Today is the first morning that we officially have a break from classes, which we just started on Sunday. It's Tisha B'Av, which marks the memorial of a series of tragedies that befell the Jews on this day 9 of Av (the month). I don't yet have a very firm grasp on these things, so mostly, for the moment, it means that nothing is open and we don't have class.
It's been sort of an unsettling, settling in process. My departure from MA was so hectic and emotional. Jessie came home from Ethiopia and it was a special surprise l that I got to see her. Then my mom came home from her conference in Spain and then we were all in Ashby, which was wonderful. But then, quite suddenly, my uncle passed away and it seemed like Jesus was going to be stuck indefinitely in the US and leaving for Israel got a lot less exciting. It's a reminder of the plus/minus of being so mobile. The plus is getting to see and know the world. The minus is the physical distance that it creates for family.
The week has been marked by getting to know my 39 classmates, starting Hebrew classes, trying to balance my life as I've lived it with living in a new culture and a very different climate (politically, socially and geographically), trips to the campus pool and trying to get situated. I'm currently subletting a very nice 1 bedroom from a second year student who is home for summer break. She will be back on August 15 and so I need to find a new place before that time. All of my classmates are in this boat, so it's a little overwhelming. But I think once I'm in a new apartment, I'll be able to really feel like I'm setting up a life here.
So far, I haven't done a lot of exploring of either Israel or the city in general. I'm a little deterred by the heat (which is about what it currently is in Seattle), but I'm also just oddly tired. Since we have a long weekend, I'm sure that I'll go out to see the city a bit and we might go up to Tel Aviv for a day or two. It's interesting to be plunged, once again, into a place where I don't speak the language at all. It's good, but it's hard. It's disorienting and a bit overwhelming because I do really want to learn to speak Hebrew, but it's such a daunting task right now. Those first few classes where nothing is familiar and there is slight panic that it never will be. This isn't a very informative or interesting post. I'm hopeful they'll get better. Patience, please, it's totally different blogging without Jessie. Oy.
