Hello, friends!
Sorry for infrequent posting!

Things are great here in Yerushalayim. I've been here for over two weeks now, but it seems like so much longer. I've settled in and found my niche here at Shearim. The students here are so wonderful, and I have so many new friends from all over the world! That's one of my favorite parts of being in Israel. I love meeting people from absolutely everywhere: England, Australia, France, Denmark, Chile, Germany, and, of course, Israel! It's also endlessly fascinating and entertaining to learn new phrases from other English-speakers from different countries. For example, "just now" to a South African means "later." And "eggy" is apparently a word used in Britain (although please don't ask me to define it!) It's a lot of fun, and not only am I learning new words and phrases in Hebrew everyday, I'm learning new phrases in English, too!

This past week was a lot of fun. We had a tiyul, or a trip, to Neot Kedumim. That was the Biblical Landscape, which basically means that they cultivate a variety of plants and animals that are mentioned in Torah. Since the Jewish people were away from Israel for so long, many of these plants were plucked and plundered long ago, so it's amazing that they are able to now grow them plentifully in Eretz Yisrael once again!

Next week we have another tiyul, but I'm not sure where we're headed yet...updates to come!

Love,
Rachel