The first day was hectic beyond belief. We moved in about 10 am, maybe a little earlier, then I went with some of my roommates to go get our cell phones and modems. Then one roommate’s stuff that she had ordered for pickup had arrived and we walked back to campus to help her carry all her bedding and linens. Also, I live in a bomb shelter, literally. My room, and every room 1, are built with extra thick walls and have a double door outside my room door. One would think there would be benefits to this, since it should be reasonably soundproof. Nope. I can hear everything. Then again, I’m probably the loudest in the apartment. The internet is awful in my room and even though we’ve only been here a few days it’s not uncommon to see me hunkered down in front of my computer in the living area. The first day we had a tour of the campus, which is beautiful, but confusing as hell. Our guide kept trying to point out different roads that intersected but I got so confused that I’m probably going to have to try and explore on my own one day when I’m not busy. After the tour they took us to a lecture hall for orientation and let us all sit in comfy chairs for an hour as someone talked to us. I’m pretty sure I was asleep for half of it and most everyone else fell asleep at least once. Finally after all this we had a trip to the mall, which is on the other side of town, in order for us to get a few essentials and I was finally able to get a pillow.
Totally random, but there are no squirrels in Jerusalem; only cats. There are cats everywhere. I mean everywhere. They are essentially like squirrels except bigger and I’ve been warned not to touch them. I’ve also never seen a pigeon, but there are crows everywhere.
They have cats there, too! Marrakech was filled with cats when I visited, my friend and I never expected a bunch of starving stray kittens to be part of the wildlife. The jetlag is bad, but it's better on the way home. Westbound is much easier. (Don't take sleeping aids... I did, and I was just really tired but I still couldn't sleep. I perked up in the Heathrow customs line when I landed, though. Felt kinda nice.) I remember my first day in London, I was too groggy to really appreciate it much but I was really excited to be there at the same time. It's nice to hear that you're settling in well, even with a few setbacks. It's a bit unnerving being so far away and knowing you can't go back for months, but I'm sure you'll see and experience some really cool stuff during your time in Israel.
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