Looking through old photos

So, I'm 17 and Joe is 15....I'm not really sure why he's pushing me around. I think we might be setting up for Cotillion.

Jeux d'Enfants

Watch this movie. It's called "Love Me If You Dare" in English. It's about a French boy and girl who start a game of daring each other. The game continues up through adolescence and adulthood until the dares start getting really crazy - and emotion-filled. It's worth reading the subtitles and getting Edith Piaf stuck in your head - I'm now downloading "La Vie en Rose." Just go watch it. Or come over tomorrow as I will be watching it again.

First Two Weeks in NJ- September

So, I've been home for two weeks now. Most of that time has been spent sitting on the couch. I've send my resume out at least 60 times.....it's getting exhausting/frustrating.....ahhhhhhhh

Most of the time I'm not even sure who is getting my resume, and I feel like I'm sending it into cyber oblivion.....

In happier news/Other things I've done since coming home:

Helped my grandma prepare for Rosh Hashana and found wheat-free challah, which was also nut-free (this was a challenge) and tasted nothing like challah....oh well.

Celebrated the baby bro turning 21!!!!

Saw Vermeer's Milkmaid at the MET - it's on special loan for the 400th anniversary of Henry Hudson's arrival in NYC. It had been a whole two months since the last time I saw this painting!!!

Got an iPhone. I no longer understand how I used to live. I mean, my Spanish phone was a piece of crap.....and a blackberry without a data plan is just silly. Of course, I don't like getting my emails at 5am because I wake up really excited, roll over and see that it's just BN.com or amazon....

Bought running tights because working out in capri leggings and knee socks got old fast.

Had Starbucks only once....and realized that coffee really does make me NUTS.

Went to Yale and got to have lunch at Claire's!!!!! Joe forgot I was coming and ate with Arsi in the dining hall so we didn't have to go to Caseus!!!! I got a wheat-free cupcake at Claire's (the semi-hippie/veggie/gf-friendly cafe)!!!!!!!!!!! - see image above.

Bought black ballet flats to replace the ones I destroyed in Spain. Of course, I don't actually like the new ones so I have to send them back. I'm just really bad at shopping - somethings will never change.

Fell asleep during E.T. - some things will REALLY never change. My friend told me she would have been shocked and somewhat saddened if I had actually managed to stay awake the whole time.

Picked a color for my room, I think - the paint isn't on the walls yet.

Attempted to clean out some of my crap. Attempted being the operative word here....I still own way too much stuff.

Surprised a friend on her birthday. Probably one of the best b-day presents I've given. There's nothing like being able to ring someone's doorbell and say, "Surprise! I just flew 6,000 miles, Happy Birthday, and, yes, I de-friended you on Facebook because I was afraid you'd find out I was here."

Leaving Israel

My apartment.

So, I finally decided to leave Israel. I had been thinking about it for a while. I wasn't happy at my school, ulpan classes weren't great, and I basically realized that I don't want to be a teacher. Maybe at some point I'll teach college or adults, but I really don't want to teach children. It was okay to teach in Spain for a year, because I knew it would be over in May. After some soul-searching/thinking I realized that staying in Israel was, ultimately, a waste of time and I was just procrastinating joining the real world.

I came to this decision after talking to my parents on Sunday night. Then I realized that I would be illegal in Israel as of Thursday because they screwed up when I entered. I was only given a one-month visa because I was expected to get a student visa asap. So, on Sunday I emailed the program directors, Monday morning I bought a ticket for a flight which left at 12:05 am Wednesday morning. I also canceled my bank account and wrote my roommate an email. He was in Russia on vacation. I sent him a note t

o tell him I was leaving (and, therefore, breaking the contract). His English isn't good so he called his former roommate who called me to tell me he got the email.

Monday and Tuesday I packed and got organized. I said good-bye to people and had breakfast with Sam. My meal came on the largest plate I've ever seen. Two large compartments held salad and eggs, which five small ones held cheese, butter, more cheese, eggplant and tuna salad.

Tuesday evening I took a taxi to the train station and a train to the airport. The flight home was pretty uneventful; I was asleep before take-off.

More adventures in baking

So, I tried to re-make the wheat-free challah, and attempt number two was actually worse than the first one. This time the challah got nice and crunchy on top, but practically burned on the bottom. The inside was still raw. Once again, the dough never rose.

Semi-frustrated, I turned to corn bread, a much simpler bread to bake (when you posses all of the ingredients). Problem: I didn't have baking powder. I had baking soda, but not powder. So, I omitted it. The bread was tasty and did resemble corn bread, but it looked kind of strange when I removed it from the oven......

Jerusalem

Sunday morning we took a mini-bus to Jerusalem. There was traffic on the main road so we took a (wayyyyyy toooooooo long) detour through the windy, steep mountain hill roads, arriving an hour late.

We went first to the Tower of David where we looked down on the old city.

From there we went to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher where Jesus is supposedly buried. I had been there before, but was happy to return because the building is incredible. There are so many nooks and crannies, all of which are decorated with mosaics and other designs.

Next, we had a lunch break and then walked to the Western Wall.

Dome of the Rock!!!!

Then we went through water tunnels in the City of David, the oldest part of Jerusalem. These weren't that worthwhile. It was interesting to learn about the history, and, yes, it is important that cities have a water source. However, I don't feel the need to walk through shin-deep water for 45 minutes. Even though it was warm outside, we were underground and after a while the water's chilly temperature started to get to me.

Back outside, we climbed back up to the starting area, changed and got ready for dinner, which was at a board member's house in a residential part of the city.

I had talked to her on the phone to discuss foods, so she has some stuff set aside for me: plain chicken and plain potatoes, etc. The food was tasty. During dinner, different board members sat at our tables so they could get a chance to meet us and afterwards, we had to introduce ourselves to the whole group.

By the time we returned back to Tel Aviv, we had been gone more than 12 hours. It was a really long day and I was pretty tired.

Netanya

Friday I met Lisa and Lindsay at the shuk where we shopped for groceries before taking a city bus to the central bus station to catch an inter-city bus to Netanya where we took a sheruit (shared taxi) to Lisa's family's apartment. They had suitcases, so it was quite a process.

We made shabbat dinner: roasted veggies, quinoa and salad. They bought a challah and I made a wheat-free one, which never rose and was somewhat gummy. It was nice to be out of Tel Aviv. We could see the water from Lisa's apartment and there was a breeze on the balcony, where we ate our dinner.

Saturday we sat by the pool, but it was really hot so we went back inside and turned on the A/C. We returned to Tel Aviv late Saturday night to get ready for our field trip to Jerusalem Sunday.