the email i sent everyone earlier, cut and pasted

Things are really getting busy here in Be'ersheva. It's so shocking that I've already been here almost a month. It definitely FLEW by. At the same time it feels like I've been here forever, but I think that's just because I'm so used to living here. Here goes on my account of the last week:

Monday: Ulpan. Weekly lecture by Rabbi Eli, entitled "Conscious Living." In summary, everyone has a potential in their life; a personal, independent potential. No one can dictate what that potential is other than yourself. The lecture topic led a few of my fellow fellowship-ers to question Eli on their potential as Jews, asking if because they were less religious, were they also less Jewish? Eli did a good job of really emphasizing that it doesn't matter how Jewish you are, as long as you are fulfilling your own personal potential. After Eli's lecture, I went to a school sponsored lecture on the History of Female Rabbinic Ordination by a woman named Elisa Klapheck. The lecture was really more about this woman, Fraulein Rabbiner Jonas, who was the first ordinated Rabbi in the early 20th century. She was a German woman who wrote a thesis on whether it was possible for a woman to be a rabbi, and she used all the sources, such as Talmud/Gemorrah/Bible/etc to prove her case. When the Nazi's came, she was taken to Auschwitz where she continued giving sermons within the camp. *VERY* interesting story, and her biography (by Elisa Klapheck) is available - it's entitled "Fraulein Rabbiner Jonas" If you buy it, save it for me so I can read it too!!!

Tuesday: Ulpan. I met with Shlomo (the head of the Overseas Program here) about the semester/my courses/etc. Decided to sign up for Politics and Public Policy of Israel as my 4th class, and I'm going to look in on the other classes the first week to see if there's a different one I'd like to take, since we have a "shopping period." It also looks like Shlomo might have found me an internship with an art history professor which is SUPER exciting. I haven't been able to meet with him yet because he keeps cancelling on me, but hopefully tomorrow? Ended the day with by far the best movie ever - Casablan. An Israeli musical from the 70's. But seriously, this is a MUST SEE, if you can find it. If you can, my birthday is May 11, but Hanukkah is sooner.

Wednesday: Ulpan. I met with Rose Weinberg, the Israeli representative for Brandeis. She took me out to lunch (and said it was on Brandeis's money - even better!) and we talked about how I'm doing/whether I'm happy or not (I am!). She knows Mom's cousin Yosi Aronson because they lived in the same building - YAY JEWISH GEOGRAPHY! The OSP group went on a tour of Be'ersheva. The city is actually HUGE and some areas are really really REALLY nice. I took lots of pictures. I also found the Negev Art Museum and I'm hoping to go soon! After the tour we walked around, went to a street festival, and got ice cream. It may sound weird, but I got poppy-seed ice cream (it looked like cookies and cream) and it was actually *really* delicious.

Thursday: Ulpan. Bus with my friend Rachel to Jerusalem. The group was going to Jerusalm on Friday but we went a day earlier to visit with her friend in the city and go out. On the way to Jerusalem (actually, right outside of Jerusalem) our bus broke down. We had to jump on another bus headed to the central bus station. On our bus was a group of Americans involved with Otzma. One of the girls just graduated from Brandeis and was headed to Lauren Apfelbaum-Miller's place (for those of you out of the loop, I worked at Phonathon with Lauren). Israel is just super cool. Rachel's friend is renting/house-sitting in the German colony which is really nice. The friend and roommate were super cool and we had fun going out to dinner and the bar.

Friday: Taxi-ed to Yad Vashem to meet up with my group. The museum was re-done a year or 2 ago, and it's much more powerful now. Our tour guide was very good, but unfortunately we didn't have too much personal time to go through the exhibits at our own pace. After the museum we went to Armon Hanaziv (I think that's where Mika had her Bat-Mitzvah?) to eat lunch. Then we went to the Old City where we walked around and saw the basics like the Cardo. After a brief visit at the Kotel, a few of us went to the Armenian Quarter to shop/explore. I bought a really beautiful tapestry for my room for cheap from a guy and his uncle who were SO nice and SO funny. I got my haggle on and got the price down from 400 NIS to 100. Not too shabby. Later in the afternoon we met up with Rabbi Eli who showed us where we were staying - the Heritage House (free, Jewish hostel in the Old City). Really nice for what it was, and of course, the men have their own "House" down the street. We showered, hung around, and then went to the Kotel for Shabbos. Not that great on the women's side so a few of us tried to join in on the men's side (from the other side of the fence). For dinner we were separated into small groups and taken to the homes of Jewish families in the Old City. 2 other OSP kids and I went to the Klein family for dinner. A really nice couple with a cute little boy who was asleep on the couch the whole time. The husband is American and the wife is Swedish and she looked about half his age. They did something I haven't seen yet in the more religious group which is after the husband blessed the son and wife, the wife then blessed the son and the husband! WHOA! And THEN, right before the meal, the husband spontaneously started talking to his wife, having a somewhat personal moment, where he told her, in his very breathy quiet voice, that if it wasn't for her, he wouldn't breathe, and that he is so thankful for her, etc etc. And then she did the same back. Random, but really nice. Ate some really good food, of course. Passed out once I got back to the hostel.

