Weekend with Aaron

"Hey, what are you doing this weekend? I need to get out of Arad and actually do something!"

This was a text message I received from my friend Aaron Senser at 6:57 am. I was not even awake yet. Aaron is also on Year Course and is in section three. He is currently living in Arad and volunteering at the nature reserve in Ein Gedi.

As I was walking to the bus stop to get to the community center, I called Aaron. I told him I would be more than happy to have him stay and hang out. Thus was the start of an excellent weekend.

Day 1, Thusday
Volunteering went really well today. The kids have really become attached. There is a sandbox that they play in everyday. I was teaching a few of the kids how to use mold and buckets to make shapes. I would fill the mold with sand, count with the kids "Achad, Shtiym, Shalosh!" and flip over the mold. I then had the kids do it. The director of the gan was watching and said that she thinks working in the gan comes very naturally to me.

Following volunteering I headed home to hang out for a while. Aarons's bus wasn't going to get into the Tel Aviv Central Bus Station (CBS) until 10 or so.

I wanted to make sure I got there on time, so I caught the 90 bus write down the street from my house. It says it goes to the CBS. There are two CBSs, a new and an old. Well, I guess the driver of the bus decides which one he wants to go to. The one I got on likes the old one. I don't know why though! I got off at the station and thought I was in some bad movie. Everything was really run down and many buildings were stores that I won't describe. Realizing I had a lot of time to kill, and I was in the wrong bus station, I had to get out of that area. I walked about five blocks towards all of the large bank buildings. I was familiar with that area because a few clubs I have been to are there. From there I asked some policewomen where the new station is. They kindly gave me directions and I met up with Aaron and my friend Itamar who also staffed camp with us.

Walking out of CBS I spotted Hannahleah, I girl I had met on the plane to Israel, and her friend. They were walking and I yelled at them like five time and they still didn't hear me. Finally, just to be funny, I went up behind Hannahleah and put my hands firmly on her shoulders. In south Tel Aviv, anywhere really, when you don't know who is putting their hands on you, you freak out. That is just what Hannaleah did. She says she is going to get me back, I don't believe her. Hannahleah and Aaron both live in Arad, so it was funny that they were both in the same place at the same time.

From the CBS we took a bus to Allenby street. We meet up with Allon and hung out with him for a while. Itmar, Aaron, and I were beat so Allon drove us back to my apartment and the three of us crashed.

Day 2, Friday
Aaron and I slept in really late. Itamar left a cute note on the fridge for me because he left before I was up. "Danny, didn't want to wake you up! Thanks for having me over. See you soon!"

On the tenth Itamar and some friends from his army unit are having a party for finishing their service. He invited me and told me to bring a few friends. I look forward to it.

Aaron and I had to decied what to do with our day, after lazing around a bit more. At about 1 we decided to head to the shuk in Tel Aviv. We were going to go to Yafo, but because of shabbous the buses end early, that would limit our time in Yafo. The shuk was fun as always. I bought a kilo of figs that I now munch on all the time. Aaron and I both indulged in some baked goods. As we were walking around we ran into five or six different groups of people from Year Course. Including my friend Daniel, Maddie, and guess who? Hannahleah and her friend Sydney! It's like they were following us. Aaron and I barely caught the last bus back to Holon.

At what was supposed to be 6 and was actually 7, Allon picked us up. He brought us to he apartment in Yehud to have shabbat dinner with his family. Allon has a sister who was the adult staff member for the Tzofim Caravan two years ago. I had actually met her before I had worked with Allon this summer. Anyways, we gave Allon's parents a bottle of wine and a couple pomegranates as a gift for the upcoming holidays. They returned the gift in the form of a delicious meal. Its not that I don't eat in my apartment, but meat and copious amounts of food are rare. It was refreshing to be able to eat past the point of fullness.

We sat and digested for an hour or so. From there Allon dropped me and Aaron off at the beach in Tel Aviv, close to downtown. This was a very very good choice. That night there was another one of those YC parties. They happen like every weekend. Sure they were fun at first, but now its just the same thing over and over. You pay way too much to get into some over crowded, over priced club. Needless to say, Aaron and I wanted to do our own thing. Which we did very successfully.

Day 3, Saturday
Slept really late. It was Shabbous. Its mandatory.

I sleepily stumbled out of my room in my usual sleeping attire (underwear) to acquire sustenance. I open my eyes and see a stranger chilling at my kitchen table eating a bowl of cornflakes. OUR CORNFLAKES! I say "Hello, who are you?" At that moment my roommate Jordan came downstairs from his layer and told me the story. This guy, Ezra, is on YC in Section 1 (currently in Jerusalem) and needed a place to crash for the night. I had no problem with that, but I have a problem with a couple of other thing. First, Jordan didn't ask call us to ask if this guy could come. Second, HE WAS EATING OUR FOOD! It would have been different if we had known he was coming or if Jordan had known him before that night, but whatever its over now.

