The Last Day Of Camp

Really, the similarities are striking. I won't be sleeping tonight. I didn't sleep well last night. The goodbyes are tearful and drawn out. And living in the dorms here in Haifa has been pretty similar to living in cabins with your friends. I fly to London at 8 in the morning, and have about 80 minutes to connect to my second flight at Heathrow, which will take me all the way to O'Hare. It's going to be a long day.

I guess I should start by saying boker tov. It's about 4 A.M. and I'm at Ben Gurion Airport. I've got time to kill and I need to provide some closure for myself. I'll be honest, at times this blog has been a hassle to write. It doesn't always flow and I went through a long period of writers block. However, right now I am inspired to put my thoughts on the page, as though I can soothe the heartache with a clever turn of phrase. This post will be as flow-of-consciousness as I can muster.

Today would serve as a reasonable metaphor for my entire stay in Haifa. The time seemed to trickle by slowly, but at the end of the day I don't know where it all went. My day began at around 9, when my restless sleep turned to restless wakefulness. I've never been able to sleep well when I am anticipating a big change, and last night was no exception. Knowing I had a lot ahead of me, I pulled myself out of bed and showered off. I spent the remaining part of my morning finishing my packing and cleaning my room. I expected to have to provide a walk through of my room with the dorm staff to prove I had cleaned it. I forgot this was Israel. The dorm mother simply wished me well and gave me an envelope to put my keys in when I dropped them with the guard upon leaving. Oh well.

I met with Nimrod and Ayelet and went up to their place to hang with them while they lunched. I had plans with Menachem so I didn't eat. At around 12, I walked over to the Ulpan office where Mina had told me she would be working today so that I could wish her goodbye. As it turned out, Rina (my old Arabic teacher) was also in the office and I got to wish them both well. I knew they were fond of me, but I came as close as I know how to blushing when they began to pour on the praise.

I went up to Karmit's office first to say goodbye. We chatted for about 20 minutes about the family and about relationship BS. She couldn't join the two of us for lunch because she had plans with friend's of hers. I headed down a floor to meet Menachem and we headed to our regular spot in the main building for lunch. It was a pleasant, serene lunch and we shot the shit like it was a regular summer afternoon. After lunch, we walked over to the art building to wander and talk in a more stylish setting. I've never really explored the art building and Menachem showed me around. It's quite beautiful. Even though this was less than 24 hours ago, it feels like an eternity has passed. Within the hour, we were back at the top of the steps that lead back into the heart of the campus and towards the dorms. Menachem hugged me and I thanked him for everything. Typically, he told me no thanks were required. He's been like a father to me the past year, and he treated me like his own son until the moment we parted.

I sort of wandered back to the dorms at this point, unsure of what to do with myself. I eventually found myself back in Nimrod and Omri's room and stayed there for a number of hours. The afternoon wore on until it was time to get back to my place. We had a goodbye 'party' for me at my apartment, which would stretch on from 7 P.M. until 1 in the morning. We ordered pizza, sat out on the porch and just hung out. Nearly all of my friends stopped by at some point to say goodbye, and it was gut wrenching every time one of them turned to go home. The last big group shuffled off at about 1, leaving me with Dani, Aaron and Bill, who had promised to help me bring my luggage up to the bus stop. We sat in my empty room for a half hour talking about women and trying to ignore the gnawing sense of void. My room has felt homey to me for as long as I can remember. Now that it was bare, it just felt sterile and cold. Aaron compared it to a cross between a hospital room and a jail cell. It's an ugly and apt comparison.

At 1:30 we brought my things up to the bus stop, where the sherut was already waiting. I said my final goodbyes to the guys, and then loaded into the van. I felt sick. I was the first of 6 or 7 stops that the driver would make in Haifa. A dark, quiet Haifa can do remarkable things for one's ability to reflect. I was mesmerized as we rolled down the familiar streets of Ahuza, Nave Sha'anan, Hadar and Bat Galim, past dark storefronts and shuttered Carmelit stations. Eventually we finished our spin through the neighborhoods of Haifa and got onto route 2 headed South towards Tel Aviv. An hour later, I found myself where I am now, emotionally torn and more than a little bit exhausted. I imagine that from now on, I will never feel totally settled in either the U.S. or Israel. Part of me will always be yearning to be home in another place. Pauliene put a nice spin on that last night; I will always be home in either country. And so it goes. I left my home in Haifa last night, and I will return home to Chicago this afternoon.

See you soon.

Let Them Eat Cheesecake

Anyone ever stop to wonder why all Jewish holidays seem to revolve around food? On Hannukah, we eat latkes. On Pesach, we punish our systems with matza meal and brisket. And on Shavuot, it's all about the dairy. I've reached a profound, highly heretical conclusion to this quandary: Shavuot must be the celebration of the day the Hebrews received Eli's Cheesecake from God on Mount Sinai! Or at the very least, the cheesecake was baked by Moses but inspired by God.....

