Walking the Psalms in Jerusalem

First a foremost a few updates of what has happened since I walked the Psalms in Jerusalem.

1) As some of you may or may not know, a few years ago my mom ran in to her long lost best friend Maureen on the streets of Boston and rekindled their friendship. Well, Maureen and her family are here since their son finished a year here doing a program called Otsma. As my friends and I are sitting on a small side street on Ben Yehuda I see a woman that looks similar to Maureen, then I see the rest of the family and it is them! So, just as my mom ran in to Maureen on the streets of Boston, I ran in to Maureen on the streets of Jerusalem.

2) being able to watch the world cup in another country is one of the coolest experiences ever! Since the US doesn't really care about the world cup it is really exciting to be in a country that cares. I got to watch the US in round two of the games and was there with a bunch of americans and it was so amazing! Everyone was chanting USA USA USA! too bad we lost :

Now, for one of the coolest things I have gotten to do since being here. One of the Rabbinical faculty members, Rabbi David Wilfond took us on a tour of the old city entitled "Walking the Psalms in Jerusalem" This was one of the most informative and best tours of Israel I have been on. And yes, that includes the tours I went on for birthrite. One of the most moving and incredible things I have heard since being here and ever in my life was when Rabbi Wilfond asked us how we know what we are seeing and experiencing is real and not a dream? Many of us answered by saying how do you know anything isn't a dream and that when we are dreaming we are actually living. Rabbi Wilfond told us when we are dreaming we have all of our senses expect one, smell. He then hands us each a leaf of rosemary and tells us all to smell it. Bringing to our attention that us being here in the holy land, experiencing the life and excitement of Israel is real, and not something that we can create and a figment of our imaginations. I was able to take amazing pictures along the this tour, some silly, some scenery, and some moving. I hope you all enjoy.

The walls of the old city

This is the packet of Psalms Rabbi Wilfond gave to us to follow on our journey along with the leaf of rosemary we were asked to smell.
This is my friend Greg smelling his leaf of rosemary.
The walls of the old city. For those of you with good eyes, you will see that on the last taller building on the left there is an Israeli flag.
More of the walls of the old city.
In the middle there is a windmill that we could see while overlooking the old city. I get to pass this windmill every day on my way to and from school.
some of the group listening to Rabbi Wilfond speaking
Sara outside the walls of the old city
Really cool looking cement on the side of a construction wall.

Me infront of the walls of the old city. It's hard to see but in my right hand I am holding my rosemary leaf.

The bells of the church were ringing when this picture was taken. Many people were hustling around in the courtyard.

This guy is dressed as king david and was leading a tour group that passed us along the way....he was a very happy king david.
An olive tree
Me infront of the old city.
An our journey to a children's playground in which we got the see the words of the psalms come to life before our eyes.
Nina and I....I decided to put my scarf on my head...not the most flattering idea i've ever had...but hey, we all learn somehow.
Mike and I....yes, Mike this is for you :)
The top building is a mosque, the middle window is for a church, and the bottom window is for a synagogue...each religion is supporting one another. When did this stop?

The Dome of the Rock.
Me in front of the Dome of the Rock.
Dome of the Rock again.
The group overlooking the old city...doesn't get much better or more real than this.

Sorry there wasn't too much sarcasim and jokes in this posting, just wait because there will be some in the next posting (at least I hope). This weekend looks as though it will hold many adventures as I explore the winery's of Haifa!!!!! Nina and I and some other people will be going and exploring another city. Tomorrow is another test...lets keep our fingers crossed I will do well since the hebrew is now becoming more difficult. Laura is moving out this evening and that means Ben and I are going to party it up at the Hostel. For anyone that is wondering I would love to have a package sent to me... some of the items I would like to receive:

1. Mac n' Cheese (from the blue box)
2. Arizona Ice Tea (it's very expensive here)
3. Crystal Light Lemon ice-tea to go packets
4. season 6 of Grey's Anatomy...whenever that comes out
5. Some movies....whatever ones you think I will enjoy

I think that's it for now. here is the address for the school where these lovely care packages will go:
Hebrew Union College - JIR
Jaclyn McCabe - Student

13 King David Street
Jerusalem 94101, Israel

I hope to be receiving packages soon :D love and miss you all!!!!!

Girls Night Out

It has not become a tradition that on Thursday nights (like the Friday night here) the girls go out together and the guys get together for a night out. Last night us girls went to Zollis Pub and Bar for some drinks and some hookah and the guys had a beer and BBQ night. The night out was a lot of fun, and really nice to just spend quality time with the girls.

