Bummed out

I'm in a pretty mellow mood right now. An hour ago I would have told you I was frustrated and angry, but I've calmed down since. Still very disappointed. Tonight was the Section 2 basketball tournament, and we lost in the semi-finals. We played awful. It was a really gross game, everyone fouling one another with no calls being made; I'm equally disappointed by the way the game was played as I am by the we played. We were supposed to win it, and I think that got in the heads of some of our guys. Pretty bad feeling. Hopefully we'll get a redemption game against the Shalem (orthodox) guys soon, some of whom are really good. Overall I played alright, but I needed to step up and make something happen in the end and I didn't do that. I hit the eventual game winning free-throws in the first game, but the fact that it came to that was pretty bad as well. There's a soccer tournament soon which should be a lot of fun, and right before we leave there is an ultimate frisbee tournament. I've only met one other legit frisbee player who's on shalem, so It'll be fun playing against him.
The weather in Bat Yam has turned awful. It's been raining the past three days, which is odd because it never rains in Israel. As I was leaving Jerusalem this past weekend it was raining as well! I'm only in Bat Yam another three and a half weeks which is absolutely nuts. I'm really excited to move on to the next step, which is Jerusalem Academics. The primary reason I'm excited is there will much more interaction between kids on our section. Everyone goes to school in the same building on the same days. I hardly ever see the kids in the neighbor city of Holon, and I don't see Shalem that much either. I think Jerusalem will be the place we click.
Monday was uneventful. I had Ulpan in the morning, no volunteering in the afternoon, and then I went to the gym. Today was a trip to Nitzan (not my roommate) which used to be off-limits because it was so dangerous because bombs used to strike there frequently. Thats really all I know about it. I had signed up to go, but I didn't sleep well last night so I passed. I wanted to rest up for the tourney as well. I had a fantasy basketball draft last night with some shalem guys which was a bunch of fun. It was only second time ever doing fantasy bball, but I made out with a very formidable squad. I need to go to bed, tomorrow I have to wake up early to go spinning at the country club. To those who don't know what spinning is, I suggest you look it up; it's wild.
Keep on keepin' on
Jakey

The return of the blog

So I haven't been up to much lately, which I thought I would enjoy more. After the slew of holidays, Im very thankful to resume my routine. Today started with volleyball in the morning, and volunteering in the afternoon. Today was my first day at my new volunteering location. Mike and I decided to switch because we weren't really enjoying it, and Peace Players had more then enough kids helping them. Our new spot is right up the street from us which is a huge perk. We helped out in a practice that had about 25-20 kids that were no older 6. They were awesome! Between the lack of dribbling and continuous tripping over their own feet, I had a blast! It was a great way to start the week. Tonight is karaoke night, but I don't see me going. I'm telling myself I'm going to the gym, but we'll see if that comes to fruition ( editors note: It did not!). Tomorrow is casino night and the night after is a section two basketball tournament. All this comes after an interesting time of year. From what I've gathered from Israelis and Americans as well, everyones thankful the holidays are over. During holidays, buses stop as do trains, and markets and corner stores close (most), so although I had time off, there wasn't a plethora of things to do. This past weekend was pretty interesting. Thursday night was a (over)hyped foam party at club called the Ocean Club in Jerusalem. I had planned on making the shlep to the party, crashing wherever I could, and go with Ohad to a camping trip with his scout tribe ( a group that brings teenagers together before they have to join the army). We went to the club, danced, went to ben yehuda street, and then crashed at a friend of Ohad's place. Ben Yehuda street is probably the most well known street in Jerusalem. It's strictly for tourists and bar hoppers. You hear far more english speakers than Hebrew speakers when walking out and about. It's a good place to visit and shop, but I'm not sure how many visits it would take before it became a bore. I'd say four. Anyway, the next morning I awoke to find that there were floods where we had planned to go camping, so the trip was postponed to next week, when Ohad and I both can't go. The scouts have organized an camping trip in Haifa next weekend that sounds like potential epicness(I know it's not a word mom). To sum up, there's a lot to look forward to in the upcoming days, which should make for a semi-interesting blog. I have more thoughts to share, but I'll save them for another time. Sorry for the absence, but I'm still doing great.

