Living on Kibbutz Erez; living a few football fields away from Gaza; living a normal life. These three things might not seem as though they would all go together, but on this one Kibbutz, they do. Visiting this Kibbutz so very close to Gaza, we learned a lesson in the importance of community. Yes, there are many many precautionary actions taken to ensure the safety of all Kibbutz members, but they do not let the “what if?” affect their daily lives. On our tour with Michal, we learned about the problems that arise from being so close to Gaza- the three main threats are airstrikes, people crossing the fence from Gaza to the kibbutz, and primarily the underground tunnels. If there is a threat from the air, those living on the Kibbutz have approximately 15 seconds to find a bomb shelter to seek safety in when the alarm sounds. Michal is a newer member of Kibbutz Erez and shared with us that on her old kibbutz, threats were much further away. They had about two and a half minutes to find safe shelters when the alarm sounded. Because of the importance of children being comfortable when in the shelters, the members of the kibbutz have put much thought and care into the way they prepare for emergency situations. Preschool and kindergarten classes are taken to the shelters at least once a week to have a gym class or play time. That way, if an alarm should sound, and it is necessary to take shelter, the kids don’t feel as though they are in a foreign place. They have positive memories associated with the room. When I think about a bomb shelter, the first thing that comes to mind is a depressing grey room; this one was the opposite- there were happy paintings on the wall of Winnie the Pooh and Mickey Mouse along with other Disney characters that are associated with happy and silly times. We were able to interact with a few kids who live on the Kibbutz and had the opportunity to ask them any questions we wanted. We were curious about why their families lived there and why they stayed even with the potential danger. The answer was always family. Kibbutzim everywhere have strong senses of family, but Kibbutz Erez in particular stuck out to me because of how close they are and how they will not let a threat affect their family and sense of community.