The five minute walk to the beach really cooled me off. I realized how dumb it was to be angry when I'm in place as gorgeous as Santorini. I walked on the Black sand beach until I reached a point where the setting sun peaked past a hill that had been hiding it. I sat in the sand, amazed at my view. I can say with confidence it was the best moment I've had since I left the U.S, if not my entire life. I wanted to laugh, wanted to cry; in the end I just sat smiling from ear to ear. In retrospect, I was glad I was by myself as well. The clouds looked like they were a hundred feet away, as if I could touch them. I watched the Aegean Sea wash up against the black sand, the clouds shift over and away from me. I wished all my loved ones could have been there with me. I didn't have a camera, but I wasn't upset. a 7.1 megapixel camera wouldn't have done justice.
I got back to Hostel after sitting on the beach for an hour and a half. I wanted to immediately blog, jot down everything I was thinking. Unfortunately, some kid was playing a weird sonic the hedgehog game on the Hostel laptop, so I had to wait. I was interrupted while writing when the rest of my group arrived at the hostel, hence cutting the last blog short. That night everyone was pretty tired. Mike, Zide and I went out, grabbed a quick beer at a nearby bar, and then went to bed. The next day, our group rode around on our ATV's through the city of Fira. We split around 1:30, the girls went to go mule riding (not my thing). The boys and I went to visit the Red Beach. I pictured the sand being bright red, similar to the black beach. Instead, we found magnificent rock formations with varying shades of red. Some sand was red, but the name was given because of the rocks. I took some sand, and some rocks as souvenirs. We then headed off to the black beach to play some frisbee before taking the ferry back to Crete at 5:45.
The ferry ride was painless. It was smooth sailing, and we all fell asleep for the whole ride. That night the whole group went out clubbing, and once again had an incredible time. We checked out the next morning at 11, and got a bus back to the airport. Even the ride to airport was gorgeous. I know in my heart of hearts I'll be back some day.
Friday, April 17, 2009
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
It's been a little over a month, and I hadn't planned on writing another blog piece for a variety of reasons. I feel as if the blog had lost some steam, and being on Marva was only going to make it more difficult. The only active readers I know of are my mother, Linda Levy, and Seno Bril. After seeing my mom in Israel and being a mere two months away from going home, I wouldn't expect her to read the blog considering she also gets updates atleast twice a week. Linda Levy, my biggest fan, I assumed would have lost some interest because her biggest motive to read the blog was to keep a virtual eye on Michael. With Mike and I being seperated for the first time all year, I didn't know if Linda would continue her daily checkups ( no disrespect Big L). As for Seno and Mini, I've decided I'd rather touch base with them individually, which I'll be doing after this post. So there's my reasoning. However, today required a blog. After I recap the day, I'll fill in on experiences from the past month.
About three weeks ago, some friends of mine started planning a trip to Greece over our "Spring Break", which we got off for Passover. Mike, Jeremy, Eli and Avi quickly jumped on board. I assumed I wouldn't be able to go, given that I had already gone to Amsterdam and Paris, and my mother had visited me a few weeks ago. I told my mom about the trip a week and a half before they had scheduled to leave, and she told me if I wanted to go I could. The only problem was I stuck on Marva, only able to make limited calls at certain times, and when I got off base it would be Passover and places would close down. I was let out of Marva on the 8th, and upon arriving at the Hostel I did everything I could to put myself in place to go. The issue at hand was there were three groups of people going: a group of 6,9, and 4. They received package deals, and by including me we weren't sure whether I would skew the price. We were told if two people were to join, the numbers would be even. Benny tried to join with me at the last second, but he had trouble obtaining a Visa because he's from Colombia, and those things can take months. It wasn't until Sunday the 12th, the day before the scheduled departure, that I found out I would be able to go. For mere $490 dollars, I was flying to Greece, and staying 4 nights in a 5 star resort. I just had one more obstacle to get by.
I have dual citizenship in Israel. It's a pain. However, I don't have my Israeli passport. My mother requested one last August, asking the Army to relieve me from duty. We never got the passport, although we had done what we could, we hoped we wouldn't encounter any problems. When passing through passport security, the final security check before boarding, I was asked where my Israeli passport was. I told them I didn't have one, and the man behind the plastic screen told me flatly "you can't go to Greece". I proceeded to throw a calm fit, explaining how I'm on a program and have never once lived in Israel prior to this year. I ended up being escorted to the police booth and figuring things out with them. They repeatedly told me I wouldn't be able to go, and I was close to tears. I called my mom, she did some magic, and at the last second they let me go. Their records indicated I received my Israeli passport from San Francisco in December (false). I had a minor panic attack, and wasn't fully at ease until our plane landed in Crete.
We arrived at the Rimella Resort and Day Spa around 2 in the afternoon, and the rest of the day was reserved for all of our minds being blown. We were in paradise. We weren't just guests; we were VIPs. Wearing a special black bracelet, we got whatever we wanted. Free drinks, paddleboats and kayaks to take out on the Sea of Crete. Our rooms were restocked every morning with sodas and beers. I played ping pong for the first time in 7 and a half months. Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner were all buffets. Everyone treated us like we were their best friends. Our only concern was that we would never leave.
Tuesday before dinner, 16 of us ( the other 4 were at a different resort) went to a nearby travel agency and organized a day trip to supposedly one of the most beautiful islands in all of Greece, Santorini. However, some issues uprose. Mike had heard amazing things about Santorini from his brother Jarret, so he threw out the idea of staying overnight, experiencing the nightlife as well as full two days. With a 10am departure time from Crete, and a 6 pm departure time from Santorini with a 2 hour ferry ride to get there, 6 hours just didn't seem like enough. I immediately gave the thumbs up. I thought more people would jump on board, but everyone got so comfy at the Rimella and thoroughly enjoyed living the life without spending a penny. I didn't mind, I would have gone if it was just Mike and I. In the end, our other boy Josh Zide joined in, and two other girls, Gabby and Shelly joined in too ( a third girl, Marnie, would change her mind and stay on Tuesday).
Tuesday night we finally got up and out, going into the less than thrilling Crete night life. Although nothing special happened, we didn't go to the coolest club, everyone agreed the next morning that we actually had a ton of fun. We got back to Rimella at 3, and had a 7 am wake up call. We got to the docks by 9, albeit after a scattered arrival that involved Avi forgetting his groups tickets, others and myself nearly missing the bus to the docks, and another group hitchhiking. What transpired next was the worst 120 minutes of life...................
After giving it some more thought, it was probably only about 75 minutes. The first 15 were fine, and the last 30 I was passed out from my body being in such a state of trauma. I thought our little "ferry ride" would go at the pace that somewhat resembled a rowboat. I pictured I would be able to tan outside, maybe get a good nap in. I know Shelly planned on finishing her book and starting another. I would estimate the ship was going at a pace of 40 miles per hour, and roughly 75% of the boat regurgitated everything in their body. Even as I'm typing this, there's a lady behind me talking to the Hostel manager how miserable the ride was. It wasn't about being seasick, because I never get seasick; it was just miserable. The entire ride you could hear the sounds of people throwing up from all directions, others screaming in anger, wondering why in the world we needed to go so fast. In retrospect, the make-your-own omelet at the Rimella was a poor decision. After and hour and ten minutes, I was officially dry-heaving, not even needing a bag in front of me. I was sweating profusely when I was throwing up, and trembling with the shivers when I wasn't. After an hour and a half, I was shaking uncontrollably, and I must have gone unconscious. Linda, if you're reading this, Mike had an identical experience to every last detail, and I'm sure he'd love to talk about it. ( false, again)
Side note : keep in mind the 14 others in the group took this same ride back a mere 6 hours later. I was certain that they would stay after experiencing that. I guess it's a testament to how amazing the Rimella is.
After we got off the boat, there was a line of car rental and hostel booking shops in a row. We found a deal that included a night in a Hostel by the beach and a ride to it for 13 bucks. I immediately passed out upon arriving at the hostel, still in a state of trauma. After everyone rested for an hour or so, the group decided to rent ATV's and go meet up with the others in the center of town. I couldn't be asked to move, let alone ride on an ATV, and Mike said he'd stop by later and see if I was feeling alright. I was woken up hours later at 4:30 by a girl on year course who's name I don't know, and she told me to try to contact the group, as they had been trying to contact me. Getting in touch with people has been difficult here. Our Israel phones don't work, and most didn't bring their American phones. We've been relying on phones Gabby and Shelly bought for the trip, and Avi and Raquel's blackberrys. After an hour or so I got through to them. They were heading up a mountain on their ATVs to watch the sunset, and told me to rent one and join them. The problem was, I don't have a drivers license, which I lost on Halloween.I was pretty heated at the time. I didn't know why they wouldn't come back for me, but I cooled off in time and decided to head for a walk to the black sand beach to watch the sunset, a five minute walk from the Hostel........................
will continue writing later
About three weeks ago, some friends of mine started planning a trip to Greece over our "Spring Break", which we got off for Passover. Mike, Jeremy, Eli and Avi quickly jumped on board. I assumed I wouldn't be able to go, given that I had already gone to Amsterdam and Paris, and my mother had visited me a few weeks ago. I told my mom about the trip a week and a half before they had scheduled to leave, and she told me if I wanted to go I could. The only problem was I stuck on Marva, only able to make limited calls at certain times, and when I got off base it would be Passover and places would close down. I was let out of Marva on the 8th, and upon arriving at the Hostel I did everything I could to put myself in place to go. The issue at hand was there were three groups of people going: a group of 6,9, and 4. They received package deals, and by including me we weren't sure whether I would skew the price. We were told if two people were to join, the numbers would be even. Benny tried to join with me at the last second, but he had trouble obtaining a Visa because he's from Colombia, and those things can take months. It wasn't until Sunday the 12th, the day before the scheduled departure, that I found out I would be able to go. For mere $490 dollars, I was flying to Greece, and staying 4 nights in a 5 star resort. I just had one more obstacle to get by.
