An Israeli Canada Day

Hi everyone,

So I actually wrote a similar blog entry yesterday, but of course it got deleted with no traces left. So here we go again...

I just arrived in Israel 2 or so hours ago, and am now sitting in my room at the Reisfeld Residence which belongs to the Hebrew University of Agriculture, and is across the street from the Weizmann Institute which is where I will be living.

But I really meant this post to be more of a reflection on Berlin. I think its crazy that I only spent 7 weeks in Berlin, but I will miss it so very much. It is a fantastic city, made for living. It is probably the least German city in Germany, but I think its by far the most exciting one. Each neighbourhood has its own personality, and there is something for everyone no matter where you go. But of course these past 7 weeks would not have been nearly as exciting if not for the other fantastic RISE interns which have made my stay in Berlin way too much fun. I think the lifestyle was amazing. The great thing about an internship (unlike a semester abroad, for example) is that you don’t have any homework, and so we went out as much as we liked and as much as we could. Beer in Germany is cheap and good, and this made life that much better. I was incredibly sad to leave and wish that I have done a 10 or 12 week internship instead...but I guess that’s life.

I was however, excited to arrive in Israel. As always, it felt like coming back home. Being able to understand the signs (unlike the German ones) was something new, and hearing all the Hebrew talk around me made me excited to be here. I got picked up from the airport by a family friend. He also gave me an Israeli phone, and when I got to my room here I could access the Wi-Fi right away. In a sense all of this was very different from my first few hours in Berlin when I was completely clueless to my surroundings. But the learning curve was steep. By the end I knew the names and order of many subway stations around where I lived...I also knew the names and personalities of many American universities, but that’s mainly due to the other wonderful interns who made that possible for me J

All in all, my time in Germany was incredible. Those 7 weeks had both some of the best and some of the most foreign moments I have ever experienced. But human beings are incredibly adaptive, and you adapt to everything that comes your way, especially when it is good.  A little off topic, I actually have an entire post about Prague and Amsterdam in the making, and its about 2 pages long so far, but not quite done yet...so I will post that when I can. I am also going to write a long post about my project in Berlin, describing what exactly we were studying and what we managed to accomplish. I’ll give myself 3 days to publish both of these...I know very ambitious when considering my previous track record.

I will also write something about my time in Rehovot so far once I get at least a little bit adjusted and start to unpack. REALLY not looking forward to unpacking considering I just finished packing less than 24 hours ago. Sigh.

Hope everyone back home is doing well. Please, please, please leave me comments, or email me, or send me facebook messages. They are all much appreciated J

Cheers!

Alina