"Mele Kalikimaka Is The Thing To Say..."

Hey folks,

Just thought I would write to fill you in on my adventures from the past few days as it has been quite exciting and refreshing to have my winter holidays in Israel, a country which does not celebrate Christmas aside from a few select cities (e.g. Jerusalem, Bethlehem). There were no crazy shopping sprees, no tinseled, shiny Christmas trees, no wrapping paper left or right, no stockings hung anywhere in sight, no Christmas carols for my ears to fight... and this was incredibly refreshing and made me realize that none of that stuff is necessary to have a good Christmas. In fact, I had one of the best Christmases I have had in years!

As I mentioned last time, my friend Bianca was here the past few days visiting and I really wanted to give her a good taste of Israel. I wasn't completely sure what someone who isn't Jewish would think of the country, because most of the people I have asked about their excursions within the country have been of the Jewish persuasion and therefore are slightly bias in their appreciation of the homeland. However, I am happy to report that when she left today, she said she had a fantastic time and would definitely return in the future to see some of the spots she missed and return to those she really enjoyed.

We caught up for a few hours upon her arrival on Wednesday night, knocking back a few drinks and discussing life here for me in the program and life for her in Sweden, our conversation sprinkled with stories reminiscing about our time spent living together and all of our crazy experiences living on Angus Drive. On Thursday, we took the bus to Jerusalem with my roommate Dave in order to join in on a free walking tour. Unfortunately, transportation cannot be fully trusted in Jerusalem and we missed the start of the walking tour, making it impossible to find the group and tag along. Fortunately, Dave and I were in Jerusalem a little over a month ago and were able to show Bianca around the Old City, including stops at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the Jewish, Christian, and Arab quarters, the Damascus Gate, the Jaffa Gate, and of course, the Western Wall/Wailing Wall. I managed to find us a humous restaurant that a previous tour guide had mentioned to us and we stopped for a delicious mid-afternoon snack before continuing walking around the cobblestone streets of Old Jerusalem. After 4 hours of walking, we decided to call it a day and made our way back to Ashdod. The next day, we relaxed and slept in and I showed Bianca the beach near our house where the 1400 year old Arab ruins lie. We climbed to the top of the ruins to watch the sunset (well, Dave and I did; Bianca has vertigo) and then went out for dinner at a great little restaurant in the northern part of the city. After stuffing our faces, we returned home for a quick catnap before our intense Christmas Day excursion to come!



View of Masada National Park



At 1AM, we woke up and got ready to hit the road. Dave had rented us a car to make a trip to central Israel to visit the sites on our agenda. We drove for a few hours to the foot of Masada, the site of ancient palaces and fortications near the Judean Desert which offers a semi-challenging hike to its peak as well as spectacular views of the Dead Sea and the surrounding plateaux. The story behind Masada is quite interesting: after the first Jewish-Roman War, a siege of the fortress by the Roman Empire's troops led to the mass suicide of the rebels hiding atop Masada. After they had held off the attacks for a long time, and certain defeat and subsequent humiliation and slavery were approaching, the rebels decided the greatest victory they could accomplish would be to kill themselves, robbing the Romans of a victory. The ruins at the top of Masada are well preserved and worth the trip up, as the hike along the Snake Path is not particularly long to the summit (about a 45-minute trek). It is reminiscient of the Grouse Grind outside of Vancouver but the difference is the views along the way and from the peak, some of the best views in Israel in my opinion! We were super early for the hike, arriving at 4AM when the gates for entry didn't open until 530AM, none of us having checked what time the sunrise is on Christmas Day. However, the wait was worth it, the sunrise immaculate and spellbinding (and perhaps eye-damage inducing) from Masada's peak. After heading down, we made a quick drive to Ein Gedi, a nature reserve and national park with fantastic hikes in between its canyons, and filled with nature's treasures, such as springs, waterfalls, caves, and cool little animals called hyrax, looking like a cross between gophers and mini-bears. The hiking was difficult after so little sleep, but very rewarding, as some of the views of the Dead Sea and the canyons below were the best I have witnessed so far from either trip to Israel! Finally, we capped off our excursion by crossing the road to a campsite and rocky beach next to the Dead Sea. For half an hour, we floated carelessly and pleasantly on its super-concentrated salty waves and soaked our skin in its mineral rich waters. At this point in our day, it was only 1PM and we had already climbed a mountain and visited the lowest point in the world! We made our two-hour long drive back to Ashdod and had a quick nap before heading out for Chinese food and to a movie (Tron Legacy), a North American Jewish tradition. All in all, it was a near-perfect Christmas day, aside from lack of family, and one we will all remember for a long time to come.

Now it's back to reality and back to school. The kids had a field-trip today so classes were canceled but tomorrow I have a full lesson plan. My Ulpan classes are dwindling rapidly and today I only had one other companion, making it near-private tutoring for Hebrew due to my continuing diligence. Things in the house could be better, as the electric appliance problems continue (tonight our stove exploded and almost took off someone's face!) but hopefully it will all be resolved soon. After such a great weekend, even a gas explosion can't wipe the smile off my face...

Ciao for now,

Max

"Storm Clouds Are Raging, All Around My Door!"

Hey folks,

Once again, it's been a very busy past two weeks. After my last post, Ashdod was enveloped in one of the worst storms I have witnessed in awhile. The rain wasn't particularly too bad, the occasional torrential downpour for an hour or so, but not constant rain like Vancouver. What was really shocking and terrible was the wind. I have never seen winds of this caliber in a city environment! They were strong enough to extend my walking time to school a full 10 minutes (pushing me back while I walked on the sidewalk) and the wind caused property damage to the villa, knocking down our entire fence outside and destroying a few chairs, not to mention sweeping away any clothes that anyone was silly enough to leave outside on the line (I lost a few socks...). The storm lasted for about three days, and now, thankfully, the weather has returned to normal, albeit a bit cooler. The average day temperature is in the early 20s while the night temperature drops to about 14 or 15 degrees Celsius.



View from the Golan Heights



Last Wednesday, my group made a trip up to the North of Israel to take in some sights and enjoy some relaxing activities. We stopped at a few viewpoints, the first one being on the side of rolling hills on the border of Syria. The fences we stopped at blocked us off from the No Man's Land between the two borders, littered with land mines that no one wants to waste the resources to remove, and only affecting the occassional unfortunate cow! We then stopped at one of the coolest viewpoints in Israel at the Golan Heights. It overlooks surrounding countries, and has a direct Northern view of the mountains. Due to the weather from the storm and the drop in temperature, there was actually snow on the ground at the viewpoint and the mountains across from us looked spectacular, completely blanketed in white powder. I didn't imagine I would be able to throw snowballs in Israel, but I was proved wrong! In the afternoon, we made a relaxing trip to the Hamat Geder hot springs, natural hot springs stemming from the adjacent mountains. They were nice and comforting, a treat for sore joints and muscles from the previous week's army shenanigans, despite the fact that the smell was quite putrid, enveloping me and my companions with inescapable clouds of sulfur. However, I say, "Worth it for the relaxation!" The next morning, we took a trip to a kibbutz on the very Northern tip of Israel, high on a mountain overlooking a small Lebanese town which the Hezballah use as their headquarters from time to time. We had a guest speaker, an American-born man in his late 60s who was quite opinionated and right-wing. However, he was incredibly engaging to listen to, and honest about his outlooks and bias. He made me laugh on numerous occasions, perhaps not from comedy, but sheer shock at his matter-of-fact extreme statements. We then took a hike (when I say hike, I really mean stroll because there was no incline or anything resembling a challenge in the excursion) to the Banias waterfall. This was slightly disappointing for me, because everyone was so excited by their surroundings and the waterfall, but British Columbia offers forest trails and waterfalls that are a hundred times better. Nevertheless, the walk in the morning sun was refreshing and enjoyable.

