New Tzevet

First thing Sunday morning it was back to the army. My first stop before going back to base was to go sign out my gun that I had returned while I was abroad. Once I got to the base where I could sign out my gun I was told by one of my commanders to "hang out and wait - it could be a while" Perfect!!!! This gave me time to hang out with friends on the base and even catch up on sleep. 7 hours later I got my gun and then it was back to the field to get back into the routine.

This week the draft of March 2010 finished training and now joined the pluga - like I did 4 months ago. This means that most of my machlakah (12 people) are new and I have a new tzevet. My driver and gunner are new from training and my commander was previously a commander of mine in the machlakah. We headed back into the field for another week with the only highlight being the weather - temperatures in the mid to high 20s. For half of the week we did not have electricity so I had to conserve my phone battery and therefore couldn't spend most of the day on the internet or talking on the phone. Obviously we were also without running water. Surprisingly the week went by relatively quickly, mostly in part because there were new people around to talk to.

There has also been a huge improvement in terms of the food - not because there were enough complaints to force a change, but because the infantry company that was here was switched to another company of miluimnikim (reservists). This means no more of the crappy cook! The miluimnikim are laid back and they aren't being ordered around with discipline so it makes for a nicer and friendlier atmosphere. For the past few months with crappy food, our company has often brought us additional food or fruits when we are in the field because they know we aren't being treated well with respect to getting the food we need. Just this past week when our company brought us food, and "didn't know what to bring us" so we received a couple of packages of radishes and a 10kg sack of carrots. Needless to say everyone is ecstatic that the miluimnikim have arrived!

I have been spending a lot of time on the tank recently. Over one 55 hour period I spent almost 40 of them in or on the tank. They are really making me work for my money. Once I got to my kibbutz I received my new ID card for combat soldiers. This enables me to ride the buses and trains for free while I'm NOT in uniform!!! Previously I had to be in uniform to receive those privileges. Since I tend to ride the buses a lot while I am off duty its great to finally get this card!

Vacationing in Toronto

*Sorry for not having written this earlier once I returned from Toronto.

After a year and 5 months in Israel, I finally got a chance to go back to Toronto for a short but sweet 2 week visit. It was great to get a break from the army where I didn't have to do any guard duty, and I was able to catch up on some sleep. I was able to eat what and when I wanted, sleep indoors in a bed as opposed to outside in a tank. For the first time in about a half year on any given week I spent more time cleaning myself rather than guns (and the rest of my tank for that matter). I was able to dress myself how I wanted, get changed into clean clothing and not have to sleep with boots on.

During the 2 week visit I managed to avoid a heat wave in Israel, but back in Toronto it endedu p raining 5 or 6 of the 14 days I was at home. Without getting into too much detail, some of my highlights back at home were:

• Attending a Friends of the IDF fundraiser as an honoured guest.
• Going to a Leafs game - they lost in overtime but it was a very exciting game.
• Playing ice hockey for the first time in over 2 years and playing squash with my dad.
• Going back to my university to party with my fraternity brothers and celebrate a friend's birthday.
• In between all these I managed to spend time with lots of family and friends I hadn't seen in ages.

Most importantly while I was at home I spent lots of time eating lots of delicious food prepared by moy mother, sister, and grandmother. In this situation lots is defined as gaining about 10 pounds in 2 weeks. In order to satisfy my dietary needs I had to go and play lots of sports so that I would have room in my stomach to eat more. I managed to spend more time playing sports and being active in the 2 weeks at home than the last 4 months I have spent in the army while sitting on the border with Lebanon. Once I returned to Israel, put on my army pants and attempted to button them up I encountered some difficulty.

After 2 fantastic weeks at home it was time to say goodby andhead back to Israel to complete my last 4 months of army service. I landed to a nice sunny Friday afternoon. I only had to return to base on Sunday morning so I was able to spend Shabbat with a cousin. After Shabbat I headed to Jerusalem but beofrehand I was able to take a spin on one of his Segways which he happened to be s toring at his house for his business. I took about a 20 minute ride around the neighbourhood - it was easy to handle and a lot of fun!