Livin' on the wild side

Well...so much has happened since I last wrote that I don't even know where to start! Last time I wrote I was in Eilat, waiting to move up to Karmiel to the wonderful apartment that we found. Well, things got a little complicated after that. It all started when Ben got a phone message from the landlord in broken English, the only part of which Ben could understand was something about the apartment being closed....closed?! But we were moving in three days! Well..since Ben was on base, and as we well know does not have any free time, I had to call the landlord to figure things out. However, phone Hebrish (a mix of broken Hebrew and broken English) isn't the best way to figure out something like that....so I called a friend. Adi (the daughter of Ben's kibbutz family who is living in Irina's apartment in Beer Sheva) made many phone calls to the landlord (Haim) and found out that he was anxious about having to wait for us to come move and was showing it to another person! Many phone calls later, both from Adi and Ronit (Kibbutz family again) he agreed that if we came very soon and paid all the money for three months upfront, then he would rent it to us. This was Wednesday morning....and was when the real excitement began....

In order to get up there as quickly as possible to reserve the apartment it was going to be very difficult to wait for Ben to come all the way back down to Eilat to drive back up...and he wasn't even going to get off base until Thursday afternoon...plus, the car we reserved wasn't necessarily going to even be available when we needed it. So...instead of waiting, I decided to do something crazy, rent a car and drive all the stuff up to Karmiel myself. In order to save money and avoid having to wait for a large car I bought a bike rack and rented a small car. However, renting the car may very well have been the most complicated part of the whole ordeal...

...The first place I called didn't have any cars at all. The second place did but after figuring out all the details told me they wouldn't rent it to me because I didn't have a credit card. The third (and last) option had the same rule about credit cards but had worked around it for me last time we needed a car. After running out of minutes on my cellphone in the middle of the conversation with the car place, I ran to get more just to call back and find out that they weren't going to help me this time. NO renting to me without a credit card. Hmmmm. This is where Ronit saves the day, actually more than the day, really she saved the whole move to Karmiel! She drove all the way from Kibbutz (about a 40 min drive) to give the car rental place her credit card for the deposit! Wow...what an amazingly generous gesture! She was awesome, and so helpful through all of this.

So, I got the car, took two hours longer than I expected to pack all of our stuff into it (which miraculously fit), assemble the bike rack (which I needed help with so I drove to the bike store again) clean the apartment, return the keys, get air in the tires, and head out of town. It was after 6pm by the time I left Eilat, well after dark. I actually hate night driving and could have left in the morning instead but weighed my options and decided on the lesser of two evils....the dark was preferable to sharing the road with Israeli traffic. Only two wrong turns and six hours later I pulled into the hostel in Akko (the same one I stayed at the previous weekend), breathed a huge sigh of relief and went to bed. Wow...I never ever ever thought I would drive myself across Israel...alone, in the dark.

Anyway...this story has a wonderfully happy ending as we are now comfortably living in our new apartment, cooking with our four burner stove, sitting on our sofa, and sleeping in a different room than the kitchen! Well actually I should say I am doing all of those things as Ben is back on base most of the time. We did have Christmas together, although both of us were sick and we spent most of it just hanging around/sleeping (accept for a nice walk through the big park by our house...it's wonderful!). Oh...and we discovered a family park on the other side of the house that has free mini golf (on green cement), lawn bowling, and ping pong! We plan to test that out soon too.

Anyway, I'm off to the lawyer tomorrow morning to see if they can help me get my work visa figured out and Ben is going to meet me in Tel Aviv for an afternoon in the BIG CITY:) I don't really care what we do on weekends, they are just special because he is around...what different lives we lead right now.

It was nice to Skype with family on Christmas. I hope everyone had a great holiday.

Pictures of the apartment soon (or perhaps another video tour).

Basic Training -by Ben

I've just completed the first half of my basic training with the IDF. If you've never gone through basic training, it's pretty much what you see on TV and in the movies, but I'm doing it in Hebrew. The first few days were almost a joke and it made me second guess what I was even doing there. I started my army experience in Beer Sheva at the Beit Chayal (soldiers' house), where I checked in to wait for the bus that would eventually take us to Tel HaShohmer, the main recruitment base near Tel Aviv. At Tel HaShohmer, we were shuffled through several stations where new recruits got haircuts, shots, uniforms, some basic hygiene items, and a goodie bag filled with treats! I was having second thoughts about army until I got that goodie bag...that let me know they really care. We stayed the whole day on base and most of the time was spent waiting in line.

I got to meet a lot of people from all over the world who all joined for different reasons. Some were as excited as me to be doing this, some totally didn't want to be there. Many immigrants that come to Israel bring their kids, and when it's time for those kids to start their mandatory service they're less than stoked. I think the reason they feel this way is because, as immigrants, they've always had a hard time integrating into society here. They've never really felt Israeli, and when it's time to serve their country they just don't have the motivation.

