Mellow day in Maoz Haim

(We're back in a wifi zone at the Youth Hostel at Tel Hai. This is yesterdays post.)

Maoz Haim dining room

Jonah taking his job at the pool seriously
(Shimon taught him to use the robot that
cleans the pool)

Conquering the cool playground

Everyone is still adjusting to the heat here up north, so although we had some ideas about going to the Kinneret today, we decided to do that on our way up north tomorrow and take it a little more easy today (plus, we’ve been told that due to several years of low water level in the sea, the Kinneret currently has a lot of snakes in it – that was enough to convince us that a view, rather than a swim, would be plenty).

Our main morning adventure consisted of going into Beit Shean (about 10 minutes from the kibbutz) and getting hair cuts for Jonah and Abe. Although getting hair cuts might not sound like a big deal, when you don’t know your way around or really speak the language very well, it can be tough. Add to that, Beit Shean appears to be some sort of google maps black out zone with very little information (google grocery store in beit shean, and the nearest one it finds is in Amman, Jordan). We asked lots of people around town and most pointed us toward Avi at one particular barber shop (I can’t recall the name right now, even though I heard it from at least a dozen Beit Shean resisdents). We followed their directions every time, but every time failed to find it. Finally, we were about to give up, when I noticed something that looked like a hair salon in a shopping center.  We pulled in and found not one, but two hair cut places. Abe and Jonah went to the smaller, more barber shop type place and for about 20 bucks total both came out with great hair cuts.

Back at Maoz Haim, we met up with our tireless host, Shimon, who took us to the kibbutz dining room. The dining room is where most of the kibbutz members and workers eat lunch. The camp kids were finishing up their meal, and we were joined by one of Shimon’s coworkers from the accounting department. The food is served cafeteria style and is delicious. Choices were beef stew, stuffed peppers, shnitzel, and a grilled whole fish. Sides included rice, pasta, and veggies, and there was a whole buffet of salads of every imaginable kind (the spicy carrots and the corn salads were especially good). Shimon got some plastic pitchers of water and orange juice (all over Israel, people drink lot of kool-aid type drinks and call them “juice”). I can’t help but feel that by eating that simple cafeteria meal in kibbutz communal setting we experienced something that 20 years from now will no longer exist.

A long nap in the nice air conditioned room was just what everyone needed next. Then, as has become our routine, it was time to hit the pool (with a stop at the awesome playground next to it – this playground looks like it was probably designed by the IDF to save them some time in basic training if the kids play there before coming of age for the army!).

After a nice swim, we were once again invited to dinner by Shimon and Ronit. We had been hoping to take them out to dinner to thank them for their generous hospitality, but no such luck. We had a wonderful time at their house, simple food, but wonderful company and conversation. We heard all about the challenges of the transition that the kibbutz is going through (becoming more privatized), and how it has changed the social dynamics for the people living there. Shimon (who Ronit said they call the last true kibbutznik, and joke he will lock the door after everyone else leaves) told us his vision for what the kibbutz would be like (if he wins the lottery) – more social, more communal, more idealistic (his plans include a big emphasis on the dining hall, the pub, and of course, the swimming pool).

We leave for our next destination early tomorrow morning, which I’m sure will bring wonderful new experiences, but we will definitely remember Maoz Haim as a highlight of our time in Israel.