Well today, or should I say this afternoon, was my first full experience of Tel Aviv, solo! I say this afternoon because I let the morning slip away in my slumber. So it turns out that the jet lag did get the best of me. I should have known I was going to sleep through the morning because I could not fall asleep until past 3 AM. So my day started at 1 when I woke up to loud music outside of my apartment, at first I was upset that I was awoken so early and than I realized it was past 1 PM, so I thanked that loud car that drove by :) I grabbed a bite to eat for breakfast in the apartment, which was cottage and cereal. While eating breakfast on my outside ... read more

Shalom friends! Pardon me, I should be saying bonjur! I am not in Israel quite yet. I currently am in layover mode at the Toronto international airport. My flight left from MSP this morning at 10:30 and I arrived into Toronto just short of an hour ago. My wonderful mom and dad said goodbye to me at the airport and I set off for my adventures! Leaving the MSP airport in itself was a minor hassle (Not that I mind travel hassles, just saying!) I was stopped at security due to a bike lock in my carry on luggage. A quick check of the bag and I was on my way. I have already felt immersed into a cultural experience, and enjoy every minute of it! On my flight (I flew with Air Canada and will ... read more

And it's come to the one last hoo-rah, the final night in Goonellabah on Pineview Drive with the Compton family. Five weeks has flown by with living here, and with working at the center. The feelings I have right now are a mixture; a mixture much like the pizza flavors we had tonight. For dinner we had pizza from a local pizza shop acclaimed to be "the best pizza shop in Lismore." I did enjoy the pizza very much. I liked the crust because it was a nice thin crust. This local pizza shop is only open on evenings because it gets enough business in the evenings because their pizza is "the best." We had bbq chicken pizza, mexican pizza, and thai peanut sauce chicken pizza. All of the pizzas were delicious, and to seal the ... read more

And I am connected again, hello. (Internet has been down for the weekend and I apologize for not pre-warning you blog readers that I wouldn't update over the weekend because I thought I would. You can never guess with techonology.) This weekend was our last, and first, full weekend of living life in Lismore. As calm and quiet as Lismore/Goonellabah area is, having a weekend here was nice. It was nice to take in the community of Lismore! Kelly and I spent Friday night at our host families house, by ourselves. We were both exhausted from the week, and I think the routine of weeks into nonstop weekends had caught up with us. I went to bed by 10 Pm. I spent Saturday morning at Goonellabahs Fitness Centers free classes; I went to step class and ... read more

It is the shortest day of the year here in Australia, and by the time we were walking home from school at 430 today, the sun was already beginning to set. It made me smile on the way home because the sunset gave the sky a beautiful pinkish tone. It was a calm walk home. In additon, it was the first time Kelly and I walked home since last Thursday so it was quite pleasant. We have been lucky the past few days in gettings lifts with our friendly coworkers. For afternoon tea today at school, the cook made Anzac biscuts. When I say "biscut" I mean cookie, but in Australia, all cookies are referred to as "biscuts." The Anzac biscuts are delicious, and a cookie with some history! The anzac biscut started during World War ... read more