By zamorse
Normally on a Saturday night in the U.S., like most college students, I would not be in my room studying. But here I am, studying in my room on a Saturday night. In Israel, the week starts on Sunday (Friday and Saturday constitute the weekend because of Shabbat, the Jewish sabbath) hence Saturday night is a school night and the end of my first week in Israel.
It's been a busy week so far. I arrived on Sunday in Tel Aviv and took a sherut (shared taxi) to Haifa. Got settled into my dorm and unpacked. Monday was the Hebrew placement exam and orientation for the winter ulpan (Hebrew classes) session. Since then, i've been taking Hebrew class every day for four hours a day---definitely daunting, and exploring the town and the neighborhood.
The University of Haifa is situated on top of a hill overlooking the entire city, beach, and port, and the view is absolutely spectacular. There's also a national park across the street with spectacular views of the ocean and great hiking and biking trails. Even though it's a very densely populated country, there's still lots of national parks, and I happen to be right across the street from one!
Getting adjusted here was not too bad. I had been to Israel three time before, know the culture, language, geography pretty well, so it is not a completely foreign place for me. Getting adjusted to the time zone was tough though and I didn't have an appetite for the first three days I was here. Luckily, my appetite has come roaring back and I even invited a couple of friends over and made shakshouka (a Tunisian dish made with poached eggs in tomato sauce, with spices and vegetables). I have a kitchen in my dorm and a mini-supermarket in my dorm complex, complete with most Israeli foods (except fresh produce) that I need.
Cooking in my room is one of the things I'm most excited for this semester. And exploring the nature around campus and exploring the beautiful city that I now live in for this semester, and pretty much everything in this country. Until next time!