Tonight is Shabbat again and I don't think I am going to be going to Temple tonight. I am so exhausted from the past week I think it is best if I stay in and have a relaxing night. I am going to Ricky's house for Shabbat dinner then over to Nina's for some drinking and relaxing. So excited. Nothing new has really been happening around here. Laura is moving out on Monday night since she got her apartment, so then until Tarlan and Tina show it's just Ben and I.

Next week a lot of the students for the rest of the year are going to be showing up, so I am really excited to start meeting all of them.

Sorry this posting isn't very detailed...not too much new going on. I hope everyone has a great day and Shabbat Shalom.

xoxo

Made it Through the Heat Wave

Here we are, finally sitting in an apartment and not sweating!! Yesterday afternoon Jerusalem finally broke through the brutal heatwave we had and it is absolutely beautiful out! Too bad I don't get to enjoy it since I have an exam tomorrow. I am not too worried about the exam though....I got a 96% on the quiz I had on tuesday!! Yay for me! Nothing too exciting is going on, just lots of school work.

Last night I made lemon chicken for dinner and it was AH-MA-ZING! If you want the recipe I am not sure I am ready to give it out yet so you might just have to wait.

Alex, my electrician came yesterday and hopefully fixed the washer (I haven't tried it out yet) and my doorbell. There was an attempt to fix the dishwasher but after it running for about 3 mins water starting pouring out from behind it. I think it's safe to conclude that there is something wrong with the dishwasher.

Ryan, a friend of mine that I met from Just for a Day is here in Israel so we are just hanging out at my apartment. Ryan is spending the summer at the southern tip of the galilee doing an archeological dig. Again, it is nice to see a familiar face.

For those of you keeping tabs, Janece didn't take me to a meal at the King David, but she did take me out for falafel and ice cream....at this point, I will take whatever I can get.

Also, I found out last night that I can still apply for a Masa scholarship for living expenses here in Israel. So I filled out the application last night and should know soon. If I get it I will be receiving a $4,500 scholarship. So I will definitely keep everyone posted about that. Well, I hope everyone has a great day! love you all and miss you so much!

The Hostel is Officially a NO SHOE ZONE! (and pictures)

In this blog are pictures from the Shabbat at my apartment, the whole 1 picture I took while at

the beach in Tel Aviv and yes, my A test :)!

First and foremost the most exciting news....my first Hebrew Exam was an A! I am sooooo happy. It was the 2nd highest grade in my class. WooHoo. Here is the picture to prove it for those of you who might be questioning this important and exciting piece of information: sorry that it is sideways...

Next and the news my family will be the most excited and impressed by is that I spent a large portion of my day cleaning the hostel (my apartment). Ben moved in last night and today Ricky moved out and Ben took Ricky's room. Ben is kinda a neat freak...in a very good way, so Ben took the "broom" and swept his room. To my disgust there was sooo much dust and dead bugs we immediately went out to the supermarket to buy cleaning supplies. I bought bleach, a mop, clorox spray, sponges and a couple other things. We swept and mopped the entire floor of the apartment, went to dinner with Ryan and Sara then came back and I cleaned the entire shower and bathroom sink. The shower alone took me about an hour. I think I have just been in denial about how dirty the apartment was. I am so proud of myself for cleaning, but there is still a long ways to go. Whenever I have some free time I will be cleaning the apartment. Since it took me so long to clean the floors the apartment is officially a shoe free apartment. The tile is white and attracts all kinds of dirt and dust and I don't feel it is necessary to have to buy baby wipes to clean my feet before I go to bed so I figured the best solution was to not allow anyone to wear shoes in here. With that being said I officially have a new found respect for 1) the cleaning ladies of the world and 2) my parents. I don't think I will ever make a mess again, or at least I will try my best not to...LOVE YOU!

Now pictures from the Shabbat I hosted at my apartment.

My beautiful table setting. I cooked the entire meal by myself. People offered to help, but of course I refused! I made a capresse salad, and two kinds of pastas. Also, while I was cooking dinner everyone had brie and crackers to snack on.

Here are Ricky (left) and Mike (right) with my surprise Birthday cake. It was really good and the candles in the cake for those of you who were wondering at Shabbat Candles. They were really good at keeping this a secret because I had NO clue they were doing this for me! I love you guys!

Here is a birds eye view of my cake...there might have been 22 chocolate dots...I never actually counted.

