Party Like It's 1986

As an anthropology student, I was trained that making value judgments about the relative value of a culture is ethnocentric and inherently wrong. That's why you shouldn't take it lightly when I say that 1980's pop culture is the worst culture in the recorded history of humanity. After all, the 1980's brought us Madonna, Duran Duran, leg warmers and stick up bangs. Total garbage. Of course because it was so ridiculous, the 80's are ripe for parody. The movie Wet Hot American Summer is a parody of Jewish summer camps in the 80's. It's high comedy and I recommend it to all of you. Last night, I attended a Wet Hot American Summer end of the semester/tribute party.

You wouldn't know it by this photo,
but I was wearing short shorts.

It was a good party, and it was made better by the appearance of one Mina Ben Meir, also known as my Hebrew Ulpan teacher for the past year. Yes, my ulpan teacher came and partied with us, and it was awesome. She always used to talk to us in class about how she likes doing wine parties on the weekends, and she's so chill that she was totally comfortable just sitting and doing toasts with her students. It was awesome. Check it out!

Mina is in the middle, my friend Elana is on the left.

Israel in June is exceedingly hot, and yesterday's high was 34 degrees centigrade. That's hot. It wasn't that hot by nighttime, but in a cramped apartment in Hadar with too many bodies, there was steam on the air nonetheless. I took off my shirt to cool off and was reminded of a horrible truth - I could strip down to my birthday suit and still be uncomfortably warm. This damn fur coat that I'm wearing all the time just won't let me cool off in the summer!

Me and Ze, one of the Brazilian Jews here in Haifa.

People have already begun leaving en masse so I've had to say goodbye more times then I wanted to and it's only Friday. Many more goodbyes to go before I finally step onto a plane and head back to the states. I've got some butterflies in my stomach about the whole thing, but I'm trying to keep it cool. My last Shabbat here in Israel is just ahead of me, and I'll try to take advantage of it. Shabbat Shalom.

Bonnie and Danielle at the party

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.

Student Day In Haifa

Israel has a fine tradition called "Student Day" which I was lucky enough to be a part of this past Thursday. It is a celebration of all things student and it meant a big party down by the beaches with several prominent Israeli musicians. It was going to be huge, with students from all over Haifa and the North in attendance.

Elliot "prepares" for the Student Day concerts.

The international school gang gathered at our usual spot on the boardwalk behind the lowest level of the Talia dorms for dinner and pre gaming. I was getting pretty amped up because some of the acts were supposed to be really good. The show didn't disappoint.

Pregamin' it.

The last time I saw a show at the convention center, it was Purim and the party was inside. The Student Day concerts were out on a big open field that I didn't even know existed, across the street from the Haifa Mall. It was quite a setup they had - food, liquor and cigarette stands formed a perimeter with tents and nargila rentals towards the back, and space in the front for dancing facing a huge outdoor stage.

Aviv Geffen performing early on.

As you've just learned, Aviv Geffen was the first act I saw. He was nothing short of phenomenal. One of the most talented musicians in Israel, he gives a great show. Next up was Beri Saharof. I'll admit that I wasn't really familiar with him before the concert. I liked his style though. He was a very easy going stage presence that meshes well with his Hebrew ballad style of music. I was less impressed by ٌRon Denker.

Pyrotechnics were a big
part of Saharof's act.

At about 1 A.M., the headlining band, Infected Mushroom, took the stage. This was after 20 minutes of the Haifa University student union standing on stage and patting each other on the back. Some things are constant even cross culturally. I was most excited about seeing them before I arrived but by the time they finally began to play, I was just exhausted. I took one of the earlier buses back and only heard about 20 minutes of Infected Mushroom. That was dissapointing, but it was great to see so many Israeli acts in one night. How can we bring Student Day to America??

Lea, Elles and Dani at the concert.

A Jewish Engagement

One of my Madrichim, Levi is marrying a girl a grew up with, Ilana Slutsky. I didn't even know they were dating until last Thursday night, when they announced it at an international school event. It was, as they say, an utter mind-fuck. Tonight I went to the engagement party. It was religious, which came as no surprise. It was also mostly Americans. I arrived at around 7, and had a watermelon daiquiri in my hand less than 5 minutes later. It's a Wednesday night and I have class in the morning, so I had no interest in getting drunk, but it was tough not to. They were drinking like it's going out of style.

