Dec 31

I am at school right now...no kids are here atm. I just got off the phone with nefesh b'nefish...I have an appointment to see a pre alliyah advisor on monday at 11am. It's pretty exciting. Scary too.
Anyways, tonight is new years eve, or ;sylvester' as they call it. I'm not sure what I'm doing yet. Probably eat at home, then go out with Bar later. I have the after school program today, so I'll be busy untill 5 anyways.
On sunday after school I have a free day, so I'm hoping to go to Tel Aviv and pick up my camera.

Dec 30

Today I didn't have anything, I went running, made soup, and...that's it. I decided I wanna go to Ben Gurion University. I called nefish b'nefish to make an appointment to see a pre alliyah advisor, but he had left for the day, so I left a message. I hope everything works out...despite what it may look like, I'm terrified of doing this, and I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing

dec 29

I'm in school right now, we've just been inforrmed we have a free hour, so I thought this would be as good a time as any to write.
Today I have school then Ulpan. There was going to be a canadian dinner in Tel Aviv tonight, but it was cancelled. Last night though, I went to a group meeting, and my friends threw me an inpromtu birthday party. Sarah made me a cake, and they sang happy birthday(in hebrew of course.) Ther vice president of oranim was there, and he had cake with us.
So...thats all for now. Hopefully talk to everyone soon. I love and miss you all.

Dec 27 28

Sunday I had a doctors appointment, so I didn't go to school. I went running in the evening for the first time since I've been here, and today my stomach hurts.
Today I went to school, and I am here now. After this I'm going to the after school daycare, then to a group meeting. The people from Israel phones are supposed to send me a new phone today, Ronly's going to be there to recieve it for me. Hopefully that works out.

dec 24-26

Thursday I went to school in the A.M, then I went to the daycare, where we painted. It was fun! After that I went home,and ate dinner. Then Allison came over and straitened my hair, and I got ready for the party. After I was dressed and ready, Bar came over, and we walked over together. The party was awesome. We went back home around 2.
On friday, I was woken up by Bar singing happy birthday to me in hebrew, at 8am! Well we went back to sleep untill around 11, then made coffee. We got dressed and ready, then went to his house and had dinner with his parents. After dinner, we watched 2 episodes of charmed, then we went to altman, or 'the bus.' We hung out there for awhile, smoked nargila, I got sung to again, then we went back to his house and played monopoly in hebrew. After the game(he won) we watched more tv, then went to sleep.
This morning we woke up at around 1, had breakfast/ got ready, and he drove me home. My room was a mess, so I spent about an hour cleaning, did some laundry, ate lunch, and now here I am.
All in all it was a pretty good birthday, even though my cell phone broke, and I forgot to get my camera from Sean...c'est la vie

Dec 23

Today, I slept, watched a movie, emailed nefesh b'nefesh, watched more movies, went to Ulpan,and ate. All in all it was a very productive day!
I miss everyone so much! And I can;t believe its christmas...there's no snow, and I only wear a jacket when it's raining. This is the first year I havent bought heavy duty -40 boots

Dec 22

So, by now you all know I'm heavily considering making Alliyah and going to school here. Or if you didn't, you do now. I have been going crazy the last few days looking up info on prospective english-taught schools here.
It's hard to explain why I want to do this, I just love the feeling of not being a minority. All my life I've felt seperated from the jewish community, because, basically, the jewish community in edmonton consists of either family, family friends, or people I don't want to be associated with. I realize now that there ARE other JEWISH PEOPLE out there with similar beliefs to my own, and for me, being jewish doesn't neccesarily mean giving up on my personal beliefs.
If I decide to actually stay here for school, it would be for at least 3 years, and I'd miss everyone horribly. But it would give you an excuse to come to Israel:)

Today, is just a normal day. School, Ulpan, and thats it.

Dec 21

Teaching today. Even though no kids are here right now. Then going to the after school program, then a group meeting.Nothing too interesting
My birthday's in 4 days

Dec 19, 20

Yesterday I went hunting for wild mushrooms with Shira, Dana, and their cousin, Gili. We didn't find anything, but it was fun. I got pretty much covered it mud. Then we had leftovers from Shabbat dinner the night before, and Arads cousin came over. After dinner, Arad drove me to the train station, and I went back to Rehovot, then took the sherut back to Ness Tziona.

Today we went back to work, or school I guess. It was a slow day, good for easing back into things. I couldn't sleep last night, so after school I just came home and slept for awhile. Tomorrow is a new day, and we'll see what it will bring.

I can't believe I'm turning 23 in 5 days!

dec 16-18

Hey again, happy last night of chanuka, I hope everyone had a good holiday. I know I did!

As I said, on wednessday I went to Tel Aviv and stayed till friday morning. Wednessday night me and Sean went out for Sushi, and walked down the port. Then we met Eric back at their place and went to Max Brenner, AMAZING, and some bar. Pictures and video to follow, once I retrieve my camera from Tel Aviv.

On Thursday we went to Jerymiyahs(sp?) for breakfast, then we went to disengoff center where I learned a new word, and got a sweater for 60NIS($15.) The new word, incase anyones interested, is ניער אתפה which means wrapping paper. I had fun trying to explain wrapping paper to a clerk that not only didn't know english, but apparently didn't know hebrew either. Who doesn't understand ניער של מתנה or "paper for a present?" mayb e she only knew russian? Anyways. After Disengoff cr, we walked home, in the rain, and set up our chanuka party.

Then today, friday, I got up early to get on the train to Hadera. It was still raining, so rather thanb stand and wait in the rain, I got on the train to ben yeminah(past Hadera) and by the time we got there the rain had momentarily stopped. I just took the train back 2 stops after. At David and Haya's we had a big last candle/shabbat dinner, and we got Ben and Laura 0n skype. I think I gained about 10 pounds, but it was worth it!

dec 14 and 15

I haven't really done anything noteworthy in the past 2 days.

On monday night Bar and I drove back from Be'er sheva, after I walked around all day, read outside, and lit the candles with Bar and his roommate.
On tuesday, I did laundry. Then later I went to see a play that Dor was in, Annie, in hebrew. Very well done.
Technically its already wednessday so I might as well tell you my plans...to go to Tel aviv to Eric and Seans place. I'm staying with them, but I know others in the building. Then thursday theres a chanuka party there, and I'm going to David and Haya's friday.

dec 14 (again!)

