My life as a new immigrant to Israel

We are a day from the month of Elul, which for me means many things. First and foremost it means the beginning of the school year which in turn means a paycheck. A close second is that it is an important time for me to reflect on the past year and prepare my soul for the high holy days, which will come very soon.

The actual word Elulcomes from the Aramaic verb for “search.” Therefore I need to search within myself for ways to improve my choices and put myself in better situations in order to become a better person. My soul searching is an ongoing process that sometimes makes me a bit of a solitaire, but in actuality I feel like I am becoming a stronger more well rounded person. A person who is worthy of the good things in life, like health, wealth, love, respect and, of course, some luck is always good.

Elul is also a time for granting and asking for forgiveness, which can be sometimes quite difficult to do. There were times over the past year where I have been selfish, rude and even mean. I sometimes told white lies to get out of doing something that could help another person, but I did it not out of bad intentions, rather because of a sense of laziness.

Reflecting upon this I truly feel it was the wrong thing to do, and I am very sorry for it. Another social culture of the month of Elul is to start and end every letter with wishes that the recipient have a good year…so check it out at the end. I also plan to visit my Saba and Savta’s graves in the coming month. Hard to believe it, but back when they were alive and I was 8 years old and just getting to know them, they inspired me to be great. I didn’t know it then, but I see it now in the lives of all my aunts and uncles and how they carry on their legacies. How they are caring to the max and would do anything for family…this is who I want to be.

Since my last blog entry there have been ups and downs in the life of Gogie. I believe it was late May when I last wrote my thoughts for you and it was a time of stress for me. I was dealing with a university course load that I have been unused to since finishing my BA 11 years ago and along with those, nearly every course required a term paper. Those that did not required a final comprehensive test. In addition, it was the end of the academic school year of which I was teaching 5^th and 6^th grades and also finding enough hours to satisfy my student teaching experience of teaching 10^th grade English. It was much to deal with, but much to my delight I achieved success and entered the summer vacation with no worries. On all but one paper I received in the 90s, and all my tests I passed on the first try. I am well on my way to earning my teaching license.

During the summer months I spent a week or so sleeping. I woke up at 6 like I always do, ate some breakfast while I watched The Daily Show, did my morning workout then went back to bed by 9:30ish till noon. As much as I would love to sleep straight through to noon, my body won’t let me, so I work around it. I decided to stick to a workout plan as much as I could so that I can feel healthy in addition to keeping my shoulder stable and strong.

Here it is a year after my shoulder surgery. Reflecting on that experience I am so thankful for deciding to take care of it. I have never felt better physically…now comes the psychological and emotional improvement. In order to do this I must look within and ask myself, Am I happy? If so then great, but if not then what can I do in order to be happier?

When I am spending time with my family, especially when I am surrounded by the younger generation of cousins, I feel happy. I feel happy when I am playing with Louise and when I accomplish something I have been working hard at. I am happy when reading about and playing poker…and even happier when I win at poker. It’s the off times that I feel not as happy…like when I am thinking about how I miss my parents, sister and niece. It has been oh so long since I have seen them and to be honest, I hope they forgive me for making the choice to move so far away.

In case you have not read in the news or heard from a source, there is a relative war going on here in Israel at the moment and I am afraid it will get worse in the near future. Over the past month or so there have been missiles shot toward innocent civilians and senseless killings of soldiers, families and children. It has been a very stressful time…one in which when the air raid sirens blast I hide under my bed and pray that it doesn’t land anywhere near people I care about. It hurts when I hear from my cousins that their kids are psychologically attacked by the sirens blasting and when I hear of infants dying from missile shrapnel. I just pray that peace will come soon.

Well the time has come to end this thought process and I hope that all of you who read this will take some time during this month to forgive those who have hurt you and accept forgiveness from those who may have wronged you over the past year.

"K'tiva VaHatima Tova" ("a good writing and sealing [of judgment]"), may you be written and sealed in the Book of Life for a good year.

Well hello there all you wonderful supporters of Golan’s Aliyah website. He is I and I am reporting from hot and sunny Beersheva. Summer has officially arrived, judging by the intense heat and sunburned arms. We could have used a few more weeks of spring weather and evening rains, but getting rains into mid to late May was a minor miracle in itself, so can’t really complain too much. So let’s get into updating what life has been like of late.

My 6-month check up at the shoulder surgeon’s office was filled with great news. After glancing at my X-rays and completing my range of motions test, the doctor told me that I have made a complete recovery. I worked my ass off in physical therapy and home exercises so I knew that would be so. I currently work out with 5 kg. weights 3 times a week to build up muscle around the area and I am seeing results and feeling the soreness, but it’s OK…No pain, no gain!

Passover was a wonderful experience for me, as I hope it was for all of you too. During the Seder, I was at my cousin’s house here in the Bash. I counted 37 folks and almost a bottle of wine for each. It was a great time and one of the best as well. Now initially I was supposed to go up to Tel Aviv and Jerusalem that Wednesday and Thursday, but my plans changed for the better. I was invited by my ‘aunt & uncle’ to go up north with them to the Carmel Mountains. We stayed in Isfiya, which is a Druze village very near Haifa University. We stayed at a B & B and during the days went on hikes all over the north. At night, we had BBQ after BBQ. It was truly a wonderful time, especially because I got the opportunity to get to know cousins of cousins that I didn’t really know so well.

Among the places we hiked was Little Switzerland. There was so much to see there. Unfortunately some things were sad, for instance the aftermath of the Carmel fire from last December as we drove by the site of the burned up bus that carried newly graduated policemen and policewomen.

I did however wake up super early the first morning to photograph the sunrise over the Golan Heights. That was a sight I will soon never forget. The horizon was filled with a layer of clouds except for a large enough hole through which, at that point exactly. the sun rose, as if it was meant for me to see.

As it turned out, the rest of the days were cloudy and rainy…so I really felt lucky. Throughout the hikes I took some amazing photographs of nature. I absolutely love taking pictures of Mother Nature. One photo that sticks out is of a honey bee sitting in a flower drinking nectar. I must say the iPhone camera takes some kick ass photos. By the way if you would like to see the photos, go to my Facebook album.

Another fun break from reality was my recent celebration of Yom Ha’Atzmaut (Israel’s Independence Day {63}). My cousin Nir invited me to go down, way down to the Dead Sea for an evening of camping and of course BBQ with some of his friends. I jumped at the opportunity, because it has been a very long time since my last visit there and I had no energy to schlep up to Jerusalem, even though I had not seen my friends in a long time. I would love for them to surprise me sometime, but just like me…they are very busy with their lives.

Another holiday that just passed was Lag B’Omer. Instead of going to my own bonfire, I volunteered my time to join a bunch of university students who went around from bonfire to bonfire making sure that animals were not being thrown into the fires.

How could someone be so cold and psychopathic you say? Well they can be, and as a matter of fact we had 3 incidences where we caught teenagers hurting animals. One specific was of a box filled with kittens that was covered with wood near a bonfire. Those kitties were saved, but nothing was done to the kids. I guess because they didn’t actually do it, but thank goodness not. Maybe they should have been thrown in the fire instead of the animals…I am sure that would make the world a better place.

Otherwise all is well with me. School is coming to a close and I am rocking the A’s hardcore…even thought of going for my doctorate. Hehe, guess I should worry about my masters first. Life is good. On that note I will bid you all a farewell. Miss you all and hope to be hearing from you soon.

I must apologize to all of you for being an absent blogger. There are numerous reasons why this is so, among them is first and foremost my university classes are taking up all of my time. Projects, lectures, student teaching, actual teaching, reading articles…the list goes on and on. What I can say about this effort that I am putting forth is that I am slowly realizing my goals. If that means I can’t write as much here, or paint as much as I used to…I will be ok with it, so long as I continue achieving at the level I have been. Here are some of the grades I received this first semester (remember all the courses are in Hebrew): 95, 100, 84 & 90. There are two other grades that were in the 60’s, but those were nightmare courses and I was just glad to pass them. As I look back at my experience at Hebrew University back in 2006 as well as my experience here at Ben Gurion, I am realizing that when I put forth an A+ effort, I am rewarded with success. Feels great!!

Like I mentioned above, I have not painted in quite some time…but I have displayed my art. I have been getting nothing but compliments which is very encouraging. I hope to do some painting during Passover break, so keep an eye out for new additions to Golan’s Art. You can find that link on the left menu of my web site or click on the link within the text. I have whales, lizards, fish and numerous others on the horizon. I welcome ideas…even inspirational ones if you want a pet of yours eternally remembered via rock.

Just last week I had my 7 month anniversary of my shoulder surgery. During my appointment with the surgeon, he checked my range of motion and listened to my description of how I use it daily. He said that it looks like the surgery was a resounding success. I must agree with him because even though it is not as good as my right shoulder, it is much better than it was before the surgery. I can do almost everything I used to, except now I feel like my shoulder will stay put and not exit the socket. Returning to my workouts has been a great step forward because it’s getting stronger every day.

A couple of weeks ago I also received my iPhone that i had been waiting 2 months for. I find myself playing loads of stupid games on it like Angry Birds, Cut the Rope, Trundle, Golf Putt, WSOP Poker and many more. I also read my poker books on it using Kobo. I find it convenient to get updates on my sports teams too. I can follow along in the Haggadah during Passover or find a prayer on my siddur app. Plus I have all my music on the iPod. All that and I pay just a tad more than what I was paying when I had a dumb phone. iTunes is a bit frustrating though…but I am learning.

There is one more topic I want to write about and that is the impending conflict that is brewing here in Israel. Over the past few weeks we have been attacked by almost daily missiles from Gaza. It isn’t as bad as it was a couple of years ago mainly due to the new defensive missile battery stationed right outside of Beersheva, called Iron Dome. It’s a sophisticated system that shoots down missiles directed toward cities and ignores the ones with the trajectory towards open fields. Nevertheless there have been some that got through the system and therefore caused me to seek shelter. My version of shelter is getting under my bed, which when you think about it isn’t the ideal place but the best I have. Thank G-d I have been spared the stress of any close hits, but I just wish it would all end. I foresee another large operation in the Gaza Strip in the coming weeks. To boot we have a Knesset member who encourages Arabs to start another intifada. I believe in freedom of speech and democracy, but WTF!!! To encourage terror and strife onto the citizens of a country that elected you…as far as I am concerned that is traitorous and she needs to be arrested. If not that, then at least she needs to be stripped of her Knesset membership. Try to imagine John Boehner encouraging American Muslims to rise up and bomb malls and attack school busses full of children. This lady’s name is Haneen Zoabiand she needs to go!!!

Finally I want to leave you wanting more, so feel free to email me if your need is so strong that you can’t wait for the next update.

Because of various reasons a lot of time has passed since my last update. The most important one is that because I have been in school, the amount of projects and such has dominated my attention. Last week, I finished my last two finals. I studied so-so for them and passed both. I have one mini-project and a larger one and then I will be finished for the semester. Thank goodness, ya know?

My new year’s resolution is a big one…at least for me. It’s to eat better and work out more consistently. I find my schedule and eating habits led to this situation, so now I need to shake things up a bit. It’d be nice if I could wear my medium shirts again. On the bright side, my shoulder is feeling much better. It has been almost four months since my surgery and I am feeling super better than before. Now I want to build up the muscles in my shoulders. I have taken quite a big hit to my physical stability and that will be remedied in this New Year.

Louise is doing well…still being the cutey wooty that she is. It was raining today and so I brought her in to get dry and to sleep comfortably. She wouldn’t stop meowing for attention. I had to put her in the bathroom to give myself peace and quiet. Since it was so “horrible” for her inside, I let her out. Now she is crying outside…can’t win with that kitty.

I haven’t seen my J-town crew in a very long time. I miss them. Next week there will be somewhat of a reunion due to my good friend Daniela’s wedding. Mazel tov!!J Unfortunately I can’t stay too long, because I will need to return to work on Thursday. That means I need to hop a super early bus from J-town to Beersheva then another bus from Beersheva to Yerucham. Nightmare commute but well worth it.

My father signed me up for an amazing deal (product) called Magic Jack. It gives me a phone number based in the USA and also allowis me to use my laptop to answer and make calls. The number is 352-301-5026. Drop me a line sometime…also that gives me a chance to get everyone’s number. (But please remember, my time is seven hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time, but you can leave a voice mail.)

Have you ever thought how great life is? I mean really great? I think about it every day and the reason is because I have a life full of challenges and successes. I feel accomplished in everything I do. There may be times when I feel overwhelmed and I want to stop doing whatever I am doing, but during those times I remember that I have come a very long way. I am in a place where I am succeeding at my goals that I set forth when I made Aliyah.

I have a job that I enjoy and am good at as well as my health. I am learning a lot about being a better teacher through my experiences at Ben Gurion University. My professors are very supportive and experienced in building up the ego of aspiring teachers. In my last class this week, I gave a sample lesson. I have to admit I was a bit nervous giving a lesson I would normally give to 5^th grade students to my colleagues. The responses I received were amazing. My classmates wrote in their reviews that I was positive, energetic and gave the ‘students’ an opportunity for success. My professor told me it was one of the best lessons she has seen. Those compliments made me truly feel like I am a great teacher.

My physical therapy for my shoulder is getting more intensive. I have movement but only at 90 degrees. I still cannot externally rotate my shoulder but the internal rotation is back. I am sore much of the day, but that is due to the constant stretching I do-- almost on an hourly basis. I stretch in between classes, while waiting for the bus and even while students are working at their desks.

I think about my Aliyah a lot and whether I made the right choices early on in the process. For example, taking ulpan classes and living in the merkaz klitah. I feel as if I should have worked harder at improving my Hebrew. The reason I think that is now I have 5 out of 8 classes just in Hebrew and it is a huge challenge for me to comprehend everything that the lecturer is saying. I do my best to translate and write down key phrases while in class, but I always seem to miss stuff. When arriving home, I usually take a few hours to rewrite my notes and read them over again. I find it helps me understand more of the lectures. The ‘problem’ with that method is that I have very little time to just relax. I am always tired and also running from one place to another. Not really running but walking, due to the fact that running is dangerous for my shoulder. I have made a name for myself tutoring students in the neighborhood. I have 6 kids that I work with on a weekly basis, and that money helps me stay afloat. I’m getting very few hours at the school I teach at because of my university course load and student teaching. As I said earlier, challenges come and go but success stays with me. It is that which carries me through this transitional time.

And speaking of time, next month is my fifth year anniversary of making Aliyah and I need to think of something special to do for myself. I would love to go on a vacation…but I’m not sure if my pocketbook can handle it. Maybe I will go to Eilat for a couple of days or Taba.

I have some friends that told me Taba was so fun and relaxing. Plus they have a casino…here I come Texas. I have been playing with some friends about once a month, and I must say I feel I am getting better at understanding how to play, psychologically that is. I am reading two books at the moment that are teaching me how to be a more effective player.

The first book is by Barry Greenstein, called Ace on the River. It is very easy to read and is full of amazing information that I had not known before. The second book is by Doyle Brunson, called Super System. That book is the bible of poker. I am also brushing up on my chip tricks. One I am working on now is pretty tricky and hard to do, but I am getting closer. I am also gardening a bit in my yard. I planted bell peppers and jalapeño peppers. The sprouts have popped out of the ground, but I am concerned the ‘winter’ weather will prevent them from growing properly. I will stay hopeful and yell at Louise when she lays on them. She is such a Fatty Patty not Thelma but Louise. I love that nickname. She is also doing well for those of you who are wondering how she is doing.

My first week back at school is just about over. Now comes the fun part for all of you…reading about my adventures. I’ll start with my Sunday schedule.

My Sundays consist of five consecutive courses of two hours each. That’s right folks…I have 10 straight hours of classes. I barely have time to get a bite to eat. As a matter of fact, this past Sunday I didn’t pack a lunch and aside from a bureka at about 12, I didn’t eat a thing. Needless to say I was a walking zombie at 6. Thank goodness the lecturer for my 6 o’clock class never showed and so we left the class.

I was so happy to leave early, because before I left home I placed a frozen whole chicken in the sink to defrost. Arriving home at 7 meant I could prepare it and eat dinner before 10 pm. After eating dinner, I showered and then passed out.

What a crazy long day…the longest in quite a while for me. Monday was a bit better. I teach on Mondays at the elementary school. I taught from 8 a.m. to about 3:30. I arrived home around 4:30ish and then went straight to my private tutoring session. An hour lesson turned into an hour and a half, which meant instead of 80 shekels, I received 120. Pretty rad in my opinion.

When I got home, I prepared some veggies (potatoes, onions, garlic, carrots and peppers) in the oven for that home grilled taste. I ate that with the leftover baked chicken from Sunday. Post meal for me meant showering and taking a pain pill while playing some poker. Once I became drowsy, I jumped into bed for the night.

