The Adventures of Daniel Siegel

Keep on Rockin' in the Free World

2009-02-28T02:18:00.000-08:00

The section in Jerusalem ended. Its rather bitter sweet. I am happy to be finished with classes. A lot less stress, but I am going to miss the learning. I was ready to move out of the apartments. It was fun, but a little too crazy for me at times.

We got "kicked" out of the apartments on Wednesday. We don't have to be back in Jerusalem until this coming wednesday. I love having free time. It gives me a great opportunity to go see more things. Thursday night I went to David's apartment and just hung out. I was good to see everyone again. Congrats on the honors program David!!!
Yesterday morning I took a bus to Kfar Sava to see the family again. Traveling kinda sucked. Its been raining non-stop for a while now. Its good in the sense the Israel needs the water, but bad that it is coming all at once.
I love being in Kfar Sava. Its really too bad I don't get here more often. My family here is awesome. Its kinda a full house here becaue my younger cousins are staying here at Hiam and Rachel's apartment too because their parents are out of town. I didn't mind sleeping on the couch.
Being here also improves my hebrew. Sure they speak english, but I am not embaressed to make mistakes in Hebrew around them. Matter of fact, we laugh about it.

Sunday I am going to Eilat! I am not excited so much about the city, its only so so, but I am excited about the hike we are doing and the people I am going with. More about that after the break.

Wednesday I move into Arad for my last section! I am so excited. There are only eight of us, three boys and five girls, moving down to Arad. A great group of people. I am looking forward to a more intimate and meaningful experience.

I need to write an entry on the future of YJ. There is a lot of buzz and a lot of emails and letters being thrown around. It will be up in the next couple weeks.

I'm gonna go play some dominos with Guy. Peace.

If Only It Could Be Like This Every Weekend

2009-02-15T03:04:00.000-08:00

The last couple of weekends have been some of the best I have ever had in my life. I went to new places, learned new things, and had great company. It doesn't get too much better.

The weekend before this last weekend (Feb 6-8) was one to go down in history. It all started with an idea of a males only weekend. It sounds horribly sexist, but we men need to be manly sometimes. We gave in the name "Weekman". It is supposed to sound like "Weekend", but in reality makes us all look like panzies. Anyways, the normal crew of guys I hang out with currently live in Bat Yam/Holon. It made more sense for me to meet them there instead of our final destination which you will hear about in a minute. I showed up to BY on Thursday night and was invited to dinner at Tal's apartment with my friends. Tal is the fixer upper of the apartments owned by YC in Bat Yam and Holon. He is originally from New York. A super nice guy. As a way of improving our hebrew, we all tried to talk as much as possible in Hebrew. A really good tool for impoving conversational skills. Afterwards we watched the movie "The Impossible Spy". It's an old movie, but I highly recommended it.

Friday moring we headed out to our destination: Tiberius. A town located on the eastern side of the Kinneret. Our plan went off without hitch. Well, that's because, the plan was pretty fluid.

We got to Tiberus, it was a beutiful day. We were all hungry and decided to find some place to eat. Things were starting to close because of Shabbat, but we found the place. The perfect place. It was your usual hummus joint run by an old lady. We were the only customers, 8 hungry boys...sorry....men. It was like hiring a mom for two hours. She actually went down the street and picked up fresh groceries because she was out of ingredients. We couldn't have been more satisfied walking out of there.

Afterwards we were looking for a place to make some coffee with my newly purchased equipment (stove, pot, good coffee, and perfect little glasses). We start walking to what looks like some strange metal structure. Upon arrival we realize its non other than Rambam's Tomb. A very cool find.

At this point our friend Dan arrives at the central bus station just a few blocks away. We meet him and then initiate the second part of the plan: find a place to camp. I was "unoffically" told by some people that it is totally feasible to just walk along the beach until we find a place to camp. It worked out perfectly. Our manly group paraded out of Tiberus about half an hour worth of walking and found a little place on the beach to camp. Set up camp, built a nice fire, and ate some dinner. Later we were joined by a group of Israels. Some high school kids. The cops came to check things out. They didn't even talk to us. They didn't even care that we were there. That would never fly in the states.

We woke up the next morning for the most epic day. We hiked back into Tiberus and dropped off our stuff and rented our bikes. The mission: to circumnavigate the Kinnert, a 60 kilometer trip. Mission Sucessful! It was hard, but a lot of fun.

View Larger Map

I hadn't done a ride that hard in a long time. Matter of fact, I haven't been doing much riding at all in Israel for the simple fact of not owning a bike. I really miss it. None the less, the ride was refreshing, sencnic and challenging.

The bus ride back from the Tiberus to Jerusalem was surprisgly short. I got on the bus and immediatly feel a sleep. Woke up two hours later while pulling into Jerusalem. I was back in my apartment by around 11 pm.

The next weekend was not nearly as manly, but very relaxing....and religious.
My friend Tehilla from camp invited Sali, Aaron, and me over for Shabbat. We all worked at camp togther, have seen each other on seperate occasions while in Israel, but have never had the chance to spend quality time together.

I met Sali in the central bus station in Jerusalem and from there we headed to Rehovot. In short, we spent the weekend hanging out, playing board games, and enjoying each other's company. Tehilla and her family are a lot more religous than I am. Being a guest in their house I observed the laws for shabbat with them and went to synagoge as well. I don't normally keep the shabbat, but every now in then I find it very comforting and relaxing, espically with good friends. The food was also a great plus. I love homecooked meals, and Tehilla's Mom is a great cook. I look forward to going back at least once before I leave in June.

Sali and I got back to Jerusalem fairly early. She always mets her friends at the Western Wall after every Shabbat. I walked with her there since I really didn't have any thing to do. It was a nice half hour walk. We had a really good conversation. I'm happy she is coming back to Midwest this summer. Maybe the same Aidah again Sali?

Election Time

2009-02-11T08:08:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was National Israeli Elections. To celebrate I went and voted. And by voted, I mean watched my madrich vote. Since I am not a citzen here.

You think politics in the US is crazy? You haven't anything.
The Israeli Government works like the Parliament of England. Anyone can have a political party here. The Knesset (Israel's Parliament) is composed of 120 seats. The more votes a party gets, the more seats it gets. In order to form a government a group of 61 or more seats needs to be formed. Now, obviously, no one party ever gets all the required seats. As a result parties must join together to form a "coalition". At the point of having 61 or more seats, the coalition will then make a government. Here is how the elections went:

For the last couple of months, in particular the last couple weeks, parties have been putting ridiculous propaganda all over the country. Some of it is just ridiculous.

This is a spoff off of ObamaGirl in support of Tzipi Livni.

This is a prime example of how silly politics here can be. Likud, the party opposing Livni's, took her video and put the head of Nasralla on LiviniBoy.

I thought I would take my own spin on the ridiculousness. I went to google and found some pictures of party leaders.

With the Likud party: Bibi Netanyahu

Israel Beitanu: Avigdor Lieberman

Avodah(Labor): Ehud Barak
Kadima: Tzipi Livini

Although he is not the political leader, he is the spiritual leader of the Shas Party: Rabbi Yosef

It's time like these that I wished Celebrity Deathmatch existed in Israel. In all honesty, it doesn't even need to. These guys nag at each other like five year old children. I would just have to be in clay animation.

On a more serious note: where does the country go now? Well, now a coalition has to be formed. Likud looks like it is going to pull more parties in with it. With a mix of parties, and everyone wanted something more, will anything actually get done in the goverment, or will it be just like that last one, and not effectivly do anything? We can only watch. Here are a few articles to check out about the elections:

Kadima wins, but rightist bloc biggest

Netanyahu declares: I will be next PM

HOW THEY VOTED: See Israel election results by city/sector

There are other things going on in Israel as well. They are worth "Checking Out".

Thinking Really Hard

2009-02-02T14:25:00.000-08:00

For some reason, today is an exceptionally warm day in Jerusalem. I think it is around the 60’s or something crazy like that. It would be a good opportunity to get outside and do something. Instead I am writing this blog.

I have a lot on my mind.

Monday night and all of Tuesday were mandatory seminars. You had two options: Advocating on Campus, or Aliyah(moving to Israel). I chose the latter. The seminar was good, really long, but good. We spent the day hearing from several different organizations that help people with Aliyah, and individuals that have made moved to Israel or are currently in the process. The organizations we heard from were: Nefesh’ B’Nefesh, AACI, Garin Tzabar, Mahal, WUJS, and Merkez Hamagshimim. We also heard from organizations/universities for studying in Israel: IDC Herzliyah, Hebrew University, Haifa Technion, Bar Ilan, and the Ministry of Education. All of this was a good insight to the process and the opportunities when moving here….which I eventually want to do.

Aliyah has been on my mind for a long time. Being here has got me thinking about it even more. I love this country. I love the people. I love the concept of a Jewish homeland. Yes, Israel is not perfect. No country is, but I would like to be a part of this young country and help it through its growing pains. How I am going to do that? I don’t know yet.

There are several large challenges with making Aliyah. First off, and probably the hardest, is the language. Hebrew is difficult. I am having trouble with it as it is. This can me over come with a good solid time in an Ulpan and getting out of the bubble of a program with English speakers. Much like the program I am on now. My Hebrew has improved 300% so far. I would be closer to fluent if I was hanging out with Israelis and not Americans.

The next big step would be the Army. Everyone in Israel is required to join. Males for three years, girls for two. This all happens before university. If I were to make Aliyah before the age of 25, I would still be required to do anywhere from three years to six months depending on my age when I make the decision. Honestly, this doesn’t freak me out at all. Matter of fact, I want to be in the army here. It is an integral part of society. When you walk down the street knowing that every single person has done some kind of service, it changes things. The country would not survive without the mandatory service. Also, for a new immigrant, the army is the fastest way to learn Hebrew and get adapted to the country.

I want to be in the IDF for a couple of reasons. The biggest reason: I want to help defend this state and the Jewish people. Do my part in something bigger. Yeah, it sounds hokey and cheesy. But, it is truthfully what I feel.

The less important reason: I want the challenge. It would kick my ass. Hardcore. Totally worth it though.

If I were to join the IDF I would be a lone soldier. This status is applied to soldiers who do not have immediate family living in Israel. The country takes care of their lone soldiers. They are given extra money to afford an apartment, a month to go back home every year, and various other perks. There are groups I could join that consist of many loan soldiers. Garin Tzabar is the one I have heard the most about. From my friends that are in it I hear many good things. A great support system.

Other hardships come with Aliyah too. Paperwork, paperwork, and paperwork. Getting an education. Finding a job. These are all things that must be factored in. There are organizations to aid you, like the ones that talked to us, but that doesn’t mean things are easy.

Moving here would mean a lot of sacrifice. Clearly my family would suffer. It is pretty expensive to get back and forth to America. I would miss my friends in the states a lot. On top of all this, America is very comfortable place, numb, but comfortable. Leaving it would mean more excitement, but a little bit rougher living until I get a good footing. Which could take a lifetime.

The state does a lot to help its new immigrants. All Jews are permitted to gain almost automatic citizenship to Israel. This is called “The Right of Return”. When one signs papers to officially declare Aliyah, the state grants them “Aliyah Rights”. The rights include many things to help a person make an easy transition and are in effect for six years after arrival. The first thing is a “gift basket” of 15, 000 shekel; money that comes from the taxpayers. Next is just an assortment of things: no income tax, no tax on purchasing a car, free health insurance, there are a lot more but I am blanking.

I have been talking to as many people as possible about the process, personal opinions, and advice. Everyone has something different to say. A conversation I had the other day really helped put things into prospective.

