The Perfect Ending to an Amazing Year!

Last Week:


           The last week in Jerusalem was a very emotional and special week. Finally all three tracks were back together at beit nativ. It was so nice being back where it all started. We were all back in our original rooms and it was amazing being back with Debra Goss and Robyn Klitzky for one last time.  It is truly amazing how far we have all come. I mean just look at the three of us...we could not stand each other at the beginning of nativ, and now we are all sisters and have been through so many good times together.
            The last shabbat nativ 30 shared together was one of the most amazing shabbatot that I had in Israel. The sounds coming from the old city of Jerusalem, where we spent our last kab-shab, was very special. We all sang kab-shab so passionately. having services in the old city would not have been my first choice because i didn't not feel like that was a memorable place relating to our specific nativ (wish we did kab-shab overlooking the old city near the windmill where we had out first shabbat) however, it was special regardless. It was nice spend our last shabbat at the Kotel and seeing all the other jews celebrating the shabbat.




BANQUET: WELCOME TO THE KARMIEL LOVE BOAT

<3 Banquet Vad

              I was on banquet vad and i have to say it was a little more stressful than i would have hoped. getting all the decorations together, poems for each person, and all other little details was defiantly a little difficulty because we had just gotten back from northern tyul. thankfully, with everyones help me, dana, aimee, and zoe, managed to get everything all together. It was perfect. we had everyone sit down and I welcomed everyone to the "Karmiel Love Boat". The food was catered and was delicious. It was so nice to get dressed up and have one last just Karmiel lunch to reflect and laugh about the amazing year we had in Ber Sheeva..I mean Karmiel...I mean Russia :)


Its Not Goodbye...Its See You Later
   
           This year has truly been one of the best of my life. I really learned a lot about myself and about what is important in my life. when I had to not only leave all my best friends on nativ behind, but also leave Israel, it was on of the hardest things I have ever had to do. I had tears streaming down my face the entire time I was waiting in Ben Gurion Airport. I knew as soon as that first tear ran down my face that I had one of the most memorable and life changing experiences i will ever have . I realized when i got home, I want to get back to Israel as soon as possible. I felt so at home there at it is weird but here i feel like i am visiting.
            I have had many new adventures since i have been home like visiting relatives and starting college at Penn State University. It is very exciting and i cant wait to start this new chapter in my life...

Me and My Roommie 

The End Of A Semester!

                I cant believe the first semester is actually over! Its was a crazy ride that was the perfect start to my Nativ adventure. Finals were stressful but I am glad I passed all my classes! Winter break started at the end of the month of December until January 12th. Everyone (including me) was counting down the days until they either went to europe, flew back to America, or whatever they were doing. Me? I could not wait to go visit my friend Lucy Needleman in England.
                Hold on a second! Before I can talk about what I did during winter break, I need to talk about the preparations that had to be made before we all could go off and enjoy 2 weeks of vacation. On the erev nativ, during finals week, maybe a week before break, we are told we have to pack EVERYTHING up in our rooms before we leave for break. WHAT? are you kidding me? Do you know how much stuff there is in my room? I have been living there for 5 months after all...well, I better get started (BTW this was before our finals were over).
                 having to pack up room 624 was one of the most stressfull things I have ever done. The reason? There were so many rules to follow when packing. first, we need to pack everything that we dont need until we get to Karmiel. These things we wontt see until we get up north. ok, so thats first. Second, pack things you are going to take with you on vacation. easy enough right? Well not really, because we ALSO have to pack for our Southern Tiyul. Do you think nativ could have made it any more difficult? No, I dont think so either.
              I finally get everything packed and all my finals finished..suddenly the first batch of people start to leave to go on vacation including my roomate Debra Goss and my boyfriend Ari. It was sad, but at the same time, it made me so much more excited for my own winter break to start.
                            BYE BYE NATIV 30 SEMESTER 1 :)

Say "Marshmallow" : Hello England!
    