Saturday: Woke up early (the Hostel kicks everyone out to pray at 10:3am) and went back to the Kotel. I was able to spend a little bit more time. Lunch at Eli's place in Jerusalem. Lots of fun. Siesta time back at the hostel where I got to take a nap before a lecture by one of the most famous Rabbi's in the Old City right now, Rabbi Aba Wallens-something? *GREAT* lecture on Tradition vs. Self Realization. He talked about how there are Jews who are Jews because that's what tradition taught them, and there are Jews who find Judaism for themselves, and that, to be a successful Jew, you need to have both. Really fascinating and thought-provoking, and true. It's really not enough to say you celebrate Shabbat or wear Tefillin because that's what your father did, and his father before him. Finished off Shabbos with dinner at Eli's and Havdallah. Hung out in the Old City while we waited for our Sherut (shared taxi) back to Be'ersheva. After this trip, I really feel like I know the Old City like the back of my hand. It's a complete maze, but I know a large portion of it now.

Sunday: Ulpan. Hung around doing nothing since I had spend a good deal of money over the weekend. Rather than go out with the group, a few of us stayed behind. One girl and I made a rice with beans/peppers/other assorted random vegetables that came out tasting really good and CHEAP! haha). After, I exposed a few of the other kids to the wonders of the documentary THE ARISTOCRATS! I gave them the disclaimer that it's really really really REALLY offensive, but for the most part they loved it as much as me. (Only one guy couldn't handle it and left)

I'm not up to date on what's going on politically in Israel, but just to show that you never know what's going to happen in Israel, I have two examples from the weekend. Thursday ( I believe ) the beach I went to in Ashkelon the previous weekend was hit by a rocket from Gaza. Thursday night while I was on Ben Yehuda street, the police had to block off a street so that they could safely blow up a bag that had been left behind the street. The area blocked off was the street right in front of the hostel that I stayed at when I was in Jerusalem 2 weekends ago.

Yallabye

courses!

ok, so i have to start thinking about what courses i'm going to take this fall and i need some help. originally, on the bgu website, the course guide offered about 30 or 40 courses for the semester. we've been offered 9 courses to choose from. i guess they're trying to make it easier for us to choose?? actually, i'm kinda upset since there were some really interesting courses that i wanted to take that i no longer can. but, anyways, here's what i'm thinking:
1. Archaeology and the History of Israel
2. Visual Culture in Ancient and Medieval Judaism
3. Faith and Reason in Jewish Philosophy
4. this is where i need help. should i take:
a. Critical Decisions in the History of the State of Israel
b. Terrorism and Guerilla Warfare in the International Arena and the Middle East
c. Medical Ethics in teh Jewish and Israeli Legal Systems
d. Environmental and Natural Resources Policy in Israel and the Middle East
e. Politics and Public Policy in Israel
Thanks for your help!!!!

too tired to write an email to everyone so thought i'd just do a quick update on the last few days on here... yesterday i woke up at 6:30am to drive up north (not *that* north) to an ecological farm. while i don't believe in waking college students up that early for any reason, it was a fun day. at the ecological farm we learned what they're trying to do as an ecological farm. basically they're trying to be as self-sufficient as possible while living as close to the land as they can. all their buildings are built out of natural materials ( like, mud bricks) and they use recylable goods (plastic bottles/bags/etc) as insulation for their buildings. we got a tour of the farm and vegetables. because the vegetables are grown without pesticides or crap like that we could eat the vegetables right off the vine, so to speak. got to try some really good peppers and tomatoes. also learned how to make mud bricks out of dirt/clay/water/hay. ended up with mud all over my face/clothing. SUPER fun. made our own pita and our own spices to go with and also made some incense. totally awesome farm.

