The Cold's 'Acomin... sniffle

So 2 weeks ago, there is nothing interesting to write about other than the fact that I begun studying for a psychology clep which was really interesting. I love random things like the fact that infants are correctly termed "neonates". And seeing silly and obvious truths like children in the age between 5 and 10 years of age are in the "Identity vs Inferiority" stage according to the great psychosocial theorist Erik Erikson. :)

Anyways, I also had a bad cold and besides for that it was cooooold outside! Brrrrrr!!!!! lol- we have the funniest situation actually... so the heat hasn't been turned on yet in the school (as we were told 'we are waiting for people to start complaining') But our room in particular seemed to be so very much colder than anywhere else in the dorm and it was driving us crazy. And particularly one roommate of mine simply could not sleep for how cold she was! Anyways, one fine morning we were all sitting around talking and one of the roommates was sitting on this girls top bunk bed when she suddenly calls "Shaaaayne" I came hurrying over to find out what she could be looking at... turns out she could see Angels bakery through the wall over this girls head. :)

I'm not joking about this one. There is a palm sized hole from the drywall all the way through the jerusalem stone of the outer building structure which had been plugged up with tissues and tape. I guess it was lucky the tissues began to disintegrate when they did, and that someone saw it- otherwise we might have freezed our tushes off all winter!

No wonder our room couldn't get over our sick!

shabbos [Oct. 29]

Here is the beautiful, and inspiring thing that will probably stay with me throughout the rest of my life...

Friday the girls and I propped 2 bed boards across garbage cans and covered them with a white sheet before shabbos. Then we put a vase of flowers [donated by a friends family in honor of her birthday] in the center and lit our candles there. I also donated my new shabbos Challa cover to the mix... It looked stunning. We really felt like we were getting ready for our own shabbos! we ran around all friday cleaning and making the place sparkle with a Taam of home. We cut toilet paper and taped lights, ripped wrappers and tried to be ready in time to take shabbos 40 minutes before shkiah as per the minhag yerushalym.

Friday night meal I had the seuda in Givat Shaul with my P'ninis.... and Shabbos day i went with the seminar crowd to a classmate in Har Nof.

But Shalosh Seudos was something to be witnessed... A bunch of groups of girls had bought little amounts of food to eat at shalosh seudos without realizing that anybody else would be doing the same thing. But by shalosh seudos time we all found ourselves around our beautifully set shabbos table... the one made out of garbage cans, bedboards, and bedsheets... Our humble little shabbos table. Combining our food we found that there was more than enough to go around- and how! Really it was a feast. We brought up song books and sang and sang, and I said a dvar torah since I was the shabbos tatty :) We also realized that we could do a Mizumenet.

And as we were told- Al Pi Halacha, its a machlokes whether or not its obligated, but its certainly a nice thing to do. And that's how i found myself leading the Mezumenet- "Chavroti N'varech!"

By the time we were ready to let shabbos out we discovered that it was past Rabeinu tam! We did havdala but were on such a shabbos high that we decided to go straight into Melave Malke. Someone ran to put on Melava Malka music on her laptop and I got a Chanukia and 4 candles. We lit candles, rewashed, ate a czais of bread, and sang some more.

And that was probably the most meaningful shabbos of my life.

Rain rain- come today... for now we have begun to pray :)

Well, we started praying for rain people... did you know that during the first maariv saying V'Sen Tal in Israel it started raining? Now that's a bracha!

Nothing interesting happened last week other than me studying like a maniac. Oh- and i started getting over my cold.

Shabbos I stayed in the dorm and ate meals by a classmates cousins with her and 3 other girls. I did try to hold onto the ideals of our previous shabbos so i did make a shabbos table even with a real tablecloth this time! I also cleaned the whole dira and it felt great! Unfortunately we had Shalosh seudos plans. We walked into Har Nof in guess what? The pouring rain!

We made it there soaking wet but in high spirits!! The meal was nice. We got a ride back after shabbos and did Melava Malke in the dorm. It wasn't quite so uplifting... I did do some guitar practicing though and i think i'm doing pretty good for not having played since 2 summers ago. :)

Sunday i studied. Monday i took my psych test... and directly afterward i collected the 400 page college textbooks to begin studying for the next psych test :D {big sarcastic smile}

Anyways- at least its a subject that interests me.

