The tap water here does not agree with me. I learned that lesson today. Instead, I will have to drink bottled water. I feel bad. Not only is bottled water expensive and a big scam, it is also bad for the environment and perpetuates the need for oil. And it also doesn't help that the university does not have a recycling program for plastic bottles.
Hebrew makes me want to cry. I really do not want to take it again. I've gone since May without speaking it and have just lost interest in the language. Plus, I've already taken 4 semesters at Pitt, which means that I have fulfilled the requirement for the Jewish studies certificate and no longer need to take it. Any credit that I get from taking it here, which would amount to 6, is elective credit. But yet, because I am receiving a grant from MASA, which is funded by the Israeli government (they told us so last night), I am required to. Because of this, I cannot take Modern Standard Arabic, which was one of the major things that drew me to Haifa. There's a spoken Arabic class, but it overlaps with 2 Political Science courses that I need to take.
I can't decide if I want to drop Contemporary Israel and replace it with Intro to Rabbinic Literature. The Contemporary Israel course will be offered next semester and if I don't end up taking it, I can take the Modern Israel course at Pitt. This semester, the Rabbinic Literature course focuses on the Mishnah and other legal texts. It is also offered next semester and covers the Midrash and Talmud discussion. They both sound interesting and I can't decided what to do.
I went to Terrorism and Responses to day. The teacher is an officer in the IDF and his job has something to do with terrorism analysis. It's a neat class and offerers a lot of things to think about. It covers all different types of terrorism and terrorist groups. I definitely do not plan to drop it because there is no equivalent and Pitt and it is only this semester.
I only have Hebrew tomorrow at 8:15am until 10. After that, I'm going to the beach with some friends.
My Israeli roommate moved in today. He's a nursing student. I only got to meet with him for a few minutes. He seems like a good guy.
My American roommate and I cooked dinner tonight. I made couscous and he made this bread thing with a tomato-pepper sauce. It was delicious. The food here is way better than anything I had at Pitt and it is much cheaper.
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2 comments:
davidstreeter- hillary read me your blog last night while i was making dinner, and i kept on commenting to her, which isn't so entirely helpful for you. hence.
ok. DRINK THE TAP WATER! i will not stand by and let you WASTE hundreds of shekels on bottled water. it takes a few days to adjust to different water, yes, but then you are set for the year! really streeter. trust me on this.
also, stick with the hebrew. it makes it much easier to meet people and get along and a hebrew classroom in israel is a very interesting experience.
you can also take a rabbinic lit course at pitt with adam shear. why do you need to take the two PS classes?
who is your prof for terroism and responses- elliot chodoff? he spoke at pitt three years ago.
have you been traveling yet?
David - i have to agree with rebecca - once your system adjusts to the water you'll be fine.
have a great time this weekend on you hike, too.
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