                   It was surprisingly easy to wake up at 4 a.m in the morning on December 31 becuase I knew by the end of the day I would be in London, England. It was also exciting because I knew when the sun came up in Jerusalem, my parents would be in the apartment. Why did I have to get up if my flight was not till 9:30? well, I did it not only becuase I was scared out of my mind of having everything run smoothly, but my flight was in Tel Aviv and I live in Jerusalem. I was so scared becuase not only have I not flown by myself very much, but I have never flown internationally before.
                   Thankfully everything went off without a hitch. The sherut taxi picked me up at 5:30 infront of agron and I was on my way! I got to the airport with time to spare, and thank godness I did becuase I had to go through special bag checks becuase the jars of jam  I was bringing as a gift looked very suspicious. Finally sitting at my gate with  a 2 hour wait, the anticipation took over!
                   Well,  something happened in Heathrow airport after I stepped off the plane...I took the longest walk of my life. Heathrow has the longest hallways! Thankfully I finally get to the exit and I look around for Lucy. I didnt find her though becuase before I could have a good look, someone ran up and embraced me. It was Lucy. I was so excited!!! I got my Luggage and we walked outside to her car. I walked right up to her car and then realized that...yup, I am standing on the wrong side. This was the first of many times I did that while visiting England.
             

Me infront of Big Ben in London

                     Lucys house was beautiful and her family was even nicer. After catching up for a bit, we got ready for New Years. We went to my other friend Olivias house where all of Lucys friends were to hang out and enjoy bringing in the New Years. My Other friend Josh eventually came over too. It was so nice seeing everyone again! As we counted down, I looked back on the past few months a realized that this year has been one of the best years of my life, and I still have many more great months in Israel to look forward to.
                         The next day was reserved for family and Downtown Abbey. My cousin James came and picked me up from Lucys house early in the morning. I had alot of people to see so I had to start early :). I had such a great time at brunch and just meeting and spending time with my England family.

Family in England

                                 
 I can certinly see how we are all related. I felt so comfertable and right at home with them. I cant wait to visit them again. After, it was time to watch Dowtown Abbey. It is a show that Lucy got me hooked on. It was overall a great day. Plus, we had to go to bed early becuase we had a busy day the next day seeing all the sites in London.





FINALLY MEXICAN FOOD! (I found one of the only mexican places in London)

                        London is such a beautiful place. I was so excited to start our day. To start we took the Central London Tubeo from where Lucy lived to central London! Who knew the train could be so much fun. I saw Big Ben, The London Eye, and Buckingham Palace too just to name a few. But something that was special was that Lucy showed me things that people who were on regular tours would not see. For example, Fotrnum&Mason (where the queen gets her food), Selfridges&Co, The street where Annie asked her mom about the "F" word (father) in the movie "The Parent Trap", The Ritz, and Old Bond Street. There is so much to see in England, I know I did not get to see everything, so I guess I just have to go back :) I know you dont think that I went all the way to England to only site see? Next we went shopping! Lucy took me to all the stores that she loves that I dont have in America. The last stop on our tour of the shops was Top Shop. This store was huge but it was also really amazing. That night I made sure to find the only mexican resturant in London and that is where we went to dinner.        

It was Lucys first time and I am sure that she loved it. It was so nice going to a regualr mexican restuant becuase in Israel there is a lack there of. I was going through withdrawl and It really hit the spot.     

                 Over the next few days we kept really busy by going to Camden and by just spending time together. The food in England is really good also. It didnt matter what we were doing or eating lol , if it was Fish and Chips with Lucys' family or the entire bag of sweet jalepeno kettle chips I ate every second during my trip, The experience was amazing and I cant wait to go back very soon.

                 

