everyday life

I was never good at keeping a daily diary, and I'm not good at being an attentive blogger. I forget that I should post, and when I remember it's usually not a good time. And sometimes I'm simply too lazy. Tonight, I'd rather be finishing my book, but I'm forcing myself to sit and do this first.

Because I'm here for 2 months, and because Daniel will be busy with school that entire time, we thought that it would be a good thing for me to have something productive to do. Daniel's aunt and uncle are the managers of a small hotel here in Netanya, Hotel Orit, and they regularly have volunteers around helping with the cooking, cleaning, and general running of things. So, I'm spending 5 weeks working there; in return, I have a place to stay and food to eat, so it works out nicely for all of us. 

Usually, the daily shifts are 7 hours, either in the first half of the day or the second. It's ending up that I'm working mostly mornings, which means I have to get out of bed earlier than I'd prefer but I really enjoy having the afternoons free, so I'm happy. I work 6 days each week, so I'm finding that my schedule is fairly full. However, with the beach so near (only a few blocks away), it's difficult to find reasons not to spend some time there at least a couple times each week, either to get some sun and swim, or to go running. Today Daniel and I got up at 7 to run, and although I was too grumpy to admit that I enjoyed it, the water was still and serene, and the scenery was incredible. Not a bad way to start the day.

Let's see...what else would be of interest? I gave Daniel a haircut; I think I was more nervous than he was, but it turned out pretty good! I'm growing more comfortable navigating the city, and have gone grocery shopping and taken a couple more buses by myself. Netanya isn't too big, and in general people are very friendly and willing to help, as long as you can understand each other. Some of the fruits are coming into season, and we've been given bags and bags of these things:

They're called loquats, and they're delicious - kinda like apricots, but not exactly. Because all of Daniel's friends want to meet me, we've been invited over for dinner or coffee and have been fed lots and lots of good food. I'm really enjoying just getting to do daily life here; it's great to get to spend time hanging out and not simply rushing from place to place trying to see all the "must-see" sites. 

At the same time though, I'm realizing that I will need to be intentional about my time here, or suddenly it will be June 7 and I won't have taken advantage of how close I am to so many incredible places. It's fascinating to me how quickly what we're surrounded by every day becomes "normal," even though at first it was difficult to believe that we were actually here. You get used to the stunning views of the beach, and you start complaining about how the heat makes you sweat. Somehow, the 2-hour trip to Jerusalem just sounds like too much, so instead you take a nap and watch a movie. This is not good. I want to find a healthy balance, and settle into being without giving up the living...not getting too caught up in seeing everything possible, but not passing up amazing opportunities either. So, tomorrow I'll write about a great adventure we had today!