…One of the many activities, or rather consequences, happening on “Median Week”, a week marking the midway point of the 6-month program.

“If you will it, it is no dream” goes the famous quote by Theodore Herzl. In that same Zionistic spirit, the Derech Eretz Nitzana campus cohort said farewell to “I can’t”, as a phrase and as a concept, and banned its use among all 47 participants. This was one of the many activities, or rather consequences, happening on “Median Week”, November 20-26 2016, a week marking the midway point of the 6-month program.

At a night-time bonfire, held specifically to give participants time to share their feelings with the group, Gal, from our Kmein campus had the following to say: “I can’t believe how much I’ve changed… My parents can’t believe how much I’ve changed. They keep telling me how I have grown up, matured, become independent. Here, I have been exposed to new things – new people, concepts, experiences, places. This is the first time in life when I am consciously thinking of who I want to be and how I want to live my life, instead of just stumbling along…. Seriously, I even lost 7 kilo along the way from our group training that we do every morning. 3 more months here? Let me tell you – the sky is the limit.”

The week’s main activities were based on introspection, what the Kmein cohort termed “the program’s Yom Kippur”. Self-examination occurred on three levels:

  • The individual/personal level– each participant seeing where they are at compared to the goals they set out at the beginning. Questioning if those goals need to be adjusted (as in, can we achieve even more than we thought we could) and assessing what needs to be done in the next three months in order to achieve those goals.

  • The interpersonal level – looking at the relationships that have been formed and seeing where each one can improve and be a better friend, and communicating feelings, whether hardships or appreciation, or any other emotion, toward each other.

  • On a group level – assessing the group dynamic, progress, and, again, suggesting ways of improvement and setting goals for the next three months.

 

One of the activities of the interpersonal introspection was the writing of letters to themselves and to each other to express feelings and experiences. Pictures are from the “Nitzana Cave” where participants ventured in order to write their letters. Later, they paired off and held heart-to-heart talks until the morning hours.

[picture] [picture] [picture] [picture]