Home at last?

I'm stealing internet from someone nearby so I'll be fast in case it drops. We checked into our apartment this morning and that's good news. It's not the worst that I was preparing for, but not the best that I dreamed for. I think with a few purchases at the local IKEA (you heard right) we can work it out. It's a bit "sterile" as Max put it....but not in a "clean" way. It appears to be a double occupancy student dorm that they have given to us. We had to push the beds together today to make one full sized bed, but don't worry, there is a handy little mattress insert they put between the mattress pads so they don't push apart...even though they still do. But really, I think it will be fine and we are so blessed to have a place already that is in this good of shape.

Max registered for classes and everything else this morning while I sat outside and read Karen Armstrong's "Jerusalem". It was kind of a surreal moment. Armstrong is amazing, but kind of thick sometimes and hard to read, but whenever I thought I was just going to take a brake and do something mindless I said "I'd like to be the kind of person who read this and understood it" so I kept going. The University issued us cell phones, so now we can be in contact with one another when we are apart.

Max is off at his orientation and I ventured out a little bit to find the grocery store. It had a few towels, cleaning supplies, water, TP, and other various immediate necessities. A dear LDS couple that has been living hear for a year is going to show us around a little bit tonight or tomorrow so we can get the rest of our stuff. Max has said on several occasions to me "I've always relied on the kindness of strangers" in a southerny accent. It's true. We've been relying on a lot of strangers to help us find where we need to be.

So far things have been really great, even though today had a few rough moments. It's just hard to move into a new place when you are already dirt tired and you don't even care about the yucky state of the student dorm mattresses before you flop down on one for some shut eye - without the sheets! But we just ate some burgers (delicious) and I think I've got some umpf left in the day to clean a few things here and there. Just to make things livable.

Lastly, I joked with Max about asking Hebrew University for a room with a view of the Old City. The housing woman wasn't hugely helpful along the way and so I thought it would be funny to suggest to Max that we make this extravagant request. Of course he didn't, but I noticed today that if I reach my head just outside my window this is what I see: