sorry i haven't updated in a while...unfortunately i haven't been feeling well the last few days...fortunately that gives me some time to update my blog. So last week, being the last week of ulpan, we went to karaoke one night. Every Tuesday night at this place by the shuk, called temptations, there is a karaoke night, with Israeli music and American music. So, a bunch of us went and we actually got up and sang..never thought I'd do it but it was fun. Throughout the week we just prepared for our Ulpan final...becca and I went down to Jaffo again, and I bought a necklace I really wanted. While we were down there we ran into a bunch of high school Israelis, and a guy who apparently owns the "best shwarma place in all of israel". We got some pomegranite juice, and I tried my first crepe! It was so good!
On the bus on the way back, this woman was speaking to us in hebrew and said "Ani ohevet yisrael, aval harbeh cushim"for those of you don't know what that means..not important. Another day this week we went to this place Suzanna's for lunch in Neve Tzedeck which is know for their 'filled' food...we got filled potatoes, peppers, chicken...an amazing salad. it was sooo good. I love the food here.
Thursday was our last day in Ulpan...happy to say I nailed that test...tods rabs. We welcomed in the three day weekend...Saturday we went to Jerusalem with my friend Asaf. We visited the 9.11 memorial, the arab shuk, and the kotel for a bit. It was really nice, and the weather was good. Also this weekend Becca and I walked to the port and back...long but nice. We walked through Yarkon park, which is huge but soo pretty. All the families are out on shabbat. Which reminds me, on Shabbat we had a nice shabbat dinner with a few people. We prayed outside by the dorms, then had a dinner hosted by our friend James inside his apartment. It was really cozy but nice to be with everyone.
This weekend was awesome!! Wednesday night we went out to a club called 'Gossip', and hadsuch a fun time (until we had to get up for ulpan thursday!) Then we couldn't wait to leave for Eilat after class! It was pouring outsidea dn we weren't sure if we were going to make it to the central bus station, becaue there are a few in Tel Aviv, and the cab driver only spoke hebrew. He told us the station we though we had to go to that only a "rakevet" (trains) left from there, and only autobusses go to eilat. So we trusted him to get us to the right station, and we did. We found our bus ok, and made it to eilat by 8:30. On the way we drove through miles (or kilometers) of desert in the Negev, it was beautiful!
My friend Talor came to pick us up with her friend and took us back to her apartment. It was so nice because I haven't seen her for two years since camp. We ended up going to sleep Thursday because we were really tired. But Friday we woke up early to go to the mall and the boardwalk, and it was really nice. I was there last time I was in Israel. It was so funny because everyone in Eilat thinks it's so cold there but it was so hot too us. That's why we went to Ice Space, an indoor ice building made completely from ice, with an ice bar and an ice slide! it was soo 'cool'!
Friday night we had a shabbos dinner and then we went out. We stayed out til about four dancing and going to a bar it was so much fun! (Also the cab drivers are so much nicer in Eilat, Talor was like best frineds with them).
Satuday we woke up at about three, ate some israeli ceralal (chocolate and vanilla), and then we walked to the boardwalk. On the way we passed a cool traffic light tree, and signs for Jordan and Egypt! Eilat is surrounded by Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, And the Sinai, and the border for Egypt is only half a mile away..so weird. It was crazy how peaceful everything was in Eilat when so much stuff was going on around it. You could literally see Jordan from the window of Talor's apartment. We shopped around the boardwalk a little more, we bought gummigum (ice cream with gummy bears), and dresses, earrings...all for really cheap!
There is also a Hilton hotel on the boardwalk, it's sooo big, like a palace! We went inside to check it out and it was hugeee and so pretty! We also ate pizza and this place right at the entrance to the boardwalk, and it's amazing how good israeli pizza is. Before we went home we did hookah on the shore. It was so empty, but it was so nice. We watched a disco boat go by on the water, and airplanes flew right over our heads, because the airport is right behind the board walk.
We just got back! it was an awesome weekend! Ulpan tomorrow
This week was so fun! Highlights: Becca and I went to Old Jaffo this week...we just took a bus there, and had no idea where we were going. but we just followed a map, and came to it! it was so beautiful! There were lots of old shops, with Judaica and Jewelery, the clock tower, and this restaurant called Dr. Shakshuka, which is a pan with tomato sauce, vegetables, and in it an egg is cooked. When we got there, I noticed the restaurant, and a guy on the street brought us in the back and started asking us to help us cook in the kitchen! it was so funny! We walked all around the town and we found the observatory. Over it you could see the entire veiw of the city and the shore, just like on a postcard. (Which we bought too). te We went into St. Peter's Monastery, which beautiful, walked by the condemned 'Wishing Bridge', and just walked around all the town. Then we ate at Dr. Shakshuka! Sooo good!!
Thursday night we wanted to go out, but the bus never came, so we ended up making omeletes! it was awesome. Then we had to wake up at 4:45 a.m to catch the bus to the shabbaton to the Golan heights. our alarms didn't go off, so we had to run to the bus, which came a half hour late!