Ok so apparently when I type directly from my google homepage the hebrewdoesnt register, so the mistake I made was חג עורות שמה which means happy holiday of leather. What I should have said was חג אורים שמה which is happy holiday of lights.

dec 13-14

Ok first off, I have just been notified of an error in my spelling a few days ago when I said?? ????? ???. It is actually ?? ????? ???. Apparently ????? means leather and ????? means lightt. So to all my hebrew speaking friends out there, I am truly sorry. It won't happen again.

So anyways... on sunday I woke up at noon, went clothes shopping with bar, and then drove to be'er sheva with him. I then met one of his roomm ates, Ofri, and helped her make sufganiot. Then a few of her friends came over and we lit the candles. After they left, other people came over and we played poker. I lost 20 shekels, but it was fun.

Today(14th) I don't know what Im going to do. I'm going to take a shower after writing this, then take a walk, and hopefully find my way back. Haha I'm sure I will:)

dec 10-12

On thursday we went on a group trip to Haifa. Together we went to the Rothchild gardens and hiked up the carmel mountain. Then a bunch of people wanted to stay in Haifa for the night, so they dropped us off at Haifa university and we had to find our way to the port( where our hostel was.) I took the bus with Melissa Coby and Danny to the hostel, where we met Eric and Sean. We got settled into our rooms, there was 9 to a room so Melissa Danny Coby and I were in the co-ed dorm with 5 strangers, and Eric and Sean were in the boys dorm with 7 strangers. Eric went to sleep for a while, but I met Sean Melissa Coby and Danny downstairs, and we went to find some food. After searching around for awhile, we finally found a shwarma resteraunt. We couldn't go in because they were having a bachelor party, but the guy took pity on us and sold us these HUGE baguettes for 20 shekels( 5 dollars) each. I was really cranky up to this point, a mixture of being over tired, being muddy from the hike, and being starving. But the shwarma cured me. After we ate, we called Eric, and he was up, and we met up with him. Danny Melissa and Coby decided to go back to the hostel, but Sean Eric and I went out for a while. We went to a chinese place( Eric hadn't eaten yet) where the guy spoke hebrew with a chinese accent, then we went out for ice cream, then to a bar where we got 25% off because we were staying at the hostel. I have now been here for about 2 and a half months, and Eric and Sean have only been here for about a month, so I know a bit more hebrew than they do. Because of this, I was the translater for the night. I spoke with the waitress in hebrew. And I actually understood her! Aftrer the bar we went back to the hostel to get some sleep.

On Friday I woke up at 7:19, and got dressed and packed and all that. Eric Sean and I had a plan to meet downstairs at 8, and explore Haifa, Melissa Coby and Danny were going to continue to Svat for shabbat. Well, Eric and Sean were late, so I talked to the hostel receptionist( in hebrew!) about bahaii garden tours and how to get there, and then I had breakfast and listened in on other guests conversations. By the time Eric and Sean finally got downstairs it was 9! I sat with them while they had breakfast, and had a nice conversation with a german couple who was also staying there. At 10 we left for the Bahaii gardens, we were planning to join a tour at 11:30( hebrew.) We fount the carmelite subway, which took us to the top of the Bahaii temple( where the tour started.) When we got there, I had to ask people what to do. My Hebrew lessons came in very handy. The Bahaii gardens were beautiful, we took alot of pictures! After this, we took a cab to the train station, where we took the train back to tel aviv, then I took a sherut back to ness tziona. At this point I was past exhaustion, so when I got home I ate, took a shower, lit the chanuka candles, and went to sleep. that was at 3. Bar called me at 730 and invited me over for shabbat dinner. I went to his place in Maskerat Batia, and I stayed the night there.

On Saturday, Bar and I watched a movie, ate lunch, and then he drove me home. Meredith was here when I got here, and Sarah came over. We played Dreidel(סביבון) and lit the candles. Then I cleaned the bathroom, made spaghetti, watched a movie and did hebrew homework. And now I'm writing on here. Tomorrow I'm going to be'er sheva. Update you on that when I get back on tuesday.

dec 9

Today we had a wine and cheese party- themed for chanuka. I brought olives. It was really fun. We all dressed nice(dresses, skirts) and drank wine, ate cheese olives crackers dips and fruit, and listened to chanuka ,music. I can't wait...tomorrow's the carmel- haifa trip( I'm staying an extra night with sean and eric.) Then the next night is chanuka!!! I'm spending up untill monday night with Bar, then on tuesday night I'm going to Rehovot with my host family to see their daughter. Dor, in a musical. Then wednessday I might go hang out at the other apartment, then thursday I'm going to David and Haya's, where we will light the last candle and have 2 birthday celebrations( Dana and me:)) Then thats it. The daycare I work at is having a chanuka party for the kids on wednessday evening, and they invited me, so I might go. Maggie told me to call her, so thats the plan.

חג עורות שמה!!!!!

Dec 7

Last night we had a meeting with Ofir about chanuka, we had sufganiot, and we got sevivonim with ? ? ? ?. on them. Then I went home and made cookies (white chocolate chip.) Now I'm at school... going to Ulpan later, then I'm going to get olives for our wina and cheese party

Dec 7

ok, I know I already wrote today, but I made a discovery that I feel compelled to share with all my avid readers out there:
Hummus, core, sauteed onions, and zuchinni.
I know it sounds wierd, but try it!
ok that's all, sorry for taking up your time

Dec 7

Well I am at school again. Its ?????( I think thats how you spell it) ((means break btw)) so Im staying in Haifa with sean an extra day, Oh yeah, we;re also having a little wine and cheese shindig on wednessday. Good kickoff for chanuka.I'm really looking forward to chanuka. More the time off than anything I think.Oh, added to my itinerary is going to David and Haya's on the 17th to the 19th, and possibly going to a concert with my host family on the 15th.