WHO WANTS THE FIRST SLICE?!?!

But seriously, folks. It's Shavuot and my final Jewish holiday in Israel before heading back to Chicago. It's also the week of my cousin Shahar's fourth birthday. I got to spend the holiday the best way I could imagine here in Haifa, with my family at Karmit and Shani's flat, celebrating with Shahar. Everyone was there: Karmit and Shani with their kids Shai and Shahar, Menachem and Devora, Amir, Prechia, and Karmit's in laws.

Menachem is really just a big teddy bear.

I couldn't find a toy store on the upper part of the mountain, so I ended up getting him a book by Graeme Base, a children's writer who I loved when I was younger (the book is in Hebrew of course.) My gift does not come close to the one his uncle Amir gave him: A huge playset with firetrucks, cars and a garage. Shai is getting big, and she had quite the surprise for me. With a little help to keep her steady on her feet, she is walking. She's also quite talkative now, but very little of it is actual words. Mostly, she babbles in that baby language that precedes learned language.

Devora and Shai go for a stroll.

I nearly lost my composure when I had to say goodbye to Shahar last night. He's just such a sweet little boy and I love playing with him. I will miss him terribly. Just gotta come back to Haifa soon so he doesn't forget me. Chag sameach and happy birthday, Shahar!

He's got a mouthful of birthday cake.

A Few Of My Favorite Things

With my time remaining in Israel having dwindled to a scant week, I've been thinking a lot about readjusting to life in the States. Many things about Israel are frustrating to me, and I won't miss them much. Other things in the Israel experience are so similar to the U.S. that it hardly makes any difference whether I'm here or there. Then there are those things that, because of personal experience or impersonal observations, cannot be replicated back home. These are just a handful of the things that are distinctly Israel to me, and that I expect to miss when I go home.

Dogs On Buses

And dogs in restaurants. And dogs in malls. And dogs in kindergartens. And dogs in hospitals. Israelis bring their dogs with them everywhere they go, and no one in this country gives a rats ass. Feeling jealous, dad?

Galgalatz

Sure, they play an indefensible mix of 80's pop, cheesy oldies, kitschy garbage and teeny bop Hebrew music, but Galgalatz is an Israeli institution. My friend Nimrod goes so far as to insist that their weekend program, םופשבוע רגוע (chilled out weekend), is auditory lithium intended to prevent riots or road accidents.

Chutzpa

I have a challenge for any of my readers who will be in Israel in the future: Go to any falafel stand all across the country, order a sandwich, and try to pay with a 100 shekel bill. If the cashier doesn't demand a smaller denomination (so called "small money"), he is either stoned or missing the frontal lobe of his brain. Just try it. Trust me.

Cheap Hummus

Supporting my half-kilo a day hummus habit is about to get a lot more expensive. What bothers me the most about the whole situation is that hummus is just about the perfect food, but it's seriously disrespected in the states. Think about it: You can use it as a main dish or a condiment. It's vegetarian. It has fat, protein and carbohydrates. And it's fucking delicious! I'm gonna have to spend some more time on Lawrence when I get back to Chicago. Not even sure where I'm going to find the stuff in Minneapolis.

The View From The Top Of The Carmel

I've lived here for a full school year, and this view still manages to take my breath away. My parent's house in Chicago is as close to the Lake Michigan shore as the university is to the Mediterranean, but because Chicago is flat we could never see the water. In Haifa, the water is not visible only when there is a building in front of you. The picture does not do justice to the view.

Maccabi Haifa

Maccabi Haifa didn't have a great season. In fact, they finished in fifth, costing their coach his job and giving Menachem plenty of heartburn along the way. Even so, I followed loyally all season and had a great time along the way. I learned something about soccer, although mostly I enjoyed the atmosphere at the games. These are cutallthebullshit contests, with legions of angry, somewhat unbalanced fans screaming their demand for nothing less than total domination on the pitch. The focus is always on the game too. There is no jumbotron, no contests in the stands or T-shirt cannons, and the only time the PA system is engaged is to announce a scoring play or a substitution. It's a novel idea, no? And there is way too much money in American sports for it to ever carry over. So for one last time in Israel, let me proclaim "הדם שלי ירוק."

Egged

Egged has been my primary mode of transportation, both in Haifa and all across the country. I've taken buses between Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Tiberias, Eilat, Netanya and Nahariyya, as well as innumerable intracity trips in Haifa. They aren't always timely or comfortable, but Egged has always gotten the job done for me, and it will be a shock to say goodbye to those big, green buses.

