this city has no drainage system.. at least, none that i can see.  i know this because it has been raining pretty much nonstop for the past three days.  of course, having been born in seattle and all, i know what it's like to have lots of rain.  but i'll tell you, there's nothing like having to walk 30 minutes to class and 30 minutes back in what i can only describe as a river cascading down the streets, sidewalks, every semi-horizontal piece of land that exists here.  the best part, by far, is the way that every car -- which still goes 90 miles an hour on normal city streets -- splashes me from top to bottom.  this happens roughly every 3 blocks, if i'm lucky.  i guess i should be glad that i still have a cold from the outdoor wedding.. if not, i would probably have another by now. :)  it really is crazy though.. i guess the country really doesn't get enough rain for it to be a big problem, but man, when it really rains, it is close to impossible to get around.  there are huge puddles everywhere, and really, i don't think i've seen a drain yet.  in seattle, the water is gone before it even hits the ground.. of course, maybe those are just fond, idealistic memories. :)

anyway, the storm seems to be clearing up now.. but the past few days have been intense.. icy rain, wind that makes it hard to breathe when you're facing it, and tons of thunder and lightening.  it was actually pretty great.. when i was inside, watching it from the comfort and warmth of my apartment. :)  the funny part was that the storm broke, i mean REALLY broke, at the EXACT moment that the deliverymen came to deliver my washing machine, dryer, and stove.  pretty much as soon as they took the damn things out of their boxes, we heard the first crack of thunder.  luckily there was no damage because i have a big of an overhang in my courtyard.  but man, that delivery process was a story unto itself. :)

the first thing they did was bring in the stove, which was no problem because it just went in the front door and fit right into the kitchen.. could it be THAT simple, though?  nah, this is israel.  of course i didn't have some tube or something that i need, so now i have to wait for the gas company to bring the hose to connect it to the gas.. which is ok because they also have to bring a new cannister of gas (apparently i'm empty).  i guess they also have to check the stove -- a brand new stove -- for leaks.. i guess this is "policy."  i'm sure it will cost an arm and a leg as well.  so it's a bummer because i have to wait another week to cook.. but it's really not too bad because 1) i don't cook, and 2) i don't have any pots, pans, or cooking utensils (nor do i have plates, silverware, or cups, for that matter).  ahh, the good life. :)  no, seriously, i do cook a little -- and i am really excited to have the stove because it is becoming artichoke season over here and i LIVE on those suckers when they're around.  they're huge, flavorful, and cheap as hell here, too.  and apparently my stuff is set to arrive here any day now, so hopefully, by the time the stove is operational, i may actually have a pot to put on it!

from what i hear, the ship has docked in haifa and they are working on unloading it now.. on breaks from the strike, of course.  then it has to work its way through customs, and then it has to make its way to my apartment.. i go to bed every night on my air mattress DREAMING about having my bed, my books, most of my clothes, and all my pictures and personal things.. it's funny, my bedtime ritual is now to plan what i will unpack first.. i can't decide whether i want all my clothes hung up first or whether i want to set up my desk, on which i can actually study my hebrew in peace, without hunching over the coffee table, cricking my neck, and giving myself a hernia and a migraine at the same time. :)  so i am REALLY looking forward to ending my little "camp israel" period here.  my dream of dreams is that they will be able to deliver everything in the next few days, so i can actually have time to unpack while i'm on chanukah break, which is from tuesday until saturday.  my guess is what will actually happen is it will arrive the day i return to all three of my ulpan instruction programs and am crazy busy. :)

speaking of that, yes, i have started another ulpan, a distance learning program.. the woman gave me a couple of CDs and a couple of books with vocabulary, media situations, daily conversations, and the written scripts for everything.  my task is to do notecards for every new word, write sentences in hebrew and english for each one, and then translate the entire conversation/ situation into english.  then, three times a week, i call the woman and we have a 25-minute "tele-lesson," which is her "proven method for faster learning."  apparently, since i can't see her body language or any other contextual cues, these lessons are supposedly even more useful than normal classes.  i'm not convinced yet, but the rest of the method is working very quickly.  she has promised that within 5 weeks of 3 lessons per week, i will advance an entire level.. which is great.  i have already learned phrases like, "the sky is the limit," "it was received with great shock," and "we are aware of the severity of the acts."  don't ask what the contexts were! :)

oh man, i completely forgot that i was in the middle of the delivery story.  so much to tell!  and i'm sure you're all bored already. :)  anyway, so after the stove, they started wrapping the dryer in some weird plastic wrap, i suppose to keep it from 1) getting wet, and 2) getting scratched during the next activity.. which was, of course, hoisting it through the only opening through which we hoped against all hope that it would fit -- the window, 6 feet up from the ground.  the dryer slid straight through, nice and smooth.. i was cheering them on all the way, until they turned to me and said, "oh, that's NO problem, the real problem will be the washer!"  so i was not able to exhale just yet.  anyway, so they started wrapping the washer in the same weird plastic, also with blankets around it so it wouldn't get scratched, which i thought was a nice touch.  so then they hoisted the thing up to the window, which was no small feat as it appeared very heavy (and don't forget about the crashing thunder and torrential rainfall)..

