My first friend :)

Days before my arrival to Jerusalem I met Luba, another MIIS student who lived in Jerusalem a few years back. She put me in touch with her friend Aryeh. I added him on facebook and we started messaging each other before I got here. He offered to help me carry my bags from wherever I was dropped off to my hostel- super nice, right? I felt kind of bad, though, so I didn't call him until I got to the guest house.

I called Aryeh as soon as I got there, and we met up and went out for a drink. Walking around the city was pretty cool, and meeting Aryeh was a very smooth transition to my new life in Jerusalem.

Aryeh is an Israeli American who's lived in the US and now lives here. He's my age and speaks with an American accent- awesome! He's in transition right now; finished high school and went to the military (In case you didn't know, Israel has mandatory military service for all its citizens including women). Now he's taking his tests and trying to finish college over here. He's also working. This is perfect for me because it means that he has a lot of free time!

He's a super nice and interesting guy. He's teaching me lots about Jewish culture and religion, which is fantastic! Yay for my first friend in Jerusalem!