At around 2 or so, Aaron and I decieded that we were not going to wait for my friends to call us back and we were just going to go where we had planned to without them. My friends, Abby and Lisa, ended up sleeping until like five that night. Our plan was to hit up the coolest park in Holon. We got there, and I am pretty sure that it was the coolest park I have ever seen. Neither of us had a camera, so sorry no pictures. I know I will be back at some point with a camera. This park is crazy! I have never done any kind of drug, but I am pretty sure some of this stuff is straight out of an acid trip. Besides the three story slide (which of course I went down) there are five or six small parks that are all themed after a children's books. I don't even want do write it in detail because words will not do it justice.

We came back to my apartment and just hung out for a while. Abby met us at the bus station and we took Aaron to his bus.

It was great to spend a weekend with someone out side the section, particularly Aaron. Next time we hang out I will go to Arad and do some hiking.

Abby and I really didn't feel like wandering around Tel Aviv, so we got the next bus back to Holon. We went to the square and bought a large container of ice cream and went back to my apartment and split it. It was a sweet end to a great weekend.

Today, Sunday
Volunteering went well. We had a little Shana Tova party consisting of apples, honey, and cake. It was really fun and the kids loved it. The matnas gave me and Hannah gifts! It was very nice of them. It had a note on the inside and three small jars, one had honey in it, the other was pomegranate jam, and the last was an olive oil, honey, and lemon cooking sauce.

Straight from volunteering I head for a mandatory volunteer training program. It was not so bad. Good ideas were thrown around and experiences were shared.

I checked our online bank account for our apartment today. We ended up having $350 dollars left over! It ended up being 200 shekel a person between the 6 of us. That is really good considering the fact that a couple of the apartments of other YCers ran out of money almost two weeks ago.

Around 5 today I took Jared to the doctor. His tonsils are huge. I knew for sure he needed antibiotics, which is exactly what the doctor gave him. He should be getting better in a couple days. I feel bad for him having this over the holiday.

Tonight Aviel and I made a great dinner consisting of animal shaped shnizel (that's right it was on sale), some cucumber and tomato salad, sauteed zucchini, bread, and hummus. It was affordable and delicious. For dessert I thought we could mix it up a little bit. I have heard figs taste really good cook, and we still had a bunch in the fridge from when I bought them at the shuk.
This is how we prepared them:
1) Wash Figs, remove stems, and slice in half
2) In a non-stick frying pan, heat 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil to a medium high heat
3) Place figs cut side down and allow to caramelize, about 2-4 minutes
4) EAT!

(Excuse the poor image quality. My camera is out of batteries and my webcam is not the greatest.)

Daniella came over after dinner and the three of us walked to the park that I went with Aaron on Shabbat. It was much different at night. Still really cool. When Daniella puts pictures up on facebook I will steal them and put them up.

Tomorrow
Heading to Kfar Saba to spend Rosh Hashana with the family!

Super Post!

It has been almost two weeks and I have managed to not write until now. Its a little more difficult to keep up with this than I thought it would be. Between volunteering, taking care of basic human needs (laundry, food, cleaning, etc.), ulpan, activities, and a social life my days are pretty packed. In the entry I will attempt to go day by day, like the last one, and describe what happened each day. It has been a while, so I am sure I will miss some information. Since this is such a long post I have titled it "Super Post!" It will most likely take you a couple of sittings to read it, but please enjoy!

Sunday 9/14
A fairly uneventful day. Aviel and I cleaned a lot to get ready for the Mifgash Dira the next day. It was difficult to get the rest of the roommates to help. I'm pretty sure I stayed in that night.

Monday 9/15
Volunteered at the matnas in the morning and went to ulpan in the afternoon. At around six our madricha Yaara came to our apartment to do the weekly check (Mifgash Dira). She said it wasn't clean enough. I'm not going to get into how I disagree with that, anyways, she gave us an hour to clean and she would be back. Realizing we had no food at all, the six of us in the apartment split into two groups: three of us would stay and clean, the other three would go to the store and get food. I am in charge of the debit card for the apartment, so I went shopping. We ended up getting about 550 skekel worth of food ($157). Yaara came back to check again and was a little upset when she came back and only found half of us in the apartment.

We got back from shopping and I had about fourty-five minutes to shove food in my mouth and head out the door for the a siyur.

This siyur was really cool. We left Holon at about nine and drove south into the Negev. We spent a few hours of the night hiking under the full moon. The location of the hike was Nachal Havarim. The Negev is grorgous, but even more intense under a full moon. At one point we got to a dried river bed, more of a slim canyon, and we each hiked through it individually. It was almost errie how the rocks were smooth with all kinds of curves. It was unbelivable. We finished the hike around 3:30 A.M. and got back to holon around 5.

