Let Me Update You

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