Dear all,
Just wanted to let you know that I am safe. I have obviously been hearing about what’s going on in the south of Israel and it scares me a little, but know that I am not only in good hands, but in a secure location. If there were to be an emergency, alarms would sound and I would be helped into one of the many bomb shelters on the kibbutz. Not only that, but just a few short miles from the kibbutz is the Western Galilee Hospital, which is well equipped for times of war. It is possible for the entire hospital to relocate to underground, bomb safe rooms. The whole hospital did successfully go underground a few years ago and everyone was totally safe. It sounds scary and I am sure I would be terrified if anything happened, but at the moment I feel confident of my safety.
I actually feel extraordinarily safe when I travel throughout Israel. You cannot enter a bus or train station without someone scanning your bag and checking your passport. The same story goes generally for some supermarkets and malls. There seem to be security checkpoints everywhere. As well, if a bag is left unattended, it will be reported right away and incinerated on the spot by a small robot. These Israelis have their bases covered! Israelis tend to operate under the general principle of be smart, but don’t let your life be governed by fear. I completely agree. So, life goes on.
I did get a very interesting email from a company I was supposed to audition for this past weekend. A rocket had dropped there several days before the audition and a bomb had exploded in Jerusalem, which I would have been passing through. The day before the audition, I received this email:
“I just wanted to make sure that you were indeed planning on coming to the audition tomorrow, Friday March 25. I'd like to assure you that, in general, Beer-Sheba is quite a safe place, despite the recent falling of a missile 2 days ago, and that in the rare possibility that an alarm is sounded while you are at the audition, we have a very large safe room which can accommodate everyone.”
A few friends of mine did go south and they were completely fine, but I opted to stay home and celebrate Purim on the kibbutz with my friends. Over all it was a good choice for me.
Okie dokie – That is all I have to write this evening. Just wanted to assure you of my safety and send my love! Happy Spring Break to those of you who are enjoying a little vacation! With love, Marissa