The Month In Review

(View from Naftali Mountains)

(Me and the roomates on Mount Meron)

(Western Wall)

The Sunday after Yom Kippur, I met my roommate Amanda in Jerusalem to get out of Rishon and spend a little time playing the tourist. I took the bus there on my own and arrived without incident and feeling every bit the independent woman (Queen Bey shoutout) that I like to think I am. Since I had gone a little over a month without a bagel it was time to rectify the situation so this was our first stop. I know...priorities. Being a creature of habit, I got a sesame bagel toasted with lox spread and was happily surprised when I found out that the man who was waiting on me was also from Queens. Small World! After devouring our bagels we made our way to the old city and the Western Wall where we tried to identify some landmarks from my guide book and wrote prayers on tiny pieces of paper to leave behind. Next we took the Western Wall Tunnel tour, in which we were led through the excavated hidden layers of the wall that reveal remains from the Second Temple period. It was incredible to be at the heart of a place with so much history. Finally we ended our adventure at the Jerusalem shuk (market) where we bought dates and I found a cool magenta colored hamsa necklace. A few days after Yom Kippur was...you guessed it...another holiday, this time Sukkot. I had 10 days off which I spent relaxing in Rishon, spending a day exploring Jaffa and going on a 2 day trip with the program to the North. I also had another delicious meal with Gal's family and ate dinner under a sukkah at the home of a friend of a friend. During the trip to the North we hiked in the beautiful Naftali mountains, had a lecture from a 74 year old veteran paratrooper originally from the U.S.with very extreme views on what Israel should do about its Muslim enemies at Misgav Am, hiked Mount Meron and briefly toured Tzfat. Alas my vacation is over and I am back in school. Hopefully we will finally start making some headway without all the holiday breaks since the next big one isn't until Hannukah. L'hitraot (see you later)!