Now here are pictured of Nina and I from our first Shabbat morning service and HUC. Nina and I are both Education students, but Nina will be attending the New York School of Education and I will be heading off to LA.

Later that day after these pictures were taken I went to Tel Aviv. Yes, I epically failed and only took one picture the whole day, but not to worry I know I will be going to Tel Aviv many more times and will take more pictures then. But when I was in Tel Aviv I was able to see Alli, a friend from Temple and I was able to get a shot of the two of us together.

It was soooo hot and humid that day in Tel Aviv but Alli informed me that all I need to do is go to the beach whenever I can and I too can be as tan as she is! WooHoo!

Well on Tuesday I have a vocab exam so tomorrow will be spent studying for that. I miss you all so much and thanks so much for the support I am getting. Please feel free to pass this blog on to anyone that may be interested in my journeys...i mean really...who wouldn't be interested!!! xoxoxoxo

First Week of School...come and gone

Sorry for the days gap since my last post. I have been rather busy. During my days things happen and I think to myself, "I have to put this in the blog". Since I have had many of those moments over the past couple days this post might seem a little "outta control" as I like to say.

The other evening, not sure exactly which one, Sara and I went out to dinner on Ben Yehuda. Since I have been here there has been a big stage kind of set up at the bottom of Ben Yehuda (on Yaffo). I was told it was the MTV of Israel and that it is normally filmed in Tel Aviv but they moved it down to Jerusalem for a few weeks. Outside of the contraption there is a big screen as to allow onlookers to see what celebrities and guests are on the show at that moment. As an American I am rather out of the loop of Israeli pop culture (shocking, I know), but the night I was there with Sara Hadag Nachash was there! For those of you who don't know who Hadag Nachash is, there are a very popular music group here in Israel and when I was in High School I got to see them perform at Zellerbach (sp?) Hall at UC Berkely. So it was very cool seeing them in their usual element. Needless to say when I first got in to their music I was rather obsessed...even though I had no idea what any of their songs meant.

Next, Yesterday was a very relaxing day. I was able to sleep in till 1030. I had planned to clean the rest of the house and finish the last load of laundry I wasn't able to do on Thursday. Well I woke up to a note on my door from Nathan, a rabbinical student who has been crashing on my couch, say "DON'T USE THE WASHING MACHINE! THERE IS SOMETHING WRONG WITH IT!" This was not very comforting. I was informed that when he went to take my clothes out of the wash and put them in the dryer he got an electric shock. So I called my landlord and informed him of the situation and said he will send someone out tomorrow to take a look at it. So, I still haven't been able to wash my darks yet. But good news to all of you, my clothes didn't shrink so you can rip up the checks you were gonna send or out the money back in your wallets, but I would also like to say thank you for your willingness to offer a hand :) haha

Last night for Shabbat we all went to Kol Hanishama for services and then some of us went back to Mike's apartment for Shabbat dinner. It was a lot of fun and very yummy. One of the popular fruits here in Israel is watermelon, and last night at Shabbat dinner Ryan brought watermelon with him. So naturally I ask for salt, since that's only what I have been doing since I remember mom sending me to the JCC with watermelon and a little thing of salt. Everyone looks at me with shock, confusion, and disgust. They don't understand why I would want to put Salt on my watermelon. So I convince them all to try it, and Ryan was the only one that had anything positive to say, and even then it wasn't the best compliment....so thanks Dad for raising your children to have apparently weird eating habits.

This morning we went to services at HUC and all of us new students were called up to do an Aliyah together, I wish we were able to take pictures at the moment because it was very cool and I was very proud of myself. The service was two and a half hours long, but at least this week was more entertaining and enjoyable than last week.

Ben is moving in tonight so I am trying to get everything ready to go for him, but I am just so tired I don't want to move. Since Ben and I both need our student visas we are going to go to the consulate one day and just sit there with a guitar and seeing really poorly and loudly with signs around our necks saying "we will shut up for student visas". It is apparently impossible to get an appointment with the consulate so we figured out best option was to just go there and wait all day....I mean they are going to have to get rid of us eventually..right?

Well now it's off to finish my homework for school tomorrow...we have to write a paragraph about where we want to live and why....and yes, this time I am fully aware it needs to be in Hebrew. That's all for now :)

xoxo

First Graduate School Exam

So the day finally arrived...taking my first exam in graduate school. All in all I think I did very well. I won't not my grade until Sunday, but I don't think I have anything to worry about. Today in Jerusalem I think it is the hottest it has been since I have gotten here, or it could be that I am wearing pants and a thicker t-shirt.

