, training for the week. One morning we wake up and are tired, cold, and hungry. I had a pretty crazy dream that night so I decided to tell everyone about it. It went like this:
I was in the middle of a tank battle. My commander in the tank was the second-in-command and definitely the "bad cop" of all the commanders. All of a sudden he ordered me to find jelly donuts. I start looking but man I cannot find those jelly donuts! I am panicking here, and starting to freak out, when all of a sudden I find thousands (THOUSANDS) of donuts. Then I wake up.
Everyone laughs a little bit (okok, I pretty much had them on the floor with tears in their eyes), but then got back to work. Then, about five minutes later, another one of my commanders comes up to me. He hands me a jelly donut and says "Mati, I hope this makes your dream come true".
Tallest Obstacle: In order to pass basic training, every IDF soldier has to complete this big obstacle course. In full combat gear. This includes: gun, heavy ass boots, heavy ass army pack with a lot of heavy ass stuff in it, and a heavy ass helmet that goes on your heavy ass head. In addition to the obstacle course, there's a 600m sprint to start, and a 500m sprint to finish. The obstacle course has monkey bars, a rope climb, plenty of crawling, and, worst of all, the wall jump.
I hated the wall jump. I hated it so much. Once we started practicing this course with gear on, I just couldn't make it over. I didn't understand why the wall was the same frickin height for that 6'6 guy and, well, me! I really hated this thing. Even a week before the final test I couldn't get over the wall with gear on.
Well, I guess you guys can all guess what happens on the final test. But I will tell you anyway cuz it's my blog not yours.
I made it over! And got a pretty sweet time.
Coolest Zionist Moment: Even though the whole purpose of an Israeli army is, well, zionistic, it's pretty easy to lose sight of that.
Almost every week we did a מסע (Masa=journey. In this case it most definitely means a forced march done in silence in the middle of the night with all of our gear). Sometimes they are really epic, sometimes really hard, sometimes a little boring, but by the end everyone is pumped up. The last few km of each masa are done with someone on the stretcher and our whole company carrying him. Usually the commanders pick a big dude to get strapped to the stretcher. When we finish, everyone gets under the stretcher and lifts it high up into the air. We do some call and response war cries with the commander leading the masa and then put the big dude down. On one particular masa however, our officer (someone higher than a commander) was leading. While the stretcher was still in the air, he played an old Israeli song for us called אין לי ארץ אחרת, I Have No Other Country. It goes like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNkIphPfaPA
Coolest Scar: In the shetach, we have these huge rusty stakes. Once I was running and ran around a stake. Well except for my leg which decided to run through it. So now I have a scar on my thigh that basically looks like a bullet wound.
Best Tali Moment: First of all, Tali is my sister. Second of all, Tali is living in Jerusalem now! Until June!!! So my best Tali moment is when they let me leave the army on a Wednesday night and I was kinda close to Jerusalem, so I just hopped on a bus and gave her a call and said "see you in a few sis!" and she said "sweet broseph! I hope you like shakshuka!" And I do like shakshuka.
Best Sleep: At the end of infantry training, we had shetach week, or as you may recall, middle of nowhere week. This week was actually three days. We spent almost the entire time wearing all of our gear, and carrying heavy bags for a long long time. We also learnt a lot about surviving in the middle of nowhere. One of these survival tactics was digging holes for us to sleep in.
My boy Sergei and I were paired up (slash our eyes met from across the middle of nowhere) and started digging. Obviously, our commanders took us to a part of the desert that was not sand, but rocks. We dug for well over an hour, until blisters formed on our hands and our beds were ready.
That night, I was somewhat skeptical about the amount of sleep I would get, but once I snuggled into Sergei, and noticed that we were completely blocked from the roaring wind, I passed the f$%* out.
Speaking of which........GOOD NIGHT!!
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Why I Love My Garin / What A Garin Even Is
A few days ago I got back from a three day trip with my garin. The purpose of this trip was for all of us to be together before we go into the army. We traveled by the Dead Sea in the Yehuda Desert (מדבר יהודה) and it was incredible. Part of me wishes I could run away and hike for a few months!
But wait, I almost forgot! I want to explain to all of you what a garin even is!
Literal definition: Garin (גרעין) means seed or nucleus in Hebrew.
My definition: A garin is a group of people with common goals and mindsets that are brought together for a specific purpose. For instance, my garin is made up of 21 Americans that have decided to join the Israeli Defense Force.
Obvious metaphor: A garin is a group that learns to depend on each other for support, criticism, and motivation. While it may not be the most beautiful at first, it ultimately grows into a gorgeous flower (see what I did there? Grows! Into a flower! Boy I am good).
What all this means to me: Well now. I am a lone soldier (this is the term given to IDF soldiers without immediate family living in Israel). My family and friends are on the other side of the world. I am clearly American. My Hebrew is a work in progress. When all is said and done, I should feel very, very alone.
But I don't. And I'm not.
My garin gives me a home to return to on the weekends. Friends that will be going through what I am going through and will be struggling with things that only lone soldiers struggle with. With them, I know that I have the strength to do what I know I must do.
These are the people I have spent the last two and a half months with, and will share a home with for the next two years. Luckily for me, I love my garin, and am sure it will continue to blossom (See what I did there?? Blossom! ...I should just quit now.)