I have dual citizenship in Israel. It's a pain. However, I don't have my Israeli passport. My mother requested one last August, asking the Army to relieve me from duty. We never got the passport, although we had done what we could, we hoped we wouldn't encounter any problems. When passing through passport security, the final security check before boarding, I was asked where my Israeli passport was. I told them I didn't have one, and the man behind the plastic screen told me flatly "you can't go to Greece". I proceeded to throw a calm fit, explaining how I'm on a program and have never once lived in Israel prior to this year. I ended up being escorted to the police booth and figuring things out with them. They repeatedly told me I wouldn't be able to go, and I was close to tears. I called my mom, she did some magic, and at the last second they let me go. Their records indicated I received my Israeli passport from San Francisco in December (false). I had a minor panic attack, and wasn't fully at ease until our plane landed in Crete.
We arrived at the Rimella Resort and Day Spa around 2 in the afternoon, and the rest of the day was reserved for all of our minds being blown. We were in paradise. We weren't just guests; we were VIPs. Wearing a special black bracelet, we got whatever we wanted. Free drinks, paddleboats and kayaks to take out on the Sea of Crete. Our rooms were restocked every morning with sodas and beers. I played ping pong for the first time in 7 and a half months. Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner were all buffets. Everyone treated us like we were their best friends. Our only concern was that we would never leave.
Tuesday before dinner, 16 of us ( the other 4 were at a different resort) went to a nearby travel agency and organized a day trip to supposedly one of the most beautiful islands in all of Greece, Santorini. However, some issues uprose. Mike had heard amazing things about Santorini from his brother Jarret, so he threw out the idea of staying overnight, experiencing the nightlife as well as full two days. With a 10am departure time from Crete, and a 6 pm departure time from Santorini with a 2 hour ferry ride to get there, 6 hours just didn't seem like enough. I immediately gave the thumbs up. I thought more people would jump on board, but everyone got so comfy at the Rimella and thoroughly enjoyed living the life without spending a penny. I didn't mind, I would have gone if it was just Mike and I. In the end, our other boy Josh Zide joined in, and two other girls, Gabby and Shelly joined in too ( a third girl, Marnie, would change her mind and stay on Tuesday).
Tuesday night we finally got up and out, going into the less than thrilling Crete night life. Although nothing special happened, we didn't go to the coolest club, everyone agreed the next morning that we actually had a ton of fun. We got back to Rimella at 3, and had a 7 am wake up call. We got to the docks by 9, albeit after a scattered arrival that involved Avi forgetting his groups tickets, others and myself nearly missing the bus to the docks, and another group hitchhiking. What transpired next was the worst 120 minutes of life...................
After giving it some more thought, it was probably only about 75 minutes. The first 15 were fine, and the last 30 I was passed out from my body being in such a state of trauma. I thought our little "ferry ride" would go at the pace that somewhat resembled a rowboat. I pictured I would be able to tan outside, maybe get a good nap in. I know Shelly planned on finishing her book and starting another. I would estimate the ship was going at a pace of 40 miles per hour, and roughly 75% of the boat regurgitated everything in their body. Even as I'm typing this, there's a lady behind me talking to the Hostel manager how miserable the ride was. It wasn't about being seasick, because I never get seasick; it was just miserable. The entire ride you could hear the sounds of people throwing up from all directions, others screaming in anger, wondering why in the world we needed to go so fast. In retrospect, the make-your-own omelet at the Rimella was a poor decision. After and hour and ten minutes, I was officially dry-heaving, not even needing a bag in front of me. I was sweating profusely when I was throwing up, and trembling with the shivers when I wasn't. After an hour and a half, I was shaking uncontrollably, and I must have gone unconscious. Linda, if you're reading this, Mike had an identical experience to every last detail, and I'm sure he'd love to talk about it. ( false, again)
Side note : keep in mind the 14 others in the group took this same ride back a mere 6 hours later. I was certain that they would stay after experiencing that. I guess it's a testament to how amazing the Rimella is.
After we got off the boat, there was a line of car rental and hostel booking shops in a row. We found a deal that included a night in a Hostel by the beach and a ride to it for 13 bucks. I immediately passed out upon arriving at the hostel, still in a state of trauma. After everyone rested for an hour or so, the group decided to rent ATV's and go meet up with the others in the center of town. I couldn't be asked to move, let alone ride on an ATV, and Mike said he'd stop by later and see if I was feeling alright. I was woken up hours later at 4:30 by a girl on year course who's name I don't know, and she told me to try to contact the group, as they had been trying to contact me. Getting in touch with people has been difficult here. Our Israel phones don't work, and most didn't bring their American phones. We've been relying on phones Gabby and Shelly bought for the trip, and Avi and Raquel's blackberrys. After an hour or so I got through to them. They were heading up a mountain on their ATVs to watch the sunset, and told me to rent one and join them. The problem was, I don't have a drivers license, which I lost on Halloween.I was pretty heated at the time. I didn't know why they wouldn't come back for me, but I cooled off in time and decided to head for a walk to the black sand beach to watch the sunset, a five minute walk from the Hostel........................
will continue writing later
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Shoudn't have procrastinated
It's 1:30 in the morning, and the only reason I'm up is I'm waiting for my laundry to finish. I have to wake up in six hours to back to my Army base for one more week of volunteering. It's cool stuff....... I guess. The work is extremely boring. There's not many soldiers on base, it's mostly citizens of Israel. I spent the week taking trash and separating it in to Plastic, cardboard, rubber and metal for recycling. It's cool hanging out with my Marva people and anticipate the actual training. We get wicked uniforms too; soon enough I'll post some videos and pictures Benny took. On Friday my mom comes to visit me!!!!!!! I couldn't be more stoked. I have a ten day brake with her to just hang out and visit family. My cousins Ilana and Josh are also visiting and arriving mere hours after my mom does. It's hard to contain my excitement, but I'm doing a pretty good job thusfar. Last thursday night was a huge party that lasted pretty late in to the night. Friday I hung out at the hostel, went to the mall with Mike, Jeremy (they visited because Mike's brother was in Jerusalem, and to see us) and Benny, and later that night I went to the apartments again to hang out with Samo and Josh. Samo is in Jerusalem for the week taking classes for his Israel Experience called Mada, which is basically emergency hospital work, a very popular option. It was two of Josh's roommates birthdays on Saturday, Iggy and Michael, so we celebrated at midnight. Josh and I stayed up, watched Green Street Hooligans, and then half the blazer game before falling asleep. I have to go get the laundry, I'll update soon though
Jakey
Jakey
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Right now im at the Hostel, and I plan on going out to Ben Yehuda street in a few moments to meet up with Mike and Jeremy. I arrived here around 7:20 for a meeting regarding Marva and Sar-El. I left from the David Citadel Hotel, where I hung out with Mike, his mother and sister, Jeremy, Benny and Tanya for the day. We sat by the pool, walked around Jerusalem and pretty much chilled out all day. Linda and Melissa were leaving as we left, so we bid them farewell as they took a taxi to the airport. I'm so glad I got to meet them. I have such a strong interest in my friends lives at home and their families; being with Momma and Sister Levy helped me get a clearer insight to why Mike's the guy he is.
Thursday night I went to an Idan Raichel concert, where I felt like I saw every single person from year course. All the scouts came, and I ran in to a good friend I went to camp with 4 years ago named Ben Perlstein. We randomly ran in to eachother and made plans to meet up on Friday. The concert was a lot of fun as well; I didn't understand the songs, but there was a ton of energy and was a blast. I stayed up all night because there was a really important Blazer game on, so Josh and I stayed up to watch ( it started at 5:30 in the morning). Pretty wack because the Blazers lost, but that's the life a fan. Friday the new Jerusalem section had to go to the Western Wall, and I talked to Ben about meeting there, so I hitched a ride with them. I met Ben, but didn't get much time to talk to him because he was immediately swarmed by about 159 kids, some from year course, others from different programs. We came in contact with a man named Jeffrey Seidel, who does a shabbat hospitality service where he sets you up with a family for a nice shabbat dinner. We ended up with family as well as about 30 others, about 13 soldiers, in an apartment in the heart of the old city. The apartment the top of the complex, overlooking the Dome of the Rock. It was truly incredible. However, the dinner was somewhat unsettling. The host of the dinner insisted on meeting everyone at the table by having them stand up and giving them a series of questions, which came off as an interrogation. He asked such questions as " Can you imagine what you would be like if you weren't Jewish", and " How do you feel eating with a group of soldiers", and it was apparent that many people were extremely nervous to stand up and speak in front of everyone. I didn't get as interrogated as the rest, but I was ok nonetheless. The whole night became a discussion about the Army and trashing gap year programs. I guess you could say it was a good dinner, because the food was free and delicious, but it wasn't what I had in mind. It was great to see Ben though. His hostel is right next to David Citadel, so we walked and talked back. He hasn't changed much; he's still a very articulate, intelligent, funny down-to-earth dude. We weren't the best of friends in camp, but I always had an immense amount of respect for him. He spoke of his aspirations, working with international relations and dealing with stronger education systems. He believes each individual can make change, something I'm a big advocate for. I think in a decade or so he'll be a glowing example of that.
