long time no... blog

i didn't have high expectations for my blog when i first set it up... i'm just not very good at keeping a "journal" type thing. but, it's november, and that's pretty worthy of an update on my life here in the holyland.

i'm beginning to freak out that i leave in less than 2 months. don't get me wrong - i miss all ya'll in the states HARBEH (a lot) but i'm not necessarily ready to leave my new home here in b7 (be'ersheva). israel feels just as home as the states, maybe even more... no worries though, when it's time, i'll get on the plane and come back to you guys...but only because i'll be back in israel soon enough

midterms have started and i'm super busy keeping up with readings and homework and writing papers and studying for tests. no worries though - i still make sure to have a *little* fun (like in the picture - rachel and i took some time off from hebrew homework to practice wearing our hair modestly) but i'm not on a *total* vacation as my mom likes to put it. i go to more class here than i will be next semester. i'm rocking 6 classes - 6!! (at the end of the add/drop period i decided to also take Representing "Home": America, Israel, and Jewish Identity - it's a literature class that i'm loving). instead of the internship, i'm tutoring high schoolers in english once (maybe twice) a week. and, i'm still doing my fellowship with Rabbi Eli and Chana. so basically, i'm busy. but i love it.

i went to 2 amazing concerts this last week - din din aviv at the dorms and shuti ha'navuah in b7's old city. din din aviv was fun - she sang some of the popular music that i hear on the radio. shuti ha'navuah was AMAZING and i'm kinda in love with them. super innovative, yet super nerdy. i need to steal their music from someone.

ma od? it rained for the first time since i've been here. for those of you not up to date on weather here in b7, i'm still wearing tank tops and flip flops everyday. yup, i know you all hate me. sometimes i wear a sweatshirt or scarf. but only because it's really cold in my classes and their fashionable. :) the 1 day of rain was preceded by a week of lighting storms that were SUPER cool to watch. i'd never seen lighting minus rain, so it was fun going power walking with rachel and every now and then seeing a burst of light. the rain was exciting too, but i like my sunny days.

i can't think of what else i wanted to write about in my blog.. but i'll leave you with some inspirational words from rabbi eli - (i'm probably getting this totally wrong)

the essence is in the name. egypt=mizra'im=constrained. america=am ri'ca= empty land. canada=can nee'dah=menstruating woman.

yallabye!