I know it has been an insanely long time since I blogged. In order to encapsulate everything that has happened, I think some pictures are in order.
Since I last blogged, I went on a tiyyul (trip) to the south. It was a three day break from classes (we didn't have an actual break since Sukkot in mid-September, and wouldn't have one until the end of the semester). We went on a JNF tour, looking at some of their various projects, went hiking (see pictures), and snorkeling (sorry, but no underwater pictures, although we did see an eel!). We spent Shabbat under the stars and in the sand and really got to enjoy the beauty of the Negev Desert. When we came back, it was time for...
Since I last blogged, I went on a tiyyul (trip) to the south. It was a three day break from classes (we didn't have an actual break since Sukkot in mid-September, and wouldn't have one until the end of the semester). We went on a JNF tour, looking at some of their various projects, went hiking (see pictures), and snorkeling (sorry, but no underwater pictures, although we did see an eel!). We spent Shabbat under the stars and in the sand and really got to enjoy the beauty of the Negev Desert. When we came back, it was time for...
Thanksgivukkah! I helped to organize our class dinner, but everyone pitched in to cook a delicious meal (see below). We had two turkeys, several types of roasted veggies, three kinds of latkes, parve (dairy free) mashed potatoes, two kinds of applesauce and Maccabee beer (because it was also Hanukkah). We lit candles and said some Thanksgivukkah blessings, and really got to enjoy this family meal with our new HUC family. Later that week , I went touring the Old City with Ashley to observe the gorgeous oil hannukiot all lit up. The pictures weren't that great, but there's one of the two of us together in the old city.
With Hanukkah came the month of December, and the month of Tevet. Meaning, there was a Nashot HaKotel service. Check out the video here. You can see my arm in the front left hand side; I'm wearing a silver and purple bracelet and a blue t-shirt.
Throughout the semester, a group of us have been playing basketball on a regular basis. Off to the side is a "team picture" (minus about 6 people who play frequently) of all of us.
Throughout the semester, a group of us have been playing basketball on a regular basis. Off to the side is a "team picture" (minus about 6 people who play frequently) of all of us.
And then it snowed. Just in time for finals and our reading days. We ended up have a five day weekend and a few late start days as Jerusalem tried to deal with about ten inches of snow. Probably the most amusing parts of snow in Jerusalem was watching Israelis attempt to clear it away. Without shovels. I saw cardboard boxes, garden hoes, dustpans, and my personal favorite: the sides of squeegees being used as substitute shovels. And on a larger scale, construction equipment was being implemented as plows. It took a while for the snow to get cleared away, and even longer for the ice to melt. So when I went to pick up Elliot from the airport (!!), our taxi driver refused to drive us all the way to my apartment since the roads were so icy. Which brings me to my next topic..Elliot. He arrived on December 17th, during my last week of classes and finals week. He's staying through the new year until January second. It has been lovely having him around these past two weeks, and our time together is really flying by. He got to enjoy some quiet vacation time and got to catch up on his jet lag while I was studying and writing papers. Now that my finals are over and he is on Israel time, we get to go out exploring. We've been wandering in the Old City, walking the ramparts of the city walls, to Yad VaShem and Mount Herzl. We walked around my old neighborhood and my new neighborhood. We've celebrated Shabbat twice, and we got to visit my friend Jill, here on a birthright trip on Ben Yehuda street. On Christmas Eve, we went to the Christian Quarter of Jerusalem and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Then we went to a Scottish Church on the way home for midnight mass. The best part of the service in my opinion, was walking out after the service and seeing the Jerusalem lights on the hill. It was a really nice service. And while I would have loved to have gone to Bethlehem and seen the craziness in manger square, we got to have a much calmer Christmas eve in Jerusalem. On Christmas day, we went and got Japanese food (the Chinese food in this country is really awful) and saw the Hobbit (with Hebrew subtitles. The Hebrew when one of the dwarfs said to Bilbo "go now" was the same as what God commanded Abraham in Genesis (lech l'cha). I was amused :))
Me and Jill on Ben Yehuda Street | Elliot, Ashley, Melissa, and me in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher on Christmas Eve
Tonight, Elliot and I are off to Petra and then back in Jerusalem for New Years. I'll blog again in 2014!
Happy New Year and Shavua Tov!!
Happy New Year and Shavua Tov!!
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