Dec 5th and 6th

Yesterday I did nothing...as is the custom on shabbat. Then in the everning I went to atsman with Bar, and we went to his parents house for dinner.
Today, I am at school(אכשיו) and I am planning to go grocery shopping after this. Not too exciting. But Chanuka is coming. This thursday in fact. On thursday I am going oin a trip to the carmel and haifa, then theres a gap until sunday, when I am going to be'er sheva for a couple of days, then.... thats as far as I've gotten so far. We'll see what the week brings

dec 3rd and 4th

Thursday after school, I went to the daycare, and we had a birthday party for 3 of the little kids there. It was so cute. We played games, had cake and candy, and each of the birthday boys and girl got a present and balloons.
Then we had a lecture on Israeli technology...very interesting. Did you know that Israel is the technology capital of the world? Well it is. Even Arabs use it! hahaha
Then I went out with Bar...to a pub in rehovot. It was fun. We met his friends there

Tonight I went to my host family's house. Shabbat dinner. It was nice. And I could even understand some of the conversation! Now I'm back home...with my space heater blowing on me, and I am going to sleep soon I think. I'm really tired

Dec 2nd and 3rd

Yesterday I went to the soup kitchen, then I thought I was supposed to have Ulpan. Apparently it was cancelled. So instead I went to a coffee shop in the mall and sat for Ulpan time and did hebrew work.

Today I went to school. Actually I'm still at school, its a חפסקה or break. Oops...its over now, but our class isn't here yet. So, this weekend I'm staying in Ness Tziona, I dunno what I'm gonna do. I'll figure somthing out. Next weekend is chanuka, I'm pretty excited. I'm gonna do some day trips, and I have invitations to jerusalem, beer sheva, tel aviv, and, of course, the kibbutz. I think I'm also gonna go other places, and just stay in hostels by myself.

Then after chanuka comes my birthday. Its my first birthday I won't be in my (continent) of residence. But my Israeli friends all want me to have a party and invite them. It should be fun.

nov 30- dec1

So yesterday I went to school, then the after school program, then a meeting with Ronly, then to the other apartment to hang out, then to wiesman 22, then, finally, home. Went well I think. We're probably doing a sorell program for a week, that is where we volunteer for the israel army! I'm excited about that.

Today I went to school, then to ulpan, then shopping, then out for KOSHER chinese food and sushi, then home. I feel like I'm learning hebrew pretty well, our class is all in hebrew, and for the most part I understand her. Everyone says for being here 2 months, I'm doing pretty well. Actually, today I went to the store, and the girl working there started talking to me in english(she knows me.) She was pretty surprised when she asked me how ulpan was, and I answered in hebrew. My grammer really sucks.

Wow...our sink JUST started leaking. When I say leaking, I mean pouring. And it won't shut off! So we balanced two jars of sugar on top of the sink to stop it...it was a big ordeal. Pictures to follow...

nov 27-29

On friday(shabbat) I made cookies and studied hebrew. The most I went out was to get ingredients. UNTILL the nighttime. I went to bars place around 8, and we had dinner. Then we went to Altzman(the backyard bus) where we met emily sasha laurie and allison from my group, along with many others. We left to go to a party at naan(nearby kibbutz.)
On Saturday I came home and slept all day. Well I did study a bit, and upload picturea, and eat some of my cookies. Which, by the way, I'm eating again. On saturday night I went out with Elana, and we didn't get back untill late
On sunday(today) it was back to work. School was good, but tiring. I came home and slept, and then here I am now.
I sincerely hope someone out there besides my grandpa is reading this:) If not though, its just you guys that are missing out.

nov 25 26

Yesterday I went to the soup kitchen, then to ulpan. We split our ulpan into two groups this week, advanced and regular. I'm in advanced...it just moves faster. Also we speak primarily in hebrew. Yesterday evening I went over to my host family's house. We had dinner, then we sat and tried to do puzzles, and talked, and played with their dog.
Today I went to school( one of the kids in my host family goes there,) and then came home. No after school work today, it's american thanksgiving. We had a huge dinner, and an even huger party. It was awesome. But now... אני יעאפא I am tired, אז...לילא טוב so...goodnight

nov 23 24

The past two days nothing extensively interesting happened. Yesterday the kids at our school went to some concert all day, and no one told us. So we showed up, waited, and were told to go home. Waste of a day. I did go to the afterschool program in the evening. That was fun. It is helping with my hebrew a lot since the kids don't know much english. Also the teacher doesn't know much english. We're helping each other.

Some of you will be pleased to discover that I have decided to study in the field of education. English and educational phsycology. I just applied to the U of A... wish me luck! Took me awhile, but I finally decided what I actually want to do. That bank stuff was basically a fallback plan.

Nov 22

Today I just went to school...thats it for work. Then I went to the grocery store with elana. I was almost out of food, so I filled two reusable bags, plus a 6 pack of 3l bottles of water. Relative to canada, it was fairly inexpensive. Then when I got home I made cookies. Well tried to make cookies. The second batch burned, and the first got stuck to the foil. It was a new recipe, so thankfully I only made half the recipe. So I didn't waste THAT much.... Oh well. On e failure, four successes. Not bad. Oh I remembered another recipe

MESSY VEGGIE OMLETTE

1 zuchinni, sliced
1 onion, sliced
2 eggs
salt pepper garlic and parsley to taste

Sautee zuchinni and onion, when onion is clear, break eggs over frying pan.
While eggs are cooking, add salt pepper garlic and parsley.
Do not scramble eggs, let a sort of egg patty form in the pan

And of course all of these recipies I have actually made. They work.

nov 21

I'm at David and Haya's today, I got here yesterday morning. Shira and Arad were here with their baby yesterday, so I got to see them. They invited me to come to their place for a day or so over hanucha. I have alot of things to do! Bar asked me to come to ber sheva, david said I'm invited here, and shira wants me to come there. And of course I'm going on a couple of day trips with Elana. I'll have a full break.

As I may have mentioned before, I have discovered the joy of cooking. I made up some new recipies that you may not think to try because they sound gross. I have never been dissuaded by the possibility of failure when it comes to cooking, so I started mixing random things together in the hopes the finished product would be not horrible. So, for your concocting pleasure, I will write some of my newfound(for me) recipies;

TOMATO SAUCE
sauteed onions( about half per serving)
chopped tomatoes(same as onions)
canned tomato paste( 1 can per serving)
olive oil(half a cup per can of tomato sauce)

HANNAH'S EGG SALAD(per serving)
2 boiled eggs, diced
a teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil
garlic to taste
parsley to taste
salt to taste

mix together ingredients and enjoy!

