I hate money and time! They’re both far too practical and I rarely have much of either! …My lack of time has required me to abridge and combine the stories from my last few weeks in Beer Sheva... Here is a pictorial of daily life:
Towards the beginning of the program I had my roommate cut my hair… I made a comment to her about my hair being a wee bit scraggly. I also mentioned that I hadn’t paid for a haircut in 3 years and hated to break with tradition. She kindly offered to do the job! She had some experience, I believe cutting her father’s. Then after another friend loaned us her school scissors the deed was as good as done…
Every week I had the opportunity to go with the group on a short trip to one of Israel’s noteworthy sites. These trips along with my own wanderings really started to fill up my dorm room map wall:
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On one trip we went to Ben Gurion's house in Sde Boker, where he spent his last days.
There are a lot of cacti in Israel; here's one outside Ben's place:
Here I am taking in the spectacular vista near Ben Gurion’s resting place.
On another occasion the group went to Ein Gedi… The most incredible hike I had ever gone on! The scenery was remarkable and the trial rigorous.
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At times the path narrowed... substantially, and you were left with a sharp ravine to your right…
At other times there were steps... lots of steps...
and climbing...
and cliffs...
Towards the end of trail the path dipped into the gorge before ending at a waterfall.
After a little refresher at the waterfall the group made their way back; it was on the return journey that I discovered my hero!
This man, (perhaps Speedy Gonzales in a past life) had apparently accompanied the group on the trek there… though I had never seen him!
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-->Overcoming fatigue, pain, and large quantities of perspiration, I forsook the group and made it my goal to catch up with, and pass him! Though it was a difficult undertaking, with stubborn resilience it was eventually accomplished!
This is the face of an overcomer!
A view of the Israeli landscape from the ride back, the victorious ride back!
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Besides weekend travels and day trips with the group, I occupied myself with study parties...
Game nights...
-->Pub excursions...
Cooking parties...
Climbing trees...
(Here is my reading tree. It reminded me of my favorite book, The Man Who was Thursday: -->
"Gregory struck out with his stick at the lamp-post, and then at the tree. 'About this and this,' he cried; 'about order and anarchy. There is your precious order, that lean, iron lamp, ugly and barren; and there is anarchy, rich, living, reproducing itself—there is anarchy, splendid in green and gold.'
'All the same,' replied Syme patiently, 'just at present you only see the tree by the light of the lamp. I wonder when you would ever see the lamp by the light of the tree.'"
There was a "lean iron lamp" -->in close proximity to a "rich living" tree which alowed me to keep late reading hours in my clandestine sanctuary.)
Breaking water bottles... This was number 3! I guess I can add water bottles to the list of things that come to me to die, right along with computers, cars and plants.
Going to class... 
Enjoying glida (ice cream)... -->Providentially, Beer Sheva is home to Israel’s best glida! Magical!!!
Being stalked by cats... -->horrid things!
Shenanigans...
-->
Sushi...
Playing in the rain...
It only rains maybe 3 times a year in Beer Sheva. -->I was fortunate enough to witness about 2 minutes of this rare occurrence.
Stumbling upon fancy wine tasting parties reminiscent of the Larrabee's parties in Sabrina... -->
Here is the end of Ulpan party:'(
Hannah and I
My two wonderful counselors for the program! I miss them!
Towards the beginning of the program I had my roommate cut my hair… I made a comment to her about my hair being a wee bit scraggly. I also mentioned that I hadn’t paid for a haircut in 3 years and hated to break with tradition. She kindly offered to do the job! She had some experience, I believe cutting her father’s. Then after another friend loaned us her school scissors the deed was as good as done…
Every week I had the opportunity to go with the group on a short trip to one of Israel’s noteworthy sites. These trips along with my own wanderings really started to fill up my dorm room map wall:
-->
On one trip we went to Ben Gurion's house in Sde Boker, where he spent his last days.
There are a lot of cacti in Israel; here's one outside Ben's place:
Here I am taking in the spectacular vista near Ben Gurion’s resting place.
On another occasion the group went to Ein Gedi… The most incredible hike I had ever gone on! The scenery was remarkable and the trial rigorous.
Here’s a map of the canyon:
-->
See that wavy tan line disappearing into the rocky crags… that was the trail!
At times the path narrowed... substantially, and you were left with a sharp ravine to your right…
At other times there were steps... lots of steps...
and climbing...
and cliffs...
Towards the end of trail the path dipped into the gorge before ending at a waterfall.
After a little refresher at the waterfall the group made their way back; it was on the return journey that I discovered my hero!
This man, (perhaps Speedy Gonzales in a past life) had apparently accompanied the group on the trek there… though I had never seen him!
-->
This dude was crazy! Crazy and crazy fast!
At first I just felt humbled… but soon humility turned to admiration and wonder!
And even sooner my admiration and wonder waned and my competitive nature was provoked… I was on a mission…
-->Overcoming fatigue, pain, and large quantities of perspiration, I forsook the group and made it my goal to catch up with, and pass him! Though it was a difficult undertaking, with stubborn resilience it was eventually accomplished!
This is the face of an overcomer!
A view of the Israeli landscape from the ride back, the victorious ride back!
-->
On another outing we visited a NGO advocating Bedouins’ rights.
Besides weekend travels and day trips with the group, I occupied myself with study parties...
Game nights...
Cooking parties...
Climbing trees...
(Here is my reading tree. It reminded me of my favorite book, The Man Who was Thursday: -->
"Gregory struck out with his stick at the lamp-post, and then at the tree. 'About this and this,' he cried; 'about order and anarchy. There is your precious order, that lean, iron lamp, ugly and barren; and there is anarchy, rich, living, reproducing itself—there is anarchy, splendid in green and gold.'
'All the same,' replied Syme patiently, 'just at present you only see the tree by the light of the lamp. I wonder when you would ever see the lamp by the light of the tree.'"
There was a "lean iron lamp" -->in close proximity to a "rich living" tree which alowed me to keep late reading hours in my clandestine sanctuary.)
Breaking water bottles... This was number 3! I guess I can add water bottles to the list of things that come to me to die, right along with computers, cars and plants.
Going to class... 
Enjoying glida (ice cream)... -->Providentially, Beer Sheva is home to Israel’s best glida! Magical!!!
Being stalked by cats... -->horrid things!
Shenanigans...
-->
Sushi...
Playing in the rain...
It only rains maybe 3 times a year in Beer Sheva. -->I was fortunate enough to witness about 2 minutes of this rare occurrence.
Stumbling upon fancy wine tasting parties reminiscent of the Larrabee's parties in Sabrina... -->
Being taken care of by my Israeli parents...
They were the ones who gave me a ride home from Tel Aviv. They also fed me and gave me that pretty yellow dress pictured below.
Here is the end of Ulpan party:'(
Hannah and I
My two wonderful counselors for the program! I miss them!
The End of Beer Seva:-(