The Family

Israel can be intimidating, especially initially before one makes the adjustment. I had it easy. Most of my Israeli cousins live in Haifa, and I got to spend a full year getting to know them. My time with them ebbed and flowed depending on my schedule and whether or not I was traveling. I definitely spent the most time with Menachem, who I had lunch with semi regularly. I'm definitely going to miss Shahar (the little guy pictured above) and his little sister Tooty (real name is Shai.) Devora always made sure there was someone to look after me in Haifa, while Karmit and Shani were more than happy to share their kids with me. It's easy to say they are family, but they have been both family and friends while I have been in Haifa and I'll never forget it.

U of Haifa Dorm Life

Whether it's playing cards, drinking and nargila in the backyard, barbecues or weekend bonfires, I had an absolute blast living in the dorms this year. I lived in a dorm once before, my Freshman year in Champaign. And it was nothing like this. People at IT kept their doors closed, were involved in themselves and uninterested and meeting the other people in the dorm. Not so in Haifa. The overwhelming majority of my friends live here in the dorms, both Israeli and international. I've met Jews and Arabs, people who identify with Peace Now or the settlement movement, and international students from all over the world. I've made dozens of friends, and I've learned a lot about the world I live in.

Hebrew

I could write a long post just on my my complicated and ever changing relationship with the Hebrew language. As I was growing up, my attitude ranged from pride to distaste to indifference. When I first arrived to Israel, Hebrew was exciting and novel. However, after a few weeks I got frustrated with struggling with the language every day. Of course it got easier over time, and now it has become just another part of my day. I speak only Hebrew in my house and at work, and only Hebrew with about half of my Israeli friends and many of my family members. I hope that I'll be able to keep my skills up back in the states. Hebrew is an incredible language, logical and beautiful and uniquely Jewish, and I'm immensely proud to say that I finally speak it.

Carmel Park

What a gorgeous day it is today. What an excellent weekend this is shaping up to be. I spent most of yesterday with Menachem. We went to the Grand Kanyon mall (it's a pun, the word "kanyon" in Hebrew means mall), where we had lunch together, traded stories and did some grocery shopping. I came back home that afternoon and did a little work, but mostly tried to be with people as I anticipate my time in Haifa dwindling. After Shabbat dinner in the dorms moadon, I went with a few of the boys out into the park for a night of camping.

I didn't really take advantage of the park much last semester except to job. I'm glad I know better now. The Carmel Park is the single greatest advantage Haifa has over every other major city in Israel - a massive nature reserve literally a 5 minute walk away. We walked about a half hour out, cutting East and South away from the campus to a nice clearing with a fantastic view of the water and parts of the city below. What we didn't anticipate there being were a group of drunken, jackass locals who were screaming and carousing until 4 A.M. I'm not exactly an early-to-bed, early-to-rise type, but this was way over the top.

I'm a lumberjack and I'm OK!

We had trouble finding the wood we would need for a fire. We got out there late, didn't have enough flashlights to go around, and there just wasn't any fuel on the path. A crashing into the forest we would go. Finally, we pulled a huge, dead branch down that had fallen but gotten caught in the lower branches of a tree. It made for an excellent fire when all was said and done.

Just a cool fire pic.

The next morning we hiked a little further East up the road and hit up a different Druze pita stand. They are multiplying! This guy was more engaging than the group who runs the stand by campus, and they had a hummus option to go along with the labneh and za'atar. A good time was definitely had by all. We trecked back home for a quiet afternoon. I did some laundry, a little reading, and hung out with my friends. Tonight I'm going with Menachem to my final Maccabi Haifa game of the season, vs. Maccabi Herzlyia. Beitar has already clinched the championship based on points (bastards), but we're still going to pull for our team. Shabbat shalom.

The Crossroads Of The Jewish Nation

I spent the weekend in Jerusalem, and had an absolute blast. I didn't go for the city, but rather for the preponderance of family and friends that would be in the city this past weekend. I hopped on the 940 intercity bus from Hof HaCarmel at 10:30 in the morning on Friday. It was sunny when I boarded the bus, but soon we were driving through a small monsoon. I was really frightened for my safety - the bus driver definitely didn't slow down or take the curves in the road any slower. The rain had tapered off by the time we arrived to Jerusalem, but it was certainly not done for the day.


My first stop on what would turn out to be a whirlwind tour was to the neighborhood of Ma'alot Dafna, an ultra orthodox neighborhood in north Jerusalem. My cousin Josh Rose is studying in a yeshiva there and I wanted to go see him before he goes home in 2 weeks. I took a northbound bus only to realize that I was the only guy on the bus not wearing the "uniform." Everyone else was clearly ultra orthodox and hurrying home to begin preparations for Shabbat. It was even stranger when I got off the bus. It was about a 2 block walk to the yeshiva from the bus stop, so I began asking around to some of the locals where I could find it. I got some queer looks, but people were nonetheless helpful and about 5 minutes later I made it to Yeshivat Or Sameach.

