It's Been a While

Well it has been a while since I have made a post, but that is because I am getting settled in. Life is starting to feel like home, but I just happen to be in Jerusalem. Sitting down and budgeting for the next 5 months threw my plans into perspective. Although it would be nice to travel to different places in Israel, and Petra in Jordan, it would be better to have that money for groceries, and food. The blog posts may become mundane, but I think it is a matter of perspective. The Old City is no longer some awesome sight, it is part of my life. I have been there 3 times, and we don't need a special occasion to go. I will bring my camera every now and then to snap a few pictures.

I also have gone to the Shuk, which is a giant market area. If you are only in Jerusalem for a day, then yes, this is something that you should see. The reality for people who live here, it's where we shop for groceries and can haggle prices. We have finally started learning numbers so we can actually haggle more effectively. 

We essentially walk almost everywhere, and when we don't walk we usually take the light-rail. The light-rail is 6.60 NIS every trip (not even 2 dollars). We don't have a pass yet, since they don't issue 5-month student passes until the beginning of the new semester. We are in a sort of J-term scenario right now, so we would have had to just get a one month pass and then buy the 5-month student pass. 

As for right now, I am doing what I came here to do. I am learning. My Hebrew class is good and I am studying in Beit Midrash groups and Talmud groups to learn more about Judaism. Once semester begins my schedule will be much different, but I will be able to figure out destination plans. We are looking at going to Tel Aviv for one weekend for sure, and also to Eilat over another weekend. There are many places that I can go to all over the place, but I probably won't be spending money on a plethora of museums and whatnot. 

Something we were told by an American who moved to Israel 5 years ago, that we met while waiting for the light-rail, he said that is Israel is a wonderful place to spend a short vacation in. It can be an expensive place to live though. When you are only here for a finite time it is easy to spend money one museum, because you will be gone in about 2 days. It is hard for me to cough up the shekel every time I see a museum here because there are so many, and I would be broke extremely fast. The cities here themselves are museums, so that is how I have convinced myself and rationalized not spending the shekel on going to a bunch of museums (not to say that I will never go to any). 

There is a strong difference of eating in Israel too. Back home I would spend money and eat at school, but I can't do that here. I can't work while I am here and make a living, so (right now) it is a lot of Tupperwares of Cheerios (since I have found no plastic bags Ziploc bags here). I can't justify spending money on food at a fast food stop type in the Forum, when I know that I don't have any form of income that support this. This will change once school really starts, because then I will tons of time between classes and I will be able to come back to the village (which is about a 15 minute walk to the school - hence why I can't come back during my Ulpan classes). We shall see where the semester takes me for packing lunches and museum tours.

Peace and a Settled Life

Registration and the Final Touches

Today I woke up to a wonderful email saying that I could register for this semester. Of course, I immediately registered and I am now awaiting approval (I'm not sure what that means, but that's what the registration site says). If I am approved for all of my classes I will be taking: Colloquial Arabic I (Beginners), Contemporary Kabbalah, Modern Hebrew, and Original Sins: Genesis and its Ancient Interpreters. This brings me to 15 credits, so I have no space for another course, because that would push me over the limit that I am allowed to take through Concordia, and I really don't want to pay for overload credits (no thank you).

I'm getting everything washed at home and preparing to not live here anymore. My application for graduate school is waiting to be reviewed. My bags are all packed. My tickets are on their way to my house. Everything is becoming quite tangible rather quickly. 

People keep asking me if I'm excited. To be honest, I think that that is a rather silly question. Of course, I'm excited; and of course, I'm nervous, anxious, pumped, and every other emotion under the sun (except the ones in the anger family). This is something that I have been planning for almost a year now, so naturally I would be excited to finally get to Israel. People ask me about what I am most excited for. That too, is a hard a question. I'm super pumped that I'm going to Israel, does that count? I'm also super pumped to meet new people, eat new types of cuisine, learn new languages, and a whole bunch of other stuff. I usually just pull a copout and say that I am excited for everything (which is true). This is a once in a lifetime experience, and I don't want to begin to rank what I am most excited for. What I am truly excited for is to just experience everything. 

There is one thing that I am not excited for though. Not having a job. I know, that may sound weird, but it is really making me sit down and completely change how I budget money. I have never budgeted for a 6-month stretch, and then to make it even more work, I won't be having an income. On one hand it is kind of freeing, because I will have so much time. On the other hand it is kind of restricting, because I have to be much more mindful about spending money. Oh well, it will just be part of the experience. I accept the challenge. 

Peace and Packing Bags

Getting My Ducks In A Row

Well, it turns out that I will be a little pressed for some money when I go to Jerusalem. On one hand this is nice, because I will have to stick to a very tight budget, something that I am not completely against. However, I am saddened because I may not get to see some of the things that I may want to check out while I am there. I am not as concerned with travelling over the whole countryside and jet-setting to other countries. I feel there will be enough going on in Jerusalem for me to keep myself occupied.

In other news I am getting all of my flights figured out, so I will get to New York with ample time for me to ensure that I will not miss my flight to Israel, because that would be kind of completely terrible. I am already figuring out what to pack. It is hard to think about what you will need for 6 months. In January (avg. 43-54 degrees) I will need pants and sweaters, but by the time June (avg. 65-81 degrees) comes around it will be getting somewhat warm (well by my standards, maybe not by the locals). I am a fan of really hot weather, so 81 degrees is still on the cooler side for me. However, you can see the problem.

It sounds weird complaining about clothes and such material things, but clothing is one thing that I definitely cannot afford to purchase in Israel. I have also been advised by leaders on campus to pack the things I know I won't be able to get in Israel. Things like: face wash, razor blades, favorite deodorant  favorite toothpaste, etc. I am not too concerned about shampoo, because I will cope with that one. Probably deodorant and toothpaste too. I do realize that I will probably end up bringing at least one of all of these. I don't know when the first time I will be able to go out and hunt for all of these things, since the day we fly in we go straight to the university and register.

In other news, I am searching routes to learn Akkadian. The Hebrew University offers Akkadian, which is crazy awesome. For more information you can click here. I am aware that it is a wikipedia page, but it is a nice synopsis. If anyone should know one thing about me is that I absolutely love ancient languages. Akkadian is so ancient that it makes Biblical Hebrew (which I study now) seem like a modern language. I think it is a fascinating thing to study the languages that helped the foundations of civilizations that we are familiar with today. Language is a powerful tool. It can be used to destroy, but it can also be used to create. I think people could all stand to learn a couple languages in their time on terra firma.

As of today, I have finished one of my final papers for one of my classes this semester. I now only have my 25 page (minimum) research paper for my senior thesis. I also have a final test, but I am not too concerned about it, and will probably not worry about it until the actual day. It is probably not the best strategy, but it is a strategy at least. I am also getting all of graduate school materials together and then I will eagerly be awaiting to hear either affirmative or negative on my acceptance. That also means I will be putting in for housing and loans and all of that super fun stuff before I leave for Jerusalem. Lots of do and not too much time. My visa is hopefully going to be sent of next week, and then I will be able to actually be let into Israel and stay there.

But alas, my time for blogging must come to an end for now. That huge paper will not revise itself. I will hopefully do a nice celebratory post after I finish that righteous beast.