It's Thursday night and all is well. My second week of classes are finish and I'm looking forward to a relaxing Shabbos. Time is a very different here. Friday and Saturday are the weekend and Sunday is the USA's Monday. There are even songs talking about how sad and depressing Sundays are (a case of the sundays?)! The days don't necessarily start later but the nights all begin around 11pm instead of around 9. I still have to get used to seeing little kids running around after midnight! A friend was telling me about his little sister who is TWELVE and was complaining to their mother that she couldn't stay out later than 3am... what?

Anyway, classes have been going well. I turned in my first assignments and have already received my next paper instructions. Summer school is beginning to feel more like school than summer.. oh well. Everything is incredibly interesting though. My second class (the one about Israeli culture) shifted its focus to film after completing a section on music. The new teacher is a nice guy and it's fun analyzing films ranging from zionism to present day! Tonight is also the start of the Jerusalem film festival--I think an appearance is warranted.

Last night we all celebrated the 4th of July. I cooked dinner and then headed downtown with friends. The American bar was packed but it was a nice shot of USA for an evening. Tonight is my friend Jen Adler's birthday--we worked together at Ramah and the whole Ramah crew is getting together. Speaking of which, I ran into my friend Guy who was at Ramah with me three years ago. He's Israeli and finishing his degree this week. Anyway, I apologize for the short, nothing post, I have a lot of things to say in response to my classes, but that will have to wait until later :-D

Hope everyone is well, col tuv

AVI