Happy One Week Anniversary!

Today I moved my belongings from Rafi's place, where I have been for my first full week in Israel, to Beit Canada at Ulpan Etzion, just a few minutes by car further Southeast. Ulpan Etzion is an immigration absorption center that provides subsidized housing, meals language instructions and cultural outings for new immigrants from all over the world. This ulpan is unique in that all most all of the participants are part of the single 20s and 30s crowd. I waited around until someone was able to register me and get through some light paperwork and assign me a room. It was actually pretty interesting and telling of the place and experience: during my wee induction to the premises, the facility's coordinator also briefed new immigrants from Kyrgyzstan and France along side me.

Next, I took my belongings to my room. I immediately laughed out loud when I got to the room. It was pretty simple and had no need for all the hangers my mom insisted I take with me (though I did eventually find a closet by the apartment entrance). I wandered around until I could find someone to administer the Hebrew test so they would be able to evaluate into which level class I should be placed. I was very proud that I only got one wrong from all 50 questions - though it was also disappointing because I made a careless mistake and actually knew the answer to the question on which I erred.

Lunch time. It was free and delicious. I met some new friends from Australia, England, Brazil and Detroit City. What a crew. After the meal I headed off back to Rafi's place to take care of some odds and ends. I could have used climbing gear: the incline on that hill was so ridiculous. I'm glad at least at this point that I don't have my bike. Aside from the grade of the road, I found a moment to appreciate the place itself. Though I was a bit unsure of coming to live in Jerusalem, I have really enjoyed it here. If you pause to recognize the spirituality and historical context of the land, it can be quite an incredible and surreal state. The beauty of the open hills and the significance of the place converge here, encouraging my excitement and allowing me to recognize the awesomeness of being able to walk in this newly modern ancient land.

I met Rafi back at his place in Baka and left with him pretty quickly after that to take care of some errands in town. On the bus ride to the center of the city, we noticed a uniquely Israel sighting: a man seated in front of us was studying from the Talmud. First stop: to attempt to complete my health insurance registration. What gave me the notion that the office would be open at 4pm on a Wednesday? I'm not quite sure. Sure enough, whenever they are open, they should be open until the late afternoon. Usually. Except today, when they close at 1pm. Instead of getting aggravated I just left with a smile and an understanding of that's how things work here.

My next stop was the Cellcom cell phone store. After comparing other immigrants' plans, I decided to take something that was a bit more modest and where I was able to find a deal. I again smiled and thought to myself that I'm probably doing a decent job integrating with Israeli society since I now have two cell phones that I will use. Craziness. It's been a great week in Israel and I'm looking forward to more of them.