Life on a kibbutz

Now that I've been here for a couple weeks, I just thought I'd share more about where I am.  No, I'm not in Jerusalem or Tel Aviv - the closest city is Eilat, which is mainly a resort city on the Red Sea at the southernmost tip of Israel.  Even Eilat is 50 km away, which makes this kibbutz quite the bubble - but a pretty sweet bubble nonetheless.  I'll let the pictures do the talking:

"Quad" between dorm buildings - I'm in the closest unit on the right (yay mountains!).  If you hang out on the grass for a little while, a stray kitten will come and curl up in your lap.

Unit lounge (similar to a suite lounge)

My section of my room

A few of the horses that people on the kibbutz can ride - this past weekend a group of us students learned how to clean and groom the horses and put saddles on them.

This picture probably only shows a fourth of all the cows here - dairy cattle which are a large source of income for the kibbutz.  When I pass this area on runs around the kibbutz, I definitely speed up to get past the smell - at least some of the manure is being used in biodigesters! 

I'm not sure what purpose these camels serve, but this one got really close when it  saw the piece of bread I was holding.  The date trees in the background are another source of income for the kibbutz.

Basketball court on a particularly cloudy day.  There's also a soccer field and tennis courts.  The kibbutz shop ("Aspaka") is on the left, and the communal laundry  center is on the right - just drop off your dirty clothes and pick them up a few days later, clean and folded!  But make sure to tie your sock bag tightly - I picked mine up the other day and the bag was open with one lonely sock inside.  After a brief moment of panic, I found the rest of my socks and underwear in the lost and found :)

I'll leave you with this view that I see when I get out of classes and step into the bright sunlight.

I hope this satisfies any desire for pictures!