...I dreamed in Hebrew...

Voter's Card

I hit the two year mark, I moved up four levels in ulpan, I finally received my voter's card in the mail (elections are next week, and I am voting!!), and to top it off, I had my first dream in Hebrew.  I have been waiting for this to happen, and when I least expected it (after an evening of English with lab mates) my wish came true.

My second year of life in Israel had a lot of other firsts.  Most of them were mentioned in previous posts, but I will give a bit of a summary of where I have come from, how I am feeling and where I am going.  Of course, we celebrated my aliya-versary with food and drink and friends--friends being the most important part.  I have made amazing friendships since moving to Israel, and however cliche it sounds, they are the reason I am still here.  I have found a family with whom to celebrate holidays and other simchas (joyous occasions).  I have found a group of girls with whom to have girls' night, watch trashy tv, and to go out to eat at a moments notice.  There has been board game playing, break-up ice cream, end-of work cheese eating,  an hour-long 90's sing-along, and a scavenger hunt (post on that coming soon...).  There have been shabbos meals, picnics, museum outings, and bar-be-ques.

Food

Drink

Friends

At a wedding.  We sang (read: screamed) 90s
 hits the whole way home...from Tel Aviv, Yafo.

It has been a busy year, and I have accomplished all of the goals I set for myself.  I improved my Hebrew (ulpan, Israeli roommates and friends); I continued to explore Jerusalem/Israeli culture (museums, concerts, shows, festivals); I sorted out my future (Movement Ecology Lab for the foreseeable future); I kept up with my blog (an average of four posts per month); and I got over my irrational fear of cats (I still don't like them, but progress nonetheless).

All in all, the year has been a good one: friends, graduate school, and tons of adventures (in and outside of Jerusalem).  I have done things I never thought I would (worked with vultures, drove a cherry picker, seen real snow in Jerusalem).  I have experienced things I hoped I never would (tzeva adom--emergency siren--in Jersualem, Operation Pillar of Defense in Gaza).  I finished some things (wiping kids tushies--i.e. preschool, my internship at the GZA), and started others (researching, taking classes in Hebrew, watching TV).  I met amazing (influential, famous, etc) people both in my lab, at Hebrew University, and from around the world.  And most importantly of all, I still feel unbelievably settled and at peace in this country.  Whenever I leave to visit America, I get antsy, and as soon as my plane arrives here, I let out a sigh of relief and feel a physical unwinding...a feeling in my gut.  I may not be Israeli through and through (yet), but I love it here, and I can't wait to see what my next year has to bring!