Post Number 24

Hello Folks,

I hope you enjoyed reading about McFalafel. I promise I will try it soon, although it has not been getting good reviews. Back to the beginning of 2011, right after chofesh (break).

So I returned to Karmiel, and started on another great week. It was good to get back to volunteering, and all of the kids at our volunteer places were very happy to see us again. For our Wednesday trip, we learned all about Aliyah (Immigration to Israel), first meeting with a group of really nice Ethiopian teenage boys who's families had made aliyah. It was shocking to learn how much they try to rid themselves of their previous lives, including culture. Nobody tries to speak their native language, they learn to cook and eat Israeli food, and they almost never travel back to visit their homes. The Ethiopian aliyah to Israel is a really incredible thing that they do not at all take for granted, and it was really great to learn about it first hand through dialogue with the teens. After, we visited an army base that has a big program for new immigrants or teens who don't have strong Jewish Identities and want to. The program, which is optional, serves as a cultural immersion program and counts as a portion of the compulsory army time. It is a very neat program that does a lot to make Israeli society more welcoming and open. We met with some participants in the program who told us all about their stories and their experiences in the program. They also all told us we should make aliyah... which many of us brushed off our shoulders easily, after all, we are very accustomed to people telling us this. While at the base, we were interviewed by a reporter for the English IDF Press, about our program, about our time in Israel, and our possible interests in Aliyah. Who knows... maybe I will be on the IDF website soon! We also met with some adults who had made Aliyah from the US and England and we talked with them about their stories and challenges. It was very nice to get a chance to learn about aliyah without feeling like we were being brainwashed into making aliyah ourselves.

I spent the weekend in Karmiel, having a chance to spend some more time in the city, seeing more of the parks and areas I hadn't yet seen. The following week was also normal, at least at the beginning. One afternoon when I was tutoring, not many kids showed up so I had a chance to one-on-one tutor which was a totally different experience. I really felt like I was helping the kid with English grammar and writing, whereas we usually are only able to read and talk. It was very rewarding to see how I was actually having an effect!

Our Wednesday trip was all about the Northern Border of Israel, and so we started with a visit to Mt. Hermon, which was the location of a crucial victory in the Yom Kippur War. Being the tallest mountain in Isrrael, and one of the only places that gets snow, it is now a beautiful ski resort. We arrived and took a ski lift to the very top, enjoyed some tea, learned about the history, and played in the snow a bit. After a while, we were so cold so we made the descent and headed to our next destination on the day's tour. We met with Ishai Efroni, one of the deputy commanders in the North during the Second Lebanon War. He took us on a tour of the Northern Border, stopping at the point where Goldwasser and Regev, two Israel soldiers who were killed in the war, were kidnapped. We learned about the presence of Hezbollah near the Lebanese border with Israel. We were intrigued to see the war front up close and personal, and it made the situation, although not so violent now, very clear to us. After the tour, we visited the hospital in Naharriya  to learn about its incredible, full functionality, underground hospital. Being the closest hospital to the border with Lebanon, its bomb sheltered underground facilities were the first in Israel, paving the way towards government funding for underground care facilities in times of war.

Mt. Hermon

It was so beautiful... especially with the morning sun!

Nobody was skiing, but some were sledding

Forced smiles... we were actually freezing!

1st Snowman of the Winter!

There is also an army base at Mt. Hermon, and there was a soldier with his incredibly cute puppies standing near all the tanks.

He used his scarf (part of the uniform) to keep the black lab warm.

The point where the bodies of Goldwasser and Regev were taken during the Second Lebanon War, there is now a little memorial in place.

The border with Lebanon. There are Hezbollah bases to the left and right in the picture.

The underground hospital, used only in times of war.

One of the most amazing sunsets I've seen on the way back to Karmiel from Nahariyah.

