Busy and Fun Week

At Aline's birthday party left to right: Sarah, Joan,
Andrew, Nohar, Aline, Anna, me, Lior, and Marjorie.

Sorry I haven't written in a week, things got busy and crazy. So last Monday, we had class then later that night, a bunch of us went out to Club Seret for Aline's 22nd birthday party. Aline is this really cool Brazilian girl in my program who is living in Jerusalem. She comes up to Tel Aviv (or technically Rishon LeZion) for classes then stays over at her aunt's in Tel Aviv for enrichment programs we typically have on Tuesdays. It was a very fun night.

On Tuesday, we had Ulpan (as you could tell from my last post, I am getting better and better with my Hebrew) and then an enrichment lecture. Our guest speaker was Jason Seymour, an American diplomat working at the U.S. Embassy. He was pretty cool; he told us about his work history and certain procedures for applying to be a diplomat, why he got into what he does, etc. Mr. Seymour became a diplomat because he loves to explore new countries and loves to learn languages; he said that was enough to make him get into the industry. He has done tours in Pakistan; Guangzhou, China; and Barcelona, Spain. He had always wanted to come to Israel, given his Jewish roots. He finally got the chance two months ago and he is now here for 3-5 years, working right here in Tel Aviv.

Wednesday was packed with fun. School was ordinary (again). Afterwards, Adam, Lewis, and I went shopping at the local supermarket called Chetzi Chanim (Half something) in Rishon. We walked around for about an hour trying to find the place and asking people in Hebrew where it was. We finally got directions, in English, from this Canadian dude. We got there and realized it was much more than a produce store but a regular (big) supermarket. We hit the jackpot! Adam bought 400 shekels worth of stuff (about $107) and I spent 125 shekels. We got home and then I went out to dinner with a girl originally from West Hartford. Shani is the daughter of someone who works in the front office at my synagogue at home. For the first time I met her, she was very nice. We went to this pizza place I've been to before on Ben Yehuda called, Pizzafino. We got to know each other for a couple hours and agreed that soon, I would come down to Jerusalem and visit her. Shani works in Lod, about 40 minutes away from her house.

The lovely (and now engaged)
couple: Idan and Samantha

After that, I got back and found out that Samantha (on my program) had just gotten engaged to her Israeli boyfriend, Idan. They've been together a mere 7 months. That story gives me hope for the future; I told Idan about my Bubbie and Zadie falling in love. They met on a blind date and it was love at first sight. They were engaged 3 weeks later and married 3 months after they met. My grandparents were married for 55 years before my Bubbie passed away in 2003, but their love was as strong the last day they were together as the day they met. Idan was touched and I hope he'll remember my story for the future. A bunch of us from the Master's program went out to the club to celebrate; what a fantastic evening.

Zao t-shirt!

Thursday was an interesting and productive day. Hilary and I got up in the morning to take the train down to Rehovot to meet our boss, Ziv. We met the Zao team, got our own company t-shirts (they're so cool and sleek!), and talked strategy with Ziv. Then we went out to lunch to this place called River, delicious Asian cuisine. After we got back, I just relaxed for the day until I went to my friend Max's birthday party at a local bar that night. I danced, drank, and had a lot of fun. I definitely plan on going back there.

Friday was low key; I don't even remember what I did that day (no, I was not hung over from the previous night!). However at night, two friends from the Ramla crew came up to Tel Aviv to hang out with me and Alex. Nathalie and Shawna went out to Max Brenner's Chocolate Factory with us and halfway through dinner, it kind of turned into a double date. Alex and I paid the bill and we went back to my room to watch a very late movie. Great night! We didn't do too much Saturday, just sitting around hanging out and watching another movie. Cory and I continued our recent awesome collaboration which is sure to turn into a tradition during our program: joining forces on making macaroni and cheese. After that, I went to Mike's Place, a local American bar, with my friend, Dan. He and I just caught up, enjoying ourselves while having a beer and eating some pizza and fries.

Sunday was filled with Ulpan and doing some work. Monday was just classes, but fun this time. Cory and his group gave their presentation for Organizational Behavior and, knowing Cory, it was the funniest academic presentation ever (if I haven't mentioned this before, Cory lives his life by the creative mind of Larry David, specifically "Seinfeld" and "Curb Your Enthusiasm"). His group showed clips from an episode of "The Simpsons" and they connected the episode to the academic article they reviewed. It was the one where Homer accepts a job in Cypress Creek and moves there with his family to work for Hank Scorpio and Globex. Great episode! Tonight, Loni and I went out to the bar to watch our friend, Kenny, do his stand-up comedy routine on stage. He's getting better every time he goes up there. We also enjoyed the company of Cory and Dave.

Well, gotta go. It's time for bed. I got Ulpan tomorrow morning and I'm going to an orientation for volunteering. I'll let you know how it goes. Lilah tov (good night)!