'Merica

As the fourth of July comes to a close in Moshav Idan, I decided to wrap up Independence day with a recap of the past few days and my thoughts on my home - The United States of America.

First off, I'm in Moshav Idan.  It's a small moshav right on the border with Jordan (actually some of the farm is right in the Jordan River bed which "floods" every so often) about an hour and a half due south of Be'er Sheva (I think) and 140 km North of Eilat (yeah I like mixing measurements of distance today).  I'm working mostly in the dairy as it's too hot for their other crops which are primarily tomatoes, peppers, and mangoes in nethouses and greenhouses.  The dairy operates in the summer selling goat milk, yogurt with homemade dulce de leche (incredible. but really. easily worth the full price of a plane ticket to Israel), and a wide variety of artisinal hard cheeses.  For a cheese lover like me, it's heaven.  Since she's discovered that I will eat cheese even when it's soft or too dry or fell on the floor, the dairy manager Ruth has just been giving me one or two rolls of goat cheese per day.  Even I can't keep up and our fridge is filled with jars and containers of cheese.

After the work I was doing in Ezuz, this is a cake walk.  Even though it's hotter here, I don't mind much because most of my work is indoors and there's not even that much of it.  We dont start until seven or eight in the morning so I can sleep in every day and the work is intermittent and consists mostly of cleaning and coffee breaks.  Often, we pasteurize and make cheese in the morning, clean the materials, take a coffee break while it sets and then spend the rest of the day flipping it at half hour intervals.  That's a hard day.  Other days we just flip the cheese we've already made and brandy the older cheeses to keep them sterile.  Packaging cheese is a fun activity even when you spend the time chatting or making fake mustaches out of the sticky paper.

I also love the family as I think I've mentioned.  Adi and Ynan are quite fun and engaging and the kids are... well you know how I feel about kids.  Really that's been the only down side.  We had so much spare time in the dairy that I spent a great deal of time helping Adi to cook (she makes the most delicious food!) or taking care of the kids just to pass the time.  Now I don't like taking care of kids but it's a small price to pay for how easy and relaxing things are here.  They left for a three week holiday today, though so we will pretty much have the run of their house and our own as well as the rest of our stay here free of kids.  I love it.

Ruth and I have also been talking extensively about farming, travel, religion, and my birthday.  She's coming to the US this fall and will be in New York City, Colorado, and Montana.  If you're anywhere in there you should host her or find her a farm to work at because she's wonderful and the oldest girl out of 9 siblings so she spends so much time taking care of them and the dairy that she really deserves a break.  Send me an email if you'd like to host her even!  She doesn't use the internet really so she does everything by phone or letter....Anyways.  We have a lot of similar views on life and the one thing we super emphatically agree on is that my birthday should be kickass.  We've had multiple plans from a barbecue to a pool party and picnic to a bonfire in the desert to some combination of all three.  Today when I met her five sisters, they all seemed equally excited too so it really will happen and I'm super excited.

Now the reason I was brought together with Ruth and her sisters is, of course, AMERICA (also known as USA, the United States, and 'Merica).  We were so excited that we got fresh milk on Tuesday and Thursday because it meant we would have enough left over after coffee to make ice cream.  Ruth didn't understand what the occasion was so we began to tell her about all of the fun fourth of July traditions.  It's odd to see how incongruous and strange our Independence Day celebrations seem from an Israeli perspective.  They have memorial day the day before Independence Day so their celebration is tempered by the day of remembrance before (or so I'm told).  It's also fun to see how Kebabs and Kabobs differ (trust me they are worlds apart.  the only commonality is the stick).

This information sharing quickly morphed into us inviting Ruth to our kabob barbecue.  I had already offered to give her and her sisters swim lessons so it all worked out and  the whole clan came to join in our festivities.  Her sisters range from 8 or 9 to her age of 22 or 23 so it's a fun mix.  Speaking of swimming, despite my woeful lack of practice suit (ew, swimming laps in a bikini. but really. ew.) I have been slowly dragging my butt across the pool each day.  The sheer pain of it all coupled with the snail pace have put me in my place.  It's been far too long.  But never too late to get back in the pool right? Or at least that's what I keep telling myself.  Anyways, so they all came over after swimming about for a couple of hours and we barbecued kabobs (my sauce was a hit.  an improvised moppin sauce marinade that might actually -gasp- be better than the original!), listened to the "freedom is the only way: fuck yeah 'merica" playlist on fratmusic.com (yeah.... unfortunately that happened), ate homemade cinnamon frozen custard potato salad carrot cake and baked beans, and tumbled about on the grass.  The moon rise was beautiful, as was sunset, and the view of the hills in Jordan (so close it looks like you could touch Jordan from the horse paddock) was -as always- breathtaking.  Basically, it was a pretty ideal holiday despite having to flip cheese every half an hour and the complete failure of the corn I bought.  If that was a last minute celebration, I can't wait to see my birthday!  

So on to my thoughts on America.  Often, when I tell people that I would like to live out of the country or that I disagree with US foreign policy or that I don't think I could serve in the military, they start giving me sideways glances, humming the national anthem, and making jokes about patriotism/sedition.    Maybe slightly more subtle than that.  But not much more.  So let me set the record straight.  I love America and here's why:

1. The amazing opportunities I have gotten in this country that I would never ever have gotten anywhere else.
2. I both love and hate that we're so far removed from the rest of the world.  It has allowed me to explore the world with eyes wide open and never take travel for granted.
3.  Our money's so archaic looking and silly.
4. West Virginia
5. Roadside attractions and diners.  Not so common outside of the states.
6. Ice in drinks and large glasses for water (not so much a fan of large glasses for soft drinks, etc.)  Why must people drink out of such small cups when they live in the freaking desert?!
7.  Competitive sports.  Especially water sports.  Don't find many polo teams in the middle of the Arava.  Or rugby teams for that matter.
8. Cheap Diet Coke --- some intense withdrawals over here
9. Woodstock
10. Heterogeneity (of landscape, ethnicities, people, religions, etc.)

Don't think for a second that I didn't love growing up in the US or the opportunities it gave me.  Don't think I don't care about or believe in our founding principles or in our people.  I do.  I thank those that serve us because I know that if it came down to it I might be able to defend our country but those doing it now are doing a damn better job than I ever would.  The thing is that America is a land of opportunity but not for me.  The things I need for why I want to do, the values that I hold dear, and policies which support rather than hobble my work... these can't be found in the US.  The US doesn't have Kilimanjaro, acacias, we've done our best to squash indigenous cultures, policies don't favor conservation let alone small farmers, and people just aren't as connected to their land and they don't wat to be.  Frankly, I just don't have the strength to fight social convention in the US to irk out a living.  I need to be somewhere where doing what I want is relatively easy.  Somewhere where it's built in that people love the land and my only job is to document and enhance their relationship in it.  Somewhere warm and dry.  The US gave me the means and now I just have to figure out a way to fly.  Hopefully one day I can serve my country in the Peace Corps as an ambassador and volunteer but I have a feeling that that will not stop the whispering and questioning about why I wan't to leave my country but a girl's gotta try (especially on Independence Day) to at least once tell the world how much she appreciates and loves her country and everyone in it who has made life so magical.

Happy Birthday, America, and may you have many, many more!