Hello MBI Fans,
Note: I will add a glossary of any new or regular Hebrew words used in the blog posts at the bottom of each one.
Today was the first full day of MBI Kaf 2011! The first few days are used an orientation period for the MBIers. During this time they will be meeting each other, starting to form friendships and will start to examine what being on MBI is all about. These next few days will be filled with games, discussions and a bit of traveling in the North.
In the morning the first thing they did was to split into buses and kvutzot. This year we have three full buses on MBI, with each split into two kvutzot. This is done in order to help build smaller and closer group relationships for the MBI-ers which will continue throughout the summer, almost all programs, peulot, and activities will be done in these smaller groups (kvutzot). The split was done through a fun game in which each person was given a puzzle-piece and had to find the rest of the pieces needed to finish the puzzle. This resulted in each a few groups of people sitting around their completed puzzles and these were their kvutzot! Then different games were held with two kvutzot at a time, and changing which two kvutzot were paired together each time. Then finally STOP! was yelled and the two kvutzot sitting together at that time turned out to be the groupings for our buses this summer.
The MBI-ers were then off to the historic city of Tzfat. This city has existed for hundreds of years on mountain tops in the upper Galilee and was the home for generations of scholars studying Jewish mysticism and kabbala. The MBI-ers got a chance to walk around the old city, through its stone walkways and corridors, and stopped for for a bit in a park overlooking the beautiful view available from the city. They also went and visited a few of the old synagogues which are still there and are beautifully decorated by followers of different rabbis who lived there hundreds of years ago.
Later, MBI had a peula about values and what it means to live according to different values. Part of the method for this peula was an enormous 'choose-your-own-adventure', where each MBI-er was given a situation with two choices and had to choose which option they would do. They had to take a picture of themselves enacting the decision they made, and each successive situation was then built off of the particular choices they made along the way.
After dinner they had a kvutza peula about how kvutza is a tool for creating intimacy and talk about what kind of kvutza they wanted to build over the course of the summer. During the full staff meeting later that evening, each small tzevet (staff) was very excited about how their kvutza's first conversations went and feeling very good about the beginning of the summer.
I heard another story today that I wanted to share. One of the other groups staying at the hostel right now is an Arab group running a kayetzet, or a mini-summer camp- usually no more than 7-days long. During one of the breaks in the day, a group of MBI-ers came out and found some of the other program's participants having a drum circle in the hostel courtyard. After saying hello, some of the MBI-ers asked to join and the result was a a mini-drum and dance party spontaneously erupting with both groups participants right then and there.
Tonight MBI is again in the Tel Chai youth hostel, and tomorrow will be learning more about the Habonim movement as well as touring and learning about more about Tel Chai itself and what happened there.
It is certainly a packed and intense first day of the program that will start off a great summer.
Till next time,
Ari
Hebrew Words-
Kvutza- small intimate group
Tzevet- staff (used for both the full MBI staff and smaller kvutza or bus staff)
Peula- informal-educational activity, sometimes discussion based
Kayetzet- small mini-camp, usually lasting about 5-7 days.
