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.

Black Coffee

There is never a better Shabbat here than the chilled out Shabbat on campus. I love traveling, I love camping, and I love going out. Nothing holds a candle to truly resting around here. Today was a great day. I had planned to go on a morning hike with Paulien, but not surprisingly I overslept. My cell phone has crapped out and I had no way to set an alarm, so I left my blinds open in the hope that the morning light would wake me. It did not. I got up around 9:15 and stumbled out into the living room. There was Paulien, sitting on my couch, reading. I was rather startled. Luckily, she overslept too and had just arrived.

Rather than start a long hike we weren't really going to be able to finish before lunchtime, we just hung around at the dorm. We brought books out to the grass by one of the security posts, sat down in the shade and read. We went out to the park for lunch at the Druze pita stand that is out there every Shabbat. Then we sat in the shade and talked about international politics, culture, globalism and nationalism. It was a perfectly pleasant time. I drink several cups of black coffee and reflected on how I would miss something as simple as the Druze pita stand. Something like this would never fly in America. If the FDA didn't get to them for having no food safety standards, then it would be because the IRS got to them first for not paying any taxes. Plus, can you imagine someone just making a fire on the side of the road in the middle of a major American city in order to cook? There is something quaint and foreign about it that is comforting. It just wouldn't work back home.

We spend the afternoon at Aaron and Bill's flat, drinking more coffee on their patio. I spent all day outside which is just a pleasure in Israel in May. Around 5, Paulien and I walked out to the park and collected a huge amount of firewood. We put it in the usual spot and came back. 4 hours later, we were out in the park with a small group of friends and had an easy, relaxed campfire. All things considered, it was one of the quieter days I've had in this city, but it was magnificent in it's simplicity. Shabbat shalom.

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!

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.

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.

Day 3 - Slogging Through The Mud

Alex and I woke up Saturday morning intending to visit the Egyptian museum. Considering the weather, this would really have been one of our only options anyway. It rained all night while we slept, and then intermittently throughout the day. This created some of the most disgusting conditions I've ever seen. Cairo, for whatever reason, does not have a sewer system. There is nowhere for the water to go so it simply collects in pools wherever it happens to be. This made for impassable streets and alleyways that have been completely taken over by mud. Perhaps if they did something to prevent this from happening, it would stem the spawning of mosquitoes that are carriers of the West Nile Virus and other infectious diseases.....

Squeegeeing the sidewalk.

We picked our way across the wreckage and got in the first of several lines outside the museum. We got to the ticket booth and showed the ticket agent our student ID cards, once again requesting the student price. She refused at first, telling us that student tickets could only be sold to international students with a current international student ID card (we already knew this.) However, we kept arguing with her and after about 2 minutes she gave in and gave us our half price tickets. After going through several security sweeps, we entered the museum.

The water comes halfway up this policeman's calf.

The collection at the museum is as impressive as advertised. The museum is as large as the Field Musuem in Chicago, and their collection includes hundreds of painted reliefs with Ancient Egyptian heiroglyphs, the sarcophogi of dozens of royal mummies, the Rosetta Stone, as well as the bonanza that was uncovered in the tomb of King Tut. Unfortunately, museum rules forbid the use of cameras inside. In fact, Alex and I had read that cameras are confiscated at the entrance and the only way to get them back is by paying baksheesh to corrupt guards. Imagine my dismay when I saw the dozens of tourists inside snapping photos of all the exhibits. I felt like a world class sucker.

The exterior of the Egyptian Museum

If there is one feeling that stuck out for me after touring the Egyptian Museum, it is that while America may have mastered the art of conspicuous consumption, it certainly wasn't invented by Americans. The Ancient Egyptian royalty covered their lives with an avalanche of precious metals, mother of pearl, alabaster and papyrus. Perhaps the most heinous example? The set of solid gold razor blades on display in the museums "Ancient Egyptian Jewelry" exhibit. The museum also has some holdings on display from after Egypt's contact with the classical world was initiated. I got a chuckle out of the way a gaggle of little Egyptian girls were staring at the penis on a statue of the Roman god Apollo. They were scandalized.

Lines were a problem at the museum.