We went into the building that morning in civilian clothes, and came out in our new uniforms! We also got to see some of the worst jobs you can get in the army. These jobs included the person who puts a mirror in your mouth and takes pictures of your teeth, the guy who pricks your finger and rubs a blood sample on a card, and the guy who takes your fingerprints. They do these jobs ALL DAY LONG for the entirety of their army service. One funny thing that happened during lunch- I sat down randomly at the table (where they told me to sit) and the dude next to me looked oddly familiar. I didn't talk much because our meal was timed, but I heard him talking to another recruit across the table. He mentioned something about his time in Santa Barbara..and it clicked! This guy, Jonathan, was my younger brother's fraternity brother! I had even played a round of beer pong with him at my brother's graduation from UCSB! What are the chances!? I also saw another guy from my kibbutz who started his army service the same day.

The day concluded with an hour and a half bus ride to my base near Karmiel. Upon arrival we were put into our first squads (tzevets, in Hebrew), and were shown our rooms.

The next day we got to know the other people in our tzevets and got to meet our Mefakedette (Commander). All the male tzevets have female mefakedettes, and the female tzevets have male Mefakeds. It was a basic introduction day around the base. They showed us around the base and introduced us to some of the other officers. During this time we were also given formation commands and time limits. Although they weren't very strict about anything. People would move out of formation or talk when they weren't supposed to and the Mefakedettes would just tell them to stop with no form of punishment. Band camp in high school was more challenging than this. Little did I know what the week ahead would bring...

My second week started at the Karmiel bus station where my Tzevet all met to catch the bus to base. One thing we did the week prior was take a Hebrew proficiency test, when we got to base we were again split into new Tzevets based on our Hebrew level. My first Tzevet was really great and it was kind of a bummer to be split up. All of us were on the same page on the importance of treating the Mefakedette with respect and doing things on time. It really was a good group of guys, and when we were placed in our new Tzevet it was obvious everybody else felt the same way. Bad moods all around.

This new Tzevet, Tzevet 5, will be my squad for the next 3 months. There are 11 of us... three from England, two from Uzbekistan, two from Russia, three from the States and one Israeli guy who we've designated the "Gomer Pyle"of our Tzevet. In case you don't know who Gomer Pyle is... Gomer Pyle is the type of individual who truly makes you believe the army will take anybody. He's the kind of person who couldn't pour water out of a boot if the instructions were on the heel, one pork chop short of a mixed grill, a few fries short of a happy meal...

After writing this I had to look up some more idioms... here are some of my favorites-

-His manual drive is stuck in reverse

-While most people drink from the fountain of knowledge, he seems to just be gargling

-He's got a fire going, but the fluke is shut

-He couldn't find his way out of a wet paper bag

-He's knitting with only one needle

-His mouth is in gear, but his brain's in neutral

-He's all crowns and no fillings

-He goes full throttle on a dry tank

-If you gave him a penny for his thoughts, you'd get change

Anyway! It seems as if every Tzevet has a Gomer Pyle of their own and we have to wonder if they set it up this way intentionally. Our's is especially horrible because he's so lazy... makes us all look bad and do push ups.

So far everyday this week has gone something like this-

4:30 am- wake up, and be in formation in 30 minutes

5:00 - "Sport" running, pushups, sit-ups and stretching

6:00 - Back in formation in uniform then going over our drills and commands

7:00- Breakfast, we've got 9min 50sec to shovel as much food in as we can. The food isn't bad, but it sucks having to eat that fast

7:10- 20 minute break

7:30 - weapons training

8:30- raising the flag and national anthem

9:00 - cleaning dorms and bathroom

10:00 - drills

10:30 - classroom training

11:30 -drills again

12:00- lunch and break

12:30- running and exercise (it sucks and some people can't hold their food in)

2:00- learning something new and combining it with what we've learned so far... along with drills

6:00 p.m.- Dinner and break

6:30 -drills

7:00 - more training

9:00- PUNISHMENTS!!! (Mefakedette takes notes of our mistakes throughout the day and we pay for them with sprints...pushups...and planks

10:00- 1 hour of free time to shower, shave, brush teeth, clean boots, prepare for the next day, and it's my only time to call Lauren

11:00 - outside dorms and back in formation dressed in P.J.'s

11:30- Lights out! Rinse and repeat the next morning

I'm also required to have my rifle and water bottle with me at all times. My M16 rifle weighs about 6 and a half pounds and stays around my neck ALL THE TIME. I'm required to shower with it and dress with it ON. The only time it comes off is when I go to bed and then it stays under my pillow. Failure to comply means pushups or even not being able to go home on the weekends. It may seem harsh, but I think it's a good thing to be this anal about weapon safety. Also, EVERYTHING is in Hebrew. Our Mefakedettes and other officers will not speak to us in any other language. It's tough but I'm having a good time.

My least favorite things so far is having to carry the gun everywhere, the short eating time, and sleep depravation. I'd have to say my absolute favorite thing is when something happens that makes our Mefakedette smile or laugh and she kind of turns into a real person. Then we all start laughing and the pressure melts away a bit. The rest of the time she keeps a straight face and is a total bitch. But really, she's just a 20-22 year old girl. I'm also the oldest in Tzevet 5. There's another dude, David, from L.A. who's also 26. But the average age of the new recruits is 22. There's a lot of running involved and I do what I can with my leg. They're very fair about me not running as much as the other guys as long as I put in 110%. And they're very happy to make up my running with extra pushups and sit ups. Daniel, from England, has estimated about 400 push ups total this week by his count. O.K. I've written enough for one night, I'll try to continue next week...

