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
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
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
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