The Rabbi at work
Lets eat!!
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It's friday afternoon right now, and I'm resting for a little before Mike and I head to the Country Club for open gym. This week was really balanced, as everybody prepares for Rosh Hashana monday night ( the jewish year). Tuesday everyone hung out until around 5 when we had a string of meetings. Our last one was a speech from Tal Brody, an American basketball player who came to Israel and captained the Israeli national team to the Euro Cup in 1977 and is widely known as a National hero in Israel. 
It was remarkable to hear his story and how he played such a pivotal role in Israel becoming a known nation through basketball ( it's true!). He also played for the U.S Army team, a select group that featured Bill Walton ( who he refers to as Billy). He also said that Bob Knight ( who he calls Bobby) is coming to Israel soon and hopefully will put us in contact with him. I can't imagine meeting Bob Knight, I'd probably get down and give him some pushups or something. Wednesday we got up early to go to the beach for a variety of exercises, 
from cardio to Krav Maga. After that I went to a lunch and learn at our Ulpan building. The lunch consisted of pizza, while the learning was provided by Michael Freeman. Michael Freeman actually lead my orientation in May, so I was one of the few who had already met him. He's a very sarcastic, cynical ( and he doesn't claim otherwise) little british man. He's the leader of the Young Judaea organizition in Europe and now lives in Israel. He's extremely knowlegdable about Israeli current events, and everyone really enjoyed his shpiel. I was happy that they did, and it was nice that for once we were all respectful of the speaker. Generally there's always people talking, which results in the madrachim yelling at us which really throws off the flow, but everyone was quiet and respectful. There's so many events going on in Israel as well as outside developments concerning Israel ( Iran), everyday something new can arise. Anywho, after that I chilled before going to my volunteering. It's been a hard month at volunteering. This is the month of Ramadan, so all of the kids are fasting, and many don't show up. On Wednesday there was 5 of us volunteering and only 3 kids showed up. Hopefully October will be better. Overall I expect October to be a better month because there are so many holidays and we have so much time off. There's also I string of birthdays among our apartment, including my own. Tonight we are having another Shabbat dinner at our place, and this one will be bigger and better. I love that our spot is the place to be. I've been the stickler about cleaning our place ever since we been here, and on Tuesday I finally layed down the law. I came up with a plan so everyone cleans on a certain day, and two groups go shopping on certain days everyweek. I hate being the guy who has to tell people what to do, but so far its worked out great. We have food in our fridge and a clean kitchen, and we're all friends here so I don't think my roommates cared too much. Plus, now I don't have to keep on being a jerk, I can just refer to my policy when necessary ( hehe). Paul McCartney had a concert in Tel Aviv last night!! I wanted to go really badly, but it was very expensive. I talked to my friend Shelly who went, and she said it was amazing ( I could have guessed). I went to club stella, which I had been to before. It's a really cool club and all, but for whatever reason I haven't had fun either times I've gone. Tonight is a big night. A kid from yearcourse rented out the balcony of a really swanky club called the Sky Club. Its for year course kids only and it should be huge. Alrighty its about time for me to be saddlin' up, lata
Jakey G
It was remarkable to hear his story and how he played such a pivotal role in Israel becoming a known nation through basketball ( it's true!). He also played for the U.S Army team, a select group that featured Bill Walton ( who he refers to as Billy). He also said that Bob Knight ( who he calls Bobby) is coming to Israel soon and hopefully will put us in contact with him. I can't imagine meeting Bob Knight, I'd probably get down and give him some pushups or something. Wednesday we got up early to go to the beach for a variety of exercises, from cardio to Krav Maga. After that I went to a lunch and learn at our Ulpan building. The lunch consisted of pizza, while the learning was provided by Michael Freeman. Michael Freeman actually lead my orientation in May, so I was one of the few who had already met him. He's a very sarcastic, cynical ( and he doesn't claim otherwise) little british man. He's the leader of the Young Judaea organizition in Europe and now lives in Israel. He's extremely knowlegdable about Israeli current events, and everyone really enjoyed his shpiel. I was happy that they did, and it was nice that for once we were all respectful of the speaker. Generally there's always people talking, which results in the madrachim yelling at us which really throws off the flow, but everyone was quiet and respectful. There's so many events going on in Israel as well as outside developments concerning Israel ( Iran), everyday something new can arise. Anywho, after that I chilled before going to my volunteering. It's been a hard month at volunteering. This is the month of Ramadan, so all of the kids are fasting, and many don't show up. On Wednesday there was 5 of us volunteering and only 3 kids showed up. Hopefully October will be better. Overall I expect October to be a better month because there are so many holidays and we have so much time off. There's also I string of birthdays among our