Tuesday 9/16
Since we got back so late/early last night, I slept in until about 11. It was nice and refreshing. I spent most of the day hanging out and getting some much needed relaxtion.

The day before my friend Or had given me a call with an offer I couldn't resist. Or is one of the seven Tzofim (Israeli Scouts) living with us in the Holon. Normally, since they are 18, they would be going into the IDF. Or and the seven other Tzofim, Aviel my roommate is one as well, are doing what is called Shnat Sherut (Service Year). Back to the offer Or made me. Or and I had spent a good part of the hike the night before talking about the difference between Boy Scouts in America and the Tzofim. He said I would really have to experiance it to understand the Tzofim. Thus, he invited me to the first Peulah (program) of his Shevet (tribe) in Tel Aviv.

It was like nothing I had every seen!

The name of the Shevet is Horesh. They are one of the oldest Shevetim in all of Israel. They are located in the central park of Tel Aviv. I had actually seen their building two years ago when I stayed across the street at the Munich Youth Hostel. I had no clue what that strange fenced off green building was then.


There were a total of 610 scouts there! That is more than the amount of people that go to national YJ conventions. The ages go from 4th-12th grade. In the Tzofim, as you enter into High School you start to become the leaders of the Shevet. Just like Young Judaea, Tzofim is peer lead. My friend Or was director of Horesh his senior year of High School. He was discribing to me how it was his entire life last year.

This was one of the many paintings on the buildings in the Horesh complex. Ten points to anyone who knows why I think this one is so funny.

This is me and my friend Or standing in front a large structure built by the shevet.

I thought I would get a picture with one of the scouts there.

After visting the tribe I discussed with Or why the Tzofim is so sucessful in Israel. I have come up with a few reasons:
1) CO-ED: The only scouting left in the world to not be both boys and girls in one group is the American scouts. Co-ed scouting is a great way of getting people to keep coming back. I know its primative, but it also creates a very good social life. Most of Or's closest friends are those from his Shevet. I believe his last girlfriend was even from his shevet. When we were at the peulah what seemed like hundreds of people came up to Or to say hello and give him a hug.
2) Regularity: Most shevetim meet twice a week. This creates a constant vibe of Scouting and also goes along with the previous point.
3) Facilities and Funding: Most tribes have the one facilities. This way they are selfsustaining. They raise money with a snack bar they keep open before and after every peulah, they also collect cans and bottles to earn money through recycling, and the goverment of Israel provides some funding.
4) Pride: Each shevet has unique name (not number), mascot, and logo. Along with all of this they have crazy cheers. Dozens of them. When all of the tribes gather once a year in the summer a little competition begins. All of the things mentioned go right in to the pride each member has for his or her tribe. At the gathering each shevet builds ridiculous structures made out lumber that has been lashed together. Each shevet has a different theme. Horesh has been known to be one of the best builders in the nation.

The ideals behind the Tzofim are very similar to those of YJ. Peer Leadership, Zionism, Democracy, just to name a few. I really wished I had been a part of the Tzofim. It is the perfect mix of the outdoor scouting and Israel. Two things I care deeply about.

At around 7 Or and I left with his friend from the tribe to get some dinner. Or's friend works at and ice cream place. Guess what I had for dinner? About a half liter of FREE ICE CREAM!

We then some how manged to get out of our chairs and meet a the group from YC at a jazz club. I was really excited to see some jazz, turns out it was a rock band that just covered a bunch of american music. It was fun, but I could have done that in the states. I was a tad dissapointed.
One of the YC boys got up on stage and sang along.


Wednesday 9/17
Volunteering went as usual. The kids are cute and entertaining, my hebrew improves, and I get fed :)

That night I went to Young Judaea was given 1000 free tickets to the Israel vs. Chek Republic basketball game. It was fun to cheer them on and get into it. I actually went down at the last quarter and sat with the hardcore fans. I also met up with my friends Allon, who I have mentioned earlier in this blog, and Nir. They both are madrichim for Year Course and all of us were madrichim at camp this summer.


The usual large group of us left the game and headed for the harbor in Tel Aviv. The harbor sits in the norther part of the city, and for some reason, things are way overpriced. I was looking around for an hour and half trying to find a cheap place to eat. Never found one. I dropped way too much money on dinner that night.

Allon called me a little after dinner. He picked me up and we went and hung out in Tel Aviv for a little bit.


Thursday 9/18
Volunteering and Ulpan. In ulpan we are basically learning vocab. Its tiring, but I'm getting it.

Aviel's birthday was actually on Friday, but since I was leaving and the party was that night we through him a little surprise. The other Tzofim told him to be ready to leave at 8:30. As he got in the shower I ran down the street and bought a couple of cakes. Scott and Jordan kept him distracted once he was out of the shower. As I was walking up the stairs to the apartment Aviel called me and I hung up. I busted open that door and we all sang Yom Huledetz. About ten minutes later all of the Tzofim came with another cake. It was good timing.

