My visit with Nasreim

I know I am spelling her name wrong, but I met Nasreim at BGU through a dean of students who wants to help Arab students improve their English and become more integrated on campus. There is still a lot of discrimination to Arab students, maybe not outright, but it's subtle and can be heard. But I really hit the jackpot because Nasreim is awesome. She is 32 and beautiful and has three kids, below, and is now going back to school. Her husband is a doctor and they have a clinic very near their home. She's an incredible woman and I am happy that I get to spend time with her and her family. The little girl, Roa, talks to me in Hebrew like I understand everything she says, and obviously that is not the case, but it's really cute and it does help my Hebrew. They all speak Arabic and they go to school in Beer Sheva so they speak Hebrew at school. Nasreim didn't learn Hebrew until she was older and she is aware how important it is for her children to speak Hebrew. They are also learning English, of course. I had a great afternoon and I can't wait to go back and visit!!!

The one rainy day!!!

Rain clouds...so rare here!!

Wet street!!!

PB&J

I just had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. It is by far one of the best foods ever invented.

I am writing my first paper for Islamic Civilizations today. The topic is: "Trace the changes of social structure in Arabian society - from the pre-Islamic period to the early Umayyad. Present the major changes and the reasons behind them.

Totally exciting, no!?! ;-)

Sand

Yesterday was crazy...my weather iGoogle literally said "sand." And it was right! The sky was a weird color because all the sand flying around I only wore my contacts for a hour before I couldn't take it! And even then, there was so much sand in my eyes when I walked to class. But today seems calmer and I am very pleased about that!

Also, I have a Hebrew quiz today and she only gave us one day notice, but my awesome friend Roi helped me study and I hope I do well because it was late when we finished studying and he probably didn't do his homework so he could help me, so the least I can do is do well on this quiz to make all the studying worthwhile!!! =)

Weekend

I had a nice weekend. It was short, it's always short in Israel though. Friday night I went to Loren's and had dinner with some of the male MAPMES students. They are all really funny, but I was so tired from the night before I wasn't very social. But I took cookies, with Israeli white chocolate (trying something new) and they were, of course, a big hit.

Katie told me whether she is having a boy or a girl!! She called me at 4:30 am......hahaha, but it was sooo worth it!! I am so happy for them!! I don't think it's public knowledge yet, so I am keeping a secret, but I'm going to be an awesome aunt!!

Today, I cleaned my apartment some more and went to the gym and did homework, it was nice to have a day alone. Now more homework!!!!

Halloween!

The OSP students decided to have a Halloween party! It was the first time I drank since being in Israel, and whatever they bought was disgusting, but the party was a blast and everyone had a great time. I dressed up as one of my friends, Robb. He loves Obama and wears khaki shorts all the time, so I wore my Obama shirt and khaki shorts, everyone thought it was hilarious, of course! ;-) The other costumes were very creative, especially because we had no assistance being in Israel and not having Halloween! Plus it was great because no one was slutty! Unlike in the US where Halloween is just an excuse to wear a bra and bunny ears out in public.

This weekend I am laying low. I have NO plans and I'm going to clean and do homework! I am actually really excited about it and my body really needs it. I haven't gotten enough sleep any night this week, so I'm looking forward to it! Shabbat Shalom!!

New home

So....I moved! My landlord in the old apartment just wasn't nice and for a few other reasons I really wanted to get out of there! Yesterday, my friends came and helped me get all my things (which is surprisingly a lot!!) moved up stairs. The only heavy thing was the washer, everything else was just bulky and weird shaped, needless to say, our butts got a good workout from the 4 flights of stairs. Two awesome guys came later and moved the washer. I was really scared they were going to hurt themselves, but they were definitely fine, I will have to make them some cookies for carrying a washing machine up 4 flights of stairs!

It's much more relaxing up here already, I just wish I had everything put away, but there is no rush really. There is a rush for me to study though. I have a map test tomorrow (over the Middle East, which isn't that big of a deal since we studied that at Portage High School last year!) but I have a Hebrew quiz on Thursday that I really need to study for!!!

Two more

Beautiful naked baby in the river!

So no joke, our kibbutz had a chocolate factory on it!!!!!! I just ate the ice cream!!!!!!!! (which was very good, Israel did not disappoint!!)

Kinneret

We went on a hike through a dry river bed! This is at the end!


Some of our views

In the Jordan River, very near where Jesus was baptised! Super awesome!


More fun in the Jordan River!! I bet Jesus did the same thing!! =)

Beer Sheva Black Swarm!!

Chen and Gadi are my best friends on the football team! We met at the pool on Saturdays! So now we're really close and Chen makes sure that I get rides to the games! =) Their first non-pre-season game is the 7th of November!!

More storage!

Okay...so I bought more storage so there will be more pictures and updates soon! Especially from my great weekend in the Galilee/Kinneret. =)