Saturday, February 1, 2014
By the way...
Click back to see missed posts! I've been posting a few days at a time, so sometimes it rolls over to the second page! Hope you're enjoying!
Saturday in the Sun
This morning was rough getting up, but once I was, I had a great day. Michele and I went to the Eretz Museum and spent several hours wandering the exhibit. It wasn't really much to write home about (no pun intended) but was a lovely way to spend the day. The most interesting parts, to me, were Jotam's Parable Garden and the Ethnography and Folklore Pavilion.
Jotam's Parable Garden was essentially just a garden with the native trees and plants of Israel labeled and a mini history. The problem with the history was that it was only in Hebrew, so I missed most of the info, but it was cool to know the names of the plants you see everywhere.
The Ethnography and Folklore Pavilion was actually a little museum of Jewish tradition and history, and it talked about the holidays and the symbols of Judaism and how they came to be. I thought it was really interesting. The most incredible part was the room with Kettubim, or marriage documents, that dated back to the 1700's and came from India, Iran, Iraq, England, Spain, Netherlands, Denmark, and, of course, Israel. It was fascinating to see the breadth of the Jewish community around the world.
We also saw some cool archaeology and some traditional buildings for wine and olive oil pressing.
After the museum, we walked down to the pier. It was super crowded. We learned that coming on Shabbat is not the greatest idea. We couldn't hardly move. However, we did enjoy some tasty ice cream and I even found a spiral potato to nosh on!
Oh, a word for the wise. Don't try to drive in Israel! I've never heard so many horns honking or so little space between cars. I was scared as a pedestrian. It was also faster to walk - we would be walking and the cars would go past, then we'd catch up and pass them, then the light would turn and they'd pass us. We did this with one particular car seven times... We beat him to the parking lot, where he then sat for probably a ridiculous amount of time. I was glad we were walking.
Classes start back tomorrow, so it's time for homework.
Lilah tov!
Jotam's Parable Garden was essentially just a garden with the native trees and plants of Israel labeled and a mini history. The problem with the history was that it was only in Hebrew, so I missed most of the info, but it was cool to know the names of the plants you see everywhere.
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| With a gorgeous olive tree! |
We also saw some cool archaeology and some traditional buildings for wine and olive oil pressing.
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| The old oil press building |
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| Inside the oil press |
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| Archaeology dig |
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| I love the contrast of the archaeological site with the surrounding skyscrapers and modernization of Tel Aviv. |
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| Hey, look! I learned something new and cool! |
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| YUM! |
Classes start back tomorrow, so it's time for homework.
Lilah tov!
A Day in Jaffa!
So, if we're friends on Facebook, you've already seen the pictures, but I spent the day in Old Jaffa/Yaffa/Yafo. Yes, they're all correct spellings, it just depends on who you ask.
I met up with a few friends and we hopped the bus to Jaffa, where we ended up walking around and exploring. I've been there before, but it was nice to see it again, and this time during the day!
We stopped in several little shops, which all had some fun things, and even ended up in a "museum" of Yemmen silverwork. They served us ginger coffee (SO. GOOD!) and we watched a little movie about the immigration of Yemmenite Jews into Israel. The video was interesting, and the jewelry was gorgeous!
After some window shopping, we had lunch at Aladdin, which is a restaurant that I'd been to before. The views are unbeatable!
After lunch, we walked north along the beach towards campus. It was a nice walk, though it got a little chilly in the late afternoon.
Dressing for weather here is sort of ridiculous. In the morning when you wake up, it's a comfortable 60/65, then you go outside and it steadily warms to 75/80 by about 2PM. By the time you're headed home at 4:30, it's back to the mid 60's, and then around 7 or 8, it's in the 50's.
It was a really lovely day!
Lilah tov!
I met up with a few friends and we hopped the bus to Jaffa, where we ended up walking around and exploring. I've been there before, but it was nice to see it again, and this time during the day!