In the end it all comes down to this:
If I am going to make Aliyah, I need to do it for the right reasons. I might love Israel more than a fat kid loves cake, but when making this decision I have to make sure of one important thing: that the country benefits from my presence. This country is young and needs a lot of help. I could just move here and become your average citizen, but that wouldn’t help the country. Sure, it’s the Jewish homeland and Jews belong here. The fact is that the country loses a lot of money and resources for every new immigrant because of Aliyah Rights. I have to make sure that my moving here would help the country grow and not just take away from her. Army service is a big part of that, although, I could be a volunteer in the IDF and not make Aliyah.

There are a lot of Ifs in this situation. Say I do decide to make Aliyah. The big question is: WHEN?

There are some many options. I have some friends that are doing it right after YC, which is cool, but not right for me. I miss my family and friends, and I am working at camp again this summer. I also don’t really have the funds I feel necessary to do that. I know that making Aliyah is much easier if you are younger. Right now, I know that if I am going to do it I want to be younger than 24. It’s not to say that it couldn’t be done later, but it is considerably harder once you have a profession and trying to find it in Israel. So in my situation I feel like I have boiled it down to two options; in very basic form.

Option 1
I have been thinking about this one for a long time. In this tentative life plan (intense right?), I would finish YC, go home and attend college and get a degree, then move to Israel. Possibly work for a little while in the states to make some cash. Once in Israel I would attend an Ulpan on a kibbutz for a while to get a good about of Hebrew on my belt. Then I would enlist in the IDF. From there it’s all about getting a job and building a life.
Option 2
This is something that has come on my mind in the last few weeks. I don’t know if I am really ready to go back to school. This is what I call in my mind “The Israeli Aliyah Option”. First, I would come home from YC and work for six months to year. Then, I would do like any other Israeli and go to the Army. Following this, I would get an education here in Israel. I would like to think by the end of my service I would be fluent enough in Hebrew to take classes in Hebrew. If not, there are a handful of universities taught in English. Either way, the army pays for all, or a good portion, of one’s education in return for full service. This would certainly save my parents a lot of money, but at the same time would really be difficult on the family.

There are some many possibilities within each of these potential plans. Even if I choose one of these paths, it will change dramatically. I also have to be willing to accept that things might not work out and that I end up coming back to America. In the Aliyah community this is sometimes seen in a negative light, kind of a failure Aliyah. The truth is that it happens all the time. I have to think of Aliyah as a less permanent idea; more of “trying it out” rather than a definite choice and if things end up working out, then I will end up living here.

There is also the possibility of moving here at a later age. But once again, the younger you are the easier it is to adjust. No set career, no family, no huge responsibilities.

I am about to have a conversation about this with my parents in couple days. Luckily they get to study up with this post before we talk. As for Bubbie (my grandmother), well, at this moment she’s probably reading this and angrily squeezing a stress ball or writing me a livid email. Especially after that comment :)

Keepin' Up

2009-01-27T02:20:00.001-08:00

The internet in the apartments is still weak sauce. I am at the hostel right now waiting for our bus (and lunch) to take us to our siyur destination. I thought I would take the opportunity to write a little.

Lately the topic of the discussion for everyone is "What are you doing for Israeli Experience?" The way our program is broken down we are almost two thirds done. The last section, called Israeli Experience is where the group splits into smaller groups and live around the country doing different volunteering. The options are incredible. Anything from ambulance work to working at a theater.

Being the nature loving freak that I am. I am requesting to live in the small city of Arad, located about half an hour south east of Be'er Sheva. Its a small town, a feel like I am ready for. I have spent a good amount of time in Israel in big cities. I am ready for something different. While in Arad, I could be working at a number of places. These include Masada, Ein Gedi, or a Beudoin Ranch. Very outdoors stuff. Right up my ally.

The only have a couple of concerns. The biggest one being roommates. I have had some issues so far, and I really want to finish off my year with a solid group of roommates. The other issue is weather. I didn't really think it through too much, but its gonna be damn hot. I will be living in a desert town from March until June. Mmmmmm crispy.

Ok, so I didn't have time to post this before the Siyur. As a result, I am finishing this now (Sunday Feb 1.)

The siyur we went on was to Moshav Yishi. Right outside of Jerusalem. First off, I should explain what a Moshav is. A Moshav is a community of families living in a group of homes and share common farming ground. That's it in a very basic sense. Anyways, Moshav Yishi is a moshav consisting of Yemenite families. The Yemenite Jews came to Israel in Operation Magic Carpet in 1950. The Jews of Yemen had been living in an isolated society for thousands of years. Because of this, there culture is much different from most Jews. Through modernazation and becoming part of Israeli society, they have lost some of their culture. At the same time, they work very hard to maintain a lot of it.
At the Moshav our first stop was to a friend of our teacher. This family is the only non-Yemenite family on the Moshav. The father is originally from NY and the mother from that hat of a country above the US. They have a huge house, the biggest one on the Moshav, that they built. They talked to us a little about living here there. Someone raised the obvious question "Why do you want to live in this Moshav?" The man answered simply that they wanted space. He also added that he is hoping more of his friends from out of Israel move there and make the area more"Anglo". As soon as he said that, all 35 of us got the same thought: "WhAt?!" You move to a country to make a new life and you expect your friends to come too? On top of that, you move into a neighborhood of a different ethnicity then your own and then hope to make it more "Anglo". I think that family choose the wrong neighborhood and I can understand why his neighbors are not exactly friendly to him.

The next part of the Siyur we walked up the street to the home of the Besharis. They had a lovely covered porch and provided amazing Yemen hospitality. This consited of several different drinks, hot and cold, and more sweets and fruit than the group could consume. After schmoozing a little, we were invited inside. We all at down and received a private performance from Gila Beshari. Gila is a world renowned singer and is known for bring traditional Yemen sound to modern music. Her voice was amazing. It filled the room with great depth. I also found it interesting because it is not in a key that I am used to hearing. After she sang a few song solo, she invited a few people up to dance with her. From there it just turned to one big party of all of us up dancing. A good time was had by all.

The rest of the week went by pretty routinely. I will share some quotes from my beloved Zionism teacher, Dr. Rabbi Avi Berkowitz. They make much more sense if you know him.

Candace: "I didn't know you were lefty."
Berkowitz: "No, you're a lefty. I am left handed."

"Get ready, I am going to start talking nicely about Socialism."

This weekenend I was pretty good. I really needed to get out of the frat party I call my apartment. It started thursday night at a party that the Tzofim had at a random club in Netanyah. The party was only so so. I did manage to get the bus back with my friends to Bat Yam instead of Jerusalem. I spent the weekend there hanging out mostly at my friend Dan's apartment (Dan, update your blog. Its been more than 3 months). The usual group of us did our usual thing. Lots of inovative cooking, lots of sitting around and telling stupid jokes/stories, and just all together lots of good company. I enjoyed it. It was a nice break from all the stupidity in the apartments. I also got to spend time with some friends I haven't seen a lot. I walked to the beach with my friends Marcie, Stephanie, and Shir. While we were there I ran into my friend Sara from Habonim Dror. Its always good to see her because its never planned.

News:
Carter says Hamas must be included
There are a few things in this article that frustrate me.
1."Hamas has got to be involved before peace can be concluded." I am sorry President Carter. You are dead wrong. That is the opposite of true. Hamas doesn't want peace with Israel. They want to eliminate Israel.
2. "Carter also said Hamas had mainly kept to its truce agreement not to attack Israel."
Either you keep a truce or you don't. There is no "mainly" keeping a truce.
3. I know this is an article from Al Jazeera, but is missing large facts and presents an overly one-sided argument. I only read Al Jazeera to see what the poplular Muslim World reads. Honestly, its scary how miscontrude the facts get.

PM to cabinet: We'll respond 'disproportionately' to rocket fire
Please read this whole article. Its interesting how each politician is trying to use the current situation to get there foot in for the elections next week. I agree that we need to take some kind of response to the violation to the cease fire. I think that Livni might be coming on a little strong.

Report: Hamas agrees to year-long Gaza truce starting Thursday
Really, I would like to think that this will happen. At the same time, honestly, how much can we trust Hamas? I know six year olds that are better liars about stealing candy. I dont think Hamas can ever be trusted and it is silly to maintain any kind of hope in them. I think it is about time the Palestinian people realize this too.

I found out my friend Rebecca has a blog too. It's pretty funny. Especially if you know the metioned people.

I went to get my camera fixed this weekend, and realized .....I left my receipt in Jerusalem. STUPID STUPID. I have to go back to Tel Aviv this week anyways.

My camp director, Noah, is in town. I have a meeting with him later (that is why I have to go to Tel Aviv). He wants to talk to me about something to do with bicycles at camp :) :) Camp=awesome. Bikes=one of my favorite things. Camp + Bikes= Hopefully one of the best summers of my life.

Trying Something New

2009-01-24T11:47:00.000-08:00

In an attempt to keep up with this more I'm taking a new direction. Instead of procrastinating and procrastinating and finally just slurring out a big entry that takes probably a weekend to read. I will now be posting(hopefully) at least once every other day. With these smaller and more "busy-life" friendly posts.
Along with this concept, I will be concluding every post with the news articles I have read that day and my personal feed back on them. I have started reading a lot more news while I have been leaving here. I hope this habit stays with me for my life.

So......
Classes are good as always. Midterms sucked.....as always.

Last weekend I first went to Kfar Saba. There I saw my cousins again. It is always good to see them and leave with a full belly. The same night I went and hung out with my Tzofim friend Shir and my other friend Marcie. We went and watched the Maccabi Tel Aviv game at Shir's friend's apartment. The game was bad, but meeting new people and hanging out with friends is always good.
After Kfar Saba I hopped on a bus to Haifa to meet some friends. We spent Friday and Saturday there. We went and saw the Bahai Gardens (a whole tour), which was awesome. We also went did a hike from the top of the city to the beach. It runs along a dried, more like damp, river bed. Its really lush and beautiful, right in the middle of the city.

(sorry for no pictures, my camera broke! I have to go back and get it fixed in Tel Aviv)

This weekend I got really sick. It was horrible. Some awful stomach virus. I'm happy its pretty much over. I spent most of the two and half days in bed :(

Here goes the new idea:
Gaza children back to school amid cease-fire
Found this article on the front page of Yahoo. I think its a little whack...
"The onslaught killed ......" I was not aware of an "onslaught", were you? I'll admit the situation was not ideal, and in some ways, things were not handled the best. But the use of that word was not correct.
"Many children were still afraid of going to school on Saturday, fearing renewed shelling." HELLO?! The article failed to mention that the same thing has been going on for eight years in Sderot and other cities in the Western Negev. Children in Sderot have been given traquilizers to calm there nerves.
Barak wants legal support, aid for IDF
It's a war. Things happen. I don't like it. No one does. It is still war.

That's it for now....

WHAT?!

2009-01-19T11:15:00.000-08:00

As of today my time on Year Course is officially half over :(

But....

I still have another half to make my year even better. Next section is Israeli Experience. I am leaning at living in Arad and working at Massadah or Ein Gedi. Should be epic.

Ok time to go study more for my hebrew midterm.

Way Over Due!!!!!!!!

2009-01-04T07:34:00.000-08:00

Since the last post, things have come and gone way too quickly. It’s hard to remember everything that has happened. However, I have managed to keep up with taking pictures which allows me to recall the balagan (mess) that is my life. Since the last post an entire month has passed, including a holiday, and a week and half without classes.

Rewind to a week before break (12/16)......
....All of my section went with their Zionism classes to Zikron Yakov to see some of the developments of the First Aliyah. Following this the advanced class, my class, went to Kibbutz Ein Shemer.