Today I have contracted a new "sick" in the dorm. Its even more lovely because i haven't completely gotten over the last 2. I think i'm going to get some onions and garlic and start a bacteria catcher.... i'll let you know if it works :)

And now for the joke of the day:

What do an Elephant and a plum have in common?

They are both purple except for the elephant.... lol :)

[i actually thought that was hysterical]

alright people- don't give up on me! keep emailing and trying to keep in touch with me... it really makes a difference!

Love, shayne

Lousy Sukkot? Maybe, maybe not...

Sukkos- Hello, so this is the month of October in a nutshell. First day of Sukkos I spent in Beit Shemesh at my teacher’s parents house. They had a beautiful sukkah in their backyard and the weather was gorgeous. Thursday night I went back to the dorm and Friday I spent celebrating the Chag of Sukkot with my roommates and the rest of the P’ninim girls who were keeping 2 days. I ate meals with them and sang… I turned off the gas oven for them… lol. Friday night I was in Givat Shaul and Shabbos day in Rachavia. After my meal I stopped over at a friend from sem this year who taught me how to play perpetual commotion.

Chol Hamoed- We had a simchat Beit Hashoeva. On the agenda was a drama-musical performance by a professional writer and artist. The presentation lasted for close to 2 hours and people were pretty bored by the end. It didn’t help that the mic and amp system didn’t end up working and we were all sitting Indian style on the floor. Then me and another girl said dvar torah’s having to do with sukkot. I spoke about a concept that is very dear to me and holds a lot of personal meaning. I talked about Sukkot being a time of open miracles. About the fact that Hashem is involved in everyday life even to the point of making miracles for us if that is what it takes. I brought out the lesson from tracing Bnei Israel’s travels in the dessert and focused on the Clouds of Glory and their significance. I was really nervous to say it and was hoping that I wouldn’t have to but in the end I got coerced by teachers and friends. The important thing is that I got to speak from my heart. Afterward I was glad I did it.

One of the days I organized a trip for whoever wanted to come to the Rose Garden of Jerusalem which is an absolutely stunning garden with waterfalls and ponds, flowers, and arches- only a 15 minute walk from our building! I bought frizbees and packed lunches for everyone. A few hours before we left for the park one of the girls electrocuted herself in the socket and was told to go to the ER to make certain she was okay. Fortunately this girl is used to weird and unexplainable things happening to her, such as knocking herself unconscious on a low ceiling in the presence of Rabbi Meisels… Confusion of foot (as per medical records)… and other such creative things. So while some of us packed up to go, the others were sitting in Terem waiting for a diagnosis. In the end we all met up and spent an amazing long afternoon in the park, splashing in the water in our black tights, eating, talking, playing frizbee and hacky sack, taking pictures, and teasing the girl who got electrocuted. At one point she even had earphones in and looked like she was playing music… only after a few seconds did someone realize the ipod was on the ground and the earphones were being held up to her finger. J lol- it was a blast!

Erev Chag I set up a small room outside the madricha dira for yom tov. I set the table with tablecloths and a challa cover and put out chandles and my siddur… It really felt like it was going to be yom tov! Doing my own chag was the most uplifting thing for me- it felt the most like home. Simchat Torah night I went shul hopping by hakkafot and then joined my friends family in Givat Shaul for the seuda. The next day I woke up sick… which was no surprise seeing as my whole room had sinus infections for about a week already. I ate the meal in with challa and kugel from Ariella and other food I bought from Hadar Geula on Wednesday just for the occasion. Then I spent the rest of that day with friends and my roommates who were in the dorm. Thursday night my Israelli friends dragged me out to Hakafot Shniot in Craft Stadium. There was a band and hundreds of woman dancing their hearts out on the other side of a 10 foot mechitza from the men. From Chassdish women to Datti Leumi were there all dancing for the torah and having a blast! I felt so part of the culture… so Israelli- it was amazing!!!

I got back to the dorm close to 1:00 and everyone was sleeping but the next morning I joined them for their yomtov meal before leaving to catch a bus to Ramot for Shabbos.

Shabbos- Shabbos I was in Ramot by the Davis family. They have a daughter who is both in Chedvas at night and also in Michal Gershaw’s class during the day. I really enjoyed being there and have so much hakarat hatov to Rikki and the Davis family for taking such good care of me especially while I was sick.

