My first time in a Kibbutz in Israel, January 1981.

Some time, while I was beginning to plan my first backpacking adventure I heard about the Kibbutz from a friend of mine who had some Jewish friends in Mexico.
I'd never heard anything about them before and had no idea what they were, and probably you hadn't either until now...

So, let me tell you a little bit about what a Kibbutz is...
It is mainly a collective community, traditionally based around agriculture but they also have some other farming projects including commercial fishing from their own artificial fishponds and some have some sort of industrial plants. Many of them also have cows and chickens. (mine did)

A kibbutz is run by its members and some duties are rostered every now and then. There are still around 250 Kibbutzim (plural) operating in Israel quite effectively, though I hear some things are changing lately.

Their production is for their community and the workload and profits are shared. They all work, even the elderly while they still can, they simply want to be of help and continue contributing to their community.
The kids go to school or daycare where some of the ladies look after them while the rest are working out there.
It is nearly like a utopia of a socialist society, you might say, where all have work, duties, responsibilities and modest housing with all the modern commodities you'd have in a 'western world' house...

Within the 'mini village' there are a several houses, scattered throughout the living grounds, where the members live with their families and some other houses are used by the volunteers and some young soldiers who also go to work in a kibbutz as part of their military service for some time.

We even had a great swimming pool, a gym, a basketball court, and a library and once or twice a month we'd all go to the local cinema to watch a movie, together with members and volunteers from other nearby kibbutzim...all free!

You practically don't need any money while you are there, as you get everything you need, food, clothing, entertainment, and you can get a few bits and pieces from the little store within the kibbutz, where you use tokens to buy stuff like chocolates and beer, and you were allowed to have about 7 packs of free 'Noblesse' cigarettes a week (a local brand), maybe that policy has changed by now...

We all had meal breaks and met up in the huge dining room at the same meal-times. They always had great fresh food, primarily from their own produce and from other kibbutzim nearby. It was a self-service buffet where you would gather your meal, as much as you wanted, and take it to your table and afterwards, you'd take your dishes and tray to the massive dishwashing machine.

Everyone goes to work every morning, 6 days a week, from Sunday morning to Friday afternoon when everything stops to celebrate Shabbat. That starts at sunset on Friday and ends on Saturday at sunset...

Friday nights were always very special in my Kibbutz, everyone got cleaned up and dressed up for Shabbat Dinner. Everyone came to the dining room including children, which you rarely see during the week. They set the tables up beautifully with white tablecloths and nice cutlery and, on that night, we all get served dinner at our table. At my kibbutz there was normally some delicious roast beef with gravy and vegies and we got to have some special bread for Shabbat called Challah bread, they even served us wine, although it was a special Shabbat wine, a bit too sweet, but it made that dinner very special.
And, for dessert, we had a delicious cheesecake...Best ever!
They would say a little prayer before dinner and they'd light up the Shabbat candles... It was really quite something every Friday night...
Well, now you have a brief idea of what a kibbutz is, although there's much more to it than that...

Before going there I frankly could not believe such places existed nowadays and I was extremely curious to see one for myself!
Then I was told that they accepted volunteers to go and work there in exchange for food and accommodation, and many people flocked there every year to live a "Kibbutz Experience" and to learn some new skills you'd probably never learn back home.

The only requirement is that you have to be in good health and fit enough to do some physical work, you have to be between 18-30 years old and speak some basic English..
and I said...Hey, that's me! (I was 20 years old then).

After spending that New Year's Eve at the Youth Hostel in Tel-Aviv, watching the 'Blues Brothers' movie, as I mentioned on my previous post, I went the next business day to the Kibbutz Organization Office, where you can apply to volunteer in a kibbutz, it must've been January 2, 1981.

I had to pay a small fee, just a few dollars, and had to take a medical test.
After doing that I was interviewed by a man who asked me a few questions like... "where would you like to go?"...I had no clue, "what kind of work would you like to do?"... no clue there either..."Never mind" he said...
"How long would you like to stay?...It is a minimum of one month"
Yup, one month is good for me, I said (although I ended up staying for 3 months!)
"I have the perfect Kibbutz for you", he said, "it is not too big and not too small, and has a good reputation amongst volunteers, it is called NEVE-EITAN..."

