Happy Chanukkah

Wow!! It's been a LONG time since I have written. It is now Chaukkah and Israel is a beautiful amazing place to be this time of year. Tomorrow i am going to Uri's a pizza place in Gaula to get the best Israeli Doughnut ever. It is a Chaukkah treat for sure. Here is a picture of me and my roomie, Ailene, at the She'arim Chanukkah party. Chanukkah is a story of miracles. May you be blessed to find all the miracles in your life.



:)

Bye Ocotber

As you can imagine Halloween is not a huge holiday in Israel. Today we took a day trip to the Negev desert. It had nothing to do with Halloween other then the fact that today is October 31st. It was so beautiful and really cool. We went on a long hike through the desert and made sand art. We chipped away at different colored sand stone and made our own sand art it was cool. It was a full day trip and nice to get out of the classroom :)

Here are some pictures, the full load is on facebook so check it out

Thank G-d all is well here in Israel :)

2 months

I have been here for 2 months now!! It's hard to believe. This Shabbos I am going to Neve Yakov. I am very excited. We get two new girls in our apt. as of Wednesday and we will once again be a full house totaling out at 6. Yikes!! We are accustomed to uncrowded life but G-d willing they will be nice girls and we'll all get along well. Not to much to say. Let's see in my leadership program i introduced a school-wide chesed (look it up) program and it had a really good response. So that is really exciting. I am spending next Shabbos in the Old City. So excited!!

More to come..

Changes

What else has changed. Well, me, of course. I am drinking water!! Yes, you read that correctly. I drink at least 2 liters everyday and if it is very hot i often drink 4 or 6. And what about Coca-Cola well now it is a treat that i give myself about once a week. It is so nice and i feel healthier. Who knew water could be so refreshing. Also i walk A LOT more. It is so cool to live in a city where everything is in walking distance and you feel safe while doing it. That being said i do ride the bus into the Old City it's about an hour walk and if i don't have then i don't. What is there to do in Jerusalem. Well tons!! At first i was just shopping and eating but those can both get pretty expensive. So now i cook at home a lot and try to shop for only essentials. I did just by a silver pair of shoes but i am trying to convince myself they were essential for me to wear a skirt i got form home before i left. I have not found the perfect white crisp blouse to go with them so i have yet to wear either. Well i did find it but it was too expensive so i am still searching for a cheaper alternative. On Tuesday, my went on a walking tour of the old city. It was very nice. What else is new well I be a madricha (liaison or a guide) for a Birthright Israel trip at the end of December. We'll see if i get asked to. More details to come...

Some actual writing

Greetings, Readers!! I feel like I haven’t written any actual words yet. I am not a writer but here goes. So I thought I would briefly discuss some differences between America and Israel. Or at least what I know about either of the countries. Until you’re learning full time you don’t really realize how little you know but that’s beside the point. So how does Israel differ from America or let’s say Georgia because that is the one place I can really remember living in. There are Jews everywhere in Israel. I mean it’s really amazing!! When Shabbos happens entire cities shut down, as in walk in the middle of the streets Friday night and all day Saturday. It is a really strange feeling to walk right in the middle of a four lane street with no fear of anyone driving over you. We recently just finished celebrating the holiday of Sukkos. There were Sukkahs as far as the eye could see, in front of every apartment. Even the Burger King whose kosher symbol is not good enough to eat at had a Sukkah. Jews are everywhere. It’s beautiful. There are no dryers as far as I can tell you hang dry everything. It took a lot of getting used to but I think I almost got it down. There is no concept of a swifter wet or dry here and that’s because everyone uses mops, more specifically a piece of cloth on a stick. It’s bizarre for a country that is so technologically advanced they can’t stand the disposable luxuries that we Americans all love. They find them wasteful and there is still some sort of 50’s mentality here in Israel. America has squirrels and Israel has stray cats. They are everywhere. What else is everywhere? Beautiful scenery it is so beautiful here. The sunsets are out of this world. Truly G-d has blessed this country. I love it!! More to come :)

See the chairs say Burger King :)

Golan Heights Final Day

Seeing places where people lived 2,000 years ago never gets old :)

Golan Heights Day 2

Even from our rental car the scenery was breathtaking

But up close was even better. The hiking was intense and the surroundings...well I loved seeing what G-d created