Being productive in my 4 hour class...

The past few weeks have been a complete and total blur.  Time seems to be passing by so quickly and yesterday seems like years ago.  Now more than ever I am trying to take advantage of every opportunity I am given because I am almost halfway through the semester already.

So during the week after I last wrote, we celebrated Purim.  On the first night, we went to Tel Aviv to celebrate and then returned to Jerusalem on Thursday to continue our celebration.  It was such a neat experience to celebrate this holiday in the Holy land.  Everyone was dressed up around the streets of Jerusalem starting on Tuesday and lasted the rest of the week.  I learned about the story of Purim and why it is celebrated at different times depending on whether or not it is being celebrated in a city with or without walls.  It was so interesting to learn about Purim in so many different contexts - with my Reform internship and with several Orthodox teachers.  I've always known the story of Purim, but it's amazing how many different details I learned about the holiday in one week from all of these different teachers.  It truly is a reflection of my semester here and everything I'm learning.  I feel like a sponge, trying to soak up as much knowledge as I can about Judaism, conflicts in Israel, and just learning how I want to live my life.

Throughout the rest of last week, I did a lot of touristy things.  On Thursday, I went to an Ice Festival which took place in the old train station in Jerusalem. It was the first ever Ice Festival to take place in Jerusalem.  Everything inside the building was made out of ice and the temperature was very low in order to keep the ice from melting.  It was so neat to see all of the different ice sculptures, ice slide, and ice bar.  Below is a picture of a merry-go-round made out of ice.

On Friday I went with my school on a field trip to the Dead Sea.  We were supposed to go on a hike at Ein Gedi in the morning, but there was a flood warning so we weren't able to go.  We ended up going on a short stroll through a nature reserve, which did not even compare to the hike we were supposed to do at Ein Gedi. It was still a good field trip though, because we were able to float in the Dead Sea. Below are a few pictures from my trip to the Dead Sea.

On Saturday morning I went to a Shabbat service at HUC where I am doing my internship.  It was really good to attend my first Reform service in Jerusalem - it was a breath of fresh air.  I was called up to the Torah for an Aliyah during the service which was a really nice opportunity and it gave me chills to think that I might be back here in a year and a half leading services as a Cantorial student.  

For the next week I am focusing on midterms and then in only ten days I will be on my way to Europe for 11 days!!

Rain, Rain, Go Away!

Well I jinxed myself in my last post when I said that the weather was supposed to be beautiful in Eilat.  It turned out to be very cloudy and a little bit rainy, but don't worry because the sun came out and there wasn't a cloud in the sky on Sunday morning right as we were boarding our bus to head home to Jerusalem.  Of course we still managed to have plenty of fun and I was able to swim in the Red Sea!

The rest of last week was rainy every single day, all day long.  It was quite frustrating skyping with friends back in Bloomington and hearing about the beautiful 60 degree weather.  Don't worry though, because it snowed on Friday morning and it was the most beautiful sight to see!  In all honesty, the rain is not the worst part, but the wind is awful and whether you have an umbrella or not, you end up getting soaked.  This week was the first week that I sort of wished I could have been at home.  At orientation for Israel last semester, we were told that a month or two in we would begin the phase of "Culture Shock".  At this point, all of the excitement from the first month has worn off and you begin to miss things from home that aren't available to you.  Well, I'm going through this phase right now and I want Mexican food more than anything and this weather is not helping!  Don't worry though, I have Purim this week and I'll be getting my Mexican fix in Tel Aviv on Thursday (since there's no real Mexican food in Jerusalem).

For Shabbat last week, I went with my roommate to her Aunt's house for dinner.  It was a very nice dinner with 4 other girls our age from a seminary.  We had very interesting conversations about Shabbat, Purim, and Judaism in general and I left dinner feeling very stimulated.  When we returned to the Kfar, we went to a friend's apartment with about 20 other people and once again played guitar and sang for hours.  On  Saturday, I went with some friends to the Israel Museum which was absolutely amazing and I learned so much in the 3 hours that we were there.  We only made it through 3 of the exhibits, including the Dead Sea Scrolls, so I will definitely be going back again.

Today, I had my first field trip in Architecture class and it was SO COOL!!  We went to the City of David and learned all about the history there from the First Temple Period.  Then we walked through Hezekiah's Tunnel which was one of the coolest things I've ever done.  The water in the tunnel went up to my waist at one point and the tunnel got very narrow and short at times, but it was so fun!  I love that instead of sitting in a classroom for four hours straight, I get to go on these field trips and see the architecture first hand.

Lastly, I'd like to share with all of you a little video of  two of my roommates and I doing the cinnamon challenge.  If you are unfamiliar with it, we did not make this up and we are not crazy - or maybe we are for actually doing it.  Anyway, Google or Youtube it to understand what it is and then enjoy this video of my roommates and I having some fun during our rainy/snowy week in Jerusalem.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGO84EtKdPw