Functioning and creating in our modern society often takes much persistence and adaptability. I want to take this opportunity to give thanks to the many people that helped and supported me during my field study and university career, for without them, this project would not have been possible.
The days I spent on kibbutz were inspiring, challenging, and sometimes frustrating. Overall, though, I believe that I learned what it meant to survive in the middle of a desert, in the middle of the East. For this experience, I would like to thank Kibbutz Arava for letting me live, study, and work there. Moreover, I would like to thank each individual person with whom I questioned, theorized, and debated about kibbutz life. Even though your names are fictitious in this paper, you all know who you are.
I would like to thank my family, friends, and colleagues in Santa Cruz who trusted me and encouraged me to live to the best of my ability.
Never in my life have I completed an academic project of such magnitude. I would like to thank Mike Rotkin and John Borrego, both whom helped me to focus and locate my field study. I would sincerely like to thank David Brundage for reading and re-reading segments of this paper. I would also like to thank David Wellman for giving me the inspiration and faith of writing simply and creatively.
And finally, I'd like to thank my family for their years of commitment. To my Mom and Dad, Eric, and Grandma Copeland, I thank you for believing in me during the high and low points in my life’s history.
First Chapter: And in a beginning...