Besides Aviel, there were a few other birthdays in our section. Naturally we had to celebrate. Tel Aviv (that is her name, she is one of the Tzofim) has hook ups all over the city of Tel Aviv. She had a deal worked out with this club called Stella's. We got there and the place was PACKED. Myself and about 50 other Year Course boys had to wait about an hour before we were let in. Girls always get in, and for free.

I cheated this system and got in free...

My friend Jesse had just came out of the club to say hello to the suckers, like me, out there waiting. He had just gotten his arm marked so he could get let back into the club. I quickly grabbed that very arm and pressed my arm against it. This left a perfect mark on my arm allowing me to enter into the club without having to pay. Yes, in a way it is kind of like stealing, but that place made more than their share of money that night and I didn't feel like contributing.

Friday-Saturday 9/19-20
Best weekend so far. Hands down.

A group of fourteen of us went to Nachalat Yehudia.

We left from Holon about noon on Friday and caught a bus to the trainstation in Tel Aviv. From there we just barely caught the train to the north. We got off the train and Ithai's father and sister met us at the station, Ithai's father had done us the favor of going to the market and getting our food for the weekend. It ended up being pretty cheap and we each payed him 35 shekel ($10). Ithai's sister was on break for the weekend from her service in the army, so she was still in her uniform when we met her. Threeteen eighteen year-old boys meet an attractive Israeli woman in an army uniform. I'm sure you can imagine much of the conversation that weekend,

To get from the train station to the reservation Ithai had a really good hook up with an Arab cab driver. His name was Jackie and his fourteen passanger van was perfect for squeezing us in with all of our gear. The stereo in the van was also perfect for blasting Mizrachi and club music. It made the couple hours drive very interesting.

We arrived at the campsite a little later than planned. So for the remander of the day we had a campfire, eat some food, and just had general male bonding time. We met a group of brits who were there in Israel for a couple of weeks. We talked to them for a while and when their ride didn't show up on time we scraped together some food for them. That night we slept under these giant tent structures set up by the reservation. The moon that night was a gaint orange wonder. I stared at it for a good half hour.

We woke up bright and early and packed up camp. We started to eat our cereal......cereal? What happened to the cereal?! Some how it went missing. A large group camping next to us had plenty of left over food and offered it to us. Very nice of them.

Now the best part, the hike. It was purely amazing. It's not a very long hike, but it took us all day because we messed around at every avaliable point. I think I will stop writing, and let the pictures speak for themselves.


For more pictures check out the online album.
(WARNING! Many many shirtless men in the nature! Do not enjoy too much.)

Sunday 9/21
I went to volunteering and spent of the rest of the day relaxing. That night we went to a bowling alley. On the way back we saw a bakery with its fresh bread cooling. They offered it to us for 2 shekel a small loaf. SO CHEAP! and it was amazing fresh bread.

Monday 9/22
This day was a little crazy. Masa, an organization that provides many resources to programs like Year Course, had its delegation visit our program. I was chosen to represent the Young Judaeans of the program. My friend Oliver represented FZY, Tamara represented the Tzofim, and Shira represented the speciatly arts track. I had to leave volunteering early so I could meet everyone. We spent about an hour talking about our program. Then I went with the whole group to visit a few different sites where people in our section volunteer. Afterwards a few members of the delegation came to my apartment and feed us pizza while talking to us about our different backgrounds and experiances we are having in Israel.

Once the delgation left my roommates and I had about thirty seconds to grab our stuff and catch the bus to Ulpan. Following ulpan I stayed for my first class of service learning. Its a college class where we spend the first half talking about volunteering, the problems we encounter with it, and the rewards we are seeing. The second half of the class we talk philosophy. This weeks topic was a quote by Plato something like "Is what the gods do good because they are gods, or is good already defined and they are mearly following it." The debate was not what the instructer had planned. It turned into this whole battle about the torah being the word of G-d or not. I wished some of the other kids in the class would have been a little more open minded. Because of the class I missed my apartment check with Yaara, but it was ok cause I was in a class.

I didn't do anything that night. I was way too exhausted from the whole day.

Tuesday 9/23 SIYUR DAY!
This weeks Siyur was at Mizpeh Nisoa. A short hike of about 3 kilometers. At the end was a system of caves carved out around the time of the second temple. They were used as hideout shelters against the roman army. Very cool and very fun.

The night Masa had it opening event for us in Bat Yam. They talked to the whole group of participants about what Masa is and why it was established.

I was one of about twenty five people who stayed afterwards to see Tal Brody. I honestly didn't know too much about him before he talked to us. It was a once in a lifetime experiance. Brody was your regular All American high school basketball player from New Jersey and attended University of Illinois. After a crazy chain of events that makes for a great story, Brody became the captain of Macabi Tel Aviv and lead them, and the rest of the country, to Israel's first European Basketball championship.