The party is in the quiet, wealthy neighborhood of נווה שאנן (Nave Sha'anan.) My cousin Prechia lives in the area, though I didn't see her. Did I mention it's a wealthy neighborhood? They had a gorgeous view of the bay facing North, looking out towards Acco and East to the Galilee. If it wasn't for the smog, it would have been flawless. Haifa holds the "honor" of being Israel's most polluted city.

The party was nice, albeit predictable. Levi gave a nice speech about Adam and Eve, and the yearning of the person for his soul/mate. It would have been utterly nondescript, but it was in Hebrew and I followed perfectly. They'll be going back to Chicago next week to celebrate with her family. I wish them a hearty mazal tov and all the happiness in the world.

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.

Hamsin

A Hamsin is a local term for a hot, dusty wind that blows through Israel from the Negev and Sinai. It brings with it unbearable heat and heavy air pollution. It is generally unpleasant. Some have speculated that the term (Arabic for 50) refers to the number of days that a Hamsin blows through the country every year. I've heard another suggestion though: The temperature in the desert can reach 50 degrees (Celcius) during a bad Hamsin. That translates to about 120 degrees Fahrenheit, which is a heat I simply cannot fathom. Lucky us, we've got a Hamsin coming through the area now!

Midwesterners who may or may not still be getting snow in May will want to bash me for bitching about the weather here. Sure, it may be sunny and comfortably warm almost every day in Haifa during the Spring. I don't underrate that. Unfortunately, when it does get hot, I have no way to cope with it. I am a cold weather individual. Everything about me is built for the cold. I'm short, heavy, and hairy. When the heat hits, I just wilt. Give me sub freezing temperatures and ice any day over 100+ degree heat.

Singing The Heeby Geeby Blues

I'm ready to come home. Not that I don't love it here. It's just that I'm ready to come home. I've been here since early October and that is a really long time. It hit me Sunday afternoon while I was on a bus on my way down to the beach. I was daydreaming and slipped into my parent's Neon on North Lake Shore Drive. Suddenly, we were at the central bus station at Hof HaCarmel again. The beach was as nice as it always is - perfect weather and all that. Still, I'm ready for the comforts of Chicago again.

School certainly isn't captivating me anymore. I am no longer enjoying my classes, and am very much looking forward to finishing them. I'm not learning much anymore in Hebrew. We read newspapers in class, but go too slow for me and have to spend too much time defining words I'm already familiar with. The grammar work is tedious and focusing on minor turns of phrase that my Israeli friends don't know how to do correctly. Plus, my classmates were a lot more fun last semester. I'm sticking it out, ready to finish my last exam and put an end to my Ulpan days. I got a 99 on my quiz from last week. The class just isn't challenging me anymore.

At the very least, Ofakim is going great. I love working with the kids, even though they are not always easy to work with. I underestimated little kids going into this job. They are not simple in any sense. I've learned how to relate to each child, how to get them to do their exercises and how to get them to participate in activities. It is going to be hard to say goodbye to them.

Israel At 60

This week, Israel celebrated 60 years of independence, יום העצמאות. As guests in the country, we international students took the opportunity to participate in all of the traditions associated with the holiday. Independence day is always immediately preceded by a memorial day for fallen IDF soldiers. I went down to the memorial park in front of Haifa city hall for the city's public memorial. It was a nice service, albeit very long. At 8 P.M. on the dot, an unbroken siren was broadcast all across the country, for one minute of reflection and respect. During this tone, everyone stops what they are doing and stands in silence. The ceremony was timed so that the siren would occur about 20 minutes in.

Haifa commemorates Israel's fallen soldiers.

The ceremony featured speeches by members of the military, the cabinet of the Knesset and the chief Rabbi of Haifa. There were also several musical performances. During the last part of the ceremony, they scrolled the names of every fallen soldier from Haifa, from 1948 until today. Needless to say, it was a long list. Wednesday was subdued, with businesses closed during the day as a sign of respect for the memorial day. In the evening, things started to heat up again. I headed down to the German Colony with a group of friends, where we would eat dinner at one of the cafes while waiting for the celebration to get underway. I'm glad we arrived early, as the streets were absolutely packed by 8 P.M.