CHOCOLATE CHIP MERINGUES(or 'snow eggs')
12 egg whites, beaten vigorously
1 pound of white sugar, added to beaten egg whites
1/2 teaspoon of white table salt, added to egg and sugar mixture
1 and 1/2 cups chocolate chips, folded into egg sugar and salt batter

preheat oven to 300
drop batter onto baking pan
bake meringues for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown around the edges

'PLAIN' PASTA
boil and drain pasta, preferably whole wheat
add canola oil , mix
add sauteed onions, zucchini, chopped tomato, mix well
add garlic, salt, pepper, parsley to taste

So far thats my recipies. If anyone has any other recipies they would like me to test for them, feel free to ask. untill then, בותי עבון

nov 19

I just got back from school, and I have a bit of time before I have to go to the after school program, so I thought I'd write.
We have a meeting with Ofir tonight(vice president of oranim) ... that should be interesting. There have been a few problems with oranim, which I have refrained from writing about because they don't REALLY matter. I mean, I'm not saying I want to be a pushover about these issues, but the point is, I am here in Israel, I am volunteering, I am learning hebrew, and I am seeing the country. Maybe this has not all happened within the time that I wanted, or exactly how I pictured it, but the fact remains I am doing what I wanted, and I'm staying posetive. The issues with Oranim, in my view, are seperate from my goals here. Which are being met.
In other news, I'm down to bread, peanut butter, cereal, garlic, milk, eggs, onions, zucinni, and pizza slices. I need to go grocery shopping. Thats the plan for sunday after school. No time today.
Alright, I'm done venting for today
ליפריות חברימ
אני אוחבת כול אתם

nov 17 and 18

Yesterday I went to school...no big deal. Then I went to Ulpan. It was kinda nice because we had such a small group.(The rest were in Tev Aviv at a conference about genocide.) Then we all went to a pancake dinner hosted by emily siegels host family. I had pancakes and hummus! And cheese! very interesting experience. Today I was/am sick:( apparently it's the change in the weather...our skin is acting wierd also.

nov 16

Today I went to school, then I volunteered at a needs based after school program for kids with nowhere else to go. That was a challenge. All the kids were speaking hebrew to me and my roommate that I went with. We played hangman in hebrew with a boy around 8, and that was ok because he was using pretty simple phrases. The problem arose when he asked us to write the phrases and he would guess. I did it though...it was fun.

FYI, for all my Israeli friends who care, I decided what I'm doing over hannucha. I'm staying in Ness Tziona for the most part, but I'm taking day trips to the dead sea, masada, haifa, jerusalem, and other places I can't remember right now. Anyone who want's to come with me, or wants information on the tours I found, send me your email address's.

nov 15

nov 15

nov 14

Today I went to school...thats it. Then I came home and watched tv, and I think we're going bowling tonight for someones birthday. Exciting. Not. Oh well...tomorrow I will be busy,( school, then after school program, then meeting.) Until tomorrow...

Hannah

nov 14

So today I did nothing all day...The perfect shabbat.
Last night I did end up going out, not till 10 though. I watched julie and julia, and ate pizza and cottage cheee untill then. I went out with Emily's friend, he took me to 'autzman' which is in Omri's backyard. It consists of an old abandoned bus and a bunch of couches. We sat there with a bunch of his friends and talked and smoked hooka. Total Israeli experience haha. Then Bar and I went to a burger resteraunt( at midnight) Where they had a latenight deal. I didn't get home till about 3.

Anyways...Im going back to autzman tonight, and then...who knows?

לילא טוב חברים
אני אוחבת אתם

nov 12,13

Yesterday, thursday, I taught english at ben yehuda, then I went grocery shopping. On thursday night I went out to Tel Aviv, and hung out with Ben. Another Canadian from the tel aviv internship group.
Today is like our saturday, and I have no plans. This is the first shabbat since I've been here I have no plans, so I figure thats a pretty good track record.

nov 11

Today I went to the soup kitchen. We made Matza ball soup! (If you don't know, ask me) I also served, along with sasha. This is now my wednessday morning activity. Wednessday afternoon I have ulpan.
Fyi any oranim people reading this. I want to travel around israel over hannucha, if anyone has any info on groups, let me know!

nov 10

Today...I had school, then Ulpan. Nothing special. My group coordinator is supposed to come over later to give us a more complicated personalised schedule. Other than that...
אני ץואפא מעיוד
If you can't read that, look it up!

שם דואר

לילא טוב הברים

חנה

nov 9

Today was back to the grind. School(teaching) then visa pictures, then grocery shopping, then home. Nothing too interesting. My pictures say I did get tanned though, which is nice.
Well
I don't really know what to say.
Tonight we have a speaker from ashdod, I dunno what shes gonna talk about. I'm also looking for somthing to do over hannucha, so if by chance any of my oranim friends are reading this, and you are going to be in Israel over the break, give me a shout. Other than that, theres nothing to say. I'm just killing time. And now I'm done

nov 3-8

So sorry I haven't written in so long. I was busy teaching then I went to Eilat this weekend

So nothing miraculous happened tuesday to thursday. Just school...
but on friday morning we went on an Oranim trip to Eilat. It was fun! We stayed in a hotel with 3 people to a room( I stayed with zoey and elana) and I had a pool right outside m y door.

Anyways, friday night we had shabbat dinner at the hotel, then I went to the beach with people from other groups. Saturday was a full day. I woke up at 9 30 and went down to breakfast, then went to the pool and met jordana and alyssa(tel aviv group.) We hung aroundthe pool for awhile, then they invited me to go shopping with them, then snorkelling. The snorkelling was amazing. I saw lots of cool fish, coral, and sea urchins. There were thousands of really cool fish. It was a little wierd breathing with the mask at first, but I got used to it quickley.
After snorkelling we went back to the hotel and got changed for dinner and going out. I went to McDonalds( first time in Israel.) Then I went for a walk with Ben(another canadian) and eli. We met up with the group after and were supposed to go to a club, but ben and I snuck away to play poker. It was su much better.