Tuesday was another long day at university, but not as long as on Sunday. It consisted of two classes that are entirely in Hebrew, and which is still very tough for me to handle. I like to think that after almost five years of living in Israel I can understand most of what I hear, but these classes are not easy to understand. Academic Hebrew is much tougher than conversational Hebrew. But I will overcome the difficulties and take control.

The last class was interesting. It was a class on teaching methods and what does not work with children with disabilities and learning handicaps. I sat in the classroom for about 15 minutes after the lecturer was supposed to be there, but no lecturer. I was there with two other students. We kept looking at one another saying where is everyone. Finally she went up to the computers and saw that the class was swapped for another and had moved across campus. Wonderful of them to notify us, I thought. So we made it over and joined in the class. It was just another moment of awkwardness that I felt during a week of getting used to a new and challenging environment.

On a side note, I met up with my good friend Guy yesterday for a game of Scrabble. Some background on Guy…he has a doctorate in English and has beaten me four consecutive times at Scrabble. He is very difficult to play against because he is British and doesn’t allow me to use most of the two letter words that I love using. He is a stickler for the Oxford dictionary and if the word doesn’t appear in it then it is not a valid word.

I have begun to get used to playing that way, and this time it was neck and neck until the last 10 or so tiles. That is where I pulled away scoring 36, 33 and 25 points respectively. I can’t really tell if he let me win, but either way it felt good to beat him. I made great use of triple word and triple letter scores. I was also blessed with getting 3 out of the 4 s’s as well as the z, x and other high value letters.

Later that night I also got some great news. Through a recommendation from my neighbor, I received a call for more tutoring. Two more students means 160 more shekels a week plus the 160 I already have…that’s 320 a week additional that I can used for whatever. It is a good feeling that I have that additional income, because with university taking my entire savings and the 12 hours I get from working, my bank account has taken a big hit. If you would like to help out, I would absolutely appreciate it. You can send it to my PayPal account (golan.canaan@gmail.com) or click on the "Donate" button above. It is my “online savings account,” which I plan on saving for a rainy day. So far I have $1.01. Thank you in advance and to all a good night.

October 1^st is smack dab in the middle of the sign Libra. I personify the scales well because I always look at both sides of a coin before making a judgment or decision. So that is what I will do in relation to this year’s birthday and what it means to me.

One month ago on Wednesday I had, in my eyes, a pretty serious surgery. Up until that moment I was afraid. Afraid of the repeated pain I felt when my shoulder dislocated and that fear paralyzed me…not physically but psychologically. I felt that without that surgery I would never really feel myself. I could not do the things that made me happy, like playing sports and anything else that required using my shoulder. I also took off a month of work due to my inability to carry on my normal routine. My account was starting to get low and I feared going broke. But my health was priority number one and I bit the bullet. I took out a loan and made sure I would have enough money for rent and food.

After that experience and one day after my 34^th birthday I am contemplating if my birthday was everything I wanted it to be. The night before, I lay in bed and thought whether I will have cake this year and that I missed the days of receiving presents. Nowadays, for me, birthdays are just another day in the year. Maybe that is what many people feel, but it makes me sad to think that way.

To my delight, the day came and went and throughout the day I read numerous beautiful things that my friends wrote to me on my Facebook page. One of the nicest things that made me feel wonderful inside was what my friend Odelia wrote. “Darling Golan, always so positive, giving, patient, compassionate and in touch with his inner child. May your beautiful smile and light continue to shine and may all your dreams come true and you will be surrounded with love, health, happiness and wealth too:)) you are a true neshama!”

After reading that I realized all my previous experiences have not been for naught. They have built who I am. But who am I? I am an independent, strong, funny, intelligent, patient, creative, loving, sensitive, loyal, unique, open and positive lover of life. The things that make me happy are nature, animals, family, friends, G-d and being there for the people that I care about. Perhaps it is a bit hard to be so far from my marvelous and magnificent mom, my caring and loving sister, my amazing niece and my fabulously factual dad, but in the long run I know it will make me feel their love more.

This past month has been one of the hardest I have experienced in a very long time and what can I say now that it has ended? I can say that it has been a success and it included the best birthday present I can remember getting in a long time. The gift of good health and being surrounded by people who care about me and want only the best. Who can ask for anything more?

I have been away from the hospital for nearly a week and I can’t really say the pain has gone away. In the morning, I wake up at 6 usually with discomfort in my shoulder as well as my pelvis. I have no choice but to take a pain killer (Percocet) and wait for it to take effect. I can make it to about 1 or 2 before it begins to hurt once more to the point where I cringe from pain. That is when I take another pill and eat lunch then pass out for about 2 to 3 hours. I have such difficulty falling asleep at night that I time my last pill for an hour before lying down. Either way, my sleep cycle (and dreams) have taken a turn for the worse. I have had more bad dreams in the past week than during the past years combined.

On a brighter note, we just passed into the year 5771, and in this year I’m hoping for a new and meaningful direction in my life and yours. I began the New Year at my cousin Sarit’s house. The dinner took place a day after my hospital stay and I was feeling very weak. I sat with everyone but ate very little. The best part of the evening for me was when everyone went up to the roof for coffee and cakes and I was last. My little four- year-old cousin Yali took my hand and told me she would help me climb the stairs. She is the sweetest soul, and it warmed my heart.

After a few minutes upstairs, I had to go downstairs and rest on the couch. As it turned out, I didn’t bring my pills because I didn’t think I would need them. Boy was I mistaken. One of the guests gave me a pill that knocked me out. I slept for two hours and upon waking up at 12:30 a.m. we were ready to go home.

The next day for lunch, my family decided to do lunch where I was so that I wouldn’t have to ride in a car and ascend three flights of stairs. They are so caring. Lunch was awesome; not because of the food, rather because I saw family I hadn’t seen in a very long time. Of course the little ones wanted to play with me (Legos) but I couldn’t. They understood and so I promised next time I could, I would.

Tomorrow I am going to return home. I miss Louise very much and I know she misses me too. I think I can handle being at home alone. I can shower with little problem--just quite slowly. I can get dressed with little problem as long as I am wearing pants that I can wear low or extra high. This is because the pelvis surgical sight was sewed a bit haphazardly and the bruising is vast. You all should see me. My shorts or jammies are hiked up half way up my stomach. I look very goofy, but I don’t care because the pain is so much less.

Once home I will have lots to do--register for university classes, organize my private tutoring schedule, go shopping (which I just learned I can do online and have delivered) and visit my family doctor. I plan to ask about different types of pain management. I am very cautious about continuing to take Percocet because of the side effects as well as its cautions of dependence. I would appreciate any ideas you may have.

Here I am on the day that I am experiencing my first and hopefully only surgery of my life and I am mellow yellow. I have this thing sticking out of my right elbow pit that was so uncomfortable to sleep with. It is the needle that makes the IV possible. I also have on my left forearm a huge arrow in black sharpie pointing up to my left shoulder. I find that a little bit funny that they had to mark it, but better safe than sorry.

My arrival at the hospital last night was a bit uncomfortable. I did get some help from some nice people that helped me find the ER so that I could register. Once registered, I made my way to the orthopedic department to check in. The nurse asked me a variety of questions, like allergies, emergency contacts, etc. Then she said, “We have no rooms available for you to stay in, unless you want to sleep in another department or in a therapy room. “

Well as long as it’s temporary, I figured it’s no big deal. And it wasn’t. I was given two Valium pills to allow me to sleep restfully and was sent to my room. I changed into my plaid jammies and watched an episode of Burn Notice and Futurama…then I pretty much crashed.

I woke up at 6 a.m. and here I am. I doubt I will be able to write much after the surgery, which takes place around 10 or 11 a.m. So until the time where I can properly type…this is farewell.

It’s 8 o’clock and not that I can really type but I am attempting to jot down some thoughts. For the most part, the pain from the surgery has been in check. My pelvis is what really hurts. I am sure my shoulder will start to hurt as soon as the pain blockers wear off. My fingers on my left arm are asleep, which is weird, because I can still wiggle them. All I ate today was a bowl of vegetable soup and a slice of bread. Boy am I hungry. I have been in and out of a doze since leaving the recovery room. I had a couple visitors (oh how I love visitors), so when are you going to visit? ;-)

How time flies…here we are the beginning of a new school year both as teacher and as student. Yes I am going Back to School, ala Rodney Dangerfield. Great movie and if you have not seen it…download it, see it then erase it. It’s a classic.

Israel on October 10^th. You may all remember way back when I attended Hebrew University. I struggled with a few issues while learning, namely not having a good enough job to pay for rent and food while learning, as well as, not having a high enough level in Hebrew.

Well some things never change…my Hebrew is still rusty but others do…I have a great job, which allows me to split my university classes and teaching classes into two parts per week. BUT I will be so incredibly busy…like never before in my Aliyah. I am taking 36 academic hours per week of university classes as well as 25 academic hours of teaching per week. On Sundays and Tuesdays I will be learning from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. at Ben Gurion University, while on Mondays, Wednesday s and Thursday s I will teach from 8 to 3:30. Then in the evenings I am going to try to fit in private tutoring. All together I hope not to explode from the experience.

I am also about to experience something I have never experienced-- surgery. On Monday I will hopefully finally have my shoulder fixed. In case you didn’t know, I have the rare condition of a posterior chronic shoulder dislocation. My surgeon told me I am in the 5% of people who have this problem. I was thinking great. What this means is that they are going to do a bone graft from my pelvic bone and attach it to the rear of my left shoulder socket. It is meant to prevent the shoulder ball from sliding out the back. If everything goes well, within 3 to 6 weeks I should be able to take my arm out of the sling and begin a more in-depth physical therapy regiment. Physically I am ready to have this situation resolved. I had a variety of situations end in my shoulder popping out. For instance, sneezing, swinging a golf club, playing basketball and leaning on a pole while standing on a bus. It is time for a change.

Psychologically I am quite worried and scared about the surgery. I am the kind of person where I like to be in control of my body, which means I choose when I go to sleep and when I wake up, not drugs.

When the anesthesiologist was explaining to me what she was going to do before and after the surgery I must say I was nervous. First she spoke Hebrew in a strong Russian accent and secondly she spoke so fast. I tried to pay attention to what she was saying, but all I did was to sit there, nod and think of being put to sleep without any self-control. She saw my eyes get teary and she asked if I wanted someone to explain to me in English what was going to happen. I said yes and the nurse came in and the first thing she said to me was that it’s OK to be nervous about the surgery-- just be happy it isn’t cancer. Guess she was right and mellowed out. Either way, this will be like no other experience I have ever had in my life. So understandably I am still frightened.

I have been painting a lot during the past few weeks. You can see for yourself in Golan’s Art. There are bears, tigers, crabs and even clown fish. I find it so relaxing to sit down with a rock and wait for it to speak to me, telling me what it wants to be. I don’t know how much I will be able to paint with one arm in a sling, but we’ll have to see.

I have chosen my next book to read…and it turned out to be one I have already read…Exodus (click on link above to order from Amazon). When I need a pick me up…a reminder of why I am here, I read it. This will be my fourth time and every time feels as if it was the first. If you are Jewish and have not read it…I order you to find a copy…and if you are near me, consider my copy your copy.

May this New Year bring to you and your family health, happiness, success, love, and everything that you want and wish for.

It’s been some time since my last report from the Holy Land. That means that now I have some catching up to do. Let’s not waste time and dilly dally then. After my school year ended at the end of June, I have been on a somewhat break of sorts. Although I have been on a break, it doesn’t mean I haven’t been working hard. I officially applied and was accepted into the Ben Gurion Teaching License program, ya know…to teach English. I was running from one office to another for about two weeks and finally I received the letter in the mail graciously accepting me into their hallowed halls of education.

In case you can’t tell by my writing, I am pretty excited. The only two issues I have concern money and hours teaching at Kol Ya’akov. The program is one full year (almost) full time, which leaves me minimal time to teach…which means minimal income to pay rent and other incidentals. I think that means that I will have to work my arss off and not go out of the way as far as unnecessary expenditures.

I also just returned from my third session of the Atidim Summer English Camp in Nitzana. In case you do not know what that entails, check out the link above. In addition to the intensive English curriculum, there are the push-ups. What do I mean by the push-ups? I mean each time a student spoke in any other language other than English, that student had to do push-ups. On the first day the total was 3 per incident, each day growing by one. By the last day, each time a student spoke another language; it was 10 to 15 per incident. By the time the camp ended, almost all the students were speaking in English exclusively.

During this summer camp, I grew professionally. My review lessons were concise and easy to follow. I kept the daily lesson open to what the students needed to review. There were numerous days where we were in class 1, 2 hours past the time reviewing topics like passive/active sentences, identifying nouns, adjectives, adverbs, pronouns and verbs in sentences. I truly believe I helped a good 6 or 7 students get over the fear of speaking and writing in English.

One student made the experience of this camp very meaningful to me. I won’t name names, but if you are reading this, you know who you are. The student was a 16-year-old new immigrant from Ethiopia. He made Aliyah about 3 years ago, after spending years in a refugee camp waiting to come to Israel.

In the past three years, he not only learned Hebrew to a high level, he also achieved a high knowledge of English. His vocabulary was probably one of the largest of all the students at the camp. In the beginning of the camp, he came up to the head lecturer and told him, “I came to this camp to learn English and not to have fun. I would like to come to both lessons each day and skip the ‘fun’ English activities.”

What this meant was that instead of learning 4 hours a day academic English, he was taking in 8 hours of academic English per day. He sat front and center every lecture and took notes like it was his profession. I barely knew him personally but his commitment to learning touched me. I sat with him every day explaining to him concepts and reasons for each lesson’s topic. I helped him with vocabulary practice and organizing his notes properly.

During one of the last days, he hurt his leg and was taken to the hospital. There he said, “I want to return to Nitzana.” He didn’t want to give up on the opportunity to get ahead. On the last day, he was asked to give a speech about his experience. He proceeded to describe his experience in a very personal way. He said how difficult it is to learn a new language, and that my commitment to him encouraged him to not give up. He described me as patient, diligent, kind, supportive and one of the reasons that he worked so hard. He didn’t want to let me down. I was sitting in the front row of the ceremony and all I could think of was THIS is the reason I teach. He received the loudest applause of anyone who took the podium.

If I can reach at least one student, I know I have done my job. I don’t have any doubt that he will go very far in life. There were a few students who personify the kind of student that Atidim wants in their program. Leaders lead not just from the front line, but they also push forward from inside the ranks. That is similar to a quote Plato made about leadership. I couldn’t find the actual quote. But I did find this one.

“Good actions give strength to ourselves and inspire good actions in others.”

Time to share with you what has been new with me. I have been blessed with some marvelous Shabbat adventures these past couple of weeks.

Two Shabbats ago, I spent the day of rest with three of my best friends in Modiin (a.k.a., The Hamptons). Along with myself were Moshe, Simon and Shalva. I very much enjoy spending time with these three friends because they complement one another so well. We talked a lot about cars, mainly because Simon and Moshe are car nuts. I am more so a car s-nut, but I like the flow of stats…whether they are car stats or sports stats.

Speaking of sports, that Saturday night was the USA World Cup game of which we lost. I was quite disappointed with the USA team…I mean we were the only group winner to not make the quarterfinals. And where was Israel? Arghhhh.

I had two blind dates as well. Funny…the first one was nice but we didn’t really see eye to eye on a couple of issues, so what does she do? She suggests a friend of hers, with whom I went out for breakfast with this past Friday morning. I will have to wait and see where this one goes. Honestly though, having a supposed relationship with someone who is in another city is not what I am looking for.

This past Shabbat I was at the Moshav Mevo Modiim (a.k.a., The Moshav). I was there because I wanted to spend time with my very close friends Sidney, Shira and Amanda. Sidney and Shira came from Sunbury, Canada for a couple of months. Sidney is a very old friend from the days of Hebrew University Ulpan. Shira is his newly pregnant wife…and because I was a bad friend and didn’t see them last summer…I made a point to spend a Shabbat with them this trip. I very much enjoyed eating, laughing and enjoying their company.

One fun fact of the Shabbat was the fact that there were literally dozens of cats around. I took a video of the feeding frenzy, but I won’t upload it here. If you want to check it out, go to my Facebook account.

While there I also got to see two very old friends from my first day in Israel. Shira and Ben swung by for a visit. Shira was really the first person I met when I stepped off the plane. She was a friend of Moshe’s and was the one who accompanied me to Jerusalem from the airport. They’re a cute couple and I am blessed to know them. That goes for all my friends really…I don’t know what my life would be like without these wonderful souls.

Last Thursday was also my end of the year teacher’s field trip. Our adventures led us 3000 years into the past, to David’s City.