The dorm's at Josh's Yeshiva

We went to go get a bite to eat. Everything in the area was already closed down for Shabbat, so we took a bus downtown and got off at a falafel stand on Yafo street. We were just sitting and catching up when the strangest argument I've ever witnessed erupted right in front of us. There was a 30 something guy leaning against the wall eating his sandwich. Me motioned to an older man sitting next to me at the bar and asked him if the bag sitting next to him belonged to the old guy. The old guy responded by going utterly berserk! Either he was already spoiling for a fight, or he's a total loon. Either way it made for great theater. He started with a low dangerous voice and stayed sitting, but soon he was standing, screaming and had to be physically restrained by the guy serving the food. "You bastard. You dirty son of a bitch. Fuck you! Go to hell you son of a bitch!" They tried throwing him out but that just further enraged him. "Are you Jewish? You aren't Jewish are you?! Go back to Gaza! You should go back to Gaza! You would feel more at home in Gaza you bastard!!!" Not that it matters, but the guy was definitely Jewish. I was torn between leaving and staying to watch this train wreck in progress. I was also simultaneously translating for Josh into English. Needless to say, I have never seen something like this before.

Josh and I on Jerusalem's famous "Ben Yehuda" street

After lunch we wandered around for a while chatting, eventually finding ourselves at the Jaffa gate to the old city. It had begun to rain and the temperature was dropping. Josh and I walked through the Armenian quarter towards the kotel square, then headed over to the "Aish HaTorah" campus where he was meeting a friend. This friend turned out to be Dan Goodman, an old friend of mine of USY fame, who is now living in Minneapolis and has become much more observant than I remember him. I said goodbye to them as they left for their Shabbat plans, and then made my way down to the kotel where I was meeting another old friend, Jeff Reiser. I had about a half hour to kill so after saying the requisite שמע ישראל I got under a shelter where there was a small synagogue set up (but more importantly, a heater) and waited it out. Jeff was on a Mayanot sponsored birthright trip (think Chabad.") The services that night were quite interesting as a result, but the leaders were actually pretty good at making it accessible for the kids on the program.

Well met in Jerusalem, despite the rain and cold.

From this moment on, I basically crashed their birthright program. We walked back to their hotel together where I would spend the next day and a half sleeping in their rooms, eating their free food and participating in their programming. Richard says I'm ballsy. I just think I'm assertive. Shabbat dinner that night was great. Mountains of brisket, baked chicken, potatoes, challah, hummus and veggies, plus some gourmet desserts. Because it was Shabbat, and also because everyone was exhausted, we stayed in that night and just chilled at the hotel. I met a whole bunch of girls who go to Wash U. law, and who encouraged me to go there. I suppose I need to be accepted first.

Drying off in my ill gotten hotel room.

The hotel is located between French Hill and Mount Scopus, a fantastic location considering its proximity to the Hebrew University campus, and Eli's dorm room there. I spoke with Eli in the morning and we determined that I would tramp over to his place that afternoon whenever I was ready. Jeff a I grabbed breakfast with the St. Louis delegates and then went to a very short but otherwise very nice Shabbat morning service. It was never intended to be a normal service. The Rabbi's invited 6 girl and 2 guys who had never had a bar or bat mitzva to choose their own Hebrew names, and then performed the requisite blessing for the naming ceremony. The boys each had an aliyah at the Torah. The whole thing was over by 12:30. We had a half hour until lunch, so we headed up to the roof to take some panoramic photos of the city.

After lunch, we left for a tour of the area around Hebrew U. Honestly I could have boarded the bus with this group bound for the Negev on Monday, and no one would have been the wiser. One of the staffers even came up to at lunch to remind me that we had somewhere to be at 2:15. He had no idea I wasn't with the group. The tour was nice, and we took some great pictures of Jerusalem and the West Bank from the top of Mount Scopus, but by that time it was starting to get dusky and cold, so I broke off from my new friends and met Eli at his dorm.

The West Bank and the northern branch of the Dead Sea.

Aliza Goodman (Eli's girlfriend of many years) joined us at Eli's place that evening. I hadn't seen her for about 6 months so it was really nice to get a chance to just chill and catch up. We waited for our friends Yonatan and his fiancee Shannee, and then all five of us left for downtown. The area was just infested with birthright groups. I've never seen it so crowded. Eli, Yonatan and I went to Moshiko's for dinner to get a shawarma. It took us a half hour to get to the front, and that was with the regular pushing and shoving that Eli and I are wont to do.

