But then I got accepted to study Hebrew in Israel this summer, which is the perfect opportunity for a TRAVEL BLOG. (I also want to start a food blog someday...but that's a whole other story.) For two months I will be living in Haifa, Israel's third-largest city. It's in northern Israel, on a hill overlooking the Mediterranean, and it is the only city in Israel where the buses run on Saturdays (meaning that there's less tension there than in other places--my professor told me that in Haifa I'll be more likely to meet Arabs than if I were in Jerusalem, for example).
Basically, this blog will hopefully be a good way for me to keep in touch with friends and family while I'm in Israel. I'm fairly sure that I won't have internet access in my dorm, and I'm not expecting to be able to call home either (which is why I'll be introducing my family to Skype). My Hebrew class is going to be very rigorous and time-consuming (it's an Ulpan, which is just an intensive Hebrew course--they have them all over Israel, and many of them exist to help new immigrants learn the language). I don't know how frequently I'll be able to update this while I'm there, but I'll try to chronicle major events that happen and interesting things that I do. I hope that everyone who reads this blog will comment on the posts and help me to keep in touch with you. I've already decided on a rule that I am required to take my camera with me everywhere, so expect lots of pictures.
At the moment, my trip still feels really far away. I'm just finishing up my exams (my second year of college is almost over--how did that happen?!), and I have two months to go until I board a plane and fly over the ocean. I've never been on another continent before. In fact, the only time I've ever been to another country was when I spent a few days in Montreal a couple years ago--and even though they speak French there, Canada hardly counts as a true international experience. I mean, back then you didn't even need a passport to get there from the US! Since I can't go abroad during the school year, I'm really glad that I'm getting this opportunity over the summer. I know it will be fun and rewarding and different from anything I've ever done before, and right now I am really, really nervous. I know that I'll only get more nervous as the weeks go by and my time at home dwindles.
So I'll be spending the next two months at home frantically trying to re-learn all the Hebrew I've forgotten, and reading lots of books and watching Doctor Who and running and maybe working at art camp. Oh, and being nervous. But hey, at least I'm not spending another summer testing telephones.
p.s. No, the name of this blog has nothing at all to do with being a student abroad in Israel--but it definitely means something to me. Although I don't expect anyone other than my parents to pick up on that. haha.
