SUNDAY

I had to wake up at 7 am after getting back to my apartment a little after 5. I was so tired. We finished up cleaning our room and took our bags down. We then had some time to chill out and whenever i got a chance i would sleep. I ended up going into the classroom with the piano and james was playing. I was falling asleep to him playing...he is so good! A lot of the british boys know how to play the piano really well. Then others came to play and i fell asleep. I then woke up and went into the library to sleep there for a little. We then had to clean up our apartment some more, but rach and i didnt really have to because when our apartment was getting inspected our room and the bathroom (the one with the showers) were clean and approved. yeahhhhhh!!! Finally our apartment got approved, and so then britty called a cab, because she was going to go to the central bus station and go to her seminary. It was really sad when she left. she hugged moran first and britty started to cry (with her sunglasses on), and so then we all started to tear up and cry. Katie and i jokingly ran after the cab. It is going to be weird without her. We will still talk to her and see her, but it is just not going to be the same!

After putting my suitcases on my back and carrying them to the truck with all of our bags (we had stickers on them saying what apartment they were going to go to) rach, julia, and i snuck out and went to beit lechem for some falafel. 7 sheks for half. It was good, but i was still hungry after it. Soon after, we said bye to our madrichim (im going to miss them so much) and were on the buses. There were 2 buses and katie was on the other bus (alphabetical order). It was weird because we didnt have any staff on the bus. Chanichim were in charge of making sure everyone was on the bus. I, along with a lot of other people, passed out on the bus ride. I actually blacked out. it was weird because i thought we would be leaving at like 8 for bat yam, but we didnt leave until like 12 or a little after.

When we got to bat yam we carried our lunch to the blacktop of the building our classes are going to be in (and where we meet up). We then had lunch with our madrichim and scouts. Once again, i wasnt with katie :( We just introduced ourselves. After lunch we were given our apartment key and bus pass and were sent off to our apartment. Our scout knew where we were living. It is a little bit of a walk from the bus stop. We go on a path that takes us through a parking lot, past a beit knesset, on a ramp, and on a dirt trail. There isnt a street below us. Our apartment is called katzenealson 59. The mall where super douche (grocery store) is is right across the street from us.

When we got to our apartment we hung out together for a little--im with shir (our scout), julia, rach, shani, and nicola. julia, rach, and i are in a room together. Our scout is this cute small girl with blonde hair that goes down to her butt. She is really nice and funny--she gets my humor. We all napped, i slept on one of our gross couches. Our apartment has a pretty nice kitchen, a big living room, 2 small bedrooms with 3 people in each, a small toilet without a sink, and then a small bathroom with a tub and sink. Unlike miki's apartment, ours has a few mirrors. Later on after noa (our madricha) came and talked with us, our bags came to a street closer to us than where the bus stop is. We got our bags and brought them to our apartment. Shir helped me take my 3rd bag to our apartment. Oh, i forgot to mention that we live on the 2nd floor, rather than the 6th like others. thank hashem! since our room is really small, we all had to pack at seperate times. Julia went first, but didnt finish because we had to go to the ulpan center at 6:30 to kasher our pots, pans, silverware, etc. We forgot to bring out plates and cups. We dont have any bowls yet, but we are going to get. They bought us pizza for dinner. Then we went back to our apartments and finished unpacking. I was too cold and grossed out to put my sheets on my matress, so i slept with rach. This is a big deal, because i am not a touchy person and i like sleeping in my own bed!

It is a lot different here than jerusalem. I have no clue where everyone lives, im used to us living like next door to me. The apartments arent as nice, but i do like the homey feel. I miss the madrichim...we were friends, but i feel like im not going to be friends with the new madrichim. There are 16 scouts, i havent met all of them yet, but i like the ones i have met. It is also good because i met some of them from when i stayed with miki.

mom, to answer you questions:

did you all clean your apartment so it was as if you were just moving in? yes

what did you sleep in the last night? save your sheets for packing last? or like camp and you pack everything minus sleeping bag? i slept with the sheets on my bed with my sleeping bag. i packed those last. unlike camp, we had a long time to pack.

must be so strange to think one third of year is done - and you are moving on. didn't realized britty would have been in your apt in bat yam. any chance she'll change her mind? it is weird to think i have already been here for 3 months!! it is going by too quickly! like when i look back it has been a long time, but it has been flying by. and britty is not changing her mind.

is her sem in jerusalem - i think you told us it was. it's a sem kendall was considering. it is 2 hours away from jerusalem. it is on a kibbutz and isnt so so so religious--girls dont have to wear skirts. you learn just to learn, not for grades. you also have host families that you go to for shabbat and holidays (if you want).

adn we've switched from french toast wednesdays to pancake wednesdays. see how crazy we are!! WHAT?! that is crazy. are the pancakes at least chocolate chip?!

please take care of yourself, don't get sick(er). i am getting better, even though i have not been sleeping enough. plus, bubbe's vitamins are too big for me to swallow/i havent tried them yet, but they are scary!

oh, btw, are you keeping in touch with your "native" friends?! which "native" friends?! yours or mine--and if mine, who are mine?