Holy Crap ... Where did the last month go?

So I realize that a month has gone by since the last real post on this blog. That makes for pretty boring reading for anyone who might have stopped by to see how we're doing, or for anyone who was directed here from some other mysterious corner of the internet. Well, what have we been up to? I'll let Tafat fill you in on all of the details of her dancing comeback but I guess I'll give everyone a brief synopsis of the last month.

1. Apartment Stuff

We have slowly but surely become adjusted to our qauint little home here in Tel Aviv. While it still isnt fully furnished, the necessary items are on the way. All of the little details though seem to be squared away. Oddly enough while Tafat and I had some expected problems setting up our internet and phone lines the process was much smoother than I thought is was going to be. I had been hearing nightmare stories about customer service here, but I was pleasantly surprised by the friendliness, and the helpfullness of the tech support people from Bezeq(the phone company - and in English no less!).

2. Ulpan

Starting in early January, I have been a happy student at Ulpan Gordon. While the Ulpans were designed to help new Olim (immigrants) learn Hebrew and intergrate into the country they are also available for tourists and for people with other various status in the country. I study from 8:15 AM till 12:50. I sometimes feel as our teacher crams more Hebrew words into our heads that this must be what it feels like to undergo one of those training programs in the Matrix. My Hebrew is genuinly improving and it feels weird to be one of the "good" students in a launguage class.

3. The Parents

So Barnie and George, and our cousin Louise came to visit in the middle of January. They spent a lot of time touring around the country and it seemed like they had a wonderful time. Mom is already talking about coming back later this year. It was nice to have them here so they could see that we're doing well and to make us feel a little less far from home. We shlepped them across Tel Aviv and tried to show them as much as we could in the few days that they were in town. We also were able to meet up with Miri and Shlomo in Haifa, and Tafat's aunt Nadine in Jerusalem for two pleasant dinners.

4. Internship

Last week I started an internship at an Israeli newspaper in their English internet section. My first week was very busy but it feels good to have a full schedule again. Hopefully I'll be able to write something and have it posted on the website or maybe even printed in the paper.

I also wanted to post photos and videos of random stuff here in Tel Aviv. This first video is of our street on Friday afternoon. Every Friday when it's time for Shabbat music eminates from some mysterious source and announces the Sabbath. It's usually "Shalom Aleichem," but sometimes it's other stuff.