Long time...

Sorry it's been such a long time since I last posted. Lots of interesting things have happened, I just haven't had the time to sit down and write about them all until just this second.



Okay...so the biggest thing: I finally rode the bus. That's a huge deal, let me just tell you. Not only does doing new things sometime intimidate me (buying a ticket on the bus when the driver only speaks Hebrew, for instance) the comment I heard FREQUENTLY as I was preparing to leave was, "Don't ride the bus!" I'm sure it was mostly spoken in jest, but still...but I've riden the bus quite a few times now, and it's a breeze. Although the first time I did it solo I didn't get off at the right stop (for a perfectly logical and rational reason that's too long to get into here) and ended up with the bus driver back at the place where buses go when they're SUPPOSED to be empty. Nonetheless, the bus driver was extremely kind, got me a diet coke, tried to share his lunch with me, and then made sure I got off at the right stop. It was definitely interesting though, that's for sure.



Let's see...what else? I went to a good-sized mall in central Tel Aviv which is easily the strangest lay-out of any mall I've ever been in, and just wandered around for a little bit on Friday afternoon. It's funny, I was trying to be aimless and just look around, and I kept on ending up at the same spot. I DID, however, find a pet supply store that sells Science Diet dog food, which definitely made my day.



I also went to church on Saturday evening, and that was an experience that is definitely impossible to put into words. It was amazing, though it was unlike anything else I've ever experienced. It lacked the stage/performance element that has been present (to varying extents) in every church I've ever been in. The worship was very free and spontaneous, but not chaotic and unbiblical (which is always good). They had flags and tamborines that some of the people were dancing with as they sang...and even though at first it surprised me (because I've grown up in Southern Baptist churches - not that it's a bad thing, you just don't see much dancing there, during the service or any other time) :) but it didn't freak me out. It was really incredible. Some of the songs were in English and some were in Hebrew, but on the overhead they had the English pronunciation to the Hebrew words. The preacher spoke in Hebrew, but they had these wireless headsets for people that didn't speak Hebrew (not just English either, also Russian and at least one other language).



The first day of the school year is Wednesday, and I'll be spending that day "spying" outside of my school. My meeting with the principal isn't until Thursday and Marion wanted me to get a feel for the first day of school where I will actually be, so she told me to just go observe from a distance - which is really fine with me. I am a little nervous about Thursday though, because it will be Zvi, Marion, one of the second year interns who will be serving as translator, the principal, and myself - at least. One of the English teachers could be there too. It's like an interview in front of an audience - talk about nerve-wracking!



Tomorrow the only thing we have planned is a picnic in this park semi-near the University campus. It's exciting - mostly because Daive gets to go, and poor Daive has been suffering from neglect (not physically, but attention wise). We'll see...the dynamics of the group are....interesting so far, but that's been in a classroom. Hopefully in a more relaxed social situation it will be less insane and far more enjoyable. We shall see.



I need to go look up some numbers to call about apartments. I'll be posting more frequently over this next week hopefully, if for no other reason than to keep you all updated so you can pray for me (I need it rather desperately!). Love you all!