Tuesday September 27, 2011
After a lovely birthday celebration we woke up somewhat later than normal for programming at home with Lior. I really like our group programming, it has a totally different vibe. We are able to be in a space together to communicate, listen, and share on a different level than the rest of our time together. Our focus of course was the high holidays.
We met in pairs and one group of three. We read some Rambam quotes and discussed the meaning and explored some questions. It was really nice to think about the holidays in this way, and also share with my housemates. We wrote about our hopes for this year, and things we want to remember throughout this year. It was a very moving session.
I spent the rest of the day being a bum and relaxing. It was really nice!
In the evening our living room was finally delivered! We now have two excellent comfy couches and a coffee table. We can finally enjoy watching tv and relaxing together. A couple of my roommates and I grabbed a frozen pizza from the freezer, sauteed some onions and garlic, threw together a salad and had a fantastic quiet meal in front of the TV. The night before my uncle and aunt brought amazing ice cream. It was a fantastic finish to a quick tasty meal.
A very nice relaxing day spent in the house.
Friday, September 30, 2011
Birthday Part Two :)
On Monday a couple of my roommates convinced me to join them on a walk to check out a gym and do some food shopping. It was really nice to spend time during daylight out on the streets together. The gym was really nice... but expensive on our stipend. The gym membership might wait for a while. We also ventured to a new grocery store. It was a really nice different store. I think it is the most "American" grocery store we have found. (Not that we were necessarily looking for one). It is a very clean, variety filled store. After buying some groceries we decided to bus back to the Shuk. It was very fun to venture through the Shuk with Alan. He is quite the pro. We came prepared and brought our backpacks, which made the walk home much easier.
Then it was nice to relax for a bit before continuing with my birthday celebrations.
In the mid afternoon we began cleaning and cooking together, preparing for our guests. It was a lot of fun to have people over to our home. (It has been a really nice shift from our house, to our home). People from Rishon, Ramle/Lod and some Israelis joined us to celebrate. It was such a great night! I was sitting on the floor enjoying some dinner, and all of a sudden I looked up to see my awesome aunt and uncle in my house. Needless to say I was confused for a second. My uncle told me he saw I was having a party on facebook, and how could they not come! It was such a wonderful surprise. Our neighbors we met recently also came by. A beautiful family, with three kids. They even brought me a present, it was so thoughtful!
May also came by after a long day of work. She brought the best present ever! A basketball :) I haven't had a chance to play yet, but I need to. It was really nice that May came and I got to see her mom. I really felt loved and enjoyed my birthday so much. I can't remember enjoying my birthday so much in several years. One of my roommates insisted on buying a birthday cake. It was really overwhelming and nice when everyone sang happy birthday.
It was just an excellent perfect night :).
Then it was nice to relax for a bit before continuing with my birthday celebrations.
In the mid afternoon we began cleaning and cooking together, preparing for our guests. It was a lot of fun to have people over to our home. (It has been a really nice shift from our house, to our home). People from Rishon, Ramle/Lod and some Israelis joined us to celebrate. It was such a great night! I was sitting on the floor enjoying some dinner, and all of a sudden I looked up to see my awesome aunt and uncle in my house. Needless to say I was confused for a second. My uncle told me he saw I was having a party on facebook, and how could they not come! It was such a wonderful surprise. Our neighbors we met recently also came by. A beautiful family, with three kids. They even brought me a present, it was so thoughtful!
May also came by after a long day of work. She brought the best present ever! A basketball :) I haven't had a chance to play yet, but I need to. It was really nice that May came and I got to see her mom. I really felt loved and enjoyed my birthday so much. I can't remember enjoying my birthday so much in several years. One of my roommates insisted on buying a birthday cake. It was really overwhelming and nice when everyone sang happy birthday.
It was just an excellent perfect night :).
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
My Birthday! :) Part 1
I had an excellent birthday! I first woke up my mom singing "happy birthday" on the phone. Then I got to speak to each of my brothers. I didn't get to talk to Stephanie because she was asleep :(. Finally I got out of bed and my roommates had decorated the house with birthday signs. It was really cute, one roommate made me coffee, one made me breakfast, and the other made me awesome cookies. I felt really loved and almost at home :).
After a nice quick morning we went to our last day at Seminar Hakibutzim. It wasn't our last day for the year, but the last day before we go visit our school placements. It was a somewhat longish morning. Lunch was nice and chill. We received presents! We each got a new Masa backpack. I am quite a back pack lover, so I was very excited to get a new backpack on my birthday. The first part of the afternoon our group had to split between the other two groups. I realized once I walked into the classroom I picked the class that did not have the people I get along with in it. Oh well, it was a quick activity. Then we were able to rejoin our "normal" group.
We had one of the best seminars together. We each were given 15 minutes to plan and prep a lesson. Then we shared each lesson with the group. I really enjoyed this activity, because it was the most realistic hands on practice we had. I loved listening to what different people had created. It was especially interesting to listen to the people without an education background. I think it will be very interesting to keep in touch throughout the year to share ideas, triumphs, and tribulations.
After a wonderful lesson, our last activity was the ultimate. We sat in a circle and each person received a lined piece of paper. The instruction was the write one sentence about something you learned or hope for each person in the group. It resulted in a really nice activity, and beautiful letters for everyone. When are class was over we headed for the bus. Somehow of all the days...we missed the first bus. The next bus took about 20-30 minutes to arrive...then we found traffic. It was the longest bus ride ever! We finally got home at 8pm. I was a little bummed about getting home so late on my birthday.
One of my roommates and I grabbed a quick shawrma right off the bus. We had a nice leisurely walk back to our house. A quick change of backpack, and we were off to the moshav. I knew I wouldn't have energy to celebrate with many people after a day of school, and especially since we arrived home so late.
It was a really nice walk to the moshav. Then two more roommates walked over. May, Ela, me, and three roommates watched a movie. We also had the best cake ever! May's mom is an incredible cake maker... for Brian's birthday she told me the cake was the taste of more, because you eat it and want more. Mine was the taste more and more! So amazingly tasty! I was really touched that I got such a great cake. May's mom also told my roommates she will be making a cake for each of their birthdays this year. One of my roommates who hadn't yet been to the moshav, expressed how nice it was to be in a home. It was one of the first times I had realized another reason I love going to the moshav. I really feel at home there and part of a family. It is a really nice change of pace once in a while.