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| Gabe and me in 2010 |
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| Michele and me in 2014 |
We stopped in several little shops, which all had some fun things, and even ended up in a "museum" of Yemmen silverwork. They served us ginger coffee (SO. GOOD!) and we watched a little movie about the immigration of Yemmenite Jews into Israel. The video was interesting, and the jewelry was gorgeous!
After some window shopping, we had lunch at Aladdin, which is a restaurant that I'd been to before. The views are unbeatable!
After lunch, we walked north along the beach towards campus. It was a nice walk, though it got a little chilly in the late afternoon.
Dressing for weather here is sort of ridiculous. In the morning when you wake up, it's a comfortable 60/65, then you go outside and it steadily warms to 75/80 by about 2PM. By the time you're headed home at 4:30, it's back to the mid 60's, and then around 7 or 8, it's in the 50's.
It was a really lovely day!
Lilah tov!
Thursday, January 30, 2014
Thursday Means Friday, Friday Means Saturday, and Saturday Means Sunday, Right?
I still can't get used to this weekly schedule. It's Thursday night, which means that it's the weekend....
It also means we had our test today... which was also our "midterm" because we're half-way through the four week course! I can't believe it. I'm learning a huge amount, but I still don't feel fluent. But then I hear people speaking in the mall or on the bus and can understand some of it. It's sort of odd the order we learn things, since I know how to say where I'm from and order at a restaurant first, then we learned verbs for "study", "fly" and "write". Next was describing our apartment and where we live, then numbers. Now we've done directions, but I still can't tell you the days of the week.
I was going to go out, but I'm still sick, so I stayed in and did some homework, posted some blogs and hung out here on campus. Michele and I are thinking about going to Athens over spring break, but haven't gotten the final details yet. Hopefully we can make it work!
Tomorrow we're going to Jaffa, which should be fun.
It also means we had our test today... which was also our "midterm" because we're half-way through the four week course! I can't believe it. I'm learning a huge amount, but I still don't feel fluent. But then I hear people speaking in the mall or on the bus and can understand some of it. It's sort of odd the order we learn things, since I know how to say where I'm from and order at a restaurant first, then we learned verbs for "study", "fly" and "write". Next was describing our apartment and where we live, then numbers. Now we've done directions, but I still can't tell you the days of the week.
I was going to go out, but I'm still sick, so I stayed in and did some homework, posted some blogs and hung out here on campus. Michele and I are thinking about going to Athens over spring break, but haven't gotten the final details yet. Hopefully we can make it work!
Tomorrow we're going to Jaffa, which should be fun.
Wednesday, January 29, 2014
Campus Tour!
Today was just loads of fun... I went to class, took some notes, took a nap, and then Michele came over to study.
Here's my daily Hebrew lesson/rant:
In order to make a verb an infinitive, you add a ל (lamed, for those non-Hebrew speakers). You also move a vowel, but that's too complicated and not my issue right now...
So the verb "turn" is pogesh - פוגש
Make it the infinitive "to turn" - לפגוש
Ready for the pronunciation? Leefgosh
Because THAT makes sense... Isn't Hebrew a delightful language?
It does have a... "reasonable"... explanation. There are no vowels in Modern Hebrew, and some letters have two sounds, based on what's surrounding. In this case, the פ (pey/fey) changes from the "p" to the "ph", or "f" sound. (If it doesn't make sense, think about "telePHone" or "PHysics" or "dolPHin".)
Oh. And I took a whole bunch of pictures to show you what campus looks like!! =]
Lilah tov!
Here's my daily Hebrew lesson/rant:
In order to make a verb an infinitive, you add a ל (lamed, for those non-Hebrew speakers). You also move a vowel, but that's too complicated and not my issue right now...
So the verb "turn" is pogesh - פוגש
Make it the infinitive "to turn" - לפגוש
Ready for the pronunciation? Leefgosh
Because THAT makes sense... Isn't Hebrew a delightful language?
It does have a... "reasonable"... explanation. There are no vowels in Modern Hebrew, and some letters have two sounds, based on what's surrounding. In this case, the פ (pey/fey) changes from the "p" to the "ph", or "f" sound. (If it doesn't make sense, think about "telePHone" or "PHysics" or "dolPHin".)