Life takes a turn

Well, Ben had his appointment with the Army last Sunday, where he was given his profile score and told he would start Army on Wednesday....surprise! We knew this was a possibility, but didn't really think it would happen. Needless to say, my first day of volunteering at the school in Eilat quickly turned into my last. We spent Monday and Tuesday packing up the apartment and getting Ben supplies. We headed up to Beer Sheva Tuesday night and off he went Wednesday morning! No time to even think.

Considering Ben's current base is in the far north of Israel and Eilat is the farthest south you can get, I didn't even need to think to decide that I would move closer. So when Ben took off Wednesday morning I did too. I decided to stay in Akko at a hostel so that I could look for a place to live in Nahariya or Karmiel, both of which have Ulpan classes that are affordable and begin within the next month.

It took me two buses, the train, and a taxi to get from Beer Sheva to Akko and this time my solo travel day went very smoothly! I headed right into Nahariya to look at an apartment. The first one turned out to be a dark, smoke-filled cave without furniture. However, the most wonderful think happened after I looked at the aparment. I was headed back to the center of town on foot, in search of an internet cafe so that I could look up more apartments for rent, when I came across a purse that I liked hanging outside a store front. It was cheap, cheaper than I had seen elsewhere for the same type of bag. I passed by and then turned around when I decided it was at least worth asking about. The store didn't have anyone in it and was actually more of an office filled with bags than a store. I called up the stairs, "shalom!" to see if anyone was there. A man came down (spoke English thank goodness) and told me that they make the bags in Nahariya and I was basically at the factory office, which is why the bag was so cheap. So...I got a nice, inexpensive bag, but that's just the beginning of what I got....by the end of the day, I had met three other people who worked in the window factory behind the bag store, used their internet to look up apartments, drank the tea that they made me, had the assistance of their son Sagiv to translate the websites and call apartments with me, been treated to falafel for dinner, invited for Shabbat dinner, and driven to the bus station! It was amazing, some of the kindest and most eager to help people I have ever met! I went back to the hostel feeling very pleased with my day even though I had not found anywhere to live....I had traveled the entire country on my own and met some wonderful friends. (I didn't end up going to Shabbat dinner, but it was a crazy weekend).

Since Ben is still officially living in Eilat, which is very far from base, he got off early and joined me in Nahariya on Thurday (one night apart was enough for me anyway!). I took him to meet my new friends, where we bought him a big bag for army and he was introduced to their immense kindness! We didn't have any luck with the apartment search however.

Over the course of the weekend we did end up finding an apartment (really the last option on my list!) in Karmiel. It is wonderful! It is affordable, has two rooms, an oven/stove, and lots of light! AND...it is right across the street from a gorgeous, huge park! As soon as I have pictures of it I will post them. Karmiel is a very beautiful city in the northern mountains of Israel and it is only 20 minutes from Ben's base. I am excited to explore the city when I move up there. Currently, I am back in Eilat for the week, getting a few things finalized and waiting for Ben to come down on Thursday or Friday so that we can rent a van and move everything up to Karmiel. We do need to find a sofa and table/chairs for the livingroom/kitchen but I don't think it should be too difficult to find some used furniture.

I don't have any pictures of the apartment or Karmiel, but for those who have not yet seen, I do have some pictures of Solider Ben. And yes, maybe it is typical for a girlfriend to think this, but I can't help it...he is SO handsome in his uniform!

Work Visa Update:

No good news on this topic, never is. I called a lawyer today to see what they might suggest. Although I made an appointment to meet with them next Thursday in Tel Aviv, I am not sure what they can do for me. They even told me that it is all up to the Misrad Hapnim (Ministry of Interior). They said to try to get a new apostille that looks like what the Misrad Hapnim is asking for...I'm not even sure if that is possible, but I did email the woman who signed the documents to see what she says about it. Perhaps I will end up going to the appointment, but they better be able to help for 800 shekel! Goodness they make it hard to get things done here (especially now that coming down for an appointment takes 8 hours! Oh well, I'm still trying!

I'll post pictures of our new home next week!

This map shows the Western Galilee area up close and the star on the map below it shows where Karmiel is in relation to the rest of the country. Ben's base is about 20 km east of Karmiel.

The rest of the Haifa Trip

Sunday was the best, we got together with Hadas. If you don't know, Hadas and I were attached at the hip when we were young....as mom reminded me we were even planning to get married when we got older;) Her father lives in Israel and she came to visit so we were able to see one another. It was weird because she used to come here during the summers and I would imagine what it was like and then here we were in Israel together! It was so nice to see her and to see her dad Yossi.

Ben headed back to Beer Sheva in the afternoon and I stayed overnight with Hadas. We went into Tel Aviv the next day and even though we didn't have a lot of time it was really wonderful just being with her again. She is one of those people that no matter how long it has been since you have seen her, you still feel like old friends. One of those special friends that you can truly be yourself with. It was a great weekend.