Yesterday, my program took us on another day excursion to Jerusalem for a somber day of doom and gloom. We spent two and a half hours at Har Herzel, the most famous cemetery in Israel which sits on top of the mountain and is the final resting place of fallen soldiers, past prime-ministers and important figures in Israel's history such as Theodore Herz'l, Yitzhak Rabin, Chana Senesh, and Yonatan Netanyahu. The most interesting story we heard was about Yonatan Netanyahu, the brother of Israel's current prime-minister, Binyamin Netanyahu. He was the commander of a raid called Operation Entebbe/Operation Thunderbolt in 1976 after a flight on Air France from Tel-Aviv was hijacked by Palestinian terrorists and flown to Entebbe in Uganda where the Jewish passengers were held hostage. The IDF flew over 100 commandos to Uganda on a rescue mission, planning ther mission based on reliable intelligence they had received. They found out the exact car that the Ida Amin (the president of Uganda) drove, and replicated it in every way and flew it with them to Uganda. When they got off the plane, they drove right up to the gate of the building where the hostages were being held and weren't stopped the whole way there, due to the fact that the car was so convincing and the terrorists believed it held Ida Amin! This allowed them to to enter the building and rescue the hostages, sustaining very few casualties, except for one IDF casualty, Yonatan Netanyahu. This story seemed very incredible to me and I really enjoyed the other stories we heard in the cemetery, giving me an idea of the lives behind the seemingly endless rows of identical stones arranged on the ground in front of us. Our afternoon consisted of a trip to Yad Vashem, the Israeli Holocaust Museum. Like last year on Birthright, I found this to be very hard to take, however, it was nice to not be part of a guided tour this time so I could go through the museum at my own pace and spend more or less time at different sections based on my preference. The videos displayed, containing first-hand accounts of the atrocities the survivors had endured were particularly hard for me to watch, and yet so captivating that it is hard not to stop and listen for a minute or two. I feel very honoured to be part of the last generation of individuals to meet and hear stories from actual Holocaust survivors and will fulfill my obligation to tell my kids about the Holocaust someday so they can know about and understand a uniquely horrifying segment of human history. There is no doubt for me that the Holocaust will be in the history books for at least the next millennium!

So that's it for now. As of last night, my friend Bianca from Vancouver is here and I am taking her all over the country over the next few days to give her a taste of Israel. I will fill you all in on our adventures sometime next week. Hope you're all doing great and happy holidays! It's weird to not be experiencing the onslaught of Christmas decorations, songs, and shoppers over here!

Ciao for now,

Max

Sar-El

Hey folks,


My sweet action movie picture



So it's been an exciting week. I had the opportunity to go volunteer on an army base from Sunday to Thursday at a place called Rosh Ha-Niqra and it was a really cool experience and a nice break from volunteering at the school in Ashdod. I went with a bunch of people from my program (15 of us in total) and we slept in barracks, kind of reminiscient of my days as a camper at Elphinstone, with bunk beds and a common area we shared for lots of card games. The food was surprisingly good and all of the soldiers at the base were very nice and friendly. The two soldiers that were in charge of our program for the week, Bar and Ruthie, were especially kind and went above and beyond their duties to make us comfortable and even went to another base in order to make us diskiot, which are equivelent to American or Canadian dog tags for the army. I now have my own dog tag with my name inscribed in Hebrew and it's pretty cool.

As far as the actual volunteering went, it was hard manual labour but I was grateful we were doing something that was helpful for the army and not just busy work. We were responsible for moving sand bags and filling up boxes as protection at an outpost on the Lebanese border. The boxes sit all along the very outside of the outpost and provide shelter for soldiers who are surveying the border from behind them. We transported over 1000 sandbags over the course of three days, each one weighing in at 40 lbs. My arms, pecs, and back were all pretty sore by Thursday but there was a great sense of accomplishment in the task we had completed. On Wednesday, we took the last half of the day to go on an excursion as well and it was one of the highlights of the week. Our chaperones took us to the spot where Israeli soldiers were captured by the Hezballah in 2006 and where a small shrine has been set up in their honour. A superior combat officer told us the story of the attack and their abduction, and how they had been caught off guard because they were heading home the next day and had lowered their alert level. The Hezballah hid in the mountain and used a strategy unfamiliar to the IDF by coming out of holes they had dug in the mountain. Their communications office across the border had all of the soldiers' phones bugged and so they had discovered the soldiers were about to head home and would probably be surprised by an attack. They attacked hard and killed over 10 Israeli soldiers, and so caused the start of the Lebanon war. Within 24 hours, a full war was raging and many Northern Israeli settlements had gone completely underground. It was quite an amazing story to hear firsthand from the officer and I have to admit I was a little uneasy hearing it at that spot, as he told us that Hezballah were probably in the mountains adjacent to us at that very moment, and we all had to take the batteries out of our phones in order to remain untracked.

All in all, it was a very interesting and unique experience this week, and a nice change of pace from the somewhat predictable life in Ashdod I have grown accustomed to. In other news, I have officially booked my flight to Thailand along with two others from my program and right now, there is a huge storm brewing outside that could last for days. That's all for now but hope you're all happy and healthy back home and as always, don't forget to check in!

Ciao for now,

Max

"I Am A Fire, And I Must Burn Today"

Hey folks,

So it's been a great week of celebration, new developments, and lots and lots of eating! First with the celebration...

Chanuka is not really much different from back in Canada, but that's not such a bad thing. After all, lighting the candles, playing with dreidels, and eating lots of delicious food is good no matter where you are. I went to Tel-Aviv and Haifa for the weekend to spend some time with family and I really have to focus a little bit on the unbelievable food I sampled (or rather, gorged on) this weekend. On Friday, I slept in and then went for a walk with my cousin Shira and her husband Omer around the crafts market and the shuk. Omer is a man who knows good food and wine and he didn't disappoint. We went to a restaurant that needs no name (there is actually no sign or name outside); it survives on reputation and just plain good food. All of the ingredients are taken directly from the shuk and are completely fresh. They serve many strange items on their menu such as beef testicles, brain on toast, and one I have already tried in Israel, cow tongue. However, we stuck to more well known dishes and each one was better than the last... tasty fried cauliflower with a garnish of fresh herbs and tomato and onion... a dijon glazed raw beef on toast that was surprisingly delectable... corn polenta with some sort of old cheese and mushrooms sauteed to perfection... a "butcher's cut" of steak with potatoes and arugula (this particular cut of beef is the diaphragm and named after the fact that the butchers often will save this cut for themselves)... but the best dish by far was the one I expected to be the most plain. You see when I heard Omer order, all I heard was the word "bureka" and the rest were words I didn't understand in Hebrew. Burekas are cheap pastries you can purchase at any bakery and usually contain potato, cheese, mushrooms, or some sort of fish or other vegetable. They are good, but generally something I buy when I'm in a rush and stay away from because of their high fat content. However, this bureka was unlike anything I have ever tasted. It was 3 times the size of a regular bureka and teaming with hot melted cheese sauce and fresh crab. Every bite was a little taste of heaven and it was probably the best thing I have had yet in Israel. It reminded me of home because the outside bit tasted like my mom's homemade tourtiere pastry but it had the decadence and sophistication of a five-star restaurant with its mouth-watering crab and French cheese flavours (no offense Mom!). It will be the bureka to which I measure all other burekas in the future, and sadly no other bureka will probably ever measure up. A return visit to the *insert name here* restaurant is in order before I leave! Other great meals included a spicy, spicy green chicken curry dinner with my cousin Yoni and his wife Ayelet at their place on Friday night and a day full of eating at my aunt and uncle's in Haifa. In Haifa, I got the chance to eat amazing latkes with applesauce as well as mushroom and onion quiches, fresh guacamole, some of the best pickles I have ever had (garnished with coriander and cinnamon among other things) and homemade soup that would be ideal for most winters, although it was a cool 28 degrees today. That brings me to my next, and less happy news to share with you.

