The Ringleader

I just finished week two studying at the Yeshiva, and it was not an easy one. I'm still really enjoying classes, still getting along really well with the other students in my program, but in addition to that, I also spent the week looking for an apartment. I've found it difficult and stressful enough looking for an apartment in a language and culture I understand, that trying to do it here was just all-consuming. I'm going to be living with two guys in my program who will also be here for the year and the first problem that we were faced with was that a lot of people aren't willing to rent to mixed-gender groups, which is why the apartment I had lined up when I arrived here fell through in the first place. Also, not surprisingly, people are wary of renting to foreigners who can't really be tracked down if they bolt. There are actually a variety of ways of dealing with that problem if it should occur, and they mostly involve putting down a huge amount of money as security. Once these things got dealt with, there was the problem that we don't have accounts or checks in shekels, and one of my roommates is from Europe so we can't use the dollar (which landlords won't take right now anyway).

Yesterday, we signed a contract (in Hebrew) for a lovely, two-bathroom, three-bedroom apartment 15 minutes away from school. We got off easy by way of security, in that they're basically just going to take rent three months at a time as our security. But, because of the currency issue, it will be paid in cash. Which means that when we signed that contract we also handed over the equivalent of a little under $5000 in cash. It was intense.

Nonetheless, as of August 15, I have a long-term home here in Jerusalem, which means I won't always have to go searching for somewhere to eat for Shabbat, like I've been doing. The result of that this week is that a classmate from my Hebrew ulpan invited me and my future roommates over to have Shabbat with him and his family this evening, so I am off to that. I'll share plenty more about my new place, and actually begin to talk about my classes now that I have time to breathe and the ability to focus again. Shabbat Shalom!