So tomorrow I start Sar-El ( volunteering for the army). I'm excited and nervous, because this officialy means I'm seperated from everyone else, and won't see Jeremy and Mike until at least thursday ( not that long, but still stinks). Mike's brother is coming to Israel tomorrow, and we're hoping we'll be able to do a Dead Sea trip this weekend. The sad part is I won't be able to keep in touch with people back home either. My days will start at 6 in the morning and end at 9pm (8pm-11am back home), so there's no time to call or IChat. With that being said, blogging will be reserved for Saturday's only. To those who read this blog: my mom, Linda Levy and Seno Bril, I'm sorry. Thanks for reading though! Wish me luck
Lots of Love
Jakey G
Thursday night I went to an Idan Raichel concert, where I felt like I saw every single person from year course. All the scouts came, and I ran in to a good friend I went to camp with 4 years ago named Ben Perlstein. We randomly ran in to eachother and made plans to meet up on Friday. The concert was a lot of fun as well; I didn't understand the songs, but there was a ton of energy and was a blast. I stayed up all night because there was a really important Blazer game on, so Josh and I stayed up to watch ( it started at 5:30 in the morning). Pretty wack because the Blazers lost, but that's the life a fan. Friday the new Jerusalem section had to go to the Western Wall, and I talked to Ben about meeting there, so I hitched a ride with them. I met Ben, but didn't get much time to talk to him because he was immediately swarmed by about 159 kids, some from year course, others from different programs. We came in contact with a man named Jeffrey Seidel, who does a shabbat hospitality service where he sets you up with a family for a nice shabbat dinner. We ended up with family as well as about 30 others, about 13 soldiers, in an apartment in the heart of the old city. The apartment the top of the complex, overlooking the Dome of the Rock. It was truly incredible. However, the dinner was somewhat unsettling. The host of the dinner insisted on meeting everyone at the table by having them stand up and giving them a series of questions, which came off as an interrogation. He asked such questions as " Can you imagine what you would be like if you weren't Jewish", and " How do you feel eating with a group of soldiers", and it was apparent that many people were extremely nervous to stand up and speak in front of everyone. I didn't get as interrogated as the rest, but I was ok nonetheless. The whole night became a discussion about the Army and trashing gap year programs. I guess you could say it was a good dinner, because the food was free and delicious, but it wasn't what I had in mind. It was great to see Ben though. His hostel is right next to David Citadel, so we walked and talked back. He hasn't changed much; he's still a very articulate, intelligent, funny down-to-earth dude. We weren't the best of friends in camp, but I always had an immense amount of respect for him. He spoke of his aspirations, working with international relations and dealing with stronger education systems. He believes each individual can make change, something I'm a big advocate for. I think in a decade or so he'll be a glowing example of that.
So tomorrow I start Sar-El ( volunteering for the army). I'm excited and nervous, because this officialy means I'm seperated from everyone else, and won't see Jeremy and Mike until at least thursday ( not that long, but still stinks). Mike's brother is coming to Israel tomorrow, and we're hoping we'll be able to do a Dead Sea trip this weekend. The sad part is I won't be able to keep in touch with people back home either. My days will start at 6 in the morning and end at 9pm (8pm-11am back home), so there's no time to call or IChat. With that being said, blogging will be reserved for Saturday's only. To those who read this blog: my mom, Linda Levy and Seno Bril, I'm sorry. Thanks for reading though! Wish me luck
Lots of Love
Jakey G
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
After the last heartwarming comment from Ohad, I had an obligation to blog. Wednesday we packed and cleaned our apartment out which was boring. Half of our apartment was gone, with Jeremy on Kuma and Samo and Scotty on Olami. We got to the Hostel around 7, just in time to eat dinner, and basically did nothing for all of Thursday. Friday we headed off to Eilat, the southern most city in Israel, known for it's year round sunny weather. Unfortunately, my luck ran dry with the weather. We got a few showers, and very little sunshine except for Monday, which was cut short because our bus left at 5. Others who were disappointed with the weather decided to stay another day ( I went with about 15 others), and they were rewarded with a gorgeous tuesday. Nonetheless, it was good to have a break and clear my head. The combination of people leaving, moving out, and Tim's death, I had a lot running through my mind.
Our bus broke down on the way back to Jerusalem, which didn't make me happy considering I was already wary of the 4 hour bus ride. I got back to Jerusalem around 11 and took a bus to the apartments to stay with Josh, who's now living in my old apartment ( which is where I'm currently typing this as well). Yesterday was amazing though. Mike had left Eilat early on Sunday to meet up with his mom and sister, and we had organized a dinner at Ohad's house. Jeremy and I took a bus to Bat Yam at 3:30 and helped Ohad move his computer and TV from his old apartment to his new one. The Levy family came over, we had a little meet and greet and a photo session, and then we drove over to Ohad's house in Hertzilyah ( sorry for the spelling Ohad). The dinner was phenomenal, just as the last one there was. Ohad has the sweetest parents, which comes as little surprise. I loved Mikes family! They had some great stories to tell; they'll be staying in Jerusalem over the weekend, so hopefully they have more to share.
Today was the day everyone left. Everyone was kicked out the hostel and shipped out to their new locations. It was sad, but there's a concert tomorrow night that many of my friends are attending. Also, Moshe Teitz is playing in a battle of the bands concert on Saturday, so once again I'll get to see some friendly faces. I talked to Mike and Jeremy twice after they got to their new Youth Village and they say they love it already. I couldn't be happier for them. Tomorrow I'll meet up with them in Tel-Aviv, and potentially Mike's family as well.
Until Next Time
Jakey
Our bus broke down on the way back to Jerusalem, which didn't make me happy considering I was already wary of the 4 hour bus ride. I got back to Jerusalem around 11 and took a bus to the apartments to stay with Josh, who's now living in my old apartment ( which is where I'm currently typing this as well). Yesterday was amazing though. Mike had left Eilat early on Sunday to meet up with his mom and sister, and we had organized a dinner at Ohad's house. Jeremy and I took a bus to Bat Yam at 3:30 and helped Ohad move his computer and TV from his old apartment to his new one. The Levy family came over, we had a little meet and greet and a photo session, and then we drove over to Ohad's house in Hertzilyah ( sorry for the spelling Ohad). The dinner was phenomenal, just as the last one there was. Ohad has the sweetest parents, which comes as little surprise. I loved Mikes family! They had some great stories to tell; they'll be staying in Jerusalem over the weekend, so hopefully they have more to share.
Today was the day everyone left. Everyone was kicked out the hostel and shipped out to their new locations. It was sad, but there's a concert tomorrow night that many of my friends are attending. Also, Moshe Teitz is playing in a battle of the bands concert on Saturday, so once again I'll get to see some friendly faces. I talked to Mike and Jeremy twice after they got to their new Youth Village and they say they love it already. I couldn't be happier for them. Tomorrow I'll meet up with them in Tel-Aviv, and potentially Mike's family as well.
Until Next Time
Jakey
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Today was a sad day. I've been feeling ill the past couple of days, so I woke up fairly groggy this morning. I checked my inbox to find an email from Kevin, who I've been keeping in close contact with. He told me a man named Tim Moran, who I've known for years through the YMCA, passed away due to a heart attack. He has two kids, Dylan and Izzy, who I've watched grow up over the years. He was warm, friendly, and a wonderful father. It's hard to shake this feeling I have; I really want to talk to Susan but it's hard with the time difference. I wish I could be with everyone at the Y.
About a half hour ago, two of my roommates, Jordan Samo and Scott Sterling, left to go to South Africa for a special program called Olami. Jeremy also left to go to Poland on a trip called Kuma. Tomorrow is the last day at the apartments, and we have to be out by 6 pm, and half of our apartment is already gone. When Samo and Scott left, it was a huge wake up. Samo is one of my favorite people there is; he reminds me of my friends back home. I would describe Scott in word as outrageous (probably because that's the word he'd use). Combined they made a helluva tandem and amazing roommates. I can't imagine having not lived with them. When they left, Gil and I shared a sorrowful walk to the 24, reminiscing on how much fun we had in the past three months. Today was a sad day.
This past week has been uneventful. Everybody in the hostel has been winding down and ready to live; all the apartment people have been partying and don't want to leave. Last week on monday it was my sister's birthday, which really made me miss her. I wanted to be with her, and I only spoke with her for a brief moment. I stuck around over the weekend because it was our last one here. I hung out with the apartment, watched movies and sat around. There was a end of the section party last night, but I was sick so I only hung around for a little bit. Everyone for Kuma left Sunday night, so the Hostel has been quieter. This weekend I'm traveling to Eilat, Israel's southermost city, which is known for it's beaches and always being sunny.
I'm going out to dinner now with Gil and Mike, and afterwards Gil and I are going to the Western wall to say a prayer for Tim's family.
Until next time
About a half hour ago, two of my roommates, Jordan Samo and Scott Sterling, left to go to South Africa for a special program called Olami. Jeremy also left to go to Poland on a trip called Kuma. Tomorrow is the last day at the apartments, and we have to be out by 6 pm, and half of our apartment is already gone. When Samo and Scott left, it was a huge wake up. Samo is one of my favorite people there is; he reminds me of my friends back home. I would describe Scott in word as outrageous (probably because that's the word he'd use). Combined they made a helluva tandem and amazing roommates. I can't imagine having not lived with them. When they left, Gil and I shared a sorrowful walk to the 24, reminiscing on how much fun we had in the past three months. Today was a sad day.
This past week has been uneventful. Everybody in the hostel has been winding down and ready to live; all the apartment people have been partying and don't want to leave. Last week on monday it was my sister's birthday, which really made me miss her. I wanted to be with her, and I only spoke with her for a brief moment. I stuck around over the weekend because it was our last one here. I hung out with the apartment, watched movies and sat around. There was a end of the section party last night, but I was sick so I only hung around for a little bit. Everyone for Kuma left Sunday night, so the Hostel has been quieter. This weekend I'm traveling to Eilat, Israel's southermost city, which is known for it's beaches and always being sunny.
I'm going out to dinner now with Gil and Mike, and afterwards Gil and I are going to the Western wall to say a prayer for Tim's family.
Until next time
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Tuesday night was spent at the apartments with the crew of boys: Me, Jeremy, Eli, Avi, Benny, Joe, Gil, Samo, and of course the birthday boy. We hung out, opened gifts, Mike talked to some family members, and everyone had a great time. Being together with the boys is always a great time. The next night we came to the hostel because Shalem is on lockdown and can't leave the hostel for a variety of minor reasons.