Dinner in the German Colony.

The celebration began with folk dancing in the center of the crowd. I dug deep to find my Ramah roots, and I jumped into the fray. It was mostly little kids and their mothers dancing, but no matter. Thousands of people were streaming onto the Kikar at the corner of Ben Gurion and Yafo in the German Colony, holding plastic hammers, balloons, wobbly ears and all manners of toys with the flag of Israel painted on.


Folk Dancing at the Independence Day celebration.

There was mediocre live music until 10:30. when all the lights in the city went dim and we were treated to a spectacular show. Massive lasers beamed all the way from the Bahai Gardens lit up the night sky, while slides of Israeli newspapers and major events of the past 60 years scrolled past on illuminated buildings. The music was loud but soothing - much less brass than at a 4th of July celebration. Suddenly, the fireworks began to explode over the port. Everyone turned to face the water and watch the fireworks display. All in all, the performance lasted about 20 minutes. The fireworks drowned out much of the music, but when they finally went dead, the last several bars of HaTivka (Israel's national anthem) came through loud and clear, and the crowd sang along at the top of their lungs.

Laser light show from Haifa's Bahai Gardens.

The next day was a chill, relaxed day of celebration. The traditional way for Israelis to celebrate Yom Ha'atzmaut is by barbecuing. We took the the cue and many of us spent the day at Kibbutz Sarid, 40 minutes Northeast of Haifa. We ate tons of delicious food, played paddleball, dozed and had a group reading of Jack Kerouac's On The Road. I came home at around 6 in a serious food and sun coma, and the rest of my day was spent hanging around. I imagine that this should be obvious, but celebrating Israel's independence in Israel is just a lot better in Israel than anywhere else. It was quite an experience.

Happy Purim!

I knew this country knew how to party, but I wasn't truly prepared for the biggest party of the Spring: Purim. What an absolute fucking blowout! In an effort to maintain a strong distinction between Purim and Israeli Halloween, I went to the Haifa Masorti synagogue to hear the megillah being read (Masorti means "traditional" in Hebrew, and is roughly equivalent to the Conservative movement back stateside.) Because it was a Masorti crowd, it was very kid oriented: There were performances by kids in between the chapters of the reading, and a costume competition seemed to be rapping up as we arrived. My boss at Ofakim apparently goes to this synagogue. She handed me a gragger and I made solid use of it. The best costume I saw all night was at the synagogue, where a guy had dressed up as the plummeting value of the U.S. Dollar. I can't really describe it, you simply had to see it.

Hearing the Megillah reading.

Once we returned to the campus, the drinking began. It is traditional on Purim to drink until you can't tell the difference between the phrase "Blessed is Mordechai" and "Cursed is Haman." I'm proud to say that I reached that goal! The student union was throwing a big party at the "Gan HaCongressim" convention center in Haifa. The headline act was Ivri Lider, who would be performing in concert. Eli decided to come back to Haifa to see the show. We met up at my place and busted out with copious quantities of scotch, vodka and beer. Nate showed up with two bottles of wine (something I don't recommend trying.) Once we were all good and shickered, we grabbed the 11 PM bus to the party.

Nate playing around with some costume ideas.

The convention center is a lot bigger on the inside than it looks from the outside. There were at least four different dance floors with DJs spinning all night. I danced for the first 2 hours or so, before moving upstairs to get ready for the concert. Ivri Lider went on at 2 A.M. As usual, Eli and I made sure to get spots at the front. He put on the best show I've seen in Israel to date. He was energetic, exciting, and played for a solid 100 minutes.

Nimrod and Ayelet at the Ivri Lider performance.

Ivri Lider also provided me with one of my favorite stories from Israel. During his last song, he came down off the stage and was walking up and down the barrier separating the crowd from the band. He stopped in front of us and held out the mic for Eli, who was singing at the top of his lungs, and sang about 4 bars directly into the microphone. After strolling down to the end, he came back, reached into a bag he was holding and fed me a piece of chocolate candy. The whole thing was so strange but it's hysterical. Apparently the episode was broadcast on the closed circuit television feed, as both Nimrod and Ayelet saw it on the 25 foot screen. What a way to end the night! We went home at 4 A.M., more or less sober and utterly exhausted. The best part of the whole thing is that I woke up the next morning feeling like a million bucks. No ill effects whatsoever, and I partied as hard as I have in years. Israelis sure know how to do Purim.

