1 - Full time classes are going to start, but first,
2 - VACATION!
Classes ended on Tuesday with an end-of-the semester final, and an end-of-Ulpan party, complete with a Felafel lunch courtesy of HUC. For the last two years I've been on the teacher-end of the end-of-school festivities: planning parties, buying supplies, getting report cards ready for the teachers to fill out, etc. But I must say, it was pretty fun being on the receiving end of the festivities this time! I know, this was only a 6 week term, but it is sort of momentous in my mind. It means that I've been here for two months already, and that the summer is, essentially, over. Many of my Israeli friends have been going through the process of taking their end-of-the-year finals this summer (Israeli University finals function on a very different system than American Colleges - their tests are spread out over the course of two months instead of one or two weeks. Intense.) and are now finished. Israeli school children, for the most part, have a few weeks before school starts, so the country in general is full of the feel of summer vacation.
After Ulpan finished on Tuesday afternoon I came home to take a celebratory nap after doing what I can only assume was a good job on the test (as I found out yesterday that I will be moving up one level in hebrew, from kitah bet to kitah gimmel, for the fall semester). A friend, and former Hillel student of mine, Michael, was in town visiting his family. Not only did we get a chance to catch up, but I was lucky enough to receive an invite to his cousin's engagement party being hosted that evening by Michael's grandparents. First of all, Michael's family was instantly warm and welcoming. The party itself was an erusin, Engagement party, of sorts for Michael's cousin. The groom's family is large, warm, and very Israeli, and Michael and I got to practice our Hebrew quite a bit. It was really lovely to experience a family gathering, especially a family as lovely and warm as Michael's.
The next day we had a 10 hour long tiyyul (field trip), called "Walking the Bible". Well, there sure was a lot of walking... and it was insanely hot. My mother, and many other people's mothers, have told me: "if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all." So I'll stop here. I WILL say that we ended the day at an archaeological site in Ashkelon, right on the water. The sight of the brilliant-blue Mediterranean brightened my mood as soon as I got off of the bus - and I was a completely new person once we got into the water. I've not really had much experience with actually swimming and playing in the sea, as the Pacific Ocean is a little cold up on the Oregon Coast. My friends and I were some of the last to join the group in the water and by the time we got there, the majority of our class was already playing in the sea. It was such a sweet sight to see everyone together playing like little kids in the water. It was also quite fun to join in.
Today was the first real day of chofesh, vacation, and I used it well - I stayed in bed and started to read the new Harry Potter book. What a delight. I also ventured into the world of the culinary arts tonight. I can count on one hand the number of times that I have turned on my stove in this apartment. The past year I was spoiled by the fact that I lived with roommates who loved to cook, and was also surrounded by really good take-out restaurants. All of which meant that my meager cooking skills have gone by the wayside (I'm still a mean baker though!). So, in an effort to eat the food in my fridge before leaving on vacation, I threw together a little something. The only problem was that I did not know, in fact, how to cook lentils, which I happened to have in my pantry (now that I think of it, I'm really not entirely certain how old said lentils were...). I'm not sure that the proper way to cook lentils is any clearer to me now than it was a few hours ago, but I do think I have a better idea of what not to do next time. Did I mention that I did well on my Hebrew exam?
Tomorrow I head off on a 5 day adventure with my friends David, Lauren, Tami and Greg - first to Tel Aviv for the weekend and then up the coast and into the Galilee to visit the Israeli Wine Country. I think it goes without saying that I'm excited. Really, all I need out of this vacation is some time to sit, either on the beach or in a hammock, with my big floppy hat, a glass of wine, and Harry Potter. Really. All I need.
As I write this entry out on my mirpeset in the warm Jerusalem evening, I'm being treated to an open air concert somewhere nearby. I can't put a finger on who it is exactly, but I think I just heard them singing "Gesher Tzar M'od" Hm. Crazy. Ah Summer.
OH! One more thing! This week my immediate family celebrates the addition of its newest member! Mom and Stan adopted the most precious little King Charles Spaniel, Zoe! I'm quite jealous, as she looks like the cutest puppy ever and I know that if I hadn't left for the other-side-of-the-world, they never would have gotten her. So it's really a bit of a catch-22.
Zoe: My Replacement
Happy end-of-summer!
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