I had my first experience traveling on my own in Israel that weekend as well. I left Hadas and got on the bus to the train station where I was to take the train to Beer Sheva and then the bus with Ben back to Eilat. However, it didn't work out that way. I got a bit confused on the bus when they didn't announce any of the stops and I didn't see the train station anywhere. Finally I asked someone where the train station was, but by that time I was in Ramat Gan (the next city over!). I got off immediately although by that time I had already missed the train that would get me to Beer Sheva for the bus on time (the next bus wouldn't be until 1 am). So instead I thought I would try something else and got on another bus to the Central Bus Station...my luck turned and I got there just in time to catch a bus all the way to Eilat. Ben took an earlier bus from Beer Sheva and all was fine. As it turned out I ended up on the same bus that I was going to take from Beer Sheva! So much for a smooth trip, but I stayed calm and it all worked out:)

Here is a picture of Hadas and I on Kibbutz Usha where her dad lives. We are in the grapefruit orchards in the picture and soon after we headed to the avocado orchards....yummy walk around the Kibbutz.

Haifa Trip (2) - Baha'i Gardens

We decided Saturday was a good day for a tour at the Baha'i Gardens considering almost everything else is usually closed on Saturdays. We took a taxi up to the top of the gardens, which begin at the top of Mount Carmel. My goodness there is a good view of Haifa from up there, although it was a bit hazy that day so the pictures aren't as clear as they could be on a clear day. The tour was in English and it was odd to be around so many English speakers in one place. It actually sounds weird to me when I hear someone speaking American English, like a little piece of home was transported here.

The gardens were beautiful. They are made up of 19 terraces (our tour was just the first half, but the terraces repeat themselves so that's ok) that are connected by many many steps that make their way down the mountain. According to the Baha'i religion, you can only go down the steps, never up, so when you get to the end of the tour you have to find your own way back to the top. Luckily for us, we didn't want back up so we just kept walking down into town. By the end of the tour though our legs felt like jello and we would have gladly accepted some uphill travel. But alas, it was all down from there.

Here are some pictures from the gardens. I think the most interesting thing about them to me was the grass. Oddly, the grass is not really on the ground, but suspended about a meter above the actual mountain by really strong netting (strong enough to hold the gardeners). Very odd to imagine...actually I still can't quite picture it myself!

After the tour, we headed down to the market and wandered a bit before meeting up with some family friends, Eli, the one who took us to Hummous Said, and his wife Rena. They gave us a tour of Mount Carmel. We saw some of the same places we had already seen earlier in the day, but we also got to go into a church on the top of the mountain. It was very pretty and when we went inside everyone in there was singing. I was looking around for the choir and thought maybe I just couldn't see them...but I was surprised to find out that the booming, beautiful voices I was hearing were coming from the people all around me... it must have been something about the acoustics in the church because there weren't that many people, it was amazing that they could produce such a sound.

We watched the sunset with Eli, Rena, and their daughter and son in law on the beach and then headed back to our hotel. We treated ourselves to some chinese food (missing the variety of the U.S. a bit) and an amazing desert consisting of a waffle, ice cream and whipped cream...oh my! With our full tummies and aching feet we taxied back to the hotel, watched a bit of our favorite channel (national geographic) and went to sleep.

Note: Soon after we left the Haifa area, a huge forest fire broke out. Here is a bit of information, although you can find much more.

Israel: Haifa forest fire extinguished

The fire lasted four days and is considered to be the worst in Israel's history

Continue reading the main story

Related stories

• Foreign fire crews to help Israel
• In pictures: Deadly fire in Israel
• Israel faces flak for forest fire response

A massive wildfire which killed 42 people in northern Israel has now been extinguished, emergency officials say.

The blaze, which broke out in forests close to the city of Haifa on Thursday, had required international firefighters and equipment to stem it.

Israel's highest ranking policewoman, Ahuva Tomer, who was caught in the fire on Thursday, has since died of her injuries, her family said.

A 14-year-old boy has been identified as the "prime suspect" in the blaze.

The police said he admitted to starting the fire accidentally, after he threw some burning coals from the water pipe he had been smoking on Thursday into an open area of the Carmel forest.

The teenager said he panicked, fled the scene and returned to school without telling anyone, according to police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld.

Interior Minister Eli Yishai, who has faced calls to resign over his handling of the disaster, has ordered a commission of inquiry.

Emergency aid

Rains fell overnight on Sunday, helping firefighters in their final efforts to contain the blaze.

The fire was the worst in Israel's 62-year history, and the government has faced criticism for not being prepared for it.Foreign firefighters were due to leave Israel late on Monday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.

Firefighters ran out of flame-retardant chemicals shortly after the blaze began, and crews did not possess any firefighting planes, reports said.

A total of 24 aircraft were flown in from abroad to help, while the Palestinian Authority dispatched three fire engines and crew.

Ahuva Tomer, Haifa's deputy police chief, died after being seriously burned when her vehicle was engulfed in flames on Thursday.

She had been driving behind a bus of prison guards sent to evacuate 500 inmates from Damon Prison when both vehicles caught fire. Thirty-six trainee prison officers on board died in the incident.

The fire also killed three police officers, a fireman and a 16-year-old firefighting volunteer.

Officials say the fire has destroyed more than 12,300 acres (5,000 hectares) of land, more than five million trees and 74 buildings.

Mr Netanyahu has pledged to rebuild the damaged area quickly, and has approved an initial $16.5m ($16.57 ()m) special emergency aid package.

Most of those evacuated during the fire will now be allowed to return home, the fire department said on Sunday night.

Paws for a story

I'll get back to our Haifa trip soon, but I can't pass up a chance for a story.....

