!!סלומ החברים ומשפחה שלי

Tel Aviv!

I've been a bit of a failure at updating this blog, but I am using the lack of a camera until now as an excuse! I bought a cheapy digital camera, and that's just gonna have to get me through this time abroad.  I've really enjoyed these last few weeks in Ashdod (and our various trips to Tel Aviv for a more entertaining nightlife that Ashdod doesn't quite have much of).  Besides Ulpan, we've been meeting with the teachers of the schools where we will be teaching English in -- my roommate Josh and I are going to be working in Mekif Bet, which is unfortunately a religious high school, so not only do I need to buy some more long skirts, but the kids will most likely look older than me, but whatever! I can speak better English :)

our view of the sea

my bed/half of the room while still organizing and unpacking

living room with couches that look like butt are quite comfy though we've tried switching with the other apartment's leather couches

my fav pasttime!

We work in the schools Sunday through Thursday from like 8-1, and they want us to have every afternoon also filled with some type of activity.  Monday and Wednesday is an option continuation of Ulpan, which I will be doing because I figure I should try as hard as possible to learn the language while I'm here and get as fluent as possible.  Tuesdays we have a group enrichment where the coordinators talk to us about different aspects of Israeli/Jewish life, history, etc.  Therefore, at least one afternoon a week we must do at least one other volunteer project.  We've been visiting places over the last couple weeks, and I think I'm going to go to a center for kids with motor disabilities.  Josh and I have Sundays off I think though, so we have to work at a different school/youth at risk center thing during the time.  And some Thursdays, I might volunteer at a coup kitchen where they package food for poor families in Ashdod just as a fun, rewarding bonus way to spend time.

working at the soup kitchen for Rosh Hashanah

Since we still have a good amount of free time before work work starts, much of that time is spent going to the beach (a whopping 5 minute walk), laying on the couch on balcony and reading or enjoying the view of the ocean, or wandering the city getting lost on buses for hours at a time (this has happened on more than one occasion).  I've gone to Tel Aviv a couple times with my roommates to visit friends of theirs and it was really fun.  Tel Aviv is obviously a much bigger, livelier city but I'm very happy with living in Ashdod because we can make whatever fun we want out of life -- we can go to a hookah bar or a pub or just hang out at our apartments without feeling the need to go clubbing every night or spending a lot of money which I think would happen if I lived in Tel Aviv.  We saw the accommodations the Tel Aviv Oranim program is living in now and let's just say I'm very happy I chose the FREE program right next to the beach.

Apartment 17 Bet! (Julian, Gabby, Me, Arielle, Sophia, Josh)

beach in Ashdod

September is really whacky because of all the holidays so we don't really start consistently working until October, instead we're kinda more observing and figuring out what exactly our jobs will entail.  This week is Rosh Hashanah and I think Julian and I are having dinner/doing something with our host family which will be nice.  Last week, my roommates and I didn't have Shabbat with our families so we made a precious and delicious Shabbat dinner.  One of the most difficult things to get used to living in a smaller city in Israel is that almost everything shuts down on Shabbat and the few places that remain open (mostly Russian owned businesses) are hard to get to without having to take a cab.  If you need to go to the market on Friday, you have to make sure you get up and out by the early afternoon.

pub/club in Ashdod (so sweatyyyy)

I am going to continue to try to update as much as possible.  I apologize if I forget to or think that not enough super exciting stuff has happened, because while I am having fun, it might be doing things that are hard to come across on a blog about life in Israel as being really cool (aka learning some crazy Canadian version of crazy eights).  And I cannot stress this enough, Birthright Birthright Birthright! Do it.

And I just decided it's late and I'm tired and need to steal some pictures from people so I will post this now and then tomorrow post pictures.

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