The Easton Family Comes to Israel

                        It was so nice when I stepped out of the airport back in Israel to have my parents there waiting for me. I had not seen my parents for about 4 months and unfortunatly I missed them a little bit. I knew that Cindy Easton was going to have the break planned to the T and It was good she did. There was so much to do in such a short amount of time. We stayed in a beautiful apartment on Emek Refaim in Jerusalem.   It was so nice to have my parents here to take care of me for a few weeks.
                   We went to see my mom's little sister Iris and her family and we also spend the day with our cousin Ruth. It is nice to spend time with the family we have in Israel.  Of course we went to visit Tel Aviv University to see where my parents met. While we walk through the campus there is a chorus of "Oh this looks so different"  and "Remember this street?"  and of course "If only we had this supermarket next to the dorms life would have been so much easier!" It was nice to reminise wth my parents over living in Israel as a college student. It was so much fun just spending time with my family but there was one thing I could not get out of my mind. OUR TRIP TO EILAT AND PETRA!
                      I was so excited to go to Petra. I have not been to many foreign countries and I was excited to put Jordan on my list. Eilat was beautiful and WARM! The ride down was easy and quick, only about 3 to 4 hours (I think) from Jerusalem. We stayed in a really nice hotel right next to the water and board walk. We had a few days to spare until Petra so we explored Eilat. It had been a really long time since my mom had been to Eilat and she was shocked to see how much it had changed. I think she was slightly dissapointed in how crowded Eilat had become with buidlings and tourists. During those few free days we went and layed out on the beach (My mom was determined to lay out no matter the temperature)  and we also went to the Underwater Observatory Marine Park. It was so nice (although I wish Lisa was there)...but I was still so excited to go to Petra...excdept for the part where I had to get up at like 6 in the morning..


The car we took to the boarder ...



Beach In Eilat





                         We woke up at the crack of dawn and got a quick breakfast. When my dad walked in and told us the van was here we ran outside and were stopped in our tracks. I thought we were going to see a little van that would take us to the boarder of Jordan and Israel...Instead we saw a truck with an open back and no seatbelts waiting for us. I wish I had taken a picture of my dads face because it was priceless. we all got into the van and we started on our way to the boarder. Just to make things more fun the van didnt go on the main roads, we turned off and went on some dirt crazy road..Good thing my dad took a motion sickness pill before we left  :) Boarder control was no hassel however the ride up was kind of rough though. we stopped about 30 times to "see the land" and "buy important Petra items" which really means lets stop so the driver can smoke. Finally after sitting in between the driver and my dad in the front seat becuase they didnt have enough room in the van we get to Petra.
                            Petra was so beautiful! It was such a nice walk and seeing how they built things in the walls and seeing the original stones in the ground was amazing. I took so many pictures and actually enjoyed the tour ( dont tell my mom ). I enjoyed everything except the 2 obnoxious AMERICAN boys who made me embarassed to be from the America making rude and innapropriate comments and who could care less about the amazing sights in Petra. We spent all day in Jordan and It was such a great day.

Petra

                         I had the best winter break ever but it was time to go back to Nativ and I was so excited to see everyone and hear about what they did during break! We didnt have much time to relax at Beit Nativ becuase we had to get ready for our southern tiyul.

Welcome to Karmiel!!

                        The 7 hour bus ride from Eilat to Karmiel went by really fast. I slept most of the way and the rest of the time there were movies playing at the front of the bus. When we first arrived in Karmiel it was such a beautiful sight! There was so much green compared to where we just were in the desert.
                          After a few minuites we pull up next to a large gray and orange building. This is where we are going to be living for the next 4 months. Its called the Mercaz Clita. It is in the middle of Karmiel right next to the Karmiel Bus Station. As we get into our new apartment (number 1518- but is actually on the 4th floor) we look around and start to put everthing in its place. We have a main room where our drawers and closet it and also it turns off into a small kitchen with a sink 2 sets of shelves and a countertop where we put a toaster, a hotplate, and a blech. In the living area there is a small table, a couch/bed, three chairs, and a full lenght mirror. Then there is the bedroom and bathroom areat that is behind door number 2. In the beedroom there is one single bed and one bunk bed. I took the top bunk. Then the bathroom has a shower (that really sucks because it is just a curtain and then an indented floor meaning water gets everywhere) with a doodad. a doodad is what we call the switch we have to turn on when we want hot water. In the bathroom there also of course is a toilet and a sink. The apartment is small, but when we finished organizing things and made the apartment more like home, it is a great place to live.

                             I work at Gan Iris and  I LOVE working there. I work from Sunday to Thursday. I start work at 8:30 and end at about 3:30. The kids are 5 or 6 years old and are the cutest things ever! I help the kids and the ganenets with whatever they need. The gan is exhausting but one of the greatest parts of the gan is that no one speaks english...not even the teachers. It really makes me work on my hebrew and it makes my hebrew better. That is one of my favorite things about working in the gan. I look forward to wokring at the gan for the rest of my time in Karmiel.

