וואו! מה קרה איתי

Wow! What happened to me? I was so good at updating my blog last year...now 2 months & many big event have gone by and nothing! Well, last year, I also wasn't working as hard to get all my work done because I thought I had all the time in the world!
Well, let's see...I'll try to summarize the past 2 months w/ a sentence or two about each event. Let me know if you'd like more detail on anything!

Apr 28- May 10: There was Israeli Memorial Day & Independence Day, but I missed both because a misdiagnosed dental abscess caused an infection that made my face swell immensely and I spent almost a week in bed & then almost another week in the hospital on a antibiotic IV drip to get the swelling down. A few days later, I got the root canal & everything is better!

June 18-June 30: We finished university classes, middle & high school finished teaching & our program officially ended with a "farewell banquet." One of the TASPers wrote a long poem/speech about the past 2 years and another made a very in-depth slide show. We had a huge buffet and an open bar. It was quite a night. Most of us when over to Raquefette's apt...one of the usual group hang outs and played a new fun game: Paper in a Pot or Ghetto Outburst. The next day a few of us went to a bar over looking the Med Sea for a day party. They had 2 above ground pools, a huge, inflatable water slide & a mechanical bull! That night most of TASP reconvened at Raq's for a BBQ and more of our new favorite game. Then the elementary interns went back to work for another week & a half. Most of the time was spent on end-of-the-year festivities and shows, though. It was pretty hard saying goodbye to all those kids that I'd taught for the past 2 years. I gave them all my email address. We'll see how many actually keep in touch!

July 3-4: For the past 4 years, every first Friday in Tel Aviv has meant Water Wars. This was the 5th year. It happens in Rabin Square and people can only use the water from the fountain, which isn't refilled from anywhere, meaning people aren't wasting water. I met some friends there to "observe" for a bit on my way home from the gym. Even if you were standing back from the action, nobody wanted you dry! We just wished we had been armed!!! We celebrated the 4th with a BBQ in Hayarkon Park, in our normal spot, across from Adam's apt (AKA: bathrooms!).

July 8: I went skydiving. What? Yes, that's right. I jumped out of plane, hurling myself to the ground. Actually, I wasn't in control at all. The instructor strapped to my back did all this to us. My friend Stephanie set it all up for us for her birthday. I would have never done it myself! There's 50 seconds of free falling, during which I was truly terrified. Then the parachute opens, your stomach drops as you're ripped straight upwards and you float down for 5 mins. That was nice, though I was anxious about being so high up! The beautiful view of the Med Sea helped, though. (We did it at a beach about 45 min north of TA).)

There was also Student Day at TAU, White Night to celebrate TA and an Jewish holiday (Shavuot). I also helped 4 friends celebrate birthdays, saw 3 friends from camp that were visiting Israel (I hadn't seen one since 2002!), my camp director who was here on business and visited 2 more that are spending the year in J'lem in rabbinic school.

pictures: May --> July 4
Skydiving Israel