It was very exciting today because I got to see Cantor Cohen. For those of you that don't know who that is, she was the Cantor I got to do my Cantorial Internship with. Her and her son are here and staying at Beit Shmuel. Beit Shmuel is a nice hostel that is connected to HUC. So this evening I will be meeting her and Zach (her son) on Ben Yehuda street for dinner...she said if I'm lucky she will treat me to a meal at the King David Hotel, lets all keep our fingers crossed.

Since it has been getting hotter and hotter here everyday I had to buy a fan to use in my room at night. It has definitely help me sleep through the nights comfortably. Yesterday I purchased a pair of Naot's the Israeli form of Birkenstocks and I really like them...I just have to break them in a little bit more.

Today I did some major cleaning. I cleaned the entire kitchen! I also am doing my first load of laundry here at the apartment. I have been so nervous about using the washer and dryer since it is all in Hebrew and nothing like the washer and dryer back at the sorority house, I waited till the last minute to get up the courage to use it. I hope nothing shrinks! (if it does I guess it just means I will have to go on a shopping spree...donations welcome :D )

I have made my lunch for school every day but one and the one day I didn't I went and bought a sandwich that wasn't even very good....so that just means I will be making my lunch every day!! I hope I can be creative enough that I won't get bored with my meals.

I have been late to school for the past two days because there has been soooo much traffic on King David. Yesterday someone famous was out and about on the streets and today there was some kind of protest, so I am going to give the buses one last chance on Sunday and if there is a lot of traffic again I will be wearing my walking shoes to school rather than my very stylish flats.

I am very excited because tomorrow I get to sleep in! I even wrote down on my calendar sleep, just to make sure I took the time to do so. Having school everyday at 8:30 is something I haven't experienced in a long time, and I am definitely not quite used to it yet. Knowing me, it won't be something I will ever get used to.

I'm not sure what the plans are for this evening other than dinner with Cantor Cohen. I am kind of hoping for a relaxing evening since I am pooped. Also, I need to get the apartment ready for when Ben comes and moves in. Ben and Sara have been kicked out of their apartment for the month since the owners come every year during this time for 3 weeks....this means sara and ben have to move out. It will actually be nice having ben here I am very excited. And the place sara is staying at is just around the corner! Party every night!!!!

Well off to do more cleaning....I think I need to hire a cleaning lady, again, donations welcome :)

xoxoxoxoxo

What do you call my apartment?

A HOSTEL!

so it has officially become the running joke amongst us pre-ulpaners that my apartment is a youth hostel since it is where everyone seems to crash and hang out. This has proven to have many pro's and con's. It is hard to be around the same people for almost the entire day. I have found myself spending less and less time at my apartment and keeping busy during the day.

School is going really well. So far it all seems like a review of what I learned in college so that is really nice. We have our first exam on Thursday so I am curious to see how that will go. I went to the mall today to buy some colored pens and a folder in order to help me stay organized during the year...we will see how long that actually lasts.

More excitement in Jerusalem last night. As Ryan, Nina, Laura and I were walking home from dinner at Beit Ticho we were stopped on King George by the bomb squad. At this point I'm thinking clearly bad things in Jerusalem only happen when I am around. After listening to much rambling in Hebrew and people on the sidewalk being yelled at on the megaphone by the bomb squad to not walk any further we hear a loud BOOM! Apparently in Israel if there is any kind of bag or suspicious item left somewhere the bomb squad is called to destroy (blow up) the item. While this event could frighten some, it actually was rather comforting to me. Israel is clearly not taking any chances.

Unfortunately due to my crazy class schedule and go go go days I haven't been able to take any new photos. Hopefully this weekend I will go on some more crazy adventures and share them all with you by photo assistance.

GREAT NEWS! I am officially and auntie...again! Welcome Braden Jason McCabe. Born Monday June 14, 2010 at 9:42 am! He is super cute! I am so sad I won't be able to meet him for another year :( Maybe that just gives the fam a reason to come to Israel!

Anyhoo, about to eat a phenom dinner prepared by the lovely Nina, and handsome Mike, Ryan and Steven! Miss you all so much!

Tel Aviv and First Day of School

As expected, yesterday was so go go go I didn't have anytime to sit down and update the blog. In the morning most of the students went to services. To my disappointment they were not very good :( Immediately following services I joined Ryan, Toba, Greg and an Israeli friend of theirs in Tel Aviv! Tel Aviv and Jerusalem are complete opposites. Jerusalem is more old city not tall building like, and Tel Aviv is like San Francisco and New York combined with east coast humidity.

