I'm Heeeere!

Last night I arrived at my new home. The good-byes in Orlando were not as difficult as I expected, until I got about 5 minutes away in the car and thought of my little doggy's face (ok, big doggy) and the way her ears go back and eyebrows go up when she watches me leave the house. I definitely started tearing and choking up, but I had to stop...since I was about to get on the turnpike. Saying good-bye to my husband was also difficult, and I had to pretend that it was just for a short vacation. He rushed through it, only saying "This is weird... we better go". It was definitely weird to imagine that we are going to be apart for an unknown amount of time. So, instead of dwelling on it and making it even harder, we quickly sent each other off and that was that.

My new house is the quintessential older-couple's Israeli-American home. By that, I mean it's filled with food, drinks and decor from far-away lands. The furniture is old and beautiful, and everything has character. I like it a lot. It reminds me of all the homes I've lived in as a child, as my mother has a thing for antiques and all of our homes were Victorian. The couple I'm living with is older (late 60s-70s) and they're very sweet. The husband, A, was a musician and has a lot of instruments and books lying around. As a (former) cellist, he and I will get along quite well.

Because tonight is Shabbat, everyone is hustling around to get things ready. I'm feeling a little lost in this shuffle. My host mother, B, told me I'm getting on her nerves (her exact words) because I didn't eat breakfast and she thought it was because I'm too shy to take food. Really, my whole schedule is off now, as I have no dog to take outside, feed, play with, no husband to make coffee for and send off to work... so what am I supposed to do with myself in the morning?? I got up after not sleeping very well, took a shower, got dressed, made myself some delicious Israeli coffee (my favorite), and chatted with my host mom for a while. I suppose since I'm not working now, I will get bored very quickly. I must either find a job or throw myself 120% into my studying...well, I planned on doing that anyway.

Now that I'll be writing regularly, I'm hoping to make my blog more interesting. I'm so awkward when it comes to showing myself. There are so many cool blogs I read by Jewish women who really put themselves out there and have pictures of themselves and really just make everything interesting. I, on the other hand, feel like the social outcast type of the blogging world. Maybe when I become more comfortable doing this thing on a regular basis, it will grow and blossom into something more entertaining to read :)

So, with that, I will end my post for the day. Tonight, I'll be having dinner with my host family and tomorrow it's off to shul. I have yet to discover if this synagogue is Ashkenazi or Sephardic. B called it "shul" so I'm leaning more towards Ashkenazi...although my studies starting next week will be based on Sephardic texts and traditions. Let's see how it all works out. To be continued...and Shabbat shalom!