So we've been doin pretty well with our schedule thusfar. Unfortunately, we had to cross Belgium off the list. We needed a break in the schedule, and it woul;d have been a very uncomfortable car ride ( of course I sit in the middle). Thursday was Christmas, so we used it to wake up around noon after a late night at Red Light District. We visited a tiny city on a harbor called Verlondam (not the correct spelling) where we ate and walked around. Most things were closed, so we just hung out most of the day. That night we went to a sportsbar and watched the celtics and lakers game which was awesome. I called the Eve& Steve and fam to wish them a merry christmas. It was first time in a while I hadn't shared the holiday with them.
Friday we woke up early (for us) and drove to a place called Madurodam, which has an exhibit thats a model of Holland on a 1:25 scale. It's pretty nuts and I'll post pictures soon. It looks like I took them from a plane it looks so real.
Today we took a boat tour around amsterdam, and then walked around the center and did a little shopping. The boat tour was great; Amsterdam is made for these things with there very successful canal system. Just looking at all the buildings is astounding, every one is so beautful. Avi, Eli and I are about to go out into the night life. Tomorrow, we're going to the Heineken factory and then to a museum. Monday and Tuesday are for Paris
Until Next Time
Jakey G

AMSTERDAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Holy Moley it's incredible here. I can't begin to explain, so I won't (for now).

Monday we had class, but so many kids had left/ were in winter break mode, it was a pretty ho-hum day. It was pretty to be honest. Late in the day I got caught up in transfering stuff from the apartment to hostel, finding where everyone was hanging out that night, goodbyes and other stuff. Eli, Avi and I had planned to hang out at the apartments and get picked up there at 4 in the morning to go to the Ben Gurion airport in Tel-Aviv, but we ended up staying at the hostel so we could hang out with more people. Mike was at the apartments because we thought people were coming there, so I didn't get to hang out with him. Saying goodbye to him was ROUGHHHHH. We were both so excited for eachother and ourselves, but I was still sad to say goodbye to him. It was stupid because I'm seeing in 10 days and I had to say goodbye to life-long friends for 9 months in september, but it was more than that. It was an intimation to what it's going to be like at the end of year course. Not only that, but I could potentially rarely see him from march to june because we could choose different Israel Experiences. It really sucked thinking about it. It made everyone think about the end of year course. Saying goodbye and having it be a real goodbye. I know for a 100 % fact that I'll see Mike down the road, same goes a lot of my friends on year course, but not most. It's going to be a sad, sad day.

So our cab was picking us up at 4:15 outside the Hostel. We opted to stay up all night with the intention of sleeping on the whole plane ride ( which worked out exactly to plan. All three of us slept the entire way, from takeoff to landing). Our british girls stayed up with us and we just hung out and drank tea all night. I was sad to say goodbye to them as well, but I was also ecstatic to embark on our journey. I tried dancing, smiling, and singing to diffuse the sad goodbye. It didn't work. It was really sweet of them to stay up with us when they had class in the morning; these girls are awesome (Sam, Amy, Bianca and Ilana)!

Our cab driver was the man! He made amazing time, taught us about the jewish mafia, and played a pretty cool array of music from techno to whitney houston. Really weird incident ( I know the mommas don't wanna hear this), right before Eli, Avi and I stepped foot into the airport, a guard blows his whistle and 30 security guards come running out the door right next to us. We all stood there kind of shocked until we were calmly ushered to step aside and carry on. Checking into our flight couldn't have been any easier. We were blatenly tourists not from Israel, and they didn't even check our bags. ( Kind of disturbing but whatever).

We arrived to Amsterdam five hours later where I met Eli's mom Mini, and his step-dad Abraham, who we call Seno. It wasn't to hard to tell from the moment I met them they were extraordinarily nice people. They treated us to lunch, and then the three of us took a much needed nap in the apartment. Later we went to dinner in an absolutely gorgeous part of Amsterdam. Since it's christmas time, the streets are illuminated by lights of all colors. The buildings are made of bricks, with the roof tops pointed like a castle. They're magnifacent. After dinner, the boys and I visited the Red Light District....................... I was in shock. Prostitutes dancing in front of windows, the smell of marijuana flooding out of cafes, and all of it legal! I couldn't believe my eyes and ears! When we left it took me awhile to fully understand what I just saw. If vegas is sin city, this is the devil's backyard.