Getting to Tel Aviv was not very hard, I know how to do it for future visits. We got to the beach and got some food then found a spot on the sand to hang out on. I don't think I have ever seen a beach so crowded. Not only was there an actual sea in front of me but I was part of a sea of people...very cool experience.

I was lucky to have gotten to hang out with a friend from Isaiah (Alli Darrow) while there. She has been spending the past couple months in Tel Aviv. It was really nice seeing a familiar face from back home.

When we went in to the water I couldn't believe how warm the water was. I stepped in expecting the chilling pain of ice water, as I have for the past two year up at Tawonga, but it was so warm I just wanted to jump in! I didn't for the sake of ruining my make-up. Spending the day on the beach was exactly what I needed before school started.

When Ryan and I got back from Tel Aviv we went to Ben Yehuda street and met up with some other people from the program so get something to eat, and I also got to see one of my sorority sisters who is doing birthrite. Again, very nice to see a familiar face. While the day was very long and exhausting, it was really relaxing and totally worth it.

Today, was the first day of school...didn't start off too well considering my alarm didn't go off and I only had 30 mins to get ready. On top of that my stomach was feeling well. We all got to school and got to our classrooms and I was officially no longer on summer vacation and was officially a graduate school student. Surprisingly the day went by a lot quicker than I expected and I knew a lot more than I thought I would. The teacher only speaks in hebrew, so I think I will be able to understand a lot more than I will be able to speak. There are only 8 of us in my group, but it's really nice because it is so small. We already have homework so I need to make sure I stay on top of it.

After class I went to Supersol (the safeway of Israel) and finally did some real grocery shopping! While it came out to a lot of money in the end, I got a lot from it and finally have enough food to have a different kind of lunch every day! You will all be happy to hear that I made my lunch last night and had it all ready to go and packed for school today. I used my cute pink bag michelley gave me.

I also purchased a nalgene and a brita. The water out here doesn't taste very good, so I figured it was worth it paying some money now rather than paying a lot over the year on water bottles. Also, I didn't even think about bringing and nalgene here with me. But no worries, I found a VERY cute pink one :) Another water bottle to add to my collection.

Now I am off to Nina's house. She is making dinner and we are going to work on the paper we have due for our education seminar next month. Miss you all like crazy!!!!!!!!!!!!

Shabbat

So when I woke up this morning I knew having a crazy hectic day was not something I wanted. I have been go go go since more people got here and I was just pooped. So today was a very relaxing day. I got up updated the blog with birthday pictures and then made my roommates watch the Bachelorette with me!!! It didn't take much to convince them though...quick question...why is the weather man still there?!

Anyhoo, so after watching the bachelorette Ryan came over and we went to the falafel place across the street from me. We had an interesting talk about HUC inbreeding...i know you're proud mom and dad.

Sara then came over and we all went to Kol Hanishama for Shabbat Services. This is a phenom reform synagogue about 10 minute walk from me. Services were great, they had all of us HUC students stand up. Then Nathan, Mike, Laura, Dana, Ricky, and Naomi came back to my place for dinner. Yes, I made dinner :) I made a caprese salad (Tomatoes, basil, mozzarella cheese and balsamic) and pasta with either olive with basil or maranara sauce. Everything turned out great! I was very proud of myself.

Mike and Ricky surprised me with a cake for my birthday, even though it was a day late. Brownie points to whoever can guess what kind of candles they put in the cake. Now we're all just hanging out at my apartment listening to music, playing board games and talking.

Tomorrow some people were talking about going to Tel Aviv and hanging out on the beach to watch the world cup, so I will be joining them! I am so excited to get out of the city for the day. Not that Jerusalem isn't a beautiful city, it will just be nice to get out and about before classes start. It's weird being in a country where the world cup is actually a big deal.

Before I go to Tel Aviv though, I plan on going to HUC for morning services. Ben is going to be singing so I am really looking forward to hearing him.

Well I am going to enjoy the rest of my evening and go to bed soon. Keep checking for more posts. Also, once classes start on sunday don't be expecting the daily updates you are all receiving now...a time is soon coming where I will need to be done.