Ben and I are walking back from the tourist area one evening and are probably still about a half mile from home when we see a golden lab trying to cross the street....a busy street. Ben calls her over, trying to make her go a bit faster because a car is coming. She comes to him and they meet in the middle of the road on the grassy median. He makes sure she is safe and then crosses back over to our side of the road....so does she. We start walking up the hill towards home and the dog is right at our side...and she stays there through three more crosswalks and another block. At this point we figure she may just follow us all the way home if we don't do something. Since she doesn't have a collar and most dogs wander around town a bit, we decide to turn around and go the other way in hopes that she will just keep wandering....but as soon as we have taken five steps in the other direction we hear the pitter patter of paws on the sidewalk and realize she is right on our heels again. Over and over we try to walk away only to hear her behind us again and again. Eventually we figure we should walk her back to where we found her in case that is where her home is. We walk back down the road and she immediately turns into a gated area of an apartment building. Phew....we make a quick u-turn and walk away, hoping that she will stay there and we head home.......pitter patter, pitter patter...oh dear. Up the sidewalk she comes. After another try at the same, we start to think we will never make it home without this dog so we go to the nearest convenience store to ask if anyone knows her, of course, she comes too. Well, no one knows her, but we get lucky because one man starts talking to and calling the dog and distracts her while we make our getaway. The dog stays at the convenience store and we break free. When we haven't heard the pitter patter for what seems a safe amount of time we turn around and notice that the man who saved us did not seem to have the same magnetic effect as we did (actually to be more precise, as BEN did). We safely make our way home, dog free. I'm not sure if that deserves a smile or a frown, I do miss that pitter patter (of course I wish it could be Maybe's).

Pitter patter, pitter patter....go hug your dogs.

Haifa Trip (1)--The ZOO!

(AKKO)

So by now this was actually two weekends ago, but it is certainly worth sharing...I think it was my favorite weekend in Israel so far. We took the midnight bus Thursday night from Eilat to Haifa....that is a 5 and a half hour ride. We didn't want to waste daytime getting up there so we thought this was a good idea. Ultimately it was a good idea, but when I was squirming around trying to get comfortable on the bus I wouldn't have said that. Usually I am amazing and can sleep as soon as I sit down, but this time...no such luck. Well anyway, we made it to Haifa, took another bus to a different station where Ben's family friend Eli picked us up (7:30am). We then traveled by car to Akko, which is the next city north of Haifa (well, maybe not the very next, but it is north), where we proceeded to eat a breakfast of...Hummous. Hummous Said (pronounced who-moose Sigh-eed) is supposedly the very best in Israel, I beg to differ. I didn't even like it that much. Really the whole place had a weird feel to it...all the other hummous places I have been to are small and kind of intimate, but this place was like a diner. Super busy, mass production (they did make everything though, even the pitas), and a quick in and out meal. However, this is not what Ben experienced the first time he went there (although he agreed with me on this visit) so perhaps it was the early morning grogginess of the bus ride or the fact that we were eating it for breakfast. If I make it up to Akko again..I'll give it another try.

Anyhooo, after our breakfast we ran into someone that Eli knew and he gave us a boat tour of the beach at Akko..what a nice surprise. Actually, the surprise was this...don't look too close.

After Akko, we took a sheroot (van/bus/taxi) to our hotel back in Haifa..Hotel Eden. This hotel used to be a hostel and in reality still had the feel of one...I liked it a lot. We had a nice room with a shower and our toilet was in a little room out on the balcony. Coming from our tiny Eilat apartment most rooms we stay in feel rather large, and this one had plenty of windows. It was a pleasant place.

The big adventure for the day was the Haifa Educational Zoo. We went soon after we got to the hotel so that we couldn't get too tired before continuing the day.

Highlights/Comments from the Zoo

1. It was fairly uncrowded because it was Friday afternoon. It was an Arabic holiday so most people that were there were Arab.

2. Most people just disregarded the signs and fed the animals! Ben stopped one man from letting his kids feed the otters Bamba, basically peanut puffs filled with preservatives...it was good of him.

3. Cats can be HUGE!! Their paws are bigger than my face, yikes.

4. The bird area was enclosed but you walk through it..out the open....available...unprotected.... BAIT! Needless to say, I went through that area rather quickly. Actually there were two such areas, one much scarier than the other. The flamingos were alright and got distracted easily, but the vultures (yes again) and eagles, and big, big, (ugly) birds, just kept their eyes on you as you moved from one end of the area to the other...and unfortunately, back again. However, it was in the first area, the one I thought was safer, when we went back through to head out of the zoo, that a huge pinkish pelican swung its head around quickly in our direction and I ran...didn't even stay long enough to find out that soon after it started nipping at the hem of the woman's skirt who had been standing next to me! These things are not small creatures.

5. The lemur exhibit was rather interesting. We made sure to get to the zoo just in time for the opening of the area, when you are allowed to have the animals touch you. Not the other way around though...kind of like stripping I think (not that I would really know):) Unfortunately, the lemurs were rather lazy that day and none of them really wanted anything but the food that they were being given. They were pretty cute though. They grabbed fistfuls of food out of the bowl and then ate it out of their hands. It was very human somehow..kind of creepy and cute at the same time...hmm.

I think the pictures that Ben took can explain the rest...he did a good job and caught some animals in ridiculous positions!