Thursday night was Valentine's party at Ocean Club. It was one of the better times at a club I've had recently, probably because of the general excitement about the night being the last club party we're having together in Jerusalem, coupled along with day 3 of Mike's bday. I woke up early the next morning to catch a bus to Ashquelon where my cousin Aviv picked me up to go to their Kibbutz. Their Kibbutz, Nir Oz in the south, was recently hit by a Qassam rocket that landed three meters from a resident but didn't explode. I found this terrifying, but after talking to Aviv and his friends, I remembered the Israeli way of viewing such incidents, preferring to not live and fear combined with wishful thinking. The Kibbutz was beautiful though, as were the kiddos. Friday we rested, layed in the sun with the kids, and grabbed a few beers at the Pub on the Kibbutz. Saturday there was a picnic, and afterwards we drove to a few kibbutzim and picked carrots and potatoes. I caught a ride with Aviv's good friend Ami to Tel Aviv, where Mike and a dozen or so friends were hanging out on the beach. We grabbed dinner at restaurant, watched what was apparently a big rugby match, and then caught a sheirut back to Jerusalem around 10:30. I had a few classes today, had a great workout, and got to skype with shannon and charlie. I skyped with Charlie for two hours! It rocked! I miss them both like crazy. It was Charlies bday on Friday, and I called him from the Kibbutz but I kept it brief because i didn't want to take up minutes, so I was glad I finally got to talk face to face (somewhat). I'm really hoping he decides to stick around Eugene next year.
I'm exhausted. I probably should have waited to write a legitimate blog tomorrow, but I'd procrastinated enough. I'll elaborate more soon.
Luv
Jakey
Thursday night was Valentine's party at Ocean Club. It was one of the better times at a club I've had recently, probably because of the general excitement about the night being the last club party we're having together in Jerusalem, coupled along with day 3 of Mike's bday. I woke up early the next morning to catch a bus to Ashquelon where my cousin Aviv picked me up to go to their Kibbutz. Their Kibbutz, Nir Oz in the south, was recently hit by a Qassam rocket that landed three meters from a resident but didn't explode. I found this terrifying, but after talking to Aviv and his friends, I remembered the Israeli way of viewing such incidents, preferring to not live and fear combined with wishful thinking. The Kibbutz was beautiful though, as were the kiddos. Friday we rested, layed in the sun with the kids, and grabbed a few beers at the Pub on the Kibbutz. Saturday there was a picnic, and afterwards we drove to a few kibbutzim and picked carrots and potatoes. I caught a ride with Aviv's good friend Ami to Tel Aviv, where Mike and a dozen or so friends were hanging out on the beach. We grabbed dinner at restaurant, watched what was apparently a big rugby match, and then caught a sheirut back to Jerusalem around 10:30. I had a few classes today, had a great workout, and got to skype with shannon and charlie. I skyped with Charlie for two hours! It rocked! I miss them both like crazy. It was Charlies bday on Friday, and I called him from the Kibbutz but I kept it brief because i didn't want to take up minutes, so I was glad I finally got to talk face to face (somewhat). I'm really hoping he decides to stick around Eugene next year.
I'm exhausted. I probably should have waited to write a legitimate blog tomorrow, but I'd procrastinated enough. I'll elaborate more soon.
Luv
Jakey
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Election Day
We don't have class today because it's Israeli elections for the Prime Minister and the Cabinet.
The weekend was a lot of fun, besides the rappeling. The cliff was about 80 feet high, and was really nothing special. After that we went to a bedouin tent and met up with a trippy guide who called himself Avraham and said he was from 3000 years ago. We were fed like Kings, made smores by fire and played card games at night, just the sports track. We never made it to the Dead Sea, and instead we went a nice, leisure hike. We got back to our apartment around 1:30. Jeremy went to have Shabbat with Moshe, Mike went to the Hostel, and I stayed at the apartments to clean it up because it was an absolute mess. Saturday night we played in our Yeshiva basketball league, which was ironically versus Mikes Yeshiva team. We lost 37-42, mostly in part because Mikes team had a ex-semi pro baller who had 27 points. He's a giant. I didn't do too much, but I wasn't really trying to. It was funny because Avi and Bonnie came to watch the game because the three of us were playing, and none of us did anything. Jeremy had a very poor game, and Mike and I didn't do a whole lot. Mike played well, but he didn't do a lot because he didn't have to.
Sunday was a regular old day. I went to the gym and played basketball. Yesterday we had class and night went to a really important Israeli soccer match, #4Beiter Jerusalem versus #3 Hapoel Tel Aviv. Tel Aviv killed them 4-0, and the crowd was going wild ( it was in Tel-Aviv). The fans there are nuts. A lot of people got kicked out during the game, and after the game there was some crazy fights.
I'm about to meet up with a good friend that I went to camp with years back. Tomorrow is Mike's birthday, so I think we'll celebrate tonight. This weekend is the designated Mike Levy Birthday weekend. There's a year course organized Valentines party on thursday, DJed by our good friend Sammy Dennison. Friday a group of 20 are going to Tel Aviv with Mike to spend the weekend. The problem for me is weeks ago, without looking at the dates, I had planned to spend the weekend with family. With end of the section things coming up, and me being gone on Marva, I'm rarely going to get to see them. I need to figure things out, but worst case scenario I'm with them Friday and Saturday, and Saturday night I spend with Mike. Jeremy, Mike and I have been spending a lot of time with eachother lately, aware of the fact our days are numbered together. Mike and Jeremy were introduced to a new Israel Experience option called Youth Village. It's like volunteering in a little community of high schoolers, some from Darfur and other places in the world. It sounded perfect for them, and the village is right next to Tel Aviv. It's a shame we're getting split up. A part of me wants to do Youth Village with them, but I made a commitment and I'm sticking to it. Still, there's no doubt at the end of the program, the greatest memory I'll have was living with Jeremy and Mike for 6 months, doing nearly everything together.
Jakey G
The weekend was a lot of fun, besides the rappeling. The cliff was about 80 feet high, and was really nothing special. After that we went to a bedouin tent and met up with a trippy guide who called himself Avraham and said he was from 3000 years ago. We were fed like Kings, made smores by fire and played card games at night, just the sports track. We never made it to the Dead Sea, and instead we went a nice, leisure hike. We got back to our apartment around 1:30. Jeremy went to have Shabbat with Moshe, Mike went to the Hostel, and I stayed at the apartments to clean it up because it was an absolute mess. Saturday night we played in our Yeshiva basketball league, which was ironically versus Mikes Yeshiva team. We lost 37-42, mostly in part because Mikes team had a ex-semi pro baller who had 27 points. He's a giant. I didn't do too much, but I wasn't really trying to. It was funny because Avi and Bonnie came to watch the game because the three of us were playing, and none of us did anything. Jeremy had a very poor game, and Mike and I didn't do a whole lot. Mike played well, but he didn't do a lot because he didn't have to.
Sunday was a regular old day. I went to the gym and played basketball. Yesterday we had class and night went to a really important Israeli soccer match, #4Beiter Jerusalem versus #3 Hapoel Tel Aviv. Tel Aviv killed them 4-0, and the crowd was going wild ( it was in Tel-Aviv). The fans there are nuts. A lot of people got kicked out during the game, and after the game there was some crazy fights.
I'm about to meet up with a good friend that I went to camp with years back. Tomorrow is Mike's birthday, so I think we'll celebrate tonight. This weekend is the designated Mike Levy Birthday weekend. There's a year course organized Valentines party on thursday, DJed by our good friend Sammy Dennison. Friday a group of 20 are going to Tel Aviv with Mike to spend the weekend. The problem for me is weeks ago, without looking at the dates, I had planned to spend the weekend with family. With end of the section things coming up, and me being gone on Marva, I'm rarely going to get to see them. I need to figure things out, but worst case scenario I'm with them Friday and Saturday, and Saturday night I spend with Mike. Jeremy, Mike and I have been spending a lot of time with eachother lately, aware of the fact our days are numbered together. Mike and Jeremy were introduced to a new Israel Experience option called Youth Village. It's like volunteering in a little community of high schoolers, some from Darfur and other places in the world. It sounded perfect for them, and the village is right next to Tel Aviv. It's a shame we're getting split up. A part of me wants to do Youth Village with them, but I made a commitment and I'm sticking to it. Still, there's no doubt at the end of the program, the greatest memory I'll have was living with Jeremy and Mike for 6 months, doing nearly everything together.
Jakey G
Thursday, February 5, 2009
This past weekend was awesome, aside from the fact that the basketball game on Saturday didn't work out. Only one player from the other team showed up, which left us pretty pissed off. But the lunch earlier that day was amazing! Rachel, her friend Emily and I walked about a block away to eat lunch with Randy, Allen, and their three kids as well as some of their friends. Randy and Allen used to live in Eugene and moved to Jerusalem in 1993, when I was about 4. They had plenty of pictures from Eugene, including some from my parents wedding. Our shabbas dinner consisted of Mexican soup, Artichoke ( who woulda guessed I like Artichoke), Lasagna, Quische, Salmon, and don't get me goin on dessert. What was great about the lunch was their love of song. In between courses, they would break out the song books and sing Hebrew tunes with their beautiful voices. Along with their orthodox traditions, it was really quite an experience. The beginning of the week was pretty lame. We had two days of seminars pertaining to campus activism concerning the Israel vs Palestine issue. While it's an interesting topic, we had heard most of the information presented, and had already viewed literally every video clip they had showed us. There were however two interesting seminars. One was by a man named Gil Troy, who spoke of his view of Zionism. It was a hour and a half long speech, and not once did he mention Palestine. I bought his book for three bucks, so I got my next read ahead of me. He also brought up an interesting quote from Barack Obama. Many Israelis disliked Obama and preferred McCain because supposedly McCain was better for Israel, and many have theories as to Obamas ties with the Arabs and whatnot. Here's the quote from The Atlantic during an interview conducted by Jeffrey Goldberg.
