HAPPY BIRTHDAY JAMES!!!!
I don't know if you're reading any of this... but I'm thinking of you!!
(My brother turned 24 today!)
We got up a little bit earlier than we have been recently, because we had a 8:30am departure time for team building. (Aka, bonding amongst the instructors.) The departure time was more like 8:40, but close enough.
We drove to Neot Kedumim (נאות ךומים), the Biblical Landscape Reserve halfway between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. Basically, the reserve attempts to recreate biblical settings. This was accomplished by taken barren land, and trucking in tons of soil to create niches for a diverse array of wildlife, including plants like grapes vines, olive and almond trees; and animals like goats, which shall be discussed later.
We weren't there for the scenery, and we didn't really get a chance to wander through reserve and see all the landscapes. Instead, we were there to experience the team-building activities! Part of the programs offered by Neot Kedumim is "Leadership Then and Now", which is more or less what we did. Yair, a scruffy older guy, led our "team" through several different exercises at several different locations, each teaching us different leadership or teamworking skills.
But before I get to that, a little before and after image:
Before receiving MEET hats:
After receiving MEET hats:
Now: Team-building.
Inside the air-conditioned building:
Exercise One: Make a square
For the first exercise, we were supposed to close our eyes, pick up a rope, and make a square. Easy! We counted off (21), divided by 4 (5), and then all multiples stepped back until the string was taut. Math to the rescue, as always.
Exercise Two: Hop on One Foot
Yair asked us how many times we could hop on one foot in 30 seconds. We all severely underestimated our abilities, with some people topping out at over 100 jumps.
Exercise Three: Asking for Help
Yair asked for three volunteers, and Ted, Aaron, and I ended up outside while the rest of the group concocted evil plans to challenge us. Ted went back into the room first, mysterious things happened which I do not know about. Then I went back into the room, and everyone (including Ted) was sitting down. My mission was to get everyone to stand up. I offered hugs to no avail. I threatened to never hug again, and no one budged. I asked politely, but no dice. I tried to pick Ted up, but succeeded only in dragging him across the floor a few feet. Then I asked Jon what it would take to get him to stand up, and he said "Say 'Good morning, Mustafa.'" So I did, and everyone stood up. MAGIC! This was a lesson in asking for help, and apparently, it's something that women do, and men do not. Hurray sexism in its finest form.
Exercise Three, part II: Cookies and Coffee
Yum
We then headed off in our cars to a different section of the reserve, and things began to get interesting. First, we encountered a donkey, who seemed to be screaming at us, "Everybody loves a good parfait!!" or "That's a nice boulder." Mike wrote some LaTeX for the image below
A short hike down a hill
And then...
GOATS! At first, it seemed to be a mere coincidence that goats had hijacked our hut and our chairs, but it actually turned out to be the next exercise.
At the goat hut:
Exercise Four: Shepards
Yair opened with some biblical stories (including parts of Psalm 23), and asked us what qualities we thought would make a good shepard. All seemed theoretical, despite the background of goats. Then, our assignment. Move the herd into a circle of stones for 20 seconds, then make the herd walk around the circle without walking inside.
Things that make this difficult:
- Goat snot
- Charging goats
- Urinating goats
- Defacating goats
- Copulating goats
- Goats that run away from the herd into the corner to eat, and then the rest of the herd follows.
- etc.
We had little trouble getting the herd into the circle for 20 seconds. However, when it came to walking around the circle, the goats had different ideas.
Eventually, we got them out of the food-infested corner, and got them to walk around the stone circle. We even led them back up to the chairs for the second group. After discussion about what worked and what did not, the second group had their shot at leading the goats around. They had a slightly different mission than ours, and the goats decided to be a bit more sexually charged during the second round.
In the end, they succeeded as well. Here's the second group just after they succeeded in getting the goats to stay in the circle for 20 seconds. Note the arms gleefully in the air!
Afterwards, most of us took an obligatory "Shepard shot"...
as well as one big MEET photo!
On the way back up to the cars, I even managed to take quality photo rather than a candid snapshot. It's set up the same way as the one with the roses and Zurich; hopefully it sets up a nice contrast of two very different regions.
After a brief lunch, we left en route to our next outdoor activity. Our guide showed us a tree, which we all guessed was an olive tree. It was in fact an almond tree.
Apparently, almonds have three protective layers, and take a long time to mature. I took one of the almonds from the tree, got through the layers and bit in. I think my almond was perhaps not ripe enough, or perhaps they just taste different from the tree, but it was a VERY strong flavor. Imagine drinking almond extract straight, and you get an idea. But, off we went into the woods.
In the woods:
Exercise Five: Passing rocks on a log
Two teams stand on a log simultaneously, each trying to get 15 stones from one side to the other.
Exercise Six: Rearranging people on a log
Each team stands on a separate log. After some movement, the first person and the last person must switch places, everyone else must be in their starting position.
Exercise Seven: The Snail
The outline of the snail must be traced with a stick, without touching the stick or the piping.
Exercise Eight: Balancing Act
The entire team must balance on the platform.
Following the balancing shenanigans, we had a brief birthday celebration for Mustafa, and then we headed back up to discuss what we learned.
All in all, it was a really useful experience, particularly the GOAT HERDING!!! Everyone took away at least one lesson, but even if we hadn't, I think it really helped to bring our group together and get everyone talking and communicating with each other. After all, we have to spend 7 weeks together nonstop, so communication is key!
After leaving the facilities, about half of us took the van to a beach near Tel Aviv called Rishon Le Zion. Despite getting a little lost, and missing an exit here, or heading the wrong way down a road there, it was well worth the trip. The view was simply spectacular, the water was warm, and it was nice to just chillax for awhile.
Except... jellyfish. Something was stinging all of us in the water, and although some were more sensitive than others, none of us lasted more than 10 minutes in the Mediteranean. I sustained the worst of my stings on my right knee, but it's feeling much better now.
After rinsing off, we tossed around a frisbee for awhile, then Mike showed off some acrobatics on the high bar and the parallel bars. Apparently, some guys on the beach were so impressed they tried to one-up him. But his hair was so spiky, how could they compare?!
A long drive, filled with debates about religions and whether one day Biologists will know how the first cell came to be, eventually led us back home. The neighborhood seems to be partying, as there is some music, and there were fireworks earlier.
Also, I'm no longer sick. :-)
Quote of the day: "Big boy, you come here." (Yair, to Jon.)
Next post: Pre-MEET anxieties, a really long walk, and maybe a festival.
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