The day after, Thursday, I headed to Jerusalem with 3 others for the Annual Netzer Veida (Conference). I was one of two NFTY representatives as we met with representatives from 13 other countries around the world for a week of  "Education, Experience and Policy Making for Netzer Olami." It was a great chance to network and learn from peers just like me but from around the world. We all left with great new ideas to bring back to youth movements and camps, as well as some new decisions for Netzer. To my great happiness, we decided to throw out the vegetarianism policy of Netzer Olami, making it much easier to get a protein fix on Shnat (its not that big of a deal, we just used to make it seem to be). We also voted on and passed  a proposal to pair one region of NFTY with a different snif (branch) of Netzer to create a better relationship between NFTY and Netzer. Rio (the other NFTY Rep) and I are very excited to have pushed for this proposal and bring it back to NFTY. I loved meeting lots of people from all around the world and seeing two friends from Netzer Russia who I met at GUCI this past summer. We all left the Veida very tired but feeling successful after a great week!

The Design on our Veida T-shirts

Upon return to Karmiel, we had a closed weekend, so we spent lots of time with the group in the house having fun with different programs, song sessions, and meals together. We also had a great Tu Bishvat Seder as part of Friday night Shabbat services at the local Reform community. While there, we also proudly presented a English siddur (prayerbook) that many of the Kamiel Shnatties had helped make beautiful. We spent lots of great time with our host families, eating way too much and just hanging out. Although its only been a bit over 2  months, I really feel comfortable with my host family, and I love that we all joke around a lot when I am with them. As Amir, my host Dad likes to say, I fit in perfectly with them at the crazy house! We finished the weekend with some bowling with our host family siblings. All 30ish of us had lots of fun and a bit of friendly competition as we finished the weekend off with a roll! (pun intended)

After Bowling

So here we are, just over two weeks left in Karmiel. It is getting a bit sad, after all, we really feel at home in Karmiel, and this means our year is half way over. Nonetheless, we are very excited for a change of pace as we move to Jerusalem. We have a busy few weeks coming up, so stay in touch and I will hopefully find time to write a bit, and definitely post some pictures!

I hope all is well wherever you all are reading this from, and Happy Tu Bishvat!

I'm Out~
Ethan

A Post About McDonalds

So as many of you probably know, there are quite a few McDonalds in Israel. Some Kosher, some not, some in busy locations, some in rural highways. But now, every McDonalds in Israel has one thing that ties them togehter. As of the past week or so, you can now get FALAFEL at any Israel McDonalds. I recently saw the add for this, and it is a crazy idea, and very strange to thing about the decision of Big Mac vs. Falafel Sandwich, but I also thought about something else.

In an age where everything is becoming identical, all countries are westernizing, it is a very nice idea to put commonly found foods in a specific countries McDonalds. It represents a difference in the cultures, countries, and more importantly the people who consume its food. I think it is a very nice idea that a place such as McDonalds, which so easily binds the food industry of one country to the next, is making strides toward localization, toward building back the identity of culture in an individual country. While it is nice that each country is becomming more developed, what comes with that is a loss of individuality and culture. So despite all the negativity that is often associated with The McDonalds corporation, I commend them for this move, because it is working towards better things, and I just get a kick out of the fact that McDonalds has Falafel.

As for the food itself, I dont really like McDonalds, and even less in Israel. But I am going to have to try the McFalafel, after all, I am living in the McMiddle East and it only makes sense to experience every opportunity that comes my way. I will let you all know what the verdict is.

                                           Some Good Pictures of McFalafel        McDonald's Israel

The Bennett's Take on Israel- Part Deaux

Hey There Old Friend,

It's me again, Ethan. So its been a few weeks since this happened, but I will now talk about the time in Jerusalem over break with my family.

It was really great to arrive into Jerusalem, especially since I hadn't been there since orientation seminar the very first week of my gap year. We arrived, checked into the hotel, and decided to go out for a bit. We walked around a lot, did a bit of shopping, and then got to bed early. The following morning, we woke up early to make a day trip to the Dead Sea and Ein Gedi. While we were initially worried about some rain, we got to Ein Gedi and Michelle, Abby, and I were able to hang out in the freezing cold, yet really fun beautiful pools and waterfalls at Ein Gedi. We hiked a bit, saw lots of animals, and relaxed some. We even ran into a boy with a St. Louis Cardinals hat, who turned out to be from Yokneam, St Louis' Sister City, explaining why he had the hat. After, we headed down the road to get some lunch and take a dip in the Dead Sea. Right as we arrived, the sun peaked out and we had great weather from there on. We all got covered in mud, including hair for Abby and me. We started walking to the water, when we realized it was much further than 3 years ago. The water level is so rapidly decreasing that you can see the difference from year to year. So we had a dip, washed off the mud, and relaxed in the healing waters, despite the stinging pain anywhere we had a little cut. After spending some time being healed, we made our way back up the the showers, with a dip in an ICE COLD pool for Michelle and myself, cleaned up and headed out. We couldn't have visited the region without a stop at the Ahava Lotions factory, but then we actually headed back to Jerusalem.

