Whoop, there it is.

So. I'll continue by telling the story of my return to Israel until the present time, being Friday afternoon. So upon my return to Israel, I cut my finger while trying to get my bag from the baggage claim and couldn't pull it out by myself, and if you are an astute reader, you will recall that this same thing happened to me (minus the cut) when I first arrived in Israel. Anyway, I tried calling home, but nobody answered, and also my sister, who I found out lost her phone, and who still is phoneless, so i've been unable to communicate with her since before Poland. Whoa. I just used a heck of a lot of commas in that last sentence. But this isn't a grammar contest. Or is it. I did give this link to my English teacher at home, so he might judge me based on my ability to write, but I doubt it. And its not like I'll have him as a teacher again, sadly. Anyway, so we stayed at this youth hostel in Jerusalem for two nights in between Poland and Pesach, and it was fun. We went out to Ben Yehuda Street and once again I drifted, for the most part, between groups, and was relatively very social and content there, except one time I got stuck hanging out with people I didnt necessarily like. OH. And at this gelateria (where they make gelato and other such sweets) I ordered with a bunch of people, and I ordered a waffle with strawberry ice cream, but this other girl ordered a strawberry milkshake. They brought the milkshake first, and she left for a while, and I, very stupidly, drank it thinking it was mine that the waffle came with a milkshake instead of ice cream for some reason, perhaps by making a mistake or something. I felt terrible after that, and I offered to pay her pack or buy more for her or etc, but they didnt accept, and now I feel awkward around her because of what I did. Ugh. Anyway, the days at the hostel were fine, and I was introduced to this game called "soggy weiners" where other people ask you questions and you have to reply with "soggy weiners" without laughing. Apparently, Im very good at recieving and asking questions. My trick is to think of something super serious like the Holocaust or something like that. But sometimes it fails and I laugh. But regarding this and other things I say, people have begun to tell me to my face that I'm a funny person, which makes me feel very good, to the point where some say I'm one of the funniest people they've ever met. Seriously. This is one of things, along with recieving more attention, that has upped my mood considerably from other low points in the program, mostly in the first birthing pains in the first few weeks. I hypothesize that it might be because out of "school", I can relax and be myself, which people luckily appreciate, but during school I'm less so. But my program isnt really really school at all, mostly a facade of it, so I can be more of myself here in general, also giving reason to keep the new and strengthened friendships I have made over Poland and my future hiking. Maybe. But after the hostel stay, we went off to our own pesach host homes, mine being in the north, and also went along with this other kid from the program that I wasnt best friends with, but I knew him. He isnt the most pleasant of people, but hes a well meaning kid. The family was American, luckily, and were nice people, nothing special, the daughter who was in her twenties was very kind and took us out for coffee one night. The seder was rushed and anticlimactic, and I realized how much I prefer my seders at home. the food also sucked, but thats probably because Im a vegetarian and couldnt eat the meat. Anyway, being a vegetarian has been hard lately, given that there arent a lot of non-meat options to choose from, often leaving me very hungry, but I can always buy food. But after the holiday, our group went on a five day hiking expedition in the north (where my host family was too), starting out as a water hike in this river, where I tripped and fell into the water, soaking my clothes. I loved my guide, Selah, as well as the medic, Neder. The next few days were spent hiking up mountains and down valleys towards the Medditerannean from the Galilee, giving the hiking trip the name "sea to sea". I've recently fallen in love with nature, so hiking in this area with astounding views was a welcome experience, having a lot of fun on the trip, cooking meals and doing etc, that you would do on a campign trip, except they already pitched the tents for us, and sometime we drove from place to place, which took the authenticity out of the trip, but it was still enjoyable. I also solidified some friendships on this trip, especially with this one kid from New Mexico who is very funny, creating several inside jokes along the way. The hiking was fabulous, obviously, with some specacular views, and I never got as tired as I thought I would, signifying that Im in much better shape than before, but still not "in shape". Further confidence boosters appeared on this trip, usually people complementing my humour, which Im more than satisfied with. BUT, on the day we went biking, which I absolutely loved, especially going fast with the scenery, except for the few nasty spills I took, scraping my left hand, and badly scraping and bruising my right knee. As of now, I still have bandages on, and they both still hurt. Damn gravity. I vowed to continue biking until the end, even with my painful injuries, eventually getting them cleaned when we reached the Mediterannean sea, where I enjoyed several hours of very nice relaxation, even in the newly appreciated heat. I talked to F here, and I forgot to mention she approached me during the camping trip just to say hi and sat next to me, after several days not noticing me even when I said hi. Whatever. She felt bad about my injuries and stuff like that, and our conversation was terrible. I was in monotone all the time, and it was boring and plain subject matter. I suck at this. Oh, I forgot to mention I found out that Z hooked up with someone on the program, and surprisingly, I wasnt mad or jealous or anything. Thats a good things, for everyone. Except for the fact that the guy hooked up with another girl the next day, which angered Z (or so I heard). Poor Z. I like the kid, but theres something about him, maybe is voice, which I know is superficial, but thats the one thing I have to be judgemntal on. I dont know why, a person's voice has always been the first thing I notice about someone. But I believe you can tell a lot about someone by the way they speak, like their general personality. Anyway, we spent a day or two in Haifa at a shitty hostel that took ages to climb up the endless stairs, especially with all my luggage. We saw the Bahai gardens which were cool, but a bit of a let down of the pictures I've seen. At this hostel is when my ipod charger broke. But wait, it gets worse. Because its such an old ipod, the newer chargers wont work with it, and thats the kind everyone has. At least I had it for Poland. Getting back "home" was a great relief. We got our new room assignment, which were OK, but I'd much prefer being the fourth member in another room. Such is life. We had one day of school, and in Jewish History class we had this heart to heart convo about our experiences thus far in this cave a minute or two walk from the classroom. It was nice, but I realized something about myself and my experience too. ANd this blog has defiitely helped, as well as people's support and such in order to make this experience meaningful. For one, it has made my Jewish identity much stronger, and though my beliefs remain the same, I feel it necessary to be more observant (just a bit). It also puts my idenity into perspective, and Ive realized that this is a central part of my life, and I cant deny that, but embrace it. I didnt know this before, Judaism was always just this thing I belong to. But its more than that now. A large part of this is also the State of ISrael. I wont get too political because I hate political arguments, and I dont want to push any opinions on the readers. I realized how important this country is, and how its creation was enourmously monumental, and its existence related to the Jewish faith. I also have learned to be content and happy, or at least partly. The society my program forms is something I strive for, something I could only dream of belonging to before. My only problem is my condition when I return to the States. I have close friends there, and many of my closer friends from the program are from my area, but there are still the rest who live from coast to coast. And going back to school will we be odd, my fears pertaining to social acceptance and academics. But I am looking forward to seeing my friends at home (some who are readers) and eating real food and playing my own guitar. But already its a little halfway through the program and Ive made so much progress. Yes, maybe not as much as I'd idealized, but still a lot. And my worries are simply limited to AP tests. And Im beginning to lose that stress (not in a way that would prevent me from doing well, I hope) anyway.
Well, theres not much else to write about, miraculously, so I guess I say farwell until the next time I write. ANd feel free to ask me anything(really), I really like it when there are physical signs that people read my blog (at least fbook messages). But even if nobody read it, like I had orginially planned, it woudl still be a personal archive of info I could sentimentally look back on.