On the bus ride we all slept, but when we woke up we arrived at the ATVing place. We couldn't ride the ATV's because it was pouringgg, but we rode the jeeps instead. We were told to follow a guide on the jeep, but we missed the tour, and when he told us to go right at the end of the road, and then the fork in the road came, our friend jonas just drove the jeep straight the the streets of the golan! Then we decided to find the caravan. we drove through mud and rocks, which was awesome (i got to drive), but soo freezing! My clothes were literally drenched.
On the bus we were given goldstar, red label, Johnny Walker, to start celebrating for shabbos!
We arrived at the 'ziplining' place after, which turned out not to be ziplining at all. It was cliff repelling in the golan! At first i was so scared to do it and too uncomfortable from being soaked, but i saw everyone doing it and I knew I had too. Since I decided to do it last, i was the last one to go. We literalyl repelled from a cliff straight down into a valley. The rocks were really wet and I was so terrified of slipping in the mud straight off the cliff, but I didn't. I thought I wouldn't be scared too, and when it was my turn to go, I was acting so casual. Then when I had to jump off the cliff, I was so afraid, but i did it! I reached the bottom, which turned out to be a huge land filled with goat shit. We had to hike down this mountain (really difficult) through goat shit, and all the way back up the top of another mountain. It was beautiful, overlooking the whole golan, but it was hard to pay attention because I was practically dying from the hike, and also freaking out I was going to fall off the mountain. I made it to the end though, covered in mud and shit. I was rewarded with a shot of johnny walker, and a pita! Yay israel! We made it to the hostel which was two hours away for the shabbaton!
The hostel was really nice, and the shabbaton was wiht hebrew u students and ben gurion students. We sang, ate, prayed, drank wine, and had an amazing time. I had friends at Hebrew U which was nice too. We learned about the Golan, and how there are 0 traffic lights, 3 atms, and 1,000,000 mines. crazy.
It was a great weekend! Now we're back in Ulpan! I saw my friend Amit Today, who lives in Or Yehuda and was taking a test at the University-which is why my ulpan class was in another building today (we got so lost getting there) because there were exams at the university today.
Ohh I tried Sabich at Cafe Greg the other day! It's eggplant, hardboiled egg, lettuce, onions, tomatoes, whatever...on pita. It's awesome! But My friend in my class said I have to go to this frischman sabich place to try it there because it's the best in Tel Aviv!
Sorry I haven't been as on top of this as I want... been so busy!! Let's see...Sunsay night we went to a dollars for learning thing at the student center led by the Rabbi's wife. It's a pretty cool program. You go twice a week for an hour, and there are speakers some nights, discussions some nights about Judaism, one night we learn to make challah, and if you commit you get an $100 stipend! It's interesting and fun, and most of the time you get free food! Also, A lot of the OSP students go, so it's a nice community...reminds me a lot of chabad at school (pizza and parsha!)
Becca and I went to the shuk again one day to get our baby mr. pomegranites, they are so tasty and yummy! Our friend picked us up three big ones for 25 sheckels! Becca and I devour a pomegranite every day! MMMM!! we got some more fruit and vegetables..yummm!
Ohh for Shabbas we went to these people's house that the Rabbi hooked us up with. They were lovely peoploe, Esther and Moshe, with three beautiful children. It was a long walk, about three miles, and it was worth it for some tasty shabbos food. However...the husband and wife were...first cousins! Culture shock! But, that's life!
On shabbat, we walked to the becah and the port one day. it was suchhh a long walk along the beach, and we actually walked behind some airport, and behind the fences there were planes taking off, and guard dogs. It was kind of scary, but cool to watch. We walked so far we ended up at the port, which was so alive on shabbat...there were people everywhere!! We met up with some friends, and hung out a little bit.
Other stuff...I got a new ulpan teacher! A male, really cute!...haha, but he and my other ulpan teacher are switching every week, which will be frusturating but I'll get used to it.
So yesterday we went to Jerusalem! It was so much fun, but really cold and rainy! We went to Mt. Olives, ammuntion hill, the kotel of course, the excavation sites, the holy sepulcher..we got to see where jesus was buried and crucified! it was interesting to see because I've seen a lot of the other sites before, and this was really new to me. (or old...rather.) We got to walk through a part of the old city I haven't been to before, and they had awesome shops that I definitely want to go back too. We ate lunch in the new city and it made me sick because there was a nine west there. I mean, why is there a Nine West in the middle of Jerusalem? At times i feel like im still in america.
That's about it. Other than that I've been kind of stressed about classes and stuff. At TAU they require to take five additional classes after ulpan, which is 21 credits, and Hartford only allows 18, so I'm trying to contact so many people. I just want everything to be cleared up and also get Ulpan overwith and start the real semester! The classes seem so exciting, but it's scary because the finals are about 90% of your total grade. Looks like I'll have a lot of reading and studying to do!
On the bus on the way back, this woman was speaking to us in hebrew and said "Ani ohevet yisrael, aval harbeh cushim" for those of you don't know what that means..not important. Another day this week we went to this place Suzanna's for lunch in Neve Tzedeck which is know for their 'filled' food...we got filled potatoes, peppers, chicken...an amazing salad. it was sooo good. I love the food here.