Tomorrow / Sunday I will post pictures from Shabbat Dinner and the beach! Miss you all!! xoxo

Pictures of 1 Rachel Imanu #17

So here they are...the long awaited pictures of my apartment. Going to get ready for shabbat in a little bit so I will put another update up tomorrow. Shabbat Shalom!My bedroom. Sorry i didn't make my bed. :0 yes, that is blankie and my teddy bear on the bed...couldn't go anywhere without them
Here is the full bathroom. the shower is smaller than any normal person would like, but it works....soooo I guess i shouldn't really complain.
The hallway. This picture makes it look a lot longer than it really is.
The dining room table. Yes, that is a bookshelf with tons of books...good thing i'm an ed student and not a rabbi!
The kitchen. It's pretty packed with food in this picture, but that's because we're preparing for Shabbat!
And here is the chillin' area! People are just hanging out! The couches are super comfy...so if anyone is wanting to stay the night you have something to sleep on!

Birthday Summary

So my birthday is officially over! All in all my birthday was a HUGE success. It was so nice being around sooo many people. Greg's house was a lot of fun. He had bread, cheese, and hummus out for us to munch on and wine and other assortments of beverages for our enjoyment as well. Sara and Ben bought me a present...a pink coffee mug that says "Happy Birthday" on the outside and "you are great" on the inside. They also got me a purple and pink scarf which is great since I didn't bring any with me. (one of the many items Uncle Dennis will be bringing along with him in my / his suitcase). After spending about an hour or so at greg's we went to the restaurant I had mentioned before. The place was really good, I had artichoke raviolis. The only bad part was that there was a band of some sort playing and the music was so loud I couldn't talk to anyone at the table.
No one let me pay for dinner, which I really appreciate since I am broke, but in no way expected or wanted them to do that. So like I said, it was a great day! I am going to add in all the photos of the day and explain who is who so now when I start writing about people everyone can put a face with a name.
Thank you to everyone who called, wrote on my wall, sent me an email, or contacted me to whatever degree to wish me a happy birthday. This was one of the best birthdays I have had in a couple years, and it would not have been as great with out your warm wishes! Thanks again!



This is Sara and I. Sara is one of my closest friends here and is a Cantorial Student. She is making my choice of LA education versus the NY education program very challenging.

Me and Ben! Ben is another Cantorial student with Sara. (he was in a picture i put on the last blog). Ben and Sara are the two that bought me the birthday mug and scarf.

Here are Sara, Ben, and Laura. Laura is the 3rd Cantorial student who is here right now. She is staying with me in the apartment for the month of June. Laura is sooo sweet. She brought me a birthday card from back home!!!! Gotta love them all!

Here Laura and I are...this first picture is the good one....
this is the bad one since Ben was trying to tell us something is Hebrew and neither of us understood what the heck he was saying. :)

Ben and Nina. Nina is an education student as well! Woohoo!!! Unfortunately she is going to the New York Education program rather than LA...see my decision is still not a good one. :) When Nina and I first met the other day she asked if we could be best friends and play dress up! Friends from day 1!
This picture is not significant other than we made Ben put on the very pretty Marc Jakobs bag....I said he had to since it was my birthday... :)
If only it were really mine!
The 2 educators! Nina and I.
Ricky, me and Toba. Ricky is one of my roommates for the month of June and is a Rabbinical student who is heading off to Cincinnati after the year here. Toba is also a Rabbinical student and she is heading off to NY after the year. Toba used to live in the bay and worked for Oakland Midrasha....CRAZY SMALL WORLD!

This is the lovely Carlie. Carlie is a Rabbinical student. Like Ben she isn't doing the pre Ulpan but since she was just leading a birthrite trip decided to just stay here instead of flying home for a month. Carlie is super sweet!!!!! aslo going to NY... humph :(

Ryan, another Rabbinical student who is going to....you guessed it NY after the year in Israel. I think we are all starting to see the trend here! Ryan and I bonded when we went to the grocery store and he purchased dover soap and deodorant in none other than the cucumber melon scent...my favorite scent!
Since I told Eric (the guy to the right of Ryan) that Ryan purchased dove deodorant....he couldn't help but smell the goodness.
Here are all the Rabbinical students minus one or two. Now let me clarify by saying these are not all the students for the year, just the ones that are here for the month of June for the pre-ulpan.

So now you have all met / been introduced to my friends so far in Israel.

Some of the things I am missing from the US:

1. Target
2. Free Refills at restaurants
3. Quiet evenings
4. Smoke free restaurants
5. Gallon containers of Arizona Iced Tea

I think that's all I can think of for now...but I will let you know more when they pop in to my head!