So we got back to Jerusalem, cleaned up, and got another early bedtime. The next morning, we visited an incredible museum, called the Museum on the Seam. It is in a building that used to be a British Police house on the borders of Israel and Jordan, but inside it is a very modern art museum. Containing some really edgy yet thought provoking modern art, we happily spent a few hours there. After, we made a necessary visit the Machane Yehuda food market on Friday afternoon right before it closed for Shabbat. We picked up some delicious Halva at the Halva Kingdom and some other food for New Years, grabbed some lunch and headed back to the hotel.

At this point, my family proved to be much smarter than me. On the walk home, it started to drizzle a bit, so we talked about getting cabs. Since 4 people could fit in one cab, I told them to go ahead and I would walk... after all, it was just a drizzle. Right as their cab door closed, the heavens broke open with torrential downpour. I immediately got soaked, and as I continued to run towards the hotel, my clothes got heavier and heavier. I soon gave in and took a shared taxi a bit down to road to the hotel, and magically had arrived at the room and changed into dry clothes before the rest of the family even arrived. We rested a while, cleaned up for Shabbat, and made our way to Tzur Hadassa, right outside of Jerusalem, to spend Shabbat and New Years Eve with some family friends. We had a great evening, and were planning on making it back to the hotel to spend New Years with the family, but unfortunately due to bad weather, we spent midnight in taxis travelling back home. Nonetheless, when we got there we celebrated a bit with each other, ate more food, and then hit the sack to get some rest.

We spent Saturday in the Arab market in Jerusalem. Its very fun to shop, observe, and wander around, and this time I had a very incredible experience:

A few years when I was in Israel for a whole summer, and I became acquaintances with a t-shirt salesman in the Arab market. We talked a bit, I came and saw him a few times, and he even offered me a job being security in his shop. So that was that. I remembered the meeting, but I was quite shocked when three years later, as I walked past his shop again, and we made eye contact, he said "Ethan?". I was stunned, and also very happy. We talked some more, he told me that he now has 3 shops, with spices, shirts, and other gifts. It was very exciting to talk to him again, he gave me his phone number, and once again offered me a job. Not that I am going to work for him, but it is very exciting that we both still remembered each other and I hope to talk with him more and get to know him a bit better.

The rest of the time in Jerusalem was busy and lots of fun, filled with walking on top of the walls of the old city, more sightseeing, shopping, eating, seeing people we knew, and relaxing. It was really great to be with the family and spend time in Jerusalem, and it was very sad on Sunday when I had to say goodbye. I took a bus, train, and taxi in order to get back to Karmiel, but I eventually arrived and prepared myself for work the next day. It was a great week or so with the family over break, but it was time to get back to work. Theres lots more to come, including a special week in Jerusalem, so be on the lookout!

Here's some pictures!

This is the first in my series of pictures of interesting people, see more below!

The Bennett Girls

After I took this, he said "Thank You"

He looks like a spy in a movie to me!

The Bennett's Take on Israel

Hey There Old Friends, It's Me Again!

So on to the family visiting. For my chofesh (break), I got to spend a week travelling around Israel with my family. It was really great to see them, and I loved visiting some places I haven't been before. So their visit went like this. They arrived on Christmas day, which was also Shabbat, so I made my way to Tel Aviv on Friday morning and spent the Christmas eve and morning with Ori Luzia, who I worked with at GUCI this past summer, and now we're good friends, and his family. They have become my family in Tel Aviv for the year, so it is always great to go spend some time there, and even better this time because I was able to get some sleep before meeting my real family at the airport. So Saturday afternoon I made my way to the airport to greet my family.