Zikron Yakov was a town started by what is referred to as "The First Aliyah". The First Aliyah was the name given to the first wave of modern immigration to Israel (at the time it was called Palestine). In Zikron Yakov we visited the museum of the First Aliyah. To be honest, I was not that impressed. The information was all there, but it was shown throw a series of cheesy videos about a family who made Aliyah. I would have much rather just read a book. We then walked a few blocks to the Rothschild Synagogue. One of the first modern Synagogues built in Israel. This place has been around for over a hundred years, and every single day they have constantly had ten or more people three times a day for services. An extraordinary feat.

Across the street from the museum was one of the coolest playgrounds I have ever seen. Also happens to be one of the dangerous. I feel like the designer had in mind more fun for the parents than the children.

Kibbutz Ein Shemer was a very insightful trip. The Kibbutz maintains its original grounds from when it was first established to give people a sense of what life used to be like. They also have a museum where old relics and artifacts are held from the days of the first and second Aliyah.

What was perhaps the most eye opening was actually talking to the members of the Kibbutz. It is well known in Israel that Kibbutzim are not nearly what they used to be. I guess before I get into it too far I should explain what a Kibbutz is and why they were started.
A Kibbutz is a communal farming settlement in Israel. The original ideals of Kibbutzim were that they were to be entirely socialist. Each person living there would contribute and in return get what they needed. It did not matter if you were scrubbing dishes or managing funds. Everyone was equal on the Kibbutz. Along with that, everything was shared as well. Clothing, food, and even children. Yes, I just said children were shared. In the early days, most kibbutzim had children's homes. All the children lived together under one large building. Much like a bunk at camp. The older members also lived in a dorm like fashion. Children were raised by members of the Kibbutz, yes they had maternal parents, but every member of the kibbutz was in a way a parent. Kibbutzniks also had a romantic idea of Israel. They believed that working the Land of Zion would restore the Jewish nation. The Kibbutzim of the early twentieth century were responsible for making much of Israel inhabitable and setting up the first military defense systems.

Fast-forward about fifty years.....it’s now the late 90's/early 2000's. Things have changed a lot for the state of Israel, and the Kibbutz. Cities are now much larger and capitalism is the name of the game. Kibbutzim begin to privatize, essentially selling themselves out of their socialist ideas. People living in the Kibbutzim want to live like most other Israelis. Have cars, have their own space, and have their own money. So the kibbutzim had to change. People began to get jobs outside of the Kibbutz. Although the kibbutzim pooled their money, many members had their own bank accounts and cars. Families now lived in houses around the kibbutz instead of dorms. Agriculture was no longer profitable. Kibbutzim had to look to new options. Ein Shemer started an electronics factory. They had to take out a large loan for it, and are currently still working off the debt. It seems to me that within the next fifteen years almost all kibbutzim will simply just be small towns.

The following day we went to Sde Boker, a kibbutz in the Negev started by David Ben-Gurion. I had been there before, so it wasn't too entertaining to me, but that view of always rocks.

Monday 12/22
A siyur with my Arab-Israeli conflict class. (I switched out of Communication and Persuasion; I had heard most of it before.)
We were originally scheduled to go to Sderot, we obviously that didn't happen since just a few days before it was hit by about 80 rockets. Instead we went around Jerusalem and discussed the issues facing the city, both past and present, and the potential outcomes. As we went to different places we talked about events that happened there. It’s crazy to be to visit a site of a place where major history was made. Imagine you are sitting in U.S. history class and you are reading about Paul Revere and the next day you go to the light tower. In Israel, that is exactly what you can do. I will give you one example.
Up the street from my apartment is an outlook over Jerusalem. Just to the right of it is a small area of forest where the UN building currently stands. During the War of Independence the county's forces were stretched thin. Every available person was used. At this specific location a group of chemistry professors from Hebrew University, about 45 in total, held off a unit of 400 Jordanian soldiers. A five minute walk from where I live right now.

At other lookouts we talked our instructor would point out where the city would be divided into East and West Jerusalem if it were to go back to the June 4, 1967 borders. Which many people see happening in the next fifteen years. If this does go through, we lose most of the important places in Jerusalem. Including the entire Old City. That afternoon I was so confused. I can't imagine the city being split like that, but at the same time, I would like to see peace in the land before I die.

(click to enlarge. The fence in the picture is the June 4, 1967 division of the West Bank and Jerusalem)

Winter Break! 12/23-1/3

Mitzpeh Ramon:
A group consisting of David, Sarelle, Ellie, Joe, and I started on a adventure to the Mitzpeh Ramon, a small town in the Negev that sits on Israel's largest crater. We left from David's apartment in Holon bright and early, I mean rainy and cold, to Mitzpeh Ramon. After taking three different buses and falling asleep on each other, we finally made it. As we get off the bus two things happen. First, we see a group of kids our age get off at the same stop. Turns out David knows one of their friends (this kind of thing happens everywhere in Israel) from last summer. At the same time I get a phone call from Yael, the hikes coordinator who helped me plan this trip. The conversation basically boiled down to this: "You cannot go campout in the crater tonight. It is supposed to rain heavily and the hike you planned for tomorrow I cannot permit you to do." So the group of us look at each other. CRAP, WHAT DO WE DO? It was much colder than we expected and sleeping in a tent was not going to be fun. The Israelis we met said, "Hey come with us. There is a hostel right around the corner." Turned out to be a great choice. 100 shekel a person (about $25) for a nice room, shower, and breakfast. We took it without hesitation. We spent the next day and a half hanging out with our new friends. We did a hike, although not as long as I would have liked, it was still fun and the views were breathtaking.

After the hike we had to make a desicion. Camp for the next two days and get the first bus back Saturday night because no buses run on Friday, OR go back that night and find something else to do. We had a couple people not so equipped for the cold. We took the latter option and headed back to Be'er Sheva to catch a bus to Tel Aviv. On the way there I remembered that I had some friends on YC that live in Arad. We called them to see about staying for Shabbat. They said it would be fine, but we had to wait until midnight because that was the time one of them got back. Then we checked the weather. Mighty freaking cold. We got the next the bus to Tel Aviv. While waiting for a bus I saw a group of soldiers coming back from a base. I recognized one of them. It was my friend Shirit's sister Lital. She had just finished her intense training for her unit. It was good to see here. I knew she was here doing a program called Garin Tzabar, but I actually hadn't gotten the chance to see her yet.

My friends and I, tired and beaten from the cold Negev, walked into the central bus station in Tel Aviv and saw a unit of Golani soldiers (Golani is an elite unit and the first ones called to any conflict). I recognized one of them because he was hanging out in my apartment about a week before with a friend's older sibling. His name is Dustin and he was on YC two years ago. Anyways, we were talking to him and he said that they were just waiting for the command to head towards Gaza. They had been waiting for two hours. We wanted to lift their spirits a little bit so we bought the whole unit sufgoniyot and said "Happy Hanukah". Right around that time their commander got a phone call. He hangs up the phone. Our hearts are in our throats. He then yells "Biyta!" meaning: "get the hell out of here and go home!" Within ten seconds those soldiers were on buses going to every part of the country. We said bye to Dustin and wished him good luck. I learned two days ago that Dustin and his unit are now doing operations within Gaza. I think of all of my friends in the army every time I read the news. It's so different than reading about a war with American soldiers. In the states you might know a handful of people in the military and few that are actually involved in fighting. In Israel the situation is much different. Everyone serves in the army, and everyone knows someone that is currently serving.

Since I was in Holon I thought I would take advantage of being back. While everyone was sleeping, I borrowed my David's bus pass and went and visited Nevi Arazim where I worked in the Gan. The kids were really happy to me, as was I to see them.

For lunch we decided to head to a restaurant I had heard about called Subkuch Meliaga (means: "everything is possible" in Hindu.) To make a long story very very short, we got lost because of Google maps. We ended up walking around South Tel Aviv and part of Jaffa until we found it. Turns out we had walked within a block of it at least three times. We felt dumb, but we were all the hungrier. The place is an all you can eat vegetarian Indian restaurant. We got more than our fill. We were sitting on couches, and went into food comas.

The place was very affordable too. 35 shekel (about nine dollars) for all you can eat as long as you can eat. Defiantly going back.

The next day was Shabbat. We spent the day playing card and just lazing around.

That night we had light Hanukah candles at David's apartment. My good friend Noah, his mom found me at Kikar Rabin, was in Israel with my other friends Evan and Emilie for YJ National Board business. Turns out they were staying at Aviel's apartment down the street. I went and got him and he came and hung out. Then I went with all of the Scouts and my friends into Tel Aviv for a little. So people went out, but Noah and I just wanted to hang out. So we came back with Aviel and hung out for a while before crashing.

Sunday, the last night of Hanukah, we had a nice little Hanukah party at Ellie's apartment. Allon came too! It was good to see him because it had been since before Jerusalem. Aviel and Yoni came as well. We made latkes, but they kinda sucked. We couldn’t figure out was going on with them. Anyways, David, Sarelle, and I were head to Jerusalem, so Allon dropped us off at the bus stop on the way to his place and we caught a bus fairly quickly to Jerusalem.

Monday David and I locked ourselves in my apartment and finished out college applications. Felt good to get that done.

Tuesday night Wendy and Ellie came and spent the night so they could catch an early bus to Eilat the next morning. Noah also came once he was done taking care of Presidential business.

Wednesday was New Years Eve. The group of us wanted to do something with our day. I thought it would be a good opportunity to see the village of Abu Gosh. I had been there earlier this year for lunch with Maytal, and her boyfriend Dan, from the Matnas. It was so easy to get to from my apartment. Abu Gosh is an Arab village outside of Jerusalem. It might seem strange to go to an Arab village given the current situation, but Abu Gosh, and villages like it, are very different. The Arabs living in the village are very friendly. They support Israel and have since before the establishment of the state.

Abu Gosh is known for its great hummus, so the group of us went there to get some lunch. Basically, we just got off the bus when we thought it was good, and walked until we found something that smelled good. Turned out to be a great idea, we got amazing hummus. Afterwards we asked the owner of the restaurant for a suggestion of where to get some coffee. He pointed us down the street. That coffee is so much better than I can make Turkish. I will learn how to make it that well sometime.

Hummus Toast!

It’s interesting how food can bring to separate people together. Check out the article title “Coexistence and Hummus”.

Friday I headed back to Bat Yam to help my friend Zach clean his apartment. They had some plumbing repairs done and were left with a mess. We put on some Rage Against the Machine and went to work!

Later that night I went with Noah and Ethan to have Shabbat dinner at Noah’s Parent’s apartment in Tel Aviv. I should probably mention that Noah and Ethan are first cousins, along with my old madricha from summer 2006 named Mara. She came to dinner as well. It was a nice “at home” kind of feel.

OK WOW…that is where I left off…TWO WEEKS AGO! WHY DID I NOT UPDATE?!?
I apologize for the lack of information. I was at my group meeting today with my counselor and he mentioned to everyone about my “awesome blog”. Right now he is giving me crap about how I haven’t posted in over a month. I think I should make a very late New Year’s resolution: update once a week. Shouldn’t be that hard, right? It will force me to not cram everything into a massive post.

J-ru: I'm Lovin' It!

2008-12-09T11:08:00.000-08:00

I had a refreshing walk home today from the Old City. It reminded me how good things are really going.

I am finally settled into my apartment and am adapted to getting back in the swing of taking classes. The classes I take are at the Judaean Youth Hostel, about a forty-five minute bus ride from my apartment. The hostel is really nice, but I am still happy to be living in the set of apartments owned by YC. It gives me a sense of actually living in the city and not in the bubble of the hostel. My roommate Scott and I refer to the hostel as "The Most Comfortable Prison Ever". Another pro to living in the apartments is a free bus pass. It might as well be called a key to the city. Although I still don't know my way around as well as I would like, it should only be another week or two before I have it down.

I am in Jerusalem for the studying portion of my experience. So, let me fill you in on my classes.