Well, goodnight everyone, I'll try to write again before 5 days

Nov 1-3

Sorry I haven't written for so long, Ive been busy. Monday was my first day teaching at the junior high.

Sunday I had a 'free day,' so I got to sleep in, then in the evening I went to a judaism class in tev aviv with jaclyn. We met emily sasha lauren and laurie there.

Then on monday, I started teaching at ben yahuda junior high.I go from 830-2 every day except wednessday. The kids were grea. All except one group we were sent knew english really well, and just needed practice.

This morning it was pouring rain. Elana and I walked halfway to ben yahuda, then realized our path was flooded, so we went back to the bus stop and took the bus. Once there, we met Hailey and Lauren, and waited in the break room. A group of about 10 kids showed up, and we split them up so we could each help 2 or 3 with their homework. I really enjoyed the 1 on 1 approach.
After this class ended we got another group, who we did the same thing with. Then we had an hour break. After lunch, we went to the classroom we were supposed to be in, and found that they were at gym class. We went to another classroom instead and worked with some special ed kids. 2 per person. Elana and I asked for this arrangement to be permanent, since we liked it so much.
After school we had Ulpan and then went to the grocery store. I bought 6 bottles of water for Eilat.
Then I came home, and here I am. Tired, cold and wet. But despite all this I'm so happy to be here in Israel, helping the community. I'm so glad I enjoy what I'm doing, and I hope I'm making a difference, however small, in these kids lives. I'll try to write every couple of days from now on, but I might be busier in the next little bit.

oct 30 and 31

Yesterday we had shabbat dinner at our apartment. It was awesome, and two people from the other apartment came. Then we had a holloween party. That was FUN. Lotsa food, drinks, and friends. And even some friends of friends. I didn't get home untill about 2.

Today was a bit more lax. I slept in untill about 2, then did laundry/cleaned up, then went out to dinner with Sashas cousins friend that I met at the party. And now Im here, and Im tired. So... lila tov haverim

oct 29

Been here one month today:)

Today it was etshak rabin memoriaal day, so we had a memorial at eschcol peis. Well it was beautiful, untill about halfway through, when the rain started coming through the walls!
Well, that was all we had on the agenda for today, so Ronly sent us home after a short group meeting. So I went home and took a nap. When I woke up, I took a sherut to tel aviv with a few of my roommates to go shopping.
After shopping, I met Eli for dinner(spoke only in hebrew AND ordered off the hebrew menu.)
Then I took a sherut back and here I am:) Tommorow is our halloween party. I'm pretty excited. A few of us are going as the spice girls, and Im baby spice...again:P

יוס טוכ

oct 28

Today the only thing we had was Ulpan. At Ben Gurion high school. It was alright, basically we just reviewed. There is a new addition to our class. A 12 year old girl named Maya who just moved here from australia 8 months ago. She knows alot of hebrew...I really don't know why she's with us...we know nothing.
אניי לא יודץת ץברית טוב אבאל אני רוצא ללמוד ץבריח
There...thats one of the few sentences I know. 'I don't know hebrew very well but I want to learn hebrew.'


Talk to you all tomorrow
לילא טוב

oct 27

Today I got the day off to visit with my mom grandma and uncle in tel aviv. It was the last day of their tour, they're going back to canada as I write this. It was fun, we went to the carmel market and the art market, we went to the 'Israeli' mall, we went out for dinner and then ice cream, and then I came home. I'm going to miss them, but it was nice that they came to Israel at the same time I came. Having lunch on the port at tel aviv with david haya dana and my family was surreal. But now they're gone and I won't see them for four months( plus a few days.)

I am, however, looking forward to teaching in the high school, and volunteering around Ness Tziona. I am very excited about continuing Ulpan and learning hebrew( getting better every day.) I would eventualy like to be fluent.

לילא תוב חברימ. אני אוחבת אתם

Oct 25,26

Yesterday we went to the junior high school and got a tour...we were supposed to introduce ourselves, but noone planned it, and the teacher didn't get permission to take us to classes. So after an hour we left...I went grocery shopping. It was pretty uch a waste of a day.

At night, however, a bunch of us went to a MASA mega event featuring Idan Raichel. It was amazing. We met a bunch of people from the Ashdod group and the Ramla group and all went on a bus there. There was an Israeli street fair, and various food stands. Also there was a stage with an accordion player, and right next to him was a barrel full of free oranges!

Today we went to the high school and also got a tour. This time though, we did get to go around and introduce ourselves. We met some pretty cool kids, and I'm really looking forwardto working with them.

Thats all for now...see ya

oct 23,24

Yesterday I lazed around the house all day, went out to dinner with my host family in the evening( Shlomo Dor Annat and Arad,) and went to see a movie with Omer(Dor and Arad's cousin) afterwards. I went to see fame in Rehovot.

Today I went to Tel aviv to see my mom grandma and uncle in the morning, and stayed all day. Me and uncle Joel went to the beach, and swimming in the morning, then we met David Haya and Dana for lunch along the old port. We walked along the port after and mat Shira and Arad and Ziv, and walked back to the hotel, where we sat and visited.

Thats my last couple of days, in a nutshell

oct 20-22

The past couple of days. my computer was dead so I couldn't write anything, but I was sick anyways so I probably wouldn't have anyways:P

Well...on the 20th I went to the doctor( I now appreciate our canadian health care system) and he diagnosed me with a throat infection and gave me ammoxycilin. Well I guess he knows what hes doing...I feeel alot better!

Anyways...today was our last day of intensive Ulpan, we took a group picture which will be on facebook eventually...Sunday we start volunteering at the high school. I'm excited! We met the high school english teachers today- Ruti and Raffi. They're pretty interesting people. Raffi is also a psychologist with a private practice in rehovot.

I'm going to my Host family's house for dinner tomorrow night. Shabbat. I normally wouldn't say anything, but I haven't seen them for a couple of weeks because I went to hadera and jerusalem the last couple of weekends, and then I was mia for a few days. So in other words I am pretty excited

שבת שלום חברים

oct 19th

Today we had Ulpan, and I went even though I wasn't feeling well because אני רותצה ללמוד ץברית . Not a good plan. Turns out going out in the heat while you're sick makes you sicker...so I came home after Ulpan and made a doctors appt. for tomorrow evening- first opening they had. But tonight I was feeling a bit better, so I went to Weisman 22 with 10 other people from my program. It was fun, even though it was probably not a good idea.