Sunday after Sukkot I called my college advisor and switched to a Psychology Major. I am really excited about it and will Imy”H take my first Psych test this Monday [keep me in mind in ur tefillot!] So I basically studied all week without break until Shabbos.

I spent Last Shabbos in with 2 of my roommates. Friday night I went with a group of fellow P’nini’s to a friend’s house and we discussed with her mother Chinese Medicine (because she is a nurse and an expert at evaluation, prevention, and treatment of diseases through herbal remedies). Shabbos Day I went with the Seminar/Chedvas crowd to an Israelli Chedvas girl in Har Nof. We really had a blast and also borrowed books from their enormous Jewish library.

This week the whole Chedvas has lice. I kept getting checked hoping that I wasn’t going to get it but chances were nil… I got a few nits- and was bugging out! Pun intended. When my Em Bayit was checking me and finding them she was trying to calm me down and tell me how little I had and that it was practically nothing compared to certain dira mates who might have had close to 800 plus bugs…. And I just couldn’t talk cause I was scared if I tried I would just throw up… Then she got nervous. I remember this conversation going on around me in my semi-incapacitated state…

“Shayne… Shayne? Don’t do this to me… What are you thinking?”

My roommate, “Lice really makes Shayne nervous.”

Em Bayit, “Okay, but its not so bad-“

“I don’t think you understand Mrs. Lorch- Lice is the ONLY thing that makes Shayne nervous.”

“Oh…”

So for all you American's i have a new article: How To Get Rid of Lice 101

1. Shower
2. Put globs and globs of conditioner in your hair
3. Use a comb that pulls all your hair out and Comb Your Hair for HOURS.
4. Boil the Comb
5. Take another Shower
6. Repeat steps 1-5 repeatedly until you stop finding whatever it is you are finding.
7. Check the next day
8. Check the next day- and if you find anything new... Start over from the beginning and this time use Rosemary Oil (bleh!) :) lol

Anyways, I only had a few nits and then we combed and checked and now I don’t… but i haven’t been sleeping with any linen or blankets b/c I’m scared of lice so I’m suffocating everything that either I or any of my roommates came in contact with before the lice was over (including my teddy bear Sir Lancelot) in order to kill the lice. I have also been wearing hats. Today Rabbi Kahane caught me going to class in a hat and told me i couldn't wear it because i wasn't refined. So 15 minutes later found me in Rabbi Orlofsky's class with a Mitpachat. And guess what he was talking about... Marriage. lmto- i raised my class to answer one of his questions and he asked me if i was married b/c if i was then it would be no fair to play. :) and just in case any of you are wondering as to my response- the correct answer is NO. I am NOT married.

Anyways, that’s my life! All in all, it was a month I will remember positively… even the lousy part :}

September in a Nutshell

Sorry everyone for taking so long to write this up it's been a whirlwind month and a half but i'll try to be better about keeping updated! Thanx for understanding! so here it goes:

I concluded my stay in Tel Aviv with Chaim taking me to the airport on Thursday night the 8^th of September. The amazing Hashgacha Pratis I met there in the form of two of the girls from my program last year who would be joining me again this year, already jumping into a Nesher to the school. That made things a lot easier and more clear. Of course the driver charged me extra for the 4^th bag I had but... I was just happy to be with my friends.

When I came to my building I got to see my old Madrichot and some farmiliar faces which made me really happy. We didn’t’ have our room assignments yet so we bunkered down in whatever rooms were available until we would find out.

Shabbos September 9th was a P’ninim in-shabbos which I was asked to stay and help out for. I was really happy to do it because I love to stay in for Shabbos. It feels more like home… like its my own. So I got to get to know the new P’ninim recruits a bit and also to talk to my old teachers.

Sunday the internet for Chedvas students is still down, in fact it’s not going to be working anytime soon.

Monday we got room assignments and although I had asked to be with a P’ninim girl and in a ‘early to bed’ room… Rabbi Kahane saw fit to make me into the only P’ninim girl in a room without another P’ninim girl and I was also in a 6 room. The ONLY six room. Well thanx is all I had to say. But I took it in good humor and dragged my chosen closet across the building to my new room and made my area my own by sectioning off my corner of the room thereby leaving me in a considerably smaller sized bedroom for 2.

