Hakol Beseder (It's all good)

Hi friends! It's been another busy week here in Israel so I have a lot to update you about. On Sunday we went to Zichron Yaakov where we stopped at the beautiful Ha-Nadiv Gardens which are planted around the tombs of Baron Rothschild (a major Israeli benefactor) and his wife. Then we went to lunch in the town center and surprise surprise I got shawarma. If I don't stop eating it so often I will be at least 15 pounds heavier when I get back. It's so good it's kind of worth it though. After lunch we went to a winery for a tour and some tasting and Amanda (my roommate) happened to know the tour guide which you would think would be a huge coincidence except for the fact that she keeps running into people here that she randomly knows from back home. Jewish geography at its best. We ended the day at Caesarea aqueduct beach which I had been to on Birthright but found just as gorgeous this time around. On Monday and Wednesday we went to Talpiot Teachers College to meet with our pedagogical adviser and talk about our expectations about teaching English to Israeli children. Our madricha (counselor) Inbal came over on Monday night to cook dinner with us and we made shakshuka, a yummy dish that includes crushed tomatoes, red peppers, onions, and poached eggs. Afterwards we played a game that tested our knowledge about our roommates. Sadly, I found out that I don't really know Geoff as well as I thought I did. Good thing we have another 10 months of living together. I do however know that he really likes barbeque flavored Beasley (an Israeli snack food sort of like chips). On Tuesday we went to the schools we will be teaching at to observe a few classes. It was definitely different than what you would expect to find in an American classroom. The kids were rowdier and the English teacher spoke a lot more Hebrew than English to them and they also didn't get that much done during the periods. We officially start teaching on Monday and I am excited to see how it goes. We also started Ulpan this week so I am slowly but surely beginning to pick up some Hebrew. Today we actually went to a park in Tel Aviv and spoke to Israelis as part of the class which was somewhat awkward but everyone we spoke to was a good sport about it. On a side note, I also tried to do laundry for the first time and for some reason the washing cycle took about 4 hours to complete. At one point Amanda had to stage an intervention and make me leave the apartment because I was having a nervous breakdown. Hopefully the next time will be smoother. Tonight I am celebrating Shabbat with my roommates so I have to go help cook. Until next time. Shabbat Shalom!