It was my first time there and I must say it was quite memorable. The guide explained how and why this was the prime location for King David to make the capital of his kingdom. Also she explained how during the Assyrian siege of the city, a series of tunnels were build to divert water which was so needed into pools that were defensible, instead of letting the city dry out.

In addition to visiting this ancient site, we visited the Kotel (a.k.a., The Western Wall). It was the first time I had been there in over a year, and much overdue. I spent a few minutes alone with Hakadosh Baruch’u and slipped him a note. Before we left, we went to dinner where of course I had a marvelous time with my Kol Yaakov staff. As a gift, I received a tembel hat and a backpack printed with the school’s logo. Priceless J

Tomorrow I will be in Tel Aviv enjoying the summer heat. I hope to see my cousin Motti before he returns to Miami. I will be spending time with my other cousin Aaron, before he travels to California to visit his older brother. I am also waiting for two registered letters...one from Google (my check) and the other from Ben Gurion University. From the latter, I am expecting an acceptance letter for the English Licensure Program. Go Gogie…you da man!!!!

Peace out folks and thanks for keeping up with my Aliyah adventures. Remember to recommend my site to anyone interested in Aliyah as well as original poetry and art. Much appreciated!!!

Just like every Tuesday, last night I slept in Yerucham. I did so because for the past month I have been playing basketball with the staff and parents of kids at my school, Kol Ya’akov.

Why I am writing about it just now is because of the dream I had last night, while sleeping at one of my fellow teacher’s homes. In the dream, I was staying at this person’s house but his house was actually a fancy hotel.In the house were two Siamese cats, one daddy and one mommy.I think some of it was due to what I was watching before going to bed. National Geographic channel…something about mating.

But back to the story. In my dream I woke up and witnessed their little Siamese kittens running around. They (the parents) were trying to collect them all, but struggled. I continued on my walk out of the ‘hotel’ and into an elevator.

Then three grandmas entered. Before the doors shut, a hand slid between the doors and pried it open. In stepped one of the grandma’s daughters. They introduced us and we ‘left’ the elevator together.

The rest of the dream is not important for you, but what happened at school that very same day (real life) is. I was watching over the 6^th grade boys prayers and I overheard a large commotion outside. The other teacher entered the room and told me that there are kids outside screaming about kittens. I was like whoa…I need to check it out. Mainly because I see how the kids relate to cats in general and I was worried for the kittens’ lives (50%).

I exited the class and there were two kids holding the lil ones so haphazardly that they were crying bloody kitten murder. I quickly approached them and asked what was going on? Just as quickly as I came over, they handed me the kittens. Instinctively, as I held them, I let them snuggle on my chest. They quickly stopped crying and began to purr. I heard from the kids, “It’s like you’re their daddy.” I truly wish I could have taken them home, but they were so tiny. I had to find their mom.

For all of you that know animal facts, you know what happened next. The mom wanted nothing to do with the kittens because the kids picked them up in the first place. So I took them to a shady spot outside the school gate and put a plate of milk out for them. I checked on them later, but could not find them. I hope they ended up in a safe place.

Since my last entry I have simmered down a bit, but I am still a bit concerned over the situation. Aren’t you? There are several reasons why I am not allowing the recent activity off the shores of Israel to aggravate me more.

The first is that I am occupying my time with more immediate personal concerns. I finished the registration process for Ben Gurion University. I am applying for my English teaching license. It was somewhat of a pain in my tush, but I stayed on track and finished it. Now, I am waiting for a call back for an interview.

The second reason why I am not thinking about the terrorist maritime plans is that I have found an outlet for my basketball energy. I played last Tuesday with some fellow teachers at my school, and I must say I was playing with energy I haven’t seen in a long time. I was sinking 3’s, breakaways and even dunked. Just kidding, I didn’t dunk. I have been getting constant compliments from the staff though. I don’t think they thought I was as athletic as I turned out to be. I will return this Tuesday and see how round two goes.

The third reason I am mellower is because I finished another rock. This piece of art is a painting of the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland. I must say it turned out very nicely. I would appreciate any comments you have about my art…you can find them in the Golan’s Art tab to the left.

The final reason why I have been in a great mood is because of a package I got in the mail from a very old friend. Sarah, this is a shout out to you. We spoke on Facebook some time ago about me taking up the harmonica. The problem I told her about was that I couldn’t find a proper book to teach me how to play and in English. She said ‘don’t worry Golan…I will take care of that.’ I was like, really?

As it turned out, on Thursday I received a notice that I had a package. I then remembered what she had said, and raced to the post office near my house. The moment I opened the box I noticed the harmonica as well as the lesson book. Now, I can’t stop practicing. I practice about an hour a day. I downloaded free lessons as well as a CD that goes along with the lessons and hopefully soon enough I will be playing my heart out. Thank you Sarah!!!

So you see….even in all this turmoil there is a silver lining. I hope you all see the silver lining in your lives and share it with the people that you care about, like I did with you. J

I would like to clear up some issues I have with the anti-Semitic language I have been hearing during the past couple of days. I have heard from places such as www.cnn.com that, Israel has taken part in a “bloody massacre” of peace activists.

Look at this video (http://tinyurl.com/29wz64h) and tell me what you would do if you were in the soldiers ‘ shoes. What you see is, as the soldiers are repelling onto the ships, groups of 3 to 4 “peace activists” grabbing them and beating them with metal rods, broken bottles, and knives and actually shooting them with live fire. The guns the soldiers had were paint ball rifles, used to control the crowds.

Yet when the ‘innocent bystander’ begins shooting real bullets from a gun they brought, the soldiers returned real fire and defended themselves. One soldier was even dumped over the rail, with the intent of murdering him. That soldier is now in serious condition at a local hospital.

I think the problem is very basic. Jealousy and hate cause so many to lose their way. The Muslim nations are jealous of what we, Israel, stand for and what we have achieved in so little time.

After generations of neglect at the hands of Arab clans, the Land of Israel is now a diamond in the rough, the Middle East. We have transformed this barren desert into the land G-d intended us to have many thousands of years ago…a land of milk and honey. We are leaders in so many fields and innovators of technology, and yet we have not a single drop of oil. We have persevered through thousands of years of hatred and blood libels to achieve what NO OTHER nation in the Middle East has, especially in such a short time. This fuels their hatred for us.

Now getting back to the flotilla. Israel has the complete right to defend herself against terrorists. The organizers of this convoy, the IHH, are according to the Israeli government and the CIA, a global front for terrorist activities. They are affiliated with Hamas as well as al-Qaeda. Their goal was not to bring supplies and aid to Gaza, but rather to provoke Israel into a situation.

They succeeded in spinning the story to benefit them but soon the truth will come out and the world will see that in those prefabricated houses there are weapons, and in the bags of concrete are rocket propelled grenades. The will see that the books are really hate manuals meant to teach the younger generations how to hate and perpetuate the hatred that boils in their parents’ blood.

The Hamas charter says it all. "Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it." How can Israel allow a ship, let alone 6 with that banner to enter an area from where, less than two years ago, rained 6,000 missiles on innocent citizens, and to this day still holds Gilad Shalit captive. They are the criminals…they are the ones that need to be condemned by the UN…not us. Our world is slowly being turned into an Islamic culture and according to them, all who are not Muslim need to die.

I think the UN needs to be disbanded. They do nothing good at all. Here are but a few examples that I found:

1. The UN has completely failed in Rwanda, Darfur and virtually every major conflict since its inception. Kofi has blood on his hands for much of his reign.

2. In July 1995, in Srebrenica, Bosnia, a UN battalion in an UN-declared "free zone" handed over 8,000 Muslim civilians to the Serbs, who promptly slaughtered them all.

3. The most damning UN hypocrisy has been the outrageous double standard employed against Israel. Here the humbug is nakedly exposed: Even with Iran on the agenda, the UN continued to spend more time condemning Israel than on any other single issue.

4. Blatant bias was displayed in October 2000 by the disgraceful refusal of the UN to provide Israelis with copies of videos taken when Hizbullah terrorists intruded into Israeli territory and kidnapped Israeli soldiers.

U.N. institutional structures consistently are used to isolate and vilify Israel.

What business do countries like Gabon, Libya, Turkey and Uganda have to be on the Security Council?

Seven of the 140 items submitted for a vote in the U.N. General Assembly (UNGA) in 2002 were anti-Israel. Last year, the UNGA adopted 19 anti-Israel resolutions.

Israel is the object of more investigative committees, special representatives and rapporteurs than any other state in the U.N. system. For example, a special representative of the Director-General of UNESCO visited Israel 51 times during 27 years of activity. The Director-General of the International Labor Organization has sent a "Special Mission" to Israel and the territories every year for the past 17 years.

The U.N. has repeatedly held "Emergency Special Sessions" focusing solely on Israel. Originally conceived in 1950 for emergencies like the Korean War, Emergency Special Sessions over the past 15 years have only focused on Israel. No Emergency Special Sessions were convened to examine the genocide in Rwanda, ethnic cleansing in the former Yugoslavia or other major world conflicts.

The U.N. has never initiated any inquiry into Yasir Arafat and the Palestinian Authority's role in aiding and abetting terrorists, or passed one resolution condemning any terrorist organization operating against Israel.

One glaring example of the U.N.'s biased policy against Israel is the concealment and vehement denial of the existence of videotape of Hizbullah’s abduction of three Israeli soldiers made by U.N. peacekeeping forces in Lebanon.

For 11 months, the U.N. lied to the world and denied the existence of any evidence relating to the abduction. When the cover-up was exposed, revealing the existence of the videotape, the U.N. eventually showed Israel a heavily edited videotape with the faces of the terrorists blurred. When asked the reason behind this, U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan stated it was due to the U.N.'s standing as a neutral organization.

The list goes on and on and yes we are always wrong. Can that really be fair? NO, NO, NO.

Unless you open your mouths and speak against the people who are shoveling this ‘crap’ down your throat.

Today I saw a play that was put on by the girls who, as part of their national service, work at my school. It was a play commemorating Yom Yerushalyim, which is the day that Jerusalem was liberated. In essence, it is a day that all Jews should feel is special. I certainly do, which is why it is the basis of this entry.

The play was based on a true story that took place during the post WW2 years, but before Israel’s official statehood. It began in London, in a Jewish home where being Jewish meant keeping Shabbat, going to temple and helping others in need (tzedakah).

Three children made up the family and the oldest was Esther and she was just out of high school when the play took place. Her inner conflict was this. At home she was raised to be Jewish, but she lived in England. In her heart she wanted to be more, she wanted to be Jewish in Israel. Esther heard a story from her grandpa and in the story he referred to Israel as a bayit (home).

This resonated with her to the point at which when she finished school she would make Aliyah. Against the wishes of her parents and siblings, she wanted to MAKE a difference and not just talk about it, like most Jews living in England (and USA for that matter).

Much like me, she wanted her hopes and dreams to come true in the place that she felt was her home. She wanted to help build a stronger nation, a nation of people with an inner connection to one another.

Esther moved to Jerusalem, just as I did. She went to the city that every Jew knows is home. Where the connection to G-d is so strong, it’s like standing on his doorstep. That is the feeling I have when I stop and think, “What am I doing here?” Why did I come to a place so small? A country where making a living is so difficult, and to a place so far from the people I care the most about.

I think about my parents, Mazal and Don, every day. I think about my dear sister Tamar and my, not so little niece, Alexis. I think about them all and I can’t help but feel sad. I miss them, much like Esther in the play. But what calms me down, is the fact that I am Home. I am in the place that Hashem wanted me to be, wanted us to be. I know not everyone can make it here, but I want to do my part in making Israel a place where hopefully in the future you can come and feel at home--just as I do.

These are a couple of thoughts I would like to share with you about this day--the special day we Jews set aside for remembering the Holocaust and those people who lost their lives helping others to live.

First I would like to share a story that I read, which took place during the Holocaust. It is a story of a woman who had just given birth to a baby boy just a couple of days before she arrived at one of the concentration camps.

While waiting in line while holding her baby, the Nazi guard called out for her to approach him. Fearing him and the situation she did so. He continued to tell her to hand over her son. Obviously she knew the end game that would come to her baby, so she refused.

The guard then pulled out a knife and again told her to hand over her son. She realized now what was going to happen if she gave her son to this person. Instead she said to the guard, let me do it…I would rather he die by my hand then by yours. The guard was taken aback by this request, so he allowed it and handed her the knife. She held the knife in one hand and handed her baby to a man standing next to her in line. Then in one swift motion, she went and circumcised her son and welcomed him into the covenant with G-d. She said, “If my son will die here, then I will make sure he dies a Jew.” The end of the story speaks for itself.

When did this story come to mind for me? When I was at my school ceremony and the principal asked us to think of the people that sacrificed their lives so that WE can be where we are today. It was during the siren at 9:55 a.m. that I felt Israel was my home and that it was where I was meant to be. Ha’tikvah followed and I found myself tearing up as I tried to follow along. Thank G-d we are here and are standing together as a people and as a Jewish nation.

I want to finish with this poem, written by Hannah Senesh. She was an immigrant Jew in Israel who volunteered to parachute into Europe for the purpose of helping the Allied efforts in Europe and to establish contact with partisan resistance fighters in an attempt to aid beleaguered Jewish communities. She died when she was taken captive in Hungary. She is now interred on Mt. Herzl in Jerusalem.

Eli, Eli

Shelo yigamer le'olam:
Hachol vehayam

Rishrush shel hamayim
Berak hashamayim

Tefilat ha'adam

My Passover vacation was great. I did many of the things I set out to do, like sleeping a ton, reading for pleasure, traveling, rafting on the Jordan River and camping on the beaches of the Kinneret. I feel as if I had a long enough break from the school routine that I was getting bored with. I returned to school last week with a new energy and a more positive attitude toward the students.

First I want to share a bit about my adventures in the Golan Heights. My old friend Erez, with whom I went to ulpan with, led the group up north. We had many logistical issues including tardiness of rafters, directions, traffic, money, spiders (ewww), rude families camping next to us and finally not enough cars on the return trip.

All in all things worked out well, but it wasn’t all peaches and cream. The actual rafting was something I will never forget. It was the first time for me and to think that the Jordan was not whitewater enough was a mistake. It was incredibly strong and full of people. Before we started on the actual ‘ride,’ we did an instructional review of safety topics. One of the topics was how to manage falling in the water and what to do after you’re in the water.

I understood the directions, but when the guide actually said “get it,” I was like…”do I have to?” Needless to say I went in, and instantly went into shock. The water was freezing and to make things worse I got water in my throat. I couldn’t breathe and was struggling to stay calm.

What did I learn from that experience? That during the actual rafting there was no freaking way I was going to fall out into the water. I jammed my foot in the raft so there was no way I would be bumped loose. Drowning is one of my fears along with heights and spiders.

Gosh I hate spiders. à story. I was packing up my tent, and as I was placing things in my backpack, I noticed a large spider (size of a quarter and brown) crawling on the straps. I was instantly hitting it with my shoe. I thought I killed it, but as it turned out it hid in my bag and stayed quiet. I got home and as I unzipped my bag, out pops the very same spider. I must be honest with you, I screamed. Needless to say he lived maybe for another second or two because I went berserk on my bag and crushed it so hard its grandmother felt my wrath. My apartment is also infested with mini versions of that same spider. WTF!!!

On my trip up north I also had a near death experience. It seems that the driver I was riding with from the rafting trip to the camp site may have dozed off at the wheel. He said he lost control of the car, but I have my doubts. Either way I awoke from my own nod off in the back seat to see oncoming traffic heading in our direction. The driver swerved into oncoming traffic then swerved back into our lane. It was a two-way road and with about 100 feet or so he managed to get back. At the campsite I had some quiet time to tell G-d I was thankful he let us live and not crash. I so had my doubts as the swerve began. All’s well now though J

On a brighter note, my cousin named her new baby girl Noam, which goes well with her sister Agam. Agam has become a handful in the weeks since the birth. Her mom is always stressed out from balancing both girls and not sleeping enough. I try to go over to visit and help, but she is so bossy. I don’t especially like being told what to do and how to do it (who does really).

I love playing with Agam. I speak to her in English a lot, teaching her phrases such as thank you, please, colors, numbers and of course happy monkey. Sometimes I throw in a new word and she responds with, “MA?” That means what? She has her mom wrapped around her pinky, but with me there are boundaries and slowly she is learning that she can’t manipulate me like she does her mom.

Passover Seder at their house was awesome. There were 14 of us and the star of the show was Agam. I took dozens of photos of her (to the joy of everyone who saw them). As wonderful as the Seder was, there was still something missing…”my” family. I especially missed my mom, dad, Tammy and Alexis. Such is life…sacrifices for the greater good, at least my greater good. The following day even more family came for a BBQ. Lots of cousins, aunts and uncles were there as well as a Shitzu named Boofy J

All in all it was a marvelous holiday vacation and one that I will not forget.

