Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Time flies

So here I sit, on the squeaky couch that could probably be used as a flotation device in the event of an emergency, drinking instant “coffee” (the jury is still out on that one) while occasionally looking to my right through our living room window at the Temple Mount and Mount of Olives.  I should be studying for my last final that is scheduled for in the morning, and eventually I will get to it—I ran out of steam a long time ago—but I realize it has been a very long time since I have updated my blog, and that is not normal for me (as if spending time in Israel can be normal).  I have been in a shell for the last few weeks, but I am slowly crawling out! 

I have been in Israel a grand total of 133 days, and I still have 54 days to go; I felt it was close enough to start a countdown (can you believe I will have been here for over half a year?? I can’t).  I have been busy with end of the semester festivities, such as studying, not sleeping, eating random foods at random times, and of course procrastinating, thus I have not had much of an opportunity to sit and write lately, but now I’m stealing away a few minutes.   

Some updates on Oklahoma:  Many of the news reports I read stated that Moore had 16 minutes to prepare for the tornado—that is incorrect.  They had more time; the NWS issued the tornado warning 16 minutes before it touched down in a town west of Moore; that storm blew up quickly, and if you have the time, you should Google the radar images; pretty amazing.  My roommate’s daughter did NOT lose her house; in the confusion and whatnot, what my roommate heard her daughter say was the house was hit…what her daughter actually had said was she knew the house was still standing, because she heard debris hitting it.  My former boss, whose son was in one of the elementary schools, I am told will in fact have to tear down his badly damaged home.  Another person I worked with in Norman, her family lost their house, but I am just thankful everyone is alive and well.  In the latest rounds of storms on Friday, which produced a 2.6 mile wide monster—the largest in size ever recorded anywhere—a section of our fence was blown down.  My cats are still alive, though probably not very happy with me, my roommate is doing well but like everyone else weary of the weather, and we still have a house.  So far so good.  And that’s all I have to say about that, just needed to update.  Oh, and for those who have asked—no, I have no intentions at this time of moving out of Oklahoma. I love it there for so many reasons.

Tomorrow after the last day of finals, most of the students here will be flying back to their respective countries/states.  It’s going to be weird.  A few of my friends will still be around through part of June, and after that I will be left to fend for myself.  I will have this apartment all to me onesie for a few weeks, until the newbies start filing in for the upcoming Jerusalem ulpan and perhaps fall semester later down the road.  I know one person from OU who is coming for the Jerusalem ulpan, and hopefully I run into him.  

Looking back on this semester, there are so many things that stick out; such as the first day I arrived…I try not to think about it J  So many changes, so many new things and people on no sleep in one day is a lot to take in.  But as expected, I have grown to love it.  And the people I have met.  Our little bible study is made up of great people, and I have loved the fact that though we all come from different backgrounds, are going in different directions, and we even have different beliefs (the discussions have been so interesting and fun!), the differences have not stopped us from caring about each other and having a great time together.  Being the oldest in the group (by quite a few years), I have struggled with wanting to be a mom at times or maybe even acting like one, but I really do care about each one (I refrained from calling them kids J ).  I really will miss them all.  Ok I’m going to stop before I get sappy.   

I really need to get back to studying, but hopefully I update again soon, as I have some pictures to post from a trip I took a few weeks ago.  Below are some links that apply to me daily…enjoy.
 

This is not just daily, but usually several times a day:  http://rothbergproblems.tumblr.com/post/51064784440/when-my-internet-isnt-working

 
 

Most definitely!

       
This is how I will feel when I am back home in the states and can cook something that does not involve pasta or all veggies:

 
Shalom

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