Today we woke up around 9:30 and had breakfast before catching a tram to downtown. Eli's mom had a painting class, and very close to it was Anne Franks house, which was preserved and formed in to an exhibit ( as Anne Frank and her father had wanted it). It was very powerful; I really enjoyed it. We walked from room to room, reading quotes on the wall from Anne's dairy. There were videos in some rooms of interviews from those who lived in the building and knew of the Frank familys hiding. Some artifacts that Anne Frank had wrote about were still there: Her theatre magazines here father got for here, the pictures she posted on the wall in her room, Peter's ( her crush) board game he got for his birthday. The pamphlet we got for the exhibit was great, so I took about two dozen or more to bring back to people. We got to see a great part of Amsterdam during the day today. Water ways seperate streets, it's just gorgeous. And the bikes!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's insanity, everyone here rides bikes. They have the right of way on the streets! It's nuts, It's weird, It's awesome. On bridges that connect streets over the water, there will be 300 bikes locked on the sides of a bridge thats 100 feet long. Madness I tell you, madness.

Afterwards we met up with Minny and Seno, had lunch, and then Eli and I went to a gym right across the street from the apartment. Eli's parents bought us each five day passes to the gym which is great. I had taken a 9 day break from the gym at the Hostel not to long ago without thinking about this trip, so luckily I should be able to stick to my routine somewhat. Tomorrow is Christmas so we might not be up to much. Friday we may go to Belgium, we haven't decided yet. Seno has a break from work over the next couple of days for Christmas so we'll be able to be with him and Minny when we travel which is great. On Monday I think the three of us will go to Paris and stay the night ( so freaking excited!!!!!!!!). We have a lot of things on our to do list, hopefully we get around to all of them. Trust me, there will be plenty of pictures.

All the best,
Jakey G

So I caught a little heat from Momma Levy about my blog tardiness. I hadn't realized it had been nearly a week! Tuesday we had our flag football games. Things are never going to be as competitive as Id like, so I didn't think much of it. I just go out and do my thing, and hopefully we come out on the winning side. Both games I had the ball near my goal-line with a minute left and the score tied. Both times we drove down the field and scored, but we only came up with one victory. Oh well.

Wednesday we had a field trip to a town called Zichron-Yacov and then a kibbutz after. Zichron-Yacov was one of the first zionist settlements in Israel, so we visited a museum that wasn't that great. The siyyur was like everyother one: We spend more time in the bus than whatever we're doing outside the bus.
Thursday was a another siyyur to Tel-Aviv that I didn't go on. Mike had a basketball game late that night thats part of a College league, so I went to watch & support. He played incredible! They lost the game because they got killed on the boards and the defense was pretty bad, but Mike played amazing. Hopefully I'll get a chance to play with them sometime. Later that night was a party my friends threw at a place called the Ocean Club. It was fun I guess; I was fairly tired and not in a party mood. I got to hang out with one of Mike's friends from back home he called Schiff, who was a very cool guy. The next morning, Mike, Eli and I hopped on a bus to Holon to meet up with the scouts. We stayed with Ithai, who was Eli's scout in Holon and a good friend of mine. Friday night was uneventful, just hung out and talked. Saturday I met up with the Pergamits! We caught up on this and that and went out for Sushi. They brought over some necessities from Oregon for me (Old Navy sweats and a HackySack, very clutch). I ended up staying in Holon that night, went to a party in Tel Aviv, went to bed at 3:30, woke up at 5:30 and caught a bus just in time for Ulpan ( a little early actually). Rough Stuff.

So I leave for Amsterdam early Tuesday! I had a little scare today. My mom had told me how she was worried because I don't have an Israeli passport. I have dual-citizenship in Israel ( don't ask me how, I don't have a clue), so she was worried I would a) not be allowed to leave the country b) not be allowed back in. The person I needed to talk to in the office wasn't available, but other staff members around the office were telling me that I wouldn't be allowed to leave. I was surprisingly calm, because I couldn't imagine this actually becoming a problem. The fact I have dual-citizenship is outrageous, and if that were the reason for me not being able to leave, I feel like it could be fixed. Anyway, we got a hold of the lady we needed, and she reassured me everything was ok and taken care of. Mike also leaves to go home on Tuesday, and Jeremy's parents are coming to visit him tomorrow. Pretty exciting developments; a lot of kids have already left and gone home.

Quick Blazer note: BRANDON FREAKING ROY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNy2ugleqes
such a sick vid. Good time to be a blazer fan.

