Just a year and quick click away: Sorry it's been so long...

Here is the blog to end all blogs, the one to summarize the almost month that I haven't blogged anything!

Ulpan ended with a bang about 2 weeks ago (wow, already been that long!!!) and almost everyone has gone home. It's a bit depressing here, actually. Before, for the first month, I never got the chance to be homesick because I would wake up in the morning, go to class from 8 until 1, then meet a tutor for at least an hour, then usually the beach, and then depending on the day I would go out for the night with friends and not come back until (gasp) around 3am... if we didn't have class the next morning? hehe... 5 or 6 am???

But now almost everyone is gone (including most of my closest friends...) all back to their homes in countries like Norway and Italy. It went from studying, partying, beaching, to... nothing. nada.

Been to the beach by myself quite a bit, but the problem is is that when you are alone you are much more likely to be harassed by guys and old men if you aren't with someone, so haven't been in a few days. Which, considering the drastic change in my skin color in the last month or so, might be a good thing... never been so tan in my life! (and loving it...)

Anyways, back to a bit about the Ulpan. By the last week, I was able to write and read and give a spoken presentation that lasted 8 minutes in Hebrew!!! I found that to be incredibly NOT akin to my previous experiences in forgein languages. It was the coolest feeling ever to be able to show pictures of home sweet home (NE), our crazy football fans (sea of red) and of the awesome downtown area (which I miss A LOT). I also got to show off my horse, which was cool :)

Speaking of horses. I didn't think I would miss the riding thing too terribly, considering that I hardly got the chance to ride at all in the last year anyways, but I really do. Maybe it's more of just my life at home that I'm missing in general? I think the reason I'm not sleeping so well at night (besides the board they call a mattress...) is because I'm not being suffocated by a fat, purring white cat every night. *sigh*

So, I have been asked to provide entertaining stories of the past month or so that I haven't blogged. I will try. (sorry, this is all over the place...)

Well, there is Josh who stranded himself at the Mifratz bus station after all the buses were done running for the night and didn't want to pay for a taxi, so he decided to climb up the mountain to get back to school (and by climb, I mean CLIMB- the road is very winding, so he decided to take short cuts up the mountain... was lectured by both myself, Camilla, Guy, Avichai, and I'm sure a slew of people back home...). Funny thing is, is that the same thing managed to happen to us last night when I went with him to his friends for a BBQ (high quality meat- I seriously think I'm lacking in protein here!!! yum...) and everyone assured me that if we left late we would be able to catch a bus. Nope. Didn't happen. After trying to figure out what to do for about an hour, and me protesting VIBRANTLY that I was not about to scale the mountain in flip flops and a dress,we finally forked over the 80 shekels for a cab (which a nice Israeli woman helped get us for very cheap - should have been over 100 shekels for the distance we were going...)

There are plenty of creeper stories, most at the beach, some on the bus, but I think my mother would prefer NOT to hear about them?

oh well. Here you go (mother, go a few paragraphs down and look for the red words that tell you that you can read again...)
One day, my friend Giulia from Italy and I headed to the beach for lunch and then to lay out. After enjoying a wonderful meal of Pesto (Giulia) and spaghetti (me) we found a nice sunny place in the grass (no sand getting everywhere!) and plugged into out ipods and zoned out. After a while, we both woke back up and sat up, started talking. But at some point when we were napping a group of about 20 or so guys with an over load of testosterone and a serious Arabic bro-mance going on started harassing us. They wouldn't leave us alone, so we had to get up and leave. The thing is, people back in the US? At least the ones in NE? They just don't talk to girls and harass them the same way... so when it happens to me (which has become a regular occurrence) it's a total culture shock and I don't know what to do.

However, at this point, it's just PISSING me off and I tell them off. Then, I get called *nasty* words in Hebrew (thank you, tutor, for teaching me the most important words to know in the Hebrew language...)
What's even worse then the young guys harassing you? The OLD ones. That's definitely different than in the states...
I was out with Camilla the other day, laying out on the beach, and a group of older guys came and sat in the shade by us and were calling out to us, but we ignored them, pretending to be asleep. But then, I was forced to get up when my friend Josh called (from DC) who was trying to find us. That was old mans (maybe 50 or older?) cue to come over and ask me to go for a swim with him. I told him "Lo, toda." (no thanks) but he was insistent. Keep in mind, I'm trying to talk on the phone at the same time. He wouldn't stop talking to me, even after I said into the phone "Sorry, I'm being distracted by someone with no sense of personal boundaries" (and yes, the old guy understood English). He got frustrated and then took my wrist! (Which was fascinating to him, considering the tat and the piercing) and I yelled at him to LEAVE ME ALONE. Then, he called me a #$%^&* (Don't want to put in the Hebrew word, just in case people who know Hebrew read this...), but then STILL wouldn't go away. Best part is, at this point, Josh found us and was walking over. He came over and did NOTHING!!! (Guys here, young and old, have only one respect when it comes to girls- if she's with another guy, they don't go NEAR). Camilla and I just grabbed our stuff and got up and left. I asked Josh why he didn't say anything, then he sincerely said "I wasn't sure if you were enjoying the attention or not- it's not like I know your type." REALLY?! Did I seem like I was enjoying myself?

haha he is NEVER living that down (he's one of the few people left behind after the Ulpan, so we see each other a lot.

There are so many other stories along the lines of the above to tell... too many to write down!!!!

Mother can start reading HERE

What else have I been up to?

Well, Josh wanted a kosher kitchen, and was having problem with his roommates, so I agreed to let him move into my kitchen since I have none. He gutted it out, cleaned it, and is keeping it as kosher as possible in a college dorm. Eventually, he is moving in with Avichai (one of the Madrachim we have befriended) but for now we cook every night (yes, I am learning to COOK!!!) and have many adventures (no, Josh, you do NOT fry frozen ravioli...). Even had make-shift Shabbat dinner and said prayers and everything (he's a good influence, mother...)

Hmmm...

Oh yes, when we went to the Shuk a couple days ago to get food (it's a marketplace where you can get the best, freshest fruits veggies and meats (too expensive for us...) really cheap (obviously, excluding the meat, which is just expensive here anyways) we decided to split up to save some time to make a certain bus back to the university. So, off I went. And two people tried to marry me off to their sons and one guy around my age was convinced I could not carry the food I was buying all on my own (I was perfectly capable, thanks...). I will say, if there is one phrase here I have used a lot, it's lo toda... (no thanks)

At some point, I'll write Hebrew in here, but I don't have to drive to do that at the moment.

So it's something to look forward to.

Oh, just pre-registered for classes. Can't wait for the semester to start- The courses I'm taking look so interesting! Besides more Hebrew and a Psych course, I'm also taking Arab-Israeli Relations and Terrorism and Responses. Going to be sooo interesting and relevant!

I am sitting outside writing this, and don't have a lot of battery left, so I'm gonna cut it off here and blog again soon (I promise!) and provide more pics for your entertainment.
Enjoy!