This weekend, starting on Thursday, the Northern region of Israel, specifically near Mt. Carmel, was devastated by a horrible fire that has burned through 20% of the forest and was spreading uncontrollably until today when other countries aided Israel with better planes to combat the blaze. Unfortunately, despite the often hot conditions in Israel (especially this winter), there are not enough firefighters (one brigade per 7,000 citizens compared to the usual one brigade per 1,000 citizens in many countries) or a lot of water to fight the flames. One tragic consequence of this fire has been the death of over forty soldiers when a bus tried to turn around from the fire and tipped over, trapping most of the passengers in the overwhelming takeover of the flames. This was very sad news to receive amongst the Chanukah celebrations and many Israeli citizens have been glued to their TV sets this weekend, watching the events unfold and witnessing this tragedy and the excuses of the government, unprepared for a fire of this magnitude. Tonight, on my way home from Haifa, we actually ended up a few feet behind the bus while it was being transported elsewhere. It was like a funeral procession, police cars clearing the road both in front of and behind the bus, and traffic slowed down to honour those who lost their lives on Thursday. There was only a skeleton of the bus left behind, hard to believe from the reports of the incident and how fast it had unfolded. The only glimmer of hope stemming from these events is that this country has had its share of tragedy and is well equipped to deal with it. People will grow stronger and will learn from this disaster to prepare for any fire in the future.

On a different, more optimistic note, other new developments have arisen and have gotten me super excited for the future. First off, my good friend Bianca will be making her first trip to Israel in just a few weeks! I will be taking some time off school and we will be visiting all the hots spots: the Dead Sea, climbing Masada to watch the sunrise, Ein Geti and its wonderous waterfalls, and a trip to Jerusalem where we are free to explore on our own (something I have anticipated for awhile). I am super excited for her and all the fun we'll have in just a few short weeks! At the top of my list, however (sorry Bianca!), is the fact that I have found two people from my program to travel Thailand with! This means that my first month in South East Asia will no longer be spent alone. Because I now have two people relying on me to have things figured out, I have started to plan and look into activities and tours and it has reinvigorated my excitement in the traveling I'm doing after the program ends in Israel. Ziplining in Chiang Mai... scuba diving in Koh Tao... full moon party in Koh Phangan... rock-climbing in Krabi... river-rafting under the Bridge Over River Kwai in Kanchanaburi... kayaking from Phuket to Koh Phi Phi to see Maya Bay (where "The Beach" was filmed)... climbing crags in the middle of the sea off the island of Koh Yao Noi... and so much more! It is going to be the trip of a lifetime and I am now counting down days till I will be gracing Thailand's beaches. That's not including the rest of my trip to Laos, Cambodia, and Malaysia. But I'll figure that out later...

I'm off to have a great new experience this week with the program, but I'll leave that as a surprise for now and fill you in when I get back. Hope you're all doing well and not suffering too much in the cold. Enjoy the weeks leading up to Christmas and don't forget to check in. I love to hear about your adventures in Vancouver!

Ciao for now,

Max

P.S. As always, if you know the title of the song from which my blog title is derived, feel free to post!

"Write Your Problems Down In Detail, Take Them To A Higher Place"

Hey folks,

So these past couple of weeks have been a little rocky. There have been lots of ups and downs and I'm hoping to turn things around within the next few weeks to make everything all-positive again. After the two month mark hit, I was definitely feeling homesick. Despite the 35 degree difference in temperature between Ashdod and Vancouver right now, I still miss you guys and the city of Vancouver terribly! Life in Ashdod can be awesome but at the same time, despite the large size of the city, there is not a huge amount of things to do. During the week, I am constantly busy with the demands of the program. Rarely do I end up at home and free to do what I please until after 8pm at night, except on Sunday afternoons, my one day of leisure. This means that I don't get out to try new things as much as I would like to. On the weekends, it's the opposite. Contrary to the Vancouver city atmosphere, which is overflowing with activity and commotion on the weekends, Ashdod is a ghost town, with no stores open, no movies playing, and no buses running after 3PM on Friday until Saturday night. This weekend, I'm heading to Tel-Aviv so I will get a chance to change things up, but normally, I'm hard pressed to keep myself busy in Ashdod on the weekend.

In addition to the homesickness and occassional boredom, I'm also experiencing some problems at school, most notably that the English teacher is trying to take advantage of our position at the school. I want to have a little more control over what we do at school but right now, we simply go through the same lesson plan with multiple classes, teaching the same thing that she is and completing exercises in a textbook. The whole point of us being there as volunteers is to make learning English exciting, to inspire the kids and show them that their time with us outside of the classroom is a privilege and not an excuse to miss class and goof off. I would like to teach the kids English through games, with my guitar, with interesting stories I have found off the internet, etc. However, the English teacher is forcing us down a road which is not to our liking. In addition, we teach outside the classroom in the hallway. It is not a conventional hallway like you would see in a North American elementary school. It's more like a big open rectangle, with the classrooms positioned around the outside of the rectangle. However, it's no classroom. On a daily basis, due to the overwhelming poor behavior of Israeli students, there are kids who are kicked out of the class within ten minutes of the start of the lesson. This then means that they roam the hallway and disrupt the lesson that I am trying to teach to the kids. Fights break out, garbage is strewn across the floor, and the noise level is about 10 decibels higher than I can handle on a regular basis. My teaching partner Boris and I are pretty much at our breaking point and it's looking like next week we will need to have a confrontation with the English teacher. We are volunteers but that doesn't mean we should be trampled on and this set-up is not benefiting the kids but simply the teachers who don't want to deal with the issues in the school, namely behavioural issues. That being said, the kids do love us being there and there is not a single student who does not know our name. Most of the teachers at the school are incredibly friendly, and want to help Boris and me learn to speak Hebrew. And finally, the school is considered well respected by our program advisors, which can only mean that there are worse schools out there and I should be glad I'm not working at one of them.

As for other adventures, our entire group made a trip to Jerusalem last week. It was pretty much a repeat of what Zack and I did last year on Birthright, however, the city is quite impressive and I definitely want to make a return trip in the future on my own. The problem with these organized trips is that we hit all the tourist spots, but I find the exploration of the non-tourist spots the most interesting aspect of getting to know a city. Jerusalem has a lot to offer so I will be adding it to my list of things to do in Israel before I leave. Boris and I also made a trip with our English students to the North this past Monday. We first made a trip to Habonim Beach, one of the most beautiful beaches in Israel which reminded me of some of the sandstone beaches on Hornby Island, BC. Next, we headed to the Mt. Carmel Caves which was my favourite part of the excursion. Here, we made a short climb to the top of a small mountain (I would call it more of a hill but the kids definitely thought it was a mountain; there were several injuries and some tears shed...) where we found a huge cave. Boris and I entered with some of the braver kids (the teachers and all of the girls stayed behind) and made our way a good 1/4 km into the pitch black caves. This is where the kids decided to stop, so unfortunately, Boris and I had to stop as well, otherwise, we definitely would have gone a lot further in to check out some bats and stalactites hanging from the ancient cave ceilings. Finally, we ended the field-trip (or tiyul in Hebrew) with a stop in a Druze village. The druzim are a religious community found primarily in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and Israel. They participate in Arab culture but have their own Druze religion and many are highly loyal to the State of Israel, with many Druze joining the ranks of the IDF for many years now. In the village, we went to a real Druze house where we were served zatar, an Israeli bread dish that is baked in wood oven with oil and spices, and given a talk about the Druze (although it was in Hebrew so I hardly understood a word). After this we headed home, a three-hour bus ride back to Ashdod with kids who somehow still had energy after their 13 hour field-trip. I managed to nap through some of the yelling on the bus and passed out for a good 11 hours when I got home. Last night, Boris and I made a trip to Rishon LeZion as well, which is the fourth biggest city in Israel. One of the teachers at our school made the offer to take us to show us a place we hadn't seen yet. Granted, the trip was short, and it was to a huge shopping centre, but any opportunity to leave Ashdod to see something else is an opportunity I jump at. In addition, Boris and I spoke only in Hebrew with her all night and added a hefty 20 or 30 new words to our vocabulary. This, accompanied by a delicious meal of chicken, mushrooms, olives, liver, potatoes, onions, pita, humous, eggplant, salad and a wide assortment of dips, made the night a success.

