rosh hashanah

Shana Tovah everyone!
Sorry it's taken me so long to get a post done. The internet is non-existent here along side with the eleven hour work days, making it quite difficult to blog! I finally put my camera to good use and got some pictures of my friends and some of the beautiful sights we've been visiting. In the past few weeks we've crawled through the water tunnels in the City of David, explored the ancient mansions of the Tzudukim, climbed Masada, covered our bodies in mud and floated in the Dead Sea, and ate my first falafel! School just broke for Rosh Hashana, and on Wednesday I'll be off to my friend Emma's house for the holiday! Excited for delicious home cooked meals, fun-filled afternoons of much-needed retail therapy, and lots & lots of sleep. Hopefully the internet will be much better at her house so I'll be able to update more often! xx

sunrise while climbing Masada

somewhere only we know

I just finished my first full week of school here in Israel! Who knew 9 hours of school could be so impossible! Working till 11:30 at night every day is leaving me with absolutely no time to get blogging done! So I was ecstatic when we were given 4+ hours of free time on Shabbat! And thank god for Molly, my fabulous roommate and photographer! We walked around the beautiful Kibbutz taking photos in the herb garden, intersections, and in front of random bushes. Here's a photo diary of all my back-to-school outfits for the first week!

First day of school outfit:

F21 Top

Nordstrom's Vest

Saver's Shorts

Gap Sandals

pretzels & nutella all day every day

F21 Top

Urban Cardigan

H&M Pants

Gap Sandals

American Apparel Bow

Taken from my balcony! Wearing the dress backwards cuz I find it more interesting.

Urban Dress

Nordstrom's Belt

Urban Oxfords

new favorite hairstyle: double braid

Credit to Molly for picking the outfit & location! The beautiful herb garden behind our hotel!

Urban Shirt

H&M Vest

F21 Shorts

Urban Oxfords

shabbat shalom from the western wall

Tonight was probably one of the most incredible nights of my life. Celebrating my first shabbat in Israel, we went into Jerusalem and visited the Western Wall. I was able to write a little prayer on the slip of paper, and cram it into a crevice at the face of the wall. On my way back to my group, I was pulled into a large group of girls dancing and singing Israeli songs. One woman grabbed my hand and pulled me into a horah with her and a few other woman inside the circle! I was laughing and dancing and clapping and having a great time with complete strangers! They were so sweet and welcoming! I was so moved by the community and respect everyone had for each other. I can't wait to go back into the city tomorrow night to shop. Here's a mini photo diary of today's festivities.

Gap Sweater, TJ Maxx Maxi Skirt

shalom!

Shalom from Tzuba! I finally made it to Israel late last night. Instead of going straight to bed at 4 am when we got to the Kibbutz, my roommates and I stayed up late drinking Israeli tea and watching late night tv in Hebrew. I'm more than half way through the unpacking process, thankfully. Unfortunately, we're getting new roommates in a month, so soon I'll just be packing everything up again. The Kibbutz is beautiful, with wide roads, beautiful plants and gardens, and stunning sunsets that we can overlook from our balcony. Long story short, I'm already in love with Israel, and I haven't even been here for twenty-four hours. Oh, and the food is absolutely delicious. And I've only had one meal.

Here's my comfy outfit I wore on the ten hour plane ride, which included being continuously kicked by a baby for eight hours, and being deprived of water and also dying from dehydration. I might have cried of joy when we landed.

Urban Top & Denim Shirt, H&M Pants, GAP Sandals, Urban Headband