I'm Back!!

Hey hey everyone!! I'm so glad to be back and writing for you guys! I was nervous about starting this blog because all I could think about was, "what if no one reads it!?" I got such great feedback from everyone that I decided to continue with it this year :-) So THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH for reading my blog!

I am back in Israel this year on a new team. I play for Ramat Hasharon, which has been one of the top teams here for a while! I am so excited to play for an organization with so much history! We have some great Americans this year! Two girls that I'm playing with, Porsha Phillips and Jia Perkins,  are from the San Antonio Silver Stars and I am so excited to be playing with them again!! Another girl played for the Connecticut Sun, Jessica Breland and the other girl, Maurita Reid,  has been a big time player in Europe! So we have a lot of great pieces this year :-)

I am not playing as an American this year. As of 2 days ago, I officially became a citizen of Israel!! So I will be playing as an Israeli. My grandfather is Jewish, so I was able to gain citizenship because of an Israeli law. I never in a million years would have thought I would have dual citizenship! This is such an amazing opportunity for not only me, but my future children. There is so much culture and history here in Israel and I am excited that I'll get to share this with my family one day!!

So pretty! 

Mine! :-)

 I got to celebrate my 1st Rosh Hashanah this year, which is the Jewish New Year. I went to my teammate's house to celebrate with her family.

All the food and family! 

My plate! A little bit of everything! 

My teammate Yael

 The table was set beautifully and they had name cards where everyone was to sit. There was SO much food!! We started out by dipping an apple slice in honey, which is symbolic for having a sweet new year! I thought it was so good that I am going to make it a snack haha! Then everyone started eating. There was soup, salads, rice, chicken, potatoes, a meatloaf type of entree, liver, roast beef, beef in a mushroom sauce, bread and of course wine! I tried just about everything and LOVED it! Afterwards, they had different types of fruits, pies and cakes for dessert. Needless to say, I didn't leave there hungry! It was an amazing time! It's so special to see how other cultures celebrate holidays, I am so thankful for this opportunity.

I also got to bring my dog (son) Sly with me! I got him at the beginning of this summer and seriously feel like he is my child. I didn't know how hard it was going to be to potty train a dog! My older sister Ajia made it seem like it was going to be so easy! He peed and pooped everywhere, even on my comforter!!! He was chewing on my shoes, and you guys know that's a BIG NO NO! I was ready to take him to the shelter! Lol. I almost entertained the thought of litter box training him like a cat! Haha. Now, he's potty trained and having a great time over here in Israel with me. I mean doesn't he look so comfy!? Haha!

 

Hebrew Lesson: Shanah Tova Umetukah (Shuh-NAH Toe-VAH Oo-Met-oo-kah) = A good and sweet year!!


I couldn't help but post this picture of this woman all dressed up for the holiday!! LOL.

We honked the horn to get her to look at us! Haha

You can also follow me on Twitter @Alysha_Clark



Until next time,
Alysha