I know Karmiel has so much to offer and I cant wait to explore it all!! Spring break is soon and I am excited to relax and enjoy norther Israel and all the beaches that are near Karmiel.

PURIM IN JERUSALEM!
           
               My purim experience in Jerusalem with nativ started out amazing! On that thursday, my friend Debra and I went to visit our friends on Year Course and joined them when they went to a Year Course Party. There was dancing and singing and it was so much fun! I was a Hippie and my friend Debra was a bumble bee. It was a great way to start off our purim experience.
             Nativ finally all gets together right outside Jerusalem in a beautiful hotel. We started our weekend off with celebrating shabbat. Anytime nativ spends shabbat together all together it is a sight to see. It makes shabbat so much more special. We rested, ate (this hotel had the BEST FOOD I HAVE EVER HAD!) and had really great study sessions. The study sessions were based on topics from drinking during purim to our college experience on a large campus. Shabbat was great but there was still only one thing on everyones mind..PURIM.

Debra and I at the Young Judea Party

Me with Ari the Banana!

                      We were so excited to dress up for Purim! My friend Debra and I were a bumble bee and a lady bug! We all got dressed in our costumes and took pictures and then headed down stairs to hear the megilah. It was one of the most fun megilah readings because I was surrounded by friends. After we had a dance and  karaoke. Everyone just forgot about any stress in their lives and just relaxed and had an amazing time!
                  Sadly...I got really sick after that with strep and didnt get to take part in any other Nativ Purim activites which included a parade and spending time in Jerusalem.


                   
                        
                         
                     
                    

I'm Loving This LIVA!

*BTW I am no longer going to Ber Sheeva next semester, I am now moving to the north to Karmiel*
Shabbat Lunch: Liver=Liva          

                      So you may be wondering why the title to this blog post is "I'm Loving This LIVA". Well, the reason I made it that title is because this blog shows my life as i get more settled in Israel. I am starting to go out for Shabbat lunch more, travel more, school is getting more intense, and the year is really starting to pick up. I mean I can not believe that it is already Hannukah time!

                     The reason the blog title is "I'm Loving This LIVA" because I went out to lunch  few weeks ago for Shabbat to my very good friends cousins friends house. They were such a nice and welcoming family but the one thing that stuck out in both our minds was the husband. He was a young religious man who was recently a father of 2. He talked to us about what we were doing in Israel and our plans for the future (and whether or not that includes making alyiah or not after college) but he just kept commenting on this particul purchase he had made that friday before shabbat. This purchase he usually doesnt make, but he is really into  genealogy and "his anchestors in Russia ate it, so he is going to also!" What is this food you may ask...Liver. Brown and cold Liver. Now, If you know me, you know that I am the most picky eater i think in the entire world...so when he kept bringing up how much he loved the "LIVA" (he was from New York originally and thought it was funny to say Liver=Liva), I knew that this could only end in tears. "Amy, Where is your family from??" He asked me after he took his 5th helping of Liva "Ummmm...Russia, Germany, Poland...Those places". As soon as i said those words i wish i could take them back. "Well then you MUST try some Liva...your ancestors ate it and dont u want to respect your ancestors?" what was i going to say no? I made a face at the "Liva" but my friend Avital (who is trying to force me to brach out food wise) said "Oh Amy thats a great idea...here have a little bit". So..mom...i know this is going to be hard to believe...but i ate all the "liva" that was on my plate. YUCK!

              However, now when ever there is something that Avital and I like a lot, we always say "Oh Avi, I am so loving this liva! and that is why the title of this blog is the way it is.


Midterms are DEATH!


               A few weeks ago I finished my midterms at Hebrew University. It was really hard and stressful but i managed to figure out a way to finish them all...
I only had 2 midterms luckily!
1.A holocaust midterm-Write about 2 dates or events in history that greatly influenced the Nazi  policies for the Jews
2. Continuity and Change in Modern Jewish History (this one is a little harder to explain)- write a timeline of the Jews starting in the 18th century and then compare a text and a movie we watched in class and show how these 2 sources show the assimilation process of the jews in the United States.
I have gotten both back and did well on them so i am very happy...Penn State HERE I COME!



