house-hunting, etc.

I have gotten serious about trying to find a place to live. After more than 3 weeks in this country it's about time, huh? The problem is, I am basically illiterate in Hebrew. Gosh that's embarrassing to admit. Almost as embarrassing as admitting that I'm never positive how to spell embarrassing. Two r's? Two s's? Two of both, or some combination of one and two? I'm never quite sure... Anyhow, the point is that househunting in a foreign language is a ginormous challenge. There are some websites in English, but not much. I went to look at a studio yesterday. Talk about depressing - the place reminded me of a (small) cave. It was basically one room, a counter with a sink in it, and a bathroom. And a tiny little window with bars on the outside. No thank you. So I have continued to look, although it seems that most people who are looking for roommates, that I have seen, are all religious. And, well, I don't think that would work out very well. I called one place and the second question was, Am I religious? I said No, and the girl was like, Ok, bye.

In other news, I have mentioned that I am staying with my cousin while I search. Did I talk about the animals? There are 3 dogs and a cat the size of a medium-sized dog. One of the dogs looks like a bear. It's funny because even when no one else is here, it's like a party. Sort of. A party of animals? That sounds weird. But you know, the apartment is never empty. It's nice.

I also wanted to say that I LOVE getting emails from everyone, and that I apologize if I don't respond or take forever to do so. They make my day. Now if you could just make them in Hebrew so I can practice........ haha just kidding. I won't put anyone else through my suffering. Er, I mean, wonderful learning experience.

So what am I doing these days? I start out by searching the same websites over and over in the hopes that someone put the perfect job/house ad online, taking breaks to obsessively check my email. After a bit of that, I take the bus to the city center and wander around, getting lost and then found again. This, of course, doesn't help with job- or house-hunting, and really doesn't even improve my Hebrew. But it's fun. This city fascinates me, with the superreligious people all over the place, within a modern city and society, which also has an ancient feel. Eventually I take the bus back here, study some Hebrew, and try to fall asleep on the portion of the couch that the cat-dog allows me. Haha that sounds bad, but usually it's enough room. really. See why I need my own place?