Cool!... and when can I go? ...I asked...thinking I may need to wait a week or so..
and he said promptly, "RIGHT NOW!" with a big grin on his face...
I'll give them a call now and I'm sure they'll be looking forward to seeing you there."
Excellent! 

I went back to the Youth Hostel where I had left my stuff and quickly got on my way...
I first had to go to the Bus Terminal, in order to get on a bus to the nearest town to my Kibbutz, this town is called Beit-Shean, close to the 'Sea of Galilee'. (see map below)

When I got to the terminal it was all a bit confusing, there were lots of "Egged Buses" (the largest transportation company in Israel) they all looked the same, red and white, and I kept wondering , why is it called Egged?... weird name for a bus company...("never mind" as they day in Israel all the time...)
​After a while I found my bus and got on it. 

There were also a lot of young soldiers walking around with their guns over their shoulders, although they looked quite relaxed. I actually sat next to one on the bus and he had his gun, a big rifle next to him..so I asked...

What's the story? How come there are so many soldiers all over the place?
He said, "Oh, we are on leave and going home, we actually get some time off while we are doing our military service..." and why the guns? ...I asked.
"We are all given a gun when we start and we are responsible for it at all times and if we lose it we may go to jail"... 
In Israel, all men have to do 3 years and the women 2 years of compulsory military service.
They do take very seriously their defense duties and there's never a dull moment in Israel.

Anyway, after a 2 hour or so ride I arrived in Beit-Shean, where I had to find out about any buses going to my Kibbutz and there was going to be a long wait for the next one, so I decided to hitchhike to my kibbutz.
In no time at all I got a lift on the back of a small ute, (a small pick up car) and it happened to be a member of my kibbutz, so he drove me all they way in, lucky me!

He suggested I went to the dining room to look for the volunteers' leader, her name was Dudda.
Dudda was a young mum, in her 30s, with extremely curly red hair and a big smile.

I found her in the kitchen and said - Hello, are you Dudda? I'm Hector...and she said... "Yes, Shalom shalom...Welcome to Neve-Eitan! 
I've been waiting for you, where are you from?
I said, Mexico... Oh, Mexikani (Mexican in Hebrew)… glad to have you here, we've never had a Mexican volunteer before...
Let me show you to your house.

We walked through the nicely landscaped gardens, no body was around, they were all working somewhere, then at the end of a path she said, there is your new home!

She walked me into my room, there were 2 beds, and she said "Here's your linen for your bed, you haven't got a roommate yet but you may get one soon... (that story on my next post) 

That door there is the toilet and the shower is over there at the other end, you get to share that with the guys in the other room next to yours...."

Cool, thanks so much! I was truly quite excited about the whole deal!
"Get set up and I'll see you in the dinning room when you are ready so we can talk about work and all that, ok?"
Excellent, no problem I'll be there soon, I said...
I had really no idea what I was in for, but I was really looking forward to this experience whatever it might be.

I immediately made my bed, not sure why, maybe I wanted to make myself at home and claim my bed! Put all my stuff in the small wardrobe and tucked my backpack under the bed, placed my cassette tapes and Walkman on the bedside table and I was all set...
I sat on a chair that we had in the room and had a look around the room, it was fairly spacious and clean enough, and there was a small window at the back of the room between the beds looking towards the back garden and other houses...

Then, I took a deep breath and said to myself...
​Welcome to My First Home Away From Home...

I headed back to the dining room and when I got there I said...
Shalom Dudda, where to from here?
More on this in my next posts...

​NZ Citizenship Anniversary...
On the 20th of August 2012, I officially became a Kiwi (a New Zealander)
or, what I call...a MexiKiwi,  because, even though I have left my homeland, my roots are still there, so I will also be a Mexican forever... 

Prior to getting my NZ citizenship, I had already lived here in NZ for 20 years with a 'Permanent Resident' status, due to the fact that Mexico and NZ didn't have a dual citizenship agreement back then. Eventually, that came about and I started looking at officially taking up NZ Citizenship.

