Israel goes crazy for Football, the Pats are off to the Superbowl

Last night I went out with some Boston friends to this American sports bar called Mike's Place. The bar was packed with both Baltimore and Boston fans. To be honest Mike's Place is pretty crowded and is a nesting ground for weird people, so at halftime we went to this Israeli bar called Nadin's, which has a tiny room in the basement with couches and T.V.'s. VIP room and half liters of Goldstar for pretty cheap=ideal. The best part of the night was when I went up stairs to get some pop corn, and a guy at a table thought I was a waiter. I took his order. Anyway, the B-More kicker Shanked the field goal! Pats win!!!!!! And the greatest sports city in America advances to the Super Bowl once again. How ya doing Mush?

   It's all over Cundiff, you missed it...and the biggest rivalry in sports continues. Here we come Giants.

Urgent: If you are in Israel right now go to Hummus Hakarmel immedietly

In the middle of Shuk Hacarmel in Tel Aviv, there once stood a Synagogue. In order to praise god in the tastiest way possible, that Synagogue has been converted into a Hummus restaurant. If hummus was served at every temple I would be there three times a day! Jacob Gilbert and I went in to check it out, and found an old Torah on the wall, as well as two friendly shop owners. Not only was the Hummus fresh and amazing, but they gave us this amazing chickpea soup, with beans and an egg. It was literally a hot hummus soup=party in our mouths. We barely even touched our pita, and ate the incredible dish with our hands, getting hummus all over our faces and clothes. Okay, we did use forks, but the point is the dish was so good we didn’t need bread it. It was literally a gift from the Hummus gods!

   My prayers have been answered

     

So much Hummus...

 About one minute later...

Bat Yam Is A "Five Star City" (According to the ads at bus stops)

 Walou (wow in Hebrew), Bat Yam is so much fun! Upon arriving one week from Tuesday, I quickly realized that our apartment is everything that people had made it out to be and more. There is one main living room with two couches, tons of space, and a giant window with a beautiful view of Rishon Litzion and Holon. I am living with four other roommates, one of which is an Israeli scout, who is taking a year before the army to volunteer and live with Year Coursers. It is great having our own space in a regular Israeli apartment building, and I really enjoy the independence.

  So far I have spent a few days of my vacation in Bat Yam, which has actually been a nice opportunity to get used to the city. Bat Yam is a lower class heavily populated city next to Tel-Aviv-Yafo, with a lot of character. It is home to many immigrants (Olim), especially Russians. The city has the diversity of the Bronx or Brooklyn, with a coastal city feel.

Here are some interactions I’ve had with the city over the past few days:

The Neighbors: I was leaving my house for a run, when I heard a knock on the door. I opened the door to find a dark skinned boy and his mother staring up at me. The boy gave me some laundry from last semesters Year coursers, and explained to me that they had been getting tutored in English by the boys whose laundry I was holding. The boy spoke English well, but spoke to his mother in a language I could not identify. The mother then told me in Hebrew, that she wanted me to tutor her and both her in English once a week, and if I new grammar well. When I said yes they seemed very excited, and the boy put my number in his iphone.

Note:  This could be a great way to directly help some new Israeli citizens, and will improve my Hebrew.

 Surfing on Hannukah: Surfing is definitely part of the Bat Yam culture, except I don’t really have a surfboard. I found a tiny surf shop with Hanukah candles glowing in the window, and went in to have a look. I explained to the owner that I wanted to rent a board, even though I didn’t have a wetsuit, and didn’t need one because I am used to surfing in very cold weather. After the second day of renting from this religious surf shop owner, he gave me his owner personal wetsuit top, and gave me ten shekels off. I guess not many people are renting surfboards in BY right now, but what a nice guy!

Skateboarding in the Super Deush parking lot: I was walking back from doing some shopping at The Super Duesh with my skateboard in hand, when an Israeli guy hailed me down and asked to ride my board. I tentatively gave him my board, and watched anxiously as he zipped around the parking lot. To be honest I was a little scared he was just gonna take off with it. He gave me back the board and started talking excitedly and quickly in Hebrew, which means there is no way I could understand him. He then stopped talking and kindly asked “do you speak Hebrew well?” I told him that I’m learning. He then spoke much slower, and told me that his friend was buying a Sector 9 skateboard in France for him, and that mine is really nice.

 Bat Yam is a cool place, with a lot of interesting people. The stereotype that Israelis are often rude and impatient can sometimes be true, but when it comes down to it they are a kind and caring people. Especially in such a diverse place like Bat Yam, get along with all types of people is important. 

Our makeshift clothesline aka the posterline

Great Beach!...And because it's winter it's just the Russians and I out there everyday sipping vodka and swimming.

Matisyahu cut his beard, but will he forget Jerusalem? No chance.

 Wow, the rumors are true, the reggae Chasidich superstar Matisyahu has cut his beard, and is no longer a chasidich Jew. As someone who has been following his music since the day his first album "Shake of the Dust Arise" dropped, this does not come as such a massive shock. Mats's music has been getting successively less religion based, and his black hatter attire has long been forgotten since he appeared in an ad for a secular clothing company. Regardless, I hope this is the right choice for Matisyahu(now back to Matt Miller), and that he can find a way to produce music that was as heartfelt and dope as his first album was. He is still a practicing Jew, and as far as I'm concerned he is still the man.



