At long last (and one month into second semester), first semester has come to a close. I handed in my last seminar paper and feel as free as a person possibly can while still juggling this semester's classes, work, Hebrew etc...

No complaints though. In spite of how hard I've been working, things are still fabulous here. The weather has been amazing - beach days and picnics on the grass - meals on the porch, flip flops, flowers. I am living alone now in my apartment and spending a lot of time on my herb and flower gardens.


While I have no remarkable adventures to report on, there have been a lot of nice times, mostly involving the sea and Tel Aviv.
2 weeks ago, I spent shabbat in Tel Aviv with my sister, Sarah, and some other friends from here. We stayed with a woman named Zoe and cooked delicious vegan food that we enjoyed while sitting in a circle on her carpet. We reflected on the week and enjoyed some quality female time together.
Then... My friend Sara called to tell me she was riding on a yacht in Herzilia - with some mutual friends of ours... and Ori, Sarah and I were welcome to come along! We raced up to the port - about 20 minutes away. I had never been there. It is a beautiful place full of swanky stores, nice restaurants and endless boats and yachts. We hopped aboard a yacht that our friend Nir was borrowing from the yacht club where he works. Eyal, Sara's boyfriend, was skipper. It was a warm, beautiful night and from the water we could spot many of Israel's major coastal cities. The guys with us enjoyed pointing out the landmarks and teaching us a bit about the boat. There was wine and hamantashen to snack on, and we were sad when we had to go back to port...

The next day, after a tumultuous attempt to make pancakes, (That ended up in the creation of a delicious pancake-cake) we spent the day on the beach. All of Israel seemed to be sprawled out along the tayelet (boardwalk) - - it was unseasonably hot and sunny, so Israelis from across the country had descended upon the city. In Tel Aviv, Shabbat is hardly visible...

That night, Ori treated both Sarah and me like princesses, and we enjoyed Thai food and some dancing.

The week was filled with homework and research - not much to report
- other than the cancellation and subsequent rescheduling of my trip to the States next month. I hate Israir airlines!

Last weekend, I basked in the vacation-like feeling that comes from being in Tel Aviv. In spite of all the work I had to do, I managed to enjoy the weekend. Ori and I had a quiet, candle lit dinner on his porch with fresh fruits and vegetables from the shuk. (Artichokes are in season!!!) I took a nighttime stroll on the beach to get air, after too many hours in front of the computer.

Saturday, we had lunch in Caesarea - a city that I barely recall from my past trips to Israel. Along the sea, between Tel Aviv and Haifa, it has a rich history and a reputation for opulence today. It is gorgeous. The houses are large, but unlike the cookie cutter large homes that fill the settlements here. They are not all made of identical Jerusalem stone. They are stucco, tiled, veranda-bearing homes in warm, earthy colors. Each house has a unique design, more reminiscent of old, classy architecture. There are gardens full of fruit trees, with fish ponds and waterfalls. We stopped at the beach to see the 2000-year-old Roman aqueduct and watch the large swells crash against the shore. In the city - home to many notable Israelis - there were country clubs and golf courses and winding lanes named after fruits and flowers.

We had a fantastic meal - far better than most Israeli restaurants - of steak and fresh vegetables. For appetizers, we had fresh sushi made by a neighbor and friend of the family. The family was incredibly warm and a lot of fun... but that's not really blog material :)

I spent all day Sunday at a cafe working on my paper which (I am so happy to report) was handed in at 10:58 PM - 1 hour and 2 minutes early!!!!

This week, everyone is busy preparing for Purim, a Jewish holiday that is marked with costumes, cookies and copious amounts of alcohol. Everyone eats triangle-shaped cookies and even our teacher was handing them out!
Last night, we had an engagement party for a woman in my class.

That's all for now!