Mom, now would be a good time NOT to look :) I was hesitant at first, but it really wasn't that bad!

The rest of Friday was relaxing. We made our way back to the hotel where we napped for a few hours and then wandered around Haifa for a few hours looking for food, which we finally found in the form of another hummous place (they had other things, we couldn't stand the thought of more hummous at that point, well at least I couldn't). It was a fun evening exploring on a Friday night when most people are not out on the streets.

Part 2 will be coming soon as we explore the Baha'i Gardens!

Hey All

I've been busy the last two weeks and then sick for the last 4 days so I haven't had the chance or the energy to write in a while. Don't lose hope though, I do have a lot of fun things to share from my weekend up in Haifa....it will all make it onto the blog soon.

Hooray, I'm washing dishes!

Ok so every now and then I have a moment of irritation at the fact that I am washing dishes when I just finished getting my Master's degree, but I guess this is where I am supposed to be right now. I keep reminding myself that this is what I am doing because it allows me to be with the person that I love, not because it is what I will be doing for the rest of my life. I got a job at a Hummus restaurant, actually to be more accurate, Ben got it for me. It's a small place so it's just me and the owner working there. The owner is a very nice guy named Dan who is teaching me Hebrew while he practices his English. The great thing is it's about two shops away from Ben's garage so he can visit me for lunch...or as seems to be more common so far, I can bring him the things he forgot from home:)

Today was my second day and I am beat. I don't know how Ben stands on his feet for so long each day, I don't work nearly as long as he does and I am just aching by the end of it (or really in the middle of it)! Generally I work from 10am until 5pm, but sometimes, when it is slow (like today), a bit less. Here is a list of my duties so far, just so you can picture it:) Wash dishes, cut vegetables, wash dishes, clear tables, wash dishes, toast pitas, wash dishes, squeeze lemons, wash dishes, try to remember to smile, and remember not to crack my knuckles (I'm better at that than I thought I would be)! I think as I get used to things he may teach me how to prepare things (but not his secret hummus recipe!).

There is one part about this job that is actually pretty disturbing, the reason I got the job. The only reason there was an opening for this position was because the Sudanese man who was doing the job before was driving away business. Customers were complaining that they did not like him being near/touching their food! It's really appalling to me, but I think there is an image here in Israel that the Sudanese live a dirty lifestyle (I actually don't know much about it), and therefore do not want them near food. So the guy showed up for work the first morning I was there and hadn't been told yet! So there I am only an hour into the job and he comes in to get fired. Basically I got the job instead of him because I am white....yuck. It felt very weird.

Moving on to better things....my friend Hadas is coming to visit! Well, actually she is visiting her Dad who lives on a kibbutz near Haifa (in the North), but I will get to see her too! I think we are planning to meet this weekend in Tel Aviv, and make our way to the kibbutz where her dad lives. Ben has a meeting in Beer Sheva with the army on Monday so we would probably head down to Beer Sheva Sunday night (this all requires taking two days off work, but I already have the o.k. if our plan works). We don't have the details figured out at all, but no matter what I get to see Hadas...so cool!

No new pictures this time...sorry.

Lions, and Tigers, and Bears...well not really, but close!

This weekend Ben and I went to the Hai-Bar Nature Reserve, which is about a 30-minute bus ride north of Eilat. Ben had been there before, but this was my first time. Because we didn’t go in a car we were not able to do the safari ride through the open spaces where the animals are more free, but we were able to see the predator exhibit. This is more like what you think of as a zoo, except that some of them have been rescued and are being rehabilitated, and others are being protected because they are endangered in the area. We saw some pretty crazy animals, and some that just make you laugh.

My favorite animal was the leopard because of its size. What a huge cat! The male cat strutted its stuff around the enclosed area for us and then made a really low grunting noise like it had a massive hairball! The tail was what really amazed me…it was so long and at the base it would take two hands to go all the way around. The female cat was cute (but that’s probably because she was sound asleep). She was lying against the fence with her legs in the air like Cosby and Maybe do when they sleep.

Now for my least favorite animal, and it's not the snake, that's mom's! If you don’t already know, I have an aversion to birds, it’s better when they are in cages usually, but with these birds the cage did nothing to dispel the fear (and actually this time disgust!). I was looking pleasantly at some furry little animals on one side of the path and then turned around to see what was on the other side…birds, big ones….vultures! Oh my goodness. My only experience with vultures until then was in the Lion King when the three vultures are sitting on a branch hopping around saying, “Whatch you wanna do? I don’t know, whatch you wanna do? Now, don’t start that again!” These were different, they were alive for one thing and seemed at least three times the size of the cartoons. One of them took flight across the enclosed (thank goodness) space and its wingspan seemed almost twice the length of my body! When it landed, it kept is wings outstretched and walked stealthily, lifting each massive foot high into the air with each step. To make things worse it traveled in this manner towards the decaying carcass of a calf and proceeded to drag the body in an attempt to rip off some of the skin. Wow, I didn’t like birds before, but this creature was especially unlikable. I made an attempt at impersonating the vultures’ eerie walk, but I have to say mine just looks goofy, whereas his was downright spooky.

