Israel Trip Week 1: July 2-8

July 2: arrived in Israel, was greeted at the airport by my cousin, took a shuttle to where I was staying in Jerusalem, met my roommates, went out for dinner, settled in

July 3: first day of learning for me (8:30-5:30 with lunch break in between), met the women in my classes, all beautiful, intelligent women; first trip to the supermarket, very interesting to try to naviage the store when you can't understand the language all that well, now I have a slight understanding how some immigrants feel when they arrive in the US for the first time

July 4: half day of school, had lunch with my cousin who lives close to Jerusalem, met my roommates in Mea Shearim (kind of like Boro Park), the only town I know with a sign telling women to dress modestly

July 5: more learning

July 6: half day of learning, trip to Masada/Dead Sea in the afternoon; guided tour of Masada followed by a swim near the Dead Sea; first time at a womens only beach and quickly realized that wearing a bikini on a beach in Tel Aviv is okay but not so okay on a womens' beach; after a quick meal, we went to the Sound and Light show at Masada; first part was a taped lecture on the history of Masada followed by a reenactment of the fall of Masada; I didn't know what to look at first; the reenactment or the night sky

July 7-8: Friday was spent hanging out with roommates; Shabbat dinner I went to a family in the neighborhood with 2 people, Shabbat lunch I went to another family by myself; thankfully a few of my roommates were around for Shabbas so I wasn't lonely; Motzei Shabbas (after Shabbat) I went to the Kotel; even though I've been to the Kotel before, I've never been there at night; there is a special energy at night, especially right after Shabbas

Coming up: details of my 2nd week in Israel