THURSDAY:

On Thursday we didnt have anything until 3:30, so katie woke rach and me at 10, but we didnt get out of bed right away. Our plan was to wake up, go for a run to the beach, go to the market, then go get 5 shek falafel. We ended up just running part of the way to the beach and then just dancing. It was so windy and when we reached the beach Katie was joking around pretending she was holding onto a pole so she wont blow away. Then we came up with an idea of katie holding my legs in the air so it looked like i was holding on so i wouldnt fly away. Rach would take a pic on her iphone. Katie didnt hear me when i told her that she was pulling my leg too far back and when i wouldnt lift up my other leg to give to her she simply (i just giggled thinking about it) kicked my foot up. I then slid down the pole and rolled onto the dirt. We almost peed our pants from laughing so hard! After just goofing off for such a long time we took the bus back to my apartment where katie left after making us schnitzel. I havent had it in so long and it was just so good!!!

At 3:30 we had to go to the ulpan center because the tzofiem (scouts) planned games for us for chanukah. There were different stations--jeopardy, sufganyot (eat one in 5 then 4 then 3 then 2 then 1 bites, each time it was someone different) (julia did it in 3 and the powder got all over the place, katie did it in 2 bites), musical chairs (scouts thought katie's name was kadie), a balloon game i didnt do, making designs out of candle wax (i made an Israeli flag), and making sufganyot (which i also didnt participate in because i was so full). I mostly just hung out with friends and the scouts and ate sufganyot. They are just so good!! After this I walked home alone and then showered and packed up for my weekend. I said bye to julia and then went to the bus stop that would take 40 minutes to the tel aviv new central bus station. I was meeting nathan there and then we would take a bus together to jerusalem. I was going to see boaz and he was going to see family. It was nice being with him and goofing around with him.

It was raining a little in bat yam and also in jerusalem. I was happy that i wore my winter jacket because it is much colder in jerusalem.

FRIDAY:

On friday i had to catch a 7am bus from the central bus station. i was exhausted. i then had trouble finding how to get out of the new central bus station of tel aviv...if you saw me you would laugh. I finally found the bus i needed to take and when i got back to my apartment i ended up being able to lie in bed (rachel's bed) for 20 minutes. I then got ready to go to the ulpan to go on the bus. It was POURING out. I was so upset i didnt wear my rain boots or rain jacket. Luckily i took my umbrella. When we got on the bus we all took off our wet clothing and wore flip flops. The bus was supposed to leave at 10, but left like 30 minutes after that. The bus ride wasnt too bad. I just listened to my ipod and slept. It was a 3 hour drive to where we were going. We went to Keshet in the Golan. We stayed in a hostel and it was great because rach, katie, and naomi were all in a room with me...and that was it! We were all so happy. Boaz (our shevet director) forced rach, katie, and me to come up with a d'var, so we decided to go all out. We did a parody of "Stick to the Status Quo" from high school musical. The parsha was about pharaoh having dreams and joseph interpreting them and offering pharaoh advice--even though pharaoh didnt ask for advice. maybe ill post the lyrics another time? While we were there, soldiers who were thinking about converting to judaism were there along with yeshiva boys. interesting mix. We had minyan with them and dinner at the same place, but different rooms. The food was pretty good. After dinner and doing our d'var and just embarrassing ourselves, we had some activities and then tish in our meeting place which was in one of the bomb shelters. I fell asleep on katie's lap. After tish it was only 8 and i thought i would go to sleep, but we all stayed up talking and just goofing off. Oh! i forgot to mention that it was so so so foggy out and you couldnt see like 2 feet in front of yourself! It felt like i was in a dream! wait, was i??? stam!

SATURDAY:

I was too tired to go to shul, so woke up at like 10:30 and left the room at 11 for lunch. After lunch we rested for a little and then went on a tour of the place. Ami (one of our madrichs) lived there because there is a program for non-israelis who are joining the army to be there. He showed us around and we went up this hill and we were in the bunker that used to be occupied by the syrians and then the israelis. On one side of us was the kineret and on the other side was syria. In front of us there was land where the army practice grenades and train soldiers. After the tour cara, rach, and i went to watch yeshiva and army guys play basketball. We acted like little girls by giggling and stuff. it was fun. of course cara knew one of them and had mutual friends with others (she knows everyone!) We then looked for where minyan was but couldnt find it, so some of us just hung out in the bomb shelter where we munched on food and drank pop. Then we went back to our rooms where we goofed off and rested. It was then time for shachareet and then havdallah. After havdallah we had 30 minutes to pack up and go onto the bus. The bus ran late, so i called lori and we talked about israel, etc. The bus ride back wasnt too bad. We stopped somewhere for a 15 minute break. People who were late had to be at the ulpan 15 minutes before everyone had to the next day (most of the brits--they were the ones who were also freaking out). We got back at 10 and went to bed pretty early.