after the farm we went to ashkelon to go to the beach there. AMAZING. the sand was soooo clean (someone was shocked to see glass shards and i was like - what? you think a few pieces of glass are bad?) and the water was totally warm and clear. i could see the ground under me while i was in the water!! the tide was super strong and eventually i got out and layed out on the beach in the sun and listened to the ipod. so relaxing and wonderful.

today was mostly uneventful. did homework outside on the grass. went to the gym. potluck dinner upstairs followed by some music/guitar playing/eukulele. then some project runway. now i can't stop coughing. LAMEEEEE

tomorrow should be eventful and email worthy since i have both academic orientation and volunteer orientation.

lailah tov

So, you know that roommate I never saw or talked to?? Well, it turns out that she's moving out... tomorrow morning... and it looks like she's taking all those beautiful pots and pans with her... DAMN IT! Apparently I have to go shopping tomorrow to buy myself those basics... a plate... a pot... a frying pan... what a bummer

Funny enough, the conversation we just had, where I asked if she was moving out and she said she was going home tomorrow morning... that was our longest conversation in the 2.5 weeks i've been here...

I Can Do Laundry!!

It happened... I finally ran out of clothing and *needed* to do laundry asap today. Went to a lecture/discussion thingy at the Student Center led by Eli titled "Judaism on Joy and Depression." I also found out more on the fellowship that I'm hoping to do. A lot of me is doing it for the money, but I'm also really interested, and I wouldn't mind having activities to do to keep me busy. Plus, free food. :) When I got back from Eli's discussion group I decided that it was "that time" and scoped out the laundry facilities. Luckily, Hannah and Scott were already there and Scott, being the Laundry God that he is, explained to me the difficult and confusing process. Here it is for everyone else:
1. Put in 2 NIS
2. Swipe the student card
3. Press the yellow button
4. Press either of the top 2 buttons on the other machine
5. Take the cup now filled with laundry detergent
6. Repeat steps 1-3
7. Press the bottom button on the other machine
8. Take the cup now filled with fabric softener
9. Put clothing into laundry machine
10. Pour the detergent into slots A & B ( like, half in each)
11. Pour the fabric softener into slot C
12. Go back to the machine and put in 7 NIS
13. Swipe card
14. Press the # button of your washing machine

Needless to say, I almost needed to write down those instructions, but luckily I got through it ok. Drying was easier, partially because my 2 loads of washing fit in the 1 dryer. I'm really excited to have clean clothing again!

I Can Cook!

We're having a potluck dinner in half an hour and I think I might have gone overboard. Signed up to make a main dish and ended up with all that food. Spanish rice, beans, ghetto-fabulous quesadillas, veggies, and chips/salsa. Went to both the grocery store and shuk to get my ingredients. The grocery store was mostly unexciting minus the fact that they actually had salsa. The Shuk was much more exciting. Not gonna lie, it was partially because all the guys kept hitting on me, haha. O well. Everything at the shuk was super inexpensive. For example, I wanted to buy 2 stalks of scallions and the guy didn't want any money for them! I was like "of course i'm gonna pay you mr. dudeman" and he was like "no, no, no" so I handed him 2 NIS and he gave me 1.5 NIS back. O well. I also bought eggplant, tomatoes, cucumbers, plums, nectarines, onion, peppers, and who knows what else. O, I bought some really good Bedoin style pita bread. It was the closest thing I could find to a tortilla (without actually making them myself) so I used that stuff to make my quesadillas. The don't even taste that bad! They totally look legit, I swear. I'm really excited to have the eggplants because tomorrow night I can use my leftover tomato sauce and make something fun with my eggplants and peppers. YAY COOKING!! The only problem with my newfound love for cooking is that I haven't started my homework and it's 7:30 pm and the potluck is at 8. And who knows how long that will go. O well. The plan right now is to bring my homework with me to dinner to try and do with Rachel while we eat. If not, I eat fast, so I can be done quick enough to come back to my room and do it after dinner. I really hope I get some leftovers from all my cooking!!