Luv

Jakey

Im baaaaacckkkk

Wow that was corny. First off I'd like to thank everyone who wished me a happy birthday via facebook or email. Feeling the love from so many close ones meant so much to me. It was the first time I had heard from a lot of good friends, and I hope it serves as a catalyst to stay in touch.
I finally got back to my apartment which I missed oh so dearly. Between going to Haifa, my cousins Kibbutz, and Caesaria Sea, I've spent one day here in the past week and a half. Caesaria was an awesome experience though. We arrived Wednesday around 10 and split into 3 groups. My group got to go kayaking first, which was mild but pretty fun. Just being on the water was really enjoyable.








After that we ate lunch, which consisted of crappy pasta, rice, and low quality meat. This is what we ate for wednesday, thursday, and friday (except for dinner and breakfast, where they took away the meat). After lunch we went windsurfing, which was far and away my favorite activity. It was very challenging, but after the second day I really started to get it down.

Me learning on land how to windsurf

I was kind of upset that my group didn't get to go out on the water with Gal Friedman (Only group 1 did), the only Israeli to ever win a gold medal in the olympics, which he won in Athens for windsurfing. We talked a little with him about his experience, and what he's up to these days. That night we had planned on going out, because my birthday was the next day, so technically at 12 I was 19. We weren't aware that transportion would be so difficult from where we were, so nothing ended up happening either night. It was a bummer, but I've never been a huge advocate of partying on my birthday.

My friends mobbing me at midnight

Thursday consisted of surfing, and some more windsurfing. Surfing was extremely unsuccessful for me. Kind of a let down, but oh well. Friday there was Kite Surfing and some other activities, but I was pretty burnt out on the water sports, so I just chilled and tossed the disc with Mike and Jeremy.

Practicing our technique

All in all it was a great trip. Now I got nothing to do!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This next week is another holiday, so I don't have any activities until thursday. NBA STARTS IN 11 DAYS. Go Rays! To all those who wish to call me, feel free............. even though it's not free. I try to keep the convos brief due to the charges, but I'd love to hear from those who take the time to read this. Be aware that my time is 7 hours ahead of those in Eugene. 011-972-52-525-5103.

Peace and Luv!

Jakey

SO MUCH TO TELL

not really. Right now I'm on my cousins Kibbutz watching the Red Sox-Rays game at 1:30 in the morning ( GO RAYS). I haven't had any developments since Haifa. I arrived back in Bat Yam on saturday. Sunday I played basketball. Monday is today. Not that interesting................. Don't gimme that look........... Wellllll I best be saddlin' up bout now. I'll keep ya posted. Things should be gettin saucier soon. Wednesday I leave for a three day trip at Caesaria Sea where I'll be surfing and parasailing! Pretty wicked, I know.
Outro
Jakey G

so....very...hungry

It's currently 14:40, and I gotta make it to 18:00. Technically you're not suppose to use electricity on Yom Kippur, so using the computer would be unacceptable, but I figure fasting is enough. There's a ton of rules, all aimed so that the only thing you can do is atone and repent. Fasting is the most common tradition though, so I feel like I'm participating. According to a poll, 63% of Israel fasts for the 25 hour period.
Last night we went out and mingled with Nitzan's friends in Haifa. We were working on using our Hebrew, and we actually had a really good time. It took our mind off of food, which was good considering we were hungry an hour after we started fasting. We got back relatively late ( 3 ish) and woke up around 12. Jeremy has been sleeping all day, and I wouldn't be surprised the slightest if he slept all the way through the fast (he goes in to hybernation mode often). I've been using my day to brush up on Hebrew, play pool, and do fantasy basketball drafts. Minutes are passing by very slowly.
Tuesday Tuesday Tuesday. Not a lot transpired on thursday because we got the majority of the day off due to the slichot at the wall the night before. I went to Tel-Aviv around noon to do a variety of things: get my camera from Tal, check out the vitamin store, and get some guitar accessories. The only success was with my camera. The vitamin store had a weak/expensive selection, and the guitar store was closed apparently (the guy working was a shmuck). I was in a rush when I got back to Bat Yam because I had signed up to go to Dialogue in the Dark, a blind museum exhibit. It... was... AWESOME. Everyone who went on it had a good time, but my group had the best tour guide (who's blind). He travels to America often as the Israeli representative of Dialogue in the Dark. He's 31, and lost his sight 3 years ago due to a degenerative disease in his Iris's. We were in total darkness for an hour, going from room to room ( as well as on a "boat ride"). Some rooms were suppose to be cabins, other were food markets. Then at the end we ordered food in a completely dark cafeteria. An awesome exhibit that I would consider doing again. Afterwards, Mike, Jeremy and I played ball at the open gym in the country club. We were all on the same team, and I thought we played great together. I had a particularly good day, so I left feeling satisfied. That night was a chill night because we had to get up fairly early to travel to Haifa. Ok im in the middle of a fantasy draft, go away.
Jakey G