So my doctors appointment isn't till 4:45 tomorrow, so I think I'm still gonna go to Ulpan...I really want to learn hebrew(thats what the hebrew above says.)

לילא טוב חברימ. אני אוכבימ אתם

Oct 16-18

This weekend I went to Jerusalem. I saw the kotel, the rest of the old city, and I stayed at the king david hotel, which is where all the celebrities stay in israel. My mom grandma and uncle are on a tour through israel right now, so I got to hang out with them. I went to jerusalem with Eli, he's in an oranim program in ashdod, and neither of us know the city very well. So on friday when we met at the bus station, we didn't quite know where to go. So we wandered the streets for a bit.

We eventually found an american style resteraunt, and they said they stayed open on shabbat. And they served cheeseburgers...in jerusalem. Right by the old city...I know wierd hey? Well after we ate(still not shabbat) we went to the hotel to meet my family. We had a wonderful shabbat dinner at the kind david, then stayed the night with them.

In the morning we had breakfast at the hotel(food was fabulous,) then the group had a tour planned. Well Eli and I didn't want to go on the tour, but we did walk with them to the jaffa gate(entrance to the old city.) Once at the gate, we continued to the kotel(wailing wall.) While leaving, an israeli woman stopped and asked us if we were jewish. It turns out she wanted someone to turn somthing on for her,and since it was shabb at neither her or us could. Well, we asked her where the nerest place we could get water was, and she took us to her house and gave us water and cookies. She even did the kiddush with us. Well after her house, we went back to the plaza with the shuks.

We shopped and bargained for a while, then met up with my family for lunch. Eli and I got Shmarma, which is a bit like a pita donair, and then we went back to the hotel with them where we met Dana. We talked for a bit and caught up- well they did- an d then Eli and I conrinued to the bus station. We found our respective busses, and went home...that was my weekend:) Today was Ulpan. Next weekend Tel Aviv.

-The reason I say Jerusalem is possibly the most confusing city in the world is that they change the street names without warning...

Oct 15

Today I went to ulpan and teaching class...boring! So I decided to write some stuff I learned in hebrew so far. With the translations of course:

היומ אני באה גכיתה ולומדת יברית -today I went to the classroom and learned hebrew
יש זע מא אני לומדת -This is what I learned
שמי חנה -my name is hannah
אני מכנארא -I'm from Canada
אני אנכנו גרה בנס ציונה ורחוב מאיר הרמון 9 בדורא 1 -I now live in Ness Tziona on Mayer Hermon
street 9 apartment 1
אני מית לומדת בישריאל אני לא תיאר -Im a volunteeri n israel Im not a tourist
אני קמה ב 730 בבוקר -I got up at 730 this morning
אני לא אובלת ארוחת בוקר -I didnt eat breakfast
אבאל אני אוחב פירות וגוינא-but I love fruit and cheese
Theres some of my minimal knowledge of hebrew so far. Its not much, but it gets me by... and its only been 2 weeks so far, so I'll know more every day

oct 14

Today we just had Ulpan...it was good as far as Ulpan goes, but torture for me because I was/am not feeling too well. Anyways...after Ulpan I went to buy some food, again( I have to go almost every day because I have to carry everything I buy.) When I got home I made astirfry for lunch, tomatoes onion and zuccini, and had some fresh pita with hummus. Then I went and lay down, and there you go. Oh ya, the only reason I'm able to write this atm is because I'm filled with tylonol and throat lozenges, and I still feel like crap:S Anyways, don't worry about it, its just a cold. You remember the first day of a cold, you have a fever, it hurts to touch anything, and generally you just feel like dieing...So TTFN all, until tomorrow!

oct 13

Today we had Ulpan, and english teaching class. In our english teaching class, the teacher had us all draw a picture by each adding a bit to it. It was to demonstrate the abstactness of language, and it was really fun. Eventually I'll have pictures on facebook. I took some, I'm just lazy.

Anyways, after class I took a new route home, to try and learn the city. I didn't get lost! I just followed my map and it was all good. When I got home, I worked on hebrew for a while( I'm making flashcards) and then our neighbors came over for english help. Two eleven year old girls. They brought their dog. It was fun. My hebrew flashcards helped them also, they just used the other side.

But tomorrow, just Ulpan. I'm not sure what I'll do after...

Oct 12

Today we had Ulpan at a new place, we learned some cool stuff, and I had an all hebrew experience at the pastry shop ( By the way amazing.) Then we had lessons on teaching english. We made up stories about pictures of random things, they were pretty funny! and we did texts to see what kind of learners we are... I'm visual and auditory.

After we were done, I went grocery shopping(again, by myself) and I went to buy some notebooks and stuff for ulpan. Then I came home and made myself dinner( sauteed zuccini onions and tomatoes with pasta) and thats pretty much it

oct 8th and 9th

So I'm writing one post for the last two days because on saturday all I did was take a train to Tel Aviv and go to the Israeli- Moldova soccer(football) game. Israel kinda really sucks. Moldova sucks more. It was kinda cool to meet all the other oranim kids though. Anyways, after the game a bunch of us went to the main bus station inm Tel Aviv and took the bus home. Nothing fabulous.

Today, on the other hand, was crazy. I went to my first Ulpan(hebrew lesson) class at 830-1, but got let out early because I know basic hebrew. Then we had a lesson on how to teach english, then we did a kind-of environmental awareness thing, we handed out cloth bags from the city of Ness Ziona. All this after 5 hours of sleep. Fun fun. Goodnight everyone...lila tov!

oct 9th

Today I was at David and Hayas house on the kibbutz. I took walks around the kibbutz with Arad and Ziv(yup spelled his name wrong) twice, and Haya and Ziv once. I saw cows! and I pet a cow. Arad and Shira helped me with my hebrew a bit, and we had a very nice shabbat dinner and then played rummicul. Over all a very productive day. I'll post pictures when I get back to Ness Ziona( should be spelled ness tziona I think...in hebrew thats how its pronounced...) on sunday. Tilkl tomorrow...ל'לא תוב!

oct 8th

Man...I just wrote a whole blog and deleted it....

well... today I went to the other apartment and we did some more excercises and stuff. We were done at 1:30 ish. Then I went to a little mom and pops falafel place...so good! Then I went to the mall and bought underwear lol. Then I walked home.