Ulpan (Hebrew): I moved up a level from last section, which means it is slightly more intense. My teacher is great. Her name is Sarit. She teaches beyond the text. For instance, this morning we all went down to the dinning hall and practiced ordering food at a resturant. I have ulpan 2 hours a day five days a week. I should learn a good portion by the time a leave.

Advanced Zionism: This a class I really enjoy. My teacher, Dr. Avi Berkowitz, is, well, a little different. He is a highly educated man, but sometimes his points of view are a little radical. I understand his points and, most of the time, the information he uses to back it up. I just don't necessarily agree with what he presents. Although, it is good to have to see a different point of view. Every week we go on a mandatory siyur (trip). Today we went to the old city, but obviously it wasn't planned out too well. I took advantage of time afterwards to explore a little bit of Jerusalem on my own. (See pictures below)

Jewish Prayer: taught by Rabbi Rob. This is a very interesting and thought provoking class. We spend each class examining and dissecting a prayer or set of prayers. Before this class, I never really put to much thought behind the history, meaning, and process of most prayers. I hope to get a lot out of this class.

Jewish Bookshelf: taught by Daniel Rose. This class is a basic intro into Tanach, Mishna, and other Jewish texts. We usually go off on some tangents, but I don't mind. I still learn a lot from them. I probably should be in an intermediate class, but I know I will still learn here. There is always more to learn.

Communication and Perusuasion: taught by two representatives of the David Project. The David Project is an organization in America the works with trying to spread factual information about Israel to combat anti-Israel entities. They work heavily in college campuses. I know that this class will be useful in the future. They have shown us some pretty crazy stuff that has been spread in the Arab media. Check out "Farfur". Hamas's version of Mickey mouse.

Well, Disney decided to sue. Guess what happened to Farfur?

Yes, "terrorist" killed him. Wonderful what extremest do for the world. By the way, Tel A-Rabi never exsisted.It sounds a lot like Tel Aviv, which was established in the early part of the 20th century, before that it was bunch of sand. Not a beautiful city like Hamas describes it.

But I digress.......
Besides learning about "Jew-hating-mikey-mouse-look-a-likes", I done a lot in the last couple of weeks. There is always so much going on in this city. I can't understand why so many of the people in my section have been going back to Tel Aviv every weekend. I love TA too, but there is plenty to do here. This last weekend was great. I went to two concerts and had friends over for shabbat.
The first concert was Thursday night. The bands that played were: Yaya (the bass player from Hadag Nachash) and Izabo at the Yellow Submarine, which is about a ten minute walk from my apartment. SWEET!

My friends from section 3, Zach, Dan, Aaron, and David, came Friday afternoon. Sarelle (sorry if I spelled it wrong), a friend who lives right down the hall, Malka (another friend) and I went shopping before the guys got here. When they arrived we hung out for a little and then a few of us head to Kabbalat Shabbat services at Shira Ha'dasha (A New Song). I had heard of this shul before, but was blown away by it. In orthodox Judaism men and women pray on different sides of the room and are divided by what is called a "Ma'chitza" and men are the only ones to lead the service. At Shira Ha'dasha there is a Ma'chitza, but women lead as well. Not only is that aspect great, the singing in the services was powerful and uplifting as well, which I have found a rarity in many othodox services. Everyone was poring all their might into each prayer. It was really great to take part in. Also, at the end of the service they pulled back the Ma'chitza to make annoucements. One generous lady even offered shabbat dinner to anyone who needed a places. An amazing atmosphere, and once again, my apartment is really close. Can't wait to go back.

We got back from shul and cooked dinner. I made some shintzel (fried chicken breast) breaded with bissle (a tastey snack) instead of the traditional mix. It worked out well and added a good flavor. Sarelle made a vegitarian dish of noodles, tofu, and various vegetables. Check out the eggs we cooked with, every single one was a double yoke. Hope I don't grow a second head out of the side of my neck.

We ate, shmoozed and had a relaxing shabbat. Saturday morning we inteaded to get up and hike the Jerusalem Trail, but we slept in unstead. Good thing too, becasue I later found out that it is closed druing the shabbat. Another time.

After my friends left Saturday I got ready for the second concert of the weekend. Guess who? That's right, COOLOOLOOSH! They were just as good the second time. The played at this venue called "The Lab", which is....REALLY CLOSE TO MY APARTMENT! Did I mention I love where I am located? I went with a good handful of people that live here in the apartments. Ok, so Coolooloosh played with Asaf Avidan and the Mojos. Two bands on one stage. Its too bad my batteries on my camera pooped out. So I stole a picuture from Hannah.

I don't really have a solid game plan for this weekend, but I'm sure it will be great. I'm thinking about going back to Holon Thursday night to see some friends and go visit the gan. Friday night I am going with Seth and Feldman to a dinner with a tour that is going to be here from Kansas City. It will be great to see some familiar faces.

Winter break is coming up. I am really excited. A lot of people are going home or to another country for break. I personally, find that silly. What a perfect opportunity to do something really cool in Israel. The people that are going home are more excited about going home than being in Israel, which seems so backwards to me. My friend David and I are in the process of planning an epic hiking trip. I'm so pumped. Also, my friends Keren and Pam are coming in around that time too. I am excited to see them as well.

Last night we hosted a Jam Session at my apartment with my new madrich Dan. I played a set of spoons :)

I will leave you with the pictures of my adventures from the old city to my apartment. Click them for full resolution.

A picture of the wall dividing Palestine and Israel

No Shave November

2008-12-02T11:55:00.000-08:00

I recently participated in the event of "No Shave November". It really didn't go too well for me . See for yourself.

Just look at the awful amount of patchiness. I can't believe I walked around like that for so long.

So I trimmed it down to just the goatee, its still rather pathetic looking. I contemplating what I should do with the rest. Maybe a fo-man-choo. Possibly a silly mustache. Maybe like this guy:
juuuuuust kidding....

Goodbye Holon...Hello Jerusalem!

2008-11-27T04:53:00.000-08:00

Sunday morning I said goodbye to the city of Holon. It was time to change sections and move to Jerusalem.

This is the room I slept in for the last 3 months.

Here are a couple of panoramics of the old apartment.
I left this for the next group of guys. Hope they like it.

Look at all the extra money I got from the stipend!

Bye Aviel! Hope to see you in Jerusalem, or when I visit Holon. Good luck with the new roommates.

Jared and Daniel <3 style="text-align: left;">I'm gonna miss the city of Holon. In particular I am going to miss my volunteering. The last day I was the I took a few pictures. Also on my last day I spent an extra hour or two cleaning the over hangings in the playground. They were full of dead leafs and branches from the trees above, all of which was rotting and weighing down the over hangings. The people of the community center were very impressed. It felt good to leave something small for them. On Sunday I was talking to Ines, the volunteer coordinator, while waiting for the bus to take us to Jerusalem. She said told me that I had done a great job working at the community center and Kol Ha'kavod (good job) for staying in the same place the whole time because they needed the help. It felt really good to hear that.

After shuffling my stuff out of Holon, I made it to Jerusalem. I am one of the forty or so YCers selected to live in an apartment instead of in the Judaean Youth Hostel. All of the apartments are on a common stairwell, so people are walking in and out of each others apartments a lot. Similar to a college dorm. The location is prime. Check it out!

View Larger Map

I'm not sure if the map is all that great, but if you turn it to satellite view you might be able to see that we are in the center of Jerusalem. My apartment is about a twenty minute walk from downtown. It sits on the border of Talpiot and Bakah, for those of you who know Jerusalem neighborhoods. There are a few downsides to living in the apartments. For one the commute is at least half an hour each direction. I also have to fix myself two meals a day instead of just waiting in line at the hostel. Also, all of the YC events take place at the hostel, so I might have to crash there every now and then. No big deal.

I am excited to discover all that Jerusalem has to offer and all the education I will receive while attending classes here in Jerusalem.

Coolooloosh!

2008-11-21T18:05:00.000-08:00

Thursday night. THE night to go out. Last Thursday night living in Holon/Tel Aviv. Options: 1) Go to a YC party at a rented out club with drama and other not so fun things.....or...2) go to a sweet concert at a sweet location.

I took the second choice. With great pleasure. I was joined by Aaron and our friend Noa who staffed camp this last summer with us. The concert was for a band called Coolooloosh. I had heard of these guys from A-ron and had few tracks on my computer that I really like. The concert was AWESOME! I took some picutures with my new camera! They also featured some really cool artist such as, Asaf Avidan, Mira Awad, and some comedian who's name has slipped my mind.

Tel Aviv Siyur

2008-11-21T03:55:00.000-08:00

A tour around a city that I have spent a lot of time in, but never got an educational guide.

We started the siyur in the neighborhood the Tel Aviv started in: Nevet Tzedek.
Nevet Tzedek was the first neighborhood in Tel Aviv. I had not realized it until I got there, but I had been there with my cousins over Rosh Hashana. The siyur was very interesting. There is so much history in such a small area. Most of the streets in that neighborhood are named after influential people who started the city of Tel Aviv. People like Aharon Shulsh. The funnest part was the guides were running around dressed up and acting as if they were those famous people. It was a way of educating similar to the wax museum peulot of YJ, but much much funnier.

The neighborhood is still occupied. Matter of fact, its one of the most favorable places to live in Tel Aviv. This area of the city is very artsy, relaxed, and beautiful. It is also the cultural center of Tel Aviv with many art galleries, book stores, museums, and the Israeli Dance Center. A small house in Nevet Tsedek cost at least a million dollars, not shekel.

From the old neighborhood we walked up to Herzl street. To get there we walked on bridge that passes over what used to be the only rail line from Yafo(the main port at the time) to Jerusalem. Once at the beginning of Herzl we stopped inside of the large building called the Shalom Tower. Inside, the whole ground floor has walls cover in mosaic. The mosaic was made by Nahum Gutman. The mosaic visually describes the founding and development of Tel Aviv. Grandpa, you would be in heaven if you saw this.

From the Shalom town we took a good 20-30 minute walk to Rabin Square. We talked a brief bit about who he was and why the location was so important, but that is for the next post. This day was actually the anniversary of Rabin's murder. To see how Israelis think about it, we were given a few questions to go ask people we saw walking on the street. Questions like "Where were you when it happened?" and "Did you agree with his actions?". It was really interesting to talk to people. A few people we talked to were actually right there when the assassination took place. This Saturday is the national memorial service, I plan on attending.

Ride for Fighters

2008-11-03T00:07:00.000-08:00

I was joined by thousands of people in an event called Ride for Fighters. The event was sponsored by the JNF and took place in the Golan. The program's purpose was to ride bicycles along the area of Israel's soldiers have fought for for so long and to ride in memory of them. Read more about it.

The first stop we made was at an old battle post. The bunkers were still intact and everything. It was a very controversial place, its too bad I can't remember the name. From there we were bussed to nature reserve/hiking area. There waiting for us was a stage and several speakers. These included: the chairman of the JNF and Gilad Schalit's father. At the end of this opening ceremony each participant released a balloon. Just about every Year Courser and Masa participant was there. It was great to see people I haven't gotten a chance to see yet. I saw my friend Sara who I met at Sde Boker in 2006.

From the opening ceremony we got on bikes and rode the designated course. It was about 5 kilometers on a rough dirt road. Not long enough at all.

At the closing ceremony there were a "carnival" of many of the different units in the IDF. It was really cool to see things close up and to see so many soldiers in one place.

The closing ceremony was great. It was very patriotic and brought everyone to their feet. This ceremony included a live demonstration of the tank unit. We are talking live ammo! It was so loud and you could feel the percussions.

The whole experience was a great insight into the IDF and showed some of the nation's pride.

