Day two

So here's the Israel blog you have all been waiting for, in great detail.


My day started early today as I was determined to get to the school early and make sure things were settled. However, you have to flick a switch by the bathroom if you want a hot shower and it takes 30 minutes to an hour before you get hot water. I waited 30 minutes today and apparently that's not enough, so I had a cold shower. Tomorrow I'll be sure to flick it earlier. Though by 6 AM the sun was blazing and it was on it's way to being hot so I guess a cold shower is not the worst thing to have happen. So after a light breakfast I headed out towards campus, following the stream of students headed there, despite the early hour of 8 AM.

Here are a few pictures of the view from my window, the blazing sun at 6 AM, and the pattern the sun makes when my metal shade is down. Yes, the shades are metal. Why, I'm not sure.


















Now, everything here has security. All the gates to the student village, the campus and even malls and the grocerey store, though the grocerey store is just a man sitting in a chair but still. All with security gaurds. Not having my ID to get in yet (as that's the only way to get in!) it was difficult to explain since some know no english, but I made it in smoothly, having my bag checked and going through a metal detector just to get into campus. After a bit of wandering I found my way to my school. Two things about campus: it's HUGE and confusing. And it's beautiful. For a desert it's packed with plants, botanical gardens and wonderful landscaping. Have some pictures:

























So Long story short money wise I'm all set. I got all registered, got my ID, set up my computer account, and bought "points;" points are how you pay for trips. Each trip is 1 point and four points is 100 dollars. There is one to underground tunnels and the west wall and the old city, another to the Dead sea, another to Tel Aviv and Jaffa, and another to some famous caves where the jews resisted the romans. I met a few students at this point and struck up a conversation which a boy named Greg, who is from NY. We exchanged numbers after reigstration. But more on him later. After I was done there I found the book store and purchased my textbook and a notebook.


On my walk back to the student village which is about a fifteen minute walk with about ten minutes additionally to get through campus so after twenty five minutes in heat that felt like 90 I was tired and crashed. An hour and a half later I realized I needed to buy groceries. I called Greg up and asked if he'd like to go with me since he didn't know where it was and I didn't know Hebrew. Fair deal.

Here I learned a bit about Greg:

He's an orthodox Jew
He's been to Israel 8 or 9 times before
He's very very helpful to have on hand to explain things.
He just graduated college, this is just for hopefully grad school credit/ fun

And so he's fun to be around but his flirting made me a bit uncomfortable at first until I told him I have a bf, just to be safe. So he knows I have a boyfriend very clearly and that should help. However, he's a good person to know and we hit it off right away. It's good to have a friendly face here.


I'm still bad at grocerey shopping so I got:



Milk
Cereal
Mango Juice
Water
Hummus
Crackers
An extra towel
Three yogurts
Grapes

I believe that's it and it cost me 130 shekels.


Anyway after that we went to orientation and got a campus tour where I met more people.


Jessie:


Another Orthodox Jew, except, only dependng on who he's with, according to him. He's been in Israel a year and this is his second summer at Hebrew University, but during the year he was actually studying at a religious seminary. Ironically now he's less Orthodox and only keeps it up when around other orthodox jews. If he isn't he'll break kosher and even watch TV on the sabbath. One girl asked him what he actually believes right now and the answer was the same "depends on who I'm with" which I found cryptic and intriguing. He shrugged it off but he said before he came he was very orthodox. I wonder what changed him. Anyway, he knows all the cool places in Israel to go, like for scuba diving and hiking and all sorts of amazing things. He speaks Hebrew and is learning Arabic now. He's from New York and looks so American yet he's completely at home in Israel.



Marie Ann:


I dont know much but she's very friendly and this is her first time in Israel thought she's been here for longer than I have, a week I believe just being a tourist. She's in my class.



There were a few others but I dont know as much about them.


Then we went on a shopping trip and I sat next to a girl named Christine, a Yale graduate who is 26 and in the peace corps now. There is a trauma and resiliance special seminar going on here that has brought people from all over the world who work with trauma victims. These arent students but older people. Anyway, she's currently stationed in a tiny country I cant even remember the name of and is her eon vacation time because she has been working at places like rape crisis centers and with refugees seeking asylum and such programs and wants to learn how to help them recover from their trauma as a career. She's asian and we got talking about religion and I asked her if she was Jewish and she isnt but appreciated me asking because so many people make assumptions based on race. I dont, not here because there are so so so many Jewish people. Heck every scrap of food on campus is Kosher.


Then I met Joel who is in the same class as Christine. He is from the Netherlands and is very friendly. His boss is not only paying for him to be here but paying him while he's here! He has the lightest white blond hair ever and also got dropped off in the middle of nowhere by a nesher van except at 2 AM!


However, those two are in class every day from 9-3 so i dont know how much they will be around unfortunately.


I met a few other girls but their names blur and I'm so tired right now. i actually met lots of people and I was really happy everyone seemed really friendly.

I am beyond tired so i leave you with... a picture of my room with my bed, which am going to sleep in now!