I told you I wouldn't be good at this whole blogging thing...

Things I will discuss in this blog:

1. my birthday
2. Eilat
3. sprained ankle
4. Breast Cancer walk in Jerusalem
5. nose piercing
6. Ashdod basketball
7. daily life/schedule

While being in Israel, I have been lucky enough to have found amazing friends that made my birthday celebration like none other I've ever had.  Of course it's all down hill and 23 isn't a very exciting age to turn, but my people here made it special for me.  We wanted to have a fun themed party so we decided on 90s theme because why not?!  It is an often overlooked decade when it comes to themed parties.  Plus, any reason to let 'N Sync be acceptable music is obviously the best thing in the world! So we went shopping at the Shuk for ridiculous outfits and accessories and on the 6th we had a big party with everyone invited (including the new group who arrived a few days before -- ps. we were excited to have new blood in our group).  Arielle and Gabby surprised me with a bottle of rum which is not so easy to find here but so much more amazing than vodka and gross arak (this black licorice tasting drink that's nasty but all Israelis love it) and a fun bday hat.  The next day, when I got home from school they had decorated my room with tons of balloons and streamers and fun stuff! We also got delicious chinese food for dinner and they made me a cake and got my more presents.  It was a great and memorable birthday!  We also had a cowboys and indians party for Arielle's birthday last week so we aren't lacking in the fun department!

SHOULDER PADS!

Gabby, me, Dotan

Cowboys vs. Indians

The weekend after my birthday (so of course it became semi my birthday weekend for posterity's sake) we went to Eilat, or the Israeli Cancun as it is know as, with all of the Oranim groups (aka like 300 people).  This was the one place I didn't get to go on Birthright and I really wanted to so was very excited it landed on this weekend.  Needless to say, Eilat was a lot of fun...pun intended...We hiked, saw the borders of all the neighboring countries, went tubing on the Red Sea, laid out on the beach, went on a Booze Cruise, and went to some fun bars/clubs.  On Friday night, we went to a club called Three Monkeys and there was an amazing band playing basically what I consider to be Bar Mitzvah music, a good mix of oldies and classic rock and current hits.  We had a lot of fun dancing and singing with the crowd that included a bunch of awkwardly older ladies whom my friend tried to dance with and got turned down multiple times.  While I really liked Eilat, these big group trips tend to feel a lot like Birthright and aren't as much fun as traveling around with our smaller group, but oh well.  It was beautiful and hot and anywhere with a beach is heaven for me.

Oranim 42 Ashdod, what up!

being crazy bored on the bus

As you may remember, I twisted my ankle on our backpacking trip.  Though the ankle had healed fine and I wasn't having any problems with it, it clearly was still pretty weak because I went for a standard run/jog/walk because I can't run along the boardwalk here in Ashdod and I sprained my ankle again pretty badly this time.  It was really swollen and discolored so out of fear of a recent string of leg injuries (two girls in the program were supposed to have surgery at this point in time for various injuries, long story but both are ok, one is home now awaiting possible surgery, one is getting better here) and because our insurance here makes everything free, I went to the doctor more for the experience and the nod of approval that I wouldn't need surgery.  I got my first ever Xray (that's not of my teeth) and the doctor told me exacly what I knew already and prescribed me what is basically Advil.  Crisis averted.

**fortunately no pictures of this one

A couple weeks ago my roommates and I participated in the first ever Breast Cancer walk in Jerusalem.  While we were very scared at the thought of walking a whole 3.8 km (like 2 miles ish) we sucked it up and fought through the pain.  The walk actually ended up taking more than an hour because there were so many people and for parts of it we were walking on the sidewalk alongside a busy street so we couldn't move very fast.  It felt good to raise money and awareness.  I also enjoyed wandering around Jerusalem shops buying fun souvenirs like a Lakers in Hebrew shirt!  The only downfall was a minor incident we had with a shop owner.  While walking in and out of tshirt shops checking out the selection, I went into one store asking the guy if he had an Maccabi Ashdod shirts.  He asked if I was Jewish and when I answered yes, he told me he doesn't sell to Jews and to get out.  I was confused and surprised and a little unsure whether he was joking or not so I told my friends and they went in but got the same reaction, so needless to say we continued onto the next store.  We also ate amazing burgers at this place called Burger Bar...yum.

I've been talking about wanting to get my nose pierced for a while now, and for those of you who know my irrational fear of needles, this is BIG.  I don't even know why I wanted it so badly but I did, and after a couple girls from the new group got it done in Tel Aviv, I decided it was time.  My friends and I spent a few hours shopping at the big shuk in Tel Aviv and then made our way to the tattoo/piercing place.  I walked in, said I wanted to get my nose pierced, and literally two minutes later, there was a needle in my nose.  It actually didn't hurt really except for when he put in the stud and had to twist it around a little, but of course I had some tears because I think it's impossible not to when you get your nose pierced.  I love it and am so happy and feels like I've always had it (minus the fact I keep accidentally tugging at it when I pull shirts on and off but no big deal).

tears of joy

We made friends with a guy who plays for Maccabi Ashdod basketball team which is in the Premier League in Israel, but they aren't exactly the best team in the league.  We've gone to a couple games and they are fun, but they are more like high school basketball then professional NBA games.  For starters, they play in the gym at one of the high schools here.  Also, the cheerleaders are these fantastic high schoolers who do routines to all the top songs now during every time out, but their talent level is pretty low and my friend and I joke that after watching a couple performances, we are ready to join them out there.  I have yet to go to a soccer (sorry, football) match yet, but hopefully I will soon.

Now that we're more than half way through with the program (omg crazy I can't believe it already) and we have our schedules down pat, I thought I would finally share with you exactly what I'm doing here in Israel.  (side note for Melissa, I wanted to make a Lost joke about how I didn't make you wait very long to find out the answer but I thought that would be way too nerdy).  Let me just say, our crazy school has somewhat settled into a routine where Josh and I are actually working with and helping kids, and I'm really enjoying working with the kids at motor disabilities.  I quit Ulpan for the time being but might go back once in a while, so I have to figure out what to do with my new found free time, I'll probably start volunteering more but we'll see.
Sunday: teach at Mekif Bet (high school) from 10-11:45, volunteer at motor disabilities from 4-6
Monday: teach from 8:30-1:20
Tuesday: teach from 8:30-12:30, enrichment from 5-7
Wednesday: teach from 9:15-12:30, sometimes shuk in afternoon
Thursday: teach from 9:15-11:45
Friday: do nothing/hang out or travel
Saturday: do nothing/hang out or travel

and here's a few pictures without exciting stories attached...

when the new group came, we went on a little boat cruise to welcome them and get to know each other

with Daniel Kosher (there's 3 Daniels in the new group and this Dan lives in the kosher apartment, hence the name Daniel Kosher) at a Masa mega event, where we saw Idan Raichel in concert

I didn't get the memo on making faces...

our first family Shabbat as photographed by Josh, it should totally be on the cover of a Jew magazine!