I walked back to Holon from Bat Yam with a few people. We went to the square and hung out for a couple of hours. I left early to get some sleep. I had been feeling a little under the weather.

Wednesday 9/25
Today was pretty good day. I woke up feeling not the best. I made it through volunteering. From there I went to a lunch and learn. I was a good twenty minutes late because the bus didn't come for a significant amount of time, but there was still pizza left for me. I ended up eating five pieces even though I get fed quite a bit at my volunteering. Enough about the food, more about the learning. The speaker was Michael Freeman. He is some big wig in FZY. I'm not sure of his title because I missed hearing it. Michael spoke about many subjects. The first, and largest, was the workings of the Israeli goverment and the current situation. I will try and explain.

Basically:
-The Knesset (Israeli Parilment) consist of 116 seats
-Each political party is given so many seats depending on the size of the party
-When enough parties join together to form a clear majority, only then can a goverment function and begin process. For this reason, small parties have a large about of power. There is a perfect example of this going on currently. The Kadima party only has 29 seats (I hope my information is correct, I am doing this all from memory) in order to form a clear majority Kadima will try to convince other parties to join them. This means that when smaller parties want to join they will make demands, and the larger parties will meet them so that they can acquire enought seats.

The topic of how the working of the Knesst brought Michael to his next topic. Currently the leader of the Likud party(another large political party), Benjamin Netanyahu, made a very very bold statement regarding Israel's greatest threat: Iran, in particular the president of Iran, the wonderful Mahomoud Ahmadinejad (look he has a blog! Maybe we can be blog buddies! Although I doubt he really writes this crap.) Netanyahu said this: "Hitler went out on global campaign first, and then tried to get nuclear weapons. Iran is trying to get nuclear arms first - therefore it is much more dangerous"

If you were unaware, Mr. Ahmadinejad has said several times that he plans on wiping Israel of the map. He also has said that Holocast never happned.

Iran will have nuclear weapons avaliable in a year to a year and half.

Michael put forth a charge to all of us: DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! Israel is our home for the next year, and for many of us will always be home. There is no way we can let a 21st century Hitler happen. We said "Never Again" let's say it like we mean it. Matter of fact, don't just say it: live it.

Netanyahu has also suggested that Israel form an emergency unity goverment. This is for a different reason than Iran, this is because of Hamas. Hamas controls the Gaza Strip. Right now, until November or so, there is a calm between Hamas and the IDF. Meaning that the IDF is not pushing into the stip and Hamas is not firing rockets. We all know that Hamas is just using this time to resupply and grow stornger. Netanyahu wants to set up this goverment so that when November comes around and tensions flare we will be prepared. I happen to agree with him.

Michael finished the talk lecture saying that we should really enjoy and take in the next couple weeks as we enter the holidays of Rosh HaShana, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot. They are celebrated so much differently in Israel. Look for future posts on that.

After the really intense lecture, and scrouging all the pizza I could, I came back to the apartment and slept for a good three hours. Much needed. I felt 100% better. Yali came over to our aparment to cook something for the Tzofim dinner that night. I made a dinner for me and Aaron consisting of potatos and some jungle animal shaped shnizle. Gotta love sales and living on a budget! After dinner I met with my friend Daniella and we had some ice cream. It turned out to be a very long and intresting conversation covering all kinds of subjects.

In the next week....
This weekend I am just hanging out in Holon. I really feel like just relaxing and hanging around. Maybe go to the beach. I really want to go find a cheap bike. I miss my bike the most of anything at home. I hope you are treating her well Andrew. Make sure to lube the chain, she needs it every 30-40 miles.

Next post I won't wait for it to pile up on me like this. I apologize for making it so long, but I really do want to keep you all updated on what is going on here in the wonderful land of the Israel. Please don't be shy about leaving comments or writing me emails. I really enjoy reading them. thesiegeld@yahoo.com

Israel......I'm lovin' it!

This last week has been, to put it mildly, absolutely superbly GREAT!

I will catch you up from after my adventures in Yafo.

Wednesday
I started my volunteering! I mentioned a couple post back about the assignment. The volunteering takes place in a community center. The bus ride was very simple and takes us pretty much right there. I started working in the preschool they have there. It is not an age group I am used to yet, but the kids are cute. I learned so much hebrew in the just the first day with the kids. One of them was pointing out animals and telling me the names. The ladies that work the day care and the office of the Matnas (community center) are super nice.

