Wow, what a week! by blogger of the month David Weltman

Wow, what a week! 

First off, we finished up our CPR course and Hebrew Ulpan this week, each ending with a party and lovely chocolate selection. I don’t think I ate that much chocolate in my life (but it made for a great breakfast, lunch, and afternoon snack). We just completed our test today, combining a 1.5 hour written examination with curing dummies of choking and hemorrhages, as well as taking patient history and analyzing ailments. It was a rigorous exam, but somewhat fun, too—we came a long way!

Outside of the classroom, I was privileged to spend my birthday here among my new MSIH friends this past Wednesday. We began the evening with a festive meal, going to Casa do Brasil and enjoying delicious meat (and for three of us who went all out, unlimited meat—prime rib, lamb chops, mallard duck, you name it!), and my friends surprised me by ordering dessert—which came with sparklers, flashing lights, singing, and dancing. After that, those who braved it and those who couldn’t make it to dinner joined me at Manga, a local bar, for some shots and good conversation. The hours flew by—it was awesome!

After a week of medicine and celebration, we now look forward to what our semester will bring. Who knows what we’ll find? But one thing’s for certain—you can look to our next bloggers of the month for more details!!! - David Weltman, blogger of the month

Getting into the swing of things, by David Weltman

Getting into the swing of things

Orientation has really been getting going. Intense study for Ulpan continues, the test at the end of our intro to emergency medicine course begins to cross our minds, and we’re beginning to see the importance and loss of a Sunday as a day off. And yet, this hasn’t stopped us from having a good time!

Mmmm, Cholent.

Every weekend, many of my classmates—myself included—have been taking weekend getaway trips to places like Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. While I had also spend some weekends away, my classmate Moshe and I decided to instead take up the offer of one of our teachers to come over for Shabbat dinner, and then host a lunch of our own the following day. It turned out to be such a nice and relaxing Shabbat. The Margolis family were wonderful hosts, and we are thankful to them for their hospitality. Plus, a vegetarian Shabbat dinner was a nice respite from the norm. Lunch was also amazing, thanks to our guests. I whipped up a cholent/chamin/beef stew (or whatever else you want to call it—could’ve used a little more salt), and the rest was basically potluck. The company was great, and we ended our meal and dove into a heated game of Settlers of Catan, which, coupled with my reading of the epic saga The Lord of the Rings, made for quite the adventurous Shabbat.

I also have been able to get into the city a bit, which has been a plus. I saw the conclusion of the Batman trilogy, a great work in my opinion (although others in my class disagree). I met up and went out to lunches and dinners with friends, bought a new bike (which is currently getting repaired), and bought some new items for my future home here in Beersheba. All in all, a really solid start, and I hope to be able to see and do even more in the weeks ahead!!! - blogger of the month David Weltman

A Few Weeks In, by David Weltman

Church of the Holy Sepulchre

 Wow, what an awesome first few weeks. It’s been a lot of work as of late, which is funny, as this is supposed to be simply the orientation and we don’t yet have eighty classes to study for. And yet, with ulpan, finding apartments, and our emergency medicine course, along with all the other mind-numbing tasks we’ve had to do thus far, we’ve had our hands full!

Nevertheless, I have used the past few weekends to travel to visit friends. Two weeks ago, I went to Jerusalem with another student on the program to visit my friend Daniel, and we enjoyed getting lost in the Old City, a beautiful Shabbat overlooking the eastern mountains, and a Tisha B’av service overlooking the Old City. This dark day on the Jewish calendar marks the destruction of the ancient Temples of Jerusalem and the sieges and burnings of the city and its inhabitants, “all her gates are desolate, her priests sigh, her maidens are afflicted and as for her, it is bitter unto her” (Lamentations 1:4). It was such a cool juxtaposition, listening to those words and looking at the city renewed and prosperous.

the Cardo, a very much intact ancient Roman Road

Herod's Gate (the gate of flowers)

Damascus Gate (gate of Schechem)

Jerusalem to the East.

Beyond that, I signed a lease on my new apartment! It doesn’t open up until September 1^st, so I’ll have to figure out what exactly I’ll be doing in the meanwhile, but we’ll cross that bridge when we get there—next week. I can’t wait to report what comes next! - blogger of the month, David Weltman