מא'ן את בא ולאן את הולכת

Hello all, sorry it has been so long, this update is much overdue...

Let me start with the title of this post. It is a Hebrew phrase meaning "From where are you coming and to where are you going?" We learned it this last week in class. And for me, it is a perfectly posed question. I'm learning to identify all different manners of answering where I'm coming from. Already my two weeks here have taught me that I'm more than just a 20-something girl from America. And as for the where I might be going part, I'm having the most fun in further figuring that out. (Of course, as it is a question, it should have a question mark at the end of it, but I haven't quite figured out how to put in Hebrew question marks yet, as they go backwards, because Hebrew is read from right to left...once I figure that out I'll let everyone know).

Now, on to what I've been up to since my last post? Last week ended in a blur. Friday morning was our very first test, meant to split up my beginner class in to two different classes, one moving at a slower pace, and one going faster. (I was placed in the faster one). Friday afternoon brought with it the first Shabbat of my stay. Its amazing to me how most everything and everyone shuts down from Friday to Saturday evenings here..incredible even, I can't imagine that ever happening in the states. Weekends back home are the time to go out and run errands and get things done and..our never-ending work schedules back home would never allow time to just SIT and relax and be with family. I have decided that I quite like it. :)

Friday night we went out to a popular club in Haifa called UltraSound. It was really fun, but a bit disappointing to realize that one can travel over 5,000 miles and still here the same music that is played on the local radio stations in Madison. Sort of amusing, sort of sad, but music aside, it was a really fun night.

Saturday brought me to the beach-FINALLY! I had been in Haifa for almost a week and hadn't seen the beach yet, how atrocious!!! BUT not to worry, it is as gorgeous and picturesque as I remember it. I would love to share pictures with you..unfortunately this brings me to my reason for not having updated everyone sooner. My computer charger died..or fried..or, well it stopped working, so I have no access to my laptop at this point, so cannot upload pictures, and any updating i want to do needs to happen (as it is happening now) on the University computers in one of the many labs. As soon as I get my computer situation up and running, I promise to add photos. :)

Sunday brought with it the start of week number 2, as well as my perfect awe at how much Hebrew I'd learned in just one week. Here I am now and it's Saturday night again, which means week number three starts tomorrow morning..and I'm still amazed. I can't believe how much I know. We had our midterm on Thursday, and I feel pretty coonfident that I did REALLY well, I'll let everyone know though, as soon as I find out! So class went better than good all week, and my afternoons and evenings were spent exploring the city, doing a bit of touring, and getting to know my classmates. Monday afternoon we went to the beach again. And this lazy summer afternoon was followed by one of the most epicly stressful and failed nights of my existence. Okay maybe I'm being a bit dramatic, BUT imagine: You are in a city that is for the most part completely new to you, and you don't know your way around just yet. (I mean, you can make it to the beach and home, but really, what kind of practical use can that be to you?) You don't know the language yet, and while you can read some of the signs, that doesn't mean you understand what they are saying. You must get ona a bus at the beach, which one, you're not sure, you must get off at a grocery store halfway up the mountain, again which stop, you're not sure. You must then proceed to go grocery shopping...in a langauge you can't understand and don't speak. The labels are ENTIRELY in Hebrew and you rely on the pictures on the products to get by...by then you and the friend you're with start to get the giggles and begin almost hysterical laughter at how absurd your situation is..this causes even more people to stare at you than would normally, becuase you are so obviously foreign. The giggling leads to even more confusion and frustration in the store, as well as some haphazard knocking over of cereal boxes and the like. Then you go to the diary section, which is SO entirely alien you kind of feel like crying. Then a nice woman askd if you need help, you nod your head yes silently..and she points you to the right kind of milk. Then you pay, still nervously giggling, and make your way out of that scary lpace as fast you can. Now you just have to board another unknown bus and then you're home......

Needless to say...we had a rough time. Carolyn (the friend) and I weren't quite ready to attempt grocery shopping on our own, without our more-experienced Hebrew speaking friends...but we lived through it. And while it was a little emotionally scarring, everyone says that it will only get easier, and, as I'm almost out of food again...I guess I will be finding out sooner rather than later??

As for my diet here so far though, it has been quite ridiculous. I've ingested more Hummus and pita than any one person should probably ever ingest in such a short amount of time. That and my morning bowl of cereal is about all I consume. My morning bowl of cereal btw, is the Israeli version of "Cinnamon Toast Crunch" which has the fun name here of "Cinne-Bites." Still..I think that now is the time for me to start learning how to cook, unless I want to make "starch" the ONLY food group I believe in.

**As a side note, we went to the beach again today, and stayed to watch the sunset (GORGEOUS btw) BUT afterwards we all got hotdogs from this place at the beach..or what we thought would be hotdogs. Turns out, an Israeli "hotdog" equals a baguette filled with 6 different kinds of salad, hummus, FOUR hotdog links and ketchup and mustard. CAN YOU IMAGINE??!!! It was the largest "Hotdog" I had ever seen...needlesss to say I didn't finish it...but I DID take pictures of it, that will indeed be going up asap. I'm STILL full from that...and it was a good three hours ago....

Anywho, food issues aside, the rest of the week went by way too fast. Its almost scary actually, how fast time seems to be going here. Like, I thought it flew back home, but it's like I'm in a whole new dimension here, one where the fast forward button that always is pushed down means the whole world is spinning at a million miles a second and by the time you blink once, its early afternoon, try blinking twice, and the whole day is gone. I feel like it's as if by magic that week three starts tomorrow.....

Tuesday afternoon we visited some ancient Roman ruins at Ceasarea. I don't really have the time to tell about it now, but if any getthe chance, they should go, it was wonderful. Yesterday we spent all day hiking about the Golan Heights, about two hours drive from Haifa. It was BEAUTIFUL and we were able to stop at a few GORGEOUS waterfalls and do some swimming inbetween the hiking, but I'm still exhausted from it, as it was about a five hour hike in over 100 degree weather...

As I said, I can't believe tomorrow is another Sunday. Next week should be really fun, we've got a few fun trips planned, and I know I'll be spending Friday in Tel-Aviv...I can't wait!! One of these days, Carolyn, Chris (another friend) and I are gonig to sit down and finally plan out our travel plans for our break between Ulpan and the Fall semester (including Jordan and Egypt!!) So there's that to look forward to as well.

Other than all the happenings, I'm happy, I'm healthy, and I couldn't be more sure that I'm right where I'm supposed to be...it's funny, because I get asked quite often, upon people figuring out that I don't identify as Jewish, WHY I'm here..and for me right now, the why is difficult to answer. All I know is that I AM here, and I'm exactly where I belong right now...the rest will work itself out later.

Okay, WHEW I will try to make the next update sooner so that it might not get so long. I send my love and well wishes to everyone over the dubious domain that is the internet. Hope all is well.

Peace, Love, Cheers!

Kadie