Back in Israel!!

I left Israel last July, absolutely devastated and sure that I would not be returning to Israel for quite some time...years, possibly decades. So I truly cannot believe that I am continuing my Israel blog 8 months later. This time around I am venturing into a one year graduate program through NYU Poly. NYU Poly actually has an extension campus in Tel Aviv (who would have guessed?!), so I will be graduating next March with a Master's in Organizational Behavior. It's a fantastic opportunity for me to gain a competitive edge (hopefully!) by having an advanced degree from a prominent American university. I just happen to attend class in Israel! But I think the best thing about being back in Israel is all the amazing hummus I have been eating nonstop!!!!! Americans truly have no idea what real hummus should taste like!

I arrived ten days ago. It felt so surreal to be back, and at this point, it almost feels like I never even left and the past 7 months in El Paso (never mind those weeks in Europe!) were all a dream. I've already encountered rude Israelis and the things that annoyed me about Israel last time, but all I can do is sigh and say "yep...I'm back in Israel!" Last week was all about settling in and getting acquainted with the program and the group. It is a small program...only 12 people in my particular program, but there are 25 people in the same graduate program that started this past October. I am temporarily living in a studio apartment with a roommate, but will be moving to a nicer apartment complex in 2 weeks (hopefully with our own bedrooms). Yet I'm sure everyone will be jealous to hear that I live about 20 meters from the Mediterranean. No exaggeration. It is truly unbelievable. There is a famous boardwalk that runs along the beach in Tel Aviv (called the tayelet) that is amazing for running, walking, or people watching. The apartment I will be moving to in 2 weeks is further north, but still just as close to the beach. Prime real estate.

Tayelet (famous TA boardwalk)

It has already been quite warm here and perfect beach weather. However, because of the fact that it is early March, I am already dreading the summer and the horrendously hot and humid weather the summer months will surely bring!! Although I live in an amazing location near the beach and smack in the city center where everything is happening, I'm having a bit of a hard time adjusting to Tel Aviv. It's incredibly noisy...cars, honking, sirens,people, etc can be heard at all hours of the day and night from my apartment. I'm sure it will just take some getting used to, and before I know it I won't be able to sleep if it's too quiet! But everything one could possibly need is within walking distance. I am also missing Jerusalem quite a bit, but I've already been there twice in ten days, and planning on going again this weekend! Thank goodness Israel is such a small country. Ari lives in a small community outside Jerusalem, so it's nice to have a quiet place to escape to when need be.

My first day of classes were today. Our classes are held at the Israel College of Management, which is in the top floor of a mall (yes, a mall!). So that also takes some getting used to! It is only about 12 miles away, but the ridiculous bus takes an hour! Speaking of buses, I have already navigated my way by bus to and from quite a few new and strange places. Considering the Israeli bus system is the second largest in the world, (and so confusing and annoying) I'm awfully proud of myself.

Back to school...The year is divided into 4 semesters (each season) with 6 weeks off in the fall for the high holidays. I also get 2 weeks off for Pesach in a mere 3 weeks! Israel is great sometimes. :-) This semester I'm taking Information Technology (hmmm, should be interesting considering I know nothing about computer systems!), Career Management, Entrepreneurship, and Project Management (also..no idea!!). Our classes are all taught by Israelis, but they seem to all have almost perfect English, so it shouldn't be a problem. I'm also taking a statistics tutorial course that I basically just need to get through. And I will be taking ulpan (Hebrew courses) every week for the entire year. So maybe this time I'll actually learn Hebrew! Maybe this time I'll actually try!