After the best cake, and ok movie. The four of us decided to walk home from the moshav. It was a beautiful walk home. The stars were amazing. I love going for late night walks, and it was excellent to be with some of my roommates :). All in all it was an excellent start to my 25th year :)
After a nice quick morning we went to our last day at Seminar Hakibutzim. It wasn't our last day for the year, but the last day before we go visit our school placements. It was a somewhat longish morning. Lunch was nice and chill. We received presents! We each got a new Masa backpack. I am quite a back pack lover, so I was very excited to get a new backpack on my birthday. The first part of the afternoon our group had to split between the other two groups. I realized once I walked into the classroom I picked the class that did not have the people I get along with in it. Oh well, it was a quick activity. Then we were able to rejoin our "normal" group.
We had one of the best seminars together. We each were given 15 minutes to plan and prep a lesson. Then we shared each lesson with the group. I really enjoyed this activity, because it was the most realistic hands on practice we had. I loved listening to what different people had created. It was especially interesting to listen to the people without an education background. I think it will be very interesting to keep in touch throughout the year to share ideas, triumphs, and tribulations.
After a wonderful lesson, our last activity was the ultimate. We sat in a circle and each person received a lined piece of paper. The instruction was the write one sentence about something you learned or hope for each person in the group. It resulted in a really nice activity, and beautiful letters for everyone. When are class was over we headed for the bus. Somehow of all the days...we missed the first bus. The next bus took about 20-30 minutes to arrive...then we found traffic. It was the longest bus ride ever! We finally got home at 8pm. I was a little bummed about getting home so late on my birthday.
One of my roommates and I grabbed a quick shawrma right off the bus. We had a nice leisurely walk back to our house. A quick change of backpack, and we were off to the moshav. I knew I wouldn't have energy to celebrate with many people after a day of school, and especially since we arrived home so late.
It was a really nice walk to the moshav. Then two more roommates walked over. May, Ela, me, and three roommates watched a movie. We also had the best cake ever! May's mom is an incredible cake maker... for Brian's birthday she told me the cake was the taste of more, because you eat it and want more. Mine was the taste more and more! So amazingly tasty! I was really touched that I got such a great cake. May's mom also told my roommates she will be making a cake for each of their birthdays this year. One of my roommates who hadn't yet been to the moshav, expressed how nice it was to be in a home. It was one of the first times I had realized another reason I love going to the moshav. I really feel at home there and part of a family. It is a really nice change of pace once in a while.
After the best cake, and ok movie. The four of us decided to walk home from the moshav. It was a beautiful walk home. The stars were amazing. I love going for late night walks, and it was excellent to be with some of my roommates :). All in all it was an excellent start to my 25th year :)
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Best Lunch, Relaxing Time
On Wednesday Edan and Yasmin came to Seminar Hakibutzim to pick me up for lunch. I know I always talk about how amazing Aroma coffee is, but I haven't tried their food. Wow! I had the best Shakshuka sandwich ever. It was so nice to go for lunch and have a break from seminars. It was also really nice to catch up with friends. That lunch was the first time I got to see Edan in almost a year and a half or more. I could not get over sitting in the back seat with the two of them up front. I definitely will not get used to sitting in the back of the car, that's for sure. Hopefully I will get to see them again soon.
Thursday!
I have been wanting to drive for soooo long. I like taking the bus, sheruts, and trains. But I miss just getting behind the wheel and driving. I had a plan to rent a car and drive to the beach. May's mom was really gracious and let me drive their car. It was a fun surprise that May and I drove to the beach in Rishon. We just sat on the beach and talked, it's so different than my beach at home. My beach is pitch black and quiet at night. It was nice to be out of Rehovot and be able to drive. On the way home we passed Cinema City. A big movie theater I have been hearing about for the last 3 months. Only from the outside does it look really cool. Some day I plan to see it from the inside and enjoy a movie. That will have to wait until things are more settled and I have a routine with money. We got to the beach quite quickly without directional problems.... On the way home however, both May and I were tired and hungry and forgot to pay attention to the directions... We ended up in Ashdod, a good half hour away from where we live. After realizing where we were we quickly turned around and started driving home in the right direction. When we got home Ela, May's little sister was awake. We had planned to play Set, one of the best games ever. At last I won! :) Quite a fantastic accomplishment. Ela is quite good at the game. It is really nice that I feel some comfortable and at home, at May's house. It's really a happy change to just be in a home with a family. Our house is becoming more and more like our home. But it is still different.
We finally began moving in the other night. Slowly we have been unpacking our suitcases and filling up our closets. I even put things on the wall in our room. When I was in the Golan my aunt printed a picture of me, my brothers, and cousins from the Moshav when I was about 5 or 6. It is one of my favorite pictures. I also brought one of my many dream catchers. Every year my aunt and cousins make me a dream catcher for my birthday. Now I have that on my wall as well. It is really beginning to feel like my room I will live in for the year. I also added "Live, Laugh, Love". I have wooden cut outs of each word, the favorite quote from college with my college roommates. I am missing a picture of my mom and my brothers and Stephanie. I think I will print one of the funny family pictures we took before I came here and put it on the wall.
Friday!
We were supposed to have a "goodbye summer" beach party in Tel Aviv, with our Israeli counterparts and some people from Rishon and Ramle/Lod. However, the forecast for rain changed our plans. I was excited to spend the time at the beach with everyone, but I also enjoyed just being home instead. I took a fantastic nap in the afternoon. Apparently I missed the 30 second rain shower. Some of my roommates described it more like a mist than a shower. It was nice to just be a bum and spend time at home. When we decided it was time to start cooking Shabbat dinner we began to throw things together. We are cleaning our fridge this weekend. It was a fun dinner made of things we each had in the house. We attempted a tuna casserole. I think it actually came out pretty tasty. One of my roommates and I cooked the meal while the rest set the table and then cleaned after dinner. Its really nice that we have started our own Shabbat traditions. Our Shabbat candles get melted onto some tin foil, or something to that affect. Our wine last night was soda because we each forgot to buy a bottle of wine. We are starting some fun Shabbat routines, our own routines which is the best.
I'm starting to get a little excited for my birthday, turning 25 on the 25th just sounds cool. I think it is a good year to spend in Israel.
Saturday!
Today I made a very tasty omelette. Now I am enjoying some CSI on TV and a tasty coffee. I probably will do some laundry and my chore of cleaning the bathroom. I think a movie is on my schedule this evening. Probably a movie at my house or May's house. Funds are a little tight at the moment, but it is really nice to just stay home and relax. This week is Rosh Hashana, so I will not be spending many days at home. I think I will do some video chatting with home as well. My skype is always on in case anyone would like to video chat. It is so nice that my computer works again. Time to enjoy the rest of my Shabbat :)
Thursday!