As impressive as the museums holdings were, the museum itself couldn't have been shittier. I could have predicted this, drawing on my experiences the last few days in Egypt. To whit: The museum had large holes in the roof, the lighting was poor and their were several brief power outages while we were inside, and the informational plaques were either handwritten or typed on a typewriter, and all with egregious grammatical errors. A thunderstorm passed through while we were inside and it actually began to rain inside the building! Millennia old artifacts and they are letting it rain inside the museum! As I said, by this point we were no longer surprised by any of this. We tried dodging the raindrops for a minute and then grabbed a cab back to our hotel to plan our afternoon.

Even a driving rainstorm couldn't wash the shmutz off of these vans.

I had read in the guide book that the "Sha'ar Hashamayim" Synagogue would be open that day because the caretaker opens it for Shabbat, should anyone wish to come and pray. We had bad information. The synagogue was not open. Security wouldn't even let us get close to the building. What was worse, they wouldn't even let us photograph the exterior! Needless to say I was doubly glad I got the candid photo of the building during our cab ride into town two days earlier. Longing for a little familiarity, Alex and I grabbed a pizza in a nearby shopping mall and burned some time in a cafe before heading off to our next adventure.

No mall is complete without a Starbucks!

That afternoon we headed to the Cairo citadel, also known as the citadel of Salah al Din. The site served as the seat of government for Egypt's kings for 700 years. For me, this was simply the most beautiful place we visited. The Muhammed Ali mosque is stunningly beautiful, and there is a gorgeous panoramic view of the city from the top of the citadel.

The beautiful Cairo Citadel.

Also contained at the site are the national military and police museums. We had the pleasure of seeing tanks and artillery that were actually used against Israel in the '56 and '67 wars! Unfortunately, we arrived late in the afternoon and the museums were already closing, so we couldn't actually go inside and look around. Even so, they have a rather impressive display outside.

The mosque of Mohammed Ali at the site of the citadel.

We made our way north to the area of Khan El Khalili that evening, where we would spend the night. We first waded into the shuk to stop for coffee at "El Fishawy", the most famous ahwa in Cairo. It was an interesting place, shielded on 2 sides by the narrow walls of the surrounding buildings, and crowded by the merchants of the bazaar on the other sides. The atmosphere was cool but still not on a par with our ahwa back downtown. We would spend the next two hours wandering the tourist bazaar, being courted with exchanges like this gem:

Egyptain Merchant: "What are you looking for?"

Alex: "Nothing."

Egyptian Merchant: "We have lots of nothing! How big do you want it?!"

At the El Fishawy cafe.

And of course, there was the guy who obviously believed in the power of honesty, earnestly asking us "how may I take your money?" The bazaar was a total circus. Of course the height of the madness was when the owner of a different shop attempted to show us the quality of his all-Egyptian cotton T shirts by pulling out a lighter and burning one with it.

There are many treasures waiting to be found in Khan El Khalili

We had planned to end our night by seeing a performance called "Sufi Dancing" in an old theatre beneath the Al Azhar mosque. Unfortunately, our wanderings had taken us to the wrong end of the bazaar, and with only 40 minutes to show time. Undeterred, we plowed down an alley and began to powerwalk through a decidedly untouristy section of the market. No one was screaming at us in English, and we drew lots of funny looks, but we made it from one end to the other in under 15 minutes. Really, it was nicer from the chaos of the main market in a lot of ways. Here the sidewalks were made of concrete, rather than mud.

"Sidewalks" in the bazaar.

The dance performance we saw was like nothing I've ever seen before. Sufi dancing involves spinning for ridiculous periods of time, often while playing one or more musical instruments. The performance lasted for about 75 minutes. The man in the video below spun for 45 minutes at varying paces, and that is no exaggeration. I don't know how he didn't vomit. I guess it just takes practice.

We finally returned to downtown at about 10, already a late night for us. We certainly were not going to miss going to our favorite ahwa that night, so we head on over. The entire place was preoccupied by the national soccer game on television that night. Egypt is currently competing in the Africa Cup of Nations, and has a great chance at winning the tournament (they are the reigning champions.) I did get to see what it looks like when soccer fans in a country that truly cares about soccer are watching a game: Egypt took the contest going away, 3-0, and for every goal the home squad scored, the celebration was like Mardi Gras and Carnaval all rolled together in this tiny back alley coffee shop.

The view from the citadel.

This tank was used against Israel.

Sufi Dancing

Greetings From Cairo

Hello everyone. This will be a short post as Alex and I are about to leave for lunch. I just wanted to let you know that I am happy and healthy and having a great time in Egypt. We have decided we will be returning to Israel on Monday, so I will write up our entire trip next week.