Aliza and Shannee at Eli's flat.

It was downtown that we proceeded to run into everyone on earth that I've ever met. Here's a short list of everyone I saw on Ben Yehuda street saturday night: Eli Wald, Aliza Goodman, Yonatan Lapid, Shannee Babai, Jeff Reiser, Jeff Villano, Robbie Fineberg and the other 4 members of his immediate family, Julie Edelman, Elli Dvorin and Yael Dvorin. It was some kind of crazy. We didn't stay there really late on account of the temperatures dropping into the thirties but we stayed long enough to smile and take pics and trade phone numbers and make some plans. I headed back to Eli's place around 10:30 and walked back to the hotel a few hours later where I would bunk for the night.

JV, Eli and myself.

The next morning the birthrighters left early for their day. I hung around at the hotel until 9:30 and then headed back downtown. I met Elli Dvorin and his girlfriend for a cup of coffee on King George, and then Aliza came to join us. True to the theme of the weekend, I was not done seeing old friends just yet. Aliza had planned to meet Jenny Kibrit (her roommate and a friend from Champaign) for lunch and chilling that afternoon. She didn't tell Jenny I would be there, so we surprised her good. 3 of their friends from the Brandies grad school were also there, so I met yet another new group of Jews from back home. The girls helped me pick out a scarf, which I am quite fond of. Its dark blue, soft, warm and apparently fashionable. I couldn't be happier. We did lunch at this swank little cafe that doubles as a bookstore. Then we wandered through the artists colony at the Yemin Moshe neighborhood. It was just wonderful. Incredibly peaceful right in the middle of the craziness of downtown Jerusalem.

A quiet walkway in Yemin Moshe.

My trip had one more highlight left in it: Eli, Aliza and I went out to dinner with Reut. She took us to a nice little out of the way place where I got french onion soup with a twist: There was a piece of malawach draped over the top. It was excellent. Everyone shared stories while Eli collected the sugar packets with pictures of famous Rabbis and Zionist leaders on them. At long last it was time to head back to Haifa. Reut drove me as far as Netanya, where I got back on my familiar train and headed for home. It was a long but awesome weekend in Jerusalem.

An all Ramah photo.

A sunburst over Jerusalem.

Yael Dvorin and I

Old friends from the U of I

סיבה למסיבה

One thing Israelis are great at is finding any old reason to throw a bitchin' crazy party. Last night we had TWO great reasons to party. Devorah's birthday is later this month, and the family threw her a massive surprise birthday blowout last night. I couldn't mention it on this page earlier for obvious reasons. The party was at a restaurant in the German Colony and it was really fancy. It looked like over 100 people showed up and cramed into an upstairs party room the size of my flat's living room. It was really warm. Amir made a nice movie for Devorah with friends and family wishing her a happy birthday and mazal and happiness and everything that goes along with it.

Shachar parties down with one of his cousins.

The food was fantastic. I had a salmon patty with greens and mashed potatoes that was absolutely to die for. Plus they kept the wine flowing. Devorah was smiling and blushing so much that I thought she was going to just faint. I've got to give big props to everyone who had a hand in planning last night. I wish I could say I did. It was an unmitigated success!

Menachem and Carmit at dinner.

I left the birthday party a little after ten o'clock to roll for my second party of the evening. As I've previously mentioned, the international school semester is over, and last night was our one last chance to go out, celebrate and all hang out together before people start leaving. We went to a put down by the port and near to the German Colony, Eli's Pub. I've never been to any of the bars by the water before (except for the overpriced, watered down beer they hawk at the beaches.) The neighborhoods change quickly in Haifa. I walked about a half block down Yaffo street towards the pub, and all of the sudden I was in one of the rattiest neighborhoods I've seen in Israel. The pub was actually awesome on the inside. A nice atmosphere, chill, with a little room to dance but mostly a place to sit and talk with your friends over a pint. As a bonus, they had a great soundtrack going all night with lots of classic rock.

4 of us sat at the bar until the main group arrived.

If there was one potential drawback to this pub, it's that it wasn't very large. We began to ask the bartender about tables, since I had made a lot of calls and was expecting a large group to show up. They had one huge empty table, but apparently it was reserved. When she asked me how many to expect and I estimated 15, she smiled and offered us the table! Earlier that night when I had been on the phone talking to Anna, she mentioned that she knew the manager at the pub and would call to let him know we were coming. She asked me for a number and I gave her the same estimate, and the manager blocked off the table for us! The bartender's words (translated from Hebrew) were "are you here with the Hungarian girls who called?" Just marvelous!

What a lovely kiss!

I will miss my friends a lot, but I'm looking forward to meeting a whole new group of people soon. In the meantime, my vacation travel begins this morning. I am leaving for Jerusalem in a half an hour, and I'll hopefully be seeing plenty of old friends. I'll update when I return. Shabbat shalom.