Oh. And I took a whole bunch of pictures to show you what campus looks like!! =]
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| View from our main dorm gate towards campus. That's King George over on the left - the triangular building. |
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| The main square/plaza outside the main gate. |
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| Everywhere you go in Israel, there's security. It sounds scary if you've never been here, but it actually makes you feel really safe. |
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| Main entry/walkway, with flags and palm trees. (I'll have to get a better picture when it's not early morning...) |
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| Ancient ruins on campus! |
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| Our main green/field |
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| The "Window to the Sea" |
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| I love the modern art sculptures on campus! |
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| A million cats, everywhere! |
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| Even in "winter", it's bright green grass and gorgeous blue skies! |
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| My favorite modern art sculpture. |
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| The Diaspora Museum |
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| The library |
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| Another view of the Diaspora Museum - also the main plaza. To the right is the study abroad office. |
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| Isn't campus pretty?! |
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| Synagogue and Museum |
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| Dan David Building, where all our classes are! |
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| All the doors have various laminates on them, all variations of these guys... |
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
A Day Off
So I got mock-yelled at for coming to class sick yesterday, so today I stayed home. After class, Michele and I hopped a taxi to the shuk and got some fresh produce and browsed the artists' market, where I got an anklet with a hamsa specially made. We also got some burgers (meh).
The most amazing part was walking back, since there was a HUGE storm last night and the waves were massive. There were so many surfers! I really wanted to go kiteboarding, since it looked awesome, but I guess it'll have to wait... We did get some awesome pictures (check Facebook) and videos (below), though!
Oh, I almost forgot! We also found a flea market on Diezengof and walked around King George street for a while. It was really cool and we'll have to check it out again next time, since we were cold and hungry by the time we found all the places. It was more of a "we got lost so we called it exploring" than "let's go on an adventure". But it was still cool.
Lilah tov!
The most amazing part was walking back, since there was a HUGE storm last night and the waves were massive. There were so many surfers! I really wanted to go kiteboarding, since it looked awesome, but I guess it'll have to wait... We did get some awesome pictures (check Facebook) and videos (below), though!
Oh, I almost forgot! We also found a flea market on Diezengof and walked around King George street for a while. It was really cool and we'll have to check it out again next time, since we were cold and hungry by the time we found all the places. It was more of a "we got lost so we called it exploring" than "let's go on an adventure". But it was still cool.
Lilah tov!
Monday, January 27, 2014
Sleep, Sleep, and More Sleep
School starts on Sunday here. (Still weird!) So, yesterday I went to the doctor and then went to class.
I have a really bad virus of some sort... Sore throat, migraine, ear aches, upset stomach, coughing. The whole nine yards. Now, if you complain about being sick in the States, I have NO sympathy, because being sick in a foreign country halfway around the world SUCKS. Don't even get me started. All I wanted was soup, and I couldn't find any. >.<
I did manage to stick around for class and then went to the pharmacy in the mall, where I also had lunch. There was a place with lentil soup, which was amazing, and then I had some sorbet. (For the vitamins, of course!) Then I came back and slept. This morning, I waited for my fever to go down and went to class late, but ended up leaving early because I felt that awful. Now I've slept all day today again, and it's time for dinner and some more sleep.
Hopefully I'll be better soon.
Lilah tov!
I have a really bad virus of some sort... Sore throat, migraine, ear aches, upset stomach, coughing. The whole nine yards. Now, if you complain about being sick in the States, I have NO sympathy, because being sick in a foreign country halfway around the world SUCKS. Don't even get me started. All I wanted was soup, and I couldn't find any. >.<
I did manage to stick around for class and then went to the pharmacy in the mall, where I also had lunch. There was a place with lentil soup, which was amazing, and then I had some sorbet. (For the vitamins, of course!) Then I came back and slept. This morning, I waited for my fever to go down and went to class late, but ended up leaving early because I felt that awful. Now I've slept all day today again, and it's time for dinner and some more sleep.
Hopefully I'll be better soon.
Lilah tov!
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