After class on Thursday, Rachel, Hannah, Amanda and I bussed up to Jerusalem. The bus took about 2 hours but luckily I was able to sleep for most of it. Lots of soldiers were going home or to base. Once in Jerusalem, we tried to get a cab to Ben Yehuda Street but the cabbie wanted 40NIS (not ok) so when we said No Thanks he said we could go f ourselves. Lovely. Walking was better anyways because we walked through a market on our way and were able to pick up 5 rugelach for 4NIS (very ok). In Jerusalem we stuck mainly to Ben Yehuda Street and its surrounding area since we didn't want to pay for cabs or ride any busses. Turned out to be a good idea since some poor Italian tourist got stabbed in the back in the Old City that day. After we walked around a little bit we realized we should probably find a place to stay. Luckily, across the street from where we were then standing was the Jerusalem Hostel. 64 NIS/ night which was totally ok. There weren't any rooms left so we stayed in the dorm-style room. We grabbed the last 4 of 5 beds. For dinner we went to a spaghetti place that Rachel really liked (when she was at the Hebrew U ulpan). On Ben Yehuda street that night there was an artist festival or something so there were a lot of street performers. Some guys were breakdancing. Some guys were dressed up as giraffes and standing on stilts. Totally cool. After shopping around a little bit we went to Rachel's favorite bar, Zolli's. Super chill bar with awesome bartenders. One was an Israeli with an Australian accent. Super hott combination. We were joined by Rachel's friend Moriah, and had a really good time at the bar. After the bar we went to Holy Bagels (haha) and I found the Jerusalem Coffee Bean!! The next morning we shopped some more (I picked up some tank tops and some Israeli pants).

When I got back, I had just enough time to shower and read before watching A Mighty Wind with some of the other kids on the Me'onot (dorms) grassy area and then get ready for Shabbos dinner at Eli's apartment. Eli is the Chabad-esque guy for Ben Gurion. He had us over for both Shabbos Dinner and Lunch with his wife and 2 daughters. His daughters are SO cute. Eli isn't too preachy which is nice, and he also plans a lot of activities around Israel for us, so that should be fun. There's a weekend trip up to the Old City soon that I'm going to join. Hopefully we're also going paintballing soon too.

I'm currently finishing up my homework and then I have to find some dinner. Tomorrow I have class (I'm still not quite used to the different week here) and after class a few of us are going to the shuk (market). Tomorrow afternoon I have to make a main dish of some sort for the potluck we're having. I still haven't decided what to make, but I was thinking about making some Mexican food or something. Yum.

i've officially started classes... well, the one class... mmm, Hebrew 3 hours a day... yum... i'm in class 8:30 - 12:30 Sunday - Thursday with a half hour break 10:30-11:00... it's not too shabby especially since my professor is super awesome... i'm actually learning... at least i think i am... it could just be that since i don't have any other classes to worry about at the moment i'm not letting hebrew take the backseat to everything else and my life currently revolves around it... after class i come home (haha, i called my silly little apartment home) (it *is* nice though) and make some lunch (today was instant couscous!) (don't judge me - it was a dollar at the dorm's supermarket and i wasn't up for making something real)... after lunch i whip out the homework and get to work... after homework i take a nap... after my nap i get to work studying all those words i wrote down during the 3 hours of class... today i wrote down 64 new words/verbs... i haven't yet learned them all, but when i get back from this bbq tonight i'll get to work learning the rest... i knew that the whole study abroad thing in israel was exactly what i needed to *actually* learn hebrew... it might also help that hebrew is the only thing i hear... some people speak english, but it's rare to hear people conversing in it... most people only speak english when they realize we can't speak hebrew (yet)

i'm off to the bbq...

i'm, like, totally in israel

crazyyyyy
i'm, like, totally in israel
and it's, like, totally awesome
arrived after what seemed a million hours, but i'm at the university, unpacked in my room, safe and sound :) i've got my cell phone (and even though it costs $34608234208208 dollars a minute to talk, let me know if you want my digits). the room is pretty tiny, but the closet is pretty big so at least all my stuff is neatly put away. it's also pretty bare so i'm hoping to pick up some stuff to decorate it with asap. i had my first falafel (of the trip) for lunch, and shockingly, not that good. but apparently be'er sheva is the best place in israel to get falafel, so i'll try again soon.
when i received my school id (of course a pretty gross picture, but it's 90 something degrees so i guess i can't expect any better) i got a nice little present of a red (!!!) bgu blanket and little purse thing (i love that israeli guys carry purses. it adds so much to the hottness). i've tried talking in a little bit of hebrew, but it's SO hard, so hopefully as i get more assimilated, i'll get more used to talking. i understand most of what people say to me, i just can't really answer back.
15:26 = 3:26, right? and dinner is at 6... so maybe i'll go take a nap... :)