I have been wanting to drive for soooo long. I like taking the bus, sheruts, and trains. But I miss just getting behind the wheel and driving. I had a plan to rent a car and drive to the beach. May's mom was really gracious and let me drive their car. It was a fun surprise that May and I drove to the beach in Rishon. We just sat on the beach and talked, it's so different than my beach at home. My beach is pitch black and quiet at night. It was nice to be out of Rehovot and be able to drive. On the way home we passed Cinema City. A big movie theater I have been hearing about for the last 3 months. Only from the outside does it look really cool. Some day I plan to see it from the inside and enjoy a movie. That will have to wait until things are more settled and I have a routine with money. We got to the beach quite quickly without directional problems.... On the way home however, both May and I were tired and hungry and forgot to pay attention to the directions... We ended up in Ashdod, a good half hour away from where we live. After realizing where we were we quickly turned around and started driving home in the right direction. When we got home Ela, May's little sister was awake. We had planned to play Set, one of the best games ever. At last I won! :) Quite a fantastic accomplishment. Ela is quite good at the game. It is really nice that I feel some comfortable and at home, at May's house. It's really a happy change to just be in a home with a family. Our house is becoming more and more like our home. But it is still different.
We finally began moving in the other night. Slowly we have been unpacking our suitcases and filling up our closets. I even put things on the wall in our room. When I was in the Golan my aunt printed a picture of me, my brothers, and cousins from the Moshav when I was about 5 or 6. It is one of my favorite pictures. I also brought one of my many dream catchers. Every year my aunt and cousins make me a dream catcher for my birthday. Now I have that on my wall as well. It is really beginning to feel like my room I will live in for the year. I also added "Live, Laugh, Love". I have wooden cut outs of each word, the favorite quote from college with my college roommates. I am missing a picture of my mom and my brothers and Stephanie. I think I will print one of the funny family pictures we took before I came here and put it on the wall.
Friday!
We were supposed to have a "goodbye summer" beach party in Tel Aviv, with our Israeli counterparts and some people from Rishon and Ramle/Lod. However, the forecast for rain changed our plans. I was excited to spend the time at the beach with everyone, but I also enjoyed just being home instead. I took a fantastic nap in the afternoon. Apparently I missed the 30 second rain shower. Some of my roommates described it more like a mist than a shower. It was nice to just be a bum and spend time at home. When we decided it was time to start cooking Shabbat dinner we began to throw things together. We are cleaning our fridge this weekend. It was a fun dinner made of things we each had in the house. We attempted a tuna casserole. I think it actually came out pretty tasty. One of my roommates and I cooked the meal while the rest set the table and then cleaned after dinner. Its really nice that we have started our own Shabbat traditions. Our Shabbat candles get melted onto some tin foil, or something to that affect. Our wine last night was soda because we each forgot to buy a bottle of wine. We are starting some fun Shabbat routines, our own routines which is the best.
I'm starting to get a little excited for my birthday, turning 25 on the 25th just sounds cool. I think it is a good year to spend in Israel.
Saturday!
Today I made a very tasty omelette. Now I am enjoying some CSI on TV and a tasty coffee. I probably will do some laundry and my chore of cleaning the bathroom. I think a movie is on my schedule this evening. Probably a movie at my house or May's house. Funds are a little tight at the moment, but it is really nice to just stay home and relax. This week is Rosh Hashana, so I will not be spending many days at home. I think I will do some video chatting with home as well. My skype is always on in case anyone would like to video chat. It is so nice that my computer works again. Time to enjoy the rest of my Shabbat :)
Thursday, September 22, 2011
First Tiyul With Akko Friends
On Tuesday we had a break from Seminar Hakibutzim and woke up early for a change. Lior and the bus picked us up at 7:30am. Quickly most people went back to sleep. We are all expert sleepers on busses now. We have had a lot of practice over the last couple of weeks on our way to and from Ramat Aviv everyday.
We picked up the Akko group from the train station in Quessaria. It was fun for me and Brian to reminisce from our first week together in Quessaria. It's amazing how much time has passed since that first week. We first went to a river, and saw a hydraulic mill. It was a very nice relaxing stroll around the reserve. Then we continued to Ancient Quessaria. This time we actually entered through the official entrance. I didn't realize how large the complex is, because the first time we just entered from the beach with Lior. It was very nice to get to walk around again. It is really beautiful along the sea.
After that Lior had the best surprise! We went on a boat! :) I didn't stop smiling during the entire afternoon. The boat ride went really fast and jumped over waves, it was really awesome! Then one of the girls from Akko and I coordinated a couple of ice breaker games. It was a lot of fun. We had our roommates feed baby food to each other while blind folded. Then in teams they had to toss a water balloon several times. It was fun to watch everyone work together and have fun.
Finally we had a great dinner on the beach. Yael from Ma'ase joined us as well. It was really nice to spend time together out of school and outside. I hadn't planned on swimming in the sea, however I don't know how I actually thought I'd be able to resist jumping in the water. Without a change of clothes, and a borrowed towel from a roommate I had a chilly ride home. However, it was a wonderful day of fun, new friends, and interesting history.
We picked up the Akko group from the train station in Quessaria. It was fun for me and Brian to reminisce from our first week together in Quessaria. It's amazing how much time has passed since that first week. We first went to a river, and saw a hydraulic mill. It was a very nice relaxing stroll around the reserve. Then we continued to Ancient Quessaria. This time we actually entered through the official entrance. I didn't realize how large the complex is, because the first time we just entered from the beach with Lior. It was very nice to get to walk around again. It is really beautiful along the sea.
After that Lior had the best surprise! We went on a boat! :) I didn't stop smiling during the entire afternoon. The boat ride went really fast and jumped over waves, it was really awesome! Then one of the girls from Akko and I coordinated a couple of ice breaker games. It was a lot of fun. We had our roommates feed baby food to each other while blind folded. Then in teams they had to toss a water balloon several times. It was fun to watch everyone work together and have fun.
Finally we had a great dinner on the beach. Yael from Ma'ase joined us as well. It was really nice to spend time together out of school and outside. I hadn't planned on swimming in the sea, however I don't know how I actually thought I'd be able to resist jumping in the water. Without a change of clothes, and a borrowed towel from a roommate I had a chilly ride home. However, it was a wonderful day of fun, new friends, and interesting history.
