strong again

I have become best friends with my bed the last 3 days. Thursday morning I woke up not feeling well, went into work, and by 3pm couldn't stop shaking from the chills and lost all my strength and had to go home early. Since Thursday at 3:30pm until Sunday morning I was in my bed with one of the worst fevers/illnesses I think I ever had. My fevers would get so high I could just lay still in bed and stare in front of me, and when they would break I would be sweating rivers. My roommates were some of the best friends and nurses though and I'm not sure I could have felt better without all of their nurture. When I was sick I also kept getting anxiety that I was missing out on 3 days in Israel and I only have two more months here which feels like the sand in the hour glass is flooding out. 

Today i felt like a new person. i woke up not feeling to great, but then i got going and went to a cafe to study hebrew for a little over an hour. After I met Mia for coffee and she just so happened to be going to the volunteer center (where she does her internship) to get placed as a "babysitter" for one of the apartments just like the one I went to with Brian. I tagged along with her and now we are going to be watching immigrant and asylum seeker kids monday and tuesdays for two hours each day. I feel SO much better--like I can breathe again.

after that we went for sushi then walked down sheinken street, which has some of the best shopping in tel aviv. we went into this french store that is amazinggg with designer dresses from all over (not well known designers). i've really been trying to restrict my spending but i found a dress that fits amazing, and although i know i shouldn't, i think i am going back tomorrow to get it. i can hear it calling my name from my apartment.

yom hazikaron (the remembrance day for the fallen soldiers) began today at sundown. at 8pm a siren is sounded for everyone to hear for a minute, and when it sounds everything stops. We were standing on the sidewalk and the second it sounded all of the cars stopped and the drivers got out to stand next to their door with their heads bowed, everyone walking in the street froze in place...it was as if someone pressed the pause button. As the siren sounded in the air, I was overwhelmed with the magnitude of sadness this day carries. And as awful as it is, i  felt like the siren was sending a wisp of the tragic deaths through the air for the entire minute--then the sirens stopped and the cars zipped by again.

after we went to a memorial in rabin square where there were speeches, musicians, and videos.i couldnt understand anything they were saying (except for the occasional "again" "and" " me", etc) but we stayed for an hour and a half. one our way out we maneuvered through the crowd and all of the israelis were singing along to the song of the artist on stage. it was extremely moving to see how united they all are, but also devastating that one of the causes of this bond is so much death.

tomorrow at 11am another siren sounds, and then in the afternoon it turns into Yom Ha'atzmaut which is Israel's Independence Day and supposedly there are parties everywhere. 

Now I'm in bed and I need to summon the energy to go wash my face and change into pajamas to get some sleep. Tomorrow I am going to buy a dress that I shouldn't and study more hebrew.

love,

sara

p.s. i feel like i haven't posted any pictures in awhile, and i've been bad about taking pictures when i am out and about during the day. SO here is just a random one of me and the girls.