Throughout our time here in Yokneam we have had the pleasure of celebrating several holidays, both American and Jewish. The first of which was Thanksgiving. Since we were very new to the area (barely 48 hours in town) and Thanksgiving is an American holiday we invited all of the other OTZMA participants that are spending this track in northern cities to our apartment for a traditional Thanksgiving meal. Our friends Abigail, Dave, and Sandy arrived the night before from Afula to help us with the preparations. After deciding on a menu and creating shopping list after shopping list until we had a final, cross-referenced list to make sure we wouldn't forget anything we got a good night's sleep. The grocery shopping started early in the morning and list in hand we set off to Super Center, where we'd been informed they will deliver your groceries for you (a tip that proved extremely useful when shopping for dinner for 15 people).

Several hours later we headed back to our apartment and for the first time counted how many steps there are from the Yokneam mall to our apartment; the so-called "shortcut" entails 413 steps. We spent the rest of the day cooking and pondering the correct way to celebrate Thanksgiving in Israel; the best question posed was "if you're outside America do you eat two Thanksgiving feasts?." By the time our friends from Haifa (Alex, Rachel, Yael G., Mara, Katie, and Yael M.) arrived around 7:00pm we were ready to eat. We were also glad to have our volunteer coordinator Arkady and his wife Katya with us so we could share a little something abour our culture with them. Taking time to consider what we have and be grateful for all off the opportunities that surround us was a nice and warm way to kickstart our time here in Yokneam.

Our second holiday celebration in Yokneam was Hanukkah. We were all looking forward to spending Hanukkah in Israel and were surprised by how much we felt surrounded by the holiday. Without a Christmas tree in sight, Hanukkah was in full effect and Hanukiot were being lit all over town. Doug and Rebecca had a chance to participate in a Hanukkah party with students at Yokneam's High School, ORT. The party was planned and falicitated by the school's ulpan teachers who are soldiers serving in the IDF's teachers corps. We made our own dreidels, filled out a Hanukkah crossword puzzle, sang Hanukkah songs, ate sufganiyot, and lit Hanukiot. Our Hanukkah time in Yokneam however was cut short because we had to be in Jerusalem for a politics and education seminar through OTZMA. While in Jerusalem the Hanukkah was spirit was still overwhelming and getting to be in Israel and take part in the festivities was a wonderful experience.

Spending holidays in Yokneam has certainly contributed to it feeling like home to us. Since holidays are usually a time spent with family and friends, it has brought us closer together as a group; right now we are each other's family and together we can make a difference in our new home.