I slept until noon the next day. (At this point I had no idea what day it was! It seems like I'd been in New York a lifetime ago.) After I got up and took a shower, it dawned on me what I'd done the day before. I had taken two busses - against which I'd been told to avoid if possible - and two taxis - of which I'd been told to never ride by myself. And the taxis even charged me honestly! I tried the walking idea again and actually found the campus this time: about 20 minute walk away. Figures. J I spent the next couple days finishing up some "new student" things. I decorated my room a bit. I even ate some food. A bagel thingy with something red on it. That night, one of my roommates made me share her dinner. She kept asking if/what I'd eaten. She judged it wasn't enough. (She also gave me a granola bar for breakfast the next morning.) She's amazing!
I found out that two of my roommates are strong bible-believing Christians: I-li, from Taiwan (above), and Jisong, from Korea. Both are in the Middle Eastern Studies degree. I-li took me to King of Kings on Sunday. A much needed dose of praise, worship, and American accents. I attempted my first supermarket trip on Friday before 3pm. (Everything shuts down around 3:00 on Friday for Shabbat.) I found peanut butter and jelly, cereal, and milk! I even got OJ.  It is actually easier than you'd think. J They have a lot of American products, so after you find what you want in English, then you look around the vicinity for the Israeli brand. It's cheaper and the same thing! (More or less...) Jisong made us all dinner on Saturday: a spicy Korean chicken dish. We got the hook up! :-P I got a huge portion. She figures since I am so tall I must eat a lot. (My slightly above average height has become more apparent since moving here. Though there are quite a few tall Israelis, the average is maybe an inch shorter than me and most women are much shorter.)
It is so obvious that God has been watching me and protecting me. I do not think I could have made it through that first week without God's strength. He is so amazing. Lord, I regret that it has taken me moving halfway around the globe for me to completely rely on You again but thank You for being there. No details will accurately capture the extent of the feelings. I keep going between overwhelming feelings to a calm on the other side. Too much! Sensory/emotional overload! So I just focus on small bits, block out the big picture. God has done so much with keeping my sanity in sight. He has kept me functioning and just prioritizing and working through the steps of everything that needs to be done. Looking back I have no idea how I made it without constant calling to Mom and Dad! MomÂ… I think I've come to the conclusion that when/if I settle down, it's gonna be right down the road from wherever you are living, okay? (Or at least where they speak my language!) This completely independent thing is not all it's cracked up to be! |