SUNDAY:

We had to be at the ulpan by 9. We had our meeting and since noa wasnt feeling well, she isnt going to our apartment until thursday. Rach and i then took a nap when we got back and then went for a quick shop for food with shani. We had to be back at the ulpan by 1:15 to see what classes we are in. I have Jewish Philosophy which i really like and i also have the david project, which i also enjoy. After classes we had dinner and then at 9:30 we went to the beach for a bonfire (for the whole section). We found a wooden plank on the way and since we are bat yamers we took it. No one showed up until 11, which is when i wanted to go because i was exhausted. We met some south africans. The night was really funny--i spat out water from my mouth twice. I hung out with the scouts and got to know them a little better...i think im starting to be friends with them! woo hoo!! Then a group of us left around 12ish and on the way walking home we saw people in a cab on their way to the beach! crazy!!

MONDAY:

I had to wake up early in order to meet up with one of the girls (whose name is also jess) i am volunteering with. We had to be at the school by 8. I was exhausted. We had trouble finding a street and went in the wrong direction. I was tired, but attempted to practice my hebrew asking where the street was. No one could understand what street i was looking for because of my strong accent. great. Eventually we got help and got to the school. The teachers are really nice and although it isnt a high school i really enjoyed it. The main teacher is so nice and always just gives us students to take out (the good ones) and to either do stuff in the book with them, or just talk. No matter what we did, she was so grateful. it was so nice! Also, it was one of the teacher's birthdays so she brought in all sorts of cakes. A teacher handed me and jess one. so nice! There are 4 scouts that also work in the same school as us. It is fun to talk to them in the hall or in the teachers lounge. I found out that brittney murphy died. i couldnt believe it. I guess i can mention here that i have been reading at least 1 article on ynet everyday. It is nice to know what is going on in israel or israelis or jews. I read about the sign above the entrance to auschwitz was stolen and potential swap for gilad shalit and about the 2 israelis in new york who created an app on the iphone.

After volunteering at 1:30 i had shevet optional classes. The classes are interesting. There is one teacher and only like 6 of us. First she teaches about women in the tanach and then she teaches about shabbat. I really like the classes. I have been taking notes. Maybe when i dont have so much blogging to catch up on i can share some things i learned. Then Katie, Rach, and i went to the beach. I got a falafel and embarrassed myself a couple of times when talking to the guy who works there. I'm trying to become friends with him. It isnt the 5 shek place, but it is just so convenient that it is right on the boardwalk. Rach and i just sat on the sand for a little, just watching the water and then katie came. She brought a grapefruit and chocolate. Katie and i napped on her towel, while rach just sat. Weird things happened--2 guys were on horses?! and this religious woman stripped into her underwear and bra and went into the water for a quick rinse or for a mikvah? we arent sure. she was just coughing and so cold when she came out. That night we then decided just to go to tel aviv to go to mike's bar. I talked to daniel fastman a bit and then told meir that i would be in tel aviv. he ended up meeting me there!!! It was nice to see him...i was nervous it would be awkward, but it wasnt. I hadn't seen him in a year and a half!! He is in college and working. Ill probably see him soon, especially because i live close by.

TUESDAY:

I didnt have to be at the ulpan until 10 for a shevet program. When we got there we were split up into 2 groups and then within those groups split up again. We were given a packet about shabbat and what it means to the orthodox and the secular. One group looked at the orthodox sources and the other group read what shabbat meant to some secular Jews. I was in the orthodox sources one, which was kind of annoying because we did the same thing in my optional class. whatever. After discussing both groups talked about what they looked at. Then we were given the option to make havdallah candles! There was only like 6 of us who stayed, but it was better that way. It was really fun, but really frustrating and the same time. I am just not artistic. My candle became a disaster, maybe ill take a picture of it....the ends broke off so it isnt long, but i now have 2 small colorful candles. Rachel's and cara's came out the best. Rach also made candles out of her fingers? haha. It reminded me of the handwaxing people get at events and bar mitzvahs (guilty of having that at mine!)

