Meet the HamamaLlamas
Written Thursday January 11th, 2018
The HamamaLlamas, aka Claire Goul and Rayna Higuchi, arrived to the greenhouse (hamama) this week safe and sound, ready to start an adventure. Day one, still stricken with jet lag, we began to meet the people of the greenhouse and the kibbutz at large. We were finally introduced in person to Atar Geva, with whom we had been corresponding for many months. Then we were whisked away to explore the kibbutz with our "ambassadors", the two other teachers there our age.
The kibbutz is amazing! There's a school and a pool and housing and, of course, a giant greenhouse, and the weather is just like our homes (we're both from Southern California and grateful to be escaping Boston winter). The greenhouse is where we spend most of our time, and it's full of all these fun people and big plants and hydroponic systems. A bike that was built a few years ago by MIT students to generate power is still here, though it no longer works.
The next day was a bit more eventful, as we started teaching. The greenhouse is less structured than what we are used to, so it took a little time to acclimate, but after the day we got into our groove. We are mostly helping out with other teachers, but also have a special segment that we run ourselves titled "Agriculture on Mars". With this, we discuss the different challenges of agriculture when performed in space, or under the harsh conditions of the red planet. It's quite interesting. It goes with the theme of the hackathon that the greenhouse is running, which is entirely new this year.
That night, Claire went to dinner with a host family, which Rayna unfortunately could not make (but we have another dinner with them tonight so it's all good woohoo). They are incredibly nice and fun, and have four children that all play chess. Except for the youngest daughter, who just moved the pieces around willy-nilly.
Then Wednesday was the hackathon! It took some time to set up, and Claire did a commendable job on the video we presented. Rayna got her first breakout role as a composer on the soundtrack for a few brief seconds, when she typed a crummy keyboard tune into GarageBand for an audio overlay.
It was interesting to watch the kids come up with their project. The theme is, as previously mentioned, agriculture on Mars. The idea is that they come up with ideas of an agricultural system that they can build, that will help feed astronauts on the mission to Mars in 2030. A lot of them came up with roundabout models that we never would have even considered, and just as many developed plans that we ourselves might have made.
We also talked a lot with people about our personal project, which is building a battery using bacteria, algae, and salt water. Several were interested in seeing how it progressed.
Today was mostly setup for the next week and working on the battery. To be honest, the battery is a bit of a disaster right now, but like... a functioning disaster. It looks hideous and it's not at all what we were hoping for, but at the same time, we think we can make it work.
Tonight is the dinner with the family again, and tomorrow we go to eat at the house of a new friend. Saturday he takes us to Caesarea! We're very excited!
The HamamaLlamas, aka Claire Goul and Rayna Higuchi, arrived to the greenhouse (hamama) this week safe and sound, ready to start an adventure. Day one, still stricken with jet lag, we began to meet the people of the greenhouse and the kibbutz at large. We were finally introduced in person to Atar Geva, with whom we had been corresponding for many months. Then we were whisked away to explore the kibbutz with our "ambassadors", the two other teachers there our age.
The kibbutz is amazing! There's a school and a pool and housing and, of course, a giant greenhouse, and the weather is just like our homes (we're both from Southern California and grateful to be escaping Boston winter). The greenhouse is where we spend most of our time, and it's full of all these fun people and big plants and hydroponic systems. A bike that was built a few years ago by MIT students to generate power is still here, though it no longer works.
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| The Greenhouse at Ein Shemer |
The next day was a bit more eventful, as we started teaching. The greenhouse is less structured than what we are used to, so it took a little time to acclimate, but after the day we got into our groove. We are mostly helping out with other teachers, but also have a special segment that we run ourselves titled "Agriculture on Mars". With this, we discuss the different challenges of agriculture when performed in space, or under the harsh conditions of the red planet. It's quite interesting. It goes with the theme of the hackathon that the greenhouse is running, which is entirely new this year.
 |
| Slide from the presentation |
That night, Claire went to dinner with a host family, which Rayna unfortunately could not make (but we have another dinner with them tonight so it's all good woohoo). They are incredibly nice and fun, and have four children that all play chess. Except for the youngest daughter, who just moved the pieces around willy-nilly.
Then Wednesday was the hackathon! It took some time to set up, and Claire did a commendable job on the video we presented. Rayna got her first breakout role as a composer on the soundtrack for a few brief seconds, when she typed a crummy keyboard tune into GarageBand for an audio overlay.
It was interesting to watch the kids come up with their project. The theme is, as previously mentioned, agriculture on Mars. The idea is that they come up with ideas of an agricultural system that they can build, that will help feed astronauts on the mission to Mars in 2030. A lot of them came up with roundabout models that we never would have even considered, and just as many developed plans that we ourselves might have made.
 |
| Hackers explain their model to an intrigued listener |
We also talked a lot with people about our personal project, which is building a battery using bacteria, algae, and salt water. Several were interested in seeing how it progressed.
Today was mostly setup for the next week and working on the battery. To be honest, the battery is a bit of a disaster right now, but like... a functioning disaster. It looks hideous and it's not at all what we were hoping for, but at the same time, we think we can make it work.
Tonight is the dinner with the family again, and tomorrow we go to eat at the house of a new friend. Saturday he takes us to Caesarea! We're very excited!
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