Mountain Goat

Dearest family and friends, 

I became a mountain goat this past week. If you have ever wondered what it would be like to be a mountain goat, then I can let you know. For on Tuesday, I climbed a mountain. Not a little, wannabe mountainish hill. An actual mountain, with jutting out rocks and a barely there trail. It was so hard, yet so rewarding. 

It was Adina's idea to be mountain goats, and Aliza and I were dragged along for the ride. Aliza did the entire hike in rainboots. That just proves that anything is possible. 

We woke up early in the morning to begin out treacherous journey down to Nachal Boqeq. It was a beautiful day--cool with just the right amount of sun--to die. And die we did. Well, I did. I don't know where the other two got their energy from, scampering up rocks and boulders like they had hooves for feet. 

There was lots of crying (from me) and panting and drinking water and reminding Aliza to drink water and almost giving up. But we didn't give up. And we made it to the top of the mountain. And the view was worth the trek. Overlooking the dead sea, the view made me more breathless than the two-hour hike had. 

We sang a shtickle, took a boatload of pictures, davened, and ate some foody-food. And then we were on our way down, where we saw some random people who had cheated and driven up the mountain and some real mountain goats, who went down that mountain like the pros they were. 

After we made it down safe and sound--and only slightly dehydrated--we cooled off, went to the dead sea, took some more pictures, and then were on our way back to Yerushalayim. 

We ate dinner at a shnitzel place and then Aliza went to visit her sister, and Adina and I went to my dorms, where we interrupted all the people studying for their finals so that we could have a kumzitz. 

And then Tuesday was over. And Wednesday arrived. And I was sore. Very sore. Because brilliant me hadn't stretched before or after climbing that mountain. And I had a wedding that night. Not a great combination. 

But, it was all good in the end. I got a bank account that morning. This time, everything worked out well. The teller was very nice, although she only spoke Hebrew. I pretended I understood what she was saying. Guess what? I didn't. She literally could have said, "You want a million shekel? Put a few hundred shekel in your account now, and you will win a million shekel!" To which I replied, "Oh, I'm so sorry. I don't want to do that."

But, I got the bank account, and all is well. 

After that, I went with my friend, Shana Aleph, to get a coroina test, for she was flying that night back to the Americas. She gets there and tells the people that she needs it for a flight, and they respond, "Oh, this test is not for flights. Those only start at 4:00." Well, excuse me. I didn't realize that they stuff the swab up your nose differently when you're flying that night or not. But, oh well. Sometimes, you just do things that don't make sense. Like read this blog.

Then we went back to the dorms to get ready for Chana's wedding.

Her wedding took place near Tel Aviv. It was a beautiful simcha. I almost cried like four times. And I danced like a nut. It was quite fun. 

Meanwhile, back in Yerushalayim...there was snow. And closed roads. But we danced blissfully on in Nes Tziyona, unaware of the insanity happening close by. 

After the wedding, we went back to our bus, which was stuck in a puddle. And so, a bunch of us girls, dressed to the nines, pushed that bus, trying to avoid stepping in the mud puddle right in front of us. And we were successful. 

We thought that had been the most adventure of the night. How wrong we were...

We start driving back to Yerushalayim, when the news comes out that the roads to that holy city are closed. Because of the snow. I think that Yerushalayim might be more unprepared for snow than Richmond. And that's saying something. 

So, we sat idly for an hour, hoping the roads would open. They didn't. And so Tziporah and Tzivie--saints that they are--offered to have us homeless girls sleep at their houses in RBS. It was either that or sleep in the bus overnight. 

We chose the former. Unexpected sleepover at 2:00 am, in our wedding clothes! What fun.

The next morning, the roads were once again open. Avigayil, Ruth, and I took a bus back to Yerushalayim. We were still dressed in our wedding finery with our shabbos shoes. 

The bus didn't go to Givat Shaul, because the half-inch of snow was clearly a problem, so it took us to Malcha. And then we walked around Malcha for awhile trying to find a bus that would take us closer to home. 

Our shoes were not doing well at this point in time. 

We finally found a bus stop, took one bus to King George, then another bus to Tachane, then another bus to Givat Shaul. And then we walked back to our dorms. I don't know if our toes and shoes will ever be the same. I couldn't feel that I had toes at that point in time. It was quite the crisis. 

We did get back finally, after a three hour trip. And then, stupid me, went out again to a Maalot reunion. Oh, wait, you say. You weren't in Maalot. And you would be right. But I went anyway. I am the Maalot mascot. 

It was so nice to see so many people I hadn't seen in awhile. We sat and ate delicious baked goods, made by our hostess, Esther Sara. And we played bluff. And we talked. It was so many nices. 

After that, I went back to my dorms to nurse my ailing toes back to health. They were displeased with me that Thursday. 

And then it was Friday. And then it was Shabbos. I spent it in Tzfas, with Finkelstein's grandparents. There were seven of us there, along with a bunch of other girls and guests. It was an awesome Shabbos. 

There were lots of stories about the Rebbe. Some fabraigening went on. We went on a tour of Tzfas led by our esteemed tour guide, Finkelstein. We went to the sound caves and sang some songs. 

I was quite social the whole Shabbos. I can't be social again for a whole week. I have to recover from that trauma. 

And then Sunday was a chill day. Did yoga with my buddy, Shloims. Learned a bit. Returned the shtick from the wedding. 

Monday, I hung out with Aliza and Sarah Leah. It was good day. I got my final grade back in computers. I passed. So did everyone else in my apartment. I finished Neviim. I learned with my dad. Solid day, I say. 

And now we come to today. Sarah Leah, Tzivie, and I davened Hallel together. Then Sarah Leah and I went to Ramat Eshkol to hang out with Esther Sara and Shifra. We played bananagrams and code names. And we ate pizza in a park. And then I came back and went on a cleaning frenzy. 

It's been a good week. Hopefully it continues. I'm sure it will. And now I will go do something. Probably study for the test that I haven't started studying for. He he he. Before I end, I will just say 0000, 0001, 00010, 0011...

Toodles from Hoodles!