Ma'alot: Closed weekend with Karmiel

Ma'alot, Israel

                    The weekend of Nov 12 Karmiel Headed up to Ma'alot. It is a small town in the North of Israel where one of our staff grew up. It was a very long drive but it was worth it. Ma'alot is so beautiful and I was lucky enough to stay with an amazing host family. We prayed and ate such good food. we stayed with a couple who had 5 children. all out of the house except one 17 year old. Both husband and wife had come to Israel for a gap year, went back to the states for college, and then made aliyah a few years after. We had great conversation and for saturday lunch we were greeted with one of their older sons and his family.
                    On Saturday afternoon, we went to our staffs parents house for some snacks, havdalah, and to hear his father speak. He spoke about the creating of Ma'alot and his journey there. He also spoke about the  massacre that happened in the elementary school in Ma'alot. It was very interesting and a little shocking. The weekend was overall relaxing and so enjoyable and I hope I can go back to Ma'alot very soon!



Turkey Day in Israel

Me and Ari

                Even though Thanksgiving is not celebrated in Israel, It is deffinalty celebrated on Navit. Thanksgiving is a time when the entire Nativ family (at least the ones who are in Israel) come to Beit Nativ and celebrate with Nativers of all ages. There were nativers from almost every year on nativ (including nativ 29).  Unfortunately I still had school on that fine Thursday November 25th, but after I rushed home to dress in my fall colors. I headed down to the synagouge on base 15 min early because I am in the Nativ accepella group (The Hearing-Aids as we like to joke) and we were performing that nigtht. Everyone started coming in at about 5:30 and then our festivities began. It started with Yossi Garr, our director, giving a small speech. After, we performed one of our songs. It was Lu Yehi to the tune of Let It Be. then, the lights went dark and a small video presentaion that was put together by Nativers showing what life was life on Nativ 30 2010 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Stna1NVFWZU). When the lights came up the accapella group sang our last song. it was
called Change in My Life.


Nativ 30 Accapella Group

                              we had the best food we have ever had at Agron on that Turkey Day! I mean, I most certainly missed my usual thanksgiving feast and conversation, but for Agron food standards i was pleasantly surprised. I ate turkey, stuffing, potatoes, pumpkin and apple pie, and some vegetables. It was so delicious! But I had one thing on my mind; especially after every nativ 30'er got a letter from their family. All I had on my mind was how i couldn’t wait to Skype with everyone when they are at our usual thanksgiving hang out spot, the Levins house. Later that night, at about 12 my time, it happened,  I Skyped with the family and it made my thanksgiving complete.             
     Thanksgiving is still my number one favorite holiday of all time!!!

Roshana, Rotem, Me, Avital after eating an amzing Thanksgiving dinner
(dressed in fall colors of course)

 GIRLS WEEKEND IN TEL-AVIV!

                    Avital Shoomer and I just had the BEST weekend in Tel-Aviv. We left the Friday after Thanksgiving and took the number 21 bus to the central bus station and jumped on the bus to Tel-Aviv. I have never had a more easy start to a trip.
                   The bus ride was only 25 min because for some reason there was no traffic at all...once we got to the bus station in Tel-Aviv, we got some lunch and did a little shopping (surprisingly the shopping in the Tel-Aviv bus station is really good and cheap). After a few more hours or exploring the bus station and city, we headed over to our hostel. we stayed at Hayarkon 48. It is a beautiful hostel right next to the beach. after we check in...we nap or coarse! I used to never nap and now i have at least one every day. However, we only rested for a few hours because we had a busy night ahead. what was on the agenda? first, eating at the best (and i think only) Mexican restaurant called "Mexicana" and then exploring the Tel-Aviv port.

Dinner at Mexicana

          We went to dinner at about 8:30 at had an amazing meal! It is so nice to get mexican food again. Its weird from going to having it maybe twice a day to almost never. I got a burrito and Avi got a quesadilla. The food was so delicious!
After we walked along the board walk and then took a taxi to the Tel-Aviv Port. The port was so beautiful and it was so nice to walk along the beach at night. Eventually we found this little bar on the beach with big couches. that is where we

At the Tel-Aviv Port

spent our night. We drank and talked and just enjoyed being out of Agron and Jerusalem for a little while. but, we knew that we had a big day the next day and the only bad thing about Hayarkon is that check out is at 10:30a.m.





                    after we checked out, we asked the guy at the front desk if he knew of any good breakfast placed to eat, preferable on the beach. He told us of this little place called Mantaray. He said that this place specializes in breakfast and it was only a 10 min walk. Well, it wasn't a 10 min walk..more like a 30 min walk but oh was it worth it! The food was amazing, and the service incredible. We both got pancakes that were to die for and it was right on the beach. we had a beautiful view!

