Life in the Eretz is still going pretty well. Despite the fact that I've been here for a little more than a month, it still feels like Year Course. We're having the time of our life! On Friday morning, they woke us up at 3:30 AM and told us we had ten minutes to get ready. We then walked from our lovely moshav to Acco for breakfast, where we enjoyed Israel's best hummus. Afterwards, we went to a country club where there were water slides and jacuzzis and all sorts of wonderful things.
My hebrew has gotten a lot better and I've only been here a month, but I can honestly say it's the most difficult thing I've ever had to do in my life. I find myself getting frustrated incredibly quickly and overwhelmed with my learning. But I know that I'll get there. We also received our "manillas" which are the list of options we are allowed to choose from in the army. I chose education as my number one choice, and then I chose a job that would be working with international organizations and then my third choice is a fitness instructor (i could teach spin class!) Supposedly I will get one of my top three choices, and I'm counting on my education degree to get me into the education unit.
Everyday I find things about Israel that make me smile and remember why I'm here. This country is just incredibly unique and ridiculous and also really compassionate. A couple of weeks ago I was in Tel Aviv and I needed directions so I stopped to ask this older man with a kippa where I should go and after giving me directions and talking for about 15 minutes, he pinched my cheeks, called me a cutie, and sent me on my way. Had that happened in the States, who knows what my reaction would have been, but it felt so normal here! Everywhere we go, my roommate and I tell everyone that we are new immigrants and more than half of the time, we receive discounts. It's a beautiful thing that whenever we do tell people we are immigrants, they don't scoff like people may do in America. Instead, they smile and say "wow, kol hakavod (all of my respect), welcome to Israel!". That's amazing! And this happens EVERY DAY!
The holidays are coming soon and we have a lot of free time!
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