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06/17 This weekend I went on a trip hosted by the Technion International School to the north of Israel - a region that until 1967 was a part of Syria. The Golan Heights, what this area is called, came into existence about 30,000 years ago with lava from active volcanos solidifying into a landscape with rolling hills. This has made it a place that people go to with the hope of becoming closer to nature. A few kilometers away from here is the country of Syria where there is a civil war raging between rebel forces within the country. It is a matter of a few kilometers that can seal the fate of one’s life. -------- The beginning of the trek ---------     I started my trip in a massive hurry, waking up at 7:45 am with a bus to catch at 8 am. I think it was because I felt a little sick the night before and couldn’t fall asleep for a long time. It wasn’t long before the sense of rush dissipated and I was among hills walking down to the hexagonal pool. The lava that came out
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06/06 It has been a while since I have written and I have missed it! The past week and a half has been so packed and eventful that there have multiple points when I have thought - 'Oh, I must write about this!'. It is my hope that I will be able to convey to you, in a truthful manner, the experiences that I have been going through.  The last week had only two working days. This was because Tuesday and Wednesday marked the Jewish holiday of Shavuot. This is celebrated, marking the revelation of the Torah to Jewish people, with consuming cheese and wine. On Tuesday, I went to work for a couple of hours even though it was a not working day. I went because a PhD student in my lab was going to the Animal House to work on the mice that are used to test cancer treatments. On this day, I sacrificed and cut open my first mouse. On the outside, while I have to admit I appeared a little nervous, I was mostly collected. However, thoughts have been raging in my head on how I feel a
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05/28 Time has passed so quickly and slowly at the same time. I have just completed a week of being in Israel and I am thoroughly enjoying myself! Continuing from where I had left off in the last post, I stayed in the hotel at Haifa for a couple of days until I was able to move into my apartment on campus. Technion University was founded in 1912 and has a large gated campus with over 90 buildings. It has about 14000 students enrolled with about 600 faculty. It has a large emphasis on research with more than 60 research centers. Being on campus here feels vibrant and I feel welcomed. --------- The view to my left as I walk from home to work -------- The first day that I arrived on campus, I was greeted in my apartment by one of my flatmates, David who is a research student from France. He helped me find my way to the international student office on his way to work. The same evening I met my other flatmates, another David from Spain, and Li from China. It is a
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05/19 Last night was long and tiring in Tel Aviv. I messed up my hotel booking and reserved a room for the night that I had left America, not realizing that I would be arriving in Israel the day after. I was not aware of this mistake until I reached my hotel and the gentleman at the reception told me that I was supposed to have come in the night before. I was obviously very flustered and I couldn't believe that I had made that mistake. The receptionist was an extremely helpful and worked with me till I was able to find another place for the night. Later that night I also realized that in confusing my arrival day, I had also not taken into account that the office that I was to pick up my apartment keys from in Haifa would not be open on Friday and Saturday, given that it would be the weekend. I spent the rest of the night finding a place to stay in Haifa for two more days.  -------- My bathroom window in Haifa -------- For those of you who got through my ran
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