I hope all of your holiday celebrations were as special to you as mine was to me.

I am officially on vacation and I love every moment of it. I have done a lot to catch up with while also slowing down. I cleaned my apartment and storage area the other day, and to my surprise found $100 in an old piggy bank. I also threw out quite a lot of old knickknacks. That is great because if you know me then you know that I am a pack rat. I also rewrote my resume with the help of a good friend. I plan to send it out to colleges and universities in the area in hope of finding an English teaching position. I am a bit tired of teaching the most basic of English and I want to try some academic English instead.

I have been running on a tight schedule as well. Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays I run 6 kilometers and on Mondays and Wednesdays I go to the outside gym of which I also run about 4 km to get to. I hope with this routine I will get down to my ideal weight. I know I am not overweight at all…I mean at 5’9” and 165 lbs, I think it is OK. But if I could trade some of those lbs for muscle lbs I think I would be mapsut.

I recently avoided being sued by Netvision this week. If you’re ever thinking about finding an internet service provider in Israel, I highly recommend staying the F away from Netvision. They are a bunch of thieves and liars. Back in October I was researching internet providers for my home, and so I was in contact with them. I gave them my information and told them to wait until I heard from the cable provider, then I would verify with them to start

I understood that a cable could not get to my house so I called and canceled my order. As it turned out, they kept me on and kept charging me every month. All of a sudden I get a letter from their collection agency saying I am in violation and they are taking me to court. WTF. I got my attorney uncle to deal with them and thank goodness he set them straight. They still got 100 shekels from me to cancel the account…but it’s a whole lot better than the more than 500 they were going after. Stay away from Netvision!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My cousin Orit just gave birth to her second daughter today. I have yet to see them, but I am sure I will in the next couple of days. I will be at her house for Pesach Seder. I have no idea how she is planning on doing it (I guess with the help of her parents and hubby).

I will be going rafting and camping on April 1^st. It will be my first time rafting so it will be a good thing that it will be on the Jordan River and not the Colorado River. The camping bit is cool because for me exactly 6 months earlier I was camping in my back yard with my friends on my birthday. Yes that’s right; April 1^st is my half-birthday.

My summer plans also became clearer. I will again teach at the Jewish Agency’s English Language Program in Nitzana. At least two sessions will take place, which means that I will have some income to play with. I also applied for a couple of server positions in neighborhood restaurants, but I am not holding my breath for those. Server positions usually go to hot chicks, which is why I applied (LOL).

Either way I am not hurting financially. I have managed to save some money and so now comes the decision of what to do with it. I will probably stick it in a savings account, but one thing I am definitely not doing is sending it to the Federal government. Screw my loans! If one day I win the lottery then fine, I will pay them off. But chances are that isn’t going to happen any time soon. So forbearance, here I come. Tomorrow I am mailing my form and hopefully it gets accepted.

Louise is doing well…no fleas and lots of love. I found her a lizard in the yard today and she hopped on it like me on a steak. I felt a little guilty the way it was in her mouth and the tail was wagging back and forth out the side of her jaw. So I grabbed her and let him out. I figure she found him again, but at least I tried. She does get a little annoying at night. She squeezes in the bed dafka to be close, but she can’t be still. She wiggles and purrs. It’s so cute but hard to fall asleep next to, so I have been pushing her away of late. It’s OK because she forgets five minutes later. Gosh I love cats, who needs dogs? I will end on that note.

Tammy I wish you all the best in South Africa. You are an inspiration to me. I hope you continue to give your time and knowledge to the less fortunate and I know that Hashem will give to you success, health, happiness and love. God bless you best sis in the world.

It has been a very long time since my last update; therefore I apologize to all my loyal readers. I intended on writing more often, but circumstances forbade me. I will therefore do my best to fill in the gaps of the past couple of months.

I want to start with my Purim experience. In my last entry I mentioned how I did not have any clue as to what to dress up as. Truth is I forgot my plan (which I had since last Purim). I was The Guy in the Yellow Hat this year. Do all of you know who he is? He is the owner and hero of Curious George. I truly went all out, including getting a monkey to follow me around. Surprisingly George was very well behaved. He did swing on a guitar and disappear for a couple of hours, but in the end he came back to his yellow dressed friend.

I celebrated Purim in Jerusalem and Hashmonayim. I must’ve heard the Megillah 4 or 5 times and each time it was better and quicker. It is tradition to get so plastered that you don’t know the difference between Haman and Mordechai, but I didn’t keep that tradition. Drinking just isn’t what is used to be for me. Here and there I still like to have a rum and coke, but that’s it.

I also recently went to see My Fair Lady. It was an amateur production of the play but in reality the actors were very professional, as well as the singing. Back in October I went to the initial meeting for the play because I thought it would be fun to be in a play, but the time commitment they demanded was too great. I have never been in a play…well actually that’s not true…I was in Snow White when I was in the 4^th or 3^rd grade. I was one of the dwarfs with a pointy hat. I didn’t have any costume, so I just wore yellow sweat pants and a blue jacket. Come to think of it, I think I had to be in the play because I don’t remember trying out or even asking about it. It was so very long ago.

However, what was not so long ago was my cousin Ziv’s bar mitzvah. It was held near Beersheva in a kibbutz called Kramim. There was a super fun activity planned for the kids and adults…paintball. Initially I opted out, in case I tripped and hurt my shoulder which is always sore. But once I arrived, my cousins wouldn’t stop giving me sh*t about wimping out. So I sucked it up and got into my fatigues. As it turned out, I hadn’t lost my touch. I was Rambo and loving every second of it. I must’ve tagged 5 or 6 folks out of the game. I too got hit, but as my cousins said, “Your hairy back probably absorbed any pellets and that’s why you don’t have any welts.” But really I think I was just grazed a few times and that was the reason. I must say it was incredibly fun either way. Among the invitees were cousins I hadn’t seen in at least a year. I enjoyed every moment of the occasion, and that was just the beginning.

The following week was my cousin Polly’s wedding. She married a man named Gilboa, who is super cool by the way. At the wedding, I was one of the holders of the chuppah. This means that I will have 7 years of good luck, whatever that may mean. Should I start playing the lottery? After all you can’t win if you don’t play. I stayed at Polly’s house in Ramat Gan and hung out with my not so little cousin Aaron (16 but 6 foot at least). He is an amazing kid and very funny.

And it was so nice too to sleep without being interrupted by a nagging cat. Louise has been getting on my nerves of late. More on that later. The wedding was held at a restaurant called Teriyaki. The food was yumyumyum, and what made the day so great was how my aunts and uncles busted out in song…and when I say song I mean authentic amazing real Spanish songs. I recorded them and uploaded it to my YouTube site. Check it out…you’ll be impressed.

So what’s the problem with Louise? She has fleas…and as much as I am trying to help her get rid of them she is proving to be a horrible partner in flea prevention. I bought her the Frontline drops for her neck, which didn’t work. I then spent another 100 shekels on a Frontline collar which began to work, but after two days she managed to take it off somewhere.

I was so frustrated with Louise that I refused to buy her another one and decided to make her an outside only cat. I couldn’t stand by my word. She was always sitting by my window and crying, and I mean crying. After a few days of leaving her outside I finally decided to give her another chance. I bought her another collar and this time I almost choked her putting it on. There is no way in hell she can take it off now. So until the medicine takes affect I am picking off fleas I see with my fingers and drowning them. I still have bites…but I am trying to stay hopeful that the situation will get better.

OMG let me end with this story. I asked an IT. friend to perk up my laptop, which he did. He did so without transferring files I asked him to, which he said was because of a virus. Either way, the manuscript I was writing (children’s book) got erased. I am over it and have started redoing it, but what I am not over is the fact that while my computer was in a room that was supposed to be off limits to the pupils was left open. As a result, one of the children kicked my laptop case and cracked the screen. Of course, not a soul admitted doing anything wrong.

Now a screen cannot crack itself, so some little shit f*cked up my private belongings and chickened out on being honest. That was the straw that broke the camel’s back. From that day, I have no love at all for any of the students. It’s a shame really. Neither the school nor any parents have offered to help fix it. So I am pretty much done bringing anything fun or different to class to teach with. No more computers for presentations and no more English board games for fun days. The days of being excited to work with these kids and willing to share my belongings are OVER.

Well I guess that can be it for now. I feel I have vented quite well and shared my thoughts with you. A topic to be on the lookout for in my next update is painting. I am moving to canvas. I am super excited!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Last night I received a very pleasant surprise from my best friend. Moshe came for a visit and brought a friend. Sherri and Moshe arrived around 8:30 pm and instead of waiting for them in my apartment, I hid in the shadows and when they walked into my place I snuck up behind them and scared them. I can be so devious sometimes.

One of the reasons that they visited me was that Moshe bought a new car and he wanted to take a road trip. I was like “hell yea.” As a matter of fact, I suggested we go to Casa de Brasilo, a “new” restaurant in the center of Beersheva. They serve meat, meat and more damn good meat. I wanted to treat myself to a super yummy dead animal so I chose lamb chops. Moshe chose a plate of filet mignon, while Sherri ordered a burger. All three dinners were annihilated. Then we headed back to my place to sit around and talk for a bit until they had to leave. We played The Game of Life on my computer. It was lots of fun to play against other people, hehe.

It is now Saturday night and I am about to start preparing lessons for next week -- pretty much the same as other weeks because of various reasons-with just a few changes here and there.

I am hooked again on 24. I thought I was over that need, but Season 8 made me relapse. I think it is better to wait a few weeks until I have an inventory of new episodes and then make a marathon.

I have been watching a lot of American TV shows. I like them, but it sure isn’t like being out and about. Due to the weather and immobility, I am stuck in my neighborhood. That means I play some hoops here and there, while fitting in some painting where I can. In fact, I finished two more today. I created my first snake. I painted him coiled on a rock. The second was a turtle coming up for air. I took in account the way the rock sits up when I painted the turtle. Both I may say are works of art.

Purim is coming soon and I still don’t know what I will dress up as. I want something super duplicitous. I was thinking of two-face and having a half beard and fix my clothes so they would be half-and-half (somehow). Who knows really? No way am I going as Papa Smurf again. I had the blue paint stuck on my face for 3 days after Purim last year. His beard also became blue--not too smurfy if you ask me. So if you have any ideas please email me. In order to see the new stones, go to Golan’s Art.

Holy rusted metal Batman, it’s been more than a month since our last meeting. What are we going to do? Quick to the Blogmobile!

Where have you been Gogie? To tell you the truth, I have been right here. Where are you? Hopefully, not driving a vehicle or farm machinery of sorts…fasten your seatbelts and return all trays to their upright whatever positions. I won the scratch off lottery tickets prizes. I didn’t become rich or anything, but it was a nice booster. First tickets I won twice 100 shekels, and then I bought two a few weeks later. One of them was a 200 winner. I think it will become a once a month treat. Seems like I have good luck, so who wants to sponsor me to play in the 2010 Texas Hold’em tourney in Las Vegas? So email me if I can answer any questions about my qualifications.

Much has passed in the month since my last share time. My first instinct is to share with you the Wednesday in which I won the 200 sheks, but way earlier. It was a very short day for me at school. Nikki, my friend from Jtown, had to make a visit to a town near Beersheva and she wanted to say hi. She planned it so she would be near Yerucham at 10ish and from school the Nikkster drove us to some place, of which I don’t remember the name. The name isn’t important, just the trip back.

She suggested we stop on the side of the road and make a rock column. Great idea, right? We stopped right under a huge sign that warned of camels crossing the road. Right under it, we built our tower. To this day, the bottom five or so are still there. Every day on my way to and from work I pass it.

It’s pretty amazing that the rocks are there still. Considering the amount of recent rain. It poured for two days. The totals around the area: Beersheva 2 inches, Eilat 1 inch, Jerusalem and north 3 inches. You all should have seen the Beersheva River. This river is normally about 6 or 7 feet across, but after the rains, it was about 30 to 40 feet across. It was scary. It wasn’t scary for me because I am Batgogie, but for little bunnies and baby sheep and other furry animals it was horrible. I could’ve sworn I heard bahhhs.

I should also put a good word in for Skype. It has been behaving nicely for me of late. During the past month I had two really long conversations with my parents.-about 3 hours total for both calls. I almost feel as if I am there just chatting away and to know that even if we are just laughing or reminiscing its not going to cost me or them an arm and a leg to do so.

I was in bed last night reading a great book. It’s called Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut. It’s an interesting read. That’s a side note, but why am I mentioning this? Because I was laying there and thinking, “When am I going to rearrange my bed against the back wall?” I got up and started emptying my closet of clothes so I can scootch over my closet without breaking my neck. I moved it over and turned my bed and peetom (suddenly) I have two sq. meters more of walking area in my apartment

To my dismay painting, creative writing and sports have not been in my routine of late. I have promised myself to dedicate time to get back into painting my rocks. If you, the reader doesn’t know, I paint rocks to resemble animals. I assimilate the animal into the rock by matching the shape and size to an animal that resembles it. I have painted sharks, frogs, cats, insects such as ladybugs and caterpillars, sheep, mice, more cats, cows, penguins and a dog. Shout out to Nana out there in Lala land. Erez keep rocking on the veterinarian tip.

I visited my cousin Polly the last week of December. ON Christmas Eve, I officially lost my cherry. My first Rocky Horror Picture Show experience was everything I had hoped for. 15 years of waiting to see a midnight showing of the Rocky Horror experience was too long. The genius who suggested we go was Amberlea. I used to work for her at the Minhal Hastudentim. It was her birthday and she gave us gift bags. Isn’t that rad?

In the bag were some of my favorite things in the world. Bubbles, gummy candies, a candy necklace, a sucker and something else that I can’t remember. BTW I have tons of favorite things. Doesn’t everyone? Oh, I almost forgot, in case you didn’t know it is traditional to go in costume to the show. Ya know, one that is connected to the movie. I dressed in one of my cousin’s dresses for the occasion. I realized something about myself. I was NOT a size 6, 8, 10, not even 20. It sucked, but during the show I was probably one of the most conservative. There were some characters there.

Glad to know I wasn’t the only one who takes it all in stride. I strode into Ramat Gan at 4 am and I was so out of it. I crashed hardcore and woke up like clockwork at 7 am. My brain alarm clock is to blame.

Louise is doing well of late. She has been very lovey dovey especially after being outside all day in the rain, like today. She wanted so bad to go out this morning even though it was drizzling and yucky. When I had to leave for work she didn’t want to go in, so she had her wish. At about six, I asked my aunt to drive me home--to let her in of course, but also to just feel good at home because it was a very long day at school. One of our teachers is out for a family event and so we have been combining classes. There have been some behavioral issues as well as very argumentative children. That in addition to the drop in temperatures = grumpy Gogie.

Gogie is no longer grumpy, rather supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. If you know what that is, then I’d say you’re quite precocious. So make sure you say it loud enough so everyone thinks you’re atrocious. To all a goodnight and to the rest a good day.

Well let’s see here…where to start. Let’s first start off by saying I am one of the laziest bloggers around…or at least I should be. The first date of this entry was December 7^th and I am just now writing it. I want to be more punctual but that will have to wait until next time. For now have some very sad news. One of my precious kittens, Thelma Welma, passed December 4^th.

I should’ve known something was wrong because when I called her she didn’t come. Later that day I saw her in my yard, trapped between a fence post and my building. She looked as if she had suffered.

Really, that’s what breaks my heart--that she died alone-- outside in the cold. She was my real life kitty doll and she was the sweetest cat-- always looking for a lap to plop down on while asking for a rub. I will miss her.

Louise went though a very long mourning period. If you ask me, she definitely knows that Thelma isn’t coming back. That first day she began acting very strange. Louise would meow her broken meow and just sit in my lap staring at me. It saddened me a lot but we are getting better. I have tried to be more patient and loving of Louise. I just feel that if I don’t take the opportunity to baby Weezer, then she would surely become kitty depressed.

I am celebrating the four-year anniversary of my Aliyah. The English date is Wednesday, but the Hebrew date was last week (third night of Chanukah). I didn’t go out and get wasted, or pick up some hussy from the bar. I took a couple hours to read back in my blog and notes to remind myself of what I was feeling way back then. As I read, I noticed feelings of insecurity, regret and frustration.

I won’t lie and say that those feelings are gone, but every day I know I am becoming more and more Israeli. That means that I am becoming less sensitive to the emotional highs and lows of making a life here. If I remain optimistic and hopeful of the future then Hashem will bless me with what I want out of life; i.e. love, health, success and happiness.

