the holy land....

I haven't written in this yet for many reasons. When i moved into beer sheva i discovered we can't get internet in are apartment, so we have to wait to get it set up. Everytime i use the internet its never for too long at all.

Israel so far has been great. I really feel like i live here and that i'm not a tourist. What i want out of this experience is to really get as much as i can out of it as i can. Theres so much to learn here and to understand that i have my hands full.

Ive been enjoying learning to speak hebrew and i've been told my hebrew is not too bad. I started ulpan a week ago in beer sheva.

For anyone who hasn't gotten an email from me. Beer sheva is in the desert and its hot here all day long and at night it cools down. It is also a city with a university called Ben guiren university and everyone is my age or older because people don't start college till after they get out of the army and usually not until they've traveled for a year. Life here is very different then my life in michigan. I'm living at the mercaz klita also known as an absorption center. there are like 27 different languages spoken here and people from all over the world. Right now there are a lot of spanish speaking people, some indian people, russians who are here trying to learn medcial term hebrew. Ethiopian, cuban. a lot more. There is interesting people to meet everywhere. I had a quota of trying to meeting 2 or 3 people a week but i think i totally surpassed that one. I'm living with 5 other people in a tiny apartment. 2 guys and 3 girls and they are all great

We do are shopping at the shuk because produce there is very cheap. Israel makes it easy for you to eat healthy and i couldn't ask for anything more. YOu could never buy vegetables this cheap in the united states, its almost too ridiculous.

On a side note, the cats here are like the squirrels in michigan. They are EVERYWHERE. I was told that the britsh brought them in to get rid of rats or something during the years of the british mandate. Apparently they didn't think that one through too well. The cats just prawl the streets now.

I've been doing a little bit of traveling already since i've gotten here. Last weekend i went to visit david in ramat beetshemesh. It was really good too see him and it was my first experience trying to get onto a bus. In a way i feel like i should be concerned about taking buses but on the other hand i really really think the media makes the situation out to be worse then it is. One thing to say about the buses, i've never been so motion sick. My nieces are adorable and i'm excited to see them again when i go to jerusulam for rosh hashana.

Thursday i traveled to tel aviv with 7 other people. We stayed the night in a hostel that was overpriced, near the beach. What can i say about it... tel aviv is dirty. I saw cockroaches on the streets and it was terrifying. Other then that it is also a great city and the meeditrainian sea (excuse the spelling) is beautiful. It felt to get out of beer sheva and it made me really happy. Kira, eliza and i walked the beach the night we got there and it was really relaxing

We went out to a bar on the beach and met up with a friend from college who happened to be in tel aviv also. It was really good to see a familiar face for once. The night before i had made a new friend on my birthday. He happened to be in tel aviv visiting his parents so he came out with us too. Life here is definatly really different then anything i've ever seen. It all has to do with shabbos too.

The weeks start on sunday and not monday. I get done with everything thursday afternoon to be able to go places for shabbos and buses in most places don't even start runing till late saturday night. The world almost stops for shabbos. Why is this strange? Because i'm from ארצית הברית (the u nited states). Life does not stop there for the jewish people. Here you k now its rosh hashana weeks in advance and in ulpan class you sing songs about it with a man playing the accordian. Here i'm in the majority and at home the minority. I walk 2 feet and i can't but help but see another jew. The idea of being jewish i think is different here then nit is in the states. I can't yet really pinpoint why i think this. The other night i even met someone who didn't understand why jewish people would want to go to hillel to hang out with eachother.

There is something realy special about this place and there is a reason i'm here to do this and have this experience. I dont know what it is yet but i'm sure in time i'll figure it out. I can't even understand why people around the world don't accept the idea of a jewish state. Without this place what would we have? the jewish people have struggled continuously throughout history and we deserve this. Everyone has a place to call there own and i think we need this place too. there is something really unique about walking around and seeing young people wearing kippahs everywhere and out at a bar? Theres also something great about being here and meeting jews from places i didn't even know jewish people lived. I feel like i'm discovering a whole new part of the world and life that i've never been given the chance to see before.

with that. אני צריכה לישון. אני אכתוב יותר השבוע הבא.

Part Two: Nicole Goes to Israel...

In 2 days I will be getting on a plane to Israel, to maybe start the craziest adventure I have ever decided to do. I can't really count the number of times people have said to me ... "Nicole I can't beleive your going to Israel." Well, I can't beleive I decided to go either, and although i might be panicking right now , i'm really excited!!

I don't know if people will read this throughout the year, but i think i'll try to update as much as i can. Someone pointed out to me that it would be a good thing to look back on later on in my life.

If your still confused about what exactly i'm doing, i'm leaving september 3rd to go to Israel for 10 months. I'll be doing a program called OTZMA, where you live, learn and volunteer in Israel. I will be learning hebrew, volunteering and doing other interesting things that i'll write about later.