10 Years Ago Today

A very funny thing happened to me during one of my English lessons this evening.  I was sitting with one of my best students, having a conversation lesson, when we started talking about high school and tests and graduation...and it hit me that ten years ago, I graduated from high school.  Something continued nagging me, however, and I decided to pull out my high school diploma and show it to my student.  As I checked the date, I was shocked to see that on this EXACT day ten years ago, I graduated high school.  Now, my friends, that is a weird feeling.  To be sitting in the middle of my lesson, in my apartment in Be'er Sheva, Israel, and to be transported back to where I was exactly ten years ago to that moment.

I happily remembered the day, starting off as a beautiful, sunny May morning in Arkansas.  We had graduation practice that morning on the football field, and we were all pretty sure that we wouldn't be rained out and forced into the gym with the clear sky and the pleasant breeze.  I found on my seat my final English paper from the famed Mrs. Kropp (my her memory be forever blessed)...that stress-filled project that determined if I kept my perfect 4.0 average or not (it was).  I remember time spent with the family and friends and how quickly the day ran away until we all converged on the football stadium that evening.  Decked out in red heels in honor of my beloved sister, Lori, who also wore red heels to her Southside High School graduation years before, I joined the throngs of my fellow students to graduate.  It was beautiful...I remember lots of specific parts, especially when Mr. Mahaffey grabbed my ankle before I walked across the podium to get my diploma, with a huge smile on his face (that smile that no one can forget) and surely lots of great memories in his heart.  (Super quick side story, Mr. Mahaffey, easily one of the most influential teachers of my life, taught my oldest sister, Kim, and vowed to not retire until he had taught me.  True to his word, my year was his last year of teaching.  I was so fortunate to have him as a teacher and a mentor, and I gained so much from him.)  I remember the first few students dropping their diplomas as they crossed the stage, out fear or nerves or whatever, and I made a mental note to hold on for dear life.  I remember a sea full of light blue caps and gowns and the tunnel our teachers made, escorting us into to beginning of the end...and on into a new beginning.

Now, let's twist the mind around a bit more.  I've been reflecting, ever since my discovery, on where I thought I would be and where I actually am now.  As a naive and energetic 18 year old, I never thought that my life would end up in Israel, studying my Masters degree in a language that I'm still learning, roughing it and toughing it and loving it with an amazing life partner and tons of unbelievable friends by my side.  The last ten years have been a roller coaster, but all the dips and turns and loopty-loops make me who I am, and I'm proud of the life I've lived and the life I'm living.  Sure, I've made some terrible choices, but more importantly, I've learned from them.  All of this beautiful reflection in the midst of an end-of-the-semester, too-stressed-out-to-function, all-work-and-no-play crisis with lots of tears and snot.  But, damn, if these are the things I'm stressed about - a presentation in front of a group of doctors with whom I've worked and co-treated patients all year, leading a mock group therapy session, cleaning my big and beautiful apartment, spending time with my amazing and intelligent boyfriend, finding time to be with all those super friends I've been blessed with, etc. - then I would say that I'm doing terribly well.  So, with sleep deprivation on my mind, I'll finish this nostalgic post with a smile on my face and a happy reflection in my heart.  Southside High School Class of 2004.




(And I made it through the entire post without saying something about feeling old...high five!  Hahaha!)

Surprise Post!

Surprise!  I'm back!  I mean, I've always been here, but juggling grad school, an internship, three jobs, and the multitude of other obligations we as humans have, I've neglected my poor blog.  There's so much to update you all on, as well!

I'll start with this - it hit me this morning, as I was sitting on my "sun balcony" in my new apartment that it's Friday morning.  Theoretically, this should be like a Saturday morning in America.  Quiet, no work, no school, and time for all the fun we all enjoy.  However, Israel is a different animal.  People typically work six days a week, Sunday to Friday (since Saturday is our designated day of rest, as opposed to Sunday in America), children go to school Sunday to Friday, and things operate normally albeit on a shorter schedule.  Things will close early today, around 3:30-4:00PM to allow time for Shabbat preparations.  For me, it typically has meant running to work at H&M from 7AM and then arriving home around 4:30PM to teach the last English lessons of the week before running out of steam.  So, maybe it's no surprise that I haven't had the time that I've wanted to write or read (or study, for that matter).  Our culture here is a fast-paced one, and I feel like people are constantly on the move... 

Except for me today.  My body told me SIT DOWN AND REST, and I've been sick with a stomach virus for almost a week.  I guess I can't complain too much.  We may work extra long and hard, but when you're sick, you get paid out of your sick days (I get 18 a year, for example), and you can really just focus on being better.  That's a huge change from America where, if I were sick, I'd have to use vacation days and pay dearly to go to the doctor.  Did I mention, too, that I pay $7 a month for full coverage health insurance, and I don't pay a dime when I go to visit the doctor?  Or that my prescriptions will never be more than $10 (usually around $3-4)?  Did I also mention that my American mentality is so deeply ingrained within me that I still have a hard time to stop working, go to the doctor, and just rest?  You can check with Yagel - I've driven him nuts with my stubbornness on this subject more than once.  :)

So, let's catch up on some of massive changes that have occurred over the past few months.  First of all, I moved to a new apartment.  It's HUGE compared to what I was in, and it has such a lovely character.  I have a great kitchen, a big living room, two bedrooms (one, I have turned into an office), a large bathroom, and two balconies - a service balcony, where I can theoretically do laundry (just don't have a washing machine yet, haha), and a sun balcony, which I mentioned earlier, that is used as an extension to the kitchen and a future home to yoga and meditation time.  Future meaning, when I have time.  Here's some photo evidence...

 The sun balcony before it was made into an extension of the kitchen...now there is a microwave and a wine rack and other fun kitchen-y things there. 

 This is the much talked about kitchen.  It's HUGE, and I have so much space to cook!  Plus, the sink is 4x bigger than the last one.  I'm not really sure what to do with myself...

 Entering the living room from the sun balcony...TV, book shelf, and oh my, what is that on the bottom left?

 More of the living room, looking at the dining area and front door.

 Looking back into the living room.  Two big sofas!  We don't have to perform acrobatics to relax while watching TV!  Yagel's beautiful artwork is one the walls...and oh...again, there's something strange by the sofa...

The bedroom...so much light.  TV.  More room.  So red (just like I like it!).

 And the office.  With the wild zebra print on the closets.  It even has a dry-erase board on the opposite wall, which is great for teaching lessons! 

So, to address that rather blonde ball of fur that you saw in a few of the pictures.  It is indeed true, Yagel and I adopted a dog.  His name is Tripp Turner Chernia (thanks, Mom!), and he's half Shar-Pei, half Pit Bull or Labrador or teddy bear, we're not sure.  Here he is in all his cuteness...

Yep, so new apartment, new furchild, getting close to finishing my first year in grad school.  Also visited Amsterdam for a week.  It's been a whirlwind, and I'm still loving every minute of it.  Ahhhhh, writing this blog is definitely my therapy.  I hope that I can find the time to do more for myself in the coming weeks...even with finals approaching.  Hope to catch up again with y'all soon!  Kisses, Megan