"You know, when I think about the Zionist idea, I think about how my feelings about Israel were shaped as a young man -- as a child, in fact. I had a camp counselor when I was in sixth grade who was Jewish-American but who had spent time in Israel, and during the course of this two-week camp he shared with me the idea of returning to a homeland and what that meant for people who had suffered from the Holocaust, and he talked about the idea of preserving a culture when a people had been uprooted with the view of eventually returning home. There was something so powerful and compelling for me, maybe because I was a kid who never entirely felt like he was rooted. That was part of my upbringing, to be traveling and always having a sense of values and culture but wanting a place. So that is my first memory of thinking about Israel. And then that mixed with a great affinity for the idea of social justice that was embodied in the early Zionist movement and the kibbutz, and the notion that not only do you find a place but you also have this opportunity to start over and to repair the breaches of the past. I found this very appealing...................................................................................................So when I became more politically conscious, my starting point when I think about the Middle East is this enormous emotional attachment and sympathy for Israel, mindful of its history, mindful of the hardship and pain and suffering that the Jewish people have undergone, but also mindful of the incredible opportunity that is presented when people finally return to a land and are able to try to excavate their best traditions and their best selves. And obviously it’s something that has great resonance with the African-American experience. "
Pretty good stuff if ya ask me. The other seminar came from a writer for Honestreporting.com, although he put on a front of being pro-Palestine. He got everybody in a fit of rage, causing some people to cry. In the end it was pretty funny, for me atleast, because I had a feeling he was faking the whole time.
On tuesday we had our first football playoff game, and lost. It was pathetic, similar to last week. Everyone played terrible, and we didn't deserve to win, oh well. In the following weeks I'm looking forward to lifting and playing ball. I haven't lifted seriously in nearly a month now, kind of weird because aside from my weeklong injury, there's really no reason.
I have to pack now for an overnight trip the sportstrack is going on. We're hiking and then rappeling down the mountain. For the night we're staying in Bedouin tents, and in the morning we may go to the Dead Sea.
Until next time,
Jakey G
"You know, when I think about the Zionist idea, I think about how my feelings about Israel were shaped as a young man -- as a child, in fact. I had a camp counselor when I was in sixth grade who was Jewish-American but who had spent time in Israel, and during the course of this two-week camp he shared with me the idea of returning to a homeland and what that meant for people who had suffered from the Holocaust, and he talked about the idea of preserving a culture when a people had been uprooted with the view of eventually returning home. There was something so powerful and compelling for me, maybe because I was a kid who never entirely felt like he was rooted. That was part of my upbringing, to be traveling and always having a sense of values and culture but wanting a place. So that is my first memory of thinking about Israel. And then that mixed with a great affinity for the idea of social justice that was embodied in the early Zionist movement and the kibbutz, and the notion that not only do you find a place but you also have this opportunity to start over and to repair the breaches of the past. I found this very appealing...................................................................................................So when I became more politically conscious, my starting point when I think about the Middle East is this enormous emotional attachment and sympathy for Israel, mindful of its history, mindful of the hardship and pain and suffering that the Jewish people have undergone, but also mindful of the incredible opportunity that is presented when people finally return to a land and are able to try to excavate their best traditions and their best selves. And obviously it’s something that has great resonance with the African-American experience. "
Pretty good stuff if ya ask me. The other seminar came from a writer for Honestreporting.com, although he put on a front of being pro-Palestine. He got everybody in a fit of rage, causing some people to cry. In the end it was pretty funny, for me atleast, because I had a feeling he was faking the whole time.
On tuesday we had our first football playoff game, and lost. It was pathetic, similar to last week. Everyone played terrible, and we didn't deserve to win, oh well. In the following weeks I'm looking forward to lifting and playing ball. I haven't lifted seriously in nearly a month now, kind of weird because aside from my weeklong injury, there's really no reason.
I have to pack now for an overnight trip the sportstrack is going on. We're hiking and then rappeling down the mountain. For the night we're staying in Bedouin tents, and in the morning we may go to the Dead Sea.
Until next time,
Jakey G
Friday, January 30, 2009
I completely forgot one of my best friends, Gil Semons, was also doing Marva!! He told me during the first month he was intending to do it, but he had been absent during the decision week because of some family issues back home so it slipped my mind. Thrown in with the addition of two of my favorite girls, Sam Okin and Bianca Fouxe, I'm even more ecstatic since my last post.
Tuesday we played our final regular season football game. It was against the team that lost in the championship last year and ended up being the number one seed after they beat us. I played an absolutely terrible game, as well as everyone else. We were without Benny and Jeremy, which was rough. We lost 24-25. We scored with 30 seconds left on a midrange pass over the middle to Zach, and decided to go for the win with a two point conversion instead of a tie. It was disappointing, but the playoffs are coming, so hopefully we'll take care of business.
Earlier that day we took a fieldtrip to a Yemenite house, where they fed us Yemenite food, sang songs and showed us traditional clothing. I dressed up as an orthodox groom which everyone got a kick out of.
Last night was a huge party put on by the Scouts. I had a really good time, mostly because I got to see all of the scouts plus their friends who I've gotten close to, such as Ohad's friend Oded, who recently returned from America after taking a Greyhound from New York to Cali with stops on the way. Before the party, our sports track director, Yael, hooked up a ride to her house to watch the Maccabi Tel-Aviv basketball game and have dinner, and then provided a ride to the party. The scouts organized a ride back to Jerusalem, so between the transportation, dinner, entry fee, and free drinks all night ( Thanks to Tzofim), I payed about 12 bucks. Not too shabby.
Right now everyone is relaxing in the apartment before dinner. I have 4 friends staying in my apartment over the weekend. Rachel Pergamit and her friend from section 3, and Josh who I mentioned in my last blog and his friend Andrew. All of them are from section 3 in Bat Yam, which was pretty cool because both of them visiting were completely seperate developments. Tomorrow Rachel and I are going to have Shabbat lunch with some family friends from Eugene, and later that night I'll be playing Basketball for Jeremy's team in the Jerusalem Yeshiva league. I haven't played with them yet, so I'm hoping I fit in with them.
I have to get ready for dinner. I have so much more to write on concerning Isreal Experience; I'll try to do it sooner rather than later.
Jakey G
Tuesday we played our final regular season football game. It was against the team that lost in the championship last year and ended up being the number one seed after they beat us. I played an absolutely terrible game, as well as everyone else. We were without Benny and Jeremy, which was rough. We lost 24-25. We scored with 30 seconds left on a midrange pass over the middle to Zach, and decided to go for the win with a two point conversion instead of a tie. It was disappointing, but the playoffs are coming, so hopefully we'll take care of business.
Earlier that day we took a fieldtrip to a Yemenite house, where they fed us Yemenite food, sang songs and showed us traditional clothing. I dressed up as an orthodox groom which everyone got a kick out of.
Last night was a huge party put on by the Scouts. I had a really good time, mostly because I got to see all of the scouts plus their friends who I've gotten close to, such as Ohad's friend Oded, who recently returned from America after taking a Greyhound from New York to Cali with stops on the way. Before the party, our sports track director, Yael, hooked up a ride to her house to watch the Maccabi Tel-Aviv basketball game and have dinner, and then provided a ride to the party. The scouts organized a ride back to Jerusalem, so between the transportation, dinner, entry fee, and free drinks all night ( Thanks to Tzofim), I payed about 12 bucks. Not too shabby.
Right now everyone is relaxing in the apartment before dinner. I have 4 friends staying in my apartment over the weekend. Rachel Pergamit and her friend from section 3, and Josh who I mentioned in my last blog and his friend Andrew. All of them are from section 3 in Bat Yam, which was pretty cool because both of them visiting were completely seperate developments. Tomorrow Rachel and I are going to have Shabbat lunch with some family friends from Eugene, and later that night I'll be playing Basketball for Jeremy's team in the Jerusalem Yeshiva league. I haven't played with them yet, so I'm hoping I fit in with them.
I have to get ready for dinner. I have so much more to write on concerning Isreal Experience; I'll try to do it sooner rather than later.
Jakey G
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Week one: Introduction. This week will be spent in the home base of the Sde Boker becoming familiar with army discipline, codes, learning first aid, topography and basic information about the IDF. In addition, participants will undergo weapons training during which they will learn how to use an M-16 rifle, and at the end of the week they will experience their first shooting range and first march/hike (approx 5 km). Shabat is spent on base
Week Two: Field Training. This week will be spent outside of the base in the field conditions (no bathrooms or showers!) Participants will learn how to be a soldier in the field through lessons on topics such as camouflage, ambushes, training exercises and survival training in both day and night. Shabbat is free.
Week Three: Negev and Navigation Week. Throughout the week there will be a variety of activities in the Negev area including a visit to an infantry base, a joint exercise with the soldiers there, and intense walking. At the end of the week Marva soldiers climb Masada at sunrise. Shabbat is spent on the base.
Week Four: Galilee/ Golan Week. During this week Marva stays at a base in the north,Participants have the opportunity to tour around the north, including the border with Lebanon.
Week Five: Sport. This week is spent on an army base. There, participants undergo intensive physical training including fitness, obstacle courses, sellf-defense and more. Shabbat is spent on the base.
Week Six: During this week the men and women will be separated for the first and only time in the program. Shabbat is fre.
Men: The week will be spent doing infantry training at a base in the South. Training includes learning to use heavy weaponry as well as group exercises.
Week Seven: Jerusalem week. This week is spent learning about the three differnt religions in Jerusalem and exploring the old and new city. The weekend is spent on base.