After this it was a little after 12 and i was so nervous i would be late for picking up lori. I came back to the apartment, had lunch and figured out how i would get there--take the bus to arlozorov train station and then take a train to the airport. She was landing at 3:05 and so i left at 1, just to be safe. So the 42 bus is supposed to end at the train station...i took it before and that is what happened. It started to rain on the bus and the bus ride last time took me like 45 minutes...i was on the bus for much longer and was really nervous. There was some traffic and i just wanted to get to the train station, because i know that place well. I was debating if i should get off, but told myself just to stay on, but i didnt remember going through the city and then going into like a neighborhood. great. all of the sudden it was me and this other guy left on the bus and then the bus driver was telling us in hebrew to get off the bus. um what?!?! i was freaking out and i asked the bus driver in english about the arlozorov train station. he told me he stopped there, but that wasnt the last stop. shit. he told me i had to take the bus in the opposite direction. I then get off the bus in the rain and see the 42 in the opposite direction stopped for some poeple. I ran across the street, but the driver shut the doors of the bus right before i got there. He saw me but then started to drive away, even though i was right at the doors. He then felt bad for me because it was raining and i was holding in tears so he let me on. He told me that arlozorov would take about 20 minutes to go get there. I was freaking out and just so tense! I decided that as soon as i got to the train station i wouldnt take a train i would just take a cab. I got really anxious and couldnt wait, so i saw a cab at a stop the bus stopped at, so i took that cab. He told me it would take about a half hour without traffic. With traffic it could take an extra 5, 10 minutes. thanks genius! He told me it would cost 100 sheks, i told him to do it on the meter. It ended up being 100. ha. I didnt get to the airport until like an hour after lori's flight landed. I sprinted in the airport looking for her, but then when i couldnt find her i looked at her flight status. She landed late. I then waited about 10 minutes for her. THANK HASHEM. That was so great that her flight was late, i knew she wouldnt ever forgive me. She kept on telling me that she is only nervous that she will get off the plane and i wouldnt be there. few! IT WAS SO NICE TO SEE HER! She looked so lost and it was so funny. I brought a flag to dance with, but we both decided it just wasnt necessary.

At first I had planned lori and I taking a train and then a bus, but we didn’t know where the train was, so we just decided to take a cab. The cab ride was long, but it was perfect because lori and I caught up on a lot. When we got back to my apartment we dropped off her stuff and left to walk to the beach. When we got there we got falafel and I am proud to say that I am legit friends with the falafel guy. I embarrassed myself a lot (for example, when he asked what I was doing here in Hebrew I responded that I wanted falafel, thinking he wanted to know if I wanted falafel or schwarma, but he meant what I was doing in Israel..great) He also knew what I wanted in my falafel..he remembered me! So he asked the basic, usual questions and then I found out that he is 21. It took forever, he likes to take his time with me…probably realizing that im American and I don’t seem to care if it takes awhile. Lori also got. When we left we sat on a bench and ate our falafel, I decided to go a little crazy and live life by getting a coke. The falafel was just so delicious! Lori and I discussed how crazy it is how this (attractive) guy is 21—noah’s age!

After hanging out for a little, we got really chilly so we walked back. We then hung out in my room for a little and talked with rach. At 8 there was tzofim night so we went and it was a lot of fun. It was clue night (like the game clue). We divided up into teams and then went and did different activities to ask questions. There was an egg toss, memory game, human pyramid and walking, and others, but the one i thought was the craziest was the 5 shek falafel one. We had to pass a falafel through our entire group by only using our mouths. I was freaking out…im not a touchy person so im not even comfortable doing the game where you have to pass something by just using your neck. UGH! I thought we just wouldn’t do it, but we ended up doing it. I was freaking out and so embarrassed because everyone was watching…but I did it!!! I was shaking afterwards! Hahaha.

After this we went back to the apartment and hung out a bit. Lori and I then decided to go to the beach and hang out. It was really fun and nice just to goof off with lori around others. We ended up seeing the south Africans and lori and I talked to the one I met and then one of his friends. It was past 12 and I had volunteering in the morning, so we left. On the way home some guys came up and talked to us. We made up fake names and it was fun just messing with them. Lori had a good night, which is my main goal while she is here. I want her to have such a great time!!!