Other than these excursions, life goes on. I have been playing intense games of basketball with some of the guys in my program (to the point I'm a little bruised and longing for a massage) and last Saturday night, a bunch of us went to the doom and gloom that is Harry Potter 7, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Meanwhile, I'm still growing out my disgusting French mustache in a bid to raise money for cancer and have even memorized my Movember shpiel in Hebrew for the teachers and kids at the school. Mustache in Hebrew is safam, just in case you wanted to know...

I leave you with another segment of similarities and differences between Vancouver and Ashdod. Don't forget to say hello, and maybe search for me on Skype sometime. It would be great to hear your voice!

Differences:

- When you go to a movie in Ashdod, they stop the movie halfway through (in mid-sentence actually!) to let everyone go out for a bathroom/cigarette break...
- You can make a salad with normally expensive ingredients like pine nuts, basil, cherry tomatoes, avocados, and feta cheese for four people for the grand total of (drum roll please....): $12 CDN!
- When you walk down the street with a mustache like me in Ashdod, people don't say "Nice mo bro!" They just assume you're another kid entering the 8th grade...

Similarities:

- Everyday when I walk to school, there is a woman handing out free newspapers and tries to push one on me despite the fact that I have no prayer of reading it in Hebrew. This constantly reminds me of the 24 and Metro workers at the skytrain stations and university campuses...
- Justin Bieber is a household name for kids in Ashdod as well...
- Despite all the amazing food over in this country, even the stuff that is quite kid-friendly, like schnitzel and humous and pita, the most popular food for a ten-year old still remains: chips and candy. There was not one kid out of 50 on the field-trip without one of the two. Some things are universal...

Ciao for now,

Max

P.S. Once again, bonus points for who can guess which song the title of this blog is derived from!

Bika

Hey folks,

Thought I would give you something a little bit different to read about today. As some of you may or may not know, I have never been a big fan of cats. Due to my parents' cat and dog allergies growing up, and their general aversion to wanting to have pets in the house, I was always the kid without the dog or cat. The cats I have encountered throughout my life have always seemed to me to have a "holier-than-thou" attitude and I did love my brother Juan's dog a lot, so if I had to choose, I'm definitely a dog person. Cats just aren't my friends and I am actually quite allergic myself.

Bika, the affectionate and playful little horror dwelling in/at our house

However, here in Israel, cats are like squirrels. They are all over the place, hiding in trees, patrolling the streets, mating in the next-door neighbour's front yard (where there are now 6 kittens) and of course, pawing at our door. Before I arrived, the people already living in our villa adopted a pet cat from off the street and christened her Bika (a Russian name), despite the fact that she was quite sickly and launched snot-rockets all over the patio on a regular basis. Since my arrival, she has become more than comfortable. Her condition has improved (although she still sneezes and wheezes a lot) and she is fed by my Russian roommates and comes inside and sprawls out on our couch. I actually found myself growing quite fond of her as she is quite an affectionate and playful cat and is quite cute. However, that soon changed about a week and a half ago.

This is where all cats go wrong! She adopted the "holier-than-thou" attitude and started making her way through the rest of the house.... on the upstairs patio with our laundry... in the bathroom.... and finally, one morning I awoke to find pawing at the sheets on my bed in our room. I whisked her away, recovered from a sneezing attack and made my way downstairs to the kitchen. In shock and awe, I discovered Bika in our kitchen sink! She was pawing at the discarded food and dragging it over the counter tops and sneezing as she played with the sink scraps. This was the final straw for me! I can't condone a sick animal chilling out where we wash our food, no matter how adorable or pathetic said animal may be. I called a house meeting and told my roommates how I felt about her, and reluctantly, they agreed to a consensus that she is no longer allowed in the house. I have found her inside a few times since and chased her out of the house, and due to my new attitude towards her, she fears my wrath and runs across the street. She doesn't come around the house when I'm home anymore, except to eat and when I try to stroke her behind the ears, she no longer accepts it but tries to claw at me. I guess that's the price I have to pay for banning her from our humble abode. My verdict still stands. I'm a dog person...

Ciao for now,

Max

"...And Time Can Do So Much"

Hey folks,

So another week or so has passed, and so much has happened once again. There is hardly a dull moment with this lifestyle and this last week has been one of the busiest since my arrival. First, allow me to mention my trip to Jaffa last Monday. Jaffa is an ancient port city connected to Tel-Aviv and is home to a great outdoor market and spectacular beachside views, as well as a rich history and even mythical tales from Greek heritage. For example, at the port, there is a rock that juts out in the water and is home to an Israeli flag. I remember it being one of the Kodak moments of my Birthright trip last year but this trip I actually found out the alleged background of the tourist spot. Our guide told us a story of how Poseidon sent a giant whale named Cetus to ravage the coasts of Jaffa. The King Cepheus, desperate to stop the destruction in his kingdom and the spreading fear poisoning his people, decided to send his daughter, Andromeda, as a sacrifice to Cetus. Perseus, on his way back from slaying Medusa, would not allow this to happen, however, and stopped to free Andromeda, displaying the head of Medusa to Cetus. This caused Cetus to turn to stone. Today, it is believed that the rocks along the coast of Jaffa, including the one that holds the Israeli flag, are actually the ancient remains of Cetus and proof of Greek mythology taking root in Israel.

After our brief tour of Jaffa, we ventured to the Palmach museum, a fantastic cultural haven for all the history associated with the Israeli strike force that trained and impacted the country so greatly during the decade preceding the establishment of Israel. This museum was unlike any I've ever visited. Instead of the usual cultural artifacts and wall hangings explaining history, the museum is split into 13 different rooms, each full of props and videos containing footage of actors reenacting a specific impactful event in the history of the Palmach. The rooms are complete with sound effects, light displays, and one room even resembles a crooked submarine floor and moves slightly as though on the water. I felt like I learned a lot more about the Palmach in this type of learning environment and was thoroughly engaged for the entirety of the tour. Our day concluded with a visit to Rabin square, where Yitzhak Rabin (arguably the most well known and celebrated prime-minister in the history of Israel) was assasinated after a peace conference by a right-wing extremist. This was made all the more salient based on the fact that one of the characters in the re-enactments was based on Rabin himself.

The highlight of my week was not the Palmach museum, however, as much as I enjoyed it. This past weekend, I headed into Tel-Aviv for my cousin Shira's wedding and experienced both my first Israeli wedding and first morning wedding at the same time. It was a fantastic weekend full of family, food, fantastic dancing extravaganzas, and a chance for me to see family I hadn't seen in ages as well as meet new family members for the first time. The ceremony was incredibly beautiful, located at a kibbutz outside of Tel-Aviv with a pool and fountains as a backdrop to the stage and lush gardens surrounding the extravagant ceremonial spot. My cousin and her husband were married under what is referred to as a chuppa, a wedding canopy that can either stand on its own or be held up by four attendants. In this case, I had the honour of being one of these attendants, as my cousin's best friend was delayed in his arrival. I was happy to fill in and got a front row view of the poignant ceremony and happy looks on the faces of both my cousin and her newly annointed groom, as well as the hundreds of beaming guests. The ceremony was followed by LOTS of dancing. I love dancing at Jewish weddings and unfortunately don't get the chance to do so as often as I'd like. After a sweaty dance-off, we feasted on beef bourgignon, pargiot (chicken thighs), delicious Israeli salads, and an odd vegetable stir-fry consisting of green beans, mushrooms, and brussel sprouts. I followed the wedding with a quick nap and then spent some time helping my other cousin Yoni and his wife Ayelet prepare food for close family at their apartment. It was a fantastic day and really made me cherish and appreciate what a great family I am blessed with!

