Friday night, along with around 10 other Year Coursers, spend Friday night dinner at the Great Synagogue with Lone Soldiers. Three friends and I sat with a few soldiers that do not have parents in Israel. Most of them are new immigrants that just made aliyah and are in the army. An Israeli whose parents are in America for the year sat next to me and was a real talker. Somehow he got on the topic of the SAT and asked me my score. I didn't tell him my score, like I don't tell anyone else, and he got offended because I didn't tell him. He didn't understand my reasoning - I told him that I don't test well and its something everyone needs to know about me, a number doesn't define who I am. With that piece of information, he continued to bagger me about why I don't test well. After that conversation was over, I stopped talking to him then he asked why I'm so quite. This really bothered me, he doesn't know if I am a loud talkative person or not. He kept asking me why I'm so upset and not talking. I was just waiting for this guy to back off. The night finally ended, he left and I continued to talk to a soldier who just graduated SUNY Binghamton and told me all about how I need a good pair of winter boots, I'm excited!
Monday night, I was bored and tired. I had two options, the optional movie night or Torah Yoga. Last minute, I decided to do neither and to sit in my room. My friend Michele came into my room and said, "get dressed, we're going ice skating." At this point it was 9 PM and at 10:15 I had to be back to skype with a friend who is in the states at school. I hesitated for all of 5 minutes. Why not go ice skating in Israel, right? So we did. We waiting at th bus stop for 15 minutes and of course, right as we decide to go back because the bus isn't coming, the bus shows up. A 10 minute bus ride later, we pay child's price (16 and under for 30 shekels instead of 40 shekels).
We staked for 40 minutes at this tiny ice skating rink in the middle of Jerusalem.
Tuesday night a few friends decided to go to The Yellow Submarine club for the weekly Jazz night. The music was great, so great, I ended up buying their CD at the end. It was fun to listen to them sing English in Israeli accents. I'm going to try to go to the club every week!
Thursday volunteering was cancelled so Year Course did a 5 minute freeze for Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier held in captivity by Hamas for the past 5 years. This is the link to watch it on YouTube. The demonstration was on Ben Yehuda Street in downtown Jerusalem aimed to give awareness in the diaspora without political opinion.
In the afternoon, I had my last B'yachad seminar. We got our very own completion certificate! On Friday, we got to meet the Israeli counselors working at Yavneh this summer! We're all so excited to get to know them and work with them this summer!
Friday night, I had dinner with my friend Sarah Robins from Newton who is on the Ardvark program, living only a 30 minute walk from me! We made dinner with her roommate, who was supposed to be my roommate in Bat Yam but was very sick and Year Course didn't allow her to come on the program so late.
Next week is our last week before Pesach break.
My plans for break are:
- First weekend go on an intense hike in the Negev
- Seder in Modi'in, in between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, with my friend Hannah Alexander
- Boombamella Music Festival in Eilat
- Hiking and touring up north
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