And yeah... so someone else had some other plans in mind....and shtuff!

OK, so you know that lengthy piece that I last posted about having a dorm at BGU? ... Well... So it seems that didn't work out. Long story short, the room was incredibly smaller than what was liveable, and there were probably three or so extra people assigned to a space that should not have been and that was half the size of a normal apartment where two people live comfortably...not to mention the roommates I would have had were all smokers (gross!). When I saw all of this last night, this immediately told me that I need to really try and start my life in Be'er Sheva elsewhere...

SOO after all that, there is definitely good news...all in a day's work! I have found an alternative place to live! After staying up into the wee hours of the morning last night in Jerusalem, I looked online for places to live and made several calls this morning for walk-throughs of apartments near the BGU campus. I arranged with probably around 10 landlords/ladies to tour their places in Be'er Sheva...fortunately many of them spoke English. Here's how the phone calls started: "Shalom _______ (after looking at their names on the ad), ze Josh, at(a) - depending on man or woman - metaber anglit?" - asking them if they spoke English... and 9 out of 10 they did! - the other times I just had to hang up the phone after I realized I wasn't going to get anywhere - Yay...they speak English...I would carry on the conversation about their place from there.

So here's where I got my break: It's 11:30am, and I'm in probably the 8th or 9th person I've called to try and attempt to meet with. I get a call from a woman replying back to my message that her "realtor" is the one that wants to show me her apartment, and that I should be in Be'er Sheva very quickly by 2:30 to meet him. Of course, I bolt to the bus station in Jerusalem, hop a bus to Be'er Sheva and meet this realtor as quick as possible. He wants to pick me up at the bus stop in Be'er Sheva near BGU and drive me around Be'er Sheva in his car (yes a bit of a risk!) to tour four different places that he has contracted to show me. The whole situation turned out very well. Dudti, the name of the realtor, showed me several 3-bedroom places near the University (two bedrooms and living rooms = 3 bedroom according to Be'er Sheva standards), and I eventually found one I really liked...

The place I have finally chosen is about 10 minutes walking distance from the university...right on the north outskirts edge of Be'er Sheva right along the main highway street that divides the town in the Daled neighborhood. It has two bedrooms, a full kitchen, living room, bathroom and a top level view outside of the Negev. I have to say that I am very impressed with this place... much more than all of the others I saw today simply because the landlord is from the UK, understands English beautifully, and has loaded the whole apartment with all the furniture we could want. It also contains everything I and another person from MAPMES that I am rooming with would need! There is even a TV with DVD and digital cable (with American channels!) for us to have a ball with. And the rent is considerably cheaper than other cities in Israel.

So long story short, I sign a contract tomorrow in Tel Aviv, and it all looks good. More updates to come from "Be'er Sheva Housing Quest 2007" as soon as more details become available :)

In the meantime, please check out a new addition to the blog... pictures! Check out: http://joshintheholyland.shutterfly.com/action/ for pictures of my adventures in the Holy Land. I have pics from landing in Israel, the Teyelet in Jerusalem, and pics of the new apartment online here. See you soon! ;)