granted it has been a while since my last post...i apologize, marissa and i just got internet access in our room. just to give you a quick update, ulpan is so far so good, not anywhere near fluent but easy does it, i have faith. marissa is still having a very difficult time with hebrew, when i say difficult i mean very difficult!!
a few days ago we took melissa into tel aviv for her first tour of our favority part of the city (the shook, shenkyan street, and the beach). for those of you who are not familiar with tel aviv, the shook is an out door market where you must bargin your way through! it really is an inbelieveable place. shenkeyn is another cute street with tons of cafes, boutiques, and other shopes. she really enjoyed herself, her little face was all lit up! course we went to the beach to show her the mediterranean at its finest! only in TA!
the people here are amazing. so far its been melissa, marissa, and myself as well we rubin and this amazing kid ben who has such an amazing spirit. i dont think i have ever met a kid that laughed so much. us three girls are "networking" as we like to call it. really getting ourselves out there.
we have been to several night clubs and let me tell you these israelis could perhaps give miamians a run for their money! they are crazy!!!!!!!!!! the clubs are awsome, this one place concha has a massive chadeler in the middle, its unbelievable, another place whiskey a go go has tons of stair cases where people just dance on seperate steps. its wild.
this weekend we were supposed to take a trip to jerusaelm, but it was canceled due to weather. we're def rescheduling. on hindsight we booked a trip to istanbul which is going to be absolutely amazing and i can promise you a detailed blog following our three day adventure there! we also booked an 18 day spring break of funfilled island hopping in greece! talk about a vacation! besides that we have been brainstorming weekend trips including tzfat, haifa/akko, eilat, dead sea/masada, and golan heights and a winery.
as our first two weeks here is rapidly coming to an end its realy hit me how fast this semester is going to go. while i miss madison i know that i am going to see so much and learn so much along the way! i have no doubt im in for an incredible adventure.
pretty soon imma round up the troops and start the museum tours here in TA. like alana said, i need to see everything!
i think thats it for the miscellanous stuff...now for the nitty gritty, a few details:
we have really have an israelu experience thus far. since ruben lived here and carlos moved here a few years ago, we have gotten the opportunity to hang out with some israeli soldiers. hearing their perspective of global politics is right up my ally! i was really taken aback to hear how respectable the israeli army is, daniel told us how if they are on a mission to capture a terrorist and that terrorist is located in a bathroom or in any room with his wife they must knock to ensure they do not see the woman with her hijab (head scarf) for doing so would go again Islamic law. to think that in iraq americans bust open doors fire weapons and bombard homes when in search of a terrorist while this small country which is perscutives, chastised, and by many despised maintins eloquence in the face of the enemy. that in itself says a lot about what makes israel great.
among one of the most fascinating things about the kids on my programs is the number of non jews studying as overseas students at tel aviv this semester. this just says loud and clear that the state of israle is more than a religious state, its is a cultural state one that can teach more than just jews one that has something to offer to all walks of life regardless of race, religion, sex, gender, etc. that is a beautiful thing.
besides those two things we are all really excited for upcoming travels we are in the process of planning! the weather was amazing but unfortunatly the last few day there has been wind and rain non stop, like a mini israeli tropical storm. i cannot wait for it to go over i miss the sunshine. tomorrow i am hoping to make it to the diaspora museum on campus, i will let everyone know how my visit goes! til then i miss you all oxox
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Ruthless
sorry i am behind on the posts, i dont have internet in my room yet but i will give you guys a short synopsis on what we have been up to during our first week in Tel Aviv.
first thing is first, our room was HORRIBLE!!!! marissa and i walked in and were in shockkkkk it was filthy, small, the walls were discolored, the pant was chipped etc. i mean i heard it was going to be bad but i wasnt expecting this. but you know what nooo biggie marissa and i headed on over to the shook and bought some stuff to make our jail cell feel at home. we got posters, plastic and flower printed, to cover the walls, a hot pink rug, and some other goodies, we're feeling pretty at home now.
