Shavua Tov

Well, we found ourselves a third home in Israel. We decided on one of the apartments that we saw last weekend, 15 min walk to the beach, and about 5 minutes from Ben's base. It is a basement apartment but it has plenty of windows for light to get into the living room. When we move, I'll post pictures, but for now I'm relishing the time I have left up here in Karmi'el. Did I mention I fell in the bus the other day? Haha, I got up to get off when it was still moving and boom, down I went..Ben and I laughed, but the man next to us just stared..so weird. It was one of those falls where you know it's going to happen and you can't do anything to stop it and make it even worse by trying.

I had my oral test in Hebrew class today, it went great! It felt like I was just rattling off in hebrew as if it were English, I'm sure I was really speaking rather slowly, but it felt like I was speaking so fast!

Here are some pics from the visit with Ben's family in Portland. It was pretty funny...I haven't riden a camel here in Israel, or in Egypt but I found one to sit on right there at OMSI.

We had a great Independence Day here in Israel (it was Tuesday). Monday night we joined Tatiana, David, and Yoel at the amphitheater for a kids show, music, and fireworks. Then Tuesday Ben and I went on a LONG walk and then Tatiana and I studied in the park. It was a really nice day, although I kind of wished I were a kid because they had a lot of fun things in the park. Those blow up play things you can jump, flop, and bounce on....fun!

I miss you mom.

Re-Start

Well, I'm back. Back in Israel and back on my blog. I'm not sure what overcame me the past few months that stopped me from writing here, but I have to say it was most likely the fact that I was busy with life. I really have been enjoying myself lately:) I had a wonderful trip home last month, I was so happy to see everybody. Really, I was in heaven.

Before I came to visit, Irina made a trip to Israel for three weeks. It was so great to see her and even though I only got to see her on the weekends it was really a good trip, I think she would agree too. Ben did get a little time off from Army to spend with her as well.

Ben is now permanently stationed in Rishon LeZion, having the time of his life. His commitment extends until the middle of December, by which time he will have been in the Army for a full year. At this new base he is having too much fun though. Watch this video to see what he is up to. Give the site a moment to load and then scroll down to the first video. It is in hebrew but the you can get an idea from the video images.

Ben's Army Job Video

Since Ben is stationed in the center and I am living in the North, we are waiting until Ulpan is over and then moving again. Yesterday was our first day of searching. It's really not a fun process, and we seem to do it more than most people. It was made easier though by the fact that one of Ben's friends from Army drove us around and helped us out with calling and talking to people, that took A LOT of stress off of it, it's so hard in Hebrew!! Especially negotiating price, which is essential. We are finding that it will be quite a bit more expensive to live in this part of the country than it was up in Karmi'el, and it will certainly be a different atmosphere. We hope to live close enough to the beach to make it feel worth living in a city environment. We'll see what works out though, there are always busses, and Israel is pretty good about transportation (except when it's not).

A few days ago we went to a concert in Karmi'el, the band that I knew was Balkan Beat Box, the others I did not know, but it was all enjoyable. It was really a great night. We went with Tatiana and David (the concert was at David's College and he got us the tickets through the student union). It was a great night. No pictures because they would not allow cameras. Tuesday is Independence day here in Israel and we all have the day off. I think Ben will be going to some Army Bases with David and Yoel (Tatiana and David's 5 yr old son), while Tatiana and I stay home, relax, and study for our big oral hebrew exam next thursday;)

I am in Rishon now with Ben and headed back up to Karmi'el as soon as the trains start up again, unfortunately that is not until 9:00pm!! It will be a late night, but as everyone keeps having to remind me, I am young:)

I do have some pics to share, both from my trip back home and some from here, I will share them when I write next (this week!!) because I don't have the camera cord here. I'm looking forward to a good week trying to cram in studying, Ben time, and some good quality time with my friend's before we move.