Since then, I have tightened up my belt again (kind of!) and have continued teaching at Keshet Elementary School. The kids are starting to let their true personalities show and are getting a little harder to manage, however, my Hebrew is improving and I have no problem speaking my mind to them and letting them know who is boss! They really do seem to appreciate our time being spent teaching them English and it is always a competition for them to get out of the classroom for some time with the North Americans. They ask us funny questions (e.g. Are you friends with Justin Bieber?) and latch onto the usual inappropriate words in English (e.g. one little monster gets kicked out of class every day and runs through the halls screaming "Motherfucker!"), but generally, they exhibit the usual behavior for kids their age and hopefully will progress to conversational English by the time I'm done with them.

Well, that's all for now. I just had an enrichment lecture on Israeli food complete with a feast all of us had prepared beforehand and I'm feeling quite sleepy now after such a late afternoon meal. Don't forget to check in and fill me in on all of your adventures, balagan (crazy) or not.

Ciao for now,

Max

P.S. Bonus points for whoever can figure out which song the title of my post is derived from!

"Back To School, Back To School, To Prove To Daddy I'm Not A Fool"

Hey folks,

So it has been an incredibly eventful week. In the past week, I have taken in a little local culture, gone to a MASA Mega Event, started teaching school, played a few rounds of poker, and cleaned, cleaned, cleaned!

Starting with last Saturday, with no transportation and no shops or movie theatres open, one must try to be innovative when filling the day with activities. Two of my roommates and I decided to take a trip over to Ashdod's Art Museum to check out the exhibit. Entrance was only a few dollars and there were three floors of exhibits to look at. Unfortunately, the majority of the artwork was by one single artist, and her style was not one that appealed to me. In fact, it was a style that I truly disdained and it incited a genuine negative emotional reaction. In this respect, what she does must be considered artwork on some level, able to provoke such an undeniable distaste from me, even if it seemed like her work could be replicated by a 3 year old with anger issues.

The terrible artist's intepretation of a butterfly, this being one of her best at the exhibit to give you an idea of the caliber of her overall work.

After the art gallery, we went out for an afternoon beer at one of the only restaurants open in Yud Alef on Shabbat. The overall feeling on Shabbat is one I actually quite enjoy. Everyone is very relaxed and free of anxiety, the stresses of the work week lifted away and deposited in a safe for 24 hours. This is the first time in many months that I fully have my weekend to relax. Despite the fact that my job at Ray-Cam provided me with weekends off, I always had so much to do to prepare for this year that I rarely got time to just hang out at the beach or sit out on a patio with a deck of cards and the universally peaceful crooning of Bob Marley. There are also local free outdoor classes, both in yoga and tai-chi. I was planning on checking out the tai-chi one this morning but couldn't bring myself to wake up early enough (it starts at 8 AM).

On Tuesday, the majority of our group headed to Jerusalem for the night to take in the MASA Mega Event. This was something I was actually pleasantly surprised by last year on Birthright. Then again, it was a much bigger event, it took place outside in Tel-Aviv, and I got the chance to go up on stage in front of thousands of people. This time didn't really compare, and was unfortunately quite a letdown. The night kicked off with speeches from at least 5 people I had never heard of. Many people in the audience cheered loudly when their names were called so it kind of makes me wonder if they know who these prominent philanthropic individuals are or if they are simply reacting to the excitement in the air. This oratory part of the night was brutal. All the speeches were very similar in subject matter and cheesy and preachy in nature. The second act was a collection of choreographed dances, coupled with people playing with fire and acrobats doing tricks on ropes next to the aisles. These dances were introduced by videos created by past participants of programs similar to the one I'm doing. Once again, it came across as very cheesy, and the dances were near-replications of the ones I viewed at last year's event. The main event of the night was a huge band, around 12 people on stage, and they were quite hit and miss. The music was a little melodramatic and not really my style, but the band's energy was undeniable and most of the crowd was loving it. Apparently the band is one of the biggest bands in the country, and at times they reminded me of a Middle-Eastern version of the Vancouver band Five Alarm Funk. All in all, the night was a little disappointing but still worth the trip for the company of my group-mates.

As for school, I started on Sunday and had five days of teaching this week, five hours each day. It has been a very positive experience so far, although not without its challenges and frustrations. Unfortunately, the week was not completely set to routine, mainly because the English teacher we're supposed to work with was sick the entire week and we were stuck with a crazy-ass subsitute. Despite these difficulties with staff, what's important is the kids and they really are very fun and intriguing to work with. Their desire to learn English is quite admirable and impressive, but their behaviour differs greatly from the average North-American elementary school student. These kids get away with murder in the classroom! They talk constantly and it is a never-ending struggle for the teacher to be heard. The kids walk in and out of the classroom as they please, and it is not uncommon to see kids roaming the hallways in the middle of a period (or playing with cards on the floor). I work outside the classroom in the hallway and generally take 3 to 4 kids a period. Some groups are advanced students who speak English quite well and others are the kids who struggle and really need a lot more help learning basic reading and writing skills and pronunciation of their vocabulary. This week, we worked a lot in their books but next week I'm going to take a different approach and simply have conversations with them. Speaking the language is the easiest way to learn and that is generally how I am progressing the fastest with my Hebrew so I figure it will be comparable for my students. I'm actually using Hebrew close to 50% of the time with my students after only two weeks learning the language! Granted, it's a broken version of Hebrew but I can dole out instructions no problem and be understood. My favourite expression to use with the kids is "Ani more ve talmid," meaning "I'm a teacher and a student." This encourages them to pass on important vocabulary to me as well and I have already jumped to the intermediate Ulpan class because of it.

At school, I'm working with one other group member named Boris. He's from Boston, Massachussets and we're getting along quite well and adapting to our surroundings at our new job. We are treated on equal ground with the teachers by the kids, except it's even better because they really do idolize us AND respect us. We'll see how long that lasts... As for the rest of the staff, the majority are between the ages of 35 and 45 and they are ALL women. That's right, not one single male staff. This means that Boris and I are quite popular in the staff room and eye candy for the cougars. There are two female staff in particular that I talk to daily in French and they have taken a shining to me. The female students also are happy to have Boris and I around. They follow us indiscretely and giggle and point. On Wednesday, I brought in the guitar and had a sing-along in the classroom. Never have I had so many adoring fans! They clapped along to the songs, sang loudly during Hey Jude, and even began chanting my name at one point! I must not let it get to my ego too much. Israeli Idol, here I come!

Other than school, I spent my nights this week playing poker a couple of times. Because we have no income here as volunteers, the buy-in is quite small, but enough that I made 110 shekels this week, the equivalent of $30 CDN. It's not much, but it's something! I also spent about 2 hours cleaning yesterday due to a monthly cleaning inspection and the convenient absence of over half my roommates. However, it was actually quite cathartic and a pleasure to see the house the cleanest it has been since my arrival. It was also an excuse to blast Led Zeppelin...

That's it for now everyone but stay tuned for another post next week after my cousin's wedding and a group trip to Jaffo. Hope you're all doing well and as always don't forget to update me on your lives back in good ol' Vancouver or wherever you may be.

Ciao for now,

Max

Great Elation Takes Dedication!