Trying To Catch My Breath

The weekend has come and gone and I'm just struggling to keep up. The work is really starting to pile up as we draw close to the end of the semester. My Arabic workload is a solid 2 hours per night, night in and night out, and I have lots of other classes on top of it. I will be giving a presentation in "Rabbinic Literature" a week from today on the legality of smoking tobacco according to modern interpretations of Jewish law. Tomorrow morning I have a Hebrew exam. Things are getting plenty dicey and I spent a solid part of the weekend pouring over my notes. This is all with an eye to the future. I need to get my work done now because my family arrives in Israel tomorrow afternoon and will be spending the two upcoming weekends here in Haifa with me. I would really rather go touring with them than sit with books open studying.

I did have some fun over the weekend in spite of myself. Thursday night I went out with a group of friends to a pool hall in Mercaz HaCarmel. Dominique and I lightened the mood considerably by cracking open a bottle of vodka for the group before hitting the strip. I probably had a little too much, and the lowlight of my night was lining up to shoot at a ball that I didn't realize wasn't mine, and then making the perfect shot to sink it.

I went over to the Mor's home for a wonderful Shabbat lunch with the whole family. Amir came, and Carmit and Shani brought the kids. Devorah made a lot of cholent, just the way I like it. I got my standard playtime with Shachar and I tried feeding Shai. She wasn't having any of it, and most of the apple sauce-ish stuff I was trying to give her ended up on her bib. Now I'll shamelessly post pics of the kids, with many thanks to Carmit:

To me, this is what Shabbat is all about.

One of the few moments where Shachar wasn't running around.

I think this photo was taken before the high tide of apple sauce.

And one of me and Devorah, since this is my space anyway.

As for the situation on campus, the student strike has come to an end beginning today, without accomplishing a single one of the goals they set out to accomplish. Totally pathetic. The only thing they managed to achieve was the cancellation of university classes for a week. The government is still not meeting with the professors who remain on strike. It's the status quo, ladies and gentleman! I mentioned in an earlier post how disappointed I was with the efforts of the student union to affect policy change. Now I'm just disgusted. The semester is all but assured to be canceled at this point. If the students hoped to make a point that the Israeli government would respond to, they failed.

Chanukka With The Family

I had dinner at Carmit and Shani's flat tonight with the whole family. Menachem and Devorah brought me along with them, I got to play with Shachar and Shai, and see Amir and even Prechia. It was excellent. Shachar has taken quite the shine to me. Shani tells me that this afternoon he was talking about how excited he was to see me. Of course this meant when I finally arrived, it was time to play. I tossed him and carried him and he climbed on me. We played with dreidels, toy trucks and musical instruments. When it was nearly time to go, I was instructed to come see how he takes his bath, and then come watch how he gets into bed. Of course the nicest part was when Shachar and I held the shamash together to light the Chanukka candles. I was invited to say the brachot. I sang them like I would back home, but I guess that isn't the custom here.

Shachar and I light candles while Menachem looks on.

Dinner was really good. Carmit made quiche and latkes, and there were some nice cheeses and bread. The guys spent a lot of the time over by the couch, as the Maccabi game started at 7:30. They played to a 1-1 draw with Bnei Sakhnin, Israel's only Arab team. It was very strange to see the advertisements in Arabic, including a giant ad for 'cellcom', one of Israel's major cell phone companies. Maccabi drew several yellow cards and one player drew a red card when he kicked an opponent, who promptly gave us a Vlade Divac inspired flop and grabbed his leg in seeming agony. Things looked pretty bleak during the stoppage time at the end of the game, but Haifa's goalie made several spectacular saves to preserve the draw.

Checking out the candle lighting before dinner.

I had quite the full day yesterday. Barbara and I went to the shuk to shop, and you would never guess what I found there: Butternut squash!!! I had no idea they could grow squash in Israel. I brought it home and got busy in the kitchen. By the time it was done, it was more candy than vegetable. I sliced it up real thing and then coated the pieces in butter, sugar and cinnamon, and baked the whole thing until it was soft. I had Lauren over for coffee and a taste of my concoction and we chatted about life and whatnot while the squash baked. The sugar-butter formed a black tar on the baking sheet which I would neglect to clean for several hours, and pay for that neglect. The stuff became tougher than cement. I actually had to boil water and pour it over the baking sheet to make the goo pliable enough to scrape off with steel wool.

I had Shabbat dinner in the moadon as usual and then left for the Hungarians' apartment to play cards. I ended up staying and hanging out with Mari until 2:30 before grabbing a cab back to university. It was a really late night and I ended up sleeping in until 12:30 in the afternoon. My day was pretty lazy, I sort of hung out around the dorms until Menachem picked me up for dinner.

