First Two Weeks in Israel

First two weeks in Haifa  . . . . 
                             Ma nish'ma? Tov! How are you? Good!

My friend Henny from Holland, we speak German together.

  . . . Have started off well. I've worked in the kitchen washing dishes/meal prepartion and also work on the first floor with residences who need a bit more assistance.

I have an even great appreciation for nurses as my work here is going on. Bathing residents, assisting them to the bathroom, changing clothes etc. have all pushed quite out of my comfort zone, but I find myself greatly blessed with their smiles and the opportunity to serve them with a hand massage or kiss good night.

My German is DEFINITELY practical here. Four of the five other volunteers I live with are native speakers and many of the residences know German if they don't know English. I learning a little Hebrew but right now it is not my focus.

Teah from England, with our rabbit vistor.

We had our first zoo animal visit last week and it was delightful 

seeing everyone enjoy four albino rabbits. Ebenezer has different creators visit every two weeks and everyone recieves quite the education, our last presentation was around 40 minutes long. Get our your notebooks ladies and gentlemen. Ooops I mean that's only for me the nerd. Actually I didn't take any notes. HA!

When I am working in the kitchen my favorite part of the day is tea time especially on Shabbat--Friday evening and Saturday afternoon--I visit all 3 floors, share cake with residents and wish them "Shabbat Shalom" and on more than one occasion recieve sweets from them as well as a hug or kiss on the cheek. The first time I walked around with Annie, my fellow volunteer from Switzerland, I thought, "Yikes! Shabbat is dangerous I could end up eating cake all day!!" No worries. I sweat enough to make up for it--I think ;)

You know you're in Israel when . . .

The beach is about a 20-25 minute walk from my flat. Sha'ron showed me this stretch.

• Your dog really is a "watch dog" from the second story balcony-note picture above :)
• There are no noise ordiances, arabian/hebrew music plays 'till midnight--this goes for fireworks as well. Weddings, graduations, birthdays . . . forget the cake, where a lighter?!

Working out on the beach, haven't used them yet, but sure gonna try 'em out!

• My heart quickens at the sight of green grass only to discover it is actually closer to crab grass--or such a small patch of the soft perrenial that I can't quite lay down in it

• I feel like the most "gringo" person alive when I go running in the morning here, but enjoy the surprised faces of people when I pass them saying "Good Morning" in Hebrew 
• No matter what sort of kitty lover you are, you don't touch the cats here. Luckily I've only had one night so far where I heard a cat fight.
• People eat the most amazing, rich ice cream bars and then throw the wrappers on the floor.
• Walk one block and the language can change from Hebrew, to Arabic, to Russian or just walk through the kitchen in Ebenezer. HA! ps. If at first you don't succeed in your shopping endeavors, bring a friend who speaks another language you don't ;)
• If I want to buy juice concentrate it comes in a water bottle that I squirt into my water glass. 
• I gauge how hot it is by what setting I have my fan on in my room and whether I sleep with the sheet on or off. Break through this last week: sheet on for the whole night! Yes! Anything less than 70% humidity is gonna seem amazing.
• At our first night of Bible study with fellow volunteers tonight the topic was: Preparation for Earthquakes and Times of War. God has us all in the palm of his hand. Check out the following verses if you'd like: Amos 1:1, Zechariah 14:3-6, Ezekiel 38:18-20
• I get excited about gmail having SMS/Texting function on their email accounts so I can finally talk to my brothers on Skype! Love ya bros!
• I go to Shabbat service where it is perfectly normal to have someone sitting next to you also wearing an earpiece so they can also hear the sermon in their native tongue--English and Russian translators sit in the back of the room to provide live feedback. Toda! Thank you!
• I have to get used to seeing a coffee--that's for you Seth :)--cost 16 NES aka 16 Shekels--at a restuarant.
• Chinese Restuarant advertise being "kosher".
• Milk (3% btw)  is sold in bags that you set in a pitcher with the corner cut. Finished your bag? Throw it away and cut another one open and throw it in the pitcher.
• Shabbat means no newspapers or public transit on Saturday. All non-arabic stores are also closed.

Fellow volunteers, Corina, Sha'ron, Rosalba from Mexico, South Africa and Columbia.

Well I think that's it for now . . . more later. Thank you for all your prayers and any messages. If you want to skype remember I'm 9 hours ahead from MST. Love you all.
 
"If God is for us, who can be against us?"