those were just minor details though, the people here are AMAZINGGGG, for all you wisco kids, i have been with margo a lot and her friend jade and reallly hit it off with her friend from melissa who goes to indiana, last night we took a walk to the beach to watch the sunset, it was entirely romantic haha.
two nights ago we hit up club by the port called concha, carlos bigio came (for all you mcds ppl who recall him). also, ruben is here, great kid (he came on the walk too). anyway this was muy fav club so far so im going to tell you a lil bout it. kinda looks like les deux in LA, same wall paper print, the dj was pretty night he mixed hebrew songs with old school good ol' american rap, we didnt get home til lik 5 apparently 2am is "early" here, hey im not complaining it was a bomb as time
last night we smoked hash with ruben carlos and two other boys in the army (solja boys as we call them) it was a great time, margo and i def were high but it doesnt last long and def not my fav feeling, but it will suffice and its cheap. i 50% succeed in rolling my first joint (maxine you should be proud i held the paper properly the wholeeeee time!!!)
the weather has been superb, between 60-70 and sunny in the day like how miami winters used to be pre-global warming. it gets cold at night but makes madison look like a walk in the park. speaking of madison, funny although i didnt come here knowing many people all my friends once again are from california or NY.
ULPAN started today, for those of you who dont know it is a 4 week hebrew course we're required to take 5 hrs a day 5 days a week. i walk into my class and who is sitting infront of me? none other than prof. chad alan goldberg soc professor @ UW, he teaches 210 for all you soc majors....weird?? sucha a small world.
found a travel agent gonna start planning the SB euro trip soon which will be exciting!!!
anyway guys i think thats it for now ill keep you posted on interesting things as they come up! although im having an unbelievable time thus far im def missin madison :'( and obvs the fam from the 305.
ttyl oxoxox
G
first thing is first, our room was HORRIBLE!!!! marissa and i walked in and were in shockkkkk it was filthy, small, the walls were discolored, the pant was chipped etc. i mean i heard it was going to be bad but i wasnt expecting this. but you know what nooo biggie marissa and i headed on over to the shook and bought some stuff to make our jail cell feel at home. we got posters, plastic and flower printed, to cover the walls, a hot pink rug, and some other goodies, we're feeling pretty at home now.
those were just minor details though, the people here are AMAZINGGGG, for all you wisco kids, i have been with margo a lot and her friend jade and reallly hit it off with her friend from melissa who goes to indiana, last night we took a walk to the beach to watch the sunset, it was entirely romantic haha.
two nights ago we hit up club by the port called concha, carlos bigio came (for all you mcds ppl who recall him). also, ruben is here, great kid (he came on the walk too). anyway this was muy fav club so far so im going to tell you a lil bout it. kinda looks like les deux in LA, same wall paper print, the dj was pretty night he mixed hebrew songs with old school good ol' american rap, we didnt get home til lik 5 apparently 2am is "early" here, hey im not complaining it was a bomb as time
last night we smoked hash with ruben carlos and two other boys in the army (solja boys as we call them) it was a great time, margo and i def were high but it doesnt last long and def not my fav feeling, but it will suffice and its cheap. i 50% succeed in rolling my first joint (maxine you should be proud i held the paper properly the wholeeeee time!!!)
the weather has been superb, between 60-70 and sunny in the day like how miami winters used to be pre-global warming. it gets cold at night but makes madison look like a walk in the park. speaking of madison, funny although i didnt come here knowing many people all my friends once again are from california or NY.
ULPAN started today, for those of you who dont know it is a 4 week hebrew course we're required to take 5 hrs a day 5 days a week. i walk into my class and who is sitting infront of me? none other than prof. chad alan goldberg soc professor @ UW, he teaches 210 for all you soc majors....weird?? sucha a small world.
found a travel agent gonna start planning the SB euro trip soon which will be exciting!!!
anyway guys i think thats it for now ill keep you posted on interesting things as they come up! although im having an unbelievable time thus far im def missin madison :'( and obvs the fam from the 305.
ttyl oxoxox
G
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)