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