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

summer lovin'

While anxiously waiting for the departure of my flight, I noticed the lack of photos on my blog. Here are some (small) photos from my final summer as a camper at Crane Lake. Memories of stargazing, water aerobics, and the awful camp food are still lingering in my mind. I wish I could be a camper forever! Hopefully I'll be spending next summer in Israel with my camp friends, and then be returning to camp as a CIT the following summer. Anyway, we're finally getting out of the country tomorrow! Loading the buses at 2 in the morning to head off the the airport will only be the start of our early morning travels over the next four months. Wish me luck, and see you in Israel! xx

bon voyage! pt. 2

Just a quick little post to let you all know what's going on! Today I'm driving out to JFK in the midst of a hurricane, and hopefully on Monday (since my original flight on Sunday is being cancelled) I will be heading out to Tel Aviv. I will then be unpacking into my new dorm room, and starting school within the next week or so. I'm going to be blogging as much as I can, no doubt. I'll have my three lovely roommates to take outfit photos for me, and so many stories to tell daily! Stay tuned, and see you soon! xx
Oh and p.s., I'm not done packing. And I leave in five hours.