I'm still around. Just not exactly sure where right now.

Finally the short Hannukah vacation has arrived. My head is still spinning from these first, very intense, two weeks of language class. I have a huge backlog of vocabulary I need to memorize, plus lots of assigned homework to do. I've been studying a few hours outside of class every day (and yeah, on the weekends too), but I still feel behind. I'm encouraged by the fact that I was magically able to understand and speak a little bit with the cashiers at the grocery store yesterday, which although it doesn't sound like much, is huge for me. I actually shared a joke with one of the cashiers; it was an amazing eureka moment. It was as if a door opened. Suddenly, this country and life here seemed a little more do-able, a little more human, a little less intimidating. I still feel oddly off-balance -- I'm not yet part of this culture, but no longer simply an American -- but at least I can see that very soon I'll be able to stand solidly on my own. And that's really encouraging.

Today I'm trying to decompress a bit and spend it entirely at play. I had some pretty amazing dumpster dives late last week -- I managed to retrieve some really killer vintage fabric. I'm spending the morning deconstructing handmade vintage dresses, and hopefully I'll be able to make something quick and fun from them this afternoon. Photos soon. Tomorrow, in between homework assignments, I might tackle the huge vinyl banner I yanked from a garbage can (it says "sandwich sale" in Hebrew. Hot, no?). Freitag knockoff, here I come!