Tuesday I had Orientation and Wednesday we began class. By that time all of my roommates had arrived… if not unpacked. There are 2 former seminar girls and 3 Olot living in Ramat Beit Shemesh. One is from South Africa, one is from Australia and the other is from America. By the first week I honestly knew I had the best room. It was better than I had imagined and I really love all my roommates. We have a great dynamic and the truth is that when I go to sleep on time, so does everyone else. Everyone is so respectful and so great. We seem to be all home bodies and are in during the days, whether studying or otherwise, we have a lot in common.

From Wednesday morning, I loved the classes and still do. That Shabbos we had a Chedvas Bais Yaakov in Shabbos and it was really nice. Over 50 percent of my year live in Israel. It makes Shabbosim less of a hassle that’s for sure. Monday of the week before I had already been working to get a phone and Ariella had helped me get in touch with an agent for a cheap phone.

But get this people- to get the phone delivered, he had to call me…. What the heck kind of idiot came up with that policy???!!! Because OBVIOUSLY I DON’T HAVE A PHONE TO CALL!

Shabbos September 16th was a Chedvas in-shabbos. Even the non-dormers stayed in and we had a really nice get to know you weekend. On friday night during the Oneg we were each asked to stand up and say something unique about us. The unique thing about me was that I was the only girl in the school who has a married younger sister.

On Motzei Shabbos, between borrowing other peoples phones and other such methods that I was not happy doing, I finally made contact with the guy who came and dropped off my phone. He told me to turn on the phone by the next morning at 9:00 and it would be working… which was great because (also through the frustrating process of borrowing phones and communicating through the ever unstable email system) I had a college meeting set up to begin planning my degree and get started, on Sunday afternoon… haha.

Needless to say, I turned the phone on at 9:30 and low and behold- It wasn’t working. Nor was it working at 1:30, or 2:00 or 3:00.

And you can’t imagine what goes into this college meeting thing. I needed to confirm a few hours before on a phone that I didn’t have, I needed to know what documentation to bring, I needed to get the address and find out which buses I had to take. All without a phone. All on email. And the Internet for Chedvas was STILL down.

Finally after a lot of frustration- begging, buying, borrowing, kicking people off the school computers... I went to my college meeting and had a timely run-in with G-d who helped me find the place when it became impossible to do it myself and I was already late and out of energy…. Lol- don’t take that literally guys. There is more to the story but I have no Coach to write it all.

The phone started working conveniently that night. Better late than never i guess :D

Tuesday Chedvas went to a private beach with the Mechanchot. We had a blast in the water and I even made a turtle out of sand. Me and my roommate from last year wrote I Love turtles with a sand I a heart made of shells and the turtle I carved, and took a picture for our roommate Bat-7 who is in a different sem this year. Then we had a Barbeque and rushed back to be in time for night classes.

That Shabbos the 21st, I went to my roommates house in RBS. It was a beautiful Shabbos and I really enjoyed getting to know Malka’s family. Thank you Benporath family!!!

The following week we had classes all the way up until Tuesday, Wednesday being Rosh Hashana.

I joined the Gershaw’s in Maalei Amos on Wednesday once again anticipating a beautiful and meaningful chag, which is exactly what I got! The three day yomtov was trying but the Gershaw’s are ever-chilled and know how to do it right!! I had a beautiful time! Thank you Leora and family!

Tel Aviv and Jet Lag... What a daymare!

So, I've been in Tel Aviv for about 2 days and I have to say that I am totally messed up. That first day I "napped" from 8:00 am until 6:00 pm and boy and i having regrets! Not that I could have done it any differently without an alarm clock...

Both nights so far I have slept from 12:30 until 3:30... about the reverse time of my usual day nap when I didn't get enough sleep the night before. And all day I've been falling asleep... or almost falling asleep. In the very least, i've been totally lethargic and can't move from like 7:30 or 8:00 in the morning until at least 4:00 in the afternoon.

On a happier note- Last night was my really good friend's wedding. It was soo exciting!! She is the first one of my friends who are really my age to get married. I had tears in my eyes when I saw her (also because I didn't get to see her the whole summer) and I cried during the chuppah... My friend was so beautiful, she looked so happy, and I'm sooooo happy for her! She deserves every bit of that happiness! Poo poo poo...

