Arad the Windy City

It's 3 am here with howling winds and despite the fact that I have three classes back-to-back in approximately six hours, here I am feeling compelled to blog. I think it's an extension of my "getting things done" day. I'm rather proud of myself for taking the weekend "off" to catch up on sleep and life. A very mature and decidedly wise decision, I think, on my part. (That and I simply couldn't stand the idea of packing one more overnight bag!) This was my first free weekend spent in Arad (and probably will be the only one), and it was dare I say delightful! I have not given myself the permission to spend any time slacking off so far since my arrival in Israel about six weeks ago, and it was probably time. Although today alone I swept, cleaned the bathroom, did dishes, laundry, and even hand wash not to mention sending out a few emails and odds and ends for class. The to-do list was NAP and accomplish things in between. (I tried not to set the expectations up too high. Nothing worse than disappointing yourself on a weekend!) I'd say I did well. Some people were bouncing off the walls today at having been in Arad for so long, but since I feel as though I'm rarely ever here anyway, it was a nice change of pace for me. 

In the two weeks since I last wrote (wait- I just checked and although I cannot possibly believe it, it's been THREE weeks!), time has begun to spin faster and faster. I have climbed at least three mountain ranges, witnessed several incredible sunrises, spent another weekend in Jerusalem, started volunteering at a Bedouin school working with high school girls, and made sushi for the first time. I have proven to myself that my body can do AMAZING things I no longer thought possible and have been so inspired as to start writing poetry and lyrics again. We've met a famous Israeli singer, government officials, and even the winner of a reality show about becoming the next leader. So now maybe you're beginning to see why the sheer thought of blogging overwhelms me with how much there is to tell! I've decided to put it to a vote. Plus it's a sneaky way to see who's really reading this thing. Post a reply and let me know what you'd like to hear more about. Anything is fair game from daily life at WUJS (laundry is always fun) to why the first unicorns came from Israel. (Yes, that's a true story.) I'm planning on posting at least a couple of my latest poems soon, and pictures are uploaded to the computer and hopefully with any luck from the internet powers that be will be online this week as well. 

I'm going to do my best to blog again before this Wednesday, because after that, there's a good chance I will not be writing again until after the 16th of December. The 5th I have been honored with an opportunity to be one of eight out of hundreds to represent MASA  and WUJS at a conference in Jerusalem about the future of the Jewish people, and the next day is the beginning of our WUJS Jerusalem week. Then we have a break from the 12th to the 15th, but I have another Shabbaton to attend and will probably use the time in between to visit possible internship sites in Tel Aviv if I don't get there the first part of this week. Um... I'm a busy girl! Yikes. This busy girl is going to go attempt to catch some zzz's. Sorry for the "fluff" blog entry. Israel's amazing! That about sums it up. Hopefully the photographs with captions with paint in the details. 

"Chappy" Chanukah and Sweet Wishes!