I guess I update this monthly..

So clearly I am not as good with this whole blog thing as I had anticipated.  So since November 3rd (my last post) much has happened here in Israel.  Right after Erev Nativ (last November), us NERUSYers on Nativ (and at college.. Adam) got a visit from our USY Youth Director, Joyce Juda!  On Friday, the 6 of us spend Shabbas dinner with Joyce and Ari (he also used to work for NERUSY but then made Aliyah!) and then took a midnight stroll to the Kotel!  I think it was then when it hit me that I am really in Israel for a whole 9 months.  It was awesome having Joyce here for so long, a home away from home.  That next weekend my KARMIEL Group (not Be'er Sheva anymore.. I'll get to that a little later), went 3 hours North of Jerusalem to Ma'alot for a home hospitality weekend in the neighborhood that our assistant director, Elkana, is from.  Ma'alot is about 125 miles outside of Jerusalem and 12 miles from Lebanon, that's how north we were.  It is absolutely beautiful up there!  I really felt like I was at home, there was foliage, real streets with real houses (not apartments like in Jerusalem), and English-speakers everywhere!  I spent my weekend with a girl in my group with a family who recently made Aliyah from Toronto, how fortunate... they spoke English.  They have 3 kids under the age of 7, and were so much fun to play with!  We were fed great food and had such a good and restful weekend (much needed since this weekend was in the middle of midterm exams).
The following week I spent countless nights awake until 3 am studying and working on papers.  I guess it all paid off with the fairly good grades I received!  Although this week did make me realize that "real" college midterm exam week will be hell.
Finally, November 25th came around and it was time for Thanksgiving.  Nativ puts on a whole production for Thanksgiving that I got the opportunity to be on the committee for!  All Nativ alumni who are in Israel are invited to attend- the a capella group sang, videos were shown (I made one with 2 friends! The link is posted below), a HUGE feast was served, and letters from home were given to all of us before dinner.  Being in Israel was weird on Thanksgiving, very weird, seeing as I had classes all day (although I skipped my 12:30-4 class, oops :) ) and nothing was closing early, but Nativ tried to make us feel the most at home with the "Friends" Thanksgiving episodes playing all night long and a huge football game in the afternoon.  Yes, American football!  I proudly wore my Patriots jersey all day throughout Jerusalem and I know that's what made them crush Detriot!

 Me, Ash, Lauren, & Amy

This past Monday, I went to Yad Vashem, the Israeli Holocaust Museum and Memorial, with my Issues in the Study of the Holocaust class.  We spent 5 hours on a very educational guided tour and spoke with a survivor in the end.  I'd been to Yad Vashem before, but this seminar was much much better.  My tour guide was one of the most knowledgable people on the subject (aside from my Professor) and our speaker who survived the war was one of the funniest women I've ever met.  She took such a brutal situation and found the sunshine in it, I truly admire her.
And as we all know, Chanukkah began last week!  All of Nativ made our own Chanukkiot and placed them in the windows facing the main intersection the Fuschsberg Center is on.   Looking into the windows from the street, at night, is so beautiful!  Chanukkah here is so much different from at home.  For starters, latkes are not common here at all, I haven't been able to eat any, but I have been able to eat sufganiot (doughnuts for those who don't know what they are).  Roladin, the greatest bakery ever, has a million different flavors of sufganiot, and yes, I've tried almost all of them.  Chanukkah here is basically Christmas but for our religion.  There are so many activities going on city wide for Chanukkah but my favorite thing to do thus far is walk around the Mamilla Mall (comparable to Boston's Newbury Street) and listen to the live performers and take pictures of all the decorations.  This week I'll be going to the Old City to pick up some dreidels to bring home since in Israel they gave the letters Gimmel, Hay, Nun, and Pay (not Shin like at home) because A Great Miracle Happened Here (Pay), not There (Shin)!
Karmiel... Yes, I said it right, I am no longer a part of the Be'er Sheva group, I am a part of the Karmiel group.  The absorption center my group of 32 kids was supposed to stay at in Be'er Sheva was shut down, as well as many absorption center throughout Israel.  After a hefty search, my program director decided to relocate us to Karmiel in the North.  Karmiel is about 120 miles from Jerusalem and 15 miles from Lebanon... it's that far North.  Luckily, Karmiel was not effected by the fire in Northern Israel which I am sure you all have heard of.  It's been a true Chanukkah miracle that the fire has been under control for nearly a day now.  Now we must restore and rebuild
I'm still working on getting all my pictures onto a website but you know there will always be some spread throughout my blog!

Happy Chanukkah!
My Chanukkah present? EUROPE, in 3 weeks :)

XO- Dana
P.S. The greatest miracle of all is happening right now... IT'S POURING! Thanks goodness, Israel needs it