My First Week

Hi everyone,

I've been in Israel for over one week! It's hard to believe.  I was having a tough time adjusting when I first got here, but feel so much more adjusted now.  Though I'm still figuring out where things are, which buses to take where etc.

A few days ago, I went to Ben Yehuda street (a famous street with a lot of shops, restaurants etc.) and tried to pay 10 Agarot for a beer that cost 10 shekel.  That's the equivalent of trying to buy a beer in the U.S for 10 cents. I felt ridiculous, but the man didn't seem too phased by it, so I feel better knowing I'm not the only one to do that.  I was confused because the 10 aggarot coin is larger than the 1 Shekel coin.   And the 10 shekel coin is the same size as the 10 aggaront coin, only it looks different.

Channukah starts this week after Shabbat on Saturday evening. It's very cool to be in Israel pre-Channukah because Channukah is the "it" thing here, not Christmas.  On the main streets they have lit of Channukiahs on the street lamps, I'm used to seeing Christmas trees and Santas on them, so it's neat to see Channukiahs so normalized! Also, they sell yamulkes in the grocery store in Har Nof (though I assume this is a year round thing and not just special for Channukah).

This week is an "in-Shabbat", so the school hosts us for Shabbat which I think will be really nice.

Here are some more photos ( I don't know why I can't get it to hyper-link):

http://insightsfromisrael.shutterfly.com/pictures/13