It's So Hard to Say Goodbye

Leaving Na’an was surreal. I packed all day, went for a nice long run through the fields and around the perimeter of my kibbutz, relaxed at the pool and tried to take in the beauty of this place. Only when you are saying goodbye do you realize how lucky you truly are. Of course I had my days where I wanted something different. The endless rows of eggplants, oranges and vineyards will be images stuck in my mind forever. The view of the rolling hills of the central plain of Israel was just outside my window. The trees that bloomed these iridescent purple flowers was right outside my door. But all in all, this experience changed me. Kibbutz Na’an, minus our jerk of a director, was a growing experience. I met people who challenged me, people who changed me, and people who I had to learn to live with. Goodbye Kibbutz Na’an. This marks the end of my time living in a socialist community. And probably sometime soon, the uniqueness of the Kibbutz in Israel will morph into something modern, and become a normal community. I feel so blessed to have experienced something so unique which opened my eyes to a whole different world.