Speaking of health…I was told that surgery is in my future for my left shoulder. That’s the one that repeatedly dislocates. It has been a condition I have had for at least a decade. I know that surgery is tough and I will need people to help me afterward, but I am keeping the path. I feel it will be worth it when I can do normal activities without fear that my shoulder will escape its place. As far as my knee goes, it is taking a back seat to my shoulder issues. (Oh by the way, I am currently fighting off an upper chest virus. I have been coughing, sneezing and feeling downright crappy for the past four days. I hope to return to work on Wednesday because I can’t miss any more days.)

Chanukah was rockin and rollin this year. I spent the holiday visiting all sorts of folk. From close family to best friends to chevre…all in one holiday (gosh I love Israel).

The first evening I was at my aunt and uncle’s house. There I ate some bad fish and got sick. Didn’t get past the fish course, so I got home super duper hungry and with little food to eat. I managed to make some toast and hit the bed. For the rest of the beginning of the week, I took to myself to be super lazy. I mostly stayed in bed, watched movies and learned some poker chip tricks. On Wednesday I took a bus to Jtown to be with Chevre.

First, I went to my friend’s office on Aggripas. There I saw Shoni, Eynat and their new daughter Adi. She was so adorable…more so then when I saw her in the hospital. After chillin there, Ian and I made it over to the Caras’ bbq. They had a Wii and boy was it fun. They had a flying game that was so awesome. I wasn’t that good at shooting down the enemy, but I sure had a blast trying. That night I went with Moshe to Modi’in. I was so tired, but he still put on LOTR part 2 in HD. I wanted to watch, but I zonked out in my usual space…the futon.

On Thursday, I returned to Jtown with Moshe but instead of hanging out there until he got off work I bussed it to Hashmonayim to be with the Greenspans before their Chanukah party. I arrived just in time to go to the grocery store with Shimon, Aliza and Miriam. I took responsibility for Aliza. She held my finger as we zoomed around the store to help her daddy. She was cracking up laughing, and I was having a good time as well.

Later at the party there were awesome latkes and penetrating punch. I think the oil from the latkes made me sick, I mean I ate like 5 or 6. I ended up leaving a bit early (12:00) because I knew I was not in the partying mood after feeling so ill. The following morning I caught a bus in the pouring rain. It was like cats and dogs I tell ya. I made it just in time to get home for Friday night dinner at my aunties. By then though I was already feeling sick. So here we are on a Tuesday and I am stuck in bed. I sure hope this virus finds somewhere else to hang out.

It’s a new month and with this month there is a special meaning for me. It marks the 4-year anniversary of my making Aliyah. I still feel like it was the right choice to move back here, but of course, there are moments where doubt creeps in. I will leave that topic alone now and delve into what I experienced during the last few days, over Shabbat.

For the first time in almost three months, I traveled to Jerusalem to visit some of my best friends here in Israel. The trip wasn’t just stam but for a few reasons. The first was Thanksgiving, and this year it fell on a Wednesday.

I spent the holiday at my best friend Moshe’s house. Both his parents were there as well as a myriad of close friends. Among them were Dena and Shimon, Sherri, Daniela, Nikki, and of course Aliza. Dinner was absolutely delish. After dinner, we played the traditional Greenspan Texas hold-em tourney. I came out on top at the end, although I didn’t win any mullah.

The next day I spent visiting my friends Gil and Randy. They were the first people I met at Beit Canada way back when I first moved into the absorption center. Honestly, it was a bit tense there. Their dog just killed two neighborhood chickens, so there were frustrations being exchanged between the two.

I felt a bit uncomfortable but I got over it and managed to enjoy my stay. I left and headed to Nikki’s house to shower and change for Simon and Shalva’s wedding. The ceremony was very small. Shalva was a beautiful bride and Simon was spiffy too. I have to say that all in all the wedding was great, except for the food.

I spent Shabbat at Hymie and Chaya’s house. They live in Jerusalem. It was a very relaxing and enjoyable Shabbat. I really like spending Shabbat with them because Chaya is very intellectual and a joy to chat with and Hymie has a sense of humor that is one of a kind (kinda like mine). We played Monopoly on Shabbat and I didn’t fair as well as in poker. I did win in Shesh-Besh (backgammon) though J .

I have two incredibly cute kitties that still love me after I kick them out of bed at 5 a.m. for meowing me awake.

Today is a very special day--Shabbat. More than that, it is the day my alma mater destroys (the state up north), and sends them to their mommies crying. Yes, I am talking about The Ohio State Buckeyes and their seemingly yearly smashing of the maize and gold. This year it is in (the state up north), so the victory will be even more sweet. This year the Bucks secured a Rose Bowl berth, first since 1998 I think. David Boston era, but can’t recall the QB. Oh well, and so I am counting down the minutes…Go Bucks!!

There was a lot of time recently that I thought ‘sit down and write.’ However, something always came up. I have been working diligently at school, keeping up my exercise variety (basketball, jogs, walks, rollerblading), looking out for T & L, spending time with the family and most importantly dealing with the hospital system to work with me to fix my shoulder.

Everyday I have soreness and tender feelings, as if my shoulder is going to slide out. I am tired of having a vulnerable shoulder. Limiting me physically and taking me away from the fun activities that I love. Dr. Ra’at, the surgeon, says the answer is arthroscopic surgery with a general anesthetic. I received a CT scan and I will pick up the results tomorrow.

I have been practicing having my shoulder in a sling and trying to do things around the apartment. I struggled to do the dishes and it sucked getting dressed, not to mention tying my shoes. 6 weeks of daily frustration in addition to physical therapy and a 6-month ban on any ‘normal’ activities; not to mention dealing with school during this period, I hope I can hold up emotionally, physically and most importantly cognitively. I hope I don’t lose my mind J .

This past week my cousin Motti and his new wife Anat came to Israel to have a family wedding. It was a beautiful ceremony and wedding. There was a huge surprise, Yonaton had arrived. He now lives in San Diego after growing up here in Israel. He is a big boy now. Literally, he is like 6’ 4 or 5”-- by far the tallest person in the family.

The chuppah was very religious, but the wedding itself had mixed seating and dancing. Nice for weddings, especially with my family’s weddings so we had a blast. I had my fill of yummy steaks and Bacardi and Cokes. A highpoint of the night was the arrival of Motti’s sister, Sarit. It sent him into a frenzy as he jolted into the restaurant and left his cigarette at my feet, outside. He wanted the DJ to start the Lo Kala Darkeinu.

It is a song that Sarit recorded and hit it big. She’s an actress by profession, but her brother, sister and mom all can sing really well just like her. We stayed until 12:45, when I along with my cousins Nir and Eran, Aunt Sonia and Uncle Shimon drove back to Beersheva. I got to bed at 3 a.m.…I think because I fell asleep in the car.

Why do I take the time to share my thoughts here? In the beginning of my Aliyah, I planned to use it as a journal that everyone could see. I thought there were others going through what I was experiencing and I hoped I could ‘help’ through words. I have read old entries written during holidays, family events, road trips and such…and I see the ‘actual’ words. But my words jog so many personal memories that it makes the journal a picker upper for me as well.

This week I received correspondence from one of my readers. He mentioned that he was thinking about Aliyah and found my site in his search for information. He told me he read the whole thing, and said my words are inspiring. Thinking back, it was probably one of the nicest compliments I have gotten in my life because I always invest in others before thinking about myself.

Hence, teaching for grushim (chump change). In a society where teaching is underpaid, and Israeli bureaucracy seemed as if it was anti-Gogie, there were periods in which regret crept through my mind. However, I chug forward and work hard at making Gogie happy because being healthy will make Gogie very happy.

For now I just want to say that I will be happy if I know the people I care about are happy. My health will improve as well as my spirit. I am going to my best friend Moshe’s house for Thanksgiving, then a friend’s wedding in Jerusalem on Thursday as well as Shabbat at Hymie and Chayas house. There is a great week ahead of me…so you can understand why I am going to be fine.

It has been almost a month since my last entry and I must say that there has been much going on in my life. I had a birthday on the first of October and on that day 33 years ago I was brought into this fine world of ours.

For the occasion, I planned a bbq and camp out party in my back yard and invited many of the friends I care for from Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. I must say that seeing them here at my house meant a lot to me. Especially because these are friends I don’t often see. We made a campfire, bbq-ed some meat, joked around and finally played some Texas Hold’em. The poker idea was the whipped topping on an otherwise terrific celebration.

I also have been seeing someone. She is a student of one of my professor friends. He set us up and I must say that his taste in women is good. I have been out a few times with “L” and every time I feel as if I like her more. She doesn’t live in my city, rather a ‘city’ near Beersheva. I don’t foresee that being a big problem since it is just a 20 minute bus ride there. My awesome cousins also live there so I can feed two birds with one seed.

Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur came and went --both were as usual; fattening and long. Currently we are in the middle of Sukkot, and wouldn’t you know it, I am quite the sick munchkin. The whole back of my throat is sore and swollen. It hurts every time I try to swallow any food.

And because of that I have not eaten much during the last two days. I have been drinking tea and today I actually made some soup. The soup was very helpful. I am on drugs, but only the drugs that were left over from my previous sickness. The sickness feels similar enough to what I had so I figured that I should finish off those drugs before the doc gives me a new prescription.

Of late, I have been reflecting a lot on my life. What I have come up with is this. Most of my life I have wanted to be loved. Unconditional love is really what everyone searches for in life. Well perhaps my vision has been clouded by the fact that my family, immediate and extended, has kept me close to their hearts. I feel absolutely in debt to each and every person who cared for me and loved me.

But what I am searching for is love, care, compassion from someone not previously connected to me. Perhaps that is the reason why I moved to Israel. I want what most people want, I want to be a part of something that illuminates my heart and allows me to share my inner thoughts and fears without fearing rejection.

For most of my life I was under that illusion that love was between two people, but of late I have realized that love comes in many ways, among them is to one with oneself. Feeling at peace with oneself and allowing their true nature to shine only attracts true happiness.

And when one feels truly happy, then he/she is ready to share their life with another. No doubt this process takes time, and luckily for me I am 33 years young.

This day is no doubt a day of sadness for many people around the world, especially in the United States. This day also falls in the Hebrew month of Elul, which is the month before Rosh Ha’shanahand Yom Kippur. During the whole month of Elul we, the Jews, are supposed to say Slichot every morning. Slichot translated into English means forgiveness. Slichot are a set of prayers that ask for forgiveness for our past years sins. I know I have sinned over the past year. Whether it was speaking bad things about a person or telling a lie, this is the time to begin the forgiveness process. It culminates with Rosh Ha’shanah and Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement). I have come a long way this past year and even though I made some bad and good choices, I am proud of my choices. I have no doubt that I will be written in the good book at the end of Yom Kippur.

This past week I moved into my new apartment. I was stressed out from the sudden request to move out, but I took my time, breathed and made choices that gave me the best chance to succeed. I asked my cousin to help me search the online reservoir of apartment listings. My friend Guy also took me around the neighborhood on his motorcycle to search for actual signs outside indicating apartments for rent. As it turned out, my cousin and I found a yechidat dioor (“studio apt.”) located behind a house in the same neighborhood I have been living in. Here are the pictures I promised in the previous entry.

The new landlords are so amazing. They are a young couple who just bought the property. They have bent over backwards to make it possible for me to live here. They took less money from me because they knew they were getting a great tenant who would respect their request to keep the garden blooming and keep the apartment in good shape. Another example of them really wanting me to move in is how the husband worked like a dog to help me move my things. We took just under three hours to move all of my boxes. Of course, we took a couple of breaks at his house accompanied by a Goldstar or two. This just reinforces the notion of good things happening to good people. Once all my ‘junk’ was at my new place I worked hard to unpack as much as I could…I went to bed at 12. I would’ve stayed up longer to finish the job but I had to teach in the morning and I had to be alert for the sake of the kids.

Bringing Thelma and Louise to the new apartment was a heartbreaking experience for me. I don’t have a pet carrier, so what I tried to do was stick them both into one of those Target storage boxes and carry them to the new apartment. Unfortunately, they didn’t like that idea and every time I put one in and brought the second to put in, the first would jump out. I had such a hard time so I decided to leave them there one more night and deal with them the next day. The following day, I tried the same method but with only one cat at a time. I also had to use packing tape to tape the lid on because they would push the lid off.

All I heard was the most horrible crying from inside. They were the same crying sounds that I heard when I first got them and gave them flea baths. I did my best to keep talking to them from the outside so they would hear my voice and perhaps calm down a bit, but that didn’t work. When I finally got both to the new apartment I spent the rest of the night giving them all my attention. That night I did not have any food to cook so I ordered a yummy pizza and to my surprise, the Coke bottle I received with the pizza was a holiday size (1.75 liter instead of the normal 1.5-liter bottle). It’s the little things in life that give me kicks.

Speaking of things that give me kicks, I let Thelma and Louise outside for the first time this morning. They were so cute, exploring in their own different ways. Thelma was rubbing on everything she could reach, whereas Louise was methodically exploring the whole yard foot by foot. I photographed them in bunches, but I will only include one picture here. It is the one of the outside of my apartment.

This morning they really pushed my button…I woke up at 5 a.m. to the sound of munch munch munch. I adjusted my eyes to see them both eating my bamboo plant's leaves. I hopped out of bed and banished them to the bathroom while closing the door. Then finally, I fell asleep peacefully for a couple more hours. That was when I just decided to let them out. I figured that if they know there are plants and such outside they won’t eat my plants. We’ll see if that works.

Two nights ago I attended my old landlord's daughter's Henna. It was a very fun event. I very much felt like one of the family and I could truly see how sad they were about asking me to move out. Of course, True Blood outweighs pseudo blood and I totally understood. I even got the henna gook on my right hand. It is supposed to bring luck and hopefully a good future. At that moment, I really missed my mom, so I took a few private moments to call her. I caught her in the middle of a Bocce ball game. I wanted to tell her that I missed her very much, that I love her and that I always think about her. She told me to stop before she would start to cry. I did.

I also made out like a bandit when I left. The hosts told me that I should take some of the food home with me in containers because it would be thrown out at the end of the night. I felt a bit awkward but I did it anyway. I left with 6 steaks, 2 dozen chicken and mushroom batter dipped egg rolls, a few meatballs and a bunch of rosemary potatoes. I can honestly say I will eat well for the next two weeks. I actually went shopping earlier in the evening and bought chicken breasts, thighs and ground turkey. I suppose those are going to be for later, while I take care of the catered food first. They also invited me to the wedding this Wednesday. So here’s to seeing if the henna on my hand really works.

Teaching this past week was a joy. I feel like the groups that I am responsible for include great kids. I have been planning fun activities and have been receiving from the kids and their homeroom teachers some very positive feedback. I even took on another tutoring group. The fifth grade has some pupils that need some extra help. I had three girls the first day. And of the three, only two actually wanted to learn. The third was such an ungrateful bag of anger. She came to school with no notebook, no book, no activity book and no pencil case. She only wanted to interrupt others who wanted to learn. Therefore, before I even gave her the chance to distract my other two, I sent her to the principal's office so that she could explain why she came to school with absolutely no materials. Who knows if she will continue being in my group, but if I had it my way…no freaking way!

Birthdays are coming and going for many people that I care for. For instance, the 11^th was my dear sister Tamar’s birthday. I called her last night after returning home from Shabbat dinner. It was great hearing her voice. She told me how Lex wasn’t feeling well and how she had to take Brooklyn to the vets, (she hurt her foot). We spoke for about 15 minutes, caught up on most things then said good night.

Today was my cousin Itzik’s birthday too. He celebrated 38 years on our beautiful planet with many family members including his wonderful wife Orit and his kiddies Yarden, Yarin, David and Agam. I was there as well as his in-laws and his father, sister and sister's boyfriend. It was an amazing lunch, which included stuffed artichoke hearts, rice and peas with grilled onions as well as brains. Yes, I said it, but I did not eat it. Eww. For dessert, we ate a cheesecake that my aunt Rachel made and some fresh cut mango. Later on, we sat outside and noticed how the olive tree was filled to the max with so many olives. So we made a deal, I would knock down as many as I can and my uncle would later pickle/brine them. That was the first time I ever picked olives from a tree in order to make them at home. I think I picked about 7 kilos worth of olives...what fun.

My birthday is also coming up (October 1^st). I have organized a very fun star gazing, barbequing, and camping out event in my back yard for that Thursday. I am very excited because a few of my very close friends have already RSVPed. I honestly can’t remember the last time I really looked forward to my birthday. I am going to be 33 years young, and feeling all of 25. Well I have some time until that day, and of course lots will happen, so stay tuned for more exciting news from Golan’s Aliyah adventures.

I’m going to tell everyone about the past month but in a way that nothing will be confusing. I will use subtitles…not like the kind you see in the movies but rather mini-titles that describe recent events.

