!!משהו–משהו

It's been almost a month since my last blog. My pledge to keep my friends and family updated has not held strong. This month has been significantly less programmed than the previous one. Just like the first month, however, this one has flown by. The past few weeks have been quite eventful. We all started our internships, during which I learned and re-learned how to take a bus. We celebrated St. Patrick's Day and Purim which happened to fall on the same weekend and were both observed with equal zest. Immediately following these festivities, I came down with what might as well have been the black plague, missed a week of work, and am on the road to recovery. This past weekend we visited the holy city of Tzfat which was both intense and beautiful. I'm still taking ulpan (hebrew class) twice a week, and have subsequently begun taking a Judaism class taught by a very cool young rabbi. Life here is crazy, but I continue to love every single minute of it.

Lazy beach day in Tel Aviv (Photo: Joesef Harris)

My internship is amazing. Every single day is different. I'll start at the beginning... Before my internship started, my program gave me a bus pass. I knew I had to take one long bus ride to and from my internship each day, I didn't know the Israeli busses are complete and utter chaos to a person unfamiliar with the system. It is an understatement to say that I was unfamiliar. I got on my bus and asked the driver if he was going to Rishon LeTzion (where my internship is a few towns away), and if he would let me know when we arrived at my stop. He said yes to both. When we arrived at the end of the line an hour and twenty-five minutes later, I realized that maybe he had forgotten about me. "oops" is the same word in Hebrew and in English. I got on a second bus to go back to my stop and stood next to the bus driver to be absolutely sure he did not forget me. Finally I arrived at work safely. On the way home, I asked several people on the street and at the bus stops which direction the busses come from that head back to Tel-Aviv. I got mixed answers. When the bus came, I asked the bus driver if he was going to Tel-Aviv, and he nodded. When we arrived back at the end of the line in Rishon LeTzion, I began a vow that I would never take another bus again. I finally made it home, with travel time totaling four hours (which is double the time I happened to actually be at work that day). It was a difficult first bus experience. I'd like to take this opportunity to say that I am now a seasoned pro at taking busses in this city, and my bus pass is my best friend. I have gotten to and from work every day without any more disasters (knock on wood). My internship is amazing. The kids at the school are between the ages of two and five. The teachers and aids are incredibly nice, supportive, and helpful. The kids are so much fun. They are all somewhere along the autism spectrum. A few are severe, one is very high functioning and the others are scattered throughout the middle. I'm working with one little boy who has been abused throughout his three years and has a great deal of emotional issues along with communication delays, etc. It's been great getting to know all the kids the past month! I'm very excited to see them all progress while I am here.

St. Patrick's Day and Purim happened to fall on the same weekend this year (lucky for us). It was quite the celebration. During my four years at Ohio U, I celebrated Halloween with the rest of the 80,000 or so other people who came to visit the campus for the annual block party. Purim was just like that- multiplied by a million. All the streets were jammed and everyone wore costumes the whole weekend. The ultra religious Jews retired their black coats for a few days and rallied on the streets in costume next to us. It was an experience. A few of my friends and I dressed as european footballers. The costumes got very creative. I think pictures do better justice than I can. Here is a peak at purim-

A few Career Israelers in Costume (with the street party in the background)

Nicky the Cowardly Lion and Liverpool Footbal Star BenAyoun

Immediately following Purim came the plague. Sick in bed for four days. I am so lucky to have such great friends here to take care of me. I began to recover just in time for our weekend tiyul to Tzfat. What an unbelievable city. The streets are cobblestones and the buildings are impossibly close together. The entire city seems to be stuck in time. We celebrated shabbat with gusto, services overlooking the mountians, dinner, dancing, and a few lively games of charades. We took a wonderful tour of the city, heard some fascinating stories and visited some incredibly devoted kabbalists. It's a different kind of life there. Staunch religion drives their lives, but everyone was welcoming and friendly. Eager to show us their ways of life.

Checking out some nature on the way to Tzfat (Photo: Chelsea Truesdell)

The front door of a home in Tzfat

This is a brief summary of the past month. It has been difficult finding time to blog. I just returned home from weekend trips first to Haifa then back to the Negev for some hiking and camping. Update about these to come in the next few days!

Love,
s