Sparky

My family dog Sparky passed away last night at home in Chicago. We loved him dearly and he will be missed. My thoughts are only with him today. I will resume regular posts tomorrow.

Schadenfreude

I want to get this in writing while I still can: With 7:40 remaining in the second quarter, the Fighting Illini football team is tied at 14 with undefeated Ohio State, the top ranked team in the country. I'm thrilled that Illinois is a respectable team again, and very bitter that they didn't qualify for a single bowl game in my four years in Champaign. On to tonight's post...

We had a nice barbecue at the dorms this afternoon. A group of international students got together and we made ourselves a feast. Kabobs, turkey dogs and roasted veggies, pita, salads and hummus, tea and Turkish coffee. I nearly ate myself into a coma. Normally I prefer not to eat until I don't feel well. It was an especially poor decision today because I went over to the Mor's house around 5 to watch the M. Haifa - Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv soccer match. Devorah seems to worry that I am wasting away, and she wants to stem the hemorrhaging by making sure I eat a lot when I visit. I know she does it because she cares, but I just can't eat that much, and she doesn't take no for an answer.

American men performing our birthright: grilling.

The game was a blowout. Maccabi crushed Bnei Yehuda 3-0, which is the soccer equivalent of telling someone your going to punch them in the mouth, and then going ahead and doing it. Shani and Carmit came with baby Shai around halftime. I spent much of the inconsequential second half playing with Shachar on the porch. God help me when I have kids. I don't have the energy to keep up with Shachar now, and I'm theoretically in my physical prime. After about 25 minutes, Shani came in out of the bullpen and I went back inside to rest. We chatted and I talked with Shai a little, and then everyone left but myself and Menachem. He and I watched a second soccer game, Beitar Jerusalem - Ironi Kiryat Shmona. This game ended in a 0-0 draw, but it was fascinating to talk to Menachem during the game; his schadenfreude was off the charts. The game had only a passing affect on Maccabi's standing in the league, but Menachem's hatred for Beitar is pure, and comes not from standings but from a deep conviction in the true and correct state of his fandom. I both admire and empathize with this particular strain of learned insanity. I am, after all, a Cubs fan.

I did a nice big load of laundry tonight at the Mor's. Devorah uses fabric softener, so my clothes are softer and sweeter smelling than they have been since I arrived. It's just wonderful. Tomorrow I am leaving the University at around 8 A.M. for a day trip in the Galilee. I'll update tomorrow evening with photos and stories. By the way, it's now halftime and Illinois is actually LEADING Ohio State by a touchdown. 21-14 Fighting Illini! I bet those OSU pricks are choking on their own pretentiousness right now. Honestly, "THE" Ohio State University?! Shut the fuck up.

A Restful Shabbat

As it turns out, I was able to relax and catch up on some sleep this Shabbat, which is exactly what I needed. After barely sleeping for about a week, I was beginning to run myself into the ground. I left Eli's place around 1:30 in the afternoon and made my way back to the central bus station in Jerusalem. What a zoo. My God. It seemed like the whole country was trying to escape the city before Shabbat came and everything shut down. I arrived at the central bus station in TA about an hour later, where Alex was waiting for me. We wandered through a shuk for a little while, looking at clothes and goofing off, before eventually buying some baklava for that night and hopping a sherut to his apartment in Petach Tikva.

We got a little turned around en route and had to ask the driver to drive us back to Petach Tikva. Alex has only been living in this flat for about a month, so he still doesn't know the area very well. He shares a place with 5 other lone soldiers. The apartment is very nice, supplied by the army for the use of its lone soldiers. The life of a lone soldier in the Israeli army is not the easiest life to lead. The people I met were the picture of mental exhaustion. They were young, on leave and just trying to forget about the army as much as they could before they had to return to base. Alex is a cook in the army, so we made a feast last night. Roast chicken, fried chicken, stuffed peppers with meat, rice, salad, pita and hummus. Some girls who lived in the building came by and we ate seemingly forever.

The artist at work in his studio

We watched a movie and then went to sleep. It was glorious. I slept until 10:30 in the morning and I needed every minute of it. I got up and got dressed, and at noon my cousin Itzik picked me up. Itzik and his family live in Givatayim, a wealthy suburb of Tel Aviv. Before March of this year, I didn't even know that I had family near Tel Aviv, but after much prodding from my dad, I ponied up and called him. I ended up spending all afternoon with him. First I met his mother at her home. She noted how much I look like my Bubbie Nacha (I didn't know that), and sat down to ask me all about my family over a piece of cake. A proud Yiddishe Mama. Next I went with Itzik to his family's home for lunch. I met my new cousins (although I'm having trouble with some of the names so I will get back to you when I am more certain of them) and we talked and ate and relaxed.