BIG P.S. I found out when and where I will be serving in the army! November 27 in שריון, the tank unit. I am enjoying my last couple weeks before the draft, but at this point I am as ready as I could be. (I think.)
But wait, I almost forgot! I want to explain to all of you what a garin even is!
Literal definition: Garin (גרעין) means seed or nucleus in Hebrew.
My definition: A garin is a group of people with common goals and mindsets that are brought together for a specific purpose. For instance, my garin is made up of 21 Americans that have decided to join the Israeli Defense Force.
Obvious metaphor: A garin is a group that learns to depend on each other for support, criticism, and motivation. While it may not be the most beautiful at first, it ultimately grows into a gorgeous flower (see what I did there? Grows! Into a flower! Boy I am good).
What all this means to me: Well now. I am a lone soldier (this is the term given to IDF soldiers without immediate family living in Israel). My family and friends are on the other side of the world. I am clearly American. My Hebrew is a work in progress. When all is said and done, I should feel very, very alone.
But I don't. And I'm not.
My garin gives me a home to return to on the weekends. Friends that will be going through what I am going through and will be struggling with things that only lone soldiers struggle with. With them, I know that I have the strength to do what I know I must do.
These are the people I have spent the last two and a half months with, and will share a home with for the next two years. Luckily for me, I love my garin, and am sure it will continue to blossom (See what I did there?? Blossom! ...I should just quit now.)
BIG P.S. I found out when and where I will be serving in the army! November 27 in שריון, the tank unit. I am enjoying my last couple weeks before the draft, but at this point I am as ready as I could be. (I think.)
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Journal entry: 26/9/2011
(This is a journal entry I wrote three days ago. It was an hour or two after I found out that my physical profile isn't high enough to join any of the infantry units that I have been training for and dreaming of. Anything in parenthesis is added just for the post.)
OK. I have my profile. 72.
I will not be invited to try out for a סיירת (advanced unit).
I will not be a צנחן (paratrooper, what I hoped for).
I have "mild asthma". I was born with this. I have beat this. Over and over.
I need to make this list. Because some things can never win. Not even for one day.
So I never forget.
Why I am here.
-To protect a country that has protected my grandparents and will protect my grandchildren.
-To read and speak and dream עברית (Hebrew).
-To eat חומוס (chummus) with everything. To eat bowls of nothing but חומוס (chummus).
-To look back in 10 years and know that I followed something I believed in more than anything I have ever believed in.
-Because this is the same belief that drove my סבא (grandfather) to sneak into Palestine when it was still ruled by the British. From Iraq. (Eventually he got caught and was sent back. To Iraq.)
-Because this is the same country that my father protected in המלחמת יום הכיפורים (The Yom Kippur War). That my cousins protect now. That every Israeli in the past 63 years has protected.
-My parents are scared shitless. But they are proud of me. I think that means something.
-To know that when I need my country she will be there for me. Just like how I am here for her.
OK. I have my profile. 72.
I will not be invited to try out for a סיירת (advanced unit).
I will not be a צנחן (paratrooper, what I hoped for).
I have "mild asthma". I was born with this. I have beat this. Over and over.
I need to make this list. Because some things can never win. Not even for one day.
So I never forget.
Why I am here.
-To protect a country that has protected my grandparents and will protect my grandchildren.
-To read and speak and dream עברית (Hebrew).
-To eat חומוס (chummus) with everything. To eat bowls of nothing but חומוס (chummus).
-To look back in 10 years and know that I followed something I believed in more than anything I have ever believed in.
-Because this is the same belief that drove my סבא (grandfather) to sneak into Palestine when it was still ruled by the British. From Iraq. (Eventually he got caught and was sent back. To Iraq.)
-Because this is the same country that my father protected in המלחמת יום הכיפורים (The Yom Kippur War). That my cousins protect now. That every Israeli in the past 63 years has protected.
-My parents are scared shitless. But they are proud of me. I think that means something.
-To know that when I need my country she will be there for me. Just like how I am here for her.
Monday, September 19, 2011
A Step at a Time
Hey guys! Guess what? This is my new blog.
I was just brainstorming about what I wanted my first post to be about. Too much has happened in the past month, I don't even know where I could possibly begin. So maybe this first time I won't even go into details about my day to day life.
What I really want to write about is an experience I had a week ago. My roommate Jonah invited me to an event that was going on across Israel and was organized by the same movement that has been planning massive protests here. The same two questions were discussed at 8:30 pm. The responses were sent immediately to a think tank in Tel Aviv and then forwarded to the Israeli government. The two questions were:
1) If you could change two things about Israel, what would they be?
2) What can we as individuals do to bring about these changes?
Jonah's uncle invited a few of his friends from a nearby Arab village to the discussion, and I was sitting at their table. When the first question went around, an Arab man named Abed said something along the lines of "I want people in this country to treat each other better. Instead of looking down and walking forward, we must keep our heads up to see how we can help". In essence, we all are here together so forget the conflict, let's do what we can to live a better life.
I feel really lucky to have sat at that table. Usually the tone seems to be Arabs and Israelis against each other instead of with each other. But I was so glad to hear these feelings because it solidifies my belief that things aren't as two-dimensional as they seem. Obviously there are still issues to work out and too much hate in the Middle East for anyone's good, but steps like these can only help.
So I'll leave you guys with this: What can each of us do as individuals to make the world a better place?
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