Exciting News On A Droll Day

Not much happening today, as the campus is pretty much deserted. I'd like to go out tonight, but I don't know with whom. In the meantime, I have some very exciting news: Last night my parents called to tell me that I have been accepted to the UW - Madison Law School for the Fall 2008 semester! Now I have an option for next year. Of course I still look forward to hearing from the other schools I applied to. More updates on that to come.

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

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.

What Day Is It Today?

I was up in the morning before dawn on Friday, Saturday and Sunday morning this past weekend while on Tiyul. This has a way of scrambling one's mind to the point that my days blended into each other while I was in the south. As many of you know, I am very cranky in the morning, and getting up early is generally anathema to me. However, this trip was probably the best trip I have been on since I arrived in Israel almost two months ago, and that allowed me to rise early in the morning with a smile in my heart (there was still a grimace on my face from what I've been told.)

Dawn in Haifa, the first of many I would experience on this trip.

We left Haifa by 6:15 Friday morning and began the long trek south to Ein Gedi. I crashed pretty early in the trip but it was a fitful sleep and not very satisfying. I woke up as we were heading east down the hills on the outskirts of Jerusalem and into the desert. This came as quite a surprise to me since the only rule that the director of the International School laid out for us is "we are not allowed to travel inside the West Bank." I can only assume that this rule actually means "we are not allowed to travel inside the West Bank without a chaperon."

Emil goes for a short camel ride outside Jericho.

We arrived at Ein Gedi around 9:30 in the morning and began our day. Our first hike was along a trail known as Nahal Arugot, and it was seriously beautiful. Ein Gedi has a natural spring flowing underneath it (The word 'ein' in Hebrew is derived from "Ma'ayan", meaning spring.) This meant desert solitude and scenery combined with pools, streams, waterfalls and flora that you just don't find in the Negev. Plus, lots of ibex running around! Midway through the hike we stopped at a natural pool with a waterfall and nearly everyone got in for a swim.

Just a taste of the incredible natural beauty of Ein Gedi

After the swim we headed for a spot called the hidden waterfall. It is down into the wadi, completely covered by plants and hidden behind several narrow twists and bends in the cliff face. It is here that I slipped and fell in with my shoes on, making for a soggy denouement to my hike that day. The area around the waterfall was very crowded with lots of other hikers, so we didn't stay long. The group split at this point: Half walked back to the bus to drive down to the beach of the Dead Sea, while the other half (including myself) walked further on to see the upper pools. I found a fossilized sea shell along the way, which I put in my bag and brought back to Haifa with me. We finally made our way back out of Nahal Arugot around 3 o'clock, filed onto the bus and drove down to the beach where we met everyone else. We ate a little outside at th

e picnic tables, then shuffled drowsily back onto our bus and made for camp that evening.

Swimming hole!

Camp was a lot of fun on Shabbat evening. A few guys and I built the fire while others were preparing dinner courses for dinner. We made pita from scratch and generally feasted like I'm getting used to doing on tiyulim. Our guide Yisrael made a fantastic rice and meat dish that really stuck to the bones, along with warm and cold salads, fresh tehina, soup and drinks. Afterwards, everyone gathered around the campfire where we made smores. After dessert, people began to migrate in every direction. I stayed around the fire most of the night, chatting with old and new friends.

A look into the abyss of the Judean desert

The next morning, Per and I got up before dawn to watch the sun rise over the Dead Sea. This was a mistake. It was cloudy and hazy, so there was no visible sunrise. Our surroundings just went from black to grey to light. I did get to go back to the tent and sleep for another two hours before everyone got up to get a move on. We ate a hasty breakfast, packed up all of our things and then the hike left. Our Shabbat hike was along a path called the "Upper Darja" in southern Judea. This was the best hike of all. Lots of mountain climbing and clinging to cliff faces. We had to jump, crawl, hang and climb our way through the terrain. Parts of the walk were so steep, they were practically vertical. My mother would have had a heart attack just seeing it.

Mari and Anna at the edge of the cliff in Upper Darja

As always, education and history are a goal on these trips. We climbed up into a cave that had been used by the last remnants of the Bar Kochva rebellion and talked about what had happened there. The cave was covered in bird shit from floor to ceiling and everywhere in between, so we weren't inclined to linger for very long. Even so, it was humbling to think that Jews had been forced to live in such wretched conditions because they refused to submit to Roman domination. It was nice to climb back down. Even though we were all laughing and talking the whole time, there was still an unhealthy air in the cave. It was oppressive.