Other Updates

Funny Moment: The other night I went to the little market near our house to get something for Ben because his stomach was hurting. The guy who works there knows us because we go there what seems like at least once a day. I was trying to ask him what to get for a stomach-ache but he wasn’t understanding so I put my hands on my stomach like I had a stomach ache. He gave me a pregnancy test!! It was pretty funny, we had a laugh, and I did end up walking away with some Tums. Aw, language.

Ulpan: Well, we did end up deciding that we couldn’t spend 6 hours of our lives each week with the horrible woman that calls herself a teacher, so we quit the class. However, quitting the class doesn’t mean we quit learning Hebrew. We are going to be working with one of Ben’s coworkers (or another private tutor if that doesn’t work out) because we still really want the help, just in a different environment. We feel pretty good about our decision even though it puts a slight hiccup in our learning, it just wasn’t worth the pits in our stomachs each time we went to class; we’d rather not learn Hebrew through fear and force.

Visa: The visa may take a bit longer to get. Unfortunately this time I have put Irina and Serge to work getting me more paperwork for the visa…it just seems to be endless. However, since I don’t know when I will be eligible for work, and even when I am I’m not sure about finding work, I went to the social services office yesterday to ask about being a volunteer. Here’s an example of how small Eilat is, when I told the woman where Ben works she told me her son works their too…Ben only has 3 coworkers! Anyway though, she was very nice and made it a point to tell me they like to place people for volunteer work where it will benefit the volunteers as well. So she is in the process of finding out if they can insure me (not being Israeli) and if so then she says she can most likely find a place for me working a few times a week in the schools with younger kids learning English. I think it could be good for me to have that experience. I have not heard back from her yet but hope to at some point this week.

Library: Last week I found the library. It’s heaven…there is a whole room of English books! I paid enough to take three books/DVDs out at a time and am so excited to have it available. I even looked for some of the authors I have been reading lately and found quite a few books by those authors that I have yet to read…how exciting!

I think this owl looks like Luna....what do you think? Kind of?

Sinai

Last weekend we went to Sinai. Ben had Thursday off from work so we decided to take the opportunity and just go….it was really rather spur of the moment. We left at about 9:30am and were at a Bedouin camp in Egypt by 11:30 am. It’s amazing how close it really is to us!

We planned to go a Bedouin camp called Sawa, and when we got there it looked pretty nice but it turned out a HUGE group was coming in that night and there wasn’t even room for us. Fortunately the whole seashore is lined with Bedouin camps so we easily found another one. It was called Kum Kum 3 (which means Tea Pot 3). We stayed in a little bamboo hut right on the beach. Actually we didn’t stay in it, we slept outside, surrounded by a mosquito net. It was definitely warm enough. We stayed two nights and both mornings the sun woke me up at 7:05 and by 7:15 I was too hot to stay in bed:)

Here are the highlights/noteworthy experiences of the trip:

1. The whole time we were there we did the only thing you do when you go to Sinai..nothing. I read a book and a half.

2. The water was extremely shallow and even 50 meters out it barely came to your hips. The coral was really shallow as well and wasn’t the prettiest I’ve seen, but there were some pretty crazy fish when you made it out far enough to find some reefs. The bottom of the sea was covered with Sea Cucumbers, which I first I have to admit I thought were turds!

3. Two guys who were staying there caught an octopus and cooked it for dinner.

4. As I said, the only thing you are supposed to do in Sinai is relax, but….at any given moment there are at least 5 flies sitting somewhere on your body and 15 more waiting for their turn

5. The food was…interesting. Some of it was really good, but one night the only option we had was fish. I’m not a big fan of fish, but I usually like it enough. However, at home I am used to filets….here, we had three HUGE fish served to us on a large platter…they were whole, with the heads, and amazingly sharp and ferociously teeth! I could even see the red spots on one of the fish and it made me think that perhaps it was one of the pretty fish I had seen snorkeling earlier in the day. I spent about 15 minutes getting rid of the bones and making a pile of meat and then put the plate under the table to get it out of my sight (the tables are like 10 inches off the ground by the way, so this isn’t really weird). I just can’t stand to see the animal that I am eating, I just like to see food:)

6. I’m glad I went, but I had a lot on my mind (Ulpan in particular), and seemed to forget how to relax. I will want to go back again sometime when I have a better mindset and can really enjoy the nothingness. I think if we go back we will try to find a better beach too….one that is known for snorkeling and swimming.

Ben took a lot of pictures and he has chosen his favorites for me to post on the blog. Some of you have already seen them.

As for an update this past week: My work visa is on hold for the moment because of some silly reasons the government gives us, but my tourist visa was extended when I went to Egypt so it’s ok…I found a community center about 3 blocks from our apartment that has line dancing, salsa dancing, pilates, and rock climbing, I think I’m going to join….more soon.

Ulpan

I haven’t wanted to write on my blog in a while because I was supposed to write all about my wonderful Ulpan experience and that experience never happened. Don’t get me wrong, we did start Ulpan, it just hasn’t been wonderful. I spent the last year learning what ‘good teaching’ is and spent quite a bit of time discussing how to approach teaching students who do not speak the language. During that year I unfortunately observed some teachers who did everything backwards….and here I am again observing that…yet this time I am the student. Here is my bullet point list of everything our teacher does wrong (I am super critical!):

-Talks quickly and seems to think speaking louder will make us understand

-Corrects students before they have the chance to correct themselves

-Moves on to another student while the first one is trying to answer a question

-Favors the students that came to the class knowing more Hebrew and makes it seem as though the rest of the class doesn’t work hard enough!!!

