Only 13 more days....

I think everyone who is reading this knows why I made the title of this post just that. I still am having a hard time just getting over the fact that it is now December. Not only has the second half of the year flown by, but it also feels nothing like December here in northern Israel. It is still in the low 60s most of the time but gets pretty chilly at night. We were given a space heater for each of our rooms but it is like the nightlight from hell. The thing lights up the entire room and is hard to sleep with it on. What a conondrom! To be warm or to have a dark room to sleep in?

I have been very happy keeping busy recently. Last week we made Thanksgiving here for our group and we also invited a couple of the local Israeli boys to join in for their first ever Thanksgiving. We spent all day slaving in the kitchen and it was an amazing group effort from most of us. Mommy, you would be so proud of your little girl! I cooked up a storm and only ended up with one band-aid by the end of the day. (I need to learn how to chop stuff better.) Here some pictures of the process and the finished product...

My amazing mashed potatoes!!!

Emily and me tasting a bit before we got started. We also added some Israeli salad (chopped cucumbers and tomatoes with lemon juice and oil) to the spread to give Thanksgiving a little flare...

Thumbs up to our amazing turkey!

Everyone eating/finishing up....

Besides getting a cold this past Monday and not being able to go to school, everything has been going well as always. Yesterday we took a day trip to the city of Acco. I was there about a month ago when I was able to go with the Partnership to visit the Arab High School and such. Yesterday was a completely different trip though. We were given a tour of the Old City and were able to walk around the open-air market as well. We also went with the group from our neighboring kibbutz of Ga'aton (they are dancers) so we also went to an Arab dance studio in a small Arab village and we went to a gymnasium where at risk Arab teens learn traditional Arab dances. This group of boys performed for us in traditional costumes and it was absoultely amazing.

The day was a long one but so much fun! We ended the night back at Yehiam and a fun night out at the Kibbutz Pub. Here are some pics from our day trip....

A beautiful fountain in the old city.

Emily and Elana!

Part of the Old City. This whole area was once beneath the city and was excavated. I knew it all looked familiar and it took me until they lead you through the gift shop at the end to realize that I was here before in 2005.

The Arab teenage dancers in traditional clothing.

So that's about all for now. Today is the weekend and I have every intention of lounging around, reading, and watching movies all day. Sounds pretty good to me.

Love.