I was invited by my very good friend Elisha, who I met at Beit Canada, to Karmiel for Shabbat. The last time I saw him was at his wedding, which was at least a year ago. How do I know? Because they Elisha and his wife Eliza have a baby angel named Renana. I think she’s about 4 months old (9+4 is more than a year if my math holds up).

I began my Shabbat adventure on Thursday night in Tel Aviv. I had a date with a lady but it turned out she wasn’t the person I thought she would be. We decided not to go on a second date. The next day was my cousin Aaron’s birthday. I was so very happy for him that I bought him a present…an English book. (I’m such a teacher, I know.) He took to it and began to read and write in the interactive journal. He also brought me my favorite candy from the states…SWEETTARTS!!! Dey so good.

After our breakfast Friday morning, I hopped on a train to Accoand then took a taxi to Carmiel. It was my first time in Carmiel and to my surprise it was a very scenic city located in the valley between the Golan Heightsand Mt. Carmel.

Like most valleys, it was so hot there but since I’m from the Negev, I was used to it. I must say that Shabbat was one of the most relaxing ones in a very long while. We took a wonderful walk to the local park and had a kind of picnic. There we drank a cold beer and I mainly played fetch with their doggy. The weekend also provided me with the opportunity to really get to know his wife better because at the wedding there wasn’t much time for chit chat. We both were teachers so there was plenty in common and plenty to kvetch about.

Sunday morning, I was on the way to the train station when I sneezed. Now normally that wouldn’t be something I would mention here, but since my shoulder dislocated, I thought it might be worthy of mentioning. It happened just as the taxi arrived and I was stressed because I couldn’t put it back in. I decided to deal with it when I got to the train station instead of waiting for another taxi.

Hindsight tells me that was the wrong decision. Every bump and turn caused pain, from bone rubbing on bone. I was almost brought to tears when we arrived at the station. Once there I searched for a MADA(Magen David Adom) person who could possibly return the ball into the socket but there weren’t any and my express train was about to leave the station. So I dropped my bag and tried one last time to jerk it back in. Luckily, it slid in and I went to buy my ticket home. The whole train ride back I cradled my shoulder like it was a newborn…enough is enough I thought. When I arrived home I immediately made an appointment for an orthopedic doctor to get it looked at. That day will be September 15^th.

On the following Thursday I went to the beach with the kids from the NitzanaSummer English Camp. It was a marvelous time. It’s somewhat embarrassing to say I had fun hanging out with 15 to 16 year olds but it truly was. I left being their teacher, and although it felt a bit weird, I joined them as a ‘peer.’ There were so many bright kids, that I felt it was my duty to give them the opportunity to speak English as much as possible.

In addition, I went to the beach for some fun. I can probably say that the trainrides were the most fun. We all met at the AzrieliMall in Tel Aviv and when everyone from everywhere arrived we bussed it to the Jerusalem Beach. I was prepared for the day with. my fold-out camping chair, apples for snacking, sunscreen, my awesome new hat and money for icy cold beers. I was hoping to meet up with some of my Tel Aviv friends, but in the end that didn’t work out. Overall, I felt as if it was a great experience and one that the kids would not forget for a long time. I have done my job J

Now let it be known that I have a valid lease on my current apartment until next July, but my landlord believes that it doesn’t matter when it comes to her real family. She told me on a Sunday that she would like me to be out ASAP so that her eldest daughter and her family could move in. Initially I was quite mad and frustrated that I had to leave because I really liked this apartment and the landlord for that matter. I didn’t have to worry about property taxes, names on bills, security issues (2^nd floor) or noisy neighbors. It seemed like I had the best deal ever.

However, once I had some time to think about the situation, I calmed down and spoke to them. I told them that I was grateful they opened their home to me for the past year and a half. They were understanding, patient and so helpful when times were rough for me. I told them I would begin to search for a new place. I recruited the help of my cousin Orit and with her assistance we found an apartment in the same neighborhood. Once I move in, I will add pictures.

For now, I’ll describe it for you. It’s a 1.5 room ground-level apartment with a kitchen and full bathroom. I have a garden (1/4 acre) with some grass, a private basketball court, a pear tree, a ready-made fire pit, an outside storage shed and an enclosed fence surrounding my yard. I’ll be paying about 1400 sheks plus utilities, which will, at the most. turn out to be 1600 per month. Coincidentally that’s what I pay for my current apartment.

In Hebrew, there is an expression: meshaneh makom, meshaneh mazal. It means change your place, change your luck. I believe it so, and I’m seeing the fruits of it as I type. I just booked a tutoring gig for a high school student. My future landlord also told me that she would help organize for me students for tutoring. She asked me if I would do a group lesson for her kids as well as some other kids in the neighborhood. So slowly I am fulfilling the expression’s meaning. And so what I should be feeling is grateful that she asked me to leave and not anger and frustration towards them.

I have begun to teach at Kol Yakov again this year. My first day was September 1, although I didn’t enter a class at all that day. Instead, I cleaned, dusted and organized the English lab. It was a morning of sneezes and dust bunnies up my nose. The following day my services weren’t needed at all, so I stayed home and packed. The day after that I had my first class, a remedial 6^th grade for girls. I brought them a fun activity that allowed me to be flexible in class yet still include important material that helped me see what level each was at.

I later heard from their homeroom teacher that they had a good time and were excited to have another class. I think I can help them make a big leap forward this year. There are only 6 girls…so there will be lots of opportunities to listen and speak in English. My second lesson was with the advanced 6^th grade boy’s class. It is a class of almost native speakers. They are going to be a challenge for me to keep busy and not bored. I know there is material they are required to know from the books. In addition I will fatten up that information with many projects and tasks that I hope they will find to be both interesting and fun.

The other classes I will be responsible for are either the advanced or the remedial groups from the 4^th and 5^th grades. Overall, it will be a lot less stressful than last year where I was thrown into classes at the whims of the coordinator. In addition, I still have Fridays off which is the best part of the whole job.

I have scheduled three private tutoring sessions. I have one software engineering student who needs assistance with terms in her field and how to discuss the business side of English, as well as a 12^th grade student who is studying for the 5 point bagrut and my normal 6^th grader who I tutor once a week. I am positive more students will pop up. Hopefully, with that money I can save enough to visit the states or even some other traveling that I have been wanting to do for so long.

Well the girls have been driving me bonkers of late. Louise has discovered that she can get on the roof of my apartment. Quite often I can’t find her anywhere, but when I shake the food container, she suddenly pops out from the other side of the slanted roof. She is so scared to get down by herself that I have to grab her by her scruff to get her down (what a scaredy-cat right?). Thelma is being her normal self--needy, vocal and sweet. Little do they know that in a few days they will have a new home. Generally they are both doing great and making me a happy camper.

Here I am on Friday before the children leave on Tuesday and unfortunately, I can’t say that I am a happy camper with the efforts put forth by some students.

There was a constant struggle with the children to continue speaking English and not resorting to what was comfortable for them…Hebrew. I don’t have a problem with a little Hebrew if it was something they didn’t understand and they needed to ask in a way to get their message across, but most of the time they just spoke for the sake of speaking.

What really frustrated me was that it is ruining the experience for all the students around them. That is why the winds of change are blowing into our camp. Goodbye problem children. Go back to your military schools and boarding schools and bug your normal teachers, not us who chose to come here to help you instead of enjoying our summer vacations like normal teachers. We pour our efforts into you, invest our time in you and this is how you repay us; with disrespect, whispering behind our backs, blatant Hebrew in our faces and constant disruptions to your peers’ learning. These children actually want to be successful in our society, unlike you! What chutzpah? Good luck flipping burgers and wiping toilets in 10 years.

OK, enough negativity, now with the fun positive experiences. I got the chance to go on the trips that I missed the first time around. I visited Nachal Nitzanaand made with the children sambusak . They are empanada-like snacks but with sautéed onions and a certain salty leaf added. Surprisingly they were quite tasty, although I felt very goat like when eating the leaves straight from the bush.

Another very fun activity that I joined the campers on was the sand dune adventure. My shoes quickly filled with sand, which was quite an interesting feeling. It was no use to empty out the sand because moments later there was more…oh joy. While there, the groups played some very fun games, and these were due to the amazing volunteers who planned and implemented them with the children. I made a few videos for students and I can’t believe the reactions I got from so many of them. That made me very happy.

Shabbat came and went, and the last few days of camp were much more improved (behavior wise) than the first week. I think the verbal kick in the ass they got Friday evening from the boss really motivated them to challenge themselves academically and socially to make the best of the experience.

From that day, I took a few steps back as far as my involvement in their experience. I focused all my energies in the classroom, rested the right amount and let the kids enjoy Nitzana for what it was…a break from parental supervision and freedom from the ‘big brother.’

The lead teacher, Guy, Anat and I went on a day trip to Sde Boker instead of being with the kids. I must say it was a great choice for me to join them. I visited the grave of David and Paula Ben Gurion.

We also got a very personal tour of Sde Boker from Anat. Apparently, she went to boarding school there for her high school years. The panoramic displayed below is what we saw from the observation point behind the gravestones. Ein Avdat as well as a certain mayan (natural spring). I saw so much beauty, and I truly understood why David Ben Gurion wanted to be buried here.

Now it is the first full day back in Beersheva (Aug. 12^th) and I feel as if I worked just as hard as I did down south. I went to the shuk, bank, cleaned my house and uploaded 244 pictures of the kids as well as 25 or so videos of the kids onto their Facebook group page. I am sure I will get some happy students when they all discover what I recorded and photographed. I am such a paparazzi. Now it is time to truly relax. Oh, and by the way, it has been almost a month since my last cigarette. Way to go me!!!!!!

I just arrived in Nitzana for Session 2 of the English camp, but because I didn’t finish telling you about the previous session and these past few days at home, I am going to wait a bit before I tell you about the second session.

Instead, I will finish sharing stories about the first session. I joined the campers on many of their trips into the Negev. Among the trips I missed, due to exhaustion, were camel riding, a hike to Nachal Nitzana (dried up river bed, which flash floods in the winter) and an evening hike to the sand dunes for bbq and fun.

Instead of those experiences, I stayed in my room and hydrated myself in the AC while watching Quantum Leap. I was certainly glad to join them on the bike rides…first to the grape vineyards (in the desert) and then on a 5 a.m. bike ride to the Egyptian Border. The picture that follows is one of me welcoming in the beautiful sun…God is so great!!!!!

I also went to Ein Avdat, an oasis near Sde Boker, where David ben Gurion is buried. The view there was very majestic. The canyon was eaten away by the waterfall and subsequent river many thousands of years ago. It was for me, like America’s Grand Canyon, but on a way smaller scale. The picture below shows the beauty that I witnessed.

While hiking up to the waterfall, I saw ibexes, vultures and a variety of other flying creatures. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to climb up the cliffs due to some of the kids not wanting to and someone had to babysit them. So instead I casually walked back to the bus ( I’m so mean J ) and hung out with the bus drivers who offered me pretzels and hot tea. It was way more fun (and much cooler) then being in the sun that entire time.

One very fun activity that the kids were into was Texas Hold’em for pushups. I must say it was fun to watch them play, because they made the bets and thus had to do the pushups.

When I did decide to play, I paid a dear price of 25 pushups all at once. I thus discovered that 25 was my maximum for pushups in one sitting. I avoided playing after that for sure. I did learn a new card game called Durok. Durok is a Russian card game that is entertaining.

I met some amazing yutes too during the camp. They came from all over the country, some as far as Kiryat Shmoneh and Ramat Ha’Golan. One of the goals Atidim had (those who funded the camp) is to bring kids from the periphery of the country and build in them the confidence and English skills to push them into professions like engineering, medicine and army service.

Currently, the kids from smaller communities get left out, so this program shows them that there is hope for their futures and that there are people who care. It doesn’t matter if someone comes from Herziliya, Tel Aviv or cities like Arad or Beersheva; everyone has an opportunity to succeed in life.

Speaking of succeeding in life, I succeeded in actually coming out on top of a poker game I played the other night. There were seven of us, and I didn’t have to re-buy in either of the two games we played. It cost me a 20 and 30 shekel buy-in to make 210 for a second place and then first place. I must say that I played with confidence and with a great poker face. It’s fun to come out of a game without a loss (gotta try that more often, but not too often).

The next day was Shabbat and I ate Friday night dinner at my Uncle Yossi and Aunt Rachel’s house. It was awesomely awesome to be with them after so long not. After dinner, my cousin Nir arrived and we went out to the bars to celebrate his 25^th birthday. We went to this place called the Draft. It was a classic meat market, which was fine by me.

I knew I wouldn’t be able to make it to the normal 5 or 6 am that these spring chickens could, so I didn’t drink so much. What was way harder for me was not smoking any cigarettes. The whole bar was filled with smoke and with everyone with a cig in his or her hands, I felt a strong need to have one in my hand too.

It has been over two weeks since I last smoked anything, and I really want to continue. I felt that if I had one in my hand but not lit I would get over the feeling of having one to my lips. I asked Nir for a cig and I either had it in my hand or behind my ear…but when we left the bar I went to Nir and returned it to him. I felt great that I didn’t light it. I think that night was a test that I needed to take. I am so happy and proud of myself for not falling back.

I did a mitzvah last night that for me is one of the best things one can do. I found a loving home for two of Thelma and Louise’s half sisters. I have a special place in my heart for cats, especially here in Israel, because so many people don’t give a lick about them. They think that they are disease-ridden and incapable of showing love and affection, whereas if they are taken in young and shown love and attention they will grow up to be loving pets for many years. It shouldn’t matter if they were born to an alley cat or born to a purebred cat. That’s my opinion and so that is why when I find homes for those cats that people disregard so easily, I feel so amazing inside.

I am going to end this entry with a quote from Carl Jung. The book quoted him in a book I am reading called Zero Limits. This quote alone has helped me look at my life differently than ever before. As a result, I take responsibility for not just my own life but others as well. I highly recommend all of you to take a week to read the book, absorb its message and keep an open mind. I feel as if your life can change for the better too.

I have been tutoring privately and enjoying my pseudo vacation. Part of my enjoyment has been participating in an extraordinary program that the Jewish Agency and Atidim fund. The Nitzana-Atidim English Summer Camp is based in Nitzana , Israel. Here are some of my experiences:

I arrived on Friday before the students arrived Sunday. The purpose of coming early was to get to better know the staff and to review my English grammar.Nitzana is not like any kibbutz I have ever visited. But in one obvious sense it was. The freaking flies were everywhere and spiders weren’t doing their jobs.

Nitzana is termed an Eco-village. Its product is solar energy, and the power of educating the kids about it. Recycling is also a very strong theme that continued throughout the 10-day camp.

The first order of business was to eat lunch and boy was that the first stop on the trip to food hell. I mean it wasn’t so bad, but I certainly missed normal food. I would be so happy to go the rest of my life without seeing a hard-boiled egg. After lunch, we dove into a version of the grammar lesson that was going to be taught to the high schoolers when they arrived.

Honestly, I needed to relearn the tenses. I mean I know how to speak and spell English like most Americans, but my foundations were a bit shaky. Now, I feel as if I am a grammar guru.

After the review, I was given some free time. I decided to explore the kibbutz. I discovered that the kibbutz practices what it preaches. Much of the grounds were decorated with recyclable materials, such as mosaics made from colored glass bottles, a recycling center that fully explains what it does and many other tiled mosaics decorating trash bins and the ground itself. I was very impressed with the artistry and creativity. And to think that all this was built by hand and by volunteers is inspiring.

The guides are called Shinshinim, which means Shnat Sherut, or year of service to you non-Hebrew speakers. These are kids who instead of going straight into the army after high school decided to give a year of their lives to better our society and become an example to future students. I admire them very much. Some of their duties include guiding groups through the recycling center as well as the solar energy park. I have grown to call them very close friends after this experience.

The program's goal is to raise awareness of the benefits of using renewable resources such as water, solar and wind to power our needs. It’s a very powerful lesson that can help future generations become less dependent on fossil fuels, and at the same time help to heal Mother Earth.

Just a few words about my least favorite experience while at Nitzana. Creepy crawlies!!!!! One of the warnings I got when I arrived was watch out for three very dangerous things while here, spiders, scorpions and snakes. All three can be poisonous and need to be dealt with appropriately.

You ask what my method is? It’s mashing them flatter than a sheet of paper. I must’ve killed dozens of spiders in my apaetment. I'lll tell you why I don’t like spiders. First they're silent; second they jump; third they don’t seem to be doing their job; and fourth they don’t care if the door is closed because they still enter. I decided to keep the dead carcasses of the spiders where they last enjoyed their last breath so that future spiders would see the ending that awaited them if they entered my domain. Didn’t work though J

On one of my walks, I nearly hit a huge spider web, literally three feet in diameter. I waited and tried to coax out the owner, but luckily (for him) he didn’t exit to check out what I threw in his web. Good thing because if he had,that would’ve been the end of him. Around the corner from the web, I saw a black snake that was dead, but it still freaked me out.