I remember clearly the beauty of the 'New Zealand Citizenship Ceremony' ... it was something special and an unforgettable moment... it took place at the beautiful Auckland City Town Hall. (Pictured below)

In a group of about 500 people from more than 70 countries at the same ceremony, a person from the government welcomed us ...and said to us ... 

"Thank you so much for choosing New Zealand as your second home ...."

Wow, I don't know if that happens in other countries but it was extremely moving and totally unexpected... and my eyes swelled with tears ... 

Since then I feel enormous gratitude for this country, which, although small, has a big heart. It has given me a good life, full of peace, good health, opportunity (my business) and hope ... and as a bonus my partner in my life... my lovely wife Helen. 

Thank you New Zealand, Kia Ora, Aotearoa.

My first New Year's Eve overseas...in Tel-Aviv, Israel...

After having spent Xmas in Athens, Greece, I flew down to Tel-Aviv, right on December 30th, 1980...
So, I celebrated the beginning of 1981 in Tel-Aviv... and I was officially for the first time in the Middle East.
 
An interesting point to make is that I was in a country where their Jewish calendar doesn't mark a New Year the same day as we do...for them 1980 was the year 5,740 and 5,741 wasn't coming until September!...

They do live their daily lives, as most countries do, with the internationally accepted civil calendar the 'Gregorian calendar', however, there are no celebrations on New Year's eve as there are in many countries around the world.

So, it was pretty quiet in town, no decorations, no announcements, no big anything, apart from the 'SALES' at stores, where they do kind of get into the commercial side of it...of course, as it is a very cosmopolitan city.

As soon as I arrived in Tel-Aviv I realised it was going to be a different game there, somehow I learned quickly not to jump into taxis that may overcharge you or unmarked vehicles with drivers saying "Shaaalooom my friend, where are you from? I can take you, where are you going?  I'll give you good price..."
-Yeah, nah... I smiled and caught the local bus to the place I was going to stay at.

I had learned to avoid things like that thanks to a couple of books that many backpackers carried and used to travel with, they are like a travel a guide for backpackers. Yes, a 'hard copy book' that could tell you what to do, what to avoid, where to stay, what to eat, the regular prices for things and all kinds of different tips and ideas...

One of the books was called "Let's go Israel" (there are "Let's go" books for many countries and cities). There was also a book called "Israel on a shoestring", with similar content...Those books were absolute gold in those days before the internet and mobile phones existed.
​
I stayed in a Youth Hostel, as usual, but not as cheap as the one in Athens, I think it was about $5 dollars including continental breakfast, which meant, coffee, cereal, toast, jam, and maybe a hard boiled egg...not great but, ok...

December 31st arrived and ... - what are we going to do to celebrate?

Well, after my experience in Athens at that bar, another one of those was out of the question!
Learned my lesson real fast.

So, what then?...
No one in the Youth Hostel had great plans, and they all seemed to be very excited about the fact that after dinner time, around 8 pm, they were going to show a Video in the dining room of the Youth Hostel, and somehow many thought it was going to be awesome!

I was like... ok, so let's have some dinner and let's get to it...
What is the name of the movie? I asked?
They said, "it's the 'BLUES BROTHERS' man!... Have you watched it?"
and...frankly speaking I'd never heard of it and had no clue why they were so excited about it... nevertheless, I decided to go along with it and pretend to look excited...and said... "Cool!"
I'll be here to watch it...

Well, it was a cool movie, I guess...with lots of music, although I couldn't quite understand why the BIG DEAL...
Maybe it was because I was just beginning to watch something in just English, which I was just beginning to get the hang of, and couldn't quite understand it all and... the subtitles were in Hebrew!... which didn't help....

All those with more advanced English and those guests from English speaking countries were laughing and singing along to some of the catchy tunes, some which I'd never heard before...
I think I might've dozed off a bit, now and then, as all of a sudden the movie was over and people were saying how cool that was!! (*You can view the movie trailer below, hope you know the movie)

We said our "Happy New Years" and "Good nights" and went to bed... I even learned to say both in Hebrew right there ....'Shana Tova'! (Happy New Year) and  'Laila Tov' (Good night)...

