The Beginning of the End

Hard to believe but it really is the beginning of the end. Currently i have only 12 more days in israel. this past week was a pretty normal one- classes and enjoying the hothothot weather. wednesday i got to meet emma's grandmother who came to israel to visit the family which was really fun! thursday i decided to spend the day in jerusalem shopping around the city for gifts and things to take home with me. my cousin jay and i planned to have lunch and when he picked me up from the bus station, he had his motorcycle with him! so i spent the day riding around jerusalem on a motorcycle- first we had lunch, then drove up to the mount of olives for a view of the city, heading into the old city to do some shopping, and then to ben yehuda street where i continued to shop! it was a long day but i got some gorgeous things and it was really nice to spend a day with my cousin.
Saturday i had a great day! My environment class (israel and the environment) went on a jeep trek through the judean desert aka the west bank. i admit i first drawn to sign up for this trek because then i got to say i went to the west bank...not because the environment or "trekking" in a jeep interests me BUT it was an AMAZING experience. we began the morning at the mount of olives (o wait i had been there 48 hours before) and had brief history of Israel. we then ventured in our jeeps out to the desert- sand, benduoins, and goats made up most of the landscape but it was absolutely beautiful. we came across a few water springs as well which were gorgeous. eventually we came to the top of mountains which overlook the dead sea and there were the most beautiful views of the dead sea with the jordanian mountains reflecting the water. for dinner, we set up came in the desert and had boiled hot dogs and corn! delicious. we then started a fire and roasted marshmallows! so cute! we ended the day with a night safari searching for animals...fairly unsuccessful but still a good time. on our way back to jerusalem, our jeep broke down- woops. there wasnt enough room for all of us to go into the second jeep so halley and i had to hitchike across the jerusalem checkpoint so another car could pick us up...ok semi lie. we were told we were going to hitchike...sadly we arranged for a taxi to take us across the border which was disappointing to us as we envisioned an epic tale about our smuggling through the border but alas we got through. on the other side, i discovered a container for cheese which was none othe than brand name DANA!!!!! it was so great- turns out i am the name of a processed cheese from egypt! i should invest in stocks!
sunday, i spent the day "studying" with friends and then headed down to jerusalem for a final dinner with Ethan and Arielle...WHAT. crazycrazy but in fact arielle and ethan's time in israel is over shortly as well. they left for a three week trip to morocco today and when they return to israel, i will no longer be here! we hung out at arielle's apartment and then headed for dinner at cavalier. turns out netanyahu's father eats at the restaurant EVERY night and was at the table behind us! celeb sightingggg!!!! aside from that, the food was absolutely delicious and we had an amazing last night together in israel. Arielle's being in israel has enhanced my time here in a way i cant even explain - we have had so many great times together and having her with me has made my time in israel even more special than it was already.
back in tel aviv: monday i had my last hebrew class/final exam- thats right im done learning hebrew. its bittersweet of course but im really proud of how much my hebrew has improved and i hope i get to keep learning more and i also hope shir doesnt hate me next year when i try to speak to her in hebrew all the time!! today at sundown marks the beginning of shavuot (the holiday which recognizes when Gd gave the torah to the Israelite nation at mount sinai- thanks!) so we dont have classes today or tomorrow! today, i slept in and then went to the shuk with emma, halley, and her friend from school to shop around for gifts and fun things to take home. i got a lot of tel aviv university clothing and some other stuff! i think im pretty shopped out and have just enough great things to remind me of my time here!
So thats pretty much whats going on! thursday is the official last day of classes and next week we begin final exams. Jaclyn and the foster clan come to israel on Sunday which im SO excited about!!!! and then the packing and goodbye dinners must commence :( its going to be so hard to leave but good to say goodbye at an all time high!
Below are some pics from my jeep trek through the desert- the last is me and my cheese..that yes i picked up off the street :)
xo