Week Eight: Summation. This week is dedicated to ending lessons, discussions, a final 18 km march, and a military graduation ceremony
Week Two: Field Training. This week will be spent outside of the base in the field conditions (no bathrooms or showers!) Participants will learn how to be a soldier in the field through lessons on topics such as camouflage, ambushes, training exercises and survival training in both day and night. Shabbat is free.
Week Three: Negev and Navigation Week. Throughout the week there will be a variety of activities in the Negev area including a visit to an infantry base, a joint exercise with the soldiers there, and intense walking. At the end of the week Marva soldiers climb Masada at sunrise. Shabbat is spent on the base.
Week Four: Galilee/ Golan Week. During this week Marva stays at a base in the north,Participants have the opportunity to tour around the north, including the border with Lebanon.
Week Five: Sport. This week is spent on an army base. There, participants undergo intensive physical training including fitness, obstacle courses, sellf-defense and more. Shabbat is spent on the base.
Week Six: During this week the men and women will be separated for the first and only time in the program. Shabbat is fre.
Men: The week will be spent doing infantry training at a base in the South. Training includes learning to use heavy weaponry as well as group exercises.
Week Seven: Jerusalem week. This week is spent learning about the three differnt religions in Jerusalem and exploring the old and new city. The weekend is spent on base.
Week Eight: Summation. This week is dedicated to ending lessons, discussions, a final 18 km march, and a military graduation ceremony
Monday, January 26, 2009
My decision's been made
I found it amusing rereading my last blog entry about how the ride to Tiberias was uncomfortable. The ride to Tel Aviv was most definitely worse. We were supposed to have two 9 person sheiruts, but 4 of the guys backed out so we had to fit 14 people in a 9 person sheirut. Yours truly was the last to board. I was miserable. Other then that I had a great time in Tel Aviv. We celebrated Biancas birthday by walking along the Tel Aviv beach and watching a drum session, having dinner at nice restaurant, and lastly getting desert and the renound Max Brenners Chocolate House. Around midnight, Eli, Avi, Benny and I took a cab to Holon to stay at Ithai's apartment. We ended up staying up until 4 in the morning talking. Benny, Ashley and I woke up grudginly at 6 in the morning, boarded the bus to Mount Hermon at 6:30 and slept for a good portion of the 3 and a half hour bus ride. It was cool because most of section three went on the trip, seeing as how they're in Bat Yam/Holon, so I got to see Adam Rothstein and Etsion again. I also got to see a cool guy I met through Mike named Josh. He's from Portland and is going to the U of O next year, but he wanted to get out to Miami for the Year Course orientation so he met Mike there instead of going to the L.A one with me. Mike introduced us, and since then I've played ball with him, met up a few times here and there. He's a real cool guy and I'm so stoked he's coming to the U of O. We talked for probably 87% of the trip about Oregon sports haha.
In the Hermon, we took a chairlift to the top of the mountain. I have some pretty funny pictures of the way up and the way down. The mountain was fairly void of snow; people said that this year was a terrible year for skiers. Nonetheless, the top of the mountain was very snowy and cold. We played some games in the snow, hung out and were cold together. Pretty upsetting point: Arab kids started throwing rocks and snowballs at us. Some people got extremely mad at them, but Ithai stopped anyone from doing anything. They couldn't have been older than 12 and 11, and getting mad would have only encouraged them. After getting back to the bottom, we went to this rollercoaster type ride. You could either go one or two people per time. Basically we got on a little pod, and had a lever letting you adjust your speed. It.....was..... awesome! I loved it, but we ran out of time so I could only go once. After that we took a 20 minute busride to Nimrod Castle. is an ancient fortress situated in the northern Golan Heights, on a ridge rising about 2600 feet above sea level. I took pictures and I'll upload them later. We just walked around the Castle; nothing special, but a very cool site that was worth visiting. After we settled in a field for lunch. Our lunch was a type of food which I can't remember how to pronounce. It was absolutely delicious. This is how you make it: Boil water, throw in rice, beans, carrots, lettuce, sauce, soda, whatever. It's basically shmorgusborg stew, and it's so freaking tasty. We than took a bus back to Holon, and immediately caught another bus back to Jerus (alem. I'm so glad I did the trip. It's been so cool having these amazing, productive, adventurous weekends. I plan to have many more in the future.
Today I didn't do much. I played a lot of basketball, then went to watch a Jerusalem basketball game, and I just got done skyping with Austin for about an hour.
Now, on the topic of my post title. Yesterday, the only event of significance was in the evening we had a seminar educating us about our Israel Experience options (last three months). Fortunately, I had already made my decision about a week ago. I had juggled my sport volunteering options with the Army, and ultimately I chose the army. It's widely regarded as the most rewarding option, and I have plenty of friends doing it (Marva). The one issue with Marva people have is that you're seperated from your friends. Problem is, nearly everyone is seperated from their friends. Marva is the largest option of all, and although we only get every other weekend off base, I'll be able to use those weekends to the fullest. Benny just decided today that he's doing Marva, and I couldn't be happier. I have a schedule of what we do week by week, which I'll write in my next post. But it's a litle past midnight, and I'm going to bed
In other notable news, Avi Behar shaved his head. Look back to my October 9th post, consider that hasn't cut it since, and you'll realize this was a big deal
Peace and Luv
In the Hermon, we took a chairlift to the top of the mountain. I have some pretty funny pictures of the way up and the way down. The mountain was fairly void of snow; people said that this year was a terrible year for skiers. Nonetheless, the top of the mountain was very snowy and cold. We played some games in the snow, hung out and were cold together. Pretty upsetting point: Arab kids started throwing rocks and snowballs at us. Some people got extremely mad at them, but Ithai stopped anyone from doing anything. They couldn't have been older than 12 and 11, and getting mad would have only encouraged them. After getting back to the bottom, we went to this rollercoaster type ride. You could either go one or two people per time. Basically we got on a little pod, and had a lever letting you adjust your speed. It.....was..... awesome! I loved it, but we ran out of time so I could only go once. After that we took a 20 minute busride to Nimrod Castle. is an ancient fortress situated in the northern Golan Heights, on a ridge rising about 2600 feet above sea level. I took pictures and I'll upload them later. We just walked around the Castle; nothing special, but a very cool site that was worth visiting. After we settled in a field for lunch. Our lunch was a type of food which I can't remember how to pronounce. It was absolutely delicious. This is how you make it: Boil water, throw in rice, beans, carrots, lettuce, sauce, soda, whatever. It's basically shmorgusborg stew, and it's so freaking tasty. We than took a bus back to Holon, and immediately caught another bus back to Jerus (alem. I'm so glad I did the trip. It's been so cool having these amazing, productive, adventurous weekends. I plan to have many more in the future.
Today I didn't do much. I played a lot of basketball, then went to watch a Jerusalem basketball game, and I just got done skyping with Austin for about an hour.
Now, on the topic of my post title. Yesterday, the only event of significance was in the evening we had a seminar educating us about our Israel Experience options (last three months). Fortunately, I had already made my decision about a week ago. I had juggled my sport volunteering options with the Army, and ultimately I chose the army. It's widely regarded as the most rewarding option, and I have plenty of friends doing it (Marva). The one issue with Marva people have is that you're seperated from your friends. Problem is, nearly everyone is seperated from their friends. Marva is the largest option of all, and although we only get every other weekend off base, I'll be able to use those weekends to the fullest. Benny just decided today that he's doing Marva, and I couldn't be happier. I have a schedule of what we do week by week, which I'll write in my next post. But it's a litle past midnight, and I'm going to bed
In other notable news, Avi Behar shaved his head. Look back to my October 9th post, consider that hasn't cut it since, and you'll realize this was a big deal
Peace and Luv
Friday, January 23, 2009
So much for that post on Sunday. I've been receiving some heat from my counselor for spending so much time in the Hostel, so I've been at my internet-less apartment more often. Sunday was actually a terrible terrible day for me, But I'll start with the weekend.
Thursday evening, a dozen of us took a bus to Tiberias to bike around the Kinneret. It wasn't comfy. We took the last bus, and although I was the first to arrive out of the group, I ended being the last to board the bus. There were some difficulties with transportation, and they barely made it in time. Every seat on the bus was taken, so about 8 of us sat on the floor for the 3 and a half hour busride.We arrived pretty late at night and just went to bed. In the morning everyone was noticeably less excited about the bike ride. It was beautiful weather when we started; blue skies, bright sun with a slight wind chill. There were 4 guys including myself, and 9 girls for the 40 mile ride. The three guys were out of sight of the pack very early on. I decided to just hang back and leisurely ride along with the others for the first half hour or so. I eventually decided to catch up with the boys, and right as I did I was met with 30 mile per hour winds at the bottom of the largeset hill we would face. It was the only real obstacle I faced on the ride. I finished with Ashley(fluffy) and Joe with a time of 3 hours and 40 minutes, 40 minutes faster than the fastest boy from the previous week. It was a very easy ride; I had an urge to do it the next day. That night a group of kids from section three, including two camp friends of mine, Adam Etsion and Adam Rothstein, came to do the ride on Saturday. We hung out with them for a bit, and saw them the next day when they finished. We just hung out on saturday, walked around Tiberias a bit. It's a really nice town with amazingly friendly people. One guy asked me if I was from America, I said yes. He asked if I was jewish, I said yes. He then told me he loved me hahaha.
