First Few Weeks

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So I've been in Israel for only two weeks but it feels like a lot longer. Our flight took off on the 14th from JFK and we got here on the 15th. It was a group flight, so a lot of Americans from my program were on the flight, and I ended up sitting with two of them, Jodi and Mark. Being at the airport was like a mad dash to meet people as fast as possible, and we were already talking loudly amongst ourselves when someone from El Al came over and yelled at us to get on the plane so it could take off.
We got to our dorms and dragged our luggage upstairs (no elevators... thank G-d I'm on the second floor!) only to be met by dirty, dusty, cold rooms. A lot of work went into making these rooms livable- mainly a lot of cleaning and decorating. We now have a nice rug in our room, and my roommate Nataly and I bought a space heater to get through the cold nights here.
Classes started that Sunday. We're taking Ulpan now, which is a four week long intensive Hebrew class that meets for 4 hours a day. It starts early but it ends early also, which is really nice for afternoon excursions. Last week I went to Jaffa with Nataly and our friends Jeremy, Aviad, and Hilary, and we explored the shuk (market) there and enjoyed the views of Tel Aviv.
The people I've met here have been really great. I've been going out at night with my suitemate Debbie and our friends, but now Debbie and I are both sick so we're trying to fight that off.
We've been trying to plan some weekend travels- I'm going to Istanbul in 2 1/2 weeks with Nataly, Jodi, Hilary, and Jodi's roommate Emily. Now that I have internet in my room, I'll start writing here a bit more thoroughly.

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