Once home, I called a cab(Ronly talked to them) and went to the rahovot train station to take a train to the hadera station to meet David so I could go to Hayas and his house for the weekend. Well I bought my ticket and caught the train, but got off one stop late...well I crossed the platform to take the train back, and...my cell phone died. So I walked around trying to fine a plug-in for maybe 10 minutes. Eventually I found one and called David, and took the train back and we met.

Once back at the Kibbutz, David shoowed me around a little then we came home. Shira and Arad came over tonight with their 15 month old son...Seef?(might have got the spelling wrong there,) He's adorable!

Oh! After talking to Arad, I realized some corrections are in order:
1. Israels population is 7.5 billion
2. Bedrins is actually Bedwins
3. Drews is actually Druze
4. The 'holy cities' were only the hole cities before the 19th century

Goodnight all

0ct 7th...again

Our lecture today was on minorities.I was interested, so I will relay my new knowledge to you.

First off. Israel is only 11000 square miles, and shared by 6 million people.
Of those 6 million, 1.6 occupy the west bank and gaza strip, so 5.4 million occupy israeli rule Israel. 20% of those 5.4 million people are not jewish, and therefore minorities.
Christians in total make up 2% of the population. There are 3 groups of christians
original, catholic, and new. The original christians are the descendants of the first christians, and are very orthadox. The catholics came here 900 years ago, and the new christians are from jewish men who married christian women.
Muslims have 1.3 million out of the 5.4 million, and there are 4 groups.Arab(suni,) bedrin, chariks and drews. Arab muslims are split into two groups, the sheite and the suni. Suni is the group that most closely follows tradition, and make up the bulk of the 1.3 million. The bedrin tribes are like israeli gypsyes. They mirgate throughout the desert. The chariks are seen as traitors by mainstream muslims. They all serve in the israeli army, and support the israeli government. The drews, while technically muslim, have a totally different religion that is a mixture of many religions. They are also seen as traitors because they support whoever is strongest, and right now thats the jews.The remaining 5% is made up of bahai and samarians. Bahai is a fairly new religion(160 years old) that preaches universal acceptance. Bahai does not limit its followers to just bahai, they believe that whatever you choose to believe in should be supported. The samarians only have 750 members, and in their oppinion are the only pure israeli's.In actual fact,Atheir past is unknown, so they are believed to be descendants of a group exiled to israel. The only real diffference between jewish and samarian religion is the location of the temple(gods house.)

oct 7th

Today was/is cleaning day. We have a lecture at 6:30, but other than that I can do whatever I want. Thinking I might catch up on some sleep... I went to bed at4:30/5am yesterday and woke up at 1245...I know....8 hours...but my sleep schedules been pretty screwed up lately.

On another note...I actually cleaned the bathroom. Top to bottom. Haha not that that's special. People clean their bathroom 's all the time. Todays not very exciting, so I have nothing more to say except... my cell phone somehow ended up in emily's laundry bag this morning. Good day.

Oct 6th

Its only 2:30 pm here right now, but we have a 2 and a half hour break so I thought I'd write todays entry now.

Well today was pretty interesting(I thought,) Mir( Ronly's cousin and our tour guide) Explained the history of Israel and the present Israel to us. So I have some time, and I'm excited about learning all this, so I thought I'd relay all this information to you

Israeli alliyah(immigration)
First odd...there is no 'Israeli' culture. There are very diverse customs and cuisine, none of wich are native ti israel.
Israel was under British rule until may 14 1948, when the british army left Israel. Because of the halocaust, they realized the need for a state where all jews belong. Israel was technically a jewish state since 1917, when Belford declared Israel the jewish homeland,but because of population and other problems, they weren't accepting alliyah, or immigration.

The first alliyah's after this declaration were eastern european, so Israeli culture was much like most of europe. So when the first alliyah's from the mediteranian arrived, they changed the whole way of life. They brought many different foods, culture, and cuswtoms. Ashkenazi( eastern european) and sephardic(mediteranian) jews began to differentiate themselves. Racism within a race developed. The racism between ashkenazi and sephardic jews has improved, but since Israel is only 50 years old, many still cling to their past way of life


After the situation between the sephardic and ashkenazi jews had begun to settle, The ethiopians made alliyah in groves. Two, in 1985 and 1990. Unlike the first alliyah's where people immigrated over a few months, these people arrived literally overnight. These ethiopians understandably had problems adapting to Israeli life, and to this day still tend to stick together.

Changes in Israeli culture
Israel had television tince 1967, however until 1991 there was only one channel. When other channels came into the mix, there was competition between the different stations, which started a whole new culture of advertisment and programming. Also, until 1979 there was only one political party. The forming of a new party furrther seperated sephardic and ashkenazi jews.

Israel today
The area between hadera and gadera is the most populated in Israel.
The city of Nei Bach is very religious, almost to the point of being like amish people
Lod is not a city you want to go to. It is the city most known for drugs, and it has a high arab
population
There are 4 main religious cities in Israel
1.tiberia
2.svat
3.jerusalem
4.hevon
Tel aviv is the city to go to if you want night life. Like many cities in europe, it is open late, and has a great party life. Also like meny european cities it is very expensive and hard to find a place to live
Jerico once held the only casino in Israel, until it was bombed
Haschad is in the area that is most targeted by bombers in the gaza strip
Ness Ziona is the greenest city in Isreal

Thats all for now.

Since its now 4am and I haven't posted this yet, I'll tell you about my night out in Tev Aviv. Tonight was Sasha and Lauren's birthdays', so we all made a big Israeli dinner, from scratch. It was quite an event. 16 people in the kitchen together trying to make different things. Ronly brought over her son, and he helped us beat eggs and stuff...mainly he just entertained us when we were done our jobs...he's 3.