After volunteering Jared and I stopped by the market to pick up some food because we invited some people over for dinner. We bought a kilo and a half of chicken on sale. When we got home Jared prepped it with some olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, and parsley. I plated some olives and pickles, and Aviel fixed up the humus. We were trying to figure out how we were going to have enough room for 13 people. We then looked and found out or table has two built in leafs. So it ends up being like 12 feet long! I swear we got the best apartment. So, we had plenty of room, just not enough chairs and silverware. We found some plastic wear and used some trashcans a stools. It was a great time.


After dinner we then watched part of Super Troopers and headed to a club that was having a fundraiser for an organization called Players For Peace. We took a bus that dropped us right off Rabin Square. I thought that since we were so close we might as well stop and look at the memorial. Pay so respect. The rest of the group thought it was a good idea. A few of the guys had no clue about the situation that occured there. Being the Zionist freak that I am, I kinda gave them a small lecture about how amazing a person Yitzhak Rabin was and the event of his assassination.

OH! I almost forgot. As we began to cross the street into the square the guys behind us must have overheard us talking or something. Turns our these guys were on Year Course ten years ago! We chatted a while about things. They wished us good luck. Somehow we manged to not get their names, but maybe it was meant to be that way. Someone has a picture, I need to find it.

Look! I found the picture!

Following our tour of Rabin Square we eventually found the club we were looking for. The fundraiser was a total bust. Everyone was talking about going. We show up, and there are literally only 5 people there. I was fairly bitter that people ditched for a different club. It was a fundraiser for a great cause and ended up being a total bust. Our group ended up just walking down the beach and caught a cab home fairly early.

Thursday
Woke up and caught the bus to volunteering. I am so lucky to be working in such a hospitable place. They feed us and provide coffee everyday. It is nice not to have to cook or spend more money. After volunteering I went home for an hour or so. I went to catch the bus with some others to Ulpan and we ended up getting off way to late. I had to be at Ulpan at 2:15, it was 2. I weighed my options and decided to split a cab with another person so we wouldn't be late. It worked out just fine.

Ulpan is going good. My teacher is great and answers any question we have. I know I am improving. I try to talk hebrew with as many Israeli's as I can. They usually apperciate it but realize how bad it is and start talking in english. Hey, at least I'm making an effort.

That night a bunch of us, practically every person on year course from all over Israel, went to a club called Johny K's. It was Ben Samuel's birthday, so we ended up getting a deal on the entry. It was great to see everybody. I ran into my friend Aaron. He is living in Arad right now and volunteering in Ein Gedi. He also is keeping a blog. Although it was nice to see him and all my other friends in different areas, I think I'm done with the whole clubbing thing for a while. It's fun, but more fun on occasion as opposed to every weekend. Plus, I like going to sleep before 3 and that is not really possible when everyone doesn't start leaving until 2:30.

Friday
Wow! This day was great. One of the best I have had so far.

I woke up about 11 or so. Much needed after the night before.

At 1:30 my roommate Scott and I met up with Becca, Coreen, Rachel, and Daniella. We all took the 129 bus into Tel Aviv. The bus runs down Allenby Street in Tel Aviv, the main street. We got off at Shuk HaCarmel and Nachalat Binyamin. These two shukim are very famous. There is tons of great art, food, and music. Click on the Hyperlinks above to read more about them.
(For those of you older then 35, that Hyperlink means that the words that are underlined and in a different color actually take you to another webpage! I know! The internet is CrAzY!)

Scott and I instinctively headed towards the food. Fruit and baked goods are so cheap at the shuk. I could walk around for hours paying a shekel to try all kinds of food you can't get in the U.S. And fresh pita is one of the best things in the world. Walking through a shuk is one of the best ways to experiance Israeli culture. Everyone is cramped in an increadably small area with smells of exotic and delicious food everywhere. People are arguing about the price of things, but in the most friendly way possible. Every five stands someone is blasting some crazy loud mizrachi music while people walking past begin clapping and dancing along. I helped out in that department. You can hear people talking about politics, people they know, and events that are going on. Although it is really crowded, I never felt uncomfortable. Never once did I feel like I would get pick pocketed. The people walking around were so nice. If you bumped into some one you say "Slicha" they smile and keep walking.

There was also this cool circus like proformer at the end of the Shuk.


He took someones cellphone in the middle of the show and talked to their mom. Good times. Not even five meters from him an elderly couple were selling fresh made lafa with olive oil, goat cheese spread, and zakar(spices). Of course I had to get one.


Once we had exhausted the shuk, Scott and I began walking to meet the girls. These two random guys sitting outside a restaurant heard Scott and I talking as we walked past. This is how the conversation started:
"Are you guys together? (in hebrew)"
me: "No we are not gay (in hebrew)"
"No, not what I meant. But you are American are you not?"
"Yeah, we are hear for the year volunteering and studying. We are roommmates."
"Well great! Sit down and talk for a little."

