My Kibbutz Experience - Part 1

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My Kibbutz Experience - Part 1
(Note: I've decided to break down this story into several parts as there's so much to tell...)

Where to begin?...
Well, if you read my previous story you may recall that on arrival at my Kibbutz, I was allocated a room and I had the room to myself and no roommate yet, right?...

Well, things started to change and evolve quite rapidly from that afternoon onwards... 
Firstly, I met up with Dudda, the volunteers' leader, in the dining room and she started showing me around...she explained what time the meals were, and showed me the way to go about things...

Then we went to the laundry room, well, not exactly a room, it was a massive industrial size laundry, like in a hotel or resort, as they wash everyone's clothes there, everything must be labeled with your name and in laundry bags, except sheets and towels.
I was given the opportunity to select a few working clothes there, they were used clothes but recently washed and impeccably folded...from trousers to shirts, t-shirts, shorts, socks, a couple of jumpers, a hat, and a winter jacket, I was even given working shoes and wellingtons! (gumboots)

I was definitely ready to go to work but... what work?

Well, I got back to my room to drop off my clothes and I headed back to the dining room to meet with the guy that allocated the different jobs to the volunteers and others..
We met and he said... "Shalom, Hector, welcome to Neve-Eitan, I understand you are all set and that you are ready to start working, right?"
Yup, sure am!
"Well, we are currently working on our 'cotton fields' and we need a hand, you think you can help us there for a couple of days?"
Sure!...I had no idea what I was saying "sure" to, but I was sure I was going to find out all about it the next day...
Then he said, "perfect, we'll meet at the 'fields office' at 5:30 am, we'll have a coffee and then we'll head out there." He explained where the 'fields office' was and he said "I'll see you there, make sure you are on time!"
No problem, I had also been given an alarm clock, of course!

I went back to my room and started seeing people walking around, they were getting back from work and there were other volunteers heading back to their homes, and I seem to recall meeting a couple of girls first... and they said... "Hey, you are new, right? Welcome! where are you from?"...
One was Josie...a tall redhead girl from Holland, and the other a blond girl, Anna, a bit shorter than Josie, from Sweden....
They were returning from their jobs...and they said, “see you at the dining room for our evening meal at around 7 pm...ok?”
They were wearing their working clothes and were all smiles...so obviously they seemed to be enjoying themselves...
I had still no idea what to expect but things were beginning to evolve...

I got myself to the dining room and there were already some people there sitting already and there was a queue forming at the food self-service bar, so I followed them and started getting some food they had there... 

Got some bread, a glass of fresh cold milk, a bit of salad and some ham-like slices, (made of chicken) and made myself a sandwich...I made my way to the volunteer's table, which was quite obvious to find... sat down and everyone started greeting me, "Hi, where are you from? How long are you staying?" and the rest of it...

There were several guys and girls primarily from Europe, the UK, Australia, and New Zealand.
I asked...is this all there's to eat? 
"For our evening meal yes",  they said, "but don't worry, our main meal is at around 2-3 pm, where you can have a big meal! Cool, I said, just like in Mexico!

I headed back to my room to get some sleep and get ready for my first day at work....
I got up even before the alarm went off, I guess I was anxious to see what was going to happen, and probably had very little sleep.
It was still dark when I started walking towards the 'fields office' and when I got there I was welcomed and was told to make myself a cup of coffee....
There was some kind of coffee in a jar and the water urn was boiling, so I put some of that coffee in my cup, poured some water and added a bit of sugar, gave it a quick stir, and had my first sip... 
What the...?... it was all grainy and I felt like I was drinking sand...What is this?! …I asked...
They were all watching me, smiling, as if it was a rookie prank.... and said..."That is Turkish coffee, you are supposed to let it settle at the bottom of your cup before you drink it, you've never had that before?"
Nope!
"Well, welcome to the morning coffee at the 'fields office'!"
​We all laughed and all of a sudden we were all in high spirits!

At 6 am we headed out to the cotton fields, we all jumped on the back of a 'flatbed trailer' which was being pulled by a tractor and rode to the first cotton field...the sun was just rising and it looked like it was going to be a beautiful day and a unique first experience....

We moved several irrigation pipes and did some other stuff moving things around, we had a smoko /coffee break and had some fruit and at around 11 am then at around 2:30 pm we headed back to the dining room... my first 8 hours of work, done!

Everyone was there! There was a great smell coming from the kitchen and we immediately queued up to get our meal, they had vegetable soup, rice, steamed vegetables, and some meatballs with gravy...now, that's what I'm talking about!...a good meal indeed!

We were finished with work as we had started early so I headed back home... I was a bit scratched all over my arms, I'd never walked through a cotton field before and those plants are quite prickly! I looked like I had been in a fight with a crazy cat!...
I was, nonetheless, quite happy with my first workday at my kibbutz...that wasn't bad at all...

And then...I had no idea there was a surprise waiting for me in my room...my roommate had arrived!
I walked in and there he was, sitting on his bed playing his guitar!

I was surprised to see him there, I  introduced myself and he said, “Hi, I'm Arthur, I'm from Holland”
Cool, I said, Welcome to Neve -Eitan!
I asked him the same questions I was asked...How long are you here for? and all that, he said...shrugging his shoulders "I don't know... we'll see how it goes" …he was kind of quiet and humble...

He was a shortish guy with Indonesian background, he wore glasses and spoke perfect English...
and then the obvious question...so you play the guitar, do you? Yeah, he said, is that ok?
Sure is! what kind of music? I asked and he said...“Country-Rock mainly, like Neil Young, Eagles, Crosby Still, and Nash and all that...”
Frankly speaking, I'd never really heard much of that type of music apart from the famed “Hotel California” by 'The Eagles' which was sometimes played on the radio in Mexico...

I had no idea I was not only going to have a roommate but it was also going to be my introduction to that 'Country Rock' music world which, since then, I've loved...

He had a beautiful acoustic guitar and he had laid it in its case when I came in so I looked at it and said, what a cool guitar, why don't you play something?....and he said, "sure thing".

He grabbed his guitar and started. singing... "I wanna live, I wanna give, I've been a miner for a heart of gold"... It was like I was just listening to 'Neil Young' himself...sitting right in my room... (Watch a snippet of  Neil Young's Heart of Gold, live concert 1971, below)

Wow! Arthur that was awesome... I said...
He smiled...
That was to be the beginning of a great friendship that would evolve from then on...

I took a shower and changed and we went to the dining room for our evening meal like 'good ol' buddies' where I introduced him to the gang...
​
Hey guys, this is Arthur...
​"Shalom Arthur, welcome to Neve-Eitan," they said...