Right outside the restaurant

                          Then, we hopped into a taxi and headed to the Hertzalia mall (i think it was called the 7 star mall), did a little shopping, came back to Tel-Aviv and watched the sun set. We still had a little time to kill so we caught a movie before we headed back to Jerusalem, and back to our normal lives.

                       BEST WEEKEND EVER!!
                 

Life as Nativ'er :) Just Gets BETTER!

Hebrew University:

If this is what college is actually like...I'm glad i am getting practice now! Even though I only have 4 classes, I am more stressed than I ever was in high school. My week is like this:

Sunday- No school. I am one of the very lucky few who do not have any class on Sunday. This means i get a 3 day weekend!

Monday- Ulpan @8:30
Business Ethics @2:30

Holocaust @4:30

*because there is only a 4 hour break in between Business and Ulpan and I live at least 30-35 min away (depending on traffic it can be longer) I don't go home...meaning I am here ALL DAY!


Tuesday- Ulpan @8:30
Continuity and Change in Modern Jewish History @2:30


Wednesday- NO ULPAN (SLEEP IN DAY!)
Business Ethics @2:30
Holocaust @4:30

Thursday- Ulpan @8:30
Continuity and Change in Modern Jewish History @2:30


All my classes are 2 hours long except Ulpan. 2 Days a week Ulpan is 4 hours with a 30 min break in between.

Me and the birthday girl DANA

 Birthday
ExTrAvAgAnZa!     

      For my friend Dana's birthday we had a crazy weekend of fun! first crack! Crack square...the



Small birthday party w/ me, her roommates
and some family friends that her and I stayed with
one free weekend.

   armpit of Jerusalem is where all the American kids and sleazy Israeli men go and party. It was so much fun! We counted down until it was midnight! All of Crack joined in and then we all stood up at cheered! The bar we were at gave Dana a free champagne with a sparkler in it. It was such a good way to start her birthday.

               BUT....I had to get up kinda early the next morning because we were going on a mini birthday road trip. Me, Dana, Ashleigh, and a few boys were going to Hertzelia. She has a friend there who goes to the IDC school.We took a sherot taxi there because there were enough of us so it would not be that expensive. Even though we were not on base for Shabbat, the kid we were staying with and his roommates made a shabbat dinner and we did kiddush and had challah and shabbat candles. It was so delicious!

               The next day we went to the beach. They told us it would be about a 30 min walk to the beach from his apartment..it turned out to be about an hour and a half walk. Not a fun way to start the day...but we finally got the the most beautiful beach. It was so clean and nice. The water was warm and so was the air. It was so nice to just relax and get away from base.


*The day after, Ari Marcus Young asked me to be his girl friend....so cute!


Idan Concert
                  MASA, the organization that I am apart of, put on a concert for ALL the gap year kids that are here in Israel. There were so many kids there! First there were speeches (or coarse) and some dance group came out and danced to songs that represent different places in Israel...and then the real show started! The Idan Rachel Project came out and performed. They were AMAZING! Everyone got up and danced! This group has such a unique sound and everyone should know them!

Wearing our Nativ shirts with pride
at the concert!          

 


 

  

If You Cant Handle The Heat...Step Away From The Toaster!

                  I decided it is time to experiment with the food here. Although the insta-soups and grilled cheese aren't five star quality..maybe it is time to expand my horizons. We do get dinner two times a week here at Agron, but to be honest...you can not eat the food here more than once a week.
                  Shopping list:
1.Beans
2.Tortillas
3.Cheese
(Can you guess what I am making?)
4.Eggs
5.Brownie Mix


                  We don't have a kitchen here that we are able to use (we will have one in our apartments in Ber Sheva). Instead they gave us a few microwaves and toasters. We also have a few hot plates that were left to us from past nativers (Thanks Ally  <3 ). So tonight I wanted to make brownies...so I experimented with the toaster and made toaster brownies! They turned out SO much better than I thought. Especially because I didn't have a measuring cup to measure out the oil or water :)

My toaster oven brownies

  I couldn't take it anymore!! I NEEDED MEXICAN FOOD NOW! So I went to the supersol across the street and brought the necessary items to make a classic bean and cheese burrito. It was the best burrito I have ever eaten.

