So many changes!

I got a job! After months and months of grueling searches, disappointing interviews, and black holes devouring my resume, I got a job. It's a very similar job and pay to when I left BB Charleston back in 2008. It will absolutely get me through to graduation, and I couldn't be more grateful. There's a bit of a commute, but it gives me time to be more diligent in my pursuit of the Hebrew language (i.e. Pimsleur in the car), and it's not far from my old BB office, so I get to have lunch with friends who used to be my colleagues. My new boss is from New Jersey - each executive I've worked for has been from New Jersey, and they've all been my favorite bosses. How funny. He's even kind enough to let me take my cruise trip that's been planned for around a year.

I've also decided to postpone my Israel trip by one year. Not only can I not ask for two months off less than a year into a new job, but I found a new program. I was originally planning to study Arabic in Haifa. My dear friend in Israel convinced me to look at programs in and around Jerusalem where she lives, so I was just poking around when I discovered that Tel Aviv University offers courses through advanced Arabic! Their classes are more intense and provide more class hours than Haifa's program, which also happens to only teach beginning and early intermediate. The cost is comparable, and Tel Aviv is super accessible so it'll be easier for her to visit me often, and vice-versa (I cannot wait for my first Shabbat dinner in Jerusalem).

To make that happen, I have to learn beginner Arabic in a stateside University. I've narrowed my search down to a couple of schools, and I will probably begin in the fall of 2014 and finish up in the spring of 2015. Everything will be fresh in my mind and I'll be ready to learn intermediate and advanced Arabic in the bustling metropolis of Tel Aviv! I'll come home after a long summer and finish up two terms of classes, and then I'll graduate.

I'm so grateful for these opportunities. I've really been enjoying being at home with my family, taking my leisurely time with my studies, sewing when I want, cooking each night, and hanging out with my weener dogs, but I'm ready for the next challenge. Full time work + full time school is never easy, but I thrive under that kind of pressure. (Feel free to remind me of this if I start complaining!)

Now we get to wrap up our Operation Christmas Child boxes and gear up for the holiday season. Mom and I have been making play quilts to go in the boxes, and I'll be posting a tutorial on how to make them as soon as we're finished!

!שלומ