As you can see, we went on dirt roads through streams and up mountains, with breathtaking scenery all around. At some points on the 45-min drive, we went on the highway, which was actually more scary than driving up mountains because there would be huge trucks zooming past you in the opposite direction while you are in this tiny golf cart, not wearing a seatbelt, armed with a red helmet. The vehicles could actually go up to 45 mph, so it was a lot of fun to gun it on the highway and feel the wind in your face - it made me want to get a convertible, weather permitting. Anyway, near the end of the drive we heard popping and the engine died shortly after - luckily, we were able to get off the highway before the very expensive ATV stopped moving. But it was a convenient place to run into engine trouble because all we had to do was hike up a short hill and then we had an amazing lookout point and were treated to snacks while we took pictures and met up with everyone before heading back.
This is my last week of Ul-pan, just got back from a 3 on 3 basketball tourney which we lost in the semis, this weekend we will be camping out in the Negev and I'm excited to say I just booked a trip to Istanbul next Wednesday, getting back on Sunday in time for Purim. There are a lot of groups going to Istanbul at that time because we don't have class. I also made my schedule, I'm taking Foreign Policy of Israel and Archaeology of Jerusalem - the two classes I really wanted to take, archaeology is basically a walking tour of the city - as well as the mandatory Hebrew class and my internship class for JCPA. I don't have class on Thursday so I will be able to keep traveling - Petra and Cairo are next on the list.
It was summer today. Everyone wore shorts and sandals and a t shirt, we played basketball outside, after Ul-pan ended I came back and took a nap in my room with the window wide open and the sun shining in. Just unbelievable weather. I'm very excited for the weekend, we have our big Ulpan final on Thursday so I need to start studying for it, but Ul-pan really hasn't been that stressful since the credit doesn't transfer so it doesn't matter how I do, and the teachers are very understanding if you miss days or don't turn in homework on time. Weird to think I haven't even started classes yet; seems like I've been in Israel forever.
Oh, one more big update. Last night (Valentine's Day), me and Isaac cooked stir fry for about 10 people. It was delicious. We didn't use any oil, just paprika, chili pepper, black pepper, and teriyaki sauce, but we had a ton of fresh veggies from the shuk and got tofu from the supermarket. It took about an hour to prepare but it was amazing, so I'm slowly making progress in the cooking department.
Another update: we switched rooms. The old room just wasn't working out and we had zero communication with the roommates, and it's so easy to switch rooms, so we figured why not. A few days ago we packed our bags and moved to building 4, and the new roommates are awesome, one is Israeli who cooks very well and one is an Arab Christian who I've already had tons of very interesting talks with. He has lots of Jewish friends but still brings a unique perspective to everything; he flat out asked me why Jews have a right to the land of Israel and I was stunned to realize that my best answer was "We were here first, it says in the Bible" to which he asked me if I truly believed everything in the Bible. It's obviously a very complicated issue, and one that I've had explained to me about a million times, but evidently it didn't stick so I need to brush up on my Jewish history.
Also, we went to an AMAZING dinner at this Arabic restaurant in East Jerusalem with a huge crowd of people last Thursday night. The walk there was kinda intense because it wasn't the best area to walk through at night, but we were a group of about 16 people so it wasn't that bad. Once we got there, the owner was so happy to see us he just brought out a ton of food. They don't use menus, the eating is very communal, so you get huge portions of food in the center and you're expected to share everything. We sat on these couches and they brought out a ton of sides and HUGE pitas, I ate a ton but then they brought out a gigantic pot of rice and lamb, after that they brought out a ton of fresh apples, bananas, and oranges - it was delicious. Gotta go back there, if I can find it, it's a hole in the wall place (literally, the walls are rock). A lot of pictures were taken but I was only able to track down one, of course it's the most awkward one but you can kinda see what it looks like, how we were sitting on couches with a curved rock wall/ceiling around us:
It's just been endless new experiences here and hasn't slowed down a bit. Can't wait for the Negev and Istanbul!
EDIT: WOW LOOK AT THIS WEATHER
YES PLEASE.
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