After three weeks of living in Israel I am really starting to get into the swing of things. Days are becoming much more routine and going by much quicker. Part of getting used to the routine is also getting used to the culture. Things in Israel really don’t feel all that much different than they would back home. However there are a fair amount of noticeable differences. First things first, the currency is shekels. This is really weird for me because all I know about shekels is that they were the tickets you bought during Purim and the Purim carnival at my temple. Seeing that you actually buy things with these is really funny to me. Another difference in the culture is the drivers. They are very aggressive and honk their horns all the time. It’s a little scary crossing the super busy streets because it doesn’t seem like the Israeli drivers would really care at all if they hit you. I was also very surprised at how services were over Rosh Hashanah when I stayed in Tel Aviv with Rabbi Leor. Not only was the environment very different as it was more of a room in a larger building instead of a synagogue, but all the songs were very different and I was lost throughout all five accumulative hours of services. Overall it was an interesting experience but I doubt I’ll be wanting to do it again any time soon. One last thing about the change here in Israel is that the heat is needless to say HOT. 90 degree weather every day is really getting to me.