The Start of Classes and Eurobasket 2017

This past week has been intense.  Classes started last Monday, so I'm finally settling in to the routine of doing work again, but professors are also settling into the routine of giving work again, and I must say, with most classes only meeting once a week, the reading can really stack up if I don't space it out.  For example: tomorrow, I have the second class of the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  Due tomorrow is 200 pages of reading various articles and a critical paper.  Don't get me wrong, it's all extremely interesting -- I just need to make sure I start my reading on the day it gets assigned next time.

All of the classes seem like they're going to be super interesting, so I'm not worried too much about the workload.  For those of you wondering, I'm taking Intermediate Arabic I, the History of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, Diplomacy and Negotiation: Conflict Resolution in the Middle East, and Experiential Learning I (part of my major, seems very much like a philosophy class about what makes a city).  I'm also auditing a class called Comparative Radical Politics, because with a title like that, how could I not?

Aside from sitting outside in the beautiful weather doing lots and lots of reading, I've also managed to get out from our dorm and experience parts of the city.  On Friday we all went and bought used bikes to get around faster, and my bike is great.  It cruises around the city like a dream.  I'll get a picture eventually, I keep forgetting and then remembering when it's dark outside, but hopefully next week you'll get to see my way of travel.  On Sunday, I went with two of my friends, Jenna and Elijah, to watch the sunset at the beach, and we got delicious (and cheap) pizza on the way back.  The highlight of this story is that Elijah biked back to the dorm while balancing the pizza and managed it beautifully, while I almost ran into a pole and Jenna almost ran into me...

Last night, NYU took us all to the Eurobasket preliminary Israel v. Georgia game.  It was one of the most high energy things I've ever experienced.  Israelis get into their basketball.  Quick side story before we talk about the game itself -- I had brought my water bottle with me, as I do everywhere I go, because hydrate or die, but as it turns out, the security people checking everyone before letting them inside really didn't want me to have my water bottle.  With no other option, I walked across the street, halfway down some bushes, stuck my water bottle under them, and hoped no one stole it.  This story has a happy ending, so don't worry -- after the game I ran over, and there it was, good as when I stuck it under there three hours earlier.  Still, I've learned my lesson, and will definitely be asking before bringing my water bottle everywhere.

The game itself was super exciting!  It was extremely close between Israel and Georgia for the whole game -- it actually ended in a tie, so they went into five minutes overtime.  Sadly, Georgia managed to score 14 points in those five minutes, while Israel only managed 2, so a tragic end to a fun night.

I have pictures from the game, but none of them are currently uploading, so I'll try tomorrow morning and add them as another post/as comments.

Interesting foods eaten this week: hummus with chickpeas and beans, hummus and couscous, hummus and falafel (are you sensing a theme yet?), falafel sandwich (with hummus, of course)

Average weather: 85 and sunny

We head to Masada and the Dead Sea on Friday, so expect a lot of pictures next week!

Katrina

Comments

  1. hope you don't get sick of hummus! Also - a sporting event? Who even are you? ;-)

    ReplyDelete

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