After dinner we all got together and went to the port in Tel Aviv. It was amazing. Tel aviv really is the 'city that never sleeps.' We got there at about 10, and left at 330, and it was still going strong. We went to 'golina,' wich is a club along the port. The port is an actual beachside port, with various ritzy resteraunts and clubs. Anyways, golina was packed. I mean people were crammed against each other, couldn't move without hitting someone packed. It was fun though...definatly an experience

Oct 5th

Today we met at the other apartment at 930...bright and early! A couple of people were late so we didn't have time to do whatever Ronly had planned for us to do, but we did some good stuff anyways. We talked about each of our volunteer experience, and our family backgrounds. Some people have some really interesting heritage.

After our 2 hour lunch break( I got lost on the way to the mall...I had to call max to come find me,) We met our tour guide, who just happens to be Ronly's cousin. He took us on a more in depth tour of Ness Ziona, we saw where the founder first waved the flag, where the family lives who first brought bees to Israel, and a cool little diarama show about the foundation of Ness Ziona.

All in all it was a pretty good day.

Oct 4th

We met the mayor of ness ziona today, so exciting.And we had group meetings about hebrew and volunteering and stuff. Volunteering starts next week...Im excited! Well...my roommates and I got bunkbeds. We had to build them( mainly Ronly and Jaclyn,) but now we have so much more space. And we have 2lockers each now instead of one.

Oct 3rd

So today I woke up at 5pm...my sleep schedule is screwed up! I went to a barbeque with my host family and their friends. It was not like a canadian barbeque. There was so much food! Everyone was so nice to me. They all hugged me like they'd known me forever. Omer was there, and her cousin moises who was there the night before, but I didnt talk to. It was fun.
So I'm going to meet the mayor of Ness Ziona tomorrow...And Omer invited me to go shopping in Tel- Aviv, but we'll see what time we're done.

Friday Oct 2nd

Today was like saturday for us (in Israel they have friday and saturday off, and work sunday till thursday,) so I went to the mall with one of my housemates, Meredith. Even though I could have slept in, I woke up at 8... jetlag I guess. We left the house at 12, so I had 4 hours to kill before we left. I just lounged, which was nice.
Anyways, we walked to the mall( about 30 minutes) and bought various neccesities. I got a laundry basket, hooks, bedsheets, a purse ( I forgot mine) and flowers for my host family, who we were going to meet later that evening. Well I got a blister, and it broke...and started bleeding...so when we finally got back I was glad to go sit down.
I basically bummed around for 3 hours until my host family was due to pick up Meredith and I. When 7 came, the woman, Anat, called me, and told me where to wait for them. The man, Shlomo, came to pick us up. He drove us back to their house, which is in Ness Ziona. When we arrived, we met Anat, and their German Sheppard, Chet. We proceded inside where we met their daughter Dor(16) and their son... can't remember his name right now, but he's 14.
Well they were having a Sukkot celebration, which in Israel means alot of family and alot of food. It was a bit overwhelming at first, there were 30 various relatives there,but everyone was so friendly that soon we felt like one of the family. The food was amazing, and the company was good. After dinner, we helped clean up, then sat and talked with Dor and Omaar(cousin, 24) about everything from television to shopping. I found out Dor is also interested in theater, and is taking drama in her high school. We talked about that for awhile.
Omaar invited us to go shopping with her in Tel-Aviv, and her dad...whose name also eludes me at the moment, invited me to come to their house tomorrow for a barbeque. Pretty much everyone spoke english, and made a point to talk to us. The atmosphere was so warm. I can't wait to see them again...maybe tomorrow:)

Sept 30- Oct 1

Hey
So this is my free time...thursday night-sunday morning, so I thought I might as well start a blog about my trip.
I arrived in Tel-Aviv on the 29th via plane( layover in montreal and frankfurt) and met Haya and Dana Ragosin at the Tel-Aviv airport. After exchanging greetings we travelled back to their Kibbutz( Givat Haim) via 2 trains and a car ride. David was waiting when we pulled up. We went inside their house where they showed me around, and where I would be staying for the night. I was exhausted, but I tried to stay up as long as I could to help ward off jet lag. I made it to 7:30.
The next day I woke up at 5am, and got dressed and ready in about 10 minutes. Haya was driving David to a train station, and I tagged along. After David Got out we continued to a nearby parkade where we parked and took the train to a city where I would take a cab from to get to my apartment in Ness Ziona.
Haya set me up on a cab, and he drove my to my apartment. He spoke minimal english, but the communication barrier was noticable. Once at my apartment, I met the 6 girls I would be sharing living quarters with. Two rooms of two, and one toom of three. My room is the one with three. Emily Schiffer, Jaclyn Horowitz, and me. After unpacking, we met Ronly, our coordinater, and ther went to the other apartment to meet the rest of out group. There wered 8 more. We played getting to know each other games, and had lunch. We then went grocery shopping...That was interesting! After shopping we returned to our apartment and finished unpacking.
The next morning we woke up at about 8am and had breakfast. We all got ready in about an hour... impressive for 7 girls sharing 2 bathrooms. We then went to the other apartment where we did more getting to know you excercises. After this, we went to the city hall to meet with out program heads, Momo and Ofar. We had a very long, interesting meeting where we discussed everything from drug use to the intrusivness of israeli boys. After our meeting was finally done( late) we had a 2 hour lunch period. I went to the mall near the other apartment with 2 girls from my program, Allison and Sarah. I didn't want to walk back to my apartment, since we had to meet at the other apartment anyways, so I bought a frozen pizza at the supermarket and made it in their oven.
When our group gathered again, Ronly took us on a tour of the area. Afterwards I went back to the other apartment. I had dinner there, and just hung out with them untill Ronly showed up to show them how to use their washing mashine. She was coming back to our apartment, so I went with her. Shortly after I returned, my roommates went to Tel-Aviv.
The rest of us, Emily Seigel, Elana, Hailey, Meredith and me, decided to go to a local bar in town after a visit from our next door neighbor\9he told us where it was.) Emily's boyfriend met us en route and drove us the rest of the way. There wasn't enough room for all 5 of us in the car, so I ended up on Elana's lap. It definitely helped having a native hebrew speaker with us at the bar/resteraunt to translate, and we all had a good time. At about 2am we came back the same way, and now I'm writing this.