Sunday was miserable. I played in my Hostel basketball league, and the game went terribly. We play five games, one against each team, and the top two teams get a week off in the playoffs. I was the only 2-0 team heading in to week 3. We played against Jeremy, Benny and Avi, and got destroyed. My teammates were awful. They played with zero intensity, meanwhile I was getting battered around. I got hit on a layup and hurt my hand on the pavement. My teammate threw a pass behind me and it got deflected and jammed my thumb. Jeremy kicked me in the calf. It was a bad bad game. I was furious afterwards, so I went to the gym to angrily lift. I lifted 3 sets, and on my fourth I was interrupted my a 40 pound bar crashing into my leg. A friend of mine was removing weights from a bar, and he only took them off one side. The instant he did, the bar flipped over, and the side that had it's weights removed smacked me in my left leg. It damaged my quadricep muscle, but if it had hit my knee, I can't even fathom how bad it would have been. My leg muscle started cramping and I couldn't walk for two days. My legs ok now, but I haven't been able to workout and I wasn't allowed to play in the football game this week, which was killer. Our game ended in a tie, but it was to a terrible team. We should have murded them. WE looked very good in Defense which was very comforting. Next week is the last week in the regular season. We play a very good team, and if we beat them we get the #2 seed in the playoffs and get a bye in the first round.
In thirty minutes I'm taking a bus with some friends to Tel-Aviv. It's my friend Bianca's birthday, so we're all going to hang out tonight and roam around. Late at night, Benny, Fluffy and I are taking a cab to Holon to stay with Benny's old scout roommate Ithai. At 6:30 in the morning we're taking a bus to Northern Israel where we're hiking up Mount Hermon. It's supposedly one of the most gorgeous places in Israel, so I'll make sure to take pics.
Gotta run, my time is up
PEACE
Jakey g
Thursday evening, a dozen of us took a bus to Tiberias to bike around the Kinneret. It wasn't comfy. We took the last bus, and although I was the first to arrive out of the group, I ended being the last to board the bus. There were some difficulties with transportation, and they barely made it in time. Every seat on the bus was taken, so about 8 of us sat on the floor for the 3 and a half hour busride.We arrived pretty late at night and just went to bed. In the morning everyone was noticeably less excited about the bike ride. It was beautiful weather when we started; blue skies, bright sun with a slight wind chill. There were 4 guys including myself, and 9 girls for the 40 mile ride. The three guys were out of sight of the pack very early on. I decided to just hang back and leisurely ride along with the others for the first half hour or so. I eventually decided to catch up with the boys, and right as I did I was met with 30 mile per hour winds at the bottom of the largeset hill we would face. It was the only real obstacle I faced on the ride. I finished with Ashley(fluffy) and Joe with a time of 3 hours and 40 minutes, 40 minutes faster than the fastest boy from the previous week. It was a very easy ride; I had an urge to do it the next day. That night a group of kids from section three, including two camp friends of mine, Adam Etsion and Adam Rothstein, came to do the ride on Saturday. We hung out with them for a bit, and saw them the next day when they finished. We just hung out on saturday, walked around Tiberias a bit. It's a really nice town with amazingly friendly people. One guy asked me if I was from America, I said yes. He asked if I was jewish, I said yes. He then told me he loved me hahaha.
Sunday was miserable. I played in my Hostel basketball league, and the game went terribly. We play five games, one against each team, and the top two teams get a week off in the playoffs. I was the only 2-0 team heading in to week 3. We played against Jeremy, Benny and Avi, and got destroyed. My teammates were awful. They played with zero intensity, meanwhile I was getting battered around. I got hit on a layup and hurt my hand on the pavement. My teammate threw a pass behind me and it got deflected and jammed my thumb. Jeremy kicked me in the calf. It was a bad bad game. I was furious afterwards, so I went to the gym to angrily lift. I lifted 3 sets, and on my fourth I was interrupted my a 40 pound bar crashing into my leg. A friend of mine was removing weights from a bar, and he only took them off one side. The instant he did, the bar flipped over, and the side that had it's weights removed smacked me in my left leg. It damaged my quadricep muscle, but if it had hit my knee, I can't even fathom how bad it would have been. My leg muscle started cramping and I couldn't walk for two days. My legs ok now, but I haven't been able to workout and I wasn't allowed to play in the football game this week, which was killer. Our game ended in a tie, but it was to a terrible team. We should have murded them. WE looked very good in Defense which was very comforting. Next week is the last week in the regular season. We play a very good team, and if we beat them we get the #2 seed in the playoffs and get a bye in the first round.
In thirty minutes I'm taking a bus with some friends to Tel-Aviv. It's my friend Bianca's birthday, so we're all going to hang out tonight and roam around. Late at night, Benny, Fluffy and I are taking a cab to Holon to stay with Benny's old scout roommate Ithai. At 6:30 in the morning we're taking a bus to Northern Israel where we're hiking up Mount Hermon. It's supposedly one of the most gorgeous places in Israel, so I'll make sure to take pics.
Gotta run, my time is up
PEACE
Jakey g
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Tuesday night we played the top team in our flag league........ And we killed them. The score was 26-12, but the score isn't indicative of how badly we beat them. They scored on a fluke catch on fourth down, and their other touchdown came with 40 seconds left. Our last two games we've had 7 players, which has made a world of difference. It's 6 on 6, so everyone is playing more, getting comfortable, and having more fun. Things are really clicking; as of now we're probably the favorites to win the league.
I've been doing really well here. Classes are in full swing from the break. Today I went to a museum in Tel Aviv and listened to a classic New York jewish guy talk tell his story of how 60 years ago, him and a dozen others picked up 1500 holocaust survivors on a boat and sailed them to Palestine. It took place at a Jabotinsky museum, so we also watched a few exhibits about him. Jabotinsky assembled the first Jewish army, who rallied with the British Army in WW 1 against the Ottoman Empire, who then controlled Palestine.
I've been doing really well here. Classes are in full swing from the break. Today I went to a museum in Tel Aviv and listened to a classic New York jewish guy talk tell his story of how 60 years ago, him and a dozen others picked up 1500 holocaust survivors on a boat and sailed them to Palestine. It took place at a Jabotinsky museum, so we also watched a few exhibits about him. Jabotinsky assembled the first Jewish army, who rallied with the British Army in WW 1 against the Ottoman Empire, who then controlled Palestine.
I really enjoy my Zionism class. Learning about the history of Israel, as well as the Zionism field trips that correspond every week are my favorite part of school.
I just finished my college essay to the University of Oregon. I wrote on the topic of an article that my mom sent me by a family friend named Matthew Dennis. It was concerning, what else, Israel and Gaza. I wrote the essay, and then looked at my last two blog postings and was shocked. I completely took a 180 turn in my convictions. I wrote in my blog and remember saying to my mom that Peace wasn't an option. I don't even know how those words left my mouth looking back. In retrospect, I haven't read or watched many pieces promoting peace. But ultimately, it's the only real answer.
I just finished my last class for the week. I'm going to go to the gym and shoot around outside for a bit. At around 8 tonight, when most of my friends get back from volunteering for the army ( packaging food and whatnot), we'll take a bus to Tiberias up north. Tomorrow, 12 of us are going to take a bicycle ride around the Kinneret, the largest freshwater lake in Israel. A group of guys went last week, and not all of them finished (it certainly wasn't AVI and BENNY). It should be a lot of fun. Saturday we're just going to hang out in Tiberias and enjoy the nice weather up there. Most of my other friends, Mike Jeremy Benny and Avi are all going with Tania to stay in Bat Yam/ Holon and go to a big party tonight in Tel Aviv.
I was happy to hear all my gifts arrived safe and sound to Eugene from Amsterdam and Paris. I was getting kind of nervous about if they'd ever get there. Although I've been doing progressively worse and worse with my blog, I've been doing much better with keeping in touch with my friends as of late. Gotta take the good with the bad I guess. I probably won't have internet access over the weekend, so I'll make sure to write a post on Sunday.
jakey g
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Tonight is my good buddy Moshe Teitz birthday, so I think we're planning on celebrating tonight. I just done with a swim lesson and I'm reasonably exhausted. Last night we played in our flag football league and then we stayed up very late talking with my old camp friends who were visiting. We also watched flag football videos from when Avi and Benny won the world championship. The flag football game was extremely fun actually. We only had seven people so I finally got to play defense and develop a rhythm with the receivers. Since I never play defense and I play quarterback, I never get to run the ball. Early in the game I intercepted it and took it 3 quarters length of the field for a touchdown. I stopped in the middle of the play because I heard a whistle from the either field. I did a stutter step and the guy pursuing me fell, and then I ran it in. Everyone contributed and had lots of fun which was great. We had Tania Grunberg, Benny's girlfriend taking pictures and videos on the sideline, so hopefully I'll get some pictures uploaded.
I called my mother this morning ( a little too early, sorry mom) and we spoke about my last blog post. After re-reading it, I'm aware that I was pretty emotional when I wrote it. I delivered some messages I intended, others I left out. Something my mom brought up was that although the negative perception is what's bothering me , that ultimately plays a factor in how you assess their actions. Israel is being pretty relentless in their attacks, and it surely doesn't help their global image. Where we differed on the matter was she believes peace is an option. I argued that Hamas isn't interested in peace, while Israel most surely is. Israel is worried about Israel; if peace is what's best, that's what they want.
The important message I left out in my last post is I don't fully support what Israel is doing. It's hard to predict which course of action is best, especially when I live here.
Monday, January 5, 2009
Not much has transpired since my last post. I had classes the past two days and they went well. I'm writing to reflect on the past couple days concerning the war.
It's on every TV around the hostel. After each and every one of my classes, we have discussion time. Whats been extremely upsetting to me is how it's being covered. Every time we turn on CNN, every time I go on to Comcast to read my email, I see headlines reading " Israel pounds in to Gaza", "Israel continues to relentlessly bomb Gaza". CNN interviews countless people living in Gaza who speak of living in fear.
I'm very one-sided on the matter. I almost feel guilty for it. Anti-Israel promoters are so defiant and outspoken, they dismiss entirely the other side of the spectrum. I feel as if by being one-sided it seems as if I'm doing the same. I came to Israel with the belief in the country's right to exist. I was uneducated in the Israel-Palestine conflict, although I had heard advocates from both sides in my family and I saw where both were coming from. The issue at hand was occupation; that's not the issue anymore.