meanwhile i'm watching, with one eye on the guy outside and one on the guy inside, both of them yelling to each other to hoist it up, hoist it down, turn it to the left, etc.. it was hilarious.  i'm also on the phone with the warranty company, because i was unable to book the appt for the technician to come hook the damn thing up until i got the serial number in my hand.. so i'm on the phone, giving the people my info, and they asked something about the washer, and i had to tell them that it wasn't EXACTLY in my house just yet.. and they wanted me to call back when it was, but i started yelling.. but to be honest, there were a few points at which i thought it would NEVER get in.. points like, for instance, when the machine was wedged in so tightly to the window that they could barely get it out to give it another try!  anyway, loooong story short, they tried 3 different ways but finally got it in, admonishing me afterwards to NEVER move to another apartment.  i have to admit, i was definitely considering that exact option.  seeing how difficult it was to get those in, as well as how much of a pain it's going to be to get all my stuff from the ship into the neighborhood.. it certainly makes me reconsider wanting to apply to university in beersheva. :)

aaaaanyway, so all got in safely, and rather easily (when you consider the alternatives -- knocking out a wall, dismantling the machine, giving up).. and when i found out that the technician could come to hook it up THE NEXT DAY, i knew something was up.  (yes, of course, here in israel the people who deliver a device are not at all the same people who can actually connect the thing properly!)  so sure enough, the guy showed up right on time the next morning, plugged it in, hooked it up, and i had a working washing machine within the hour.  i knew for sure, given the previous VCR problems, that nothing could be this easy.

sure enough, when i went to put in the detergent, i hit a roadblock.  here's what happened.. i had liquid detergent, liquid fabric softener, and a powder substance called calgon which i had been told is imperative to use here because of "extremely hard water."  i found before me a drawer in the machine to put all of this into (no, in these machines you can't just pour everything in directly with the clothes).. this drawer had 4 compartments with 4 different labels on them.  the problem was that the labels did not match up with what the manual instructed, and neither of those pieces of information matched with what the technician had told me.  for instance, the space on the left was labeled "detergent/powder liquid," but in the manual it said, in big block letters "POWDER ONLY."  then the right compartment said it was for the water softener, but the manual said to put it directly in with the detergent (powder only, of course), but the technician had told me to put it into the third compartment.  the only thing i was sure of was to put the fabric softener into the middle slot.  this information did not help me wash my clothes, however.

so i pouted and i fretted and i called everyone i knew.. but apparently all machines are different so no one could help over the phone.  and even when i got some people to come over and compare the conflicting instructions, they were also stumped.  at least i'm not an idiot.  the final result was that i had these two beautiful, gleaming new machines in my bathroom, a pile of dirty laundry the size of mount everest, and I COULDN'T DO THE DAMN WASH!

all weekend i stewed in annoyance over this.  of course, i couldn't call the damn people because it was shabbat.  bright and early this morning, i got a friend to help me call and explain the situation.. after 20 minutes, i kid you not, of trying to get them to understand, i finally received an answer -- i simply cannot use liquid detergent with this machine.  i was annoyed to find this out, because 1) i hate the powder stuff, and 2) i had just bought a big jug of the liquid stuff.  oh well.. i went to exchange it today and all is good.. and i am very happy to report that, as of 4:45pm israeli standard time today, i have done my first load of laundry in my brand new washing machine in my new apartment in the center of jerusalem.

now, this may not sound exciting to some of you folks, especially those of you who spend the better part of your weeks doing laundry.. but believe me, this is a momentous occasion for young alison golub.  i can't explain it.. but there was always something about being able to do your laundry in your own house, not having to spend most of your days wandering around trying to amass enough quarters to do a load, waiting for some asshole in the apartment above you to finish doing what could only be 3 months' worth of dirty sheets and towels.. i always told myself that when the day came that i had my own washing machine and could do laundry anytime i wanted without having to plunk in a dollar or two every time.. man, when that day came, i would be a real adult.  and to be honest, i really do feel it.  i feel like an adult.  finally.  of course, i'm probably spending 3 dollars per load now, when you total up the price of the machines, the detergent that costs a shitload, the expensive cost of water here, and of course the gagillion kilowatts of electricity that it all takes.. all of which i'm paying through the nose for.. but hey, at least i'm an adult now. :)