My first few days

Wow, what a long and tiring first few days. After the safety lecture, the pedagogy lecture, the health insurance lecture, and all the welcome lectures, I'm about ready for a break. I may have just placed out of ulpan after the fact (hello again year one of JTS). Instead, I am learning some basic writing and phrases in Arabic, hopefully to be used in a program I am coordinating to learn Arabic with local Bedouin community members who want to learn English. But more of that later.
I have been apartment hunting like crazy--er, rather, other people have been, and I've found myself in a bit of a hole that I will hopefully get myself out of. There are some nice places (and some not so nice) around here, and I can't wait to figure out where my place will be. There is still so much to see and do in this city, but I've just been caught up with everything school and living related and haven't really had the chance.
Foibles: I'm waiting on a new credit card coming via UPS...the delivery guy can't find my place, so hopefully my speaking to them will aleviate it some tomorrow.
My sim card for my phone was delivered today, but I missed the delivery. Hopefully I'll be around when they come by tomorrow, along with the UPS guy.
I went to the bank today to pick up my bank card. After looking, they could not find my pass code. That's okay, they said--come again in another 4 business days. Great. At least I got the checks.
My second of three suitcases arrived today--this despite the fact that I told them not to deliver it separately from the third bag. So of course they did anyways.

I love this place, I really do. For all of that, it is still an amazing place to live. From davening arvit at a moshichist Chabad shtiebel in which they concluded their davening by repeating the "yechi rabbeinu" line three times to getting lost multiple times in the terribly-laid-out streets of this city, it has been a ridiculously hectic almost week here, and I cannot wait to see what's next!!!