Hey folks,

I write to you with great pleasure from my own computer, at long last! I took a chance and bought a new hard drive, a risky move simply because the problem could have been related to the motherboard, in which case the new hard drive would have been useless. Thankfully, this was not the case and it only cost $65 CDN for a new hard drive twice the size of my last one. Technology-wise, things are starting to look up!
This weekend looks to be an uneventful one. Most of the people from my program went to Ein Geti and the Dead Sea after renting two cars. I actually would have been happy to tag along, but alas, being in the villa, I heard about the trip a little later and they had already run out of spots in the cars. Instead, I will take this weekend to enjoy some sun, a bike ride around Ashdod, and a nice Shabbat dinner with friends. I must also get over my minor case of Black Lung *ahem ahem* and start to prepare myself for this upcoming Monday, my first day of school! Things are still quite unknown for me in this department. I had a school meeting with the principal and the English teacher, but this really did not give me much information as to what my responsibilities will be in and out of the classroom. Unlike Canadian customs of politeness and saving face in front of new staff members, the principal and the English teacher got into a shouting match, the subject of which was the principal's belief that the English curriculum is boring. She even went so far as to say "I would rather die of old age than die of boredom." Despite this awkward encounter, the rest of the meeting went well and I think I will simply keep my distance from the principal. I feel like a lot of my job will be based on improvisation and personal style, a day-to-day itinerary that can transform based on the needs of my kids. Despite the slight anxiety I have about not knowing what's ahead of me, I am incredibly excited to finally get into a solid routine and start working with the kids. Starting next week, my schedule will be as follows:

Sunday-Thursday - Volunteering at Keshet Elementary School (9:00-2:00);
Sunday - Volunteering at an At-Risk-Youth Community Centre (3:00-6:00);
Monday & Wednesday - Intermediate Ulpan at Mekif Vav Highschool (4:00-6:00);
Tuesday - Enrichment Lecture (5:00-7:00).

That leaves my Thursday nights (the equivalent of Friday nights in North America) completely free and my weekends free of course to travel around Israel and visit family in Tel-Aviv and Haifa.

As for daily life, things are going pretty well. I have settled into a nice cooking routine with my two roommates, Zack and David, where we cycle through and each cook for all three of us at least twice a week. The dinners so far have been quite delicious and a huge money-saver, with the average expense for three people averaging around 20 shekels ($6 CDN). That works out to $2 CDN a dinner and will mean that my money will go further in the long run, or at least I can worry less about other expenses, aka the repair of my computer.

Despite the overall positive atmosphere here, I do find myself getting frustrated by some of the small things, most notably, a lack of isolation and time for myself. After having lived in a fraternity with 30 people, a house with 4 people, and now a villa with 8 people, I have come to the realization that I am an individual who enjoys time for himself. Even at the fraternity and Angus Drive, I had the opportunity to escape and go to my room when I needed to reflect or simply simmer down, but that is something I lack here. Silence does not exist in my humble abode and privacy only makes a rare appearance. In other words, I need to find an escape route, a place where I can hear my own thoughts and not be distracted by bad pop music, loud conversations in Russian, or the meows of the house-cat Bika. I have somewhat found this sanctuary in my daily runs down by the beach. I can run along the boardwalk by myself and work out down by the sea, the sounds of the wind my only companion. However, I will keep looking for a better alternative.

As for all of you folks in Vancouver and the rest of Canada, I will say that I am beginning to miss you all quite a bit. This is not to say I'm homesick, because I am fortunate for this opportunity and I'm really enjoying it. Let's just say that I am prematurely nostalgic and can't help but wonder what sorts of shenanigans I'm missing on the rainy West Coast. The Americans here are quite oblivious when it comes to Canada, some of them calling it the 51st state, most of them never having ventured to the North, and all of them having no idea what the capital of our great country is. When I took a poll with two other Canadians, the best answer we received was "The letter 'C'". Silly but better than the answer of Quebec which 80% of Americans spouted out confidently. I'll leave you all with a small list of things I have done recently that I have never done before:

1. Played poker with a group of Israelis, learning the poker terms for betting in Hebrew.
2. Ate one of the best falafels I have ever had for the extremely inflated price of, wait for it... 4 shekels (approximately $1 CDN)
3. Found a cat that I actually like (our pet cat Bika) who has taken quite a liking to me and follows me around our house, despite the fact that I am allergic...
4. In a daze from being low in the middle of the night, I feasted in our kitchen and decided it would be a good idea to mix olives with Nutella. It actually wasn't bad...
5. Sat on a bus and heard French on my right side, Spanish on my left side, Hebrew in front of me, and Russian behind me. No English in earshot...

Ciao for now,

Max

"Lo Anglit, This Is Israel!"

Hey folks,

Just thought I would update you on a bizarre scenario that occurred yesterday, one which you most definitely would not encounter in Vancouver, or anywhere in Canada for that matter. It was a "melange etrange" of humour, tension, and just plain wrong place at the wrong time.
While heading to Mekif Vav, the school where we go once a week for an enrichment program (lecture on a pertinent issue in Israel), we came across a large crowd of people milling about near the stairwell down to the entrance of the school. There were cops frantically motioning people to move into the adjacent elementary school and one of them started shouting at my roommate David to walk briskly inside the building. Another girl from our group, frantic and obviously alarmed by the commotion, walked up to a stressed-out teacher who was directing people, and started shouting "Anglit? Anglit? Anglit?" to see if he could explain what was going on in English. He responded frigidly, "No Anglit, this is Israel!" and turned away from her rolling his eyes. I had to stifle a laugh because this situation perfectly exemplifies the personas of two nations: Americans, who expect that everyone must know English and be able to help them even though we are in a city where English is not even the 4th most popular language, and Israelis, who lack the patience and politeness to help a frightened girl in need during a crisis.
We were then ushered into the school and told to stay up against the wall, away from the windows, and the doors were all locked and bolted. With my minimal Hebrew, I managed to decipher by eavesdropping that someone had left a backpack in the middle of the street a few hundred metres down the road, and it was believed to be a potential bomb threat. Looking out the window, we could see several police cars and lots of flashing lights and then, suddenly and very loudly, we heard the explosion of the backpack and witnessed a cloud of smoke rise up into the air, remnants of a rucksack falling to the ground. This also seemed odd and comical to me. Why would you blow up what you believed to be a potential bomb? Is that not the opposite tactical maneuver?
Anyway, it seemed to be a false alarm, and after about 10 minutes we were released from our stuffy primary school prison. Despite this being my first time dealing with this type of situation, it really did not make me anxious or nervous, a sign of my adaptation to my surroundings and acceptance of the day-to-day reality of living in a country where you're surrounded by enemies. Nevertheless, I wouldn't say that I embrace the idea of going through minor threats like this daily. Just another day in Ashdod

Ciao for now,

Max

The Shuk

Hey everyone,

Hasn't been too long since my last post but I thought I would fill you all in on the splendor that is the Ashdod shuk. "Shuk" is the word in Hebrew for market, and in Ashdod, there is quite a large one which is open once a week on Wednesdays pretty much for the entire day. It takes up several city blocks, is down by the water, and offers amazing deals on everything from clothes and accessories, to freshly baked breads and pita, nuts, dried fruits, olives, as well as the freshest and cheapest produce selection you can find anywhere in the city.
The best part about the shuk is that the people are very friendly and understanding of someone in my position with very limited Hebrew skills. Although I have learned this week how to ask things like "how much does this cost?" and all of the numbers so I can ask for prices, I still have very little in terms of banter or bargaining skills, much less haggling to get prices down. Therefore, right now I'm mostly sticking to buying items that are clearly labeled. Today, for 100 shekels ($30), this is what I was able to purchase:

- A head of cilantro
- Scallions (green onions)
- 3 large red peppers
- 2 Gala apples
- 3 bananas
- 1 300g container of candied cashews, almonds, and pecans
- 1/2 kg of delicious olives
- 8 burekas (these are little pastries the size of the palm of your hand, stuffed with either potatoes, mushrooms, cheese, or sweet ones with jam or sugar inside)
- 10 small bags of chips
- 4 huge pitas baked with cheese, tomatoes, and zatar (an israeli mixed spice)
- 1 pair of polarized UV protecting sunglasses

Amazing experience at the shuk today, one I will repeat every week, and really enjoying learning some Hebrew so I can talk with the locals and actually get the full Israel experience.

Ciao for now,

Max

Adventures In Ashdod!