Monday, September 19, 2011
Catching up
Hands down, my baby cousin is the cutest baby in the world! It was so nice getting to spend time with her. We took her to the Kinneret and took her in the water. She was really adorable. Then her and I took a nap in the shade. We also had some really tasty food. I didn't realize how long I have been in Israel and not seen my cousins. There is still family I need to see. My schedule is pretty demanding at the moment. Being in lectures from 10-6 is really quite tiring. Last night I finally did a little bit of food shopping after a nudge by my roommates. An activity I definitely needed to do, but I am so tired when we get off the bus in Rehovot at night.
I spoke to a friend I haven't seen in a year on the bus last night. And then she decided to drive over. It was really nice to catch up and spend time talking. We decided to just drive around and talk. I really miss driving. I like that I have been getting more familiar with the public transportation. However, sometimes it is nice to just get in the car and drive. Last night we drove around to new streets I haven't seen in Rehovot. It was an enjoyable change of pace.
Yesterday we worked in the Sadna, a room at seminar hakibutzim with so many art materials. We had 4 hours to create materials. Clearly I was in educator heaven. I find it somewhat amazing that after 2 years of classroom teaching I am still recreating word family cards constantly.
Today will be another computer day. Hopefully it will be engaging and interesting.
I spoke to a friend I haven't seen in a year on the bus last night. And then she decided to drive over. It was really nice to catch up and spend time talking. We decided to just drive around and talk. I really miss driving. I like that I have been getting more familiar with the public transportation. However, sometimes it is nice to just get in the car and drive. Last night we drove around to new streets I haven't seen in Rehovot. It was an enjoyable change of pace.
Yesterday we worked in the Sadna, a room at seminar hakibutzim with so many art materials. We had 4 hours to create materials. Clearly I was in educator heaven. I find it somewhat amazing that after 2 years of classroom teaching I am still recreating word family cards constantly.
Today will be another computer day. Hopefully it will be engaging and interesting.
Friday, September 16, 2011
Another Week Finished
Friday September 16, 2011
I am starting to realize that updating my blog weekly might be the most realistic option for the time being. This past week in recap...the big things that I remember.
We were back in seminars this week, the focus was more literacy and early reading. A lot of it is still repetition from my undergraduate courses. However, the seminars in the afternoon are much more interactive and interesting. I really enjoy our class, Rehovot and Ramle/Lod. One day we had to join another class, and we all noticed how different the vibe was, and definitely prefer our own class.
Tuesday was Brian's birthday. It was our day of programming with Lior. I really enjoyed the programming a lot. Some of the activities were similar to the activities I have prepared in the past for my youth group kids. It is very fun to be on the other side, and get to participate in games and activities. We also set about creating our group vision. This was a very interesting experience. Each person drafted a vision and then we all shared. In the end we decided that we had the same common themes, but each person's voice and wording came through so nicely in their vision. We decided to have everyone keep their own vision as a reminder, or as Lior said, a lighthouse for our year. The major themes were respect, collegiality, friendship, and making a difference in our community together.
Lior organized a nice night for Brian's birthday. We invited the Ramle/Lod group but they finished programming too late to join us. However, Lior contacted our Israeli peers. It was really nice that Lian, Shay, and Elena were able to join us. We went to an Irish Pub, a very interesting scene. It was a great night to just hang out together outside of our us and enjoy each other's company. Some stayed for the concert at 10 but I wanted to get some sleep. On my way out I heard someone call my name. May's dad was there for the concert. I was so surprised to hear someone not American calling my name. It was a nice surprise.
I focused on getting some good sleep this week. I forgot how much easier it is to wake up refreshed in the morning after a good nights sleep. I also spent a lot of time over at May's house this week. It is really nice and refreshing having a place I feel at home to go to. One night I was helping May with her English Literature homework. It was really interesting. We had just had lectures that day about the matriculation options. I was able to really connect the content of the lecture to May's reality. She really impressed me, I couldn't imagine attempting that kind of work in Hebrew.
I went to the Dr. this week because I am having some difficulties with my ears. The first question I had for the Dr. was whether or not he spoke English. After he began in English, I quickly noticed his South African accent. Of course I automatically began Jewish South African geography. It is always best to start with my mom. He did not recognize her name. Then I moved onto my grandfather, who was a Dr. in Kfashmeriyahu. It was really cool that the Dr. knew my grandfather. I have always heard he was well known, but it is quite another thing to meet random people who knew him as a professional.
As I said I am trying to recall the highlights from the week. We now have internet in our house to my roommates great relief. We have our oven plugged in...literally the handy man opened the packaging and plugged it in. All of us agreed we would have done that earlier if we had known what was required.
We also woke up one morning to very loud drilling, each one of us were convinced another roommate was making way too much noise in the morning. Then we found out to our wonderful surprise the handy man installed our washing machine.
May's parents have been sooooo generously kind and helpful and even did my laundry twice. So appreciated and helpful. Now I can begin washing my own laundry again...Just what I've been waiting for.
Several weeks ago May asked what my plans were for September 15th. For many weeks my response was...that is way too far in advance. Finally I asked Lior and found out we had a free night. To my utter surprise and good fortune! May's parents and May got tickets to a surprise concert in Jerusalem. I was not allowed to know the performer until we arrived. Then May's mom was about to tell me, and I actually asked her to keep me in the dark. It was such a fun surprise just to sit patiently and await the beginning of the concert. It was incredible! I don't think I have the words to describe the evening accurately. The venue was the Sultan's Pool in Jerusalem. That alone is amazing, we sat in our seats, and could see the wailing wall, the traffic, and not hear a thing once the music began. The best concert ever, an Israeli/Wordly version of stomp. I was in heaven to really say the least. The entire concert was such an amazing collaboration of talent, fun, and music. It was definitely one of my most favorite nights!
We returned pretty late and went to sleep. May had to wake up early for the scouts, and I decided to sleep in. By the time I finally woke up around 9am, May's dad asked about my plans for the day. I tried to explain and he noticed I wasn't making sense and told me to make a coffee. It's nice knowing where everything is, even if I still like to ask May for things in the house when she's home. I had my coffee and then walked home. I had a nice conversation with my older brother on the way home as well.
(The time difference and schedules have made it difficult to stay in contact consistently. I have to admit sometimes I get home from Tel Aviv and just want to zone in front of the TV or go for a run)
. I quickly took a shower, changed the clothes in my backpack and was off to catch a bus in Tel Aviv. I decided to take a Sherut, a communal taxi, much cheaper! I took the Sherut from Rehovot to Tel Aviv. There I called my cousin Moshik and got directions to the bus. I was really happy I made it on the direct bus to the Golan.