All smiles at the concert.

Strike Two

Well I didn't get to Jordan over the weekend. Failed again. At least this time I didn't get all the way to Eilat like the disaster last year. Eli and I realized at the last minute that we were unprepared and that the trip simply wasn't a good idea. Instead, he came to visit me here in Haifa. It was a nice visit, but I'm beginning to wonder if I will ever make it to Jordan. My next sortie abroad will be to Rome with Meredith in a little under two weeks. That one is for sure a go, and I am psyched!

Ofakim

I started work at the Ofakim school today. Hoping to get a jump on my first day of interning, I set my alarm for 7, with the intention of getting up to shower, dress nicely and have a nice, calm breakfast. These plans never work out for me though. I snoozed my alarm the first time it went off, which is standard behavior for me. I even build in a single snooze when setting my alarm. Unfortunately, the alarm did not ring again. I blearily glanced at my cell phone seemingly minutes after putting my head back down, before I leapt out of bed in a panic: It was 8:05 and I was due in Hebrew class in ten minutes! I rushed a shower, pulled on the first collared shirt I could find, grabbed a handful of kumquats on the way out the door and only arrived 5 minutes late to Ulpan.

Hebrew was uneventful. I grabbed a cup of Nes "cappuccino" before heading down to the bus station, and then caught a sherut to Mercaz HaCarmel. The school is on "HaYam" street, a few blocks below the Carmel Center. I arrived at about 10:40 and headed down to my classroom. I'll be working most closely with Rola Farah, the teacher of "Gan Tamar", who was trained at the Peto Institute in Budapest. She will be teaching me the "Peto method" which entails repetitive, exhaustive physical therapy that can help train a child with severe locomotion difficulties to overcome them.

The day was free and easy. I spent the mid morning and early afternoon in Gan Tamar, meeting kids, playing games and helping out with whatever the staffers needed. It was nice, except for the tiny chairs that were not designed for children over 7 years of age. My lower back hurts right now, the punishment for spending too many hours with my knees higher than my belly button. Most of the kids left around 2 o'clock and I entertained that one's who stayed behind for about a half hour. They really took to me quickly. Rola and a new group of staff members came back around 2:30 and the kids ate their boxed lunches. Then the physical therapy began. I wasn't able to participate much, and I mostly observed, but there were a few times where I was able to pitch in. The time passed pretty quickly. My biggest concern heading in was that I would be using Hebrew professionally for the first time ever. I'm thrilled to report that I kept up and even was able to crack a few jokes! This is going to work out just fine.

Where's The Beef?

Spring has returned to Haifa. The trees are in bloom, wildflowers are carpeting the Carmel park, and the whole city has been taken by a warm, wholesome air. Of course a return to spring means a spike in outdoor activities. Yesterday I was out and about all day, enjoying my new friends, my freedom and the killer weather we are being blessed with.

Budding flowers on the tree outside my bedroom.
Soon the whole area will smell like flowers again.

At about 11 yesterday morning, I met up with a group of people and we went on a romp through the park. It was never intended to be a hike, and so we took it easy, talking and joking as we wound our way down the path. Someone started talking about plans for late night, and I tossed out a suggestion: how about a bonfire in the park late that night? The idea took and I began to spread the word. We walked for almost two hours and I had begun to work up an appetite when we came back to the main road. Bill had been telling me about a "Druze Pita" stand that was only open on Shabbat. We walked over to it and I bought myself a sandwich of just baked pita, labneh, zatar and olive oil. We sat by the side of the road people watching for about an hour while I munched, indulging in lots of olives and about 8 dixie cups full of tea. It was magic.

A lazy afternoon in the Carmel park.

That evening we went to a soccer game, Maccabi Haifa versus Maccabi Herzliya. The game was astoundingly slow for the first 65 or so minutes, and then picked up for the rest. It ended in a 1-1 tie, the second tie I've seen in person at Kiryat Eliezer stadium. One of my friends remarked "There's no overtime? But aren't they required to have a winner?" Unfortunately, ties are perfectly legal in soccer. They are just patently un-American.

