I almost forgot that being a student involves being a student...

As Tel Aviv University decided to start classes for their fall semester 2008 on October 26th, I had essentially been on vacation for the last few weeks in Israel, which made me lose sight somewhat of why I had initially decided to come here: to learn about the history of the Middle East, as well as to begin learning Hebrew and Arabic. After the first couple of weeks of classes, I can assure you dear readers that I will try my hardest to blog as often as I did during the 'honeymoon' period of my degree, but if the first week is anything to judge by, then I will be extremely busy for the next two years so expect a drop in the frequency of my posts until I get into a rhythm with my work. With that said and out of the way, let us begin with a recap of my first week as a graduate student.



Almost prophetically, the first day of classes here were welcomed with Israel's first serious downpour since I have been here: thunder, lightning, and a steady stream of rain showers made all of the students happy to be indoors...except me, when I realized that my newly-washed clothes were still hanging outside of my apartment window. Unfortunately, my camera was acting up for the three days that the horrible weather lasted so I didn't take any pictures of the event. (Note for readers in Aberdeen: 'horrible weather' is a relative term, the storm was comparable to a Doric summer. :p )

My schedule for the semester is quite comfortable with only four days of class, allowing me to enjoy the entire weekend and still devote a whole day to homework:

Monday: 8-10am - Hebrew; 10-12am - Modern History of the Middle East; 2-4pm - Arabic;

Tuesday: 8-10am - Hebrew; 10-2pm - Islamic History of the Middle East;

Wednesday: 8-10am - Hebrew; 10-12am - Modern History; 2-4pm - Arabic; 4-8pm - History of the Ottoman Empire;

Thursday: 8-10am - Hebrew; 12-2pm Modern History.

Though the hours don't look like much, I discovered this week that for now my daily Hebrew homework takes about two hours, and my daily Arabic homework hovers anywhere in between one and two hours. Although the first semester history classes are mandatory for the master's students, due to the size of our class (42) we have been split up alphabetically into groups A & B: my initial impressions are mostly positive, with my group (A) getting the better time schedule, a more eclectic and international crowd, along with some very interesting teachers. Oh, and I am one of only four boys surrounded by seventeen girls - ech omrim 'JACKPOT' be ivrit? ("how do you say 'JACKPOT' in Hebrew?")
I suspect that the language portions will be the hardest part of my studies here, simply because of how difficult Modern Standard Arabic is, combined with learning Hebrew from scratch, but provided I keep up with my daily assignments, I am confident that I will be able to sound like a native five-year old by the time I leave this place.


After our first long week of work, what better holiday to greet us than Halloween? A girl from my course decided to throw a party at her & her Israeli boyfriend's apartment in town: trying to explain Halloween to Israelis is a difficult task, but they jumped into the spirit of things with some brilliant costumes, including but not limited to Zohan (- Adam Sandler's latest comedic concoction of a character.) Going back in time a bit - at Sukkot dinner a few weeks ago, my friend Adam was confident that we had class five days a week: I let him bet more than his pride and he suggested that whoever was right got to choose the loser's Halloween costume. I present you with my buddy, "Leftovers":



As for my own costume, I had spent so much time torturing Adam over his costume that Halloween day rolled around and I still wasn't prepared. Racing through my wardrobe I stumbled upon an old bathrobe that my mother gave me when I was Italy a few years ago. Being that it is a multi-colored robe, that I was spending Halloween in the Jewish State, and that earlier in the week a friend had been poking fun at me for my passion for musical theatre, I felt it made sense to go as Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. The reference wasn't lost amongst Westerners that I bumped into, but a lot of people we met at a bar after the party thought I had simply rolled out of bed.

In sum, I'm working hard & playing hard out here in the sun. Love you all.