First Shabbat in the Holy Land

Shalom Everyone!

Well, it is Friday afternoon which means that Shabbat (the Sabbath) is right around the corner. For those that don't know - Shabbat is from Friday evening until Saturday evening and it is a day of rest. This means that you are not supposed to work, use electricity, use money and so on. Believe it or not, it is the second most important holiday in Judaism (Yom Kipur - the day of atonement- being the first). So essential - we have a holiday every week! Pretty nifty! This also means that unlike the U.S. the weekend here is from Friday - Saturday, and Sunday marks the beginning of the work week. :-D

I will be spending this Shabbat with my friend, Netanel's family. His sister (Moria - whom I have enver met, but is my age) is picking me up around 6pm and we are going to his parent's house. Not going to lie - I'm a little nervous, but I have met his parents before and they are incredibly sweet and kind people. They keep Shabbat (meaning that they follow the rules), so most likely I will be spending the night there and will not have access to a computer and what not. Not to worry though, I'll be back here writing in 2 days guaranteed.

In other news - I have gone to the grocery store twice now (once yesterday and again today) and that is quite an experience as well! The 'supers' (super markets) are nothing like in America. The spacious isles, friendly checkers, people putting your groceries in bags and helping you out.......YA....forget about it!!! It's a jungle in there and it's every man for himself! No joke! Football players would do wonderfully in the stores because you have to push/shove/elbow/argue your way to the cash register. Shoulder pads would be an excellent accessory in this scenario. haha. On Friday's it's especially nuts as people are running around buying everything they need for Shabbat. With that said, the food is delicious and the freshly baked Challah (special bread eaten on Shabbat) smells *incredible*! I haven't bought any for myself yet, but maybe next week.

Mmmm, aside from that - not much else. My roomie lands in IL on Sunday around 10:30pm (which means that she'll probably be at the apt. by midnight if not later). I've ben chatting with her on and off and am pretty excited to meet her. She seems like a really sweet girl. Hopefully I will have this place in order and looking good for her arrival. I've already started cleaning most of the kitchen and will probably wash up the bathroom today as well.

Speaking of which, I am going to start on that. Thanks to all those who are reading all this nonsense. Come visit so that you can experience this maddness first hand! :-D

Will write again in a couple of days.
Shabbat Shalom!
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