Scott and I looked sideways at each other for a second. Normally, you shouldnt't do such things as sit down and talk to random people on the street, but I like to have a little more trust in human nature than to think that everyone is a creep trying to get something from you. So, I sat down. These guys were really nice. They are both about mid-thirties with a wives and kids. One of them is a police officer in Holon where we live, and the other just moved here from Berlin. We didn't exchange any crucial information and we were in a very public place, so it was a perfectly safe conversation. I know that there are plenty of nice people like this in the world, it is just that all the creeps that pretend to be nice ruin that chance of spontaneous conversation for the rest of the human race.

The girls finally caught up with Scott and I. Becca and Coreen decided to head back to Holon. Daniella, Rachel, Scott, and I head towards the beach. It was perfect. A little chill in the air, warm water, wonderful sunset, and not too crowded. We had dinner consisting of a can of tuna and pita bought from the shuk.

We all came back to my apartment and watched Old School while we dozed off. A wonderful end to a practically perfect day.

The Shuk is open on tuesday. Is it also a concidence that I have a free day that day too? I looking forward to a repeat.

Saturday
Earlier in the week, Meytal the director of volunteering at the community center, asked if Hannah and I would join the group in a siyur to Jerusalem. She figured since we both volunteer there it will be good to meet some of the families. The siyur took us to a very popular hiking and biking park in the Judean Hill (I'm blanking on the name) and then to Ein Karem. I had been to the first place before when I was in Israel summer '06, but I did see some new things. Most significant was that fig trees and sabra catuses. Both were ripe and read to eat. I really like fresh figs. When I go to the shuk I will pick some up, there were 8 shekel a kilo when I looked on Friday. You can't get fresh, local grown, fruit that cheap in the states. Just another reason I love Israel.

For some reason I am hungry and can't think of anything besides amazing fruit. Back on subject now.

Where I will continue to talk about food.

So the siyur had ended and Danny, Meytal's boyfriend, was really hungry, as was I. Throughout the day Danny and I had been discussing the Pros and Cons of Israel amongst other things. He had mentioned this restaurant in Abu Gosh and since it is on the way between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem he treated us to an early dinner. The food was great. It was a textbook example of Arab food: salad, chips(what Americans call frech fries), felafel, lots of pita, and of course the hummus. THE HUMMUS! It was great. Every Israeli has his/her favorite place to get hummus and for me this is defiantly up there.

When I was about to pop I was so full, our waiter gave us each a free cup of Turkish coffee. Another one of my personal favorites. Danny and Meytal asked for some baklava, but the restaurant was out. They insisted on stopping and buying some anyways. MMMMM that was tasty. Food is on the top ten list of why people should come to Israel. Matter of fact, its on the top three.

Meytal and Danny, thank you so much for taking Hannah and me along and not letting us pay for a thing. You are welcome to my place anytime and I am sure if you were ever around where my family lives in the states, they would be more then happy to feed you.

I just got back from hanging out at the beach for about an hour. Most people stuck around. I was tired and left with Abby and Lisa (look you are in my blog!). We actually managed to catch a bus.

Tomorrow
Volunteering

Laundry

Here in Yafo (Po B'Yafo)פו ביפו

Before you can read this entry properly, you must first begin playing the youtube video below. It is the song Po B'Yafo by Shotei Ha'Nevua.



Now that you have the correct musical atmosphere, let me begin.

Yesterday I went on a Siyur (tour) with about 70 other people. We went to the city of Yafo, or Jaffa in Arabic. The city, like much of Israel, is rich in history. Yafo was the main port of Israel since biblical times, and still was until the modern port of Haifa came to be. For more insight on the history check out the Wikipedia Page on Yafo.

My first Yaffo Experience was great.



We spent the first about an hour and half seeing the old city as a group. Then we were given about a hour to wander around and explore the shuk (market).



The night before the siyur I met up with Yael, who used to be the Shaliach for South Bend, Indiana. I told her I was going to Yafo the next day and asked her for any suggestions. Yael and her friend both immediately said "אבולעפ'ה" (abolahfia). It is a bakery right as you get into Yafo. There they have amazing bagels, not American bagels, and this great stuff called "םחלב". It is a sweet white pudding. When you purchase it the clerk adds a layer of rose water on the top and you add crushed almonds and coconut. THIS STUFF IS AMAZING! It cost SHEVA shekel (7), which translates to about two dollars. A must do in Yafo.

At the infamous shuk I got my introduction into the art of haggling. I ended up talking this jerk of a guy down more then fifty percent on a backgammon board.

After exploring the shuk, human nature, and exotic treats, the group meet up for a lunch provided by the our program. Now usually the phrase "lunch provided" translates to: "crappy sandwiches." Yesterday's provided lunch was defiantly on the contrary. We ate at a resturant called Dr. Shakshouka. I have a new found love for shakshouka. If you have never had shakshouka, or are scared to try it. Don't be. Shakshouka is centuries old, which means it has to be good.This is a picture of me and my friend Gil enjoying our succulent shakshouka. (Shakshouka is a fun word to say!)