חתימה טובה(chatima tova, easy fasting)

It's Yom Kippur tomorrow, but it officially starts on the night before when the sun goes down. Yom Kippur is the day of repentance. It's very typical on Yom Kippur to fast for a 25 hour period, and the more orthodox spend many hours in the synagogue services. The prayers are considered very intense, as they ask god for forgiveness as we atone for our sins. I tried going to services about an hour ago, but it was not my cup of tea ( I never was good at apologizing). I am however attempting to fast. So far I'm an hour and a half into my fast, and I could really go for a jug of water. This ain't gunna be easy. Right now I'm in Haifa with Jeremy and Mike; we're staying at Nitzan's house. Haifa is the third biggest city in Israel and is located on a mountain ( I'll have some sweet pics comin up). Nitzan's house is really nice, as is his family. Tonight we're going to some sort of center where thousands of people from Haifa goes on Yom Kippur. Basically, it's a huge party where there's no music or drinking.





On monday we had hebrew class.....snnooooooze. It stinx. Although my hebrew is getting better rapidly. It's primarily due to Jeremy and Mike. The three of us are always trying to speak in Hebrew and learn new words. It's getting to be a lot of fun to learn, and I think our plan is to try to get an intense learning session tomorrow, considering we're not suppose to be doing anything. After Ulpan I chilled before going to volunteering. Volunteering on monday was special because Peace Players invited the American International School to play a game versus their combined Israeli/Arab teams. They played two games, and they were both a definate success. Mike and I just chilled, helping with the scoreboard, warmup music and whatnot. OH MY GOD IM SO THIRSTY. I had no time after volunteering because I had to immediately had to get ready for my night trip to the Old City in Jerusalem.

The Western Wall



Jeremy, Jonathan (Kunis) and me


I had visited the Old city on my first trip to Israel when I was six, and also in the first week of Year Course, but the atmosphere this time was like nothing I had ever seen. The 10 day gap between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur is called the 10 days of repentance, so even though it wasn't Yom Kippur, there were Sephardic Jews atoning a plenty.
Our tour started by visiting a couple historical sites, most notable King David's Tomb, and above it where the last supper took place. Afterwards, we got an hour of free time before we left, which was largely given to vistit the wall. Jeremy and I hung around the center of the hoopla before venturing to the wall. It was pretty captivating to see such such a variety of routines of intense pray. I didn't really have any praying in me, so I just closed my eyes and tried to just be in the moment. Jeremy wrote a note and put it in the wall, a common tradition. I kissed the wall, also a tradition. Ok, im about to go out into the Haifa night life, I'll update on Tuesday later. An extremely interesting event transpired...........................................

Just some pics

Just couple pics from the first week together . I also added pictures throughout my blog.



the top row from left to right is Nitzan ( an Israeli scout), Michael, Myself, Zach. Those crouching are Ohad (Israeli scout), Seth,and Jeremy







Our first dinner










At the bowling lanes








Just doin' some shopping












After the Tal Brody speech, we got
our Athletic track jerseys! Pretty sweet.

hardly over the hump

So I haven't written a recent post because I could not have been more wrong about getting over my little cold. Thursday I woke up feeling miserable! I got a doctor to come check me out and apparently I had a throat infection that looked like an allergic reaction. I got some antibiotics that helped tremendously and I stayed in bed pretty much all of thursday,friday, and saturday before going out that night. It was a close friend of Mikes and I guy I really like named Avi's birthday, and there was an organized hoopla at a club called Clara, a very exclusive place off the Meditteranean Sea thats normally 23 and over. It was by far the nicest club I've been to, and there was a surprising amount of people there. I randomly gave Baron I call while I was there and actually got a hold of him for a brief moment, which was a definate plus on the night. I made it home at a decent hour because I had soccer drills Sunday morning.

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From left to right: Jo, Eli, Avi and me

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Although soccer's not my sport, I had a great time with the drills. It was a great cardio workout, which I hadn't had in quite some time. After I took a well needed nap, and then headed to volunteering. Mike and I will actually be switching our volunteering placements after the holidays.

