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An Admirable Man...
We went to Ben Gurion's Dessert home which was left as it is during the stay of Israel's Prime Minister there and I think
I admired this man who lived very simply but had great dreams for his country. I've seen a little sculpture of Buddha in his
library and I marvel at the similarity of their lives. Budha was a prince who turned his back from his kingdom to pursue enlightenment
and David Ben Gurion was a man who resign from being a prime minister not only once but twice to live a simple life in the
dessert. I wonder if he also seek highher consciuosness during his stay in his simple house. Did he meditate when he was doing
those headstands?
His room is very simple with loads of books on his bedside table while the room of his wife, Paula, reflects that of
a family oriented person with comfortable cushioned sofas and chairs parallel to her bed, and even family pictures displayed
under the glass atop the table. The guide explained that Ben Gurion did not believe in sleep and only sleep for four hours
so his wife had to have a room of her own. I marveled at the artistic people that had known Ben-Gurion who gave him the two
unique art works that can be seen in the receiving room before entering his library. The first one is a portrait of Ben-Gurion
that is made up of words that tell about his life, the second one is a picture where the second President of Israel can be
seen when I looked from the left side, the menora when I am directly facing the portrait and Ben-Gurion's portrait when I
looked at it from the right side. The picture of Abraham Lincoln, an advocate for the freedom of slaves in America
in his receiving room, of Gandhi in his bedroom, who brought India to Independence while preaching nonviolence, and
in his library a painting depicting Moses, who led the enslaved Israelis from Egypt, had shown me a man who deeply valued
is country's independence.
I've also seen Ben Gurion's and his wife gravesite in the very picturesque Ben-Gurion Burial National park.
Engedi field school is really lovely with lofty mountains around it. Looking at the hikers with their backpacks
made me wonder of the challenge of the climb. It would be more demanding I think, than the tropical mountains of Benguet and
Los Banos because the backpack would be much heavier with all the extra blankets because of the coolness of the dessert at
night. Shirley, my roommate and I had to make use of the extra blankets in the cabinet even though we slept within the confines
of the comfortable rooms of Mashabim Kibbutz Country Lodging, how much colder it is in the open desserts? The path would be
trickier as well in Israel's rocky mountains because of the absence of vegetation that I sometimes clung into when I went
mountain climbing back in my country. I wonder if the sense of triumph that those hikers feel would be greater because
of the exhilarating feat of reaching the top and being able to look better at the vast beauty of nature spread below them.
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The MASHAV - MCTC Experience
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Beautiful Negev
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Want to learn about the beautiful desert of Israel and its inhabitants? Just read on.
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Oooh beautiful Negev!
I think I have seen the most beautiful part of Israel with all it's promise and greatness. Visiting Jerusalem touched my
soul but a jaunt in the dessert touched something unfathomable within me. The majestic rocky mountains in one side and the
beautiful Dead Sea at the other, reminded me a little of my home, with the lush mountains of the Zambales Ranges in one side
of the road and the stormy beauty of the China Sea at the other side, the most beautiful spot on earth for me. Looking
at the seemingly unendless stark beauty of dried dessert made me wonder of the indomitable spirit of the Israeli inhabitants
who made this part of their country not only habitable but comfortable to a guest like me. Hearing about their attempts of
working with nature to make their lives more manageable like starting to use solar enrgy to power their laundry house
makes me see the power of dreams within the heart of this sturdy people.
Of course Haifa is also beautiful with all the green though different kind of plants around, in fact I felt it's welcoming
warmth and its undemanding beauty when I arrived in Mount Carmel. The sea and the mountains side by side also kind of reminded
me of home, and although the buildings are almost all in the same undistinguished utilitarian architecture, the city was vindicated
by the blankets of pretty yellow sometimes interspersed with blue, purplish or white flowers in the grounds, and the numerous
elegant trees as well as the kind people in the city.
However, looking at the different kinds of flowering cactus is like an unexpected treat. Although I've seen almost all
the variety of cactus back home because I have a botanist aunt who has a great collection of interesting plants at home and
whose love for plants can be easily gleaned from her seemingly irrational habit of watering her plants even before preparing
breakfast for her family, seeing beautiful blankets of flowering cactus on the ground and almost all of the cactus with flowers
was really really lovely.
We had a stop-over at Neve Midvar, a Health Center and Spa in the middle of the Negev desert on our way home. Sorrounded
by the stark beauty of the desert, the spa has an outdoor pool and three relaxing indoor pools with thermo-mineral waters
pumped up from three different drilling stations in the area. What amazed me was the group of elderly Israelis from Jerusalem
who visited the spa because there is nothing like that in their neigborhood.
Understanding Kibbutz Life
I learned during my stay in the Mashabim Kibbutz hotel, about Kibutz life, how life is slowly changing in the Kibbutz.
Anne, the lady who oriented us about this Kibbutz said that her two older children had been raised in the children's house
while the younger two had been raised by them in their home because the people in their Kibbutz realize that although having
children raised in children's houses is more cost effective, it is much better for the total development of the children
to be raised by their own parents.
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| Posing at the Ein Gedi |
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I think Kibbutz life is not for me because although I live very simply I don't think I can stand having the same life
day after day for the good of all the Kibbutz members, though the thought of having my laundry taken care of and my food already
cook for me, is nice. I like the idea that I can go around and have my freedom so much, I think. In fact, one of the reason
why I like my present work so much is because I got to go around places in my country several times a year aside from the
opportunity to travel abroad for training and seminars.
I also learned that Kibbutz members can go when they like it, there is nothing that compel them to stay aside from their
fondness of the Kibbutz life. They had free food, laundry and a house aside from the free education of their children.
If their children wants to go to university after they finish the obligatory service to the army, the Kibbutz would pay for
their education provided they are going back to the Kibbutz, of course. However, I've learned that after their bouts in the
army, most of the youth from the Kibbutz prefer a high paying job like being a security personnel so they could save
and travel around the world to see a different way of life, then they go back to Israel and shoulder their
own university education.
I was surprised that there is a Thai in Sagiv, the Mashabim Kibbutz factory, which produces ball valves and fittings
used in industry, agriculture, plumbing and the home, and that she has been there for seven years, and that her husband is
also working in the Kibbutz. Apparently nonmembers can stay in the Kibbutz renting the houses, there are also cases like the
the Anne's second child, who opted to be a non member but she likes staying in the Kibbutz so she is renting a house
for her family.
Members of the Kibbutz can also work outside of the Kibbutz but their pay or salary will go straight to the common funds
of the Kibbutz, she will receive the same budget as everyone else. Unlike in the past, when they had separate budget for clothing
and other necessities, nowadays they can do anything with their budget. They can buy a coveted coat or a kid's bike with it
or save it for a vacation abroad. They can also have a credit card.
The Mashabim Kibbutz has also a dairy farm and on the night of our arrival, we went to a building where they have a computerized
milking, about 30 cows are facing standing in a circle in a steel platter that goes round and round during the milking process.
Aside from this, the Kibutz has a poultry farm and ponds under tents where they raise fish and shrimps. Ann told us that when
the brackish water used in the ponds was not good enough anymore for the little fish they let this water flow into a large
open pond and recycle it to irrigate their orchards and crops since they found out that the salt-water makes the fruits of
the plants sweeter because the plants kind of protect themselves from the salt in the water so they produce more delicious
fruits.
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