Tiyul to the North with the Tzofim

2008-10-26T09:37:00.000-07:00

The weekend to the north was great! There was about 70 of us that went. A very large group.

I packed all of my stuff and brought it with me to Ulpan. Following class we loaded the bus and headed out, which took much longer than expected, but we got there anyways. By there, I mean some kind of camping ground outside of an Arab village in the North. After setting up camp and hanging out for a while, we began to cook what is called "Poiykah". Basically, poiykah is a stew consisting of: chicken, lentils, rice, beans, cola, water, spices, and whatever else sounds good. All of which is cooked inside of a cast iron dutch oven. It taste much better than it sounds. I ate more than enough. After hanging out for a few more ours Aviel and I decided to make use of the extra meet by cooking some kabobs over the fire.

Friday morning we woke up and did a hike called Nahal Yagor. It follows a dried river bed until it hits Kibbutz Yagor. The hike was a little more intense than most of the YC hikes I have been on. It was refreshing to be a little challenged. Once we reached the kibbutz a druze lady meet us there and cooked fresh pita with all of the fixings. More great food!

From the kibbutz we were bused to one of the Tzofim tribes in Haifa. I took a nap on the floor while we waited for the other bus to get there. A few of us went to shul that night, but made it just in time for Yigdal, of course. Back at the tribe we had some amazing cholent cooked by Hila's dad. More amazing food!

Later that night we took a walk to the top of Haifa to get an over view of the city. It looked something like this:

Saturday morning we packed up and started out on a hike that literally starts in the middle of the city. Before we hit the trail we stopped by the Bahai Gardens. The Bahai religion is really interesting, feel free to read up on it, because I'm too lazy to type it all out.

The hike ended at the beach where we hung and out and ate ( I opened about twenty cans) for a while and played an great game of Lap Tag. From there we walked to the bus, did Havdallah and headed on a way back to Holon. A great weekend in a great location with some great food.

I'm a huge slacker...

2008-10-22T14:38:00.000-07:00

"UPDATE YOUR BLOG YOU SLACKER!!!! Seriously, people are asking." -Lisa Siegel, My Lovely Mother.

Seriously, she's right. I can explain the absence, really, I can. The simple fact is that by the time I am done with my daily activities I am so tired that I hardly want to write. I attempted to a couple times, but feel asleep in the process. So here goes another post that will drag on for far too long. Enjoy!

From the 13th to the 22nd I was on break for another group of holidays. This included: Sukkot, Simchats Torah, and Shmini Atzeret. I am going to try to remember most things and reiterate them to you, with some pictures, as accurately as possible.

Monday and Tuesday: 13-14
This was the first night of Sukkot and when the actually celebration takes place. I was invited by Aviel to join him at his home in Giviat Zev, a town out side of Jerusalem. I accepted with great pleasure! We got a bus with Shelley and Ayelet to Jerusaelm. Ayelet is another one of the Tzofim living in Holon with the other YC. She also lives in Giviat Zev and brought Shelley with her for the holiday. The bus to Jerusalem was crowded, so we had to sit on the floor. That would never fly in America. I was sitting next to a soldier who is in the Givati unit. He had the new Tavor gun. An amazing Israeli development.
When we finally arrived in Giviat Zev. I meet Aviel's family. Wonderful people. Aviel is the oldest of six kids. So the house was all busseling with noise, which is not a bad as it might seem.

The meal that Aviel's mother and grandmother's prepared was excellent. It was a lot of tradtional sephardic dishes. Something that I never grew up having. I ate myself past the point of fullness.

Later that night things turned a little sour. I didn't feel so well because I ate so much, but it turns out it was something way worse. I spent pretty much all night hunched over a toliet. Wonderful I know. In the morning Aviel had to drive me to a hospital in Modi'in because it was the only open due to the holiday. I ended up getting an IV to rehydrate and an anti-vomiting agent. It worked and I felt much better after eating a little and sleeping all day at Aviel's.

That night we drove to the Judaean Youth Hostel in Jerusalem and hung out for a couple of hours before we caught a bus back to Holon. I saw Hiesler there and we talked for a while. It was good to see people from another section that I haven't seen yet.

Wednesday 10/15

Bright and early I woke up to meet a group for a mandatory hike in the North. I know I'm crazy for even getting out of bed that day after being in the hospital on the previous morning, but what can I say? I like to hike! It turns our the "hike" was more of a three hour bus ride each way and an hour walk. It was beautiful though. We walked a small trail on Mt. Meron. From this vantage point you can see Lebanon and only some of Tsfat because of the clouds. Adina, one of the counselors from Bat Yam, explained to us that one of the outlook points we were standing on was dedicated to a soldier killed in Lebanon. From where we were looking you could actually see the bunker where he was killed during the Second Lebanon War. A very powerful moment.

Thursday Morning 10/16

In the morning was another part of mandatory attendance during the Chofesh (break). Our group was required to meet at the community center around the corner from my apartment and paint the bleachers around the back side. I was all for it and getting my hands dirty, but some other people weren't. It took much longer than it should of because of people messing around and just straight up complaining. Eventually it did get done though.

After volunteering I went to my friend Fluffy's apartment. He owns a pair of hair clippers. Guess who go a mowhawk?!

Thursday Night-Saturday Night: BERESHEET MUSIC FESTIVAL!

I mentioned a couple of post back that I would be going to the Beresheet Music Festival on the Kneret. I went, and It was an amazing time. There were tons of Year Coursers, so it was kind of a YC weekend, but it was great to see people from different section, as always. The camping equipement that I borrowed from Lior worked out very well. I split food with with Daniella and Jon. It ended up being much cheaper and much tastier than the food at available for purchase at the festival.

The music at the festival great. Some of the bands were only ok. I saw this crazy metal band that had a song where they screamed the ten plagues and the shema. It was intense. I managed to miss a great concert by Abaraham Tal, the ex-lead singer of Shotei Ha'Nevua. I will forever kick myself for that. I did, however, see one of my favorite bands: Hatikva 6. They threw an amazing show. Besides just the bands, there was tons of other music. There was constant trance and dance music at one stage. We are talking 24/7 thumping bass. I somehow manged to sleep through it. There was a constant drum circle. I hopped in a couple times. There were also really cool workshops. I learned to play didgeridoo!

There were lots of fun things to do at the festival, especially since it was on a beach. Here are some pictures of the weekend.

Only in Israel do a large group of religious Jews show up to a hippy music festival.

A couple sunsets of the on the Kneret. Can't wait to go back.

There was a mud pit at the festival. It was tempting....

Good music, good company, and good coffee. These things make a great weekend

Sunday-Monday 19-20

CHILLED! I needed to catch up on sleep and hang around on my butt for a couple of days.

Tuesday 21st

This was the end of Sukkot, celebrated by the holiday of Simchats Torah. The original plan was to go to Tsfat via a Sherut with a few guys. After that was tossed out the door, the next plan was to go to Jerusalem....which also didn't happen. It really just ended up being a fun Tel Aviv night.

Thursday 23rd
Volunteering in the went really well that day. I know the kids really well now and I feel like I am a valuable member of the staff there.

Here is me with a couple of the girls in the gan. Hila on the left and Keshet on the right.

That night was a foam party in Jerusalem. A ton of YCers went, and I didn't. It ended up being a great choice. I heard from a lot of people that the party wasn't that fun. Aaron, Allon, and I instead went to Kibbutz Ha'polim where our friend Noa lives. All of us staffed camp together. We went to the kibbutz to see Noa preform her first concert! It was really cool and the atmosphere was very kibbutz. I liked it. I need to spend more time in on a kibbutz.

Friday and Saturday 24-25
Caught a bus straight from Holon to Jerusalem! From the central bus station I walked to the Shuk and met up with the Choikhit twins and their mom. We walked around for a bit and ate some food. From there we walked to Ben Yehuda street and meet up with some more KC people. This included: Hiesler, Feldman, Tali, Joey, and Molly. After chatting a bit I left with Hiesler, Feldman, and Tali.
We spent the rest of the weekend hanging out in Hiesler's apartment. It was really relaxing and fun. The five of us boys cleaned up Hiesler's messy apartment. I know! What would inspire five 18 year old boys to clean a whole apartment? Well I am telling you, it was that gross. Following our cleaning fiasco, the five of us sat down and had a wonderful, testotarone filled, shabbous meal. The rest of shabbat we slept, made some amazing brownies, and hung out with other YCers.
Hiesler lives in the set of apartments owned by YC instead of living in the hostel like the rest of their section does. Its a really cool deal. All of the 12 apartments are on the same staircase. Everyone leaves their doors unlocked when they are home and people just hop between apartments. As an added bonus, all the YC that live in the apartments get a bus pass for all of Jerusalem. Something you wouldn't get living in the youth hostel. I am really hoping I get to live in the apartments when I move there.

Sunday-Today 26-31
The Chagim (Holidays) are over and I can finally get back into a routine! Volunteering this week has been great! We have a new director at the gan because the old one is going into labor any minute now (Mazel Tov Avital). The new directors name is Maggie. Nice lady, but a much different style then the last one.
I had my first Ulpan exam. I passed with flying colors!.....but it was only oral. I am worried about the one tomorrow. It's all written.
Tuesday we had a siyur to the towns of Sderot and Nitzan. There will be a separate post on this becasue it is such a large and important subject.
I haven't gone into Tel Aviv at all this week. It's kinda weird. Every night there has been a YC activity or I have been to tired to go out. Last night was the Section 2 basketball. I was on a team that knew we were loosing coming into it, but we still had fun.
Tonight we watched the movie Beufort. Its an amazing story about a group of soldiers who were stationed on a mountain inside of Lebanon. A very intense and impressive story. The film is based on a book, I will read it soon. Both are defiantly worth checking out.

This Weekend
I am attending a trip planned by the scouts to the North. We are going to be in the Haifa area. The trip is costing me 200 shekel, about $50, but this includes transportation and food. A pretty good deal. We will be doing some hiking and sightseeing. I am pretty excited.

I know I say this every time, but next post will not be put off so long.

CrAzY WeEkEnD!

2008-10-12T06:40:00.000-07:00

AHHH SO MUCH MORE TO SAY! I will keep it short.

This weekend was crazy. Friday I got back from Kfar Saba my friend Julie came to our apartment. We were dead out of food so we ran to the store before it closed. Aviel and I cooked a delicious shabbous meal of pasta with chicken meat sauce for our apartment and a couple of guest. Then we went to all of our neighbors in our building said, "shabbat shalom" and offered them some cake, I think it will help settle some issues they have had in the past with the people living in our current apartment. Following this we left to make coffee in the park. For there we hung out with my friend Jesse at his place. I told Jesse about my friend Itamar's finishing of the army party. I told him he could tag along, and my other friend Or came as well. At 10 Itamar came and picked up all of us to go to his party. The party was in Ben Shemen forest. It went all night. I finally went to sleep back at my apartment (sorry mom) at 6 A.M. Saturday morning. Oh, wait, I'm not done. At 1 P.M. Aviel and I, along with some other YC, went to a birthday party of one of the other Tsofim living in Holon with us, her name is Ziv. Her party was a ton of fun and we meet so many people. THEN, we got home and sat for literally less then 20 minutes and left to go see the Holon Tsofim's opening event. The caravan was there! And lots of really cool firesigns. We were actually impressed. While we were there we ran into the scout that lived in our very apartment last year. So she came back to our apartment with us for 10 minutes while we got ready for salsa night! Which turned to be good, but I suck at dancing. I came home from salsa night and COLLAPSED! PHEEEEEEEEEEEEEW! That was a weekend. And it just keeps coming. I love it.