He's still a rockstar don't worry

Peace out Jerusalem, hello Bat Yam

 Wow, tonight is the last night of my Jerusalem semester. The past two weeks have been a mess of studying, finals, arguments about left over stipend money, cleaning, packing, and a little bit of reflection here and there. The trimester has physically been the longest of the three this year, yet it seems not long ago that we had our opening ceremony over looking Jerusalem.

  Tonight we went back to the same look out, instead this time it was a group of 70 friends, who had just experienced some amazing things together. We sat down on some candle lit stairs, and a few Year Coursers shared what they’ve been doing in the past three months. Our Section leader spoke about how tight a group we are, and how our passion to explore has brought us to really see Jerusalem. Our Counselor who went on Year Course in 2007 stayed at a different Hostel not so close to downtown Jerusalem, and explained that when he was on Year Course, the group never fully immersed themselves in the city the way we did.

  We ended the night with a mock Year Course Bar Mitzvah (13 weeks in Jerusalem); filled with a skit, candle lighting, a slide show, and dancing. It was a funny and great way to sum up the trimester. Tomorrow we leave for a hike and the desert, and then onward to a new like in Bat Yam.

  I have truly come to love the city of Jerusalem, and have a deep personal connection with it. It is really the center of the world and of so many religions, including Judaism. I will miss the diversity, the food, and the ancient stones city only blocks away from the modern bar scene. It’s just all so much fun, and I know I will be back soon.

  This Trimester was amazing, but was also very challenging for me. The death of my Grandma Dorothea on the first day of Year Course was a huge loss, and forced me to dig deeply as to why and how I should spend a year in Israel. With the terrible apartment conditions, lack of food, family, and familiarity, the meaning of this year became that much more challenging and also important. I am here to become a good independent Jewish person, which means I may be placed in tough situations that will test my skills. I do wish that some parts of this semester could have been easier, but as my section leader said, “it’s a blank slate now”.

 I feel completely ready for Bat Yam, because of the adjustment process I have already gone through. Bat Yam is a fun lower class immigrant town next to Tel Aviv. I will be living with my good friends in our own apartment near the beach, and will hopefully be volunteering at a marine school. I will not have to share an apartment with fifteen other people. A great semester is behind me, and a great one is to come. Here we come freedom!

 Thank you to everyone who has been reading my blog, and keeping up with my adventures (even when the blog posts are lame). My year has been such a success so far, because I have been able to make new friends while keeping in touch with the old ones.

 Thanks and happy holidays,

 Alex

Abu Gosh and the greatest amount of mediocre hummus in the world

A few weeks ago one of my classes went to Abu Gosh and Ein Rafah, which are two Israeli-Arab villages located just outside Jerusalem. We spoke to a British Moslem woman, who is married to one of the men in the villages. Everyone in Ein Rafah has the same last name, because they are all one family. She was a very smart woman, and described her life as an Arab living in Israel. She explained that Israel has two separate education systems, one for Jewish children and one for Arab children. Both groups have the option to go to any school they choose, however this woman has chosen to send her children to Arab speaking schools, so they can be with their friends.

 In my opinion having two separate school systems is lame, and prevents unity between Jews and Arabs. This is not segregation, but Arab-Israeli schools often have worse conditions than Israeli schools. The government claims that a main reason for having two systems, is because of a language barrier, however almost all Arab-Israeli’s speak Hebrew, and many Jews speak Arabic. Both Hebrew and Arabic are the official languages of the State of Israel, and many places such as the multi-cultural city of Haifa, make their students take Hebrew and Arabic.

  Besides being a fantastic Arab-Israeli town, Abu Gosh is famous for it’s Hummus. We went to a beautiful Hummus restaurant, with lavish décor, and a view of the Jerusalem hills. It turns out that the owner had won the lottery. Also, apparently Abu Gosh holds the current Guinness world record for most hummus! They put a lot of hummus in a big vat, beating out the Lebanese. Israel wins again! To be honest the hummus was a worse version of Pinati’s, but there was a lot of it. Almost as cool as Aaron Lyon, Moshe Arazi, and David Micley’s record of the longest skateboard.

This was the exact restaurant we ate at 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-1kpmrQmN4   

  "The Lebanese are planning a hummus counter attack" 

                       Pre-chickpead

Aaron Jijj going for the reach

            
                        Take that Lebanon!

Remember these guys...yep Jewish/Israeli to. 

Back to the Blogging

 Wow, it has been way to long since I last blogged. My deepest apologies. I could make up some excuses, such as laziness, a broken camera, tests, or lots of traveling, but none of these things are more important than blogging. Here are some things I’ve been doing in the past few weeks.

Biked around the Kinneret (Sea of Galilea).

Went to a Moshav in the North and picked olives

Went to a David Broza concert

Ate a lot of Hummus

Went to Tel-Aviv

Did not shave

Israel Advocacy Seminar

Enjoyed Sushi for the first time

Ate a lot of hummus