12/3/2013

The jet lag was a bit better today. I slept at least an hour more and was able to snooze in a half awake state for an hour after that. I skyped with my sisters(sorry Rachel, get on Skype and I'll talk to you too) which brightened my mood. I'm a bit apprehensive and anxious about this whole thing still. But my sisters are wise and make me feel better. I went out for breakfast at Movieing I had coffee and French toast. It was the best French toast I've ever had. Completely amazing! More than speaking Hebrew the thing that is really stressing me out is reading menus in Hebrew. Luckily, I am learning that most places also have English menus.

I started at the university today. My contact this week is named Merv. She might be even nicer than Estella if that is possible. Since it is Hanukkah she had her 2 children and 1 child's friend with her. We had a relaxing tour of the university and then went shopping. All in all my "work" day was from 11am-2pm not too bad. She also insisted on buying me a doughnut for Hanukkah from the unofficial doughnut sponsor. It was covered in chocolate and filled with whip cream. I'm not the biggest doughnut fan but the Israeli doughnuts are quite tasty. By the time I got home I was absolutely exhausted so I took a nap. At 5:30pm I woke up and Estella, Bobo(the dog) and I went to see the lighting of the largest Hanukiah in the world at Rabin square. Estella biked and Bobo and I ran beside her. We made it in time to sing and see the lighting. On the way back we stopped for more doughnuts. I have now had 3 doughnuts in 3 days. Oh my! Estella was upset with the quality of her doughnut but I thought that it was the best that I've had. Mine was coffee filled and topped with coffee beans. 

I decided to take a quite night at home. I really want to go for a nice long run but I am very very tired since I haven't been able to sleep at night. More adventures tomorrow! 

Lesson of the day: Jaffa or Yafo. The name of the city depends on who you ask. It is Yafo in Hebrew but Jaffa in Arabic, both are correct. How confusing. It is an old city which has been conquered at one time or another by everyone. There are archaeological digs where you can see artifacts from Egyptians, Turks, British, Romans, Greeks, some others. It is considered both an independent city and a southern suburb of Tel Aviv.