Hey folks,

So my program in Israel has officially begun and I am super excited to be embarking on this adventure in my new city of Ashdod! This city is really quite spectacular from what I've seen so far, full of life and culture, home to French, Russian, and Spanish populations, sprawling white sand beaches, and unbelievable panoramic views of the port. I'm living in a neighbourhood called Yud Alef, which is one of the newer neighbourhoods in Ashdod. In this city, regions are split up based on how new the area is and the names of the neighbourhoods are assigned based on the letters of the Hebrew alphabet, with the oldest quarters having the first letters and the newest having the last letters. Yud Alef is located about 7 minutes walking distance from the beach, specifically a beach that is home to The Citadel, ancient Arab ruins that date all the way back to 640 AD and still house evidence of cooking areas and rooms used for shelter. Yesterday, I went with a bunch of people from my group down to the ruins and climbed to the top to sit and watch the sunset on the Mediterranean Sea, quite a treat and something I'm going to make a habit of doing.
So far, this first week has been mostly about explanation of the goals of the program and the expectations and rules that our program coordinators have for us. The program coordinators, Kineret and Shiri have been wonderful so far, and have not babied us too much; for instance, they have taken us to a place in the middle of the city for an activity and then have left us to let us find our way home on our own, which has given me the chance to orientate myself direction-wise more so than if I was blindly following a leader. For the next two weeks, I will be doing intensive Ulpan study to learn Hebrew for about 5 hours each morning and in the afternoon, I will have the opportunity to go and check out different volunteer opportunities around the city. Once a week for the five months, everyone goes and volunteers for two hours, the options varying from seniors homes and soup kitchens to shelters for women, and community sport-related programs for kids. I'm strongly considering the seniors home because there are many people there that speak French and it will give me a chance to practice. As for teaching English, I don't start until the 24th and still have yet to find out which age group I will be teaching or too much information about the structure. However, I think it's pretty open to individual style and the main goal is to get the kids speaking English, not to teach them grammar and syntax out of a book.
In terms of the people in my program and my living accommodations, I have no complaints! I'm living in a villa that is quite spacious and actually reminds me of the house on Angus Drive quite a bit, run down to a certain extent but a great space for a bunch of people. I share a room with two other guys, Zack and David, and it happens to be the only air-conditioned bedroom in the house and is next to a bathroom that only we use, so essentially, I lucked out! Most of the people from my program live in apartments across the street, 8 in each one, but because I met the people from the previous program a few weeks ago, Kineret and Shiri decided to put me with them instead, and so there are 9 of us in the villa, me and one other new guy being the only ones from the October group. At first, I thought this would be a struggle and a disadvantage because they have already bonded and it meant I would be separated from my own group and not get to know them as well, but this has not been the case. I have been fully welcomed by the August group and have become fast friends with many of them while still spending time with the people from my own group and going over to the apartments on a regular basis to hang out. We pretty much are one big group rather than two separate ones.
So far, nighttime activities have been a blast! On the second night, all 40 of us went down to the beach and had a huge bonfire. I brought my guitar and so did two others and we had a sweet jam session, and everyone is super happy to have a singer/guitar player on the trip because before we arrived, no one had any instruments! The following night, it was one of the girls from the August group's birthday and so her and her roommates hosted a 90s themed party at their apartment. I impressed everyone with my fantastic neon hot pink shorts and taught a bunch of people Pickles which was a big hit. We had a big hooka session out on the balcony, and then at 1230, me and four of the girls headed down to the beach for a little late-night skinny-dipping. Definitely the warmest water I have ever had the pleasure of venturing into in the buff! Last night I spent hours chilling outside on our patio, teaching backgammon and my favourite card-game Sheizerkoff to my new friend Masha, who has very similar music taste to me and even has the same Beach House t-shirt as me from a concert she went to in Baltimore. When I first wore the shirt, she asked me if I had stolen her clothing although I'm pretty sure her shirt would not go past my bellybutton... We then headed down to the beach with one of our other roommates Karina and two of her Israeli friends and made another fire and had a Beatles singalong before once again going swimming in the wee hours of the morning. I stumbled back to bed at 5AM, leaving piles of sand in my sheets to wake up to this morning. There hasn't been a day yet where I haven't brought a little beach home with me.
Tonight, for everyone who is staying in Ashdod for the weekend, we are having a communal Shabbat dinner, with everyone bringing something to the table. This will be my Thanksgiving replacement as they obviously don't celebrate that holiday over here and I won't be stuffing my face with turkey. I have tomorrow to explore the city on one of the bikes in the house (I don't have to buy one, thank god!) and probably go to the beach to take advantage of one of the last warm days before actual winter sets in. It's weird to be able to go to the beach and go swimming in October, but quite delightful and refreshing. Next weekend, we're thinking of making a group trip down to the Dead Sea where we will try and find a cheap hostel or a place to camp. Only fantastic things on the horizon right now and it is so nice to finally be settled in and not living out of a suitcase.
As for all of you in Vancouver,  I haven't forgotten about you and I want to be filled in on your adventures and misadventures, whatever they may be. One of the biggest things I do miss is the changing of the trees and the leaves although we did have a huge thunder and lightning storm here today with a torrential downpour, so I did get a little taste of Vancouver. Hope you're all doing great and I want to hear from you all soon!

Ciao for now,

Max

Everything Is Sebaba!

Hey folks,

So it's been a week since my last post and quite a bit has happened. After my day of bad fortune last Tuesday, I headed to Ashdod with a friend from Taglit last year named Yohai, where I stayed at his house and got the chance to see the city I will be living in for the next 5 months. His family was once again incredibly welcoming, and although his mother didn't speak a word of English, she did speak French and I got a chance to butcher the language a bit after not having practiced in some time.
Our first night in Ashdod, we headed to a bar across town, where on Tuesdays they have an all-you-can-drink special for 39 schekels. That is roughly equivalent to about $12 CDN, something that would simply never exist in North America due to the simple fact that it would be a loss of profits. The Israelis don't consume nearly the same volume of alcohol as the majority of college/university students I know, but I benefited from the nice deal and had myself a few Goldstars, my favourite beer over here which unfortunately is not available in Vancouver. Upon grabbing a table, I happened to hear someone speaking English at the next table over and asked the group of people where they were from. Coincidentally, it turns out that they were all from Oranim, the Canadian organization in charge of the program I'm starting soon, and they had come here in August to do the exact same thing that I will be doing! They even told me that some of us would be living in their apartments, so I got the chance to meet and chat up some of my future roommates! They informed me that despite the disorganization of the program, it is fantastic and the kids I will be working with are great, albeit sometimes difficult. Apparently, my accommodations are some of the biggest in the city (my villa houses 8 people, 2 per room) and are very well equipped with everything I need. I'm also going to be living a 5 minute walk from the beach, and along the beach there are actually different machines you would find in the gym that are free for the general public. The apartments/villas are also close to the shuk, which is the local market where food is dirt cheap and you can buy other household accessories such as blanket, sheets, and toiletries. Most of the people from their program are American, hailing from Los Angeles and Boston, although there were a couple of Canadians, mostly from Toronto, and one very attractive girl from Montreal. I'll have to practice my French a little bit more and work some magic (maybe show her my chawel haha)!
My visit to Ashdod fell on the start of Sukkot, a Jewish holiday that signals the start of the harvest season whereupon most religiously inclined individuals spend a week in a shelter similar to teepee and don't leave until the holiday is over. Fortunately, Yohai's family does not participate in this part of the holiday, and I simply got to enjoy a feast with his family. Since my arrival here, there has not been a single meal where I have not been absolutely stuffed! I shouldn't get to used to it though because soon I have to start cooking for myself. I enjoyed quite a few exotic delicacies, including liver, chicken hearts, and my personal favourite, (and something I will seek out in Vancouver) cow tongue! The next two days we went to the beach, where the currents are strong enough to pull someone my size into the water, and we went out on Thursday night for Arthur Guinness Day, a holiday similar to St. Patrick's Day which is pretty much an excuse to drink. Funny enough, the bar we went to had run out of Guinness, but we still enjoyed some Tuborg and free shots of whiskey from Yohai's friend, the bartender.
The past few days I have spent in Haifa with my aunt Eleanor and her husband Maury, a beautiful city in the northern region of Israel. I arrived just in time for the start of the Haifa International Film Festival and so have spent the past few days going to plenty of movies, the best of which have been Barney's Version (based on a Mordecai Richler novel) and Womb, a bizarre yet beautiful film starring Eva Green (of Casino Royale fame) which is about a women who loses the love of her life to an accident, and then turns to cloning to give birth to him and raise him as her own son. It touches on themes of ethics but gives strong, emotionally impacting performances from everyone involved and I strongly recommend it.
In less than a week, I head into Ashdod and begin my program. Soon, I will begin to actually learn some Hebrew and will meet my fellow volunteers, and possibly fellow travelers if we all get along. I'm debating going into the airport during my week off in January and asking what special they have for the day, and simply flying to whatever country is the cheapest. A spontaneous trip like that would be a change of pace, and a nice contrast to the past few months of my life spent planning.
Hope you are all doing well, and leave comments to let me know what you are all up to in Canada. Hope the weather isn't too miserable and that those of you in school are taking advantage of the first month of "less school-work". If I don't write for awhile, it is because I might lose access to a computer for a bit when I leave Haifa. My laptop's hard drive is busted and I need to find a repair shop.