Israel is an established nation. They're often blamed for "stealing the land" of the Palestinians, when in actuality in 1922 the League of Nations granted the UK a mandate of Palestine, which put forth the goal of "securing a Jewish home". Riots erupted in Jaffa (where I used to volunteer) and Jews were beaten and shot at. The police came, only to reinforce the Arabs. This occurred in May of 1921, nearly 90 years ago. The 1930's saw persecution of Jews, with 1939-1945 Holocaust killing nearly 6 million Jews. After all this information was taken in to account, I had decided I 100 % believed the Jews needed a home. But as I said, that's not the issue anymore.
Hamas intends to destroy Israel. If they gain the land they desire ( The west bank, East Jerusalem, and the Gaza strip), they will undoubtedly use the land to further execute their plan of eliminating Israel. This isn't in question. They threaten everyday lives of Israelis. Meanwhile, Arabs make up 20 % of Israel's population. The ability to coexist is one that could be easily achieved. Instead, Hamas vows to make Gaza Israel's grave.
The U.S and Canada view Hamas as a terrorist organization. The European union views Hamas as a terrorist organization. Jordan, a Muslim and Arab nation, has banned Hamas. So how can they're be rallies flooding the streets of San Francisco and other major cities around the world supporting a terrorist organization?
Pro-Palestine people wish for them to get their land back, so when Palestine fires 80 rockets into Israel, effectively breaking a 6 month ceasefire, does Israel just back off without protecting their country? Give them a mulligan and give the truce another go?
It saddens me certain facts are heard, and others aren't. Whats more depressing is the fact that the word of defiance is always louder and trumps that of defense. Something I've learned in my 19 years is I never want to be angry. The feeling consumes you. I watch videos and see the anger, violence, and hatred in people. It's a sad sight; I lose a little bit of hope for a better tomorrow.
It's on every TV around the hostel. After each and every one of my classes, we have discussion time. Whats been extremely upsetting to me is how it's being covered. Every time we turn on CNN, every time I go on to Comcast to read my email, I see headlines reading " Israel pounds in to Gaza", "Israel continues to relentlessly bomb Gaza". CNN interviews countless people living in Gaza who speak of living in fear.
I'm very one-sided on the matter. I almost feel guilty for it. Anti-Israel promoters are so defiant and outspoken, they dismiss entirely the other side of the spectrum. I feel as if by being one-sided it seems as if I'm doing the same. I came to Israel with the belief in the country's right to exist. I was uneducated in the Israel-Palestine conflict, although I had heard advocates from both sides in my family and I saw where both were coming from. The issue at hand was occupation; that's not the issue anymore.
Israel is an established nation. They're often blamed for "stealing the land" of the Palestinians, when in actuality in 1922 the League of Nations granted the UK a mandate of Palestine, which put forth the goal of "securing a Jewish home". Riots erupted in Jaffa (where I used to volunteer) and Jews were beaten and shot at. The police came, only to reinforce the Arabs. This occurred in May of 1921, nearly 90 years ago. The 1930's saw persecution of Jews, with 1939-1945 Holocaust killing nearly 6 million Jews. After all this information was taken in to account, I had decided I 100 % believed the Jews needed a home. But as I said, that's not the issue anymore.
Hamas intends to destroy Israel. If they gain the land they desire ( The west bank, East Jerusalem, and the Gaza strip), they will undoubtedly use the land to further execute their plan of eliminating Israel. This isn't in question. They threaten everyday lives of Israelis. Meanwhile, Arabs make up 20 % of Israel's population. The ability to coexist is one that could be easily achieved. Instead, Hamas vows to make Gaza Israel's grave.
The U.S and Canada view Hamas as a terrorist organization. The European union views Hamas as a terrorist organization. Jordan, a Muslim and Arab nation, has banned Hamas. So how can they're be rallies flooding the streets of San Francisco and other major cities around the world supporting a terrorist organization?
Pro-Palestine people wish for them to get their land back, so when Palestine fires 80 rockets into Israel, effectively breaking a 6 month ceasefire, does Israel just back off without protecting their country? Give them a mulligan and give the truce another go?
It saddens me certain facts are heard, and others aren't. Whats more depressing is the fact that the word of defiance is always louder and trumps that of defense. Something I've learned in my 19 years is I never want to be angry. The feeling consumes you. I watch videos and see the anger, violence, and hatred in people. It's a sad sight; I lose a little bit of hope for a better tomorrow.
Thursday, January 1, 2009
My favorite, Champ Elysees at night
Eli, myself, Avi and Mini (Eli's mom) at little village by a dock
Seno (Eli's stepdad), Myself, Avi and Eli
Having some lunch
Ride em cowboy!
Thumbs up at Marodaum, mini Holland!
At the Heineken factory
Seeing how beer is made
At the Eiffel tower!
Eli and I at the Arc de Triomphe
Test tasting at the Heineken factorySo it's six in the morning right now, and we're leaving the apartment to go to the airport in an hour. I stayed up all night writing notes to go with my holiday gifts I got. I had grand aspirations of writing a killer blog, but here and I am with an hour before I leave, Im not fully packed because I have no idea how Im going to transport the gifts, and I promised Kev Id write him an email. I'm going to be brief for now, and then I'll go back and touch up on this one.
Monday we visited the Official Heineken factory. It was so cool! I got a few free beers here and there, learned all about how to make beer, and specifically the history of a beer that's a pretty prominant part of Amsterdam's history.......................................................
Annnd the internet crapped out at Eli's apartment, and we had to catch our plane. Now im back at the Hostel. I slept through the entire plane ride just like the first time. I'm really glad to be back. Seeing everyone, talking to them about their break, even hearing Hebrew is nice ( Dutch is so ugly).
It was nice staying up all night though. I skyped some friends, called others by phone, and writing notes to all my friends was really enjoyable. I miss them a lot, and it felt good to let them know.
Annnd the internet crapped out at Eli's apartment, and we had to catch our plane. Now im back at the Hostel. I slept through the entire plane ride just like the first time. I'm really glad to be back. Seeing everyone, talking to them about their break, even hearing Hebrew is nice ( Dutch is so ugly).
It was nice staying up all night though. I skyped some friends, called others by phone, and writing notes to all my friends was really enjoyable. I miss them a lot, and it felt good to let them know.
Back to the trip. After the Heineken factory, we visited the Rijks museum. I've been to dozens of museums ( thanks mom) before, but this one was the most extraordinary. The paintings were amazing, most of all Night Watch by Rembrandt, one of the worlds more famous paintings. That night we stayed in because the next day we would be heading to Paris! We took a bus around noon and arrived to Paris at 8:30. We checked into our hotel then went to get dinner in an area called Saint Michelle. After that we walked around, visited the Eiffel Tower, grabbed some beers, and took photos. " The City of Lights" certainly lived up to it's name. I would have loved to walk around all night, but unfortunately it was hovering around freezing temperatures. We woke up the next morning and had to be out of our hotel by noon. The weather was kind of crummy with overcast and on and off showers. We had some minor disappointmets a long the way. We went to the Louvre museum, one of the most famous museum in the world with the most famous painting, The Mona Lisa. The Louvre is open 6 days a week. The one day it's not open happens to be a Tuesday. I was really upset, I'm not going to lie. I mean really upset. But we kept on trekking. Avi, Eli and I walked around what felt like of all of Paris. We visited The Notre Dame Chapel, which was definately a favorite site of mine. I don't know why, it was just stunning. Then we went to the Conciergerie right around the corner, a former royal palace and prison. We had a choice whether to go up the Eiffel Tower, or the Arc de Triomphe. We decided to do the Arc, because it would be a shorter wait and it was close to our tram as well as Champ Elysees. We went around 6 and found out it was closed due to bad weather. Bummed again. We walked up and down Champ Elysees. It was so gorgeous there; all the trees had blue lights attached, matching the lights on Ferris Wheel at the end of the road. We caught a bus at 11, and arrived at 6:30 in the morning to Amsterdam.
The next morning I woke up around noon to go gift shopping for friends. That took up most of my day, I was lucky enough to get a little snow as I walked around Amsterdam. That night was New Years. Nothing too big for us. Eli, Avi and I got some drinks, watched some fireworks and went home. I still had a lot of fun though. I woke up at 9:30 to call friends back home and see how their new years was. It became apparant that I couldn't talk over the people in the background without waking up Eli and Avi, so I gave up after talking to a couple people. Thursday we spent the day at our friend Nofar's house. Nofar lives in Amsterdam, coincidentally about a 5 minute walk from Eli's place, and is also on our section in year course. We hung out with her, watched soccer, ate dinner with her family which was great, and then went out at night to do some final shopping for friends back home. Like I said, I decided to stay up all night that night so I could accomplish some things while exhausting myself for the plane ride. And here I am! Glad to be at the Hostel. Most of Shalem didn't go anywhere for the vacation, and some of the brits came back already, the others should arrive tomorrow night. Because of the Dolphins winning their division and getting a first round game at home for the playoffs, Mike extended his stay so he could go! Pretty cool, I really hope they pull it off, it's going to be a tough game. It's funny how much we missed people. It was hard to keep in touch with people from year course in Amsterdam, but easy to get a hold of people back home. We were regularly so busy during the day we wouldn't get home until late, which is the ideal time to call people back home. Also, Mini and Seno had a Miami home line, so all calls to the states were free!( I made sure to take advantage of that)
Ok, I got some stuff I need to take care of. I need to check with the U of O, and Im really close to finishing this book I started when we left for Amsterdam that Avi recommended called Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. Very very good book. I've only sat down and read it in the airport and on the bus to Paris, but It's a very easy read (at times) and a lot of fun.
I hope everyone had a good New years/holidays. I miss everyone and send my love from Israel.
I hope everyone had a good New years/holidays. I miss everyone and send my love from Israel.
Jakey G
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