This look is a keeper.

One of the best things about going to Israeli games is that you get to see a side of Israel that doesn't show its face in most places. Frankly, Israeli soccer fans are overwhelmingly crude, chain smoking yahoos, the lowest common denominator of society. We rode the bus back with a group of nut job teenagers, who were thrilled to pose for pictures, chat with me about Michael Jordan, and hit on our girls with the reckless abandon of a pervert who knows the object of his lust doesn't understand a word he is saying. I told them to knock it off.

MORTAL KOMBAT!!!

When I got back to campus, David and I began our search for wood. It was awfully shortsighted of me not to collect wood during the daylight hours. Armed only with my wits and the tiny flashlight that my dad got for free from Dan hotels, I made my way off into the night in search of dead trees to strip for larger fuel. The coyotes were out last night and they were a little close for my comfort. Judging by the sound of one of their howls, it couldn't have been more than 10 yards away. I was understandably a little nervous walking around in the dark. I was searching near this outdoor bathroom stall when I heard something move in the dark, and I froze. I scanned the woods with my light but I didn't see or hear anything else, so I took a breath and stepped forward. Thats when I happened to flash my light into the bathroom for a moment, and the big red eyes staring back at me nearly caused me to stroke out. Regaining my wits a split second later, I fixated my light on the bathroom door and was treated to this absurd spectacle.

"You might want to give that a minute."

There was a fucking big, stupid cow staring at me from the bathroom. He seemed perfectly relaxed. I'm sure if the cow had an interior monologue, it was thinking something along the lines of "what?! I come here every night. What's your problem?!" I'm not even sure how the thing managed to turn around in there. The bathrooms are pretty narrow. My composure regained, we managed to collect enough dry wood for about an hour and a half of fire.

The humble beginnings of our bonfire.

We attracted a group of about 15 people, who mostly sat around talking, drinking wine and goofing off. The fire never got very big, but thats probably for the best. It was big enough to warm everyone's butt and keep away the coyotes, so that's all I can ask for. I'm definitely going to organize another one of these, and next time I'm collecting the wood during daylight hours.

David and Mallory warm up by the fire.

Barbara's Birthday

Barbara's birthday was yesterday and we took her out for dinner. Everyone met in the German Colony at the Faces cafe, which we first ate at the day we walked from Mercaz HaCarmel to downtown. The food was fabulous as usual. We ordered several salads and entrees to share, and wrapped everything up with this unbelievable cake. Lina brought sparkler candles and Barbara made her wish and blew out her candles.

29 candles go out.

The dinner was a lot of fun, and a little outrageous as well. Nate, Lina and I serenaded Barbara for her birthday. It drew some funny looks, both from other people at our table and people at other tables. There is a reason I've been told I have chutzpa. No one here had more than a glass of wine, so this was just us!



After dinner, we came back and continued the celebration at the dorms. We threw a dance party at Nate's flat and got everyone in the right frame of mind with the powerful mix of nargilah, Turkish coffee and wine. I went to bed at 3 A.M. Barbara is going home in a week so it was a nice chance to throw one final party with her. Changes are coming to the international school once again. Shabbat shalom.

(Left to right) Sebastian, Barbara, Shoaq, Nate, Lina, and lil' old me.

Viva El Sábado

One of the things that often gets lost in the frenzy of living in the Jewish state is actual religious practice. For better or for worse, Judaism is primarily an ethnic identity for most Israelis as opposed to their religion. I like to contrast this with American Judaism, where Americans who identify with Judaism tend to find the religious aspects to be much more central to their self identification. One of the symptoms of this dichotomy for me is that I have become increasingly "חילוני" since I arrived in Israel, a term that describes the Israelis who live a secular lifestyle while still maintaining ties to Judaism through the lens of living and working in a Jewish society. Occasionally, it is nice to get back to my roots and participate in some good old fashioned prayer. Friday night, Ayelet, Nimrod and I made kiddush at her apartment. It was refreshing. Every now and then it is good for the soul. It was brief of course, and we left for "Shabbat" dinner at our friend Eli's apartment immediately after.

