Another Gorgeous Day!

Right now I'm sitting in my room with my windows open listening to the live music that's happening in the park across the street.

It's been another lovely day here in Jerusalem! I woke up around 5:30 (still too early for my liking) and killed some time until it was a reasonable hour to go to the grocery store. I was able to get a lot of delicious food for only 125ish shekels (which is roughly $30 today) which was a huge success. The only thing I really messed up was getting this weird whipped yogurt instead of regular, but at least it was strawberry flavored.

yum.

After the grocery store I came home and made myself breakfast, and then later it was time to take a tour of HUC.

Now, since I was a University Ambassador at THE Ohio State University, I have pretty high standards for tours. While Amy (one of our hilarious summer interns) did a great job showing me and Kenny (a cantorial student) around the campus, she did not walk backwards. Although Jerusalem stone and lots of stairs make the campus a tricky situation for backwards walking, so I'm not actually judging. Shoutout to the ambassadors. (or, coolbassadors.)

On our tour, I learned that the campus that HUC has in Jerusalem was purchased in 1963, and the building where we began doesn't have any windows on one side because it faced the Jordanian territory of Jerusalem at that time. The building was quite literally a stone's throw away from a very dangerous area of the city, but luckily now it's a gorgeous and secure place to be. So don't worry.

Beautiful piece of campus

Anyway, I am of course obsessed with the campus. It's gorgeous and serene and I can't wait to start learning there. After the tour, Kenny and I schmoozed with the interns (Daniel, Leslie, and Amy--they are all awesome) and had a very sassy time hanging out. Following my time on campus, I decided to explore some other areas around my apartment. I am living in a great location; there are parks everywhere, and there are seriously a million types of flowers growing absolutely everywhere.

Fountain area in one of the parks

I read a little bit in one park, and then I discovered Yemin Moshe, which is a large windmill right across the street from me. It marks the neighborhood Mishkenot Sheananim, which was the first Jewish neighborhood built outside of the walls of the Old City (circa 1860). The area was swimming with school groups singing Israeli songs, which was totally awesome.

The windmill

Additionally, the view was incredible. I stood there for a few minutes, listening to the songs and taking in the view. It's really starting to hit me that this is where I'm living, and that these ancient stones and buildings are the stuff making up my home now. It's unreal.

View from the windmill

After some great time spent at the windmill, it was time to head over to the Gimbels' for dinner. Sarah and Jeremy are awesome, first of all. They made some VERY delicious food (if you're curious, we had french onion soup, these really yummy chickpea patties that were somewhere between latkes and veggie burgers, and freshly baked pita, along with some perfect Israeli salad--bonus points for mint leaves and lemon juice), and it was really nice to get to know some of the people I'll be spending this year with. I love that everyone I've met so far has had a great sense of humor and is totally personable. Everyone is so easy to chat with! I loved the hospitality Sarah and Jeremy had to offer; even though I feel like I'm adjusting pretty well to moving here, it's still nice to have a place to feel like home, and there's nothing quite like a home-cooked meal to do the trick.

I can't wait to see what tomorrow holds!

Walkway to my apartment