Chai On Life: Gadna

This week, the EIE students spent a week at Sde Boker, an army base in southern Israel. There, we were placed in a program that shows teenagers what it would be like to join the IDF. Growing up surrounded by a polite American culture, this was a major culture shock to most of us.
Many of the teenagers at Gadna are troubled Israeli teenagers who's family does not have a history of being in the IDF. In other words they are Aarsim, or Israeli Guidos. To be in the same environment was very annoying and scary at some points. Not only did they never sleep and scream until the break of dawn, some of the guys also creeped on the girls in the middle of the night.
Being immersed in this vast culture with very little heirarchy can be very problematic and scary for Americans. While it is nice to be on a nickname basis with everyone, it can also cause teenagers especially to behave with disrespect and lack of control. To American raised teenagers, this is a whole new experience that can be very overwhelming. Understanding about these issues in Israel, it made me laugh when my friends came up to me and told me about a fight between to Aarsim.
Along with the Gadna program at Sde Boker, there is also a Marvah program that allows international teenagers to go through basic training for two months and get a better feel of what it means to be in the IDF. To see all the people in the program come together as one was amazing because all of them are from different corners of the world. There were people from the UK, Germany, Mexico, Venezuela, Argentina, Canada, Sweeden and many more. To see them all together not just as soldiers, but as really good friends was amazing. One day I want to be in the army and become friends with people from all over the world that have come to the IDF with the same goals that I have.