Eli (on the right) and Nimrod.

Eli's family made aliyah from Mexico City a number of years ago. Why is this relevant? We had a real Mexican meal on Friday night, the first Mexican food, real or imagined that I have tasted since coming to Israel 4 months ago! It was good too. He knows what he is doing in the kitchen. We had beef and chicken with real tortillas, along with salad, guacamole and salsa. There was also plenty of pork available as well as shredded cheese, but I let the other people at dinner dig in to the obviously not kosher options.

A frank discussion of napkins.

Dinner was a sordid affair. There was lots of heavy food, lots of red wine, and plenty of risque conversation. I got into a conversation with one guy over American foreign policy and our the hegemonic nature of our culture. We each put away about a bottle of wine, so the argument was fueled by Cabernet. Eventually we settled into a game of "never have I ever." There were plenty of embarrassing revelations, and dares that ranged from hilarious to vile and disgusting. Eli's roommate Itamar attempted to drink a raw egg on a dare. It ended up in the sink.

Things got a little nutty as the night progressed.

We had initially planned to head to a club from dinner, but after 4 hours at home, everyone was thinking pub instead. We headed to a pub I've never before been to that is at the base of the Carmel, near the German Colony. The name escapes me. The pub had an art theme so we spent a good deal of the rest of the night talking about art. It's not my strength, but it was cool to do nonetheless. We got back to campus around 3 A.M., and after another 45 minutes of guitar and singing, I finally admitted I couldn't keep my eyes open anymore and headed to bed. I woke up at 1:30 the following afternoon. Good deal!

Wrapping up the evening.

Record Lows

We are in the teeth of a cold snap in Israel that has many of my Israeli friends remarking that they "can't remember a time when it was this cold here." Surprise! I guess the joke is on me - I was under the impression that I wouldn't have to put up with a real winter this year. The temperature has routinely dropped into the thirties at night up at the university. Tonight will be no different. Thank God I'm in Haifa too, as it is colder elsewhere. Safed had a frost last night, while it fell to around 16 degrees fahrenheit at the Hermon mountain in the very northern part of the Golan Heights last night.

Of course the weather won't keep me indoors. I went out to a pub last night with Omri to watch the Maccabi Haifa - Maccabi Tel Aviv soccer match, which Haifa won handily, 3-1. This morning I got up and went to the market to buy some produce. I must say, the shuk is a different place on Monday than it is on Friday. It was so much less crowded than I'm used to, so things went quicker and the service was better. Plus, with no one pressing up against you in a crowd, you don't worry about being pick pocketed the whole time.

Because it's been a while, I'd like to give a quick update regarding two important political processes ongoing in Israel right now. First, the faculty strike at the universities continued through its 85th day today, after an attempt by the university Presidents to garner a court injunction against the professors forcing them to break the strike failed. This leaves few options to prevent the cancellation of the semester. In fact, the Presidents had promised to cancel the semester, and possibly the whole academic year today if the courts did not force the faculty back to work. They have since backtracked from that, but I'm betting it's only a few days before they reach the inescapable conclusion that this semester is irreparably damaged and needs to be canceled. The exams for these classes would have been held next week, had the semester begun on time.

Also in the news, Israel and the Palestinian Authority began "Final Status" negotiations this morning at a Jerusalem hotel. For those unfamiliar with the concept, I will give a brief explanation: Final Status negotiations are intended to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, create a Palestinian state on land currently occupied by Israel, and guarantee Israel's security. Personally, I think this is a terrible decision that will eventually lead to more violence. There are a host of reasons why the time is not ripe for these negotiations, but perhaps most important is that the Palestinian Authority has no control over what happens in the Gaza Strip, which is envisioned as an inseperable part of a future Palestine. Israel cannot and will not negotiate with Hamas, the terrorist organization that controls the territory, so Gaza would not truly be included even if a peace treaty was signed by the two parties. I hope I'm wrong, but I am certain that these discussions are doomed to fail.

