2 weeks

I officially have two weeks of Israel under my belt and I must say that it is spectacular. I'm settled in now, I have my favorite grocery store, I can ride the busses around the city, and am familiar enough to get around where I need to go. I've finished my first week of Ulpan (Hebrew School) and am already picking out approximately 5% of the words in a given conversation, but that's better than zero! Already I am able to write in Hebrew script and read. I just need to know more words! If anyone wants to teach me some Hebrew words please send a quick reply!
I have written a lot about the sunshine which regularly floods my windows, but the last few days I have been awed in other ways. I took a walk in the thunderstorm last night and have never heard such massive booming in the skies, and have never been so shocked by the flashes of lightning surrounding my head. Talk about incredible! I'm sure this is not native to Israel, but I was having a moment, okay?! Likewise, sitting on the rocks on the Mediterranean yesterday as the uneasy seas crashed up in front of my face, slowly transferring my clothes from dry and comfortable, to soggy and quite the opposite :). None the less, the walk home from the beach was enjoyable. But, before we left the harbor I had the most interesting dining experience of my life, of which I feel led to tell you all of now :). Story Time!!
We were looking for a place that we could get a drink, perhaps a small snack, so we bypassed all of the ocean-front restaurants and found one that looked like a shack overlooking the harbor knowing that it would be cheap, fun, and young. Waitresses and waiters clad in black t-shirts scurried about, and many families sitting around big tables enjoying their "catch of the day" laughed and enjoyed themselves. Once we had really gotten inside, we found that our rolled up jeans, sandy shoes, and bulging backpacks were not quite the standard for this restaurant, but we were set on getting our afternoon snack! We were quickly shuffled to a small table (4 of us) and rather than brining us the expected menu's and perhaps glasses of water, the waitress brought out 6 triangular shaped dishes filled with very colorful sauces and vegetables. She smiled at our confused faces as I was sure that she had not delivered to the appropriate table. About 25 seconds later, following 25 seconds of confused conversation the waitress appears with 6 more triangular dishes, at which point she smiles again and told me not to worry, as I apparently was the most obviously concerned with my pocketbook. I knew thought from the prior 25 second experience what that smile meant. Once again, she appeared (after having set 12 dishes already) with a large salad bowl, a spicy fish, a stuffed eggplant, a bowl of rolls, a pitcher of water, and yet another friendly assurance that everything would be okay. As you can imagine, we were all somewhat stunned and began chuckling and looking at each other all simultaneously thinking: this is going to be expensive, but no turning back now! So, with that, we began dipping our rolls, filling our plates, and enjoying these divine blessings. If you remember from the beginning of this story, we were sat at a small table for four. Now this is not an Applebees table at which they seat 4 yet could probably seat 6 grown adults, a high-chair, and one of those massive pumpkins you see at the fair, it was a small 4 person table. As most of you know, I am not the smallest of people, so If you let yourself imagine for a moment, Aaron, some sort of juicy fish on his right, 12 dishes in front and a stuffed eggplant on his left, there was no more room for me to function than my small plate measuring six inches in diameter. If you have ever sat next to Emily (my sister) who is a left handed eater during a meal, you know what kind of compact conditions this can create. I dove into this beautiful array of brightly colored dishes knowing that, if I was paying for this, I was going to enjoy it! Soon the waitress again came out and asked us what we wanted to eat. I daintily wiped my face, making sure not to knock any dishes off the table by actually putting my arm up to reach the face but instead with a more awkward, stiff armed gesture. Again, we were all confused, not having seen a menu, or being offered any choices, it seemed like some sort of game to play with the stupid Americans :). After lots of explaining, a second waiter, and many non-understood sentences, they had taken our order, an order whose contents were unknown to us. We continued enjoying our treats and soon our meal had arrived. First the girls, of course, whose cuts of white fish looked divine and smothered in lemon-butter sauce. But then, my plate came, and it wasn't the nice piece of white fish I expected to receive as well, it was a fish...a full fish that had been cut in half, and cooked. Bones, tail, fins, eyes, let your imagination go wild. I once again decided to take life by the horns and began devouring this poor little fishy whom I decided to name Herbert. Twenty minutes later, Herbert was no more, we received a surprisingly decently priced bill, and headed back home, stomachs full, and faces aglow. This is the story of the 20-dish table.
In other news, I am leaving early Friday morning with a group of 5 other students and a private guide to Petra and its surrounding Jordanian landscape. I have heard, and believe that Petra may be on the list of the worlds most spectacular places to visit. Fortunately as well, having a small group and private guide, we will not hop off of a bus and take quick pictures of the facade, instead we will be spending 2 days hiking around the mountains of Petra and seeing even more history of the people who once inhabited the area. Also, we will be spending the evenings in a bedouin camp, sleeping around the fire, and eating what is claimed to be some of the best meat in the world. I will surely update you all once arriving back home.

It has been great hearing from all of you in your replies. Thank you for reading. I hope all is well with each and every one of you.
-Aaron