I also saw a super cute kitten and his mommy. I realized that cats have it made here. Peace and quiet, good people, lots of places to safely roam and many leftovers to eat--in other words kitty heaven.

(Note to myself: Never sleep without AC…I easily lost half a kilo just last night. I hated waking up wet when I was younger, just like I don’t like it now, but now it’s from sweat J.

Today I joined my school's staff on an end of year trip to the wonderful city of Tiberius and the Sea of Galilee. What is hard to believe is that in my 32 years of life I had never been there.

I was very excited to return to the Heights. Every time I visit the north, I get a warm feeling inside. It’s the feeling of a true homecoming. Even though I was born in Beersheva, I feel like the Golan Heights is my true origin. Some day I hope to move there, just don’t know when.

We visited a few places around the sea and then to a historical hotel called Dona Gracia Hotel. What is great is that it is not just a hotel; rather it is a museum too. I dressed up in fun clothes and received a tour of the hotel’s memorabilia. The bonding with the staff was also fun and I am very much looking forward to returning to teach next fall.

I would like to start with the recent visit of my dear sister Tamar. Tammy is a just more than one year older than me (but is a whole lot shorter). Among others, I have missed her very much since my Aliyah to the Land of Milk and Honey. Enough about history. Now let’s get to the good stuff.

Tammy arrived two Saturdays ago and, along with my cousin Polly, her mom Noga, Polly’s son Aaron, we all went to Ben Gurion airport to welcome her. But Tammy did not have a phone and we were running late. As it turned out, she has just been hanging out and waiting in the terminal for about an hour. It was a great reunion. We dished out hugs as if they were shots at a bar. It’s quite intoxicating to love, don’t you think.

We did many things while we were in Tel Aviv; unfortunately going to the beach was not one of them. Tammy went a few times, but since I am a Beershevaii, I didn’t have total access to the beach.

I was in Yerucham and worked during the time that Tammy was at her Bio Conference. But I hustled back to Tel Aviv as she finished. I was glad Tammy got to spend quality time with our newest additions to the family, i.e. Yaeli and Agam. They were delicious. She and Aaron also had a great time together.

We all went out to eat in Givatayim, a neighboring mini-city near Ramat Gan. We ate at this SE Asian place called Sora. Of course, I ordered some Sushi, which I mmmmm love. I had to be careful though, because on the same plate was some calamari, which I don’t eat (not kosher).

The next day, Noga, Tammy, Yaeli and I went to Nachalat Binyamin, an open-air artists market in Tel Aviv. Tammy bought lots, as did Noga. I bought some incense sticks and a holder. I bought my share at this place when I was a tourist. In fact, I have a set of kitty coasters to prove it. J

After our walk we stepped into a nice restaurant for lunch. Yaeli had a wonderful time there. She sat next to me, which was so cool. I was surprised to see that she was eating Denis fish. Apparently, she loves fish. I had these awesome BBQ grilled chicken breasts. It was a huge portion as was my sisters’, so we both took the leftovers for Aaron.

As far as teaching is concerned, I seem to have a place at Kol Yakov next year. The exact hours aren’t known yet, but if I have 1^st thru 3^rd grades again ( and tutoring after school), maybe I can get close to where I was this past year. I want to start a school-wide reading program. Our school has a vast supply of ESL English books and storybooks. But we need more!!!!!

If anyone knows anyone that can donate storybooks, or the money to purchase them, we (royal we) would be very appreciative. I plan to compare it to the Reading Rainbow or Book It that our generation grew up with back in the 1980s and ‘90s. I want these kids to gain something from my experiences as a teacher and a pupil. I have the summer to come up with a working plan. So if you have any advice I would appreciate you writing me at the email atop the home page of www.canaancommunications.us.

And thanks to one of the teachers from Kol Yakov I found a summer job. I will be teaching English at an English summer camp for new immigrants and children with learning difficulties. It will be challenging for me, but I think the experience can open more doors for me in the future. It does mean I need to find a kitty sitter for each of the 10-day sessions. In my family there are only a few who give a hoot about my cats, so this also will be a challenge for me. I have till July 27 to find a suitable candidate. Any suggestions?

I also found three private tutoring sessions. Two of the students live in Yerucham, so that means I will bus it there twice a week, which is OK with me. I just hope the parents don’t mind the big gap in the middle of the summer while I am at camp. Guess I will have to sit down next week and discuss it with them.

On the home front, all is good. Thelma and Louise were very happy these last few weeks. They received a new cat scratching post from Polly’s roommate Moshe. It took a while for the girls to figure out what to do with it. So what would any responsible cat owner do in this situation? Same thing I did. I sprinkled some fresh catnip all over it and in it. They went bonkers. Both wanted the kitty crack. I think I will post some pictures in my Facebook album, but here is a taste.

Since Tammy’s visit, I have felt more in the painting mood. I picked up a brush for the first time in nearly five months. You all know I paint right? I started by painting a Gingy Kitty (orange). That was a birthday present. I also finally painted the parrot. I found the perfect rock about two years ago, and since then I have kept it dust free and with its friends. Here are some of his shelf mates.

OK! I did something to my knee. It was while I was wrestling with Aaron. He likes the MMA stuff, so he tried some of it on me. I lifted him up and let him fall “gently” to the floor. Then he grabbed my head and tried to subdue me. I decided to stand up and that was when I heard a snap in my knee. I think I caught it before it really got damaged. I plan to visit a doctor this coming week. I probably shouldn’t have waited so long, but it seems OK for now. I hope my body isn’t breaking down; if it isn’t my knee, it’s my shoulder, if it’s not my shoulder it’s my ankle. Oy.

Now I'm in Tel Aviv, hanging out with Polly and Aaron and ww went to Tiv Taam. It’s a grocery store like no other, except maybe Jungle Jims (Cincy folks will know it). We ate at the restaurant there and it was sushirific. We arrived home to chill out and sit on the couch and relax. Aaron left to be with his friends and I decided to finish this blog.

Tomorrow, Polly will take us to the beach in Herziliya. I hope Sarit and the kids can also make it. But at night, I have to high tail it before the last bus leaves for Beersheva. Eleven o’clock is when my bus turns into a pumpkin if I am not on it, so I have to hustle to make my plans work.

Well I want to send out a warm hug to all you readers, and if I don’t know you and you’re reading this, I like hugs, so smile.

Here it is, one month later and I have finally sat down to write. It’s not that I didn’t want to; it’s that I have busy living more and writing less. But there’s no time like the present to make up for the past.

Since taking over teaching responsibilities for the 1^st through 3^rd grades, I’ve had both good and bad days. Of all the potty mouths at the school, I think the worst are in the first grade.

Most of the children are rich in curiosity and excitement about English and my history. I bring to the classroom games, educational YouTube clips, stories (which I love), toys from home and my love of teaching.

I have so many kids hooked on Ladybug, Ladybug and Lion, Lion. Both songs were written and recorded by Debbie Clement. She is an amazingly talented woman and I feel like she has had a strong influence on how I teach English to these grades.

As much as I love being a part of the school’s staff, I am still not sure there will be a place for me there next year. As it turns out, our main benefactor for the English Department may not renew their donation. Therefore, there will not be anyone there to pay me. I’m hoping for the best because if I think positively then it will happen.

(Side note: Thelma and Louise are going bonkers from cat nip I put on their clawing strip. Those wild kitties brought me a praying mantis…dead of course.) (Side side note: Thelma just clawed the bejeezes out of my forearm. Looks like I wanted to slit my wrists, plus there is a chunk of flesh gone from my right palm…that’s the last time I take them out to the grass to chill).

Gosh it is hard to type when your forearms are bloodied and sore but I will persevere. Sof sof, I received my new washing machine and I am running its first load as I type. I must say that life without one was very hairy. (Cat hair on everything. I didn’t want to give too much stuff to my aunt (angel) to do. So I only gave her the essentials.)

The funny thing about my new machine is that the instruction booklet was only in Hebrew. I asked the tech if there was an English version. He said not really. So I ventured into it and it turns out there were many pictures displaying what not to do. That plus what Hebrew I did know, I managed to learn how not to screw it up. LOL

I spent a wonderful Shavuot holiday with the Hyams of Jerusalem. It couldn’t have gone any better. We ate a catered vegetarian meal made by one of the most innovative chefs in Israel. Paul Hyams is the brain behind BisBari Organic catering.

We also made it to one of the parks near his house where we hung out and tossed the disc around. As usual I arrived in Beersheva after the last bus had left the station. So instead of catching a cab, I walked (mainly because I didn’t walk while I was on holiday). It was beautiful.

I have lately become a domino player. I play on Dominostars.com . I figure if my family ever lets me in on a game that they are playing then it would better if I could hang. They play partners though, which isn’t an option for me. It’s all good.

We played Texas Hold’em last night after dinner. I went out real quick, but I think it was because we were playing for pride. I like to play with chips or for real money (But I lose much of the time.)

People tell me that I have lost weight. I can’t really see it myself, but I know I have been sticking to my workout routine of weights and walking. Three times a week I speed walk (or chicken walk as someone mentioned to me, LOL) 6 km. In between those days, I lift. I also get in 50 to 100 sit-ups a day, plus I cut down on bread (that’s my pitfall because I love bread).

Ladies and gentleman, children of all agessssssss, get ready to rummmmmmmmmmmble. Really just Tammy. She’s my sister, and she’ll be arriving in Israel on Saturday -- finally. I plan to take a few days off from work in order to properly welcome her back.

Although I want to spend as much time with her as I can, I know that she will be very busy (but I feel as if I have a brotherly duty). She is also bringing me goodies from the states. A hug would be better than all the stuff. I miss her and Alexis. My dear Eema, I miss the most. I wish my dad, mom, sis and Alexis could be here. Guess we all know when that will happen.

Tov, well I think for now that’s a pretty good update. I have started thinking again about skydiving. Got some extra dough and it has been an experience I have wanted for a long time. I will let you know how that turns out. Farewell and remember to have your pets spayed or neutered. God bless every one of us.

Greetings to all of you wonderful readers, I will try to keep you on the edge of your seat for this exciting trek into Golan’s recent Aliyah adventures. I must say that the past month has not been all peachy. I will get to the sour lemons later, but for now let me share some good news.

I will be taking over the English teaching duties for the first through third grades till the end of the school year. This was because the staff loves me…and the normal teacher just went on maternity leave. This experience already has been a memorable one because of today’s event.

I walked up to the first grade classroom when I saw a little girl sitting near the door and she was noticeably sad. She wouldn’t tell me what was wrong, which is OK since I was new there and trust doesn’t come quickly. I asked her if there was anything I could do to help and she wouldn’t answer.

Then two of her friends said they would talk to her for me, which was cool with me. A couple moments later, they told me that some of the other kids were pulling on her skirt and lifting it up. I told her that I would speak with the homeroom teacher about it and they would solve the problem together as a class. She then took my hand and we walked into class together.

The next period was recess, and as it turned out, I saw the same girl picking flowers alone, so I picked a flower and told her I picked it for her. She wouldn’t accept it, and I was cool with her decision. She continued doing what she was doing when I got a tug on my shirt from her. She has just picked a flower and she wanted to give it to me. I told her thank you and I placed it in one of the holes in my yarmulke. Her smile was so bright. The whole rest of the day, I explained to the kids why I had a flower sticking out of my yarmulke.

Another fabulous moment in my life was Yom Ha’Atzmaut 2009. It celebrated Israel’s 61^st birthday…and it was a blast. I decided not to spend the holiday cooped up in Beersheva. Rather I bussed it to Modiin and then to Jtown on Wednesday. I hung out with my chevre Tuesday night…and together we saw the finale of Heroes. I am glad I made it to the last official Heroes night of this year. It was a great finale. Are any of you fans?

The next day I trekked to Jtown to celebrate Independence Day in style with BBQ’s all around. I joined a dozen or so friends on the lawn of Gan Sochar and we grilled and baked all afternoon. The Frisbee was thrown around and I managed to get in a game of hoops. Yea I still had the skills, although the two kids I was playing with were lacking a bit. It’s OK because I wanted to be with my friends. We stayed until dark and then I walked to the bus station to catch the bus home. I was seriously tired and passed out on the ride home-- usual for me.

Another bright spot in my life was my roommate finally telling me that she can’t live with me anymore and she was moving out. To tell you the truth, I don’t really give a hoot what happens to that ungrateful weirdo. In the beginning, I was like yea let’s split the rent, save a bit and also help a fellow oleh chadash, but soon afterward I noticed she had some very weird habits and she was not open to conversations about her behavior.

She has a thing about picking the absolute worst times to pick a fight. Like 7 a.m. or 1 a.m. when the landlord is sleeping. If any of you know what dafuk is, that is her. After I moved her water vaporizer on top of the cabinets to save space on top of the fridge, she LOST it. Good thing she lost it first because as a rule I don’t hit girls, but she was really asking for it. If I had lost my cool, someone would’ve been knocked the frak out.

Anyhow…now that that nightmare is almost over…I can get back to having my own place, and not see that bitch around again. There aren’t many people who get under my skin, but she was one of them and now I am FREEEEEE. I will be glad to go back to how it was, before she and her flea-infested cat moved in. What an ungrateful person. After I found her a great job,, which is the only reason she has the money to do anything these days, she behaves like this. What is wrong with her? HEHE everything.

Well, that just about sums up the last couple of weeks. All in all, I must say all was peachy. Just a little rotten spot on the side, and I am about to pick it out and toss it to the alley cats. Let them choke on her.

First things first, happy Passover to all of you. It is a time of reflection on our past as a people and another opportunity to thank God for his gift of the Torah to us.

As much as I would like to start out sharing about Passover, I have yet to share my experiences from Purim and the days that followed. I must say I have tried to remember items to mention here, but because I didn’t write them down, most are gone. Nevertheless, I believe they will come to me as I begin my flow.

Purim started very nicely for me. At the school I teach at, they had a Purim costume show and day of fun. There were some adorable creative costumes as well as some cross dressers. I didn’t really have a costume until I arrived at school.

I had planned to be the Guy in the Yellow Hat, from Curious George, but I couldn’t find a hat. Therefore, when I got to the English lab I looked in the dress-up box and found a karate uniform and green belt. So I was Karate Kid in the end, including the bandana too. It was cool. I thought ‘Why not use it all holiday because there would not be anyone in school to use it. Why waste a perfectly good opportunity to practice my paint-ons, paint-offs, wax-ons and wax-offs?”

Just like every year, I traveled to Hashmonayim for Purim this year. It’s totally worth it because it is like being immersed in the holiday there. I heard the Megillah (Book of Esther) at least five times during the entire time I was there. My friend Shimon read it most, if not all of the times, and he did a marvelous job. It’s not an easy read, but he said it gets easier as you get further in the text. All I know is that it would have taken me hours to get through it, and that’s without translating it. OK maybe I’m exaggerating a bit, but it’s no Tuesdays with Morrie.

After Hash, I made it to Jerusalem for Shushan Purim. Shushan was the capital of Persia at the time that the story of Esther took place. And it is the day that folks in Jerusalem party by dancing and singing in the streets -- blocking any cars and trucks from passing.

Standing at those intersections is an atmosphere that is so joyous that everyone moves to the beat of the crowd. It doesn’t hurt that pretty much everyone has a drink(s) and other paraphernalia on them. Some of the costumes I saw were a Care Bear, Smurfet, Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf, Owl Exterminators from outer space, kings and queens, Robin Hood, Austin Powers, Cookie Monster, a chicken, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and of course an owl for the exterminators to exterminate.

Upon arrival at work following that weekend, we were told that in a couple of days Ehud Olmert and the Minister of Education were making true on their promise to visit to our school. This bit of news was received with excitement and pride from the staff, and preparations were set in motion. Everything was organized and cleaned so that their access could be easier. Boy, was that the understatement of the year.

The day came and even getting onto the school grounds was a problem. I had to provide my identity card and explain who I was. I set my things up in the lab and made my way over to the teachers’ lounge to warm up my croissants. Lo and behold, they tell me that no one is able to enter the teachers lounge and the center part of the school.

No 4^th, 5^th or 6^th graders or staff were being allowed in unless they were part of the chorus that was going to sing and play for our ‘guests.’

I took that with a grain of salt, but I was also getting frustrated inside. It hit a moment as my adrenaline was flowing. I wanted to go pee. Of course, if I said I had to pee, then they would tell me to go pee in the kid’s bathroom. Therefore, I said I needed to go poo, hehe. The guard told me to go in the kid’s bathroom. I told him to let me in to use the teacher’s facilities…he wouldn’t. So I called the principal to get special permission to be allowed to go pee.

