שבת שלום!

Today, Adi and Lior got back from the pilot's gibush.  A gibush is an intensive, week-long training program that is only for certain elite units of the Israeli army (such as the air force) that determines whether or not people can even undergo the training for that unit, let alone become a part of it.  Both of them passed, though, so I was very happy for them--it is one of the hardest gibushim, and Adi has all these bruises on her body from how intense it was.

Anyway, Wednesday I woke up fairly late and went to class.  In Arab-Israeli conflict we discussed how dependency on oil forces American politicians to sometimes turn against Israel, and later that day I got home and saw an article discussing a speech BiBi Netanyahu (Israel's Prime Minister) had recently given about reducing dependency on foreign oil and seeking alternative forms of energy.  The timing was very interesting.  After classes, Cera and I went to the Mohammed house, where we teach Musa, Talal, and Shima.  We made flash cards for them and played memory with English words, and they seemed to have a good time--I felt like they actually learned something, too.  When this ended, we went to meet up with people from Midwest at Yotvata cafe, and to talk to Robin.  I finally got to see Tom again (he returned to Israel from South America the other day, he and I were good friends at camp), as well as Nofar!  It was excellent to see everyone and talk about stuff at Midwest, and got me excited for next year.  Oren was also there, which was cool, because it was one of the first opportunities I've gotten to actually speak to him since I've been in Israel.  Oren and I split a chocolate souffle that was even tastier because it was paid for by camp.

Earlier in the week, I'm pretty sure it was on Monday, Jake taught Scott and I (and Nathan) how to play Euchre.  I don't know if you're familiar with Euchre, but it's one of the more thought-intensive card games I've ever played.  However, I feel as though it's kind of a love-hate relationship.  At times it's exciting and intriguing, but sometimes I almost feel obligated to play it, and find myself slogging through it.  It's kind of like reading an Ayn Rand novel in that way.

Thursday I went to the school and taught some apathetic kids a small bit of English.  After having worked with the adult Darfuris, who care so much and are motivated to learn, it's hard to go back to trying with vigor to teach kids who are set upon finding distractions and just getting out of class.  Later that day, I went to Ulpan class, where we watched a movie called "At the End of the World, Take Left."  It was strange, and had a lot of sex scenes in it.  A lot of it was also in French, which didn't help with my Hebrew much. :P

Thursday night I headed out to go to Club Broadway again, like last week--it was fine, but nothing special, really.  Clubbing is clubbing.  That night I also found out that Alyssa, the absolutely crazy girl in Emilie and Cari's apartment, was kicked off of Year Course.  Apparently, she stole 100 shekels out of Shoshy's wallet, and then Shoshy called and asked her about it, promising not to say anything if it was her.  She admitted to it, so Shoshy called her madricha and the rakezet of Bat Yam to tell them what had happened.  They then called Alyssa, so Alyssa called Shoshy and threatened (in all seriousness) to kill her.  Shoshy told her madricha and the rakezet about this, and the executive decision was made to kick Alyssa off the program.  I would feel bad, but it's really far too much independence for her, and she's kind of a danger to her roommates--she's a bit crazy.  It's strange, that 20-year-old Lauren (she's 20 and on Year Course because she just got out of rehab) girl got kicked off last week after she stole hundreds of dollars and clothes from her roommates...I don't understand some people.

There is an interesting phenomenon in Israeli society: despite the drinking age only being 18, many bars have age minimums of 21 or even 24.  My cousin told me it was because they want certain demographics in their bars (i.e. soldiers or university students), and Liat told me last Friday night (when she kind of snuck me into a 21 and over bar) that it's because many bars feel like kids who've just turned 18 and can legally buy alcohol don't know their limits.  It's interesting.

Today I woke up at about 12:30 and went to the Super Douche to buy materials to make soup, because tonight we had a potluck dinner for Garin Tzedek, גרעין צדק. It was interesting--I made the soup out of chicken broth, onions, and yams, and it actually turned out pretty good.  The dinner was to help fund raise for the Darfuris in Tel-Aviv, and was delicious.  After the dinner, I hosted a "Whose Shabbos is it Anyway" oneg, which was also pretty fun.  After, Nathan and I went back to his apartment to play Euchre, and now I'm about to go to sleep.  I hope your Shabbat is excellent, make the most of it!  שבת שלום!