Ma neeshmahhhhhh?

Today was great. I think today was the first all-around great day I have had so far. These are some of the reasons why:

1) I'm feeling much better. I have been sick from being in the cold water each day. Instead of spending 12 shekels on tissues, I decided to carry around a roll of toilet paper. A lot of Israelis do that. Everyone at the madan has been sick. We are all sneezing and yesterday we each had our own roll of toilet paper in our pockets. Today we were all much better.as a result of my short term illness I learned how to tell someone that I feel sick. Ani margeesha hola. Bam!

2) I found a secret stash of abandoned clothing in the back of the Ulpan office and I raided it. I took a bunch of sweaters and nasty pants that I can wear at work. This way I can save my good pants for school and they won't smell like kaki. The sweaters will keep me warm in the water because it is freeeeeeeeeezing. I shiver at least 12 hours a day.

3) At work, i already have a reputation for being cold...which I assuredly am. I think my boss likes me becuase he has started to tell me to stop working and make myself cups of coffee. Even when I'm not that cold he still tells me to drink a cup of coffee because I'm "too cold".

4) Today at work i met a guy from Burma. His name is Cy. A lot of Burmese people immigrate to Israel for work. Cy doesn't speak Hebrew and he is foreign so I've been noticing that he gets bossed around and ignored. Today I introduced myself to him and asked if he spoke Hebrew. He answered "no" in English. Now we are friends. I am interested in his stories because Burma (Myanmar) is a very interesting and intense country right now. He wore a tight periwinkle sweater vest over his oversized faded black tshirt today. It was stunning.

5) Now I know enough Hebrew to answer questions at work. I am happier there because people respect me more now that I am trying to speak the language. I can also understand better what needs to be done and then do it without being asked. I am learning Hebrew slang and i like to try it out on people from work. I feel more involved. My friend at work, Noam, asked if I wanted to hangout sometime. Duhhhhhhhhh. She invited me to zumba. Today I got to work in the mud ponds again. I learned how to catch koi with my bare hands. If I am ever lost in the forest, I will be able to catch food...especially ornamental fish which I'm sure are delicious.

6) I got my laundry back and an ulpanist working in the laundry found me to tell me my laundry was ready. I asked him how he knew it was mine and he told me he recognized my tshirt...that was nice/weird.

7) I don't have to work tomorrow. Shabbat shalom!

8) tonight, Justin and I talked longer than we have talked since I've been in Israel. He worked really hard to figure out how to call me and I so appreciate him as a person. I had a long conversation with one of the Ulpan managers, amir, during which i got to show off pictures of Justin. My friend, Kelly, told amir that i was dating a beautiful person. She said she could tell by his pictures and by the stories I tell her about him. That is when Amir asked to see Justin's Facebook profile. I obliged. Kelly is right, Justin IS beautiful...both in his heart and in his mind.

9) Sarah told me that she feels like I'm her older sister. She also told me that she was glad to have a weird roommate. I said "thank you?". She then said that I had been making weird noises for the past ten minutes. I hadn't even noticed. I told her it was genetic because my mom and sister make weird noises too. I was spreading the love.

10) we are going on our first trip in a week. I get to go to old Jaffa (yay Nonny!). Ma'agan Michael began in Jaffa and we are going to see the city and to learn about our history which is really important to me. On the kibbutz if you say something like "they have" or "they use" when referring to the kibbutz, the kibbutzniks will correct you and say "we have" or "we use" implying that you are included in what is going on here. I think that is magical.

11) yesterday was tu b'shvat. Treees. We celebrated in class by planting rosemary bushes outside. In class we talked about the holiday and why we love trees. We also ate lots of fruit. I ate too many prunes...that's all I'm going to say. Chag sameach!

12)I am actually missing fish right now. There is a carp that I grew especially fond of. I found him mixed in with the goldfish yesterday and my boss told me to throw him to the cats. Instead, I kept him as my pet all day and when i left work i hid him in water amongst the bigger goldfish. Today i caught him again and sent him down a pipe into the canal. He was a good fish. Very soft.

13) I was one of four people to stay after class, tonight, to mop the floor in the school house. it was pretty fun. It is nice to be needed and to be part of something so much bigger than myself. It is nice to work really hard and to have that hard work pay off. I was too comfortable at home. Now, everyday I have to push myself. I have to push myself to speak Hebrew instead of English, to strike up conversations with people when I normally would sit alone, to stop eating cookies...that one was only a half joke.

I have been writing for a long time which means that you have been reading for a long time. Send me updates too! Prontezza@gmail.com.

With undying love for squeegees, ziploc bags for packing farts, sasson hachatool, nail polish remover, guinea pigs, and J.P.F.b.f.f.,

I respectfully remain,

J. Michael Hess webber

(mem yud yud kuf yud)