                  I cant wait to actually have everyone cooking in Ber Sheva! We have such good cooks in our group..a few kids have been cooking up  STORM here...they have made pesto and pasta, chicken, and veggies just to name a few items. It always makes our hallway smell amazing :)

This is my work station. Table, toaster, and microwave! This is at the end of my
hallway in the old building (my building)

My Home Away From Home-
Here are a few pictures of Agron....

THE DOOR TO MY ROOM
624



the hallway that leads to my room in the old building



Our messy (at the moment) room

My bed that I share with one of my two roommates, Debra. I have
the top bunk and the closet that is open is also mine.

our tiny little shower!

 *overall it is a really nice place to live!

 

Conservative Judaism Weekend
              Our last closed weekend, we had a Conservative Judaism seminar weekend. We had a bunch of speakers come and speak to us. Jules Gutin came and spoke to us. It was nice to see a USY person because most of the Nativers are former USY'ers. Surprisingly many people were more into it than i thought, including myself. The Speeches were actually interesting because we got to see many different perspectives on what people think Conservative Judaism is. We also had a bonding group day. We went to some nature park and herded sheep, did like ropes coarse kind of activities, and made zatar and pita. I felt like I was back at camp.

Making zatar to go on top of our freshly made pita!

             There were many things I agreed with...and a few things I strongly didn't agree with...and a few things times i just had no idea what they were talking about during the speeches. Overall it was a great weekend....but what made it even better was....
         

Me and cousin Adrian

  I GOT TO SEE MY COUSINS! I had to get special permission, but Yossi finally agreed to let me see my cousins from England on Friday night. Cousin Adrian and Jackie were in J-town visiting some friends and they invited me to go to shabbat dinner with them. The food was amazing...but the company was even better. There were so many diverse people there. There was a woman from Ireland, a couple and their son from Ethiopia who worked for the UN, a man from Amsterdam and people from England. The amount of accents that were in this one beautiful apartment was crazy! It was so interesting to hear the topics that they were all discussing. I am so glad that I got to see them and hopefully i can see them again WHEN I COME TO ENGLAND DURING MY BREAK!!!
p.s I am going to England during my break for a few days and seeing my family there and all my British camp friends...I AM SO EXCITED...See you soon!!!


Erev Nativ Trivia Night!
           Every Tuesday we have a mandatory activity called erev nativ. It usually is with our individual groups. This week was especially fun! During school, we all are sitting in Ulpan and suddenly everyones phones vibrates...you know that that means...we all look around and start to laugh. It means we all got a mass text. That is how our staff usually gets in-touch with us and lets us know what is going on.
          Adir sent us a text saying "get into costume with your roommates and be down in -3 at 7:30. It is a roommate competition". We were all so excited and immediately started thinking about what costumes we could dress up as.

The ROOMIES: Debra, Me, and Robyn

           My roommates and i decided to be Charlies Angles. There were some other really awesome costumes. One room did Kiss and another room (the room that ended up wining) were dressed up as grapes. When we get down to -3 we realise that it is a trivia game. Everyone got really into it but the questions were the most random things i have ever been asked. I only knew a few answers but most of them no one had any idea...it was funny to hear the random silly answers people gave.
           It was nice to have some bonding time with our individual track and i cant wait for next weeks erev nativ!

Me and Ari (629 for Life!)



Me and Aimee Kanter (one of the grapes)





*MOMMY- I got ur package! thanks so much!

OH AND ANOTHER THING VERY IMPORTANT!- We were at a new bar last night called Mikes. It is like a sports bar with live music. I look down at the menu just to see what kind of stuff they have there and what do I see??? TEX-MEX!! my life is now complete...thanks Israel!


I cant wait to see what kind of craziness will happen in the weeks to come...I LOVE NATIV! We have a closed weekend coming up and we are being hosted as a group in Maalot!