One door closes and another opens

The hustle and bustle of the holidays in Israel has finally subsided. Things are slowly returning to normal. People are going back to work and school. A sense of "regularity" is back in the air. Now when I say 'normal' and 'regular' please understand that there are few things about living here that are (compared to how I was living at home) both normal and regular. There was a term that we learned when I was in Jewel: "Chavaya". Its closest English meaning is adventure. My life here is an adventure. You have to be able to go with the flow, be adaptable, and ready for anything. That is the biggest difference between my life at home and my life in Israel.

My friends and I have decided that the food in Israel is so amazing that we're going to try out a new restaurant every week. Expect a little more information about the food scene here in the coming weeks. So this past Sunday we went to a Moroccan Restaurant called Darna. I got in early and decided to go to Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf before dinner to work on my Ulpan homework. Yes, I did say Coffee Bean. Oh how I've longed for a half mocha half vanilla ice blended. Yum! While I was finishing up my Ice Blended I got a call from a friend of mine who was at a restaurant with her family across the street. I love this part about Jerusalem. You can walk down the street and run in to people you know anywhere. So I met the family and then the rest of the girls showed up to head to dinner. Darna was incredible. It turns out that it was the same place that my Uncle Bob, Aunt Doris, and I went for dinner when I was in Israel last January. It was just as good this time as last time. We had a great spread of salads to start, followed by Couscous, sweet Cornish Gamehen, and Veel/Lamb Stuffed Artichoke Hearts. We finished off the evening with a "cookie platter" and Moroccan tea. I've also included some pictures of the wonderful meal.

So for the past 2 weeks I have been learning Hebrew intensively at an Ulpan in Rehaviya called Ulpan Aviv. Ulpan Aviv is a one on one training program where I spend 10 days trying to absorb as much Hebrew as I possibly can learn. Mair, my teacher, was phenomenal. For 10 days I was able to slowly slowly grasp more and more understanding of conversational Hebrew... although I can't always get the words out of my mouth to respond, I can understand more though. My reading and writing have increased drastically too. It's amazing what 3 hours a day for 10 days of one on one lessons can do. Now I just have to make myself use it. I'm at the point where I can walk down the street and think about stuff in Hebrew. Again, I just need to push myself to get the words out of my mouth. Just about every time I open my mouth a mixture of Spanish and Hebrew comes out! I'll get there though. I told Mair on my last day that I know I'm harder and more impatient with myself than anyone else. He agreed and reminded me how far I was able to come in such a short time. Thank you Mair. Thank you Ulpan Aviv. I've attached a picture of my certificate of completion (I couldn't figure out how to flip the picture right side up so you'll have to head tilt) from Level Alef along with a picture of Mair and I during our last class together.

Now ulpan is over. Free range learning is over. Onto a bit more structure and a set schedule of classes for the next 6 weeks. Today I started at Nevey Yerushaliym which is located in a section if Jerusalem called Har Nof. To get to Har Nof I usually carpool into to Jerusalem (20 minutes) with a neighbor and then take the 45 minute bus ride to the very end of the line and then have to walk about 15 minutes more to the campus. It's quite a trek, but I'm feeling like it's going to be worth it. Har Nof is beautiful and has sweeping views of the Jerusalem forrest. The campus is like an Oasis with lots of trees and grass which is a big deal for me. Tekoa is a desert so I'm not used to having so much greenery around me. Very beautiful. I only took 2 classes today; Ethics - Pirkei Avot and Connecting with People & Gd - Mishna Torah by The Rambam. Tomorrow I'll be adding; the Mystical Hebrew Alphabet - taught by the Rabbi who led Yom Kippur services in the Old City and the Logic of Faith - taught by Rabbi Katz who was one of my favorite (and most dynamic) Rabbis from Jewel. Next week I'll also be taking classes on Mitzvot (good deeds) and a class on Contemporary Issues. It's a pretty action packed and stellar line up if you ask me. Oh and there's also a History of Israel class that I think I'll take once a week that also starts next week.

I'm sure that the next 6 weeks are going to fly by like a blink of an eye. Once Nevey ends on November 17th I'm going to come back to the States for a West Coast visit. I'll be flying out to California after Shabbat on Saturday, November 20th. I'll be in LA for a few days before heading up to Bakersfield to spend the following few weeks. Thanksgiving and the start of Hanukah will be in Bakersfield. After that I'll be heading up to Portland for a few weeks to finish out Hanukah. As of right now, I'm planning on being back in Israel in mid December. After which I plan on making Alliyah (the process to immigrate and become an Israeli citizen)! If you're in California or Oregon during the 4 weeks I'm home please feel free to email me so we can find some time to get together. I look forward to seeing you all soon!!