Bar Kochva's rebels, or university students? You decide.

We stopped for lunch in a ravine soon afterwards and sat around relaxing for an hour. Cold rice-meat from the night before and raw canned corn never tasted quite so good! The second half of the hike was more of the same. Climbing, scrambling and working our way through very broken terrain. I spent most of the time yacking with Mari and Anna about literature and theatre, or with Sam about baseball. I am who I am. The walk back to camp was actually fairly boring by comparison. It was along a gravel road with nothing new to see. Everyone was tired out from a 6 hour hike anyway, so people just sort of moved along talking and looking at their feat for the last 45 minutes of the hike. We were supposed to be able to shower when we got back to camp, but the campsite's owners had washed the bathrooms and then locked them, so they would be clean when the next group arrived that night. What a bunch of bastards. I taught euchre to 3 friends and we played a few hands before it was time to load up and move on.

Yisrael giving a shpiel along the trail.

We drove to Arad to eat dinner in their mall. I don't have much to say about the trip except this: Arad is a dump, and our bus driver is a maniac. He was weaving and swerving along an already choppy rode the whole way there. It was stuffy on the bus too. By the time we arrived, I was so green I might as well have been pickled. I bought a shawarma which can only be described as 'adequate' and then we left for our campsite under Masada. I did get to shower at this campsite, and I felt like a new man after getting clean. Most people went to bed on time. I stayed up drinking beer with some of the Europeans, and didn't get to bed until after midnight.

A dry riverbed in the Upper Darja

We rose once more before the dawn and quickly packed up the tent. After a heartening cup of tea, we walked up to the base of the mountain. I missed the sunrise on Masada last time I visited because we arrived too late. I missed it again on this trip, but not because we weren't on time: we walked up the mountain in a driving rainstorm! It rains 4 or 5 days a year in the region, and we picked one of those days to visit.

Rain on Masada

It was cold on top of Masada, so I was very glad I brought my sweatshirt. The rain tapered off about 15 minutes after we reached the plateau, and it was actually quite beautiful once the rain cleared. We toured the archaeological sites and talked about the history and mythology behind Masada. We were getting ready to start walking down the snake path, when we began to hear thunder crashes again. We took shelter in one of the buildings, and the rain began pelting down again! We rested inside and watched the rain for a half hour or so, before heading over to the lift to carry us down. The other group walked down the mountain in the rain: Either they are more bad ass or just stupid.

The birds and I enjoy the view from the top

The rain mercifully stopped eventually and we were able to finish what we planned to do that day. Next stop was a beach on the Dead Sea, where we got to wade in and walk across the salt formations. I was so tired I was giddy, and I hammed it up pretty good in front of the camera. We found a hat in the water that was half encased in salt. I tried tugging it out, but it was no use. Do you realize that if you were to stay in one place at the Dead Sea long enough, the same would happen to you? Not that you would be around to see it or anything, but the thought is still pretty cool to ponder.

A classic pose!

We had one final stop back in Ein Gedi, to do a short walk in Nahal David. There was very beautiful scenery, although it was quite similar to Nahal Arugot. Yisrael yielded to pressure and kept it short and sweet. People were beginning to get grumpy with the walking. We stayed in the Nahal for perhaps an hour before leaving the area for good. There had been so much rain that morning, parts of the road were washed out. Cars had to turn back, but not our mighty tour bus! We drove back up to Jerusalem and stopped at a restaurant in Abu Gosh for what turned out to be my lunch and dinner. It was massive. It is an Arab hummus restaurant with a special on the menu: 40 shekels for all you can eat of every salad they make with pita, followed by coffee and baklava. The whole group went in on it. They brought us what had to have been 20 different fresh salads. It was epic.

The stream in Nahal David

Finally, we loaded up one last time to head back to Haifa. I tried to doze on the bus but there was a movie on the television and caffeine back in my bloodstream, so I talked to Mari most of the way back home. I slept for maybe the last 20 minutes. It's tough to get back into my routine now that I am home again, but I have little choice in the matter. School will not wait for me. I'll work and study and wait for the next time I can go out and experience this land the way it begs to be experienced: on foot.

Extreme relaxation.

Do you want to ram with me?!

Yes, I did go hiking in a bathing suit.

Gollum!

Oshrat and I try to warm up on the mountain.