First Day in Ashdod

In case anyone was curious, I thought I would post my one picture from first class. Classy, huh? I used my expert opinion to choose from the white wine options :)

Yesterday was my first day in Ashdod. I spent most of the day in the apartment with the family, being productive and watching a movie. I guess Israel gets very hot during the day and they usually prefer to stay indoors. I was pretty disappointed about that, since I love being outdoors and I love the summer. I was even more dissapointed to learn that I can't swim in the sea! The mediterannean may be beautiful, but it is full of jellyfish when the water is this warm. Seems like some people do tough it out, though, so maybe I will give it a try.




By the end of the day I was feeling pretty antsy. Russian families are overbearing, to say the least, and I really like being in charge of my own schedule (especially when it comes to what and when I eat). On birthright, we spent alot of time in Jerusalem in Tel Aviv, the two biggest cities. These cities are full of life and culture, and you can just step outside of your apartment and walk around and explore. Ashdod, though still a city, is much less colorful. There is the shore and lots of malls and stores, but I wouldn't just go out and walk for hours on end. I've gotten used to living in a city, and I'm not sure how I feel about not having so much to do around here.



Ashdod is also full of immigrants, especially Russian ones. I really want to feel immersed in Israeli culture and improve my Hebrew, but that is hard to do when everyone around me speaks Russian fluently (as well as English most of the time). I try to force myself to speak hebrew with my cousin, Gaby, but I tend to just switch over to English because it is so much easier to communicate. I have the option of living with my relatives or in the absorption center- maybe it is a good idea to live away from family, even if the environment won't be as nice. Hopefully I will meet people and find exciting things to do in my downtime.




I got to meet some exftended family over dinner, and it was pretty amusing. When I compare my family to most american families, it always seems weirdly intense. Turns out that we aren't weird- we are just russian. There was a huge shouting match over what I was going to eat, and I just sat in the middle and waited for them to settle on what exactly to put on my plate.




Finally, I got to go out last night to a pub with Gaby and his friends. I am not looking forward to coming back to a 21+ drinking age after a summer of sitting around in pubs without a care. Gabi and his friends are all 22 and 23, but they are they same year as I am in school because they all served in the army. It was really fun to meet some young people and hang out. I tried cherry beer (delicious!) and potatoes with bulgarian cheese (also great). I even practiced my Hebrew for a little bit! Everyone at the pub was Russian, and it was hilarious how surprised they would be that I, with my perfect American accent, could also speak Russian. It was a great night sitting around discussing life and politics, and it definitely improved my outlook on Ashdod.



Sarah