Thanksgiving!!

Since the last time I wrote a lot of things have happened. First fo all I decided to go in to the army. I am diong a prgram called Marva. This is where I got to the army for 2 months. I start Jan. 3rd and i finish Feb. 25th. The first two weeks are my basic training and the rest of the time we are going to be on different bases throughout Israel. I am so excited. It is going to be a great experience. Another cool thing that happened was my mom came to visit me. It was so good to see her. She came in on a Wednesday afternoon. We went straight from the airport to Efrat. We have really good family friends there, the Stein Family. It was a really relaxing and fun weekend. On Friday we went into Jerusalem and participated in the first ever Jerusalem flash mob. It was one of the coolest things I have ever done. I am so glad i was able to participate because I don't think I will ever get the opportunity to do something like that again. On Sunday we made our way back to Bat Yam. I was really excited for my mom to see my apt. and to meet all my friends. On Monday we had lunch on the beach and then I had Ulpan so she just hung out. After I finished class we went up to Herzaliya to see a friend for dinner and then we went to a Maccabi Haifa basketball game. The game was so much fun and it was good to see Jese. On Tuesday we went to the shuk and the art shuk. It was a lot of fun and we got some really great stuff. After that we had lunch with Lee. It was a lot of fun. After lunch Lee took us all around Tel Aviv. We could only hang for a little because at 3:30 I was meeting with a crew coach. I learned how to crew. It is something I have always wanted to learn so i thought why not learn in Israel, maybe I will pick it up when I get home. After that we had a nice dinner and then I said goodbye. I was a really nice trip and I was glad my mom came.

Today, November 24th, the program took us to an Olympic Museum. It was one of the collest things I have ever been to. I would suggest everyone should go there. Tonight we ware giong to meet Tal Brody. He is a great basketball player and I can't wait to meet him. After taht hte sports track is having a girl's night. It's going to be a lot of fun. I can't wait. Tomorrow is Thanksgiving. W are having one big Thanksgiving feast. It's going to be great. After the feast we are all going to a club. This is going to be on the best weekends in Bat Yam. A week and a half left until I move to Arad.

Just a few things I should say:

1) My hebrew is getting so much better.

2) The trips we go on every Tuesday are amazing. On one we walked around Tel Aviv and they told us about the buildings then we went to this art gallery and the women told us about her family. I would have to say they are one of the most interesting families i have ever heard of. Another trip we went on was to the Bumba factory. We got FREE BUMBA!!!!!

See yall in 6 months.

Rain in Israel??

I forgot to tell yall. For about a week there were storms in Israel. It was crazy. I did not know that it rain in Israel, well that much. Actually before this week I have only seen it rain in Israel for about 10 min. I am happy it rained it just caught me off guard. It was cool though because it made me think about all the storms that I am missing in Richmond.

A month full of fun :)

This month has been full of exciting events. First there was my birthday, which was so much fun. To celebrate it my roommates and I went to beach with a bunch of people and just hung out. The next night we went to Max Brenner and got some chocolate desserts (yummy!). Then the next night there was this big year course party so everyone from all three sections came up and we partied in this great club. I had a really good time just hanging with friends and even meeting new people. Later that week I went to a Maccabi Haifa Basketball game and got to see a really good friend, Jesse Pellot-Rosa. They played against Maccabi Tel-Aviv. It was a really good game and it was really nice to see him play and even see him. I can’t wait to go back up and see him. Then there was Halloween. That was fun. There was another big year course party so everyone came up again. My roommates and I were the Smurfs. It was so cute. Everyone’s costumes were really good. It was weird celebrating it in Israel but it was also really cool. I can’t wait for Purim. Nothing new really came along up until today when I went sky diving. It was one of the most exhilarating things I have ever done. I got a video and pictures which I put on facebook so go look. I am so happy that I went because the sight was amazing. I want to go again. Maybe one day I will be able to do it by myself. In the past month I have done so many cool things. I have been to countless sporting events, gone sky diving, and even had my 18th birthday. I can’t wait to see what the next 7 months have in store for me.

Sukkot!!!

