Bright and early Sunday morning my two friends and lovely brother took me to Ammunition Hill and dropped me off with a plethora of teenage recruits. It was typically loud and unorganized (very Israeli). I wasnt really sure what was going on, but I saw my name pop up on an electronic board like a flight number and went through the doors where everything seemed to be happening. My friends took pictures, a strange lady gave me a hug and a lollipop, and some soldier crossed my name off a list. Then I waited (this would happen alot). Eventually they ushered our group of loud obnoxious teenagers onto a bus and we headed to Tel HaShomer, the big army base near Tel Aviv. We got there about 45 min later and waited an hour to get off the bus. The busdriver finally got so annoyed with us he jumped off the bus and started attacking officers until somebody came and told us where to go. We then spent another half hour being told to stand here and then over there and then back over here and "What the hell is wrong with you people? Dont you know how to stand in a line?" (we didnt) until they decided it was lunch time.
Lunch was actually pretty good and after about 5 minutes of talking, everyone at my table had figured out I was an olah (immigrant) and proceeded to grill me with fascination. Except for one girl, she just kind of stared at me for the rest of the day.
Anyway, we finished up and then all the processing began. There were about 50 kids on my bus and at least another 5 buses had showed up while we were waiting to get off of ours, so there were alot of obnoxious teens about. (Just to clarify, Israeli teens are like 10x more obnoxious then Americans. I was kind of amazed with the backtalk going on) First we were herded into a room where someone yelled at us (no idea what he said), and then we were shuffled down some hallway and began the process of being sent into various rooms. My teeth were x-rayed and photographed, my hands were rather throughly fingerprinted, my picture was taken (and of course is horrible) and then I was sent to the vampires. First they asked us to "voluntarily" have our blood tested for bone marrow transplant compatibility because, good lord, who wouldnt want to save someones life?! its just one little prick! My next little vampire pricked my finger and had fun drawing on something that said DNA, and the next one gave me immunizations (no idea what kind) while I tried to translate "pincushion".
Then, with blood dripping down my arm because the army has no bandaids, I was sent to some sort of interview. I sat down with this woman, she opened my file, and then proceeded to yell at the guy that walked by- roughly translated- "WHAT THE HELL, DUDE?! THIS IS LIKE THE EIGHTH ONE! CANT THOSE IDIOTS DO ANYTHING RIGHT?!" Still have no idea what that was about but I signed some papers and moved on.
Next I got my army ID and dogtags and was sent upstairs to talk to someone else. He typed away on his computer for a bit and then told me I was going to the Air Force. This, by the way, is a very good and exciting thing. Not only are our uniforms hotter and our bases better, but they just treat you better and give you cooler job options. So with a big smile on my face, I went back downstairs and somehow managed to skip most of the line of teens waiting to get outfitted. I got my duffel full of fun stuff like socks and undershirts and pepperspray, got my army shoes and sandals -no boots for Kfi :( and three uniforms. I then headed into the giant room of half naked girls and proceeded to make sure everything fit. I couldnt get the pants they gave me up past my knees so I spent the next 40 minutes trading in pants over and over again. And of course everytime I went back to get a bigger pair some tiny ass Israeli girl is standing next to me asking for a size smaller. I finally got outfitted and dressed and actually thought I looked pretty cool even though all the other girls were complaining that they looked fat. So we are all sitting outside waiting to be told what base we are going to when I get pulled aside and told I can go home. Apparently the Air Force training doesnt start until next Sunday. So I went home, appreciating the new uniform and the free buses that come with it. Anti-climactic, I told you.
I have to say I am actually glad to have this particular week off. Thank you all for your kind words and prayers, but my grandfather passed away soon after I sent that last email. Barak flew home on Tuesday, and I have spent most of the week on the phone with my family. It is hard not to be home at this time, but I am glad I was given this time to spend with the memory of my grandfather. And knowing that I am following in his footsteps- even if this Air Force is not American- comforts me.
No comments:
Post a Comment