-A word about the greeting hall at Ben Gurion airport... there is a beautiful welcome hall for the international terminal, named Terminal 2000, where many Israeli families and friends wait for arrivals of their family and friends. There is also a line that is clearly marked "do not cross" which everybody crosses in order to welcome people 5 seconds earlier than they would otherwise. So there is a running joke how its such a "pushy, typical Israeli" thing to do to disregard the rule of not crossing, and as I eagerly awaited the arrival of my family, I found it to be a very interesting thing. So I thought about it, and then, my family walked through the doors and as if there was no line to hold people back, I joined the crowds and made my way forward to welcome them. After the fact, I realized that it was really funny, because in the moment, there is no line at all, and it becomes the norm, almost a tradition, to just go... because after all, we are all taught not to procrastinate and always to do things as soon as we can.

So we headed toward the center of Tel Aviv, and because it was Shabbat, our rooms obviously were not ready, so we enjoyed some delicious dinner in Jaffa, a walk in Tel Aviv, and a beautiful evening on the coast.

Jaffa (Yafo) at Sunset

Michelle at Sunset

After a great evening, we returned to our hotel, began to get situated in our rooms, and some of us got very comfortable. (she may kill me... sorry Michelle)

We spent a few days in Tel Aviv. We had some more time in Yafo, shopping in the gypsy market, meeting some really cool artists, and enjoying the scenery. We also we blessed with beautiful weather, which Abby, Michelle, and I took advantage of with a day at the beach. I should note that this is the first time I have swam in the Mediterranean since coming to Israel this year. We also took a little trip to Holon, which is near Tel Aviv and went to a really cool design museum. Holon has a famous design institute and recently built a very cool design museum. The building itself is incredible, with lots of different colors and shapes. The architect actually used no paint or dyes on the metal that it was built with, but instead used natural oils that are meant to take new colors as they age. This will all be clearer with pictures below. The exhibit at the museum was also very cool, and we enjoyed the trip very much. While in Tel Aviv, we also had a great dinner with Ori and his family. Our families had a lot of fun really getting to know each other, and we had a great evening. As if our 3 days in Tel Aviv wasnt enough, we also met with other family friends, the Litz's, who live in Kfar Saba (I talked about them in a older post), went to the first neighborhood in Tel Aviv- Neve Tzedek, saw another art museum, and did lots of walking and shopping. 

Sunset from Yafo

Tel Aviv from Yafo

"Oh the things you can see in Israel"

A really cool picture Michelle took

Very cool shoe in a personalized shoe exhibit at the Design Museum

Robots made of Dyson vacuum cleaners

The very cool building. All natural colors.

The girls

It was quite mesmerizing from almost any angle.

After Tel Aviv, we headed up north. We spent some time in Tzfat, which was really nice. We visited lots of the artists, and saw some new stuff in Tzfat, like a magnificent view from a rooftop. It was good to be back in Tzfat and actually spend time wandering the streets and observing the strange yet mystical attitude of the city. We then came to Karmiel, during which I showed the family my house, where I hang out, and all around the city. It was very exciting being a tour guide for my city, and I loved finally showing them about all the beauty of Karmiel that I often talk about. We spent the night in Haifa, which is when I was able to introduce my Karmiel host family to my real family. It was really great, and everyone really hit it off. We enjoyed lots of food (once again) and getting to know each other through more than just what I tell each families. We spent the following morning in Akko with some time in the Arab market there, where we saw a shark for sale at the fish stand!!! We also saw an incredible Tunisian synagogue that has the most beautiful tile mosaics I have ever seen. Having only seen the train station in Akko before, it was great to spend some time there and see what the city has to offer.

Baha'i Gardens

Bay of Haifa

Mom and Dad

The mosaic

In a spice shop

Yes. Shark. Nuff said.

Anybody want some creap?

After our trip to the North, we headed back down towards Jerusalem. We did tons there, so I will do one more post with everything Jerusalem, so this is all for now. Its bed time for me, so Lilah Tov (goodnight). Take care everybody! Be on the lookout for another post soon!