I am having so much fun in Israel. I finally made it to Jerusalem for a night. I went out with some friends and we just hung out. After that the sports track went to Cesarea for two days. On the first day we went canoeing, snorkeling, and wind surfing. I love wind surfing; it was so much fun and I was actually pretty good at it. I would love to do it again! We slept there and went to the old city at night to hung out. The next day was also so much fun. We learned how to kite surf and surfing- it was so cool. I have always wanted to learn how to do it. I wasn’t that great but I got up on my knees, it’s better than nothing! The next day I went to Jerusalem again to see the Steins and it was really nice to see them. Their house is beautiful. The next day I hung out with Jill and Andrew. Their apt is really cute. We watched a soap box derby. I have never been to one and it was really interesting and fun. The next night I went on a Tzofim rafting trip. We slept by the Kinneret and then went rafting on the Jordan. It was by far one of the best weeks of the trip.See yall in 8 months!

I forgot to talk about the holidays. I had so much fun. I went to my friend’s aunt’s house. I love them. It reminded me of my house. I also went to two different types of temples. One was just like KBI in the sense I knew the tones and then we went to a Moroccan one. It was so cool. I really liked it. Yom Kippur is around the corner and I can’t wait to spend it in Israel. I heard it is one of the coolest things ever. My whole apt and mostly everyone else is staying in Bat Yam. I am going to make a big dinner and invite people to come and then for the break I am going to try and find a bagel shop (ahahahahah…yeah right). Lashana Tova!!!!

The Holidays!

These past two weeks I have been having so much fun. From Rosh Hashanah or to just hanging with my roommates and friends the times have been great. My schedule is pretty normal now. On Sundays and Wednesdays I have sports stuff and then class and then sports volunteering. Mondays and Thursdays I have volunteering, I work at a special needs school and love it, then I has ulpan and then nothing. Tuesdays are the days that we go on a special trip. The first one we went to an opera house. I liked it. This time we went to a museum for the blind. It was one of the coolest things I have ever done. I would go back in a second. Friday and Saturdays are free. I am planning a trip to Eilat and I want to travel. The tzofim are planning a rafting trip on the 8th and I am sooo excited I can’t wait. I am having the best time and love it here. I have been here for a month and can’t wait for what the next 8 months have in store.
Call me!!

Second Week!!!!

This week was one of the best weeks ever. We started volunteering and we also started some sports stuff. One day we woke up and got on a bus. We then walked about 2 min to the ocean in Bat Yam. We then worked out on the beach. We each had trampoline and we had an instructor who taught a class. It was one of the best workouts ever. I love it here. I have made so many friends. This weekend people from Arad came up and we all just hung out and went to the beach. It was so much fun. Classes and normal life start tomorrow. I can’t wait.

Time of my life :)

Two nights ago the sports track went to a soccer game. It was so much fun. We sat next to these little boys and they started to hit on me. They were 11. It was so funny. All of the boys on the track were like those boys are trying to move in on our girls.
Today was the first day of volunteering. It was so much fun. I am working in a special needs school. It was cool because once we got there we were put into a class and got to work with the kids. They don’t know English and I only know very little Hebrew so it’s cool because as they learn more Hebrew I learn too and I also get to practice the Hebrew I know and the Hebrew that I am going to learn. After that I went to the mall and got kosher MacDonald’s (Yummy) and got my nose pierced (ahahaha jk), and then I went to the gym that the sports track has membership too. It’s really nice. Tonight my apt and the boys apt that is near us are going to the hookah bar. I am having the time of my life.

The First Week

I am having a great time. I have made great friends and met awesome people. The apt is ok. We don’t have air conditioning and the internet doesn’t work. Otherwise everything is great. We went to the mall and met this woman who was so cute. She wants us to teach her English and hopefully she will teach us Hebrew. The super market was a fun place to go. I can’t wait to go back.
Please call me. I miss everyone and I love yall.
By the way I am like one of few southern people so whenever I say yall everyone makes fun of me it’s funny. Classes start Monday. Can’t wait.
See you in 9 months!

The Journey Starts

Tomorrow I start my trip to New York. I am so excited. This is going to be one of the most memorable experiences of my life and I just can’t wait to get started. I said my last goodbyes and my bags are packed. Let’s just hope that all my shoes make it. I am going to miss everyone so much but I know that I will keep in touch. Thanks for everything. I couldn't have done this without y'all.
See y'all in 9 months!