Much love,
Jakey G

Rough Couple of Days

I got a stomach virus on sunday morning........................................... It was miserable. I won't get into details, but it was a simply awful. It was a 24 hour thing, but I'm still feeling the aftermath at midnight on monday. I didn't eat for 40 hours, and I thought I would enjoy my comeback meal more. I pray that by tomorrow I'm good. Not much has happened here. I didn't end up playing frisbee on Friday as I had planned because I haven't been sleeping too well. I think it was a repercussion of my cold medicine, because in the ensuing couple of days I was getting up at five in the morning and unable to fall back asleep. For those keeping count at home, in the three weeks I've been in Jerusalem, I've had tonsilitis, another throat infection, a wicked cold, and the newly aquired Gastroentestiritis ( forgive the spellings).
Tonight was the first couple games of our Year Course Basketball League. Obviously I wasn't a hundred percent ( closer to 45-50%), but it's a three-on-three league with a fourth player as a sub. Our sub didn't show, so I had to play the full game. I'm a captain as well ( there's six teams, each team had a captain and we drafted from there) so I had an obligation to play. We had a small lead the whole game until late when the other team tightened up. We ended hitting some big buckets in the end, with me hitting the game winning three. I think the final score was 21-17. I had to throw up all game( I did so after the game winner) , so I had a little extra motivation in me. In retrospect, I shouldn't have played, because now I feel like garbage.
Looking ahead, tomorrow the sports track is having a group dinner, and later that night we have another flag football double header. We have a field trip thursday to Tel-Aviv which should be fun. My god-parents, Diane and Jerry Pergamit, are coming to visit their daughter Rachel (also on Year Course) and I couldn't be more excited to see them. Jerry is already in Israel, and I believe Diane flys in on Thursday. After that, only a few more days until AMSTERDAM!
Jakey G

I was ecstatic...........

Until I found out the blazers lost by one last night on a banked in 3 from Hedo frickin Turkoglu. I can't believe it.

Anyway, last night we had our 2nd and 3rd flag football game. It had rained all day, and it was the coldest it had been since I arrived to Jerusalem. I came down with a cold two days ago as well and had been resting all day, so I didn't anticipate playing to the fullest of my abilities. The first game we played was against supposedly the best team in the league. I didn't start at quarterback because our "coach" didn't want me to. Our QB threw three interceptions on his first three possessions and was noticeably upset at the way our team was responding to him (similar to someone from last week......). Up until late into the second half I had only played one possession, with my one drive ending a yard short of a first down inside the ten yard line. We tried running it on fourth and got mixed up ( one of the few times I didn't call the play, for whatever reason). My first drive back in action we drove down the field and I threw a touchdown to Mike, and then hit him again for the one point conversion after( in flag football, you can either go for a one point conversion from the 5 yard line, or a 2 point on the 10 yard line). That would be the only time we would score that game, although we showed signs of our capability. We lost by 25+, but other team could tell that with some more experience and practice we'll be a tough matchup. The next game was against a old/not so good team. They scored the first touchdown of the game, and on the conversion we intercepted it and took it to the house for a one point score. I'm not going to go to in depth about the game, basically we dominated. I played QB the whole game and quieted any naysayers about whether I can play Q successfully or not. We scored on every single possession, and until late in the game when we tried to get the ball to people who hadn't got that many touches, I don't think I incompleted more then two passes. We won 45-6, 45 unanswered points. I had 7 touchdown passes, no interceptions. A huge difference in the game was Benny. Benny Bursztyn, who I mentioned won the world championship for flag football about 5 years ago, got to play with us in the game. There's no doubt he was the best receiver on the field and anchored the defense, but it was the intangible factor he brought that was huge. Let me tell you a little bit about Benny Bursztyn: the kid is a cool customer. He's smart with a calm demeanor, although after playing with him you know he's got some fire to him. When he spoke, we listened. In turn, when I spoke up and took control, people listened. That's the funny little cycle: I needed Benny, but the team needed me. I talked to Mike after the two games, and he told me he learned a lot just from watching Benny, which was great to hear because it means he knows he can get better. Mike is the best receiver on the team, and he's the only one trying to learn and get better? I think the willingness to improve will define how the rest of the season goes. I've made my intentions very clear that I don't want to lose, so we'll see how people respond next week.