WEDNESDAY:

On Wednesday I had volunteering at 9. I woke up pretty tired, but not too exhausted. We took some students out and helped them. Besides me and Jess, there is another brit named Jo. She’s nice. The good thing about not volunteering with my good friends is that I meet other people. We also helped staple papers together for a big test all of the grades are having on Sunday. We got to leave at 12, even though we are supposed to be there until 1. We have class at 1:30, so the school says it is fine. Also, we might get a schedule of what students to work with on Thursdays when the English teachers aren’t there. We will see if they actually do that. After the school I had lunch with lori and then we went to class together. The Jewish Philosophy class wasn’t as good as it was the first time. Lori and I decided that it isnt the teacher, but the students. Some of the people in my class are so annoying!! Also, a lot of them aren’t afraid to talk back to each other, which makes the class so tense! Lori and I were a bit freaked out!! The David Project class was interesting and although some of it is a review, there is new stuff we discuss, such as the Goldstone Report. When classes were over we napped for a bit and then after eating we got ready to go to herzaliah for a birthday party. There was a bus taking us there and back and we only needed to pay 25 shekels! Also, we got to get into the club for free!!! The club was pretty fun, but filled with creepy men with their hair up in buns. We left an hour early because we got there an hour early. Lori and I befriended the bus driver. When we got on the bus we found out we couldn’t leave because the money that they had for the busride back was stolen. They put it in a jacket under a couch cushion. The problem was that some people didn’t have any more money on them. So some people had to pay like 100 or even more, which sucks so much. The bus driver was saying that we should have just given him all of the money at first, but they wanted to make sure that he would come back, which does make sense. It was just stupid that someone didn’t hold onto the money for the entire night. When we got back we all just fell asleep. Luckily, unlike rach, I didn’t have volunteering in the morning.

THURSDAY:

Yesterday we woke up around 11ish. Before I showered I cleaned up the kitchen and the living room. Noa was coming to check our apartment, so we had to clean it. When I finished cleaning I showered and then I cleaned up my room. I felt bad because I didn’t have volunteering, so I can do more of the cleaning up. The meeting was at 1:30 and noa said that our apartment looked really good. Woo hoo!! After noa left, rach, lori, and I went to go get 5 shek falafel. We all agree that it is so much better than the more expensive one by the beach. The beach one is just convienient, even though the 5 shek place is closer to us. The fries are thicker and just so good!! We took money out from our stipend and then went back home. We divided the money up and I got 160 sheks. We then packed up to try and catch a 5:30 bus that would take us directly from bat yam to Jerusalem. It was very stressful and hectic. I thought it wouldn’t take me so long to pack…but I was wrong. Rach and I packed in my bag and we filled it up. The problem is that we might be going to eilat right from Jerusalem, so we had to pack stuff for 2 different weathers. We caught the next bus and Naomi was the first on the bus and asked if there was a discount for students—you can get a 2 way ticket for the price of a 1 way. We all got the student discount!! We all spread out in the back, but then it got filled with soldiers and this one commander name Eitan sat next to me. Katie and I talked to him for most of the ride. He has been in the army for 6 years and he has 3 more. He is in communications and during his first 3 years of being in the army he went to college where he majored in physics and minored in math. He lives in Gilo and lives right by the school I volunteered at! When we finally got to Jerusalem we walked to Katie’s apartment which was a pretty long walk, especially with all of our stuff. We were all so hungry and when we went out to go eat, we ended up going grocery shopping for some basics and met britty there. We then came back to the apartment to get ready go out. When we got to ben yehuda/crack square (it was like a 20 minut walk from Katie’s) we got pizza. I split a 2^nd one with rach. We bumped into Or (madrich from Jerusalem) and it was so nice to see him!! We were then hung out there for a while and I bumped into so many people I knew. I saw the south African from the beach, students from makif gilo, and friends that I met after seeing them weekend after weekend at crack square. I felt so cool that all of these people knew me! Haha. Nathan came and him, lori, and I all hung out. We got back to the apartment but didn’t get to sleep until after 4.

Note to self: alaska

FRIDAY: Today I woke up and then i just hung out with lori while everyone else was out and about. I also caught up on a lot of blogging (as you can see.) When rach and katie got back from the shuk we ate some food and then i took a little nap before we left to go to the kotel. We were going to eat at a random family's house that jeff seidel would put us in. We thought we would stay together, but that didnt happen. (note to self: mordi) Cara, lori, and i went to this one house where it didnt seem like they were expecting us. They were really religious with 6 kids and the mom was so young. The children were beautiful and so was the mom. It ended up being really nice and chill. We got out of dinner early so we were on our way to the kotel when katie called our names from behind us. She wasnt feeling well. After going to the b-room and davining we left the kotel and then we grabbed rach from where she was eating. Then rach and lori walked with cara back to where cara was staying and i was with katie and we were waiting for naomi and ale. We were meeting them at a fountain. We ended up seeing mike!!!! woo hoo!!! we talked with him and eventually we left. When we got home we had a pomagranate and then went to bed.