We're much more interested in coaching rather than participating in drills, and we made some connections with the local Maccabi team recently. It's definately something to look forward to, but at the same time by the time we start we'll already be halfway down with this section! Wild wacky stuff.
Anywho, Jeremy and I went to gym after and came home to Mike going buck wild over the Dolphins quality victory the Chargers, adding some spirit to the apartment (noise,spirit, same shtick). Now everyones pretty much out the door heading to the beach, so I gotta scram.
Peace and Luv

Real quick Happy Birthday to Momma Levy! Much love from Bat Yam apartment 77. WE LOVE YOU :)

Jakey G

Chag Sameach (joyous festival)

These past few days I haven't had access to a computer as I've been with my family since Monday. All of year course has had the past three days off to be with family for Rosh Hashana, the jewish new year. The Fam all got together for dinner on monday, and lunch on wednesday. On Tuesday my cousins Yehuda, Chaya and Tal all went with me to a couple places, most notably The Qumran. The Qumran is located about a mile from shore of The Dead Sea ( the lowest point on the surface of the earth I might add), and was home to a sect of Jews, where the outlining of their homes ( carved in the rock) have been preserved. The interesting piece comes from further from the shore, where you can see cliffs that extend for miles. The cliffs have caves in them where shephards and archaelogists have found the oldest known versions of the Torah and the Old Testament in the form of scrolls. We also visited a battle ground where the Six Day War took place. My cousins have done a great job with using the time we have to show me the country and feed me tidbits, they're really helping me make the most of my free time. Seeing the country and getting a feel for the history is important to me; I'm not sure how I would do that without them.

One of the caves in which the Dead Sea scrolls were found

My cousin Yehuda telling his daughter Tal she's not allowed to walk up to the caves.....................................

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And this is what Tal thinks of the rules

This piece of marble writing explains the following cave.

Yehuda, Tal, and his wife Chaya.

The remains of the village of the bedouins that lived by the caves

Me and my tank just chillen.

This pic is overlooking a little bit of Israel and some of Palestine.

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Anywho, time to backtrack. Friday ball sesh with Mike went way down then way up. Both of us HATE playing with the Israelis. All they do is complain, then cry, then complain some more; it's so childish. We were on seperate teams, and we both had teammates who kept whining, only Mike's teammate was whining at him while he wasn't airballing threes. We were both in a fit of rage and ready to leave, when the best player on the court, Yoni(who's not necessarily good, he's just 6'6 250 pounds), asked us to be on his team ( they play 3 on 3, first team to six). From then on , we flat out dominated. Yoni didn't even do anything, he could see we were frustrated and just gave us the ball. It felt good to play the way we can. After returning home later then expected we had to get ready for a casual shabbat dinner at our place. Later, we went to a club called The SKY club. It was supposed to be the biggest party yet, with year course reserving the balcony section. It was a bumpin' club, and I'm pretty sure everyone had a good time. Something went wrong with the balcony thing though, and the kid who set it up got kicked out of the club (weird) and many others as well. I could have guessed it wouldn't fall through, these things never do. Nonetheless I had a great time, and Saturday was reserved to do nothing. I did a little bit of napping, little bit of video gaming (ive been playing spiderman on our playstation, and all I'll say is I gotta stop), and getting updates of college football. I ended up hanging out with Mike and Bonnie during the evening and did nothing, although I heard there was a Pool party in Tel-Aviv, which was bound to be a bust ( I never heard if it was). Sunday morning was our final meeting of Krav Maga, which was sad, but I have a feeling we'll do more in the future. We had good instructors and got good exercise out of it. After that I went to the gym with Jeremy, and then went to a couple of meeting in the evening. That night was a beach night, and a good one at that. Normally we wouldn't do anything Sunday night, but like I said we had the next three days off for Rosh Hashana.
I've been feeling pretty sick recently, but I'm just getting over the hump I think. I have Hebrew class tomo and that's pretty much it and then it's the weekend. As of today I've been here exactly a month! I'm feeling really good too. I know in some of my posts you could definately detect some homesickness. I don't deny missing everyone and everything back home, but I couldn't be happier that I left. I can think of so many friends who need to leave Eugene to appreciate it, and so many who know what they have and would never leave it. Whats made things easier here for me is my two best friends, Mike and Jeremy. We pretty much do everything together, and they're just making this experience that much more fun. This month has so much time off, including a couple other bright spots. Next Tuesday I'll be going on a night hike in Jerusalem which will be amazing, and wednesday and thursday we have off for Yom Kippur. On Yom Kippur the country does nothing. It's frowned upon to do stuff! Nobody drives, and if you do you will most certainly get stoned. I'm pretty good at doing nothing, maybe i'll offer a class to prepare the others. I'm hitting the hay now, peace and love
Jakey G