Beach Bum

Yesterday was a good day. I was able to wake up early, workout, grocery shop (and more importantly master the joke that is the Israeli bus system), and spend the rest of the afternoon on the beach with some friends. It was a beautiful time spent basking in the sun and playing in the friendly waves. The sun was so kind to burn any image from Thursday's Arabic midterm out of my mind and to replace it with a sun-kissed glow and a smiling face.

We ended our perfect beach trip by buying a large pomegranate juice to share between the four of us. This juice is not any bottled crap- it is the real deal straight from the fruit. The shop has a juice press and fresh pomegranates that they then cut in front of you and fill the cup up with straight juice- I am going to come back as the bionic woman from all the antioxidants I am ingesting on a regular basis!

Sunset on the beach, the perfect way to begin Shabbat

After the beach my roommate and I  came home and cooked a nice dinner before getting ready to attend a party thrown for us (international students) by the guards of the dorms. I have actually become quite good friends with the guards, they are all students and are slightly older than I am due to the mandatory military service- but are so kind to me I feel right at home. Last night they threw a party in the student centerish place complete with a DJ, bar, hookah, and dancing. I don't think I'm in Kansas anymore- I do not know if I would ever see such a scene in an American university with university staff hosting the party...

It was a joy to see all the students, no matter where from, come into the center and start dancing or signing along to songs and slowly bridging any gap of culture difference with the sweet sounds of the Backstreet Boys blasting out of the speakers. Music is truly a powerful force that can overpower the most opposing views.

International Love

Today is effectively Sunday, therefore I am working on Arabic in preparation for the treacherous week to come. Having to complete a month's worth of material in a week was a lot easier in theory than in actual execution... In addition to my Arabic one of the guard's, Tzviran (try and sound that one out), promised to teach my Hebrew while I am here- so either I am going to come back multilingual and awesome, or with a whole in my head from the multiple explosions that are the consequences of trying to comprehend these insane languages.

xo
آني