Thursday, February 29, 2009

10:48 am

Had a tiyul yesterday to the South. We were supposed to go to Ein Gedi and the Dead Sea. But there was flash flooding a couple days ago and an American tourist was killed, so Ein Gedi and Nachal David, the path to it, are closed. So we went to the Hidden Waterfall (Mapal HaNistar) via Nachal Arugot. It was pretty-- and it was dry hiking, water, and through trees. Very pretty. The mapal itself was refreshing! There were a lot of groups there, but it all worked out nicely. Not everyone went in, but most people did.

Then we went to the Dead Sea, ate lunch, then went in. A few of us went to find mud, but I ended up going only halfway and turning back because I didn't have shoes...So I hung out with everyone who just went in. The water felt weird-- like you were going to tip over if you moved or twisted your body. I had a couple of small cuts, but they didn't burn too badly-- just stung a bit when I got out. I also got a couple small cuts on the way out-- toes and L hand. More annoying thatn anything else, really.

When we went to change, there was some woman outside charging a shekel to go into the bathroom and 8 to shower...Laurie and I were like, "Our wallets are at the bottom of our bag. We'll pay you when we leave." But she was being a pain and--uch. Just stupidity.

Then we got back on the bus and came back to Jerusalem. I pit-stopped at the MDA station to try to donate blood, but they closed at 5, and it was close to 6. Then I was going to go home, but as I walking by the tachanah I saw one of the girls from the tiyul who was waiting for 2 others, and the four of us went to the shuk and hung out. I might be going to one of the girls next Shabbat. Yay!

What else...oh, yeah, I want to do the madrichim course, which is in May. But I have to be back here for Shana's wedding in June...so maybe I'll come for the madrichim course and stay her euntil the wedding, then go back and start working. Because I"m getting back to the US at the end of March. If I take my boards in the middle of April, I won't get my score until the end of April-beginning of May, then I have to wait for the licensure paperwork to go through, which takes a while. so I can't start working until the middle of June probably anyway. So I might as well do this. Now the money issue...let's see how THAT goes...