David In Israel . דוד בישראל . داوود في اسرائيل 

I am in the midst of working on a paper, and sometimes I work up an appetite.  Today, I had a major craving for Campbell's tomato soup and a grilled-cheese sandwich.  First of all... Israel doesn't have Campbell's, let alone canned soups... only powders, and never tomato.  Second of all... Israel usually doesn't have American or Cheddar cheese, as these aren't kosher because of rennet (an ingredient that was traditionally derived from the lining of a calf's stomach) .  To solve this second issue, I finally found a place that sells cheddar.  I don't know if it is kosher, but it works.  The first was a bit more difficult, but then I looked in my refrigerator and realized that I did have some tomato paste!  "Hmmm... how to make tomato soup from tomato paste???" Well... IT WORKS... I mixed the paste with boiling water, added some salt and pepper, broth powder and some sweetener, and then milk, and guess what... It was actually better than Campbell's.  SO - Grilled-Cheese and Tomato Soup can happen here after all.

My mom sent several gifts with me to be opened on Christmas.  I was able to open them with them over Skype.  I decided to go ahead and bake them tonight.  I charred most of them, but it was fun anyway - and I ate too many - but that was fun too!

I've come to the conclusion that you can make just about anything here... for a price!  For instance - I wanted to make cookies - but the powdered sugar is really expensive and it comes in little tiny bags.  But - Egg Nog isn't so bad.  I couldn't remember how to make it, so I had to call my dad.  He was kind enough to explain it to me (like he does every year).  It really is easy enough:  Eggs - Milk - Sugar - Ice Cream - and Nutmeg!  And it was a big hit among the friends that tried it.

Last night, my Ethiopian friend Bilen invited some friends to come to her aunt's house for authentic ethiopian food.  Omer, my roommate is borrowing a big van from his work, and he doesn't have alot of driving experience... at least not navigation experience.  So, we got lost and drove all the way Ashdod - about 45 minutes south of Tel-Aviv.  We finally arrived at the house and we wasted no time!  We gorged ourselves on the wonderful flavors of East Africa, and then Bilen's friend taught us some dance moves.  It was a blast.