We Like Grass

New item on my UCLA bucket list: sometime before I graduate, I want to get a medium-to-large-sized rock, and somehow engrave my name in it. Then I shall throw it into the inverted fountain, where hopefully it will stay for a long time. I am not very sure how or why I came up with this idea, but it's going to happen, mark my words. Ever since last week, I've had a pretty wack sleep schedule from midterms and such. This was not helped at all by my brief return home Friday night to Saturday afternoon, since I went to sleep at around 1:30 the night I went back. Sleep aside though, going home was a refreshing break from the stressful onslaught that is midterms, of which I've completed two. After flying over, the parents and the brother picked me up from the airport, and we headed home. The car ride was quite bizarre for me; never have I been away from home for this long, so I'm pretty sure I rambled a lot on topics including video games and De Neve Late Night food (whic...

By Tamika Whitenack My ABCs. I had the thought today that it would be fun to make a list of ABC fruits just with what first comes to mind. So I'm sharing, a few of these things are not fruits btw: Apple Banana Cantaloupe Durian Eggplant Figs Grapes Honeydew Icicles Jackfruit Kiwi Lemon Melon Nutella Orange Plum Quince Raspberries Strawberries Thistle Umbrian Violet Watermelon Xantham gum Yucca Zucchini

By Tamika Whitenack Appreciate this morning fog on a farm run! I love reading everyone's blogs! I think this is a first, everybody else has posted since the last time I posted! Yayayay. Hearing about your adventures is awesome, but I think part of why I like reading is because I can hear your voice through the way you write. Much love to all. There was a lot going on at campus this past week in not a good way for most students, so it was a long week. I don't really feel like talking about that right now though, because I am in a lovely mood. I don't mean for this post to be one of those "look at how great my life is" sorts of things, and I will say right now that while I am incredibly privileged to be here and do enjoy myself, it is far from perfect. However, today I feel like sharing happy things! I had an amazing morning! I woke up around 8:45, which was probably not enough sleep considering when I went to bed last night, but I did not feel tired, I f...

Argh. Aaarrrghh. It’s been a very long time since I last blogged. Actually, it’s been almost exactly four weeks. A whole month. Aaaaarrrghh. Anyhow, I shall try to make up for lost time here with a very long post. Maybe. We’ll see how it turns out. I remember all the way back from high school (ages ago, I know) how Keith always used to say at the beginning of each school year that we really hit the ground running. Here, things picked up so fast that it was more like I hit the ground on a jet-powered bike – not quite stable, a bit scary, and fast as hell. Actually, I’m not even sure if I touched the ground; things just blasted off (obligatory rocket joke now that I’m in Rocket Project). My RISE rocket design! Hopefully it doesn't blow up... Speaking of Rocket Project, Rocket Project! Rocket Project was one of the clubs that caught my eye at the club fair (if you’ll remember all the way back to my blog a month ago haha), and I have not been disappointed so far. ...

By Emma Regev I never know how to start these things!! ?? AH! Nationalism: This past Wednesday was a new holiday in Israel called yom aliyah. Aliyah literally means "rising up," but it's used in Judaism to refer to people moving to Israel. Aliyah is integral to Israel's existence as the state was built by people making aliyah to escape persecution in their home countries. The first few waves of aliyah to Palestine were in the late 1800s/early 1900s, mostly from Eastern Europe, followed years later by many other mass aliyot from places like Russia and Ethiopia. In celebration of this holiday, our program was invited to attend a big ceremony in Jerusalem as members of our sister youth movement, Hanoar Ha Oved ve Halomed (the working and learning youth). The event was, in simple terms, weird as fuck. As one would expect from an event solely celebrating the moving of people to your country, it was aggressively nationalist. There were a bunch of really-close-to-being...

By Cameron Rusin Hi friends! Exactly a week ago I embarked on a journey into the White Mountains of New Hampshire! I’m not really sure what to say about this trip, because (1) there weren’t too many huge moments to talk about and (2) the moments that I remember are the kind that make my heart feel good, but are hard to describe exactly why to others. Kind of like our backpacking trip this summer, it was just a generally wholesome nature experience with quality people. However, I will try to tell you guys about what I was up to, in my typical fashion of dividing it into days. Also I should tell you why I was there first (I’m adding this in after writing a fair amount, realizing that no one knows what I’m talking about…). The Tufts Mountain Club is a very large group that basically serves any outdoorsy need you could ever have, and they also own a lodge, called The Loj, in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Usually they coordinate rides and individuals and small groups can g...

By Emma Regev the kibbutz's giant sukkah moooooo I planned a crazy rosh Hashanah role-play dinner where everyone was a character in a dysfunctional Jewish family. It was lots of fun and for some reason everyone ended up being gay! Wahoo!  Eliza and I ran a BLARP (biblical live-action role play) to celebrate simchat torah (when you finish reading the torah and start all over again). This is us being silly theatre teachers.  This dog is sometimes my friend and sometimes my enemy. A frenemy, you could say. Just a second before this picture was taken we were, in fact, getting along just fine. Tonight  while I was running with my friends the dog kept chasing us and it was terrifying. Oh, yes! I've been running a lot and I think I'm getting better at it :) The most I've run is 2-ish miles + hills which is more than I've ever done at home.  The ...