Phone Call

Okay so at 818am I got the phone call from Avishag to come down at 10am. So I guess this is when I start since I will be getting my uniform today. I dont know how long Im staying for. I find out when I get to the base. Okay, its 9am and I have to Ill write when I get back. :)

Still Waiting...

So Monday Night at the pot luck dinner my awesome friends got me a little brownie cake with candles. They are so amazing I love them.
Rebecca and Lauren:

Sam:

Nate:

 Nate has a blog by the way. I think it would be a good read. http://nateabroad.tumblr.com/ 

Its an awesome blog. It really is.

Okay so today was the day I was supposed to go into the army today. Nope didnt happen. I had to wait for my Halter Monitor results to be faxed over. Never got the call. So when 1230 came around I went and got my results, called Ofer, and asked the Medical Institute if they fixed everything over. They said they did but Tel Hashomer never got it. So I tried faxing everything over but their fax machine on different numbers wouldnt receive the fax. I know it wasn't the fax machine I used because it worked for other people before and after me (I stayed to make sure and to try multiple times). So now Im just waiting for the call. To pass time I just packed up all of my clothes instead. Then around 1110pm I went up to Sams to hang out again. We all made a little inside joke of "I have off from the army today" because I didn't leave yet. I met 2 more Israelis. They were nice... I never got their names though.

Okay I just wanted to do a quick update. So its just being on call right now. But now I'm going to sleep. Its 214am right now. I should NOT be up right now if I possibly have army tomorrow..well today. I am sooo nervous! Good Night everybody!! :)

Waiting...Waiting... Still Waiting...

Sooo tomorrow is supposedly the day I go in. It all depends on if the Halter Monitor results get faxed over. Soo just in case Im going to pick them up tomorrow then fax them over myself.
I finally got in touch with Orfer. He has been the one in charge of my case through Mahal. He told me to go onto the IDF website to see what I needed for recruitment... it sent me to the Mahal website.
Thankfully I had most of it so I went out to get out the rest. I went to Rikushet to get what I needed. It was one of the stores that the list said to go to. I didnt use the Mahal list by the way. I went onto the Nefesh B' Nefesh site and got the list. It was so much more helpful.  Also while at Rikushet they had the army list. Thankfully they spoke english and were able to help me. So they went through the list to tell me what I need and didn't need. I got 90% of everything and then Im all set. Right now I just need to pack everything then Im set.
The things I need are:
My army information
Army green or white undershirts, t-shirts, and long sleeved shirts.
Running shoes
Shorts and a shirts for sports/ exercise
Pajamas
Sweatshirt
Black and gray socks
Toiletries
A lock (so my things dont get stolen)
a 60-75 liter bag. I have a 60 liter. Its huge.
Phone & Charger
Snacks
A bed sheet and a blanket and if you want a small pillow.
A book (you dont want to bring anything to valuable just in case)
From what I can remember this is about it.
Orfer told me to be ready just in case. So that is what I will do.
My friends and I are having a Pot Luck Dinner for my last night.
Sam's birthday is on Sunday I think so this is her birthday weekend. I feel bad Ill miss it but Im sure Ill see her again before she leaves. So HAPPY BIRTHDAY 21st SAM!!!

Lishkat Gius Tel Hashomer Day 2

So I went back to Tel Hashomer for  a second time on the 29th. Thankfully it did not take as long as the first time.  I felt like I actually got things done even though there was still ALOT of waiting.
I had to be there before 8am since I had a blood appointment at that time. Needless to say I didnt get in till maybe 10 minutes after that. It was probably the most least painful time ever that I have ever gotten blood taken. Then it was more waiting where I talked with another doctor. Im so glad I brought all of my test results since they did not get my fax even though I know they got it. She sent me up to see the psychiatrist. It was a quick 5 minute meeting of "Why are you here?' "Do you like it here?" "How do you fell about leaving home?" "Blah blah blah." I got out of there by 1030am. BUT I got stuck in the waiting room for a few hours because apparently the computer broke. I fell asleep around 12 woke up around 1. Then a soldier who was nice enough to help me really got things going. He took my file brought me up to medical then down somewhere else then back up to medical then finally to Avishag. She reviewed my file to see what I had left to do, made a few phone calls, and then tried to get my Halter Monitor Test results faxed over. No such luck so she gave them a better fax number. Then around 120pm I was walking out of there. Now alls I have to do is wait.
While waiting for the psychiatrist there was a boy there who was scared out of his mind. I felt so so so bad. He was shaking really badly. He looked like he was going to cry. He tried running from the Army by going across border but they caught him and brought him in. He wasnt officially in but was only up to the stage Im in. But I still felt bad for him. I dont think they will give him a combat job now if thats what he was afraid of. Although, I do know he will be in trouble for trying to run.

My Official Enlistment Party! :D

On Thursday April 22  after my day at Lishkat Gius Tel Hashomer, I had my OFFICIAL Enlistment Party!!! This time it went great! It was so much fun.
We had the party at Mike's Place. Mike's Place is a bar/grill type place. It's an over all great place to be.
Having the party at 830 was a much better time than 5. Also having it on thursday was so much better then a Friday.

 This is of my friend Rebecca and I. I love this picture. PC: Sam :)

My friends showed up and everyone got along great. The food was fantastic.
We stayed there until 12/1230am. Then we all split into groups and left. First we all made a pitstop at McDonalds since some of friends decided to show up when we were leaving. We stopped at McDonalds for an hour then went back to the dorms.
At the dorms we spent about 2 or 3 hours talking and smoking Nargila on Sam's balcony we went to bed at 3/30 am. It was a great success. Nargila is the hebrew word for Hookah.

Although I must say my favorite thing about the whole night was finally being able to have pictures of David and me. This one is my favorite. :)

Okay guys till next time.

