Thank G-D for Friends!

Today is my second day in Israel and its been…well…interestingly unexpected. Everything started off in the Toronto airport where I was highly disappointed (this is where my jappy side comes out) by the lack of Spa facilities. Let me preface this by saying that I am not a prissy girl who gets her nails and eye brows down on a weekly basis. However, I’ve heard very positive things about the Toronto airport, which lead me to assume that it was like JFK which has a spa. Thus, I thought I culd get my pealing Shelac nail polish off. Alas, nay. There was none and now I have to go in search for somewhere in Jerusalem, the odds of which I have a feeling are pretty slim. The flight was pretty good save for the fact that the plane was tiny and Israelis love to schmooze in the aisles which is hard to facilitate when there is 9 inches of space!

In typical Dana style I got jipped by the Sherut (communal taxi) driver on the way to Jerusalem. He said that because my bags were very large he had to charge me an additional 25 shekels!!! Obviously I got CHARGED after he dropped me off….I don’t mind arguing but try getting into an argument with a large Israeli man = scary. After my ordeal with the sherut driver, I was looking forward to being welcomed to the school – that didn’t happen. I guess since I’ve been used to organized trips I was expecting some sort of orientation even if its just one on one. Instead I registered along, met with the principal to get placed in a level. Based on the fact that I speak Hebrew and am observant I was placed in Level 7, which is the highest group before Advanced. The issue is that I think I’m still missing a lot of fundamentals that I either don’t remember from Hebrew Academy or missed when I left. At the end of the day, I guess time will tell how comfortable I feel and whether I need to go back to basics or not.

And now for what I know all my family members are concerned about….what is my room like? Well, after not being placed in a room all day because the Housemother (every apartment building has a housemother who lived in the building with her family) thought I was coming today instead of yesterday. In the end I was lucky enough to have run into someone I knew (Rachel Cutler) who kindly asked for me to be on her floor. It so nice to see a familiar face everyday and not to feel super awkward in the apartment. From what I can tell so far the girls I live with are really nice. The bathroom is big but the shower is kinda gross which I will overcome by closing my eyes while I shower J. We have a kitchenette and there are 4 rooms with 2 beds each. Right now I don’t have a roommate, which I think is really helping me feel more comfortable especially since I get to adjust in my own private space. The bed is the size of a matchbox with the consistency of cement but once the sun continues to melt my bones a bit more I’m sure I will be more comfy! The closet is made of tin but that is far from my issue. As many people who know me are aware, I have a ton of clothes and simply not enough space in my tin can to house them L

After unpacking (what I could with only 5 hangers for one person), I stuck up all my pictures, which I must say, made all the difference in the room! Internet is available only at night in the school building from 8-12 so late night tv watching until 3 AM is sadly out of the question for me until I get an internet stick. I have to share that the area the school is in is beautiful. The grounds are very well taken care of and full of trees and flowers. When you walk to and from the school you can see a gorgeous view since we are on a mountain. There is a gym, a place to buy clothes and other things for only 4 shekels (~$1).

And now, for the reason I entitled this post “Thank G-D for friends!” – since my first few hours at Neve were anything but positive, it meant the world to be able to see a familiar face. My automatically improved significantly when I met Mur Hadid for lunch and spent time catching up and revelling in the fact that I’d be here for a year and there is so much to see and do! Things got even better when my beautifully spectacular friend (who is still a glowing kallah with the nicest tichels – head scarves!) Joelle Librowicz-Bohodana joined us.  Phone calls from a few friends in Israel made me feel even more at home (especially exciting was Eden Tzoubari’s call). As for day, I have been lucky enough to spend today with Joelle in her brand new apartment in Katamon. I am so beyond blessed to have her here to schmooze, call, shop and do absolutely nothing with! So that’s the title – without these people around me in my first few days I don’t know if I would have made it through with out a freak out and whole lot of doubt. It is so important to have people in your life that you love and trust both in general but also when you embark on a new stage of your life where you can very easily feel isolated and lonely. So thank you to Mur and Joelle for making me feel at home J

Now I’m off to the Cowlands for Shabbat!! Cant wait to see them all and I hope I’m not too shy to be social :p

Neve so far: C+  (based on having no idea how to make friends, room and level)

Israel: B (TOOOO HOT!!)

Support: A (gets better everyday)

I will do my BEST to not write such a long post again

Xoxo

Dana

PS. Shout out to Sherri, Jacob and the kids who gave me letters and made me a CD of pictures (which I play on a slideshow with music obvi) that I plan to cherish on a frequent basis! Love you guys <3