I had my first quiz in Ulpan today! I think it went okay, could have studied a little more but had more important things to do like… sit and talk to people all night. Every week in Ulpan one person has a presentation on any topic they want, and I’m going first on Thursday. Wish me luck…

On Sunday I went to the basketball practice I wrote about last week. It was awesome!! At first I was a little lost because the coach kept shouting instructions in Hebrew and it took me a while to figure out what on earth she was talking about, but I learned the words for “bounce,” “backboard,” and “pick” (as in, setting a pick/screen). In case you were wondering, “pick,” or chasima, comes from the words lachasom, which means to block or create an obstacle. So you’re literally making a blockage so that someone can’t pass you. Hebrew is cool : ) Anyway, it was nice and comforting to hear this coach yelling the same things that Coach Josh used to yell at us, but in Hebrew – another example of how sports are a universal language. Some of these girls were really good; I enjoyed playing with them. My problem is that practices are twice a week, Sundays and Wednesdays, and I still want to check out frisbee this Wednesday. So I guess I’ll make a decision in the near future about which one I’ll do. Maybe basketball only on Sundays, if the coach doesn’t mind.

This afternoon I went food shopping again and learned how to say “crushed garlic” and bought a Teflon pan so that I can start attempting to feed myself with food that is not straight out of the refrigerator. I’ve progressed from sandwiches in cafes to cold cuts and hummus with cucumbers to instant chicken broth to vegetable stir fry with frozen vegetables to stir fry with fresh broccoli. Personally, I think that’s a good amount of positive improvement. I bought some noodles today so at least I can have chicken noodle soup minus chicken, and I got some carrots with one of my friends so they might make an appearance in the soup as well. Stay tuned for
more thrilling updates on my Israeli diet.

I still have to write about my trip to Tel Aviv! But I have to do my homework before our next salsa dancing lesson tonight (I think about a quarter of the beginners level will be comprised of American overseas students this week…) so hopefully in the near future I’ll have the chance to give a better explanation for the pictures I linked last post. Oh, also my amazing space heater is making a strange clicky noise which is upsetting me. I might have knocked it over or something.

Hope everything back home is going well (and in Spain, Laurel) and I’ll talk to you later!

Love,

Ilana