Now I am in one of my favorite places in the world. My aunt Ruti's house in the Golan, on a small moshav called Ramot. This is house that really symbolizes my childhood. My cousins Moshik and Nelly are here for the weekend with their amazingly adorable baby Shachar. I am definitely not objective but she is simply the best baby ever! It's so fun to see her in person, I've heard of this little baby for months. Finally I get to play with her and see my cousins as parents. They are pretty much the same as I expected.
I think this has been/will be one of the best weekends of the year. An amazing surprise concert, relaxing family time with the cutest baby. Things are pretty wonderful at the moment :)
I am starting to realize that updating my blog weekly might be the most realistic option for the time being. This past week in recap...the big things that I remember.
We were back in seminars this week, the focus was more literacy and early reading. A lot of it is still repetition from my undergraduate courses. However, the seminars in the afternoon are much more interactive and interesting. I really enjoy our class, Rehovot and Ramle/Lod. One day we had to join another class, and we all noticed how different the vibe was, and definitely prefer our own class.
Tuesday was Brian's birthday. It was our day of programming with Lior. I really enjoyed the programming a lot. Some of the activities were similar to the activities I have prepared in the past for my youth group kids. It is very fun to be on the other side, and get to participate in games and activities. We also set about creating our group vision. This was a very interesting experience. Each person drafted a vision and then we all shared. In the end we decided that we had the same common themes, but each person's voice and wording came through so nicely in their vision. We decided to have everyone keep their own vision as a reminder, or as Lior said, a lighthouse for our year. The major themes were respect, collegiality, friendship, and making a difference in our community together.
Lior organized a nice night for Brian's birthday. We invited the Ramle/Lod group but they finished programming too late to join us. However, Lior contacted our Israeli peers. It was really nice that Lian, Shay, and Elena were able to join us. We went to an Irish Pub, a very interesting scene. It was a great night to just hang out together outside of our us and enjoy each other's company. Some stayed for the concert at 10 but I wanted to get some sleep. On my way out I heard someone call my name. May's dad was there for the concert. I was so surprised to hear someone not American calling my name. It was a nice surprise.
I focused on getting some good sleep this week. I forgot how much easier it is to wake up refreshed in the morning after a good nights sleep. I also spent a lot of time over at May's house this week. It is really nice and refreshing having a place I feel at home to go to. One night I was helping May with her English Literature homework. It was really interesting. We had just had lectures that day about the matriculation options. I was able to really connect the content of the lecture to May's reality. She really impressed me, I couldn't imagine attempting that kind of work in Hebrew.
I went to the Dr. this week because I am having some difficulties with my ears. The first question I had for the Dr. was whether or not he spoke English. After he began in English, I quickly noticed his South African accent. Of course I automatically began Jewish South African geography. It is always best to start with my mom. He did not recognize her name. Then I moved onto my grandfather, who was a Dr. in Kfashmeriyahu. It was really cool that the Dr. knew my grandfather. I have always heard he was well known, but it is quite another thing to meet random people who knew him as a professional.
As I said I am trying to recall the highlights from the week. We now have internet in our house to my roommates great relief. We have our oven plugged in...literally the handy man opened the packaging and plugged it in. All of us agreed we would have done that earlier if we had known what was required.
We also woke up one morning to very loud drilling, each one of us were convinced another roommate was making way too much noise in the morning. Then we found out to our wonderful surprise the handy man installed our washing machine.
May's parents have been sooooo generously kind and helpful and even did my laundry twice. So appreciated and helpful. Now I can begin washing my own laundry again...Just what I've been waiting for.
Several weeks ago May asked what my plans were for September 15th. For many weeks my response was...that is way too far in advance. Finally I asked Lior and found out we had a free night. To my utter surprise and good fortune! May's parents and May got tickets to a surprise concert in Jerusalem. I was not allowed to know the performer until we arrived. Then May's mom was about to tell me, and I actually asked her to keep me in the dark. It was such a fun surprise just to sit patiently and await the beginning of the concert. It was incredible! I don't think I have the words to describe the evening accurately. The venue was the Sultan's Pool in Jerusalem. That alone is amazing, we sat in our seats, and could see the wailing wall, the traffic, and not hear a thing once the music began. The best concert ever, an Israeli/Wordly version of stomp. I was in heaven to really say the least. The entire concert was such an amazing collaboration of talent, fun, and music. It was definitely one of my most favorite nights!
We returned pretty late and went to sleep. May had to wake up early for the scouts, and I decided to sleep in. By the time I finally woke up around 9am, May's dad asked about my plans for the day. I tried to explain and he noticed I wasn't making sense and told me to make a coffee. It's nice knowing where everything is, even if I still like to ask May for things in the house when she's home. I had my coffee and then walked home. I had a nice conversation with my older brother on the way home as well.
(The time difference and schedules have made it difficult to stay in contact consistently. I have to admit sometimes I get home from Tel Aviv and just want to zone in front of the TV or go for a run)
. I quickly took a shower, changed the clothes in my backpack and was off to catch a bus in Tel Aviv. I decided to take a Sherut, a communal taxi, much cheaper! I took the Sherut from Rehovot to Tel Aviv. There I called my cousin Moshik and got directions to the bus. I was really happy I made it on the direct bus to the Golan.
Now I am in one of my favorite places in the world. My aunt Ruti's house in the Golan, on a small moshav called Ramot. This is house that really symbolizes my childhood. My cousins Moshik and Nelly are here for the weekend with their amazingly adorable baby Shachar. I am definitely not objective but she is simply the best baby ever! It's so fun to see her in person, I've heard of this little baby for months. Finally I get to play with her and see my cousins as parents. They are pretty much the same as I expected.
I think this has been/will be one of the best weekends of the year. An amazing surprise concert, relaxing family time with the cutest baby. Things are pretty wonderful at the moment :)
Thursday, September 8, 2011
New Friends
We have had a lot of fun getting to know each other and our new community. I have enjoyed running at night around our neighborhood. It is very lit and a nice relaxing activity after a long day. I have run to meet May between the moshav and our house a couple of times. It has been a lot of fun living so close.
Each night we have explored different places to eat on our way home from our seminars. One night on the bus ride home Keren spotted a bakery she loves. Quickly we jumped off the bus and had a tasty falafel dinner. At first we thought we were in Rehovot, and then discovered we were in Rishon. It was a nice dinner, then we hopped back on our bus 274 to continue to our city :).
Another night we found some tasty pizza after seminars. One of the main challenges is balancing the need for the bathroom and water consumption to avoid dehydration. It is amazing how long our bus ride home can be and the need for the bathroom!
