stimulating conversation..

Shalom,
I'm sensing stream of consciousness...
Anndd, we have internet. We called to order the internet and then it started working for free so we called to cancel our order. I hope these people don't lock their wireless. This week has been wonderful, the weather was great, high 60's to mid 70's and sunny. Some highlights: I bought Aladdin and Goldilocks and the Three Bears at the book store to read in Hebrew. I would have bought a Disney movie in Hebrew but the selection was poor, I will buy one soon. I went to the beach today with friends. You couldn't swim at the part of the beach we were at, I'm not sure why but there were a lot of people fishing, maybe that has something to do with it. I found lots of pretty shells and sea glass and one of the fishermen gave me two awesome shells. I plan on finding a way to jazz up the apartment with my collecton. I finally found people to play fris with on our breaks at Ulpan and Darya and I tossed a bunch at the beach today :). Ulpan is pretty challenging but it's okay, I'd rather it be that way. Fortunately, I think I did really well on my exam today I knew everything. Tonight we had a potluck dinner with people from my program. I made a cold pasta salad with veggies, lemon juice, garlic, etc. I'd say it was pretty good for coming up with the idea and making it in about 45 minutes using only food I already had.
At the pot luck I finallyy had an intellectually stimulating conversation with an Israeli (yay! first of many). I talked to Liran about a lot of things but mainly politics, the army, and the Gaza war. He was very open and while we didn't agree on everything, of course, it was refreshing to be able to talk to him about his experiences as a commander in the army and as someone who is from Ashkelon, a city just north of Gaza which has been under constant rocket attacks from Gaza for a year now. If you've heard of Sderot, it is kind of like the new Sderot. Liran made sure to explain to us that the situation in his home city is not as dramatic as people make it seem. He said it was "not a big deal" when the rockets come. The sirens go off, everyone goes to the shelters, and then they come out. I was interested to hear this point of view, although the fact that it is daily routine is upsetting, no one should have to live like that, Jews or Arabs. He said he would introduce us to his Arab friends here which is awesome, I can't wait to have a similar yet completely different conversation with them.
Since I am waking up in 4 hours to attempt to go on an ATV-ing trip up north (we didn't sign up but we're going to still try and go) it is time for bed. I really hope we can go on this trip, it seems like a lot of fun.

Oh yea, mom got a "no" today but some people who are pulling for her were furious so the negotiating is back on, as well as the waiting game. We're still crossing our fingers.

-Lauren