For those of you who are worried about the war, here is a public service update:


Things are okay here. What is going on is about an hour south of where I am, which seems close, I know, but in Israel an hour is really far away. We still go to parties, eat out, go to work, go to weddings, stress about bills and buses: life as usual.

How the war (thus far) affects my life:
*There are certain arab-israeli neighborhoods that I won't travel in now, especially in Jerusalem. (examples for those who know: I am not using Route 443, or going to Yaffo and Beit Hanina these days. There has been some throwing of molotive cocktails that I would rather avoid.)
*I am trying not to take buses as much and will start taking the car (!)(!!!) to school.
*We have signed up to host Israeli families from near the gaza border so they can be safe from the bombings
*A few acquaintances of mine are being called up for reserve duty, especially people in the airforce For others I know who are in the army right now, they've shifted location...
*The news is always on, and people sort of have a general air of concern and extreme interest in the news. I"ve been having some very heated debates and keep getting invited to protests both for and against the war. (I am opting out of both.)
*I would say that tensions are a bit higher between myself and my arab friends, but not to an extreme extent - more like a general awkward feeling.



Anyway, as I said, it's life as usual for now.
Will keep you posted.

Also, for those of you who don't know, I am headed to Ghana on January 24th for an internship with a non profit! Very excited!
Rach