apartment, including my own. Tonight we are having another Shabbat dinner at our place, and this one will be bigger and better. I love that our spot is the place to be. I've been the stickler about cleaning our place ever since we been here, and on Tuesday I finally layed down the law. I came up with a plan so everyone cleans on a certain day, and two groups go shopping on certain days everyweek. I hate being the guy who has to tell people what to do, but so far its worked out great. We have food in our fridge and a clean kitchen, and we're all friends here so I don't think my roommates cared too much. Plus, now I don't have to keep on being a jerk, I can just refer to my policy when necessary ( hehe). Paul McCartney had a concert in Tel Aviv last night!! I wanted to go really badly, but it was very expensive. I talked to my friend Shelly who went, and she said it was amazing ( I could have guessed). I went to club stella, which I had been to before. It's a really cool club and all, but for whatever reason I haven't had fun either times I've gone. Tonight is a big night. A kid from yearcourse rented out the balcony of a really swanky club called the Sky Club. Its for year course kids only and it should be huge. Alrighty its about time for me to be saddlin' up, lataJakey G
This trip was mainly so we could socialize with the rest of our section, considering there was pretty much nothing to do there. I got to meet up with a friend of mine I made at my orientation in May named Gil. He's doing a performing arts specialty track and staying in holon ; I am hoping we will get to room in Jerusalem. He's a really cool guy and I really enjoy hanging out with him , I definately plan on going to holon to visit him sometime in the near future. One of his counselours (madrich) is a friend of mine from eugene, Josh Landis. Josh and I had met up a couple of times in the weeks prior to yearcourse, and seeing him was awesome. He was busy doing his madrich thing early on, but later on in the night after I had been socializing with other YC members we met up and chilled by the bonfire. Talking to him was very easing. We're two eugene boys who are very alike, and it was neat to listen to him talk about an experience that I'm currently on with a viewpoint very similar to my own. After meeting so many new people, a slice of eugene was what I needed. He's definately another motive to travel to Holon, which is really not far. But I digest, whoops I mean digress. After talking to josh I stumbled to bed at around two and awoke at 6:15 to the sound of moans, groans, and the laughter of Israelis pulling pranks on one another ( they're extremely funny people). We ate a bismal breakfast and took an excruciatingly long and hot bus ride to Ein Gedi. We had originally planned to stop at the Dead Sea, but time restraints cut that off. Ein Gedi carries a ton of historical significance, and we had a great guide to follow. Archaeologists say Ein Gedi was first settled in 3000 B.c when tribes out of the Stone age worshipped the moon at a temple there. It is a high profile tourist attraction, and with good reason. It is extraordinarly hot, one of the lowest points in the world. We took a very mild hike, stopping at two different waterfalls, the first of which we swam in. I hung out underneath the waterfall for sometime; it felt like a professional massage. Well I've never had one before, but thats what I would imagine it would feel like. I thoroughly enjoyed the hike as well . The rock face and the vastness of the land really caught my eye. I took pictures, but they really don't show the true beauty of the place. After eating a lunch that was more pathetic then the breakfast, we traveled to Jerusalem. I've been to Jerusalem before when I was six, but we're gunna nullify that experience because I don't remember it. With that being said, this was the most amazing sight I have ever seen. The history behind the city is so extensive, and the look of the city is no doubt like any other. I could go on and on about the city, but this post is already much too long. Jerusalem is a spiritual center, holy to the three monotheistic faiths: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. You can travel to so many places that are involved in the major texts to all of these religions. I asked Ohad, my israeli roommate, about how the three religions get along in this city. He explained most of them were not born here, rather moved here for the same reason: to be closer to god. The city looks like a holy land! Im struggling to put a sentence together here. It's a feeling a can't describe, and I can't wait to live there. We didn't spend much time in the heart of the Old city and traveled elsewhere to eat dinner around 7. Some YC members who were in section 1 and studying in Jerusalem heard of where we were and stopped by. I met up with two more friends I went to camp with 3 years ago. I was ecstatic to see them, and im hoping it wont be long before i see them again, but theres a good chance it will be awhile. All of my roommates were getting excited on the way back about a party in Tel Aviv, but I knew I wouldn't be joining them. I'm too tired and too cheap ( you have to pay to get in). Jeremy, my roommate who was feeling ill and stayed home while we were gone) is feeling better and should be 100% by tomorrow. Hopefully the guys don't have too much fun, because we need to be up by 8 to get our Community volunteer assignments and take a hebrew test ( I might not take it because ill probably be in the beginner class). But it's Shabbat, so after that we have the rest of friday and saturday off! I can't wait. I was tired before i started writing this post, now I'm exhausted. Sorry if I babbled