Brian is our live radio! He is always up for a Sheshbesh competition, or serenading our housemates. We have been able to get to know each other better with the more time we spend together. We has started to realize I am serious when I say I have the attention span of a 6 year old, and that i like to have fun all the time as well.
One night all the girls went out to explore the town and I stayed home with the boys. We had some fierce "go fish" games. It was a lot of fun to just relax and hang out. Its a nice adjustment with 6 other roommates. There is always someone around and something to do.
Each night we have explored different places to eat on our way home from our seminars. One night on the bus ride home Keren spotted a bakery she loves. Quickly we jumped off the bus and had a tasty falafel dinner. At first we thought we were in Rehovot, and then discovered we were in Rishon. It was a nice dinner, then we hopped back on our bus 274 to continue to our city :).
Another night we found some tasty pizza after seminars. One of the main challenges is balancing the need for the bathroom and water consumption to avoid dehydration. It is amazing how long our bus ride home can be and the need for the bathroom!
Brian is our live radio! He is always up for a Sheshbesh competition, or serenading our housemates. We have been able to get to know each other better with the more time we spend together. We has started to realize I am serious when I say I have the attention span of a 6 year old, and that i like to have fun all the time as well.
One night all the girls went out to explore the town and I stayed home with the boys. We had some fierce "go fish" games. It was a lot of fun to just relax and hang out. Its a nice adjustment with 6 other roommates. There is always someone around and something to do.
Seminar HaKibutzim
Thursday September 8, 2011
The first day of the seminar was mainly focused on introduction lectures. It was quite overwhelming because many people were still very jetlagged. Most groups have the same hour or so drive in each direction from their homes to the seminars.
The following days have been more focused on education/language acquisition/ teaching a foreign language/ English as a Second Language. Several of the lectures have been very much focused on the same material I was exposed to during my undergrad. However, helpful for the ITF members without teaching backgrounds at times a little boring for the educators. There are about 5-8 of us who have either completed undergrad with an education background, and have had teaching experience already.
The interesting lectures have been about the focus of the structure, struggles, and special qualities of the Israeli education system. We have seminars in the morning and then after lunch we have small group instruction. Cities are placed together to study with a Mechanechet Pedagogic (Professor of Education). We are together with the Ramle/Lod group. Our Mechanechet is Ruthie, she is great! We definitely share the same approach to education and expectations of students. The class has really gelled nicely of the first couple of days. We are mostly comfortable with each other and have very open and honest conversations with ruthie.
Yesterday afternoon we had three rotating seminars. Each mechanechet taught a fun focused approach. When we were with Ruthie we discussed different activities/games to begin a lesson with engaging activities. One professor focused on songs as a mode of classroom management. It is always fun when a group of 20 something year olds begin singing songs such as "Ten Little Monkeys", "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes". The activity we were given was to split into groups and think of two songs from our childhood and then lead the class. It was really a lot of fun. The third seminar was about using literacy based lessons with students. That was a lot of fun as well.
Overall, we have had a very intense but fun variety of seminars for our first week at Seminar HaKibutzim.
The first day of the seminar was mainly focused on introduction lectures. It was quite overwhelming because many people were still very jetlagged. Most groups have the same hour or so drive in each direction from their homes to the seminars.
The following days have been more focused on education/language acquisition/ teaching a foreign language/ English as a Second Language. Several of the lectures have been very much focused on the same material I was exposed to during my undergrad. However, helpful for the ITF members without teaching backgrounds at times a little boring for the educators. There are about 5-8 of us who have either completed undergrad with an education background, and have had teaching experience already.
The interesting lectures have been about the focus of the structure, struggles, and special qualities of the Israeli education system. We have seminars in the morning and then after lunch we have small group instruction. Cities are placed together to study with a Mechanechet Pedagogic (Professor of Education). We are together with the Ramle/Lod group. Our Mechanechet is Ruthie, she is great! We definitely share the same approach to education and expectations of students. The class has really gelled nicely of the first couple of days. We are mostly comfortable with each other and have very open and honest conversations with ruthie.
Yesterday afternoon we had three rotating seminars. Each mechanechet taught a fun focused approach. When we were with Ruthie we discussed different activities/games to begin a lesson with engaging activities. One professor focused on songs as a mode of classroom management. It is always fun when a group of 20 something year olds begin singing songs such as "Ten Little Monkeys", "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes". The activity we were given was to split into groups and think of two songs from our childhood and then lead the class. It was really a lot of fun. The third seminar was about using literacy based lessons with students. That was a lot of fun as well.
Overall, we have had a very intense but fun variety of seminars for our first week at Seminar HaKibutzim.
Finally a time to update
Thursday September 8, 2011
I realize it has been an entire week since my last blog post... I haven't updated it for several reasons, lack of internet, lack of time, and pure exhaustion. The thought of trying to write more blog posts on my iPhone has been a tiring thought as well...
I am going to attempt an overview of the last week. We moved into our beautiful house! There is a girls room with three, a girls room with 2, and the boys have a room of their own. We have a great new kitchen, a new fridge, new stove, new oven. We do not have a dishwasher but we are great hand washers.
After our arrival at the house we had a slow trickle of new roommate arrivals. We had a nice slow beginning getting to know our new roommates. Overall, we are 7 roommates excited about the upcoming year together.
We are in seminars at Seminar Hakibutzim from 10-6 Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Thursday. We leave the house together by 7:40 each morning. We walk down for about 10-15 (depending on how sleepy we are) to the Tachanat Hamerkazit. The main bus station in Rehovot. It is really nice being so close to the center of rehovot. We leave Tel Aviv around 6:10 each night, and get home around 7:45-8pm. We have very long involved days.
The seminars are with all of the Israel Teaching Fellows. Our group from Rehovot, a group from Rishon L'Tzion (about 20 minutes from us), Ramle/Lod (25-35 minutes), Petach Tikvah, and Natanya. On our first day of Seminar, Lior our madrich met us at the bus stop in Rehovot to make sure we got on the right bus. Not only did he text us to make sure we left the house on time, we got another text while we were walking, and then a conversaiton at the bus station. He is quite Polish! But it is really comforting and helpful to have his support while we slowly become more comfortable with our new surroundings.
The first day when we got off the bus in Ramat Aviv, we quickly spotted another group of Americans and decided to walk together. The first couple of days were quite overwhelming with so many Americans together while in Israel. However, we have begun to relate to each other much more, and are much more comfortable and friendly with the other groups. We are already trying to make plans for a joint Potluck dinner. The other groups all live in different apartment settings. We are the only group with a house :). We also learned that we are the only group that has Israeli counterparts. Many other groups are quite jealous of this difference.