Ciao for now,

Max

More Bad Luck For This Poor Schmuck

Hey everyone,

I realize that it hasn't been long since my last post but I have had a terrible streak of bad luck the past couple of days and am counting on you folks for some words of wisdom, positive thoughts, or anything you can do to put me in a better head-space than I'm in right now.
Yesterday I enjoyed a wonderful afternoon of lounging in and by the pool of Chen's dad, where I decided to try out the waterproof capabilities of my new awesome camera. It turns out the camera is not quite as awesome as anticipated as after 15 minutes of using it, all of a sudden it would not turn back on. I assumed it was the battery because I had already had warnings of it almost being depleted, but upon returning back home, battery fully charged, the camera still wasn't working and I discovered traces of water inside the battery/memory card compartment (this after actually reading a manual for once and following all the instructions).
"Oh well!" I thought, "things have been working out pretty well, I'm sure this will too! The camera is under warranty and can be replaced and the most I'll lose is a week or two of photos during my vacation period, no big deal. I can ask others to take photos for me." But apparently technology has some sort of vendetta against me. This morning I awoke to find that my computer will not boot up properly. It worked fine when I went to bed last night, but this morning it can't get past a black screen that tells me that "a disk read error has occurred, please restart your computer". "Great!" I thought, "No camera and no computer, what the heck is going on?" With a sigh of frustration, I decided to put it out of my mind and head to the beach for my last day in this area of Israel for a few months.
After half an hour of heating up on the beach, I decided to go for a swim. I swam out pretty far, about 10 minutes past where I could touch the ground. I lay out on the sea, letting go of my stress and thinking about the amazing area I was in and the beautiful weather and people. As I began my swim back, I suddenly felt a sharp pain on my hand. I pulled my hand in quickly only to drag with it an enormous jellyfish that proceeded to sting me three more times, on my face, my knee, and on my stomach. This seemingly harmless-looking creature then floated off on the crest of the next wave and disappeared into thin air, unknowingly having made my day a hell of a lot more painful. I scrambled to the shore in much more time than it took to swim out and made my way to the restaurant to ask for advice on what to do, this being my first jellyfish sting. Don't be fooled folks! Although spiders and wasps look much more threatening, jellyfish are the ones to look out for! Their stings hurt like a bitch and my face started to swell up like a balloon with purplish-white blisters appearing on my cheek, stomach and hand. The bartender gave me vinegar to put on the stings but this did nothing except make me smell like fish and chips. And then he suggested the urban myth. "Try peeing on it" he said, in broken English, "it usually works for me". So off to the bathroom I went. Let me dispel this myth for you all so that you never have to put yourself through it. Peeing on a jellyfish sting does not get rid of the pain for more than five minutes and simply leaves you soaked in your own urine! Thank you Friends for absolutely nothing!
So I ask you friends and family, or whoever might be reading. What do you do when everything seems to be going wrong? My supposed two-weeks vacation is slowly turning into something I'm regretting and despite my positive nature, I'm starting to succumb to the dark side of negativity. Any comments or suggestions would be much appreciated and hope you are all doing better than I am. Off for a second shower now to get rid of the thought of any remaining yellow substances on my skin.

Ciao for now,

Max

Ominous Start But Smooth Sailing Ahead...

Hey everyone,

After a rocky start, I am finally starting to settle in here in Tel-Aviv and have gotten over all jet-lag, although I really didn't experience it too much to start with. After a 26 hour commute, including a 9 hour layover in Berlin's airport which is one of the worst airports I've ever been to, I arrived in Ben-Gurion Airport, Tel-Aviv only to be placed in a dark room by myself for half an hour by Passport Control. Finally, at 3AM, they released me and told me that I need to get a proper visa if I intend to stay here for 6 months, something my program supervisors neglected to mention. When arriving at luggage claim, I discovered that my main luggage had not arrived and that I could not reach my contact who was picking me up by phone. At 4AM, I finally went through customs after filling out several forms at lost and found, and thankfully, my host Chen, sweetheart that she is, was waiting for me outside, not terribly pleased at having waited for 2 hours in the middle of the night, but understanding and sympathetic nonetheless. Despite this initial debacle, I have now received all of my luggage and am able to enjoy me next two weeks of vacation before my program start date, sans stress.
This country's beauty still does not cease to amaze me! On my first day here, it was Yom Kippur, which for Jews means a day of atonement and self-punishment in which you cannot eat or drink anything, watch TV, listen to the radio, drive your car, or do anything you normally would do to enjoy yourself. Thankfully, my host is not a typical Jew and I was able to go to her friend's house for a swim in her pool and some delicious food. So far, despite warnings from Chen and others that Israelis are rude and lacking in the disgusting amount of politeness us Canadians have to offer, I have found the opposite, with every one of Chen's relatives and friends having been very accommodating and constantly offering me food and drinks. After some food and a swim, I had the fantastic experience of going on a bike ride on Yom Kippur. We biked along the highway into the city for an hour and half each way, and there was only two cars on the main highway the entire time, both of which were police cars! I don't think there is a single other place in the world where you can see something like that!
Today, I enjoyed some time on my own at the beach, five hours of lounging on the sand, reading, eating good food, and swimming in the warm Mediterranean Sea, which by my standards feels like pool water. I delighted at being tossed around like a top by the enormous waves and undertow and sweating like a pig on the beach in the welcomed plus 30 degree weather. It was nice to have a day to myself just to relax and contemplate the next year ahead of me, isolation being something I haven't completely experienced and enjoyed in the past few months of my life.
I leave you all with some funny observations I've noticed in my first few days in Israel:

Israel is a place where...


...you can look down a highway on a holiday and not see a single car
...you can find several 1 litre bottles of Coke Zero on a nicely decorated holiday dinner table instead of the usual bottle of wine
...you can order beer by the half-litre (this is something we should adopt in Canada!)
...going to bed before 1 in the morning is not an option when you're my age, even if you have work the next day
...even if you have worked on a tan all summer in Vancouver, you are still considered ghostly pale by Israeli standards
...the booty call line "Are you awake?" is replaced by "Are you fasting?"
...the beach is empty on what would be considered the hottest day of the summer in Vancouver
...the sea water is warmer than most pools in Vancouver
...the term "Eh?" is not fully understood, appreciated, or well received

That's all for now folks, but stay tuned for more when I actually begin my program in Ashdod and settle into my life for the next 6 months!

Ciao for now,

Max