Penn State Hillel

This weekend has been quite busy. With the end of the second week of classes, work has started to pile up. Not only do I have the first few tests of the semester within the next two weeks, but the High Holy Days are right around the corner! Friday night, however, was very relaxing. Shabbat was a little smaller than last week (we all fit in one room for dinner), although we did open up the reform service room to the worship hall, which made it much more comfortable. Dinner was delicious as usual and it was wonderful to see many of our recently graduated alumni come back and visit us! We've missed you guys and hope you are all doing well!!

Saturday was the beginning of football season. And while we all knew that Penn State was going to decimate the Youngstown State Penguins, it was a ton of fun to sit in the student section and cheer for all of the touchdowns! Saturday night, I just hung out with friends, and turned in early because I had to wake up early to get brunch and get ready to hike Mt. Nittany.

We met at the library to take a bus to the starting point. There were about 30 of us hiking, and just as we got off the bus, someone asked "are we there yet?" Haha. Very funny. The first leg of our journey was very vertical, and in my opinion, we were moving very quickly. With the huffing and puffing and burning calves aside, we made it to a lookout where there was a gorgeous scenic view overlooking State College. We stopped to take pictures and then continued on our journey to another overlook where we could see University Park. While we couldn't pick out which individual buildings were our dormitories, we were able to spot some landmarks like the BJC and Beaver Stadium. We paused for a group picture and some reflection time where we each went around and said what we were looking forward to in this upcoming school and Jewish year. Having reflected, we set off back down the mountain and back to the bus to take us home again. My friends and I decided that a hike up Mt. Nittany should be rewarded with some Creamery ice cream, so we indulged in some Death by Chocolate. Well, now I can say that I've climbed Mt. Nittany and there's one less thing for me to do before I graduate :) Enjoy the long weekend!!