-Expects us to read quickly, not sound anything out, and if we can’t do it without sounding it out she does it for us (or for one of her worse moments says in Hebrew: ‘what’s happening, come on!”)

-Gives no time for students to process a question

-Does not have a lesson plan

-No pictures or images, it’s like playing charades all in Hebrew

-Gives no time to write things down

-Does not allow questions or any interactions/help among students

-Expects us to know a word even if she has only said it once

She is one of those teachers who has been teaching for 30 years and hasn’t changed since her first year. In a nutshell she is impatient, disrespectful, and ineffective.

I was going to try to get my money back and find a private tutor (by the way I’ve spoken with at least two other students who feel the same way), but decided to stick it out and do my best not to explode with anger in her classroom. I am meeting with a friend (Sandra) from class during the week so that we can study and do the homework together (the homework isn’t difficult yet, but it’s nice to have someone else to work with). I am also planning to ask her in advance what we will be covering in the next class so that Sandra, Ben, and I can pre-teach ourselves some of the vocabulary and avoid being caught totally in the dark and getting yelled at in Hebrew!

It’s a bit disappointing considering I was so excited about Ulpan (actually it’s more than just a bit disappointing), but I still really want to learn Hebrew and will just have to suffer through the class and do most of my learning outside of it (I just hope I don’t blow a fuse at this woman!)

Next up….Sinai!

They call it Shnorkeling

I didn't take these pictures, but they are of the fish that I saw today.

Today I decided I was going to go to the Sea. To make sure that I actually followed through and didn't get deterred by the 104 degree weather I left the house at 8:00am, before it was too hot. My plan was to go to a beach that is farther South than I have been so far, a few miles away I think. It's called Coral Beach and is known for the good snorkeling (or I should say shnorkeling). I packed a lunch, loaded up my bike with all the necessities for a day at the beach and headed off. However, I wasn't even half way there before I looked down and realized my back tire was completely on the ground. The culprit was a thorn. So...plan B. I was only about a quarter mile from another nice beach that I know of so I decided just to walk the bike there and go to Coral Beach another day. It was a good decision, I'm not even sure how far away that beach is, it could have been a VERY long walk.

So at about 8:15am I arrived at the beach, there were only two other people there, the music that they play on the beach wasn't on yet and the water was calm. It was a great way to start the day (excluding the flat dire ordeal, well actually it wasn't an ordeal..yet). After I got toasty on my towel I went for a swim and floated on my, well..on my floaty. When I got out I was setting up for a nice read on the beach and the bottom of my right foot started stinging. At first I thought it was the sand or the salt but I realized it was red! I'm not sure if it was the coral or a piece of glass, but man a cut stings in the salt. It's not really a bad cut or anything, it's just that is is all the way across the bottom of my foot, kind of an important and sensitive area, especially for walking. Oh well, I decided to ignore it and continue my time at the beach, but from then on whenever I got in the water I wore my keens.

Eventually I tired snorkeling. I didn't really think there was going to be much to see except clear water because this beach isn't really known to be great for snorkeling and I had been there a few times and didn't see much from above. Wow, was I wrong. Little did I know that right at my feet there were fish swimming all around. And I don't mean gray and brown fish, I mean yellow and blue and purple fish! Once I got the hang of breathing like Darth Vader I had a great time seeing the water with such a different perspective. I saw a beautiful larger fish that was a mix of purples and greens and blues. It was almost like that fabric that seems to change colors as it moves or as you move. I had to laugh into my tube though because as I was enjoying the view of the pretty fish....it pooped. HA! (I think the picture above is of that fish, but it was even better in person).

Later I followed a similar fish into some shallower water and realized that right next to me, skimming the surface of the water was a long skinny fish with a really pointy nose. They were very close to me. There were also some fish that seemed to spend most of their time closer to the surface and were always about at arms length away from me. I think I was more scared of them than they were of me...they barely moved when I swam right by them.

I spent quite a while at the beach, going in and out of the water, reading a bit until I was too hot to stand it and then spending some more time with the fish. At about 1:30 I began my trek back home (this is when the flat tire became somewhat of an ordeal). In the heat of the day I began walking home. I hadn't realized it, but my skin had already turned a bit towards the red side and it's about a two and a half mile walk home (not bad without a full bike, 104 degrees, and a cut foot). I stopped once to buy a drink and then went straight to the bike shop to get my tire fixed...silly thorn. Now for the embarrassing part...you would think at 26 almost 27 years old I would realize that when you are out in the sun that long, it may not feel like you are burning...but you probably are! I now look like a stripped lobster with a raccoon face! I've certainly seen worse and I 've had worse myself, but still...LAUREN!

Anyway, I am back home with two full tires, aloe vera, and air conditioning, and I'm super excited that in a few hours we will be going to Ulpan. I am really curious about what it will be like. I had a few dreams about it last night, none if which made much sense and all of which the real Ulpan will certainly trump. I'll be anxious to write about what it was like soon.

Well, I was planning to try Coral Beach tomorrow but unless I want to look like a piece of leather I think I might try to stay out of the sun tomorrow.

'Til next time!