Two Months Past?! Email Blast #3

Beautiful faces, hello!

It’s somehow December! I don’t know where the time goes, but at least a lot has happened since I last wrote you!

I have officially decided to stay here for my master’s degree! So instead of being in Israel for one year, I’ll be here for two years. My Fulbright research will directly cross over to be research for my thesis. This past week I gained a second advisor – a research and thesis advisor in the Hydrology Department (my Fulbright advisor is in the Environmental Studies Department)  – and I will be earning an M.Sc. in Hydrology. Very exciting!

My finals schedule was recently announced (end of January through mid February), so my classes just got ten times more intense. The two hydrology courses that I am taking are way over my head because my USC degree wasn’t very science heavy.To compensate, I’ve been spending hours on tutorial websites and with my head buried in text books, trying to teach myself the physics of wells and aquifers. If you know of any good resources, let me know...

OH yes, and how could I forget – the small “war” happened. I stayed very safe, here in Sde Boker because I am just barely out of rocket range from any of Israel's borders and because our population here in this quaint little town would be a waste of ammunition for Hamas to even think about. I did travel twice – one time to visit a friend of a friend on a Moshav and one time to Tel Aviv for Thanksgiving. I took the train to the Moshav and during the ride there was an announcement to get on the floor, under the seats. I did as told, but nothing happened – just a precaution because there was a rocket in the distance somewhere and we had to get away from the windows in case the glass broke. So, I can’t say I was affected much by the Pillar of Defense. Plus, I even got to play Frisbee twice because my Ulpan class (which is at the same time as the weekly Frisbee game) was cancelled due to it’s location in Beer Sheva (hit by over 200 rockets). Life is good, no?


I recently went through another wave of culture shock and missing home – the reality that my friends here are not of the same caliber as my friends from home/USC hit hard. As you all know, I am a social person. I can’t deny that I’m surrounded by amazing people here, but it really takes time and effort to create close bonds with people who speak a different language and who grew up with a whole different lifestyle. And until I can achieve that kind of friendship here, it's hard not to have someone's shoulder to lean on. 

That’s the end of my saga for now! Wishing you all a Happy Hannukah and Merry Christmas!

Until next time,
“Ninush” (my new nick name in Hebrew)

Time for Hannukah!