The Weiss family and I in Givatayim

Eventually Doron and Rina (Itzik's son and one of his daughters) took me on a short walking tour of Givatayim. It's a beautiful neighborhood, very different from Haifa. I don't know that I can really explain the difference, but the cities have a different feel to them. I did snap this photo of Tel Aviv from a distance.


The best thing about the afternoon was that four whole hours, I threw caution to the wind and spoke nothing but Hebrew. And I did pretty damn well with it too! I am finding that my Ulpan combined with my real life experiences are combining to enhance and expand my Hebrew vocabulary on a daily basis. I'm learning new words and phrases, and putting them to use almost immediately. Speaking Hebrew still requires more concentration than English, so after the visit was over, I was once again drained. I went back to Alex's and we hung out for another 2 hours, before I caught a 6:15 bus back to Haifa. Travel is great, but it's always nice to return home. Things get crazy again tomorrow, so I'm going to take the opportunity to get another full night's sleep tonight.

Menachem's Birthday

Today is Menachem's 61st birthday and we spent all day celebrating. I went to Menachem and Devorah's house this morning and waited there until Amir joined us. We all piled in the car and drove about 20 minutes to a Brazilian style steak house. There we met my cousin Carmit, her husband Shani and their two kids Shachar and Shai.

Amir and Shachar.

This is the first time I've had red meat since I arrived in Israel nearly three weeks ago, and I definitely made up for lost time. Amir ordered a dish for us to share: An entire kilo of meat. Beef, lamb and chicken. Steak on a sword. Delicious but serious overkill. This lunch brought me back to my "Basar Tuesday" days in Champaign. If you want to be grossed out, the old url is still online for some reason: http://www.ews.uiuc.edu/~kagin/basar_tuesday/

Menachem and I at lunch.

Shai is absolutely beautiful. She is six months old now. I missed meeting her by a week when I was here in March. Hopefully I will get to know her pretty well. Carmit already asked me about babysitting. I spent most of the post lunch chat time playing with her. She is a very active baby with a really strong grip, and she loves to laugh. Just love her!

Meet Shai!

After lunch Carmit and her family loaded the car and headed for home. We came back to Menachem's for a while to rest. I had the chance to call home and my parents got to wish Menachem a happy birthday. At 4:30 we rolled out for Netanya; I was on my way to seeing my first Israeli soccer game.

The family at lunch. Carmit is holding Shai with her brother Amir next to her. Devorah is sitting on the right and Menachem is partially blocked by me.

Menachem is a big Maccabi Haifa fan. He has been going to games since he was 16 years old. Of course it doesn't hurt that Haifa has a history of success that is both lengthy and recent. They won 3 consecutive Premier League championships as recently as 2006. Unfortunately, Haifa is not the powerhouse it has been in the past (they lost 4 players to free agency during the offseason), and they lost to Maccabi Netanya 2-1.

This is Menachem BEFORE the game. You can imagine how pleased he looked afterwards.

The Netanya soccer stadium is a dump. Apparently they call it "the box in Netanya." It actually reminded me a lot of Wrigley Field, but without the charm. It was old, small and crumbling. The bathroom (there was only 1) was filthy and poorly lit, and the pitch looked like the outfield grass after a Sting concert. Plus there is a short bleacher section on one side of the pitch and balls kept being kicked onto the street. Reminds me very much of balls flying onto Waveland on a hot summer day.

The Netanya colors are yellow and black. I have always felt this is the worst color combination in sports. Who wants to look like a bunch of bumblebees?

Of course if the stadium is a Roman era relic, the atmosphere in the stands was pure college football. I say this with the utmost reverence: these fans are fucking insane. They stood the entire game, singing and chanting, waving their M. Haifa scarves and screaming at the top of their lungs. The chants were very creative, and generally so dirty that they made me blush. I won't print them here in English, but as a bonus for those of you who read and understand Hebrew, I offer this little gem:
!נתניה זונה! נתניה זונה! נתניה מוצצת את כל השכונה

Haifa fans react to a first half goal.

The ride back home was somber for a few minutes and then loosened up. We stopped at a strip mall where one of Amir's restaurants is located so he could pop in a check up on business, and got ice cream afterwards. What a day! I finally got back to the dorms around 11:30. There is a home game next weekend against Beitar Jerusalem that I will most likely be going to with Per and maybe some other people. It was so much fun, I can already feel myself being drawn in. I want to close by once more wishing Menachem a happy 61st birthday, until one hundred and twenty. Today was his birthday, but I had such a great time it sure felt like mine.

The Haifa faithful performing one of their cheers.

One more gratuitous shot of Shachar and Shai, just because.