On Tuesday...while other groups had the day off, we were opening bank accounts with Lior and had a trip to Ma'Ase headquarters. We had our first meeting with Micki, the head and founder of Ma'Ase. I really enjoyed hearing his perspective and approach to education. He is very much a realist. I agree with his approach a lot. His main focus is not asking people how we can help them, but demanding a high level from everyone to work with others. The bar has been set quite high for our group, and I'm sure we will be able to meet and exceed the expectations. All of us are very excited and motivated to make this year successful for ourselves, and our new community.
I realize it has been an entire week since my last blog post... I haven't updated it for several reasons, lack of internet, lack of time, and pure exhaustion. The thought of trying to write more blog posts on my iPhone has been a tiring thought as well...
I am going to attempt an overview of the last week. We moved into our beautiful house! There is a girls room with three, a girls room with 2, and the boys have a room of their own. We have a great new kitchen, a new fridge, new stove, new oven. We do not have a dishwasher but we are great hand washers.
After our arrival at the house we had a slow trickle of new roommate arrivals. We had a nice slow beginning getting to know our new roommates. Overall, we are 7 roommates excited about the upcoming year together.
We are in seminars at Seminar Hakibutzim from 10-6 Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Thursday. We leave the house together by 7:40 each morning. We walk down for about 10-15 (depending on how sleepy we are) to the Tachanat Hamerkazit. The main bus station in Rehovot. It is really nice being so close to the center of rehovot. We leave Tel Aviv around 6:10 each night, and get home around 7:45-8pm. We have very long involved days.
The seminars are with all of the Israel Teaching Fellows. Our group from Rehovot, a group from Rishon L'Tzion (about 20 minutes from us), Ramle/Lod (25-35 minutes), Petach Tikvah, and Natanya. On our first day of Seminar, Lior our madrich met us at the bus stop in Rehovot to make sure we got on the right bus. Not only did he text us to make sure we left the house on time, we got another text while we were walking, and then a conversaiton at the bus station. He is quite Polish! But it is really comforting and helpful to have his support while we slowly become more comfortable with our new surroundings.
The first day when we got off the bus in Ramat Aviv, we quickly spotted another group of Americans and decided to walk together. The first couple of days were quite overwhelming with so many Americans together while in Israel. However, we have begun to relate to each other much more, and are much more comfortable and friendly with the other groups. We are already trying to make plans for a joint Potluck dinner. The other groups all live in different apartment settings. We are the only group with a house :). We also learned that we are the only group that has Israeli counterparts. Many other groups are quite jealous of this difference.
On Tuesday...while other groups had the day off, we were opening bank accounts with Lior and had a trip to Ma'Ase headquarters. We had our first meeting with Micki, the head and founder of Ma'Ase. I really enjoyed hearing his perspective and approach to education. He is very much a realist. I agree with his approach a lot. His main focus is not asking people how we can help them, but demanding a high level from everyone to work with others. The bar has been set quite high for our group, and I'm sure we will be able to meet and exceed the expectations. All of us are very excited and motivated to make this year successful for ourselves, and our new community.
Friday, September 2, 2011
Moving day!
Thursday September 1, 2011
Today we had a pretty chill morning. I got up around 8, organized and packed my things, and woke Brian up for some breakfast. Then we moved our luggage to the common computer room in the lobby. We had time to kill until 2 pm when our shuttle would drive us to the airport to pick up Keren from the airport. Brian and Lior caught up on work. I wrote some emails to kids from new york. Then Lior and I had lunch while Brian watched the luggage, then Lior and Brian switched. I made the mistake of leaving my plate of food unattended... The wonderful wild cats found all over Israel grabbed the meat off my plate. It was a pretty funny sight.
After lunch we rushed to meet Keren at the airport. I made a sign for her on the way, when we were waiting her grandfather happened to approach us and ask if we were waiting for the same Keren. After some time we all found her and continued on our way to our new house. It was nice to add a new face to our group, it's interesting watching tr group dynamic as our group slowly evolves. The house is beautiful! Everything is new for us! There is a girls room foe 3, a girls room for 2, and the 2 boys get to share a room. We have a beautiful kitchen with a new fridge, stove, and this week the oven should be installed. We have two bathrooms, one with a toilet that needs to be fixed and one with a wiling toilet and shower. The shower is great, there are no doors or curtains. When you shower the water flies all over the bathroom, after your shower you take a squeaky and squeaky all of the water down the drain. As all of you can imagine I think it is so fun! :)
We have a great living room, with a big plasma screen tv on the wall. Cable and a (couch?) will be coming this week. For now it is Brian's acoustically perfect performance arena. The sound is really amazing because of the lack of furniture. We have a large backyard, at the moment it is like a red desert, grass will be there in a week or two. We also have a room below the house which might be a study/ workout room. Overall it's amazing. Keren is in the double room and I'm in the triple. We are all a little concerned about the lack of closet space but I keep suggesting we just build more storage.
After we got a little settled Lior suggested we venture to our first food shopping. It was a fun learning experience. We were still learning each others personalities and then set to shoo together. I think we did pretty well, bought nescafe, shoko ba sakit (chocolate milk in a plastic bag, the best!!), and milky of course. We decided to push the shopping cart back with us because there was no way we could successfully carry it all back.
Then Lior left the three of us to get to know each other. It was a nice time to bond. I decided to go for a run and try and find may's house. To my pleasant surprise it is quite easy. It was very cool to meet on a street and walk to her moshav. After a tour of her house and getting to meet her older sister gal, who I heard about all summer. Her mom insisted I stay for dinner, and I'm glad I did! Great food and great company. I was too tired todrove back so may's mom drove me and may back :). It was fun to show off my new house to them! I told may's mom I SO needed to do laundry but without a washing machine it was difficult. She took my laundry to their house. It was really nice of her! Not necessary but SO appreciated!
I took a nice shower and fell fast asleep in my new room, in my house, with my new roommates, I'm sure this year will be great!
Today we had a pretty chill morning. I got up around 8, organized and packed my things, and woke Brian up for some breakfast. Then we moved our luggage to the common computer room in the lobby. We had time to kill until 2 pm when our shuttle would drive us to the airport to pick up Keren from the airport. Brian and Lior caught up on work. I wrote some emails to kids from new york. Then Lior and I had lunch while Brian watched the luggage, then Lior and Brian switched. I made the mistake of leaving my plate of food unattended... The wonderful wild cats found all over Israel grabbed the meat off my plate. It was a pretty funny sight.