Lishkat Gius Tel Hashomer

          On April 22, last thursday, I spent my day at the army base Tel Hashomer for my Lishkat Gius. The section of the Tel Hashomer base I went to was called Lishkat Gius Tel Hashomer. It is the main recruitment center for all of the recruits. I had to be there at 9 to start my tests. So I got there 10 minutes early after a ride with a rude taxi driver. Im really glad I left at 815 instead of 830. The traffic was crazy.
           I waited with some orthodox boy. He is from Denver I think. To be honest I dont really remember where he is from let alone his name. I think it was Lizor. I dont know. He was with me for the first hour since we were both the only ones with Mahal.
          We talked to Avishag, she was the soldier in charge of our documents and profiles. She talked with us each individually for 5 minutes, copied our passports, then took us to our next interview/test. It started off first as an interview. It was basically just answering questions about ourselves. The important information, where we graduated, if we want to be in the army, what we like to do. That kind of stuff. Then it turned into a hebrew test. How well can we speak, write, listen, and read. They ask you to tell them about what you are doing in hebrew and to go into detail in hebrew. For me this was hard because with hebrew when I get put on the spot I freeze. I was doing good with the light conversational hebrew. Once she said I want to hear you speak. I froze. So then she asked me to read a few sentences and to translate them. It was kind of hard. I couldn't translate the full sentences. Last part of the hebrew test, she asked me to write the sentences she said. I made a few mistakes. That wasn't so bad. It would have been nice to know what I was writing. I was able to fix the mistakes I made.
          After the first part was over, it was 1045 so I went to the medical section. I had the urine test first. I had to drink a bottle first. I started regretting the fact that I brought a 1.5 liter bottle. I finished it in like 20 minutes. I think I drank to much water because legit, started to feel sick. So the first time I had to pee, I handed in my cup waited 30-40 minutes only for them to tell me I didn't drink enough.  So they told me to go to the doctor drink a bottle again then pee in a cup again. During the 30-40 minutes I went to the bathroom once. So after waiting for the doctor for 5 minutes I just went to the bathroom without getting another bottle. Oooohhh such a rebel I am. lol. jk. So I handed in the second cup where I waited another 30-40 minutes. I got a normal result. Thank god. Okay so that put the time to around almost 1.
         I finished the first test then I had to scan my passport into a scanner and find out what place I was in line. I got number 2. I was soo so soso grateful for place 2. Pff yeah right. I waited an hour then asked why people after me were going before me. They didnt have an answer. So I waited another half hour before asking and then the information desk said they just went to lunch and will be back soon. Okay so now its 330 and I finally get to see the doctor. Im with 3 other girls. They are all 15 and 16. One girl was so obnoxious and surprised that I am a chayal boded. She started telling everyone passing by. And I mean by telling I mean by screaming it. Most people would look at me and could tell I was embarrassed, so they would smile at me and nod and then just look at her and say "Okay..." and walk away. I could tell the girl's intentions were good. She was really sweet for being so loud and obnoxious. The other girls were great too. They helped me and asked my name and tried to get to know me. It was really sweet. They asked me to sit with them. We had our weight and height checked first and had to look at a book of numbers to see if we could figure out what the numbers were. Then it was a 10 minute wait where we had to take our socks and shoes off and had an individual meeting with the doctor. We answered some health questions and then had a physical. You know the spine test thing. That was pretty much it. Then I had to get my eye sight tested because I forgot my glasses. heh. woopsy. Unfortunately my tests were not done, I got a note to get my heart checked by a cardiologist(on my own time). I also have to go back next thursday to have my blood tested which they are doing thankfully.
          So now its 4 pm and thankfully Im done with the medical for the day. I had one more test. It was a timed computer test. Just answering matching block questions. It took 45 minutes. It was bad at all. So now that I was done with that, I was able to go home. First I had to go to Avishag to finish up anything else I had to do. She set me up with one last interview who asked the normal "why? when? what do you want to do? where would you like to be? who do you know? have you been in trouble with the law?" That kind of stuff. He also explained things I wasnt clear on and answered questions. After those 15 minutes I was able to leave. I grabbed a taxi and went home. I finally got back to the dorms at 6 pm and got ready for my Enlistment Party. :)
That will be another post... with pictures :)

Enlistment Party Attempt 1

So I had my Enlistment Party on Friday, April 9. It started at 5 so we could see the sunset on the beach. We went to Banana Bar on Banana Beach. When Sam and I went there and made reservations we were told 30 shekels per person and it was Open Menu/Bar for those who paid the 30 shekels. We got there and they changed the price to 35 shekels and said they would just hold a few tables for us. Not cool. We stayed an hour and then left. To be honest it kind of sucked. People didn't show up and those that did show up, showed up 3-4 hours late. After an hour of waiting at the beach we left and went to Mike's Place. Mike's Place is an American Bar/Restaurant. It is next to the American Embassy.
It's rather embarrassing to even be writing this.
But when we did get to Mike's Place and had cheaper more appropriate prices, we had food and drinks. It turned out to be alot of fun. Sometimes being in small groups is better then being in a giant big group where you have more people that you need to pay attention too. Sometimes it's even harder where not everyone knows each other so its combining two/more different groups. Sometimes that can lead to unwanted drama.
After we left Mike's Place we came back to the dorms and had drinks and snacks on my balcony just talking.
Oh and by "We" I mean Sam, Me, David, and his two friends Liron and Gal. The two that showed up super late were Elad and Matan. They left after an hour and almost left without paying. Sam and I didn't like that. Luckily we got them before they left.
Still, I had fun. Sam and I decided to throw an attempt 2. We decided on Mike's Place but that will be another blog post. :)