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.)

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.

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?