Government Disservices

Allow me to be forthcoming for a moment. The fact that I have not had a student visa up to this point has been mostly my fault, and I don't run from my own responsibility. I had the opportunity to handle it over the summer, but was preoccupied and didn't get it done. I should have been more pushy at the international office in October, when I asked for an appointment and they told me to come back in a month when they would be less busy. And there was that business two weeks ago while my family was visiting. For those who haven't already heard, I now feel comfortable telling the whole story.

Two Sunday's ago I had another appointment with the interior ministry, at 10:40 in the morning. As I was staying at my parents hotel in Mercaz HaCarmel, Richard and I simply hopped on the Carmelit in the morning and rode the train all the way downtown. Quick, easy and painless. I got to the office with my letter from the University and my passport photos and began to fill out the application. Soon after asking for my name, address, nationality etc... the form asked for my passport number. It was at this moment that I realized my passport was not with me, rather it was in my desk at my dorm room.

Richard and I raced out of there and hopped back on the subway, with my parents and Bubbie Ruth simultaneously getting in the car to come get us at the top. We had to hurry, the wonderful government offices closed at noon that day. We got back to the top by 11:10, and up to the university by 11:30. I really thought we were going to make it. Then we got stuck in a miserable (but not surprising) traffic jam on the coastal road around Haifa, and that was it. We got back to the ministry at 12:10, and they wouldn't even let me in the front door.

I had no intention of letting another episode like that happen this morning. I needed that visa today, for two reasons. For one, my tourist visa expires today. After that, I would have been in Israel illegally. Second of all, I needed to be able to leave and re-enter the country ASAP, as tomorrow morning I am crossing the border into Jordan for a few days touring. This will be my first time in an Arab country, so it should be an interesting experience. I'll be bringing my Arabic-English dictionary along of course.

In the end I got my visa, though it was no picnic. I arrived a half hour before the office I needed was scheduled to open - they made me and a dozen other people wait outside in the cold until 8 A.M. Once I got upstairs it was smooth sailing though. I sat down at the desk, had a curt interview in Hebrew with one of the employees, paid for the service, and 15 minutes later I was walking out the door with my brand new student visa! Now that I have it, it's time to explore outside Israel. I leave for the Eilat border crossing on the midnight bus from Haifa tonight, and should be in Petra by this time tomorrow. I'll hopefully have lots of pictures and stories forthcoming!

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.

On Strike

As Israel's education woes deepen, the combined student unions for all major universities are about to remind the government and professors that they are also a force to be reckoned with. There is no scheduled class on Sunday, as it is a special day off in celebration of Chanukka. Starting Monday, university students at all 8 major Israeli universities will strike, locking out the professors and any students who would attempt to cross the picket line. All classes would be locked out, including those taught by adjunct professors and other instructors. The strike is in protest to the continued deadlock in negotations over the professors contracts which has robbed them of nearly an entire semester. From what I understand, the university will physically be closed by the student union, with physical barriers including chains and piles of tires. Needless to say, I'm suffering from a touch of culture shock right now.

As far as I am concerned, the whole thing is a damn disgrace. I have supported the professors from the beginning, and I continue to blame the government for an impasse that threatens to cancel the semester. Now the students, who are rightfully pissed off about the situation, are going to exacerbate it with this action. It's just madness. We received a frantic email from the international school office this morning telling us that should the strike be carried out, classes will meet in the moadon of the dorms, or in individual apartments if necessary. At least it would probably entertain my roommates if we held Arabic class in my living room one morning. There's that to look forward to.

I took my Arabic exam this morning and I think it went pretty well. With that out of the way, midterms are officially behind me. I earned an "86" on my midterm assignment in Arab-Israeli Relations. Not too shabby. Frankly I'm not sure how he reached that number, since some classmates of mine got 85's, while at least one guy got an 87. I seriously doubt he used a rubric to grade these exams, so I have to wonder what made the difference in the grades there. Personally, I think he just assigned a number to each paper based on his gut reaction. Exams went pretty well for me this time around.

It's a cold and rainy day outside so I'd like to make weekend plans, but I don't really know what to do. I am going to a dinner party tonight and then hopefully out to the pubs. Some friends invited me over at some point this weekend to play cards so that may or may not happen. My only solid plans are spending part of Saturday night at Carmit and Shani's place for candle lighting and hanging out with the family. I'm sure I'll pull things together in the end. I always do.