I can't explain what the difference was being that she is a good friend... but it was all so personal. It was so different even from Sarah's wedding in the sense that- when Sarah got engaged and married, i didn't feel that it affected my 'marriageable age status' because she chose to get married so young and I am still on the younger end of things. But when my friend got married, and I was looking around to all my other friends who are dating and wishing to be married too, I thought to myself- "am I missing something?" "So is this it? is this what we're all going to be doing now?"

lol- and as all you facebookers may have seen, i traveled alone by buses to the wedding and back so I was very nervous about getting lost, so I asked for people to say a perek of Tehillim for me b/c it was sooo bound to happen. And the prayers worked and Hashem sent people to guide me at every step of the trip. So thanx to whoever said those prakim of Tehillim. :)

Tonight I go back to Jerualem and school. I am very excited to be back. (yawn) And I can't think of anything more to say but i'm trying not to fall asleep so i should write more. Maybe i'll go finish packing up to go to Jerusalem.

Thanx for reading everyone! Imy"H i'll keep updating when I can!

Love, Shayne

Back To Israel

9-4-11

I said goodbye to Mindy about an hour and a half ago and I am now sitting at the gate in JFK… I want to send a shout out to the JJ and Adeena Weiss famly in Far Rockaway NY for hosting me over the weekend.

My flight is a 7 hour trip that will become 12 by the time I get to London. In London I will hang out at the airport and entertain myself for 12 hours. I’ll let you know all about that when it happens J

In general- I am calm. I have everything I need and I know what I am doing. In about 36 hours, I will be in Tel Aviv.

9-5-11

I am in London and yet I haven't left the airport. In my way of thinking, it's not really worth getting lost and missing my flight to Tel Aviv for 8 hours spent touring around a country I have absolutely no interest in. I mean, if there was something arranged and it was safe to go, it would be cool to see things like Buckingham Palace and Big Ben.... but staying in the airport was good enough for me. I spent 4 out of the 12 hours hanging out in the bathroom... changing cloths, rearranging my carry-ons, etc. Spent an hour and a half getting a coffee and looking for wifi. 1 hour writing random stuff on my laptop. A half hour coloring in my coloring book- yes i have a coloring book :) A half hour touring the airport and the rest of the time reading a book I bought out of sheer desperation.

All in all, that was my London experience and soon I will be getting on a plane to Tel Aviv. Hurray!!

9-6-11

I have just gotten into Tel Aviv. Uncle Chaim picked me up from the airport and I am exhausted! I didn't sleep at all on the plane after take off... but I did sleep from boarding until take off :} which was about a whole of 25 minutes- maybe.

The important thing (YAWN) is that i'm here in Israel. I finally made it, safe and sound. Bad plane experiences and good ones. Annoying airport waits and stressful security checks. I'm here and I think i'm going to take a nap.

Traveling to New York

September 1, 7:40 a.m.

The sun is shining brilliantly through the giant airport windows of DCA, and the caffeine that is running through my veins has me alert and appreciating every moment of it. My first leg of the trip is done. I am now sitting in the D.C. airport at the gate for my next flight. On which I will be flying first class… J not because I booked a first class ticket… but because it ended up being cheaper than paying for 2 suitcases.

The plane I just got off of was a 12 row plane. That means 48 seats. Anyone who travels a lot will know that this is a small plane. When we deplaned, we walked down the cockpit stairway straight down onto the runway, the way you see the president always does on TV. It was very cool. Of my stay here, the only thing I learned about Washington D.C. is that there are a lot of trees… and Olympic sized pools. The gates are filled with kiosks and nice things for sale like any tourist spot. My next flight leaves in about an hour and a half...

September 2, 6:56 p.m.

The second flight was really nice and comfortable. First class is almost worth the extra money just for the bigger seats :) When i got into the airport Mindy picked me up and we went to her house in Far Rockaway which is where i am now and will be staying until Sunday evening. Yesterday I went with her to Queens College and got to see the school campus while Mindy was in class. It was interesting how many different types of Jewish people went there and how they all interacted with one another.

New York is very different from Detroit and its an experience being here... even more than going to the catskills for 2 months. It's something i would have to get used to.

Have a Great Shabbos Everyone! I Love You!!

Shayne