It wasn’t just me either. The guards were confiscating everything from children’s rulers and scissors to swabbing teachers’ hands for signs of explosive residue. With kids crying, and teachers’ anger and frustrations I really felt like this great opportunity for our school to feel included in their visits was lost.

We felt as if we didn’t deserve to listen to what they had to say, and so we were like second class citizens. What chutzpah? Don’t get me started on how much money they spent to prepare and carry out this special day. I am sure thousands upon thousands of shekels were wasted, but what more can you expect from our government. I hope that this new government will change the way things are run, or at least not be worse.

As far as now, I am on Passover vacation. Three weeks of sitting around reading, cleaning, playing with the kittens, playing golf, traveling, sleeping, eating matzah, burning discs (which I never have the time, cause my burner sucks), making origami animals, painting and playing with my new basketball. I am reading the Kite Runner, and so far it is very good. I have gotten good at making origami panthers, swans and elephants. If you’d like one, let me know via email. I will do what I can.

I just had a Seder at my Aunt Rachel’s house last night. Her two kids Gil and Sigi were with their families. But missing was Erez and my mom. Erez is Rachel’s youngest son (my age), and my mom is my mom. It was Sigi’s daughter’s birthday the other day, so I bought them all books in English as a present.

In the family tradition, when one grandchild has a birthday then all the grandchildren get presents. I think it is a great idea, because it gave me a reason to spoil someone. I got Roni a cat in the hat book, Fox in Socks. It has stickers and it is also an English learning tool. The teacher in me always sneaks out.

For my other ‘cousin’ Tamir, I bought It’s Not a Box in English. It’s a cute book and the pictures are basic and amazing at the same time. We ate so well. I ate three matzah balls in my soup, and we had lamb, two kinds of chicken, rice, potatoes, spicy peppers and bottles of wine. I didn’t drink really, unless you count Coke. After dinner the kids searched for the Afikoman--it was cute. I was taken home with a dish full of leftovers. I was psyched, because it meant that today I would be eating mmmmm mmmmm so well. And I did J

So for now that is a good update…and there will be more because I am traveling to Jerusalem either today or Friday. Once there I will hang out with my chevre, and on Monday go GOLFING with Moshe. It is going to be awesome.

In the meanwhile, everyone take care. And there is one thing I want to leave with you before I sign off……

Two weekends ago, I had an amazing experience that I had to share with all of you. The setting of this experience was our Holy City of Jerusalem. The occasion was my friend’s wedding. Ian married Elaina at Ramat Rachel on a magnificently orchestrated chuppah. There are numerous things I can share that were touchy feeling about the ceremony, but I am going to skip that and instead tell you about the bachelor party.

The setting of this shindig was Gan Sochar, which is at the corner of Ben Zvi and Bezalel in Nachlaot, with the Knesset in the background. To get the people moving, I carried the grill to the BBQ. As a favor, I asked someone to be responsible for bringing the Frisbee to the park and I was not disappointed. Who knows what is in a Manhattan? Now I certainly know. That was what I was drinking at Ian’s, and by the time I arrived at the park, I was ‘thirsty’ again. Apple vodka passed my way and there I was-- ya know groovy.

I had the bright idea to pull out the disc, and there were seconds going around. Soon enough there were five of us tossing the disc around the center of the park. Then it happens…the disc is coming my way. I react perfectly and as I jog up the grassy knoll, hand extended, it all gets fuzzy.

What I do know is that as I started to fall, I grasped the Frisbee and rolled on the ground. At the very same moment that I started rolling, I began to hear Aretha. That’s right, my phone, which was in my pocket started playing Respect by Aretha Franklin. Upon realizing what I was hearing and after that amazing ‘catch’, I started to burst out laughing. I laughed harder then I had in years, just rolling in the grass. R-E-S-P-E-C-T the moment and I did. Did I catch the disc? Who knows? Was that song part of any alarm? No., it was a purely perfectly timed coincidental moment that I will remember for the rest of my life.

I rejoined the guys at the BBQ and I was a different man. I was touched and soon enough I was fed. Some time passed and on our way back to Ian’s house we were walking up the hill. All I remember was someone telling me NOT to roll down the hill. However, I guess I heard roll down the hill, so I did.

I unsuccessfully tried to get up for about two minutes because dizziness is a hard thing to shake. Then they whisked me away to Moshe’s house for an after party bachelor BBQ. At his house, they threw on the skirt steaks and marinated chicken breasts. Now I know it was good food, because the next morning I woke up and saw leftovers on the plate. They quickly became history when I finished the steak that was on the plate.

As it turned out, as soon as I entered Moshe’s house I wanted to lie on the couch. They wouldn’t let me, so I was taken to the bedroom where I crashed out hard. They went on and BBQ’d without me and what I ate was inadvertently left. Thank goodness because that was one of the best breakfasts in a long time.

Shabbat night also was definitely a great night. Shabbat Chatan (Groom’s Shabbat) was held at Ian’s parents’ rented apartment right near Kol Reyna. Kol Reyna is a synagogue that holds services in a bomb shelter in Nachlaot. It is a great place to experience a praying atmosphere that is different from any other shul.

I made it for morning services, just as the Torah was being read. Ian was dressed spiffily and the air was filled with songs to thank God for giving us His Torah. Afterward there was a Kiddush in the lobby. There I schmoozed with friends while munching on tchulant, veggies and Jerusalem kuggle for I had a long walk ahead of me for lunch. I was walking to Rechov Palmach near the President’s home and the Museum of Islamic Arts. I was walking to Chana and Asaf’s house. They are a newly-wed couple who just got married at the same place that Ian and Elaina got married. I wrote about it in a previous entry. I brought over a fruit salad I made with strawberries, kiwis, sliced orange slices and raisins. It was a hit, just like the whole meal. They have great friends and their apartment is very cute especially for a newly- wed couple.

It fell on a Sunday and what made it a better Sunday than most was that I took a vacation day from school. During the day, I was put in charge of watching the groom. In the Jewish tradition, the groom doesn’t see or talk to the bride for seven days before the chuppah. And this was the first time that the responsibility was on my shoulders. I got to handle his phone and screen his calls for him. Fun times indeed…gotta try it!

Ian is a talented fellow. What he did was live feed his chuppah online to folks around the world who couldn’t make it. That is how my mom and dad got to see me floating around the chuppah. I took dozens of great photos for my friends’ Facebook pages. Some were especially good. I must say Elaina looked very beautiful and both sets of parents and siblings had some happy happy joy joy kinds of feelings. The dancing was exhausting; the food was super tasty as was the yummy desserts. And the chevre being there was the icing on the cake.

I awoke super early to catch an early enough bus out of Jtown, because I would have to take a bus directly from the bus station without taking my luggage home. In other words, I was very exhausted from the bussing and schlepping my bags. The next day was The Wonderful Wizard of Oz day at my school. Some of the children in the English classes rehearsed and were about to put it on for their school in English. I arrived in Yerucham directly to the theater and they ended up needing me immediately to lift and lower the scenery. So as it turned out I saw the play, but from the upper rafters. I was kinda bummed out about it. I could tell nonetheless that they did a marvelous job. I was very proud of them.

That was my wonderful fun-filled weekend story. Really, there was much more to tell but this may be the right length for my loyal readers.

2. Eretz Nehederet is a ‘SNL’ type comic show and in this clip, they satirize the elections here in Israel.

Let me think back to the last thing I mentioned in my Aliyah memoirs. Ahh I remember now…the war in Gaza. The official war seems to be finished, but now there are skirmishes here and there along the border and in southern Gaza.

In recent news developments, it’s been reported that the UN school that was supposedly bombed by Israel was fabricated to make Israel look bad. In reality, the bomb dropped outside of the school. Because Hamas used the school as a shield for their terror and then encouraged residents to take shelter there, that was the reason so many were killed and injured.

There are numerous other examples of how the enemy fabricated stories and numbers of civilians killed. Moreover, here we have stories of Jews around the world being harassed to the point where synagogues are being ransacked and diplomats are being kicked out of countries around the world such as Qatar, Turkey and Venezuela. Honestly, Venezuela and Qatar can go take a long walk off a short pier. Turkey is what upsets and frustrates me because for many years Israel and Turkey have been allies, And now their leaders are taking a stance that cannot be tolerated.

I have had some awesome Shabbats the last few weeks. Among them was one where my old roommate Nikki came down from Jerusalem to visit…and during the war. I have a lot of respect for her because she braved the situation to show that she is not afraid and won’t let the folks that launch missiles against innocent civilians stop her from visiting her Gogie.

While she was here, we experienced the sirens, While it should have been a stressful situation, it turned out to be funny. Here is the story. My current roommate and her mom were also here for Shabbat. The four of us were hanging out in the living room, when the siren went off. Instantly, Nikki and Lindsey’s mom went to Lindsey’s room like we told them, but I was out with Lindsey collecting cats.

We were near the kitchen. I heard a knock at the door to my property owner’s house, which connects directly to my kitchen. So we had a choice--either ignore the fact that downstairs in her house was an official safe room, go to Lindsey’s room or dart downstairs. We chose the latter. Although we tried to call out to L’s mom and Nikki, they didn’t hear us and they stayed in the bedroom, while Lindsey and I went to the shelter room. After the siren ended we made it back upstairs. L’s mom and Nikki were like, “Where the F*CK did you guys go?” I told them I called out for them, but apparently, they didn’t hear us. Oh well, guess it turned out OK.

The following Shabbat was spent with some of my new friends who live in Beersheva. They work for a non-profit that helps Bedouins. They are also vegetarians, but the foods we ate were so awesome I didn’t even miss the beef (although an hour or so later I was once again hungry). After dinner, we listened to Disney movie tunes on my phone and sang along to them. I never realized how many of those songs are engrained in our minds. I wish my college studies stayed in there for as long as the Lion King or Aladdin songs. If I can remember properly after that exciting evening, Lindsey and I rode our bikes back to our hood and passed the @$*# out.

I have put my cats through some trauma this week. As it turned out, Thelma was not pregnant, because for the past two weeks she was in heat. How did I know you ask? Because she would not shut the hell up. She was meowing and rolling around 24/7. It was so hard to catch some shut eye, let alone a good night’s sleep.

I am glad I didn’t have to give her a kitty abortion. I was going to but since I didn’t I don’t feel so bad about getting them fixed. In addition, I didn’t realize that to get a girl kitten fixed is way more traumatic then a boy kitten. Thelma and Louise won’t stop crying. Half their bodies were shaved so that the doc could get to their goods. When I had Raffi Taffi neutered, he was back to normal within hours, whereas both my girls were in such bad a shape for hours on end.

They were still under the influence of the anesthetic that night and to me that was creepy and worrisome. Today I arrived home to see that they were moving around much better. But Louise has this problem with Thelma. She wont stop hissing and beating up on her. To stop Louise, I raised my voice to her, but now that I am not home, I am sure she is continuing with her ill behavior toward her sister.

I have kept to my routine of tutoring kids in Lehavim. Due to the war I took a break because I felt that unnecessary trips into the danger zone should be avoided. Because of this I probably lost about 1000 shekels. But I have my life and that is worth way more.

Last week I went and afterwards went to visit my cousin Sigi and her family. I had a good time playing with her kids and catching up while she fed me schnitzel.

Mondays are very long. From 7 a.m. until 10 p.m., I am out of the house -- a nonstop day. But when I rake in the dough, it becomes worth it. I earn enough from tutoring to pay my entire rent for the month, which means the rest of my teaching salary goes directly to my savings and other bills. I have even started a savings account, I had just better just keep it out of Bank Hapoalim…they lost $750 million this past year.

On the girl front, that chicky I mentioned in my last post turned out to be a flake. She wanted one thing and that was to be waited on hand and foot. Sorry babe, but I have self-respect and don’t feel I need to be everything to someone. I expect that there should be a sense of independence and self-reliance before I can commit to caring about someone. So I am back on the hunt, and feel there is another right over the hill. Just have to keep on trekking and the right woman will come along.

We are at war. It is not just a war against the terrorists in Gaza; rather it is against a biased media and anti-Semitic leaders of people. People like the pope, Iran’s kookoo, and many other foreign leaders of nations. It makes me so angry how the world turns its shoulder to the ILLEGAL activity of Hamas and accuses us of war crimes…accusing us of being the Nazis of 2008, and comparing Gaza to concentration camps.

I think the last thing anyone wants is another atrocity that was WW2. Yet here we are, having missiles rain on a million potential innocent victims of Hamas’ terror campaign. What is truly wrong with these folks? Have they no shame.

Unfortunately, they don’t, and their values and morals are as straight as Clay Aiken. I really feel sorry for those truly innocents that are being killed in Gaza, but those that survive will have to give a strong second thought as to whether they really believe Hamas is best for them.

Look at the pictures folks…your home is wrecked. You are living in poverty and there are one million of you. Start valuing life and not death and maybe you will see that the next generation finally can say proudly that they are from Gaza.

The war has hit pretty close to me. And except for the first night, I still sleep like a baby at night. That night I dreamt a missile was on its way to my house. I ran and ran but couldn’t find a place to hide. After awakening, I felt very disturbed. Ever since I have been trying not to think about it, which is except when I hear the air raid sirens. When the sirens ring my heart beats faster, my mind goes into timer zone and I have one minute to find shelter. Usually it happens while I am at home, so that means I have a minute to round up Thelma and Louise and Lindsey finds Willy.

We huddle in her room (furthest from Gaza) and cover our heads with blankets and something stable…like my arms wrapped around my head. That’s when I speak to God. I tell him that I am thankful for all he has given me, and I pray that he allows me to continue living. I know it may sound silly for me to say I talk to Him, but during those moments where you know your life could end in a moment and you're scared…having a conversation with your Maker is very soothing and comforting. I can not imagine what is must’ve been like for the people of Sderot and Ashkelon who have been living with missiles falling on their schools and houses for eight years. And they don’t have a minute to find shelter…they have 15 seconds!!!!!!!! As a result of the missiles raining on so many other citizens, there is a feeling of togetherness with other Israelis who have had it way worse than we have in Beersheva. God bless this nation of Israel!!!!

All in all, I, my family and friends have all come out OK. With His help our boys and girls will be back home unharmed, and our lives can continue peacefully. May the sacrifices of those brave soldiers pave the road to success in this mission to dismantle the infrastructure of the terrorist organization that is Hamas.

This entry isn’t all sad and weepy. There has been a recent development in my social life. I have met an amazing woman named Sivan. We have much in common and we have been talking by phone a lot this week. Because of the war situation we haven’t been able to go out or anything, but over the phone we have awesome conversations. I met her at a national English teacher’s convention here in B’S. I don’t want to spoil anything so I will stop there, tsfu tsfu tsfu. Do you all know what that means? It’s like knocking on wood, but since that is a reference to Jesus, we Hebrews spit three times. Hehe, gotta love being a Hebrewman.

Everyone have a peaceful and restful Shabbat. I will be spending my Shabbat with my chevre in Modiin. Shout out to Moshe, Nikki, Ian, Shoni and Eynat…Fraggles in the HOUSE!!!!

I am still feeling the after effects of the missile that landed so close to my house that I felt the shock wave. It hit last night around 8 or so…and my nerves weren’t calmed until at least bed time…like 12ish. Because of the near hit, my roommate and I made a plan for where we would be when the next siren was heard. We are going to huddle in her room with all the cats…and wireless internet. It’s not because we have internet that we are going to the room, but because it is the furthest away from the direction from which the missiles are coming. That was the directive given to us by Homefront Command. Four more hit Beersheva while I was at work, and I was a bit nervous about returning home. Thank God that I am safe and my friends and family are safe. Postings will follow, once they are known here, although it has not been all bad during the past week.

I will take this opportunity to tell you about my mini-vacation from the Chanukah

break. I took a bus to Jerusalem and luckily, I wore my winterish coat, instead of my OSU jacket because it was darn chilly in the Holy City. My friends, Ian and Dovid, were having a Chanukah BBQ. I spent my three-year anniversary of making Aliyah in the company of my very best friends, and with the third candle of the menorah I realized that in my heart I knew that I will stay here and make Eretz Israel my home. The facts speak for themselves. Stats say that of the Olim who remain for the first three years, the likelihood is that they will stay in Israel. I feel in my heart more Israeli every day of my life.

The next day I hopped on a bus to Tel Aviv, aka the white city. I was there to visit my fellow Beit Canada oleh Alex. He is from France and he is one of maybe a dozen Olim who have stuck out the three years. In other words, we are good friends. We hung out for a bit…then I helped him move to his new apartment on Jabotinsky Street. As it turned out it was right near my friend Shanin’s new apartment. I went to visit her in the evening. We caught up a bit, ordered some burgers bar and watched a movie. The next day I hijacked a bus and took it back to the Holy City