We woke up to a New Day and a New Year for my New Adventure, in a fairly New Country as we know it now. (Israel was recognised as a new nation, just 32 years before I got there, the State of Israel was formed on May 14, 1948)...

However, I was quite aware that I was  in a very old land, that has gone through some major upheavals and changes throughout thousands of years of history...
It is a land which is regarded by Jews, Christians and Muslims (the 3 'Abrahamic religions' ) as their Holy Land....and for that reason and many others, it may forever be in some kind of conflict...

More about this incredible place and my adventures in the Middle East in future posts...

​What a start of a year...
Shana Tova!

My first Xmas overseas...in Athens, Greece...

I never would've guessed that Athens would be the first place I'd ever have a Xmas away from Mexico and my family and friends, at first I thought It'd be in London, but as I said in my previous post, it was just too cold...
I arrived in Athens, I believe, on the 23rd of December 1980, and got settled in the youth hostel, which is listed as the very 1st Youth Hostel of the YHA (Youth Hostel Association).

I remember the day I arrived quite clearly, due to my dilemma on the 'Magic Bus', and also because it was such a welcoming place run by very friendly people.

This Youth Hostel was located close to Syntagma square, downtown Athens, so it was the perfect location to be close to everything you want to see in Athens, and also at walking distance from the Acropolis (pictured above).

It was an old building and had a lot of character, it was also the most economical Y.H. I ever stayed throughout my entire backpacking life!
It was only about $1 a night, and it included breakfast!! OMG!!

So cheap... What was the downside?...
I think the beds...they were bunk beds, 2 or 3 in every room and the spring-base of each bed was so worn out that they all bent drastically, so I had the bed above me nearly on my face... but who cared... it was only $1 USD!!

I could've stayed there longer, but you are only allowed to stay up to 5 nights, at least back in those days.
So I figured, I'd stay there for Xmas and then head down to Israel, which I did.

Anyway, that first day I had a look around the square and saw the change of guards in front of the Hellenic Parliament in Syntagma Square (see video below). It was an interesting experience I'd never seen before, I didn't even know they did that in Greece...

So, December 24th came about and we wanted to celebrate Xmas eve, as it is always celebrated in Mexico, so, I and another Mexican friend had a great Greek sandwich meal for Xmas dinner at the hostel and then we decided to head out to a bar with some of the other guys who were staying at the same place.  

We found a great wee bar just a couple of blocks away, so we went in, my friends started ordering drinks and, up until then, I had refused to drink alcohol, so I was just going to order a Coke at the bar...

Then the bartender said "Where are you from?" Mexico I said, then she quickly pointed at a bottle of 'TEQUILA Cuervo', sitting on the shelf. and she said, then you must like Tequila, right?
I wasn't going to look bad saying "No, I don't drink" so I lied and said "Sure", ok, she kept on... "so you'll have Tequila, right?"... she said... Well...why not...

My very first shot of Tequila ever, in a Greek bar in Athens, served by an Egyptian bartender...go figure!

I tried to remember how people did the 'Tequila thing' back in Mexico, I'd never tried it before, with the lime and salt and all that, so I faked it and... down it went!
UUUOOOPAAAH! As they say in Greece....I think I felt my eyes pop out...

Then I had another one and then another...not sure at that stage how many more because the bartender said, "the next  one is on the house"... not sure how I paid or how many free shots I had.
I was drunk before I knew it... for the first time in my life...

My Mexican friend found me and together we zigzagged back to the Y.H. which by that time was closed! Yup, there was a curfew and we were supposed to be back by 11 pm...it was way past that!

What to do? 
We walked back and stumbled across a little hotel, we went in and somehow we managed to get a room, way more expensive than the Y.H. but we had no choice...

The next day I had a terrible hangover, my first ever... and everything was closed, of course, December 25th in a Greek Orthodox country...nevertheless, we decided to go up to the Acropolis with my head about  to explode....the streets were empty, and couldn't even find anything to eat...then, after getting to the top of the hill, we discovered that it was closed for the public holiday...what?...No way!

Well, what a first Xmas overseas that was!
Was it an unforgettable Xmas?
​It sure was....