The Negotiation

Several weeks ago I began the Negotiation Phase. I started to really miss the states and things familiar. I started rejecting most of the local food, too.

A few things I struggle with:

- No buses on Shabbat. Really inconvenient when I want to travel outside Jerusalem on our weekend.
- Shawn having class on Sunday. We knew the work week would be Sun-Thurs for the most part, but I really miss going to church on Sunday mornings with Shawn and having a Christian Sabbath.
- Kosher food. It just doesn't taste right and a lot of good hard cheeses are not kosher and therefore a pain to find.
- The price of everything except chemically grown veggies is expensive.

I am now starting to settle in to life here. Its still really hard sometimes and there are days when I am accosted with a memory of Chicago or I suddenly think I want to ride my bike to Glen Ellyn. I guess the humor in that is how I hated Chicago the first year (at the very least). But I started looking for positive things here and couldn't see any for a while! However, here are some good things to list:

- The children (all kinds!) here are so much fun to watch. On the bus to class, I get a good dose of Jewish religious children on their way to school and all dressed in the same style. I probably won't be brave enough to ask to take their pictures but I did find some photos that will give a good idea of what I see -- Kaparot Ceremony
- Bagels. Wonderful fluffy things for 4 shekalim each (about $1).
- Sharp cheddar can be found...at a price.
- We found a CSA (community supported agriculture) farm that delivers and our first shipment of clean veggies is coming next Wednesday. Let's hope its worth it!
- I can eat hummus again without gaging.

I hope to continue to add to the "like" list. And maybe some non-food items...