It has really been a long time--sorry!

The past month has been wonderful albeit a lot more crazy than I ever thought it could be. Classes at Hebrew U have finished and although it sounds a bit sappy, I not only learned a lot but was blown away by how interesting all of my classes were. The continuity between the courses made a big difference and helped me connect a lot of dotes both in my understanding and experiencing Israeli society. Besides, it's fun to be able to say something intelligent about Israeli internal politics, history, economics, culture, and ethnic mix! Through the classes I was shown a much more personal view of Israel--one that was very balanced between Jewish and Palestinian narratives as well. The whole experience opened me up to other possibilities/realities within Israeli society and has really broadened my perspective. Of course, there's lots more to hear and do, but I feel like I have taken a step in the right direction.

Saturday is bringing a change in scenery. I have been in Jerusalem for the last month and some studying and such, Saturday I am moving to Netanya to begin working at Bank Leumi. I went today to figure out the details of the job and was also able to find an apartment and meet one of my roommates. Everything is perfectly situated. My apartment is a ten minute walk to work (which is within a good baseball throw away from the beach--one of the best in Israel), five minutes from the bus station, and five minutes from the center of the city. Tonight there was a huge concert featuring singers from the Israeli equivalent of "American Idol" and the atmosphere was great, I think I'm really going to like it there :-D

I have done so much while I have been here that it's hard to even know where to begin. Lucky for you all, I don't know anyone yet in Netanya, so there's bound to be some free time to catch up. A quick summary--walking across Jerusalem at 4am after Shabbos, beach visits in the Mediterranean, abandoned Palestinian villages, Tisha B'av at the Kotel, dinner at the King David Hotel, Eilat, Petra, a head-on fight with a camel, numerous trips to the shuk, and hours upon hours of trying to speak Hebrew!

See, there's so much to look forward to :-D ...and this time it won't take a month to tell you about it!

Hope everyone is doing well,

Col tuv po,

AVI