paris shmaris

Charles De Gaulle Airport...oh how i loathe thee. Not REALLY, but i am currently sitting here PAYING for internet -- what a concept -- and my flight was delayed so i'm here until 12pm France time.

The flight from tlv to here was GREAT. and I say that because for the first time ever, i flew BUSINESS CLASS!! sweeet. they really treat you well. From the second I sat down they were already like, can i bring you anything, what can i get you? it was awesome. AND, the chairs go back really far so it's fairly easy to sleep and the food is actually good. I wasn't all that hungry seeing as how it was in the middle of the night and not exactly "meal time" but I wasn't about to pass up things like mango, honeydew, yummy yogurt, etc. So yeah, good times.

ok, time to go walk around for a bit...I've been sitting WAY too long already. It sucks that there is NOTHING here around the gates and it's about a 6 mile walk to get to any of the stores to just window shop -- not that they are even open this early in the morning. oy.

next time i write it will be from the states!!

at the airport

so let's just note how i am catching up on emails while sitting at the airport in tlv before my flight. Good times good times. off to America...crazy crazy. in a good way. i'm psyched to see people.

let's also comment on how i LOVE knowing enough people that within one phone call to family, it was arranged that I was moved to the best seat on the plane (exit area next to the window) and MAYBE I'll even be in business class, we shall see. but yeah, I didn't have to wait in line or anything when i got here. Yay for "protektzia" and the amazing Fridman family.

it's was kind of sad actually to say goodbye to Iris and Roee and Noa...I'm so used to seeing them and talking to them all day, especially Iris. To sleep in a room without her and have her be a LONG DISTANCE call just seems wierd...but i'm happy that we're both getting to see our families (she's going to Holland for a couple days to surprise her mom for her 50th birthday) and then we'll be back to talk about it.

ok, time to go talk to people in IM.

ciao for now

it's been a while

and i'm flying to the states in three days. crazy crazy. this whole trip is kind of freaking me out, in a good way. I'm psyched to see people but the whole I'm visiting the states and coming back to Israel thing is definitely a new endeavor in my life.

things as of late have been really good. Last weekend I spent with family and did a good amount of catching up on sleep. Last night we watched "H'asonot shel Nina" at Roee's and like most Israeli films it was sad, funny, random and overall really good.

it still feels like summer here and it's supposed to be almost 33 degrees today...HOT. I hope America isn't too cold, I'm so used to t-shirts and skirts (ok, I don't really wear skirts that often) that i'm not so much into the whole need for a cardigan thing. oh well.

i wonder if anything will be open in Paris in the airport when I get there. It's really early in the morning so maybe not, but it would be nice to have somewhere to walk around and just make the time pass. 4 hours in CDG...mmm. At least flying back it's less than two hours in Brussels. But at the same time, I have to say, I'd much rather have a stop than fly all ten hours direct.

ok, time to go back to class. hopefully we find dvd cables so we can watch the movie...half the class went to tlv to get a visa to go to Turkey during Sukkot.

ciao for now.

it's been a while

welllll...hello. things have been going quite well, and I haven't had much time to blog these days, but I thought I would just comment on a few of the cool things in life:

1) I was in Ramat H'Golan (in the northern area of Israel) for a trip with the Ulpan and REALLY enjoyed it. We went to a river called Zevitan and swam in a couple of the "pools" along the way. Basically, this country is just amazing. I'm going to make an album with some pictures in the near future and don't worry, I'll make sure to get the link up here as well.

2) time is FLYING by. It's september 19th. how the hell did that happen?

3) there was concert a couple weeks ago at the kibbutz with a group called Shotey H'nevuah -- funky mix of reggae, punk, techno and lots of other stuff. Really amazing. I would suggest a cd, but honestly I wasn't all that into them until I saw them in concert...it's just on of those kids of bands where the cd will never live up to them live.

4) my plan was to write a relatively long and informative blog but I'm currently getting eaten alive by mosquitoes...so that's that.

lilah tov.

sof shavua ragua...(b'galgalatz)

hey kids,

just a quick weekend update before i head off to bed (it's good old 5:30am wake up time for me tomorrow). I left the kibbutz Friday early afternoon and got to Petach Tikva in time for lunch with the Fridman bunch (Michaela, Dov, Alon, Ronit, Meidan, Lihi, Oren, Riki and of course, Noa). Lunch was wonderful as usual, and it was nice to take my time eating and playing with the kids. Watching Noa and Lihi eat ice cream is PURE entertainment (they are both 2...going on 25).

After a nice nap, I headed with Riki, Oren, Noa and some of their friends to Namal Tel Aviv for some drinks and dinner. The kids played and danced, the adults laughed and talked, mostly about the kids playing and dancing...it was good times. After hanging out back in Petach Tikva with Oren and Riki, and putting Noa to bed, I went back to Michaela and Dov's and fell asleep.

This morning we went to the beach with Ronit and the kids and had a lovely breakfast right on the beach. I spent the rest of the day at my Safta's apt (grandmother), being fed a lot of really good food (as expected), resting, reading and just generally doing the shabbat thing (a good dose of nothing). This evening I went to Namal Yaffo with Riki, Oren and Noa and had yummy bagele with soom soom (sesame) and zatar.

The train was filled with uplanistim heading back to the kibbutz so we all hopped into some cabs and now here I am, refreshed, full from good food, and ready for a week of laundry/class and whatever else.

Lila tov, buenas noches, and good night :-)