Many times since I arrived here I've wondered about the future. I have no idea what I'm going to do with my life. Doubting my future led to me doubting my placement, and I've felt like giving up. I'm thankful that work is so enjoyable, but obviously work isn't enough, and I feel like I owe a great deal to Yael and Debora. Without one or both of them, I don't think I would have been brave enough to stay. They brighten up my days.
Yael starts philosophical discussions every now and then, and we seem to disagree quite a lot. I'm sure this is a relief to Efrat, who sits behind me, as she was convinced at first that I had no mind of my own and would only ever agree with Yael. Efrat will go on maternity leave soon. I'll be sad to see her go... Anyway, the day after a very long conversation about whether or not we should open all the 'doors' in our minds and explore the things we find difficult to ponder (which stemmed from whether or not we believe in God), Yael thanked me for challenging her and making her say things that she wouldn't otherwise. A couple of days later I stumbled upon the door I like to keep closed...
There was a roof party in Tel Aviv that Debora invited me to (Fig 1), where everyone was tango dancing. It was crowded and not so enjoyable, but it was nice to have a change of scenery. It was also fun to watch the people who knew what they were doing. The way they move is incredible, and one guy danced so playfully.
Recently it was the women's film festival in Rehovot and as Debora could no longer go, she let me have her ticket and I went along with her flatmate, Barbara, to see 77 steps. It was a documentary film about an Arab-Israeli woman who (after some difficulty) managed to move to Tel Aviv and got a Jewish Canadian boyfriend. At first they got on so well despite their different beliefs, and supported one another in those. Eventually, it caused difficulties, blah blah blah they split up. It was interesting.
Yael starts philosophical discussions every now and then, and we seem to disagree quite a lot. I'm sure this is a relief to Efrat, who sits behind me, as she was convinced at first that I had no mind of my own and would only ever agree with Yael. Efrat will go on maternity leave soon. I'll be sad to see her go... Anyway, the day after a very long conversation about whether or not we should open all the 'doors' in our minds and explore the things we find difficult to ponder (which stemmed from whether or not we believe in God), Yael thanked me for challenging her and making her say things that she wouldn't otherwise. A couple of days later I stumbled upon the door I like to keep closed...
There was a roof party in Tel Aviv that Debora invited me to (Fig 1), where everyone was tango dancing. It was crowded and not so enjoyable, but it was nice to have a change of scenery. It was also fun to watch the people who knew what they were doing. The way they move is incredible, and one guy danced so playfully.
Recently it was the women's film festival in Rehovot and as Debora could no longer go, she let me have her ticket and I went along with her flatmate, Barbara, to see 77 steps. It was a documentary film about an Arab-Israeli woman who (after some difficulty) managed to move to Tel Aviv and got a Jewish Canadian boyfriend. At first they got on so well despite their different beliefs, and supported one another in those. Eventually, it caused difficulties, blah blah blah they split up. It was interesting.
I finally spoke to Gavin on Skype. I cried.
I turned 21. I bought £20 worth of cake for the lab and we had a nice time eating it in the late morning, during which Moshe showered me with blessings. I had a boring, uneventful day at work, and then some of us went for a meal at an expensive meat restaurant in Rehovot. I had rare veal and an appetiser of chopped liver with onion jam and sour cherries that the restaurant gave me for my birthday. I had a really good glass of wine...that I wasn't charged for, and a delicious kadaif dessert. Although I hadn't particularly wanted to celebrate my birthday, it was nice to spend it with people I care about, even if I couldn't be with the ones in England.
September is full of Jewish holidays, and it was recently Yom Kippur. This is a day of self-reflection, during which you are supposed to avoid distracting yourself, as far as I understand, so that you can pray and think. Apparently it is the last day for you after Jewish New Year (also in September) to convince God that you belong in the Book of Life, not the Book of Death.
For me it was a very interesting day because there are (very very almost) no vehicles on the road whatsoever (Fig 2). You can happily walk along in the middle of the road, and many people walk, cycle, rollerblade or skateboard between cities. Yael's husband cycles from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, and I would really like to come back next year to do something of the sort, perhaps with Steven, if he likes the idea.
September is full of Jewish holidays, and it was recently Yom Kippur. This is a day of self-reflection, during which you are supposed to avoid distracting yourself, as far as I understand, so that you can pray and think. Apparently it is the last day for you after Jewish New Year (also in September) to convince God that you belong in the Book of Life, not the Book of Death.
For me it was a very interesting day because there are (very very almost) no vehicles on the road whatsoever (Fig 2). You can happily walk along in the middle of the road, and many people walk, cycle, rollerblade or skateboard between cities. Yael's husband cycles from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, and I would really like to come back next year to do something of the sort, perhaps with Steven, if he likes the idea.
Earlier this week several members of the lab went to the FAMRI retreat in Jaffa, where various PIs from out department gave short lectures on the work being carried out in their lab. It all had to be related to lung cancer because FAMRI fund research in all of the labs that attended. FAMRI stands for Flight Attendant Medical Research Institute, and the story of it began in 1991 when a non-smoking flight attendant wanted to sue the tobacco companies because she got lung cancer from passive smoking during flights. Long story short, they won the case after a long time and got something like 300 billion for a research foundation. Whoopee! :)
It was a really good story and it made us all think differently about the work that we do, at least for the day.
On the bus to Jaffa I sat next to the Ukrainian girl/woman (I never know which word to use), Nadya, who I had barely spoken to at all before. We got on so well and I told her how glad I was to have the opportunity to speak to her properly. She gave me St Trinian's 2 and the new BBC Sherlock Holmes things to watch, which will give me something to do during Sukkot, which started yesterday and lasts a week. This holiday has something to do with eating in little huts.
Someone from uni has reminded me about the UoM VPN, which will allow me to access 4oD and BBC iPlayer if I download it. Genius! I will always have something to watch.
Oh and I spoke to my sister tonight and she banged on about her new job. I am so pleased for her, it sounds like it will be a lot of fun!
It was a really good story and it made us all think differently about the work that we do, at least for the day.
On the bus to Jaffa I sat next to the Ukrainian girl/woman (I never know which word to use), Nadya, who I had barely spoken to at all before. We got on so well and I told her how glad I was to have the opportunity to speak to her properly. She gave me St Trinian's 2 and the new BBC Sherlock Holmes things to watch, which will give me something to do during Sukkot, which started yesterday and lasts a week. This holiday has something to do with eating in little huts.
Someone from uni has reminded me about the UoM VPN, which will allow me to access 4oD and BBC iPlayer if I download it. Genius! I will always have something to watch.
Oh and I spoke to my sister tonight and she banged on about her new job. I am so pleased for her, it sounds like it will be a lot of fun!
I love reading your blog entries, can't wait for the next x
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