After a satisfying lunch, Gil, Becca, and I decided we HAD to take advantage of the fact that we were two blocks from the beach. So, the three of us walked down to the beach. Gil and I swam in our underwear because we didnt have swimsuits, and Becca took a nap. It was great to break away from the large group and just relax in a less stressful setting.

I can't wait to go back to Yafo, the bus from Holon is fast and free! Next time I want to go in the evening. The city seems beautiful during the day, it must be stunning at dusk.

First Week in Israel

I have been in this amazing place a whole week and I am just now managing to write.

The last week has been very busy. My group arrived in Ben-Gurion Airport over the course of last Sunday. As we went to leave we all got a wonderful taste of Israeli society. We witnessed our first strike! The luggage handlers went on strike for about an hour, so we were delayed a little.
Eventually we got our stuff. We all then split up to our various locations around Israel. I got to my apartment in Holon and met my roommates. There are six of us living in our apartment. From the American side of the Atlantic there is Jared, Aaron, Scott, and myself. I have known Jared and Aaron for a while through YJ and Scott is a cool guy from the Bay Area in California. We have a Brit in our apartment as well, his name is Jordan. The last person to make up our crew is Aviel. He is a member of the Israeli Scouts (Tzofim) and will live in Holon the whole year. We all get a long very well and generally like hanging out with each other.

Our apartment is surprisingly nice. We live in the poorer side of Holon because we are volunteering and living among the people. As a result, most people on our program have less then wonderful apartments. All of them are livable, but for most of the participants its a large step down from where they live back in the states. Our apartment got the luck of the draw. We have air conditioning, appliances that work, a second floor with a couple extra rooms, and decent furniture. Aviels parents also brought a TV and some extra things for the kitchen. Aaron managed to pack a Gamecube in his luggage and we have been playing Super Smash Brothers whenever we have some down time. Granted our apartment is a little run down, it feels like home and it is still very comfortable.

This last week has been Orientation. We spent most of the days learning about the city we are living in, the places we are volunteering, and how to deal with situations in the apartment and life in general in Israel. Last Wednesday our whole section, about 200 people, went on a Tiyul (camp out). The Tiyul started in a park in Tel Aviv where we did team building exercises. We slept there for the night under a Pseudo Bedouin tent. In the morning we got on buses and went to Ein Gedi nature reserve. I had been there before, but it was still fun to take a dip in the pools. From Ein Gedi we went to Jerusalem to see The Kotel (The Western/Wailing Wall). Following the visit we went to a park for dinner and shoomzing around. A group of us frisbee freaks played some light-up frisbee. Great Fun.

The night life in Israel is great as expected. In the last week, besides last night, I had not gone to bed before 1. There is always something going on! The highlight was Saturday night. After we did havdallah as a group, about fifty of us left for Ramat Gan to see Israel vs. Switzerland. The even though we were late, the game was still intense. Israel was down two in the last five minutes and manged to tie it up. Being surrounded by thousands of Israelis and chanting along with them was something surreal.

After the game, we headed to a club in Tel Aviv. One of the scouts in our section has connections and manged to get every single on of us in. For my first club experience, it was a lot of fun. I won't be clubbing every weekend, but it was a great experience.

Last night a small group of us went to Bat Yam, the neighboring city, and sat on the beach for a couple of hours. I called my friend Allon, who I worked with all summer at camp, and he came and hung out with us. Its a little strange that he worked with me all summer, and now he is a counselor for another section of the program and could potentially be my counselor in 6 months. It really isn't too weird. The relationship between madrichim (counselors) and chanichim (participants) on Year Course is much different then that of camp. Here it acceptable to be friends with your madrichim. Many of my fellow participants felt a little weird around Allon last night once they learned he was a madrich, but they realized it was fine and let down their guard.

Yesterday we got our volunteering assignments. I will be working in a community center called Neiv Arazim. (Arazim 2008!!!!!) I am really excited to get into a routine and have things be less like a camp kind of atmosphere. Because for the last week, that is what it has really felt like.

Everyday I spend here in Israel opens my eyes more. I learn at least a dozen things everyday that I didn't know or experience before in my life. I have learned how to haggle with cab drives, how shabbat works in Israel, how nice some Israelis can be, and at the same time how rude some can be, how to cross the street without being plowed by a car or any other motorized vehicle, etc. Just world full of new things. I am so happy to be in Israel and learning. This year promises to be a memorable one.

Here are some pictures of the last week:

Here Are my roommates! From Left to Right: Jared, Aaron, Aviel, Scott, and Jordan

Me at the waterfall in Ein Gedi
Bonnie, Zach, Seth, and Me in Jerusalem. The four of us are all in the same section.