savoy096

Words can only go so far to describe the wonder that is Beersheva. Therefore, I have provided a sampling from her majes tic scenes. Behold, a photo blog.

Our first year is winding down and there are less than two weeks until our last exam. Many of us are going back home for the summer, others will be here in Beersheva making a lot of vitamin D, and some will be exploring other parts of the planet. I will be heading back to California for a wedding; it’s the place that it all started a year ago. I remember this time last summer very well. I re-read all of the MSIH emails that I had skimmed (skipped) and did some last minute I-don’t-want-to-pay-crazy-taxes-on-shoes-in-Israel shopping. But most of last summer I spent preparing for my wedding. Casey and I were engaged for three months and were married for three days before leaving for Israel. Some students had spent time in Israel before, some spoke Hebrew fluently; others (like myself) had never been to Israel and knew some of the alphabet at best. Aside from wondering if I would survive the first year of medical school, I was wondering if I would survive Beersheva. Then there were questio...

Soon after my lovely wife and I moved into our apartment last August, there was an unexpected knock at the door. I had been in Hebrew class for a few weeks at that point so I figured that I could manage to communicate something with whoever it was, maybe. As I opened the door, I saw an elderly man standing with a leather briefcase. We stared at each other for a second and then he said something to me in Hebrew. As I have often done in this country, I picked up one word and thought I understood the whole sentence. I heard the word “rofae” (doctor) and somehow (I don’t quite know how) I put together a whole story in my head that the man was looking for a doctor. He must have found out that I was studying medicine and assumed that I could provide him some medical assistance. Somewhat flattered, I decided that I had to tell him the truth. I quickly went through some Hebrew charts in my head and muttered out, “ani lo rofae” (I am not a doctor). The look on his face told me that he was not s...

On those occasions I am not drowning in Endocrinology and learning about hormones that gush out of our glands and flow down lymphatic or hematogenous course ways, I try to take a walk with my family to the “Beach,” an affectionate nickname given to the fountain park that has recently opened in the neighborhood. It is a nice place where our family can go and enjoy ourselves. It is just as much fun to the kids (and a lot less expensive for us!) as any water park. It is even better at night, when all the gushers light up with lots of bright colors. It is such a contrast to the hot summer sun. I like to hear and feel the cool, crisp water. It shoots up and down. It rains all around. The lights seamlessly morph from one mesmerizing color to another. Everything is synced to create this cool dancing effect. Majestic palm trees line the way and plenty of leafy plants and flowers bloom in the perimeter landscaping. Adults chatter away as they sit under the wooden shelter made to look like an im...