Chatima Tova

2008-10-09T13:13:00.000-07:00

While I have been in Israel I am constantly comparing society and life here to life back in the states. Nothing could be more different than the day of Yom Kippur. It was such an amazing experience. In the states most of the population is not Jewish, therefore the holiday of Yom Kippur is not noticed by the general population. On the contrary, here in Israel the population is about eighty percent Jewish. During Yom Kippur the country literally stops. Every store, even 24/7 markets, are closed. No one drives a car. Its as if someone turned off a giant light switch. Instead of cars on the street, they become flooded with people walking and children on thousands of bicycles. Like any other holiday, it is also used as a massive social gathering. I walked out of the synagogue after services Wednesday night. It was a breath taking sight. People were walking up to everyone and saying "Chatima Tova" (May your name be written in the good book as having lived a good year) and wishing a happy new year. Most people were dressed in the traditional white. Yom Kippur seemed like such a somber holiday back in the US, but here it was hard to find a person without a smile.

Here it seems that everyone had their own individual way of celebrating. The amount of people attending a synagogue literally triples, but some people go the whole time and some go when they choose. Other people choose to do things that would seem totally irrelevant to the holiday. There are a large group of people that spend it hanging out on the beach. Others stay up talking all night so that they can sleep through the fast easier. Some people just stay in all day and watch movies. However it is done, the day is something special.

Most of the children in Israel ride there bikes everywhere for the day. My cousins May and Guy rode their bikes about 24 km. The day before Yom Kippur, the bicycle stores make their earnings for the year. It made me a little jealous. Me being such a bike nerd and not riding one :(

It's not to say that my Yom Kippur was not amazing. It clearly was the most memorable Yom Kippur I have had so far. I initally wanted to try and spend the day in Jerusalem in the old city, but plans didn't work out. Maybe it was for the best. Instead I went back to Kfar Saba with the cousins. They were thrilled to have me and I was happy to be where it feels just like home. First thing I did when I got there: ATE! mmmmmm I love a full tummy! Then I went to their local Synagogue. The inside of that building is painted with various different scences of the bible, Judaism in general, and each month has its own section. The ark is large and painted beatifully and sits in a dome the height of the building. The dome itself is painted in waves different shades of blue. Haim's father had his own chair there that is now Hiam's. The services themselves were very recognizable because it was an Ashkenazi, which is what I am used to. The difference is that everyone there speaks Hebrew and is comfortable with the service, so things moved along at a much quicker pace.

Besides going to services, and taking my own little walk, all I did was sleep. It was much needed. Wednesday night I was asleep by 9:30 and woke up at 10 the next morning. The two days I was there I managed to get in more sleep than I do in four nights back in Holon. It was much needed.

After the holiday was over on Friday I had some logistics to figure out. This coming week is Sukkot, yes, another holiday! Sukkot is immediately followed by, guess what? Another holiday! Simchat Torah (which I hope to go to Tsfat for)! For these two holidays I have about two weeks for free time. I have to find something to do! I had heard from a friend about a music festival on the Kneret called "Bereshet". Seemed like a cool idea. The only problem is that I have some mandatory things to attend during the middle of Sukkot. Well after sitting on the phone for about an hour, I had a plan. A counselor in another section of YC was getting buses figured out, so I had a way to get there. She was also getting a discounted rate for all of YC. Great! Now I needed at tent. I called the office in Bat Yam, there are out of tents to lend. Then I remembered my cousins have camping equipment. I gave Lior a call and within an hour I in my hands a six person tent, a stove and accouterments to make coffee (I LOVE TURKISH COFFEE!), and some equipment to repair some parts of the tent. I am so lucky I have such wonderful family. Once I got back to Holon I found out that about half of YC is going to the festival. So now people are fighting for spots in my tent. That should be interesting. As far as cost goes, it is a little of the expensive side.

Here is how it breaks down:
-130 NIS (New Israeli Shekel) for the ticket at a discounted rate (normally 180 NIS)
-120 NIS for transportation there and back, but on private bus. So no getting lost, darn.
- Roughly 50 shekel for food
Right now the exchange us about 3.6 shekel to the dollar. So the whole deal will cost about $85. Actually not so unreasonable for a three day festival. In the states those are usually about $150.

I think I might spend a little money to make some. I will go buy about 50 pitas, some peanut butter, and some chocolate spread. I can then heat them up on a stove or fire and sell them for 3 shekel a piece at the festival. It could potentially pay for my ticket in. I would only have to sell 44 of them. (130/3=43.33333)

Tomorrow I am going to start the celebration of Sukkot in Jerusalem with my roommate Aviel's family. I am so excited to meet his family and eat more food! I have heard wonderful things about his grandmother's cooking. Great news on top of this: we are bringing back bikes from Aviel's house! YES!

Wednesday I have a mandatory hike followed by a day of volunteering on Thursday. Then Thursday night I will be off to the festival. So you won't hear from me for a while. Chag Samaech everyone!

Slichot

2008-10-07T03:55:00.000-07:00

Photo courtesy of Jacob Greenberg

Slichot in Jerusalem is an amazing thing to witness and participate in. I was fortunate enough to do both. Slichot is a process were one repents for sins done in the past year. As part of this process their is a service consisting of a set of prayers and poems. Many of these "Slichot" have stories behind them. Our tour guide (NIR COHEN! My counselor from when I was in Israel in 2006) took us to a very special area in the Old City just a few steps away from the enterance into the Jewish Quarter. Within this small area consisting of a courtyard no larger than a two car garage and several cramped buildings, some very improtant history lies. In one of the buildings is believed to be the tomb of King David. The tomb is not open to the public because of work going on inside. Above the tomb is the room in which the last supper took place. Most of the other buildings around this area are currently being occupied by several Yeshivot (religous schools).

After walking through the Jewish Quarter we were given an hour of free time to see the Kotel and walk around the old city on our own. The place was packed, as you can tell by the picture. I walked down to the Wall by myself and witnessed dozens of different groups saying Slichot. Every group was unique. Some were more religously dressed, some looked like your everyday arsim, some were american, etc. One group that I noticed was a group of about six guys in their twenties. From what I could tell by their t-shirts, they were all in the same unit in the army. What was so unique about them was they way in which they were chanting the Slichot. They were standing in a line with their arms wrapped around each other, chatting energetically, and swaying back and forth. It was moving to just sit their and watch them.

I am not familiar with the Slichot because its more of Sephardic tradition, but I did really enjoy listening and taking in as much of it as I could while saying my personal Slichot. This was an experiance that I struggle putting into words. It doesn't do it full justice. Its really something you need to see for yourself.

It was pretty late and I was getting tired and hungry towards the end of our Siyur. It became hard to concentrate. I ate some food that I brought with me and a bagel from Bunker Bagles. As a group we then walked about half an hour to the bus. I noticed something very peculiar and interesting while walking out of the old city. There sidewalk at the foot of the wall that surrounds the Old City. As I was walking, on my right shoulder was a wall and a city that have been standing for literally thousands of years. On my left was a modern city. Cars honking, tourists milling around. It is Jerusalem. An ancient city with modern accesories.

Yom Kippur is tomorrow. It will be different from not being in Kansas City. Everything in this country stops. People walk down the middle of the streets and all of the children ride their bikes for miles. The only automobiles to be seen are emergency vechicles. (Hopefully I don't see any of those.) I am heading back to Kfar Saba to spend the holiday with the cousins. I wish everyone a meaningful fast.

Shana Tova!

2008-10-01T11:22:00.000-07:00

I would first like to start this post by say Shana Tova to everyone! I hope you all have a year full of happiness and health.

I spent Rosh Hashana with my cousins in the city of Kfar Saba. It was a nice relaxing three days. I enjoyed all the great hospitality and love that I recieved. I look forward to returning to Kfar Saba often to make a better connection with family here.

The holiday basically went like this:
-Eat
-Sleep
-Hang out with family
-Eat
-Eat
-Sleep
-Eat
-Hang out
-Go to a cool park in Tel Aviv
-Eat
-Hang out
-Sleep
-Eat

Clearly this is a very simplified version of what happened, but you get the gist. I spent most of the time in Haim and Rachel's place. This is where I slept and gained close to five pounds in two days. Haim and Rachel are both in their 70's, but they neither look nor act like they are a day over fifty five. They took very good care of me. Refusing to let me to lift a finger the whole time, even though I did when they weren't looking.

Haim and Rachel have three sons: Erez, Muli, and Lior. Each one of them is married with children. A very tight knit family. They all live close, the farthest of them is about twenty minutes away.

Here is all of us before dinner on Monday night.
(Out of the three pictures taken, this was the best one, and there is still someone not in the frame)

This was a picture taken when I was in Israel the summer of 2006.
Look how everyone has grown!

Tuesday night of Rosh Hashana I went over to Lior and Family's apartment. After keeping his eldest son, Roi, occupied while Lior took care of his youngest, Omer, Lior kindly let me use his WiFi and I skyped everyone back at home in Kansas City. It was about 1 or 2 in the afternoon there, so everyone was at my house in Kansas City getting ready to sit down and eat. It was good to see everybody. While I was talking to everyone I had Roi sitting on my lap. My family was happy to finally meet him. Lior was sitting next to me and he said hello to the family as well. Who ever invented skype, I owe you a big one.

Wednesday morning I went to Erez and family's house in a neighboring city of Kfar Saba. It's a small, sleepy suburb. A great place to raise children. After hanging around in their garden and eating, guess what we did? We went to an Arab village, and of course we ate. Great shwarma. Apartly there is the same one in Yafo. I will have to find it.

If you are interested in looking at some pictures of my family here and the fun we had, here is a link.

Once again, the staff here at "The Adventures of Daniel Siegel" (that's me!) wishes you a happy and healthy new year!

Weekend with Aaron

2008-09-27T14:40:00.000-07:00

"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!

2008-09-22T10:28:00.000-07:00

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!

2008-09-13T09:16:00.000-07:00

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

2008-09-10T07:00:00.000-07:00

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

2008-09-02T16:10:00.000-07:00

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.

Big Step

2008-08-30T22:59:00.000-07:00

My flight leaves KC at 9 tomorrow morning. Am I ready? Physically speaking, I'm packed, I'm healthy, a little tired, but I am ready. But am I really ready mentally? Its a big step. First time I am really on my own.

I think I'm ready.

I know I'm ready.

It will be hard. Things like this are never easy.

Goodbye Kansas City

Hello Israel!

So Close!

2008-08-26T10:27:00.000-07:00

Sammy made this countdown for me at camp. Each day has a word of advice or a tid bit about getting excited. Today's is a little misleading. "Let the countdown begin..." Well, the countdown has been going since before I signed up.

Yesterday was fun. Nick and I spent all day on what started out as a normal ride, but we ended up going all over OP on our bikes. Mary Glen tagged along for a little. We had lunch at Chipotle with Reed cause he was leaving for college. Hopefully we will go on more crazy bike adventures before Nick leaves on Friday. Next time I will try to bring a camera.

Last night we got a very exciting call from L.A. I have a new cousin! Mazel Tov Aunt Yael (Bob) and Uncle Craig! Get Skype set up so I can see her!

That goes for the rest of you guys too. You all should get this wonderful program called Skype. It is an online phone and videophone service. ITS FREE and take a total of about 5-10 minutes to download and set up. This is how I will be talking to everybody back in the states because calling is simply expensive and I can't see all of your faces on the regular phone. http://skype.com/

One More Week

2008-08-24T22:14:00.000-07:00

It's so close! I packed today, correction my mom packed, to make sure it would all fit. It does, and it is under weight. Only 7 more days!

Indroducing Your New Eagle Scout!

2008-08-22T10:55:00.000-07:00

Had my board of review last night. I'm offically an Eagle Scout!