Tomorrow is the last day of class for the week. Ohad and Neitzan are staying with us this weekend; I haven't seen either since I left Bat Yam, and I'm so stoked to see them! Things are going pretty good for me. I've been trying to keep in touch with friends and everyone sounds like they're doing well. I start playing frisbee on Friday!! It should be loads of fun, I feel like my old self again with the gym, football, frisbee, and we're organizing a Basketball league at the Hostel. I've been lacking on my emails, so I apologize to those who expected a timely response.

Lots of Love

Jakey G

Ok enough is enough

As tired as I am and as late as it is, I can't start December like this. It's becoming increasingly easy to put off my blog ( maybe there's a correlation to starting school.........). Whatever, today has been my catch-up day. I talked to various people via computer and phone, as well as Skyping ( yes, it's now a verb) Chuck and Scott. I didn't get in touch with my mother, which is a shame because I have so many questions pertaining to laundry I don't know where to begin.
Wednesday I chilled out on the whole flag football thing. I shed some blame I was holding on myself because I talked to some of my teammates and they realized how hard of a situation we were in. We had a practice today, and we've got a double header on Tuesday. I think after those two games, we'll really get the ball rolling ( not literally). Thursday night was Eli's birthday, so about 15 of us went out to dinner on Emek Refa'im, a really upscale street near my apartments, to celebrate. I had a blast at dinner; I wish everyone got together the way we did more often. Afterwards, we went to Ben Yehuda and had an uneventful night life. Friday me and the boys went back to Bat Yam to see some friends, although all the Tzofim left for the weekend to see there family. I won't go in to detail; basically I spent more money than I wanted to dealing with transportation, and frankly we didn't do much. But I'm back at the Hostel ready for a new week.
Everyone here is undoubtedly looking towards winterbreak. I'm looking forward to it, but it's not really on my mind; just one day at a time. I think the atmosphere will change a lot after the break. People will really miss one another. I know I will. The British girls were gone this weekend, and I missed every single one ( have I mentioned I'm in love with all the british girls. And it's not the accent I swear; I don't know what it is, but I'll find out). I'm already getting torn between what I want to do for Israel Experience in the last three months, but that topic's fit for another time.
Bedtime
Much Love
Mom pick up the phone
Jakey G

feeling dejected

Last night we played our first flag football game. It was a disaster, yet I'm pretty torn between feeling depressed and hopeful. We jumped out to a 15-0 lead, but the other team just completely toyed with us the rest of the game. After a hail mary, we were down 21-28 late in the second half, but we never got closer than that. The ran designed plays, confused our guys, and made a mess of us. Generally, flag football teams run zones, and we ran man-to-man coverage. Needless to say, they took advantage of us. We had no plays on offense, and we struggled badly against the zone defense. Basically, we need to learn to play zone D and play against it as well. Most of all I feel awful because I feel like my teammates lost confidence in me. I made plays in the beginning by scrambling out of the pocket and breaking down their zone ( the QB can't rush past the line of scrimmage). It was effective, but it was chaotic and didn't leave me satisfied. In the second half I tried to stay in the pocket and pick apart their zone, but we didn't fun effective routes against their zone and I rushed some throws. Nonetheless, I feel like a lot of blame was placed on my shoulders. It stinks, but at the same time I knew what was going to happen when I took the role of Quarterback. Success or failure, the quarterback shoulders the load. I know I can make plays and help us win. Next week we play two games; I can't wait.
Thankfully, we have coaches on the way. Avi Behar, who's frequently mentioned on my blog, and Benny Bursztyn, my other good friend, played Flag football in their middle school years and early high school. They were a part of the National and eventual World Champion team ( look it up!). They know a lot about the game and will be a huge asset to us. Hopefully we'll find time to practice.

(Bianca is awesome)
My classes are going alright. My zionism class is boring, as is my ulpan class. My other two classes, Jewish Bookshelf and Persuasion and Discussion, are awesome. My Jewish Bookshelf teacher is SO cool. He's really funny and a really nice guy. Better yet, it's a small class which is always good for discussion. My other discussion class is rather large, which can make things difficult.
As far as living in Jerusalem and the aparments/hostel, I love it. There's so many people I never hung out with last section. I never saw any of the FZY (british and other international students) kids because they all lived in Holon. They're all awesome; I wish we had got to hang out earlier. Nevertheless, we here now, and it rocks. I think I'm going to Bat Yam and Holon this weekend, and then we're having a family dinner on Saturday. Should be a good weekend.
Until next time
Jakey