Cleaning and Hiking

Tomorrow we have our midterm. I can’t believe Ulpan is halfway over. And I’m excited to see how we do on the test. After class today I stopped by the mini-market and picked up some cleaning supplies. And then I gave my room and bathroom a once over that I think would make even my DC roommate proud. I pulled all the furniture away from the walls, cleaned the walls and ever corner, the ceiling, the cracks and crevices. I found Mr. Roach behind my wardrobe and he kindly climbed up on the bottom of the broom and held on quietly and calmly as I escorted him out of our apartment and far away. Peaceful conclusion!

I talked to our maintenance people and the man that came and checked out the hole in my bathroom will be back tomorrow to caulk it up right nice. :-)

As I was cleaning in-between the screen on my window, and the glass (because I’m in the safe room, there’s quite a big external windowsill, it’s hard to describe, and all kinds of leaves, dirt and trash—and bugs, had gathered there. Anyway, as I was cleaning that out (with my pretty pink cleaning gloves I’d bought), I discovered that the screen opens like a projector screen. You know, where you unlatch it, and then pull down a bit, and it rolls up and away? Not that you want to be rid of your screen, but it makes for an excellent exit were the door ever to be blocked. And it also is quite conducive to cleaning! :-)

I dusted and swabbed the top and back of my wardrobe, under my bed, and the underside of my bed, and in the door jam opening thing, where I found what looked like an old abandoned wasps’ nest!

While I was accomplishing all of this, my laundry was washing, and then drying. I finished up by sweeping our front and back entrances and then showering off all of the dust and grime and, I’m sure, little itty bitty bugs I probably picked up along the way.

I gathered my not-quite-dry laundry and laid it out before throwing my things into my camelback and going upstairs to join a group for a hike to some natural bridges at 4pm. I got there at 4:08ish and no one was to be found. :-( After some wandering around I discovered they had changed the time to 3:30pm.

Sadness. But it allowed me to take my clothes back to the dryer and finish them up. I grabbed my iPod and took myself on a little nature walk.

I walked around the exterior bounds of our campus, which was an errand I’d been wanting to do since I arrived, and then crossed the street to the closest entry to Carmel National Park. Yep, I live across the street from a national park. *grin* Walked for a couple hours while I listened to “A Letter from Mary” on tape and returned while the sun was still easily above the sea on the horizon (I’d seen a sign forbidding me to be in the park after dark, so I was watching the sun carefully).

I was happy to learn of the conservation efforts Israel is making for the vultures in the land. And I enjoyed the familiar flora as well as new and interesting flora and the minute fauna I saw along the path.

I had followed a road on the way out, but saw the same path markers (black stripe between two white) cross it several times, so I followed the same path markers on the way back, and then as I saw the university up the hill, took a side path (green between two white stripes) up to my exit. I look forward to returning to the ‘T’ in the path and following it in the other direction next time. :-)