http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Israel/Haifa-District/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Middle East , Israel , Haifa District en-us Tue, 29 Dec 2009 11:17:10 +0000 Tue, 29 Dec 2009 11:17:10 +0000 Hey folks Here things are going great We are in the sixth day of Hanukka right now there are 8 days in total. It basically comes down to lighting a new candle everynight while singing and eating sweet buns. The end of the semester is getting closer so im studying a lot but still I make time to hang out with my friends offcourse. Friends from here and from the University. The Hebrew is improvi http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Israel/Haifa-District/Haifa/blog-460814.html It's official as of this morning I am staying in Haifa for a 2nd semester I'm quite excited though a bit scared too. I've been thinking about the decision all weekend and it was kind of driving me insane so I talked it out with a friend from home this morning and finally it hit me I do want to stay and study abroad some more. It's too early to come home already I'd have to leave in only 2 m http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Israel/Haifa-District/Haifa/blog-451936.html I'm still studying alot studying hard every day.Next week I have a midterm and today I had a presentation. My presentation was about my travels to Tanzania and what I did there and it went very wellI've also started printing out lyrics and practicing singing some hebrew songs. My favourite artist so far is Idan Raichel his music is beautiful and the lyrics are not to difficult. http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Israel/Haifa-District/blog-450444.html Summary of what I have been up to the last couple of weeks I went to a beautiful beach half an hour drive south from here. It was a privat beach in a bay with clear blue water. Very nice. Me and Roee went on a daytrip to the beautiful old city Acco. We walked through the streets of Acco went shopping in the market and ate hummus at Hummus Zaid which is known as the best hummusplace in Israel. http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Israel/Haifa-District/Haifa/blog-448408.html Before we had fully recovered from our weekandahalflong adventure in Egypt we had to start classes. I was still hurting from my stomach bug so I skipped orientation on Sunday and slept a ridiculous amount so relieved to be back. It was very comforting to be back at school with my own bed my own shower and my own space. Oh and lots of my own laundry to do but that had to wait until Tuesd http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Israel/Haifa-District/Haifa/blog-447894.html Now that I'm back home I can summarize this little Lufthansa love story the way I always like to do with numbers36 hours later than planned1200 Euros richer I hope apparently in Israel it takes up to 14 business days for the moneyand 1 upgrade to business class what an experienceNo more travels any time soon the semester is starting tomorrow but I think I've had enough travel until next http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Israel/Haifa-District/Haifa/blog-444676.html Well here we are again I think I left you with the promise of a 55k bicycle ride in aid of wounded and disabled to help integrate them back into normal life and to encourage them to take up sports. This was to be my first real cycle on my new lsquoTrekrsquo it was going to be a real test to see whether or not I have mastered the gears. I decided against using the cleats as I really did not http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Israel/Haifa-District/blog-443615.html October 3 2009Today is a day at sea for us as we sail to Israel. Judy and I did our laundry this morning on the ship. Four washing machines for 800 passengers doesn't work well. The laundry room does not open until 8 a.m. but I showed up 30 minutes early and still was second in line. THe attendant opened the room a little early and we all grabbed the machines and got started. One lady came in at http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Israel/Haifa-District/Haifa/blog-442128.html My very first Trip to another country http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Israel/Haifa-District/Haifa/blog-441791.html Close to a kibbutz near Tivon there is a spring. The water comes out of the ground and makes a little pond with cold water to swim in. The guys got the brilliant idea of going there for a small picnic and to smoke some nargila. I thought it sounded very beautiful and nice so I was all for this picnic next to the pond. When we arrived I could do nothing else but laugh. Apparently they put a cement http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Israel/Haifa-District/Haifa/blog-441231.html Or maybe you're supposed to say have a very hungry Yom Kippur. I decided to do a quick update as I won't be updating for another 2 weeks so I thought I'd bring the blog up to speed before heading off on more adventures.Tuesday was a fun field trip we went back to the Golan area and hiked some. We saw Yodfat not the most exciting ruins but at least they didn't have a sound and light show it' http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Israel/Haifa-District/Haifa/blog-440263.html Jom Kippoer is the most important holiday for the Jews. From Rosh Hashana which took place 10 days ago until today and tomorrow Jom Kippoer the Jewish people look back at the year that has passed. On Jom Kippoer the Jews fast for 25 hours. They don't eat drink use electricity incl. watching tv have sex wash themselves or drive cars. Cars are not driven by anyone on Jom Kippoer. It is 25 ho http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Israel/Haifa-District/Haifa/blog-440210.html After a very long week and long weekend I am happy to be back on campus. I got back around 5pm yesterday and have done little but some laundry by hand and had some pita and hummus for dinner. Life is good.Thursday we went to the Ghetto Fighter's Museum commemorating the people who fought against the Nazis in different ghettos during the Holocaust. It also was a museum about the Holocaust in gen http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Israel/Haifa-District/Haifa/blog-438267.html I'm officialy 23 years old. And I know most of you are wondering how I spent my birthday. Well...it all started at midnight. I was sitting in the car on my way to a pub in a kibbutz with Roee and his friends. The pub was a tent with a lot of rugs and cushions people come there to smoke nirgila a.k.a. hubblybubbly. We did a round of birthdayshots and to my pleasent surprise I got icecream with w http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Israel/Haifa-District/Haifa/blog-435084.html It's been a few days so I thought I'd catch you up on the goingson but briefly 'cause there's not a ton to tell. I figured I'd upload some pictures and amaze the audience's adoring eyes instead Friday I went to the beach with my suitemate Rachel our downstairs neighbor and some friends of his. It was so beautiful and so nice out We left around noon and didn't get back until the sun was begi http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Israel/Haifa-District/Haifa/blog-434951.html Close to Roees house there is a statue of Alexander Zaid on a horse. The statue is located on top of a mountain with a gorgeous view over a valley. This is our favourite spot for drinking coffee. Yuval brings the guitar Ohad and Roee bring their harmonicas and the rest sits there enjoying the music and the coffee. When Roee is in the army during the week I spend my time hanging out with Yuval and http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Israel/Haifa-District/Haifa/blog-434850.html After many conversations with the silly airline that forgot the little red suitcase the owner was thrilled to hear that it had finally made its way to Israel. However it was due to arrive on campus on the day that she would be away and that posed a big problem. If she missed it she would have to trek to Tel Aviv something she was not looking forward to. And there was a possibility it would arri http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Israel/Haifa-District/Haifa/blog-433566.html Once upon there was a red suitcase made of fabric and plastic and it lived in a store. It had rollers and two handles for easy maneuvering. One day a nice man came in to buy the suitcase and the travels began. The suitcase saw many different homes and traveled to many different states even Hawaii The most exciting adventure for the suitcase was yet to come a whole semester in Israel. It cou http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Israel/Haifa-District/Haifa/blog-433261.html In the first week of Ulpan we studied the alphabets. Yes both of them there are two. We learned this basic introduction speach where you tell your name where you are from and that you are currently a student studying hebrew at the University of Haifa. There were a lot of people in beginners level so there was a test at the end of week one to see how much we had learned and according to this we w http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Israel/Haifa-District/blog-432349.html Shalom y'allI arrived in Israel on 30th of July. Roee picked me up at the airport and we took the train for about one and a half hours to Haifa. In Haifa we were picked up by Roee's mother and she brought us by car to the city I'm living in Qiryat Tivon. It's a small city outside of Haifa. It is very green and quiet. The garden is filled with fruittrees and herbs. The house is a duplex Roees pa http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Israel/Haifa-District/blog-424558.html