A computer returns home

Hooray! My computer is back and sitting safely on my lap as I steal wireless internet from unsuspecting Har Nof residents from a children's playground a block from campus. Yes, you heard right--there is no wireless internet on Neve's campus. What, are these people living in the dark ages? A bit, but fortunately, not all Har Nof-ians protect their wireless internet, so I can find spots around the neighborhood--yay!

So now that I actually have my computer, I can actually write updates. First I will share the Computer Saga of 2008. Two days after arriving in Israel, my lovely, brand-new laptop stopped recognizing internet connections. I bought an applecare warranty, so no big deal, right? Um, not exactly. There are no apple stores in the middle east. At all. There is one, apple-authorized store near Tel Aviv, but not actually in Tel Aviv, thus making it virtually impossible to actually access. My AMAZING big brother thus decided that he would rent a car and drive me to the store an hour away in a totally sketchy part of Israel. Now, for those of you unfamiliar with driving in Israel, you should know that it is not like driving in a normal, civilized city in the United States. No, driving in Israel is pretty much petrifying. My very brave brother took on this task and got us safely to the not-apple store, where they agreed to fix my computer and honor my warranty--but it would take two weeks for them to do this task. Ugh.

So I "patiently" waited my two weeks without my computer, missing my cute little white laptop terribly. (Her name is Bella, by the way). Finally, on Sunday, I received the much anticipated call--Bella was healed! Unfortunately, picking Bella up from the "doctor" would not be such a feasible task. The store gave me the name of a delivery service, which I called. And called. And called. For a good two days. No one ever picked up. Awesome.

In swoops Super Big Brother. He had someone at his school (who actually speaks the language here) get a delivery company to agree to pick it up for me and bring it to me here in Jerusalem. Excellent. Simple enough. They were supposed to pick it up and deliver it Thursday. Thursday comes and goes--no computer. This morning (Friday) I get a call that wakes me from my slumber (we have no classes on Friday--we have them on Sunday instead!) Of course, the delivery guy doesn't speak English, so I have no idea what he was saying. Fortunately, my amazing roommate Emily helped me out...she speaks Hebrew very well. I gave her the phone (she was sleeping too) and she found out that the guy was here! So to make a short story very long, I got my computer back today. Hallelujah!

Now that I've gone on and on (and on) about computer drama, I can start telling you about life in Yerushalayim. I've been at Neve for over two weeks now. I have two roommates, Emily and Sammie, both from New York and both recent graduates of college. There is a wide span of ages here, women from 19 to in their 30s, though most are around my age or a little younger. Living in Har Nof, an ultra-religious neighborhood of Jerusalem, is quite interesting. Really a cultural experience in many ways. Women here must dress modestly, with skirts that cover their knees, collars that go up to their necks and sleeves that cover at least their elbows. Women also cover their hair once they get married, either with a wig or a scarf of some sort, known as a tichel. Men tend to dress mostly in black, and they wear these big black hats. My school, all women, doesn't allow men on campus (except the rabbis of course and the husbands of the house mothers, who live in apartments at the bottom of the dorms). So big brother Philip cannot visit me in my dorm. That's ok, though, because I'm learning the bus system and making my way around Jerusalem quite expertly (by quite expertly, I mean that I have yet to get too terribly lost). I like going down to Ben Yehuda street, a very popular spot for nightlife, mainly because there is a great coffeeshop with an internet connection and an AMAZING gelato place. What more could one ask for? (Here in Har Nof there is an awesome frozen yogurt place where they actually make you frozen yogurt out of whatever fruit you choose--it's fun!)

My classes are also incredibly interesting. I have about 6-8 hours of class a day. I have four hours of morning classes, optional afternoon classes, and two hours of evening classes each day. Since the school is Orthodox, all of the rabbis have pretty extreme views. Some of the rabbis rub me the wrong way and I don't agree with most of what they say, but most of the rabbis are excellent teachers with a lot to offer, even if I don't agree with absolutely everything that they say. I'm right now in the most beginner level of classes, but I think I may check out some of the higher level classes just to see what those are like and if I might want to switch up. We shall see!

There is so much to share, but I think I may stop here for now. Now that my computer is back, I promise to update my blog much more extensively whenever I can. Since there isn't internet on campus, I can't check my emails every single day, but I will be checking as often as I can. I love to hear from you guys, so email me and tell me how you are.

Lots of love!
Rach