MONDAY:

On Monday I woke up for volunteering and during volunteering we just took students out to either talk with them or do work with them. During the 20 minute break we were outside of the school gates and while we were walking back we saw a girl trying to jump the fence to get out. Jo is telling her to stop and go back down because she works for the school, so the girl goes back down but we all keep on looking back to see if she will climb when we aren’t looking. Jo wanted to tell the guard so in broken Hebrew I explained to him what happened. He asked in Hebrew if she was climbing the fence to get in or get out. When I said out he said that he doesn’t care and it is only his problem as a guard if someone tries to get in. He doesn’t care if they try to get out!!!! After volunteering, Rach, Katie, Naomi, and I went to Tel-Aviv where we went to the castro outlet store. It was nice just to hang out and relax/goof off. I didn’t find anything I wanted…besides some skirts, but I didn’t try on because if it looked good I would have been tempted to buy it.

When we got back to Bat Yam, Rach and I were going to just chill at the ulpan. Julia was already there (she went to shevet optional classes, rach and I just needed a break from them) and so we lied down on grass right by the ulpan. While we were resting we all heard 3 gunshots, but didn’t think anything of it. During the break I found out that those gunshots killed someone and wounded another. Here is an article on it: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3832935,00.html

It is just so weird and crazy that it happened so close to me. I’m not scared or anything, just weirded out. I guess what weirds me out the most is I just don’t know how to act. There is no organized thing the city is doing to discuss what happened. Everyone just goes on with their lives like nothing happened. It is sometimes hard to not think about your life and realize what just happened. I wish there was an appropriate way to respect the person who was murdered. Unfortunately, there isn’t one. I’m also embarrassed to say that it is hard to at least to be respectful to that person and family.

That night, life went on for my roommates and me. Rach and I went for a run, while everyone else in the apartment went for a power walk. It was a hard run because we ran all the way to the beach without any stops (unfortunately all of the crosswalk lights were green when we reached them.) Then we walked back and the power walking group caught up and passed us. Rach and I had a nice/funny conversation realized we needed more bonding time. For us, bonding time sometimes means the most alone you can get on year course without actually being alone. Being with just each other is not a common thing…and this happens way more than real alone time. It is the closest thing we got. When we got back I showered and then we all had a healthy dinner together. I had tuna on crackers (Julia makes good tuna), Israeli salad, and quinoa (guilty-googled how to spell that.) Rach and I then left around 10ish. On the “rape path” I thought I saw something on the path so I stopped. I thought it was the same porcupine I almost stepped on from the other day. Rach didn’t believe me and right before she shined her cell phone light on the ground it ran away. Rach got so scared and screamed like a little girl. We were peeing (almost.) Then when we turned the corner we see this tall man with a dog which made both of us scream. The guy was asking in Hebrew what was wrong with us J James was behind that man and since we were in hysterics, we were unable to get comprehendible words out. We somehow get to tel aviv and go to yogurt world or whatever. 19 sheks for a small with 3 toppings!!! We ate it on a chair and after that we went home. The buses are always so crowded. I don’t like that! When we got back, we ended up watching “Flirting at Forty” together until 2 because our siyyur on Tuesday wasn’t until 5:45 (meaning we could sleep in.)