On phones and such

Hello friends and family!

This will be a quick post because I am super tired, but I just wanted to check in. I am almost through with my first week of classes here, and am loving every minute. I had one supernaturally boring class, which I dropped to take another much more interesting one, and am auditing an archaeology course tomorrow! I think coursewise this will be a good semester. Already I am loving walking around Jerusalem. One of my roommates and I went into the Old City tonight with her boyfriend--it's so fun to just wander around the city. I've never been in a walled city, at least not that I remember. Even the little bit I've seen so far has taught me a lot. There's so much to experience here--this city has really seen it all. There are so many layers of everything, three months here will just barely scratch the surface. A friend here teaches Saturday school at a church near Tel Aviv, so my roommate, her boyfriend and I might rent a car with him this weekend and spend the afternoon at the beach! Apparently it's not too expensive, and we want to get out and see some new places. There are quite a few students here who are in their second year, sometimes third, so they are able to point out some good spots--like the best pizza in the Old City, or the street vendors who are familiar with JUC students and give discounts, or the moneychangers who won't cheat you, or the storekeepers who don't have everything but who know all the other merchants and will make sure you get what you need. It's getting cooler here--we're heading toward the end of the dry season, so in a month or so we should be getting some rain. That will be an interesting experience--the buildings here are stone, and even now I'm cold at night. I'm in the dining room right now, and some guys a table over have a game playing (I don't even know what sport's season it is!) so I think I'll check it out! Love to everyone at home!

Oh! I almost forgot--I got a new phone number that should work if y'all want to call me for any reason. The number is 054-4905265.

Shalom!