Night Ride

2008-08-20T19:38:00.000-07:00

I was bored, so I decided it was time for a bike ride. It was about nine at night when I decided i would do this. So put on my helmet and lights and went. I need some more lights. I can't really see much without the help of the street lights. Riding at night is such a different experience. You can only see what is directly in front of you. The streets are empty. I could look into just about any window and see someone planted on the couch watching the boob tube. Just an observation.

The whole time I was riding I had this song stuck in my head.

The chorus is just so catchy.

Bye Jon and Justin!

2008-08-19T22:38:00.000-07:00

Jon leaves tomorrow for Drake and Justin leaves for Arkansas. It was sad to see them go, but I know we will all stay in touch. Trumpets FOEVA!

I made Jon a little something.

I put it in a magnetic frame I had laying around. (It looks better than this. I accidentally didn't save it on the computer, so I had to take a picture of it.)

My turn to leave is coming up pretty soon here. Can't wait!

Home

2008-08-18T19:39:00.000-07:00

I've been home for about a week and a half now. It has been pretty good. The mifgash kids came and went. Hopefully I will see them in Israel. Most of my friends have all moved in to school by now. (Good luck guys. Have fun, but keep it all in moderation.) I got to see most of them, which was good. The Stolls had an Arab night at his house on Friday and a lot of people were there. I put up a seudo Bedouin tent in their backyard and it looked pretty cool. I think its still up, I should probably go take that down.

Yesterday I went to the lake with my grandparents, their best friends the Carrs, who I call Aunt Marsha and Uncle Al, and Marsha and Al's daughter Cheryl along with her husband Kenny and twin daughters Ashley and Brittney. The girls and I are the same age, we are pretty much cousins. We have been good family friends since we were all in uteoro. Anyways, we all went down to Clinton lake were my grandparents and the Carrs each have a boat. Well the grandparents were fishing, I went and rode my mountain bike on the trails that surround the lake. It was the first time I have ridden off road with my clip-in pedals. It was a little nerve racking at first. I came back from my first ride and the girls, Kenny, and Cheryl showed up with a jetski in tow. Kenny showed me how to drive it. The thing is a blast. It is very easy to learn how to drive. Kenny also took me and Ashely tubing on it. He couldn't knock me off. I'm too used to how James takes people tubing. Kenny had me on there for a good twenty minutes before my arms gave out. We came back in after a couple hours on the jetski messing around and the Choikits left. I went on another bike ride. When I came back we left for dinner at Montana Mike's. I managed to eat a 20 ounce ribeye with mushrooms and garlic, a whole sweet potato, a salad, and a large roll. Amazing how hungry I can get. We went back to the lake so the grandparents could fish some more. Needless to say I was beat, so I slept in the car. I woke up this morning and my shoulders and arms are killing me! It was a great time at the lake. Thanks Bubbie and Grandpa.

I forgot something really cool! Ashely and Brittney are going to be in Israel for a year also. They are going on Nativ, a program run by USY. I will be really cool to hang out with them in Israel. I can also tell their parents all the trouble they're going to be getting into ;)

Tonight I was invited to a local Hadassah meeting. They all wished me great luck and gave me a journal as a gift. Thanks!

Even more important, they were honoring Sybil Kaplan as she is making Aliyah just a day before I leave. Sybil was my hebrew school teacher in 8th grade and is the one responsible for getting my involved in Young Judaea. She came up to me before the meeting and said, "Well you certainly have come a long way from when you were an 8th grader sitting in my class with a backwards baseball cap on." I look forward to seeing her in Israel. Her and her husband Barry are getting an apartment in Jerusalem.

In other news....
I don't think I have mentioned this on the blog yet, but as most of you know my family is getting a Korean exchange student. He arrives tomorrow. The house is a little messy, so that's my task tomorrow before he gets here. Its kinda weird that I will only get to know him for a week and a half before I head off.

Speaking of heading off....

Thirteen days before I leave!!!!! I'm more excited than a five year old waiting for the family vacation to Disney Land.

Packing is gonna suck though. El Al has crazy restrictions. My luggage of only two pieces cannot exceed 107 inches of combined length, width, and height. And each piece can't weigh more than 50 pounds. Otherwise it is an extra $100. Such crap. I can't imagine how much this sucks for girls.

Altogether there are thirteen people from the Kansas City area going for a year in Israel. That is a spectacular number. Check out the article in the Kansas City Jewish Chronicle. Written by none other than Sybil Kaplan.

"This year, four young men and one young woman from Kansas City will be on this course, including longtime Young Judaea activist Daniel Siegel. Your reporter was able to speak with Daniel personally while he was a counselor at Camp Young Judaea Midwest. Daniel is 18 years old, a 2008 graduate of Shawnee Mission South and son of Lisa and Steve Siegel. Daniel has been involved in year-round Young Judaea activities since middle school; attended national conventions during high school; was the local chapter president; and served on the region and district boards as well as on a steering committee for National convention."
Click Here for the rest of the article.

I have some Olympics to catch up on.

B'Shalom....YO!

P.S. Look what I found today, it's so stupid, but still funny.

Sweaty

2008-08-10T11:15:00.000-07:00

I rode a good distance today. 12 miles in about 45 minutes. It felt really good to be sweating under the hot sun. I think I really needed it just to clear my head.

Tonight is the big Goodbye Bash. Even though I'm not leaving until the 31st, most of my friends leave next week for school. Hopefully more than a dozen people show up. It was kinda late notice because my mom only reserved the park last week. Still, It will be fun and it will be good to see people.

Gleb our friend from Israel is here! My brother went on a Mifgash trip last summer through the Jewish Federation of KC. Ten teens from KC and Ten from the Ramla/Gezer area in Israel were paired up. The Israelis are here until next Thursday. Last night we had Kabbalat Shabbat with all of them. It reminded me too much of camp. We did some of the same tunes including the niguns, I played yaniv with a few of the Israelis, and we even said Birchot! I miss camp a lot.

Nir, the KC shaliach, was there last night too. It was good to see him. He will be in Israel for about a week once I get there. Hopefully I will get to see him.

B'Shalom

Camp Wrap-Up

2008-08-08T21:24:00.001-07:00

I feel behind on the blog. I'm here to make up for it.

Camp ended on Thursday and I rode home with some campers who live in Kansas City. Thanks guys!

The last half of second session was good. I got to know my kids really well and was very comfortable with dealing with them. All the hard work and stress paid off when one of the kids, who was a big problem through the session, came up to me on the last night and said "Thanks for the summer Daniel." Even though there were times in the last month where all I wanted to do was scream because that particular child was acting in an absurd manner, I put on a huge grin and said "I hope to see you next summer." Which I could regret in the future, but whatever...

Staff activities the last part of camp were a blast. There was the night swim (I went skinny dipping for the first time!), the meetings where we complained about our campers, the Friday night Onegs, and the tsevet(staff) banquet. It was themed "The Oscars" and people were paired up with dates. You and your date had a theme. Elisse and I were Danny and Sandy from Grease. Those pants were really comfortable...NOT.

As camp was wrapping up I realized how much a part of it I was, and how much a part of camp and Young Judaea are of me. I had my closing meetings with Robin and A-ron. I'm not trying to honk my own horn here, but they had really good things to say about me, and it was really good to hear. Being a counselor was very natural to me (ma'ap 2!) and I hope to be a staff member at CYJ midwest for several years. I could care less about the pay. It is more about how I have grown as a person, and more importantly that Young Judaea continues to grown and kids have great experiences from it. It will be interesting to see what happens to the movement in the next few years.

I have a going away party on Sunday. Email me if you want some info, or check out the facebook page.

Tomorrow I am going dirt bike riding!

22 more days until Israel! HINE ANI BAH!

Camp Part VIII

2008-07-27T15:18:00.000-07:00

Has it really been a week since my last post?! It really only feels like a few hours. I have barely had time to breath, but I love it.

Camp has been stressful in a good way. It has taught me so much. My hesitations about switching to a younger age group were correct. It threw me and my co-counselor, Allon, off for about a week and a half. We are just now really starting to understand our campers. I feel that this summer has made me grow dramatically as a person.

Well, what has happened since the last update? Its more like what hasn't happened...

I think I'm just going to talk about a few things.

I am the nature specialist again. I played this game called "hardcore hide and seek" with my campers. Basically I teach them about how animals camouflage by playing hide and seek in the woods. The kids get to wear face paint and they love it. I have a lot of fun as well.

Parsha Players!!!! If you are not a Judaean, let me explain. Each week there is a portion of the Torah that is read and we, the Parsha Players, reenact it in a humorous manner for the whole camp.

Tiyul! We went on the a camping trip with our kids. It was only one night. The camp ground really wasn't a camp ground. I have pictures. It disgusted me. That part is for another post. Anyways, we went tubing down a river. That's right, we sat in inner tubes and let the current float us down. I found it a little boring, but it was a great way to bond with the campers.

I had my second day off. It is annoying that they were only five days apart. Sometimes that is just how life works though. The day off ended up being the best one I have had this whole summer. My friend and fellow counselor Noah and I camped out in the far fields of camp. Then in the morning all of the people on the day off (myself, Elisse, Allison, Noah, Itamar,and Lisa)went into Waupaca. We walked around, had lunch at the Waupaca Cafe (all you can eat fish fry!), and then we hung out at this cool park on the back side of all the shops. Once we got back to camp Noah and I climbed one of the high ropes elements called mission impossible. Its a set of railroad ties made into a giant cable ladder. Seems simple to climb, but is far from it. You work as a team climbing it, and Noah pretty much carried me up. Thanks everyone that went on the day off, it was a ton of fun.

Today was Yom T’nua for the second session (see Camp Part II for an explaination on Yom T’nua). This session I ran the Pluralism station with Lisa. We were really ill prepared. I felt bad, but I feel we did the best we could. I think the younger kids got something out of it though.

My group of boys is having some difficulties. There is a majority of the boys that are really well behaved. Then there is a few boys who ruin everything for the rest of the cabin. Allon and I exert too much effort disciplining the misbehaving boys instead of rewarding the good kids. So we developed a point system with A-ron, our merkez this session. This way the good kids will get to do some fun things that the bad ones will miss out on. Hopefully this will inspire some attitude change.

Next weekend a lot of visitors are coming to camp. I am really excited! Emily and Maddie who are long time YJ friends that I haven’t seen since December, and Kuhn who has been busy ruining around the world. Check out his blog, the link is on the side of this page.

On a side note, I have done more reading this summer than I have in the last year. I have read Three Cups of Tea and I have almost finished The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. Both have been really good. I highly recommend them.

33 more days until Year Course!!!!

P.s. Thanks for the grad gifts!!!!

P.p.s. Soon there will be a picture post!

Camp Part VII

2008-07-20T09:25:00.000-07:00

I am currently on my day off in Appleton. I'm with seven other people from camp. We are going to go see Batman and get some Buffalo Wild Wings. Then hit up this amazing Jansport outlet. I really don't need anything, but when you can get misprinted shirts for $1, who wouldn't go?

I got sick yesterday. Some nasty cold that is going around the staff. I hoping if I sleep a lot and drink a ton of water I can flush this thing out.

Last night a huge storm rolled through camp. It was insane! We were all doing the normal post shabbous activites, rikud and such, and I look outside. I couldn't see a thing until the lighting hit. Which was every 30 seconds. Our assistant director didn't let us leave camp for our day off until the storm was gone. About 5 minutes later we drove right into it. We were going 35 mph on the highway and still couldn't see anything.

Now that I think about it, I has rained just about everyday during second session.

Year Course in 41 days!!!!

Beautiful CYJ

2008-07-17T09:00:00.000-07:00

Some of the beauty of CYJ.

Camp Part VI

2008-07-16T08:09:00.000-07:00

Today is the second day of second session. Things are going pretty well. My group of kids is called Arazim. They are sixth through seventh graders. My nervousness about having younger kids has mostly passed. I'm getting used to it.

