springtime

Welcome back! A brief welcome video, should do the trick..



Thank you, Ernie and Cookie Monster; I didn't get it!

I just had a week on high, as Jackie came to visit for her spring break. I felt so good to have her back. We went to Amman, Tel Aviv, Yaffa, Haifa, Akka, and we had a great time. Spring struck just in time. On our drive down to Amman from the bridge, we saw families under every tree picnicking with barbecues going, just sitting in the shade and enjoying each others' company and the weather. Amman was incredible, just like we'd never left.

Our trip back into Israel, through the Allenby Bridge to the West Bank, was kind of ridiculous. We heard a woman, who was discussing her situation with the guards, say "let me clarify, I work in both Jerusalem and Ramallah." Nearly lost control laughing. We crossed okay, but they gave Jackie a bit of a hard time. I smiled and talked us through everything in my beautiful Hebrew--eh..

Purim in Tel Aviv was fascinating. Our evening was spent eating great food, walking around, and finding a really huge street party in an area called Florentine. We even got to meet up with Allie, Lauren, and Darya later on, and went to a diner with them. Deelicious.

The next day we hit up more of Tel Aviv and then Yaffa. Shani met up with us for some coffee later in the day, and it was really nice just to hang out and casually walk back along the promenade by the sea. Very beautiful place. We came back up to Haifa that night, and for the next few days we simply went everywhere in the city--Downtown, Hadar, even Hof ha-Carmel where we met a friend playing guitar on the beach by a broken boat. We spent a day in Akka as well, where we wandered the old city and watched the sun set over the Mediterranean. The week was ideal, and though I had some classes and work, it barely interfered, hamdulillah.

However, back to reality. My Arabic class requires a lot of work from me, as the entire class is taught in Hebrew, while the texts are in Arabic. I'm meeting lots of cool people in the most random ways, and while they're not all going to be constant figures, it's always fun--that's how I roll. I have plenty more to discuss, but I thought that a brief update on my whereabouts was necessary to bring people up to speed. I've got plenty of serious stuff to talk about, but I felt that this light entry should be nice for now. I have photographs to come, as well!

--Avraham