After lunch we rushed to meet Keren at the airport. I made a sign for her on the way, when we were waiting her grandfather happened to approach us and ask if we were waiting for the same Keren. After some time we all found her and continued on our way to our new house. It was nice to add a new face to our group, it's interesting watching tr group dynamic as our group slowly evolves. The house is beautiful! Everything is new for us! There is a girls room foe 3, a girls room for 2, and the 2 boys get to share a room. We have a beautiful kitchen with a new fridge, stove, and this week the oven should be installed. We have two bathrooms, one with a toilet that needs to be fixed and one with a wiling toilet and shower. The shower is great, there are no doors or curtains. When you shower the water flies all over the bathroom, after your shower you take a squeaky and squeaky all of the water down the drain. As all of you can imagine I think it is so fun! :)
We have a great living room, with a big plasma screen tv on the wall. Cable and a (couch?) will be coming this week. For now it is Brian's acoustically perfect performance arena. The sound is really amazing because of the lack of furniture. We have a large backyard, at the moment it is like a red desert, grass will be there in a week or two. We also have a room below the house which might be a study/ workout room. Overall it's amazing. Keren is in the double room and I'm in the triple. We are all a little concerned about the lack of closet space but I keep suggesting we just build more storage.
After we got a little settled Lior suggested we venture to our first food shopping. It was a fun learning experience. We were still learning each others personalities and then set to shoo together. I think we did pretty well, bought nescafe, shoko ba sakit (chocolate milk in a plastic bag, the best!!), and milky of course. We decided to push the shopping cart back with us because there was no way we could successfully carry it all back.
Then Lior left the three of us to get to know each other. It was a nice time to bond. I decided to go for a run and try and find may's house. To my pleasant surprise it is quite easy. It was very cool to meet on a street and walk to her moshav. After a tour of her house and getting to meet her older sister gal, who I heard about all summer. Her mom insisted I stay for dinner, and I'm glad I did! Great food and great company. I was too tired todrove back so may's mom drove me and may back :). It was fun to show off my new house to them! I told may's mom I SO needed to do laundry but without a washing machine it was difficult. She took my laundry to their house. It was really nice of her! Not necessary but SO appreciated!
I took a nice shower and fell fast asleep in my new room, in my house, with my new roommates, I'm sure this year will be great!
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Terrific Day!
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
We had the day off today, I was excited to catch up on sleep! I actually slept until 10:30, quite late for me. Then Brian and I ate some brunch at 12. It was a nice slow start to our day. We had debated about going to tel aviv to see a friend. After some time we decided we might as well.
We asked the receptionist for a number for a taxi and we waited. We saw a taxi and got excited but it wasn't ours. Brian being the realist/optimist he said he was sure ours was still on the way. Our guy arrived and our adventure began. We boarded the train to tel aviv. The mission was for Brian to try his first aroma! We documented the excitement, of course. He did a very nice job entertaining me about the aroma! We had a nice long talk because my friend may was taking forever to join us.
She called and said she had a surprise, I was convinced she was going to buy me a coffee... In fact we were going to her beautiful boat! The plan was to buy a train ticket and wait at the platform to join her on the train. I was a little hesitant about this plan because of our previous adventure on the train. May told us she was on the last train car, we decided it would be best to jump on the train and then move our way to the back. The way you board the train is by not letting anyone out and just pushing your way on before the door closes. As we were making our way to the right car, I was trying to call may and then was attacked by her. It was very fun to meet on a train. The 3 of us were talking, mostly may and I hitting each other and Brian being amused. All of a sudden may happened to look up and realize we were in hertzelyia and had to jump off the train. That time we made it without any door opening problems.
We met her dad and drove us to the marina. Then we met may's mom and younger sister. It is one of the most beautiful boats I have ever been on. We were hesitant about taking a sail and getting back on time, so May's mom made a very tasty dinner: eggs, salad, bread, humus, all the essentials. It was one of the most relaxing experiences! I think probably the best day in Israel so far.
Finally, it was time to make our way back to our hotel. Brian had checked the train schedules before we left, but that was from Tel Aviv. When we arrived at the platform we saw a train approaching, we decided instead of us just jumping on the first train we waited for one that we knew. About 40 minutes later our train arrived. We succesfully made it on our train and off, then called the taxi and arrived back at our hotel.
A really excellent day :) Tomorrow the long awaited move to our house!
We had the day off today, I was excited to catch up on sleep! I actually slept until 10:30, quite late for me. Then Brian and I ate some brunch at 12. It was a nice slow start to our day. We had debated about going to tel aviv to see a friend. After some time we decided we might as well.
We asked the receptionist for a number for a taxi and we waited. We saw a taxi and got excited but it wasn't ours. Brian being the realist/optimist he said he was sure ours was still on the way. Our guy arrived and our adventure began. We boarded the train to tel aviv. The mission was for Brian to try his first aroma! We documented the excitement, of course. He did a very nice job entertaining me about the aroma! We had a nice long talk because my friend may was taking forever to join us.
She called and said she had a surprise, I was convinced she was going to buy me a coffee... In fact we were going to her beautiful boat! The plan was to buy a train ticket and wait at the platform to join her on the train. I was a little hesitant about this plan because of our previous adventure on the train. May told us she was on the last train car, we decided it would be best to jump on the train and then move our way to the back. The way you board the train is by not letting anyone out and just pushing your way on before the door closes. As we were making our way to the right car, I was trying to call may and then was attacked by her. It was very fun to meet on a train. The 3 of us were talking, mostly may and I hitting each other and Brian being amused. All of a sudden may happened to look up and realize we were in hertzelyia and had to jump off the train. That time we made it without any door opening problems.
We met her dad and drove us to the marina. Then we met may's mom and younger sister. It is one of the most beautiful boats I have ever been on. We were hesitant about taking a sail and getting back on time, so May's mom made a very tasty dinner: eggs, salad, bread, humus, all the essentials. It was one of the most relaxing experiences! I think probably the best day in Israel so far.
Finally, it was time to make our way back to our hotel. Brian had checked the train schedules before we left, but that was from Tel Aviv. When we arrived at the platform we saw a train approaching, we decided instead of us just jumping on the first train we waited for one that we knew. About 40 minutes later our train arrived. We succesfully made it on our train and off, then called the taxi and arrived back at our hotel.
A really excellent day :) Tomorrow the long awaited move to our house!
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