As soon as this session started the temperature went up about fifteen degrees. And as it gets hotter, the mosquitoes become more numerous.

At some of the meals we have started playing this crazy song. The Israelis taught us a dance.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0p0oPqys1k

SOOO CATCHY!

Camp Part V

2008-07-12T22:51:00.000-07:00

I am back at camp now. The next session starts on Monday so the staff is running around finishing up things. The second session is a lot smaller than the first by about 30 kids. It will make for a much closer group of kids. I switched age groups this session. I will now have Arazim: 6th and 7th graders. Right now I feel like it is such a change of attitude from the campers I had last session. Machon was easy for me to connect with the campers. They were old enough to understand things if I talked to them like a normal person they generally got it. But now I don’t really know what to expect. I’m sure I will do a good job. I’m just nervous.

Today I swam across the lake. About ¾ mile. It was a lot easier than I thought it would be. My knees hurt a little, but it was really refreshing.

This next session there are five campers from KC! Granted three of them are from the same family and two from another, this leaves for a potential of programming in KC next year.

Speaking of next year, I am so excited! Today I ate lunch with about six of my fellow staff members who have all be on year course. They told me all kinds of funny stories. It just made me really excited. Also on the plus side, there are about twenty or so Israelis at camp. Which mean that while I am in Israel I will have about twenty people to go hang out with! Hopefully that involves free food :)

Right now I am sitting in the art room working on signs for welcoming campers with some other staff. We are also rocking out to “Bad Touch” by the Bloodhound. Good Times.

I’m starting to wonder if anyone even reads this thing. I know my parents do, or at least they say they do. I hope at least a few people read it. At least its a good way for me to keep a track of what happened.

I really want to upload photos here, but the camp’s internet has been temporarily slowed. We exceeded our limited for data exchanged (thank you face book). We are only allowed 17,000 megabytes a month. It is hard to imagine we got there, but we did.

Quote of the day:
"Its not rain. Its liquid sunshine!"

Until next time,
Daniel

Camp Part IV

2008-07-11T00:27:00.000-07:00

Right now its about 3 am and I am sitting in Karen's basement.

Wow, what a last few days!

Tuesday was packing day. We also allowed the campers to stay up late since it was their last night in camp. Yesterday we were up bright and early and had everyone loaded on buses to their various destinations. I went to Chicago for the two days between the sessions of camp. I, along with some of my fellow counselors, am staying at one of my co-counselor's house. Today we went to downtown. It was pretty cool. Out of the whole group I was the only non-hebrew speaker. I really need to start working on it. Although, I could understand most of the conversations.

So downtown was cool. We went down Madison and Michagan, had some good food, and of course we went to Millenium Park. We would have seen more but it started raining like crazy.

After downtown, we took a train back to Highland Park where Karen lives. The two blocks from the station to her house was one of those silly moments I won't forget. We got off the train and it was raining harder than before. Part of the group started going the wrong direction, so we are running around like chickens with our heads cut off. When we finally got to Karen's we are all soaking wet and the other half of the group is waiting at the station for Karent to come and pick them up.

Once the rain fiasco was over, Liron, Natalie, Karen, and I head to Karen's best friend's birthday party. It was nice to meet some non-camp people.

Besides all that fun stuff, we have done a ton of laundry and eaten way too much. Thanks for having us Karen!

Tomorrow we have to be in Skokie about 9:30 to do some shopping at Old Orchard before taking the bus back to camp.

P.S.
Becasue of silly computer issues, I am having problems uploading pics. However, there are some on the facebook page.

Camp Part III

2008-07-07T09:30:00.000-07:00

First session is coming to a close. It feels like yesterday I was arriving late from New Jersey.

Today was a very special day at CYJ. (EVERYDAY IS VERY SPECIAL DAY AT CYJ!) Today was Yom Yisrael, Israel day. Throughout the day we had the campers going to different stations learning about several famous Israelis: Golda Meir, Moshe Diane, Ariel Sharon, and Yonatan Netanyahu. The best part was that all the food throughout the day was Israeli. YUM! Ani ohev bamba!

This last weekend was the last Shabbat of first session which means it was Machon Shabbat. I don’t think I mentioned this, but the age group of campers I have is called Machon. Anyways, my campers lead Shabbat services, singing at lunch, and discussion groups. It was beautiful thing to finally see a more mature attitude from my campers. It really made it feel like all of those long nights of writing programs, those talks with kids you didn’t want to have, and endless conversations, all worth it.

Last night there was an incident in our cabin. One of the boys did something really mean to another one. The worst part of this was that not even half an hour before I gave a talk to all the boys about how bullying is not accepted in any way. It really made me and the staff very upset. Hopefully that will be the only problem we encounter.

Currently there are serving their punishment. Since today was Yom Yisrael we are having a Israeli style party outside. There is pita making (YUM), dancing, art, and food. My campers have to sit out because of the shinanigans they pulled last night. Noah, Alon, and I have been taking shifts watching them. It has actually turned into a pretty good bonding time.

Tomorrow is out last real day at camp. I have to lead another nature program and a sports club. Hopefully I will get a bike ride in there somewhere. Starting on Wednesday I will be in Chicago for a few days between sessions. I will actually get to see the city!

Camp Part II

2008-07-01T22:56:00.000-07:00

It is past the middle of the first session of camp. Things have gone pretty well. I am going to attempt to catch you up on what how things are going now that I have a little bit of time. First off I am working with seven other counselors, four of which are Israeli, and we all get along very well. The group of chanichim (campers) we have are thirteen boys and eighteen girls. It is your typical group of incoming freshmen. I cannot even begin to describe the amount of drama. They also seem to have a major problem with getting quite and listening, but what can you expect? Slowly they are getting better though.

On a side note, I know many of their siblings through YJ. It is interesting to see how similar and how different they are from their siblings.

Niv, our head Merkez (head counselor), chose an educational theme for our group. The theme is “Israel is great, but not perfect”. So far we have run three of the seven peulot (programs). They have been effective and feel like the kids have gotten something out of it.

On most days I get about an hour off. When I am not working on other programs, I spend most of that time riding my bike on the country roads that surround the camp. They are great riding, but because of time constraints it is hard for me get more then about ten miles in a day.

Last week our group went on a tiyul (campout) down to the Kickapoo river and canoed about 20 miles. It was a ton of fun. All the flooding from three weeks ago had a dramatic effect on the landscape. Many of the trees surround the river had fallen and because of this most places were only wide enough for one canoe.

Yesterday was Yom T’nua ( Day of the Movement). It was like being on Maz all over again. The activities were broken down for each pillar of our movement: Pluralism, Jewish Identity, Zionism, Peer Leadership, and Social Action. I ran the Peer Leadership station. Also, I was “Judaean Boy”! As soon as I can I will post pictures.

Hmmm what else? My birthday was great! A few friends threw me a late night birthday party.

Last Thursday I had a day off and went into Waupaca after sleeping in and attempting to wakeboard earlier that morning. I finally got some cheese curds!!!! My next day off is this Thursday. I’m going to Appleton with a few other staffies. It should be a good time.

10 days left in first session. It is bitter sweet.

TOMORROW IS MACCABIA!!!!! (Color Wars) I am captain of the blue team. Each team is themed after a Nintendo character. We are Donkey Kong. Tomorrow promises to be crazy.

Camp Part I

2008-06-18T21:39:00.000-07:00

I would try and write what is going on write now, but I am drained.

Staff week was great and now camp has started. My campers are a good group of kids for the most part. Things have been running smoothly and activities have been a blast. I will write some more detail later.

Unfortonalty, because of legal reasons I am not allowed to put any pictures of my campers, or even mention names. Thanks to all you creeps out there who ruin the world for the rest of us.

In less than a week I will be 18!!!!!! I am currently the one of the babies of the staff :(

It all works out

2008-06-08T21:11:00.001-07:00

Year Course Orientation weekend was great! A lot of the time we went over what to expect next year, non of which I was surprised by, and the rest we spent hanging out and getting to know some of the people we would be be with next year. The staff consisted of three YC staff from Israel, Vikki, Ben, and Katie, and the last member was Deena the registrar in the NY office. Kol Ha'Kavod YC staff!

Everyone got along very well throughout the weekend. We spent several hours playing "Jewish Geography" and figured out that the world is a very very small place. The bus ride home was hilarious to say the least. One of the girls, Stephanie, had a Cosmopolitan magazine. I proceeded to read the "Red Hot Read" in the back of the magazine to the whole bus. We then traded off reading a rather interesting article. There will be YouTube clips very soon. I look forward to seeing a lot of those people I met this weekend while in Israel next year.

Oh! I almost forgot. We also filled out our request for what Israeli Experience we wanted to do. Let me just explain for you non-year-course-literate people. YC, the program in Israel I will be attending, is broken down into three sections, each are about three months long. The sections are: Jerusalem Studies, Community Volunteering, and Israeli Experience. Israeli Experience is the part of the program where participants are spread all over the country doing all kinds of different things. The options include army training, firefighting, working with animals, etc. Here are the choices I requested, I think it is the right order. I can't remember. I'm too tired.

Kibbutz!
Marava (Army)
Airforce
Special Education

Kibbutz is defiantly first though. And Marava second. I would be thrilled to do either one.

After about 11am today things got really fun.....NOT!

We get to the airport, cool, legit, whatever. I check in, we all say our goodbyes, and everyone is on their way. I ran into Sarah and we both had later flights so we played some mad libs together and ate lunch. Afterwards I went to my gate to catch my flight.
And this is where it all went wrong.

My plane gets delayed. figures. Then it gets more delayed. figures. Turns out after waiting for FOUR HOURS that the flight is canceled. FIGURES. So I think to myself, "Crap, what are my options? Well, I could sleep in the airport, sleep at a hotel, or just switch airlines." Meanwhile my mom is calling me every five minutes and I have had to call camp, where I was headed, to keep them informed. Since the flight was booked solid and there were so many of us displaced it was a mess. I started talking to couple from Appleton when I was waiting in line to get a ticket for the morning. About that time Robin from camp called and told me to get a hotel room and the camp would cover it. THANK YOU! The couple, Nick and Kim, and I found a cheapish hotel and it turns out to be quite nice. Since I'm not eighteen (two weeks!) Kim was nice enough to book the room for me. I owe them a dinner.

This post was really long. But hey, that's what happens when you are by yourself in an airport for hours on end with no one to really talk to. It kind of all built up. I'm going to bed now because I have to be at the airport at 5 :( Can't wait to get to camp tomorrow:)

Some pictures from the weekend:

The beautiful Delaware.

The classic "Stick food that reminds you of Israel in your mouth" game.
I took this picture blindfolded. I'm pretty impressed how it turned out.

Stephanie turned the big 18!

And look who showed up!

Bye Bye

2008-06-04T22:48:00.000-07:00

Well, this might be the first post on my blog, but it is my last 36 hours at home for two months.

As much as I'm ready to leave this place, I am really going to miss a lot of people. Right now it just seems so hard to say goodbye. I think it is because I might not see some of these people for at least a year, some maybe longer, and many I might not ever see again. It is all part of this strange journey called life. I'm gonna miss you all. Keep in touch.

It is very bitter-sweet leaving. The first part I mentioned was bitter. Oh, but the sweet part, is equivalent to 500 pixie sticks.

I am about to head to New York for two days where I will have orientation for my year in Israel. I am so excited! I'm going to meet a ton of new people. I will become even better friends with them in the next year. After that I am hopping a plane to Appleton, WI for two months of jam packed awesomeness at CYJ Midwest! I am sure it will go by so fast I won't want to come home. I don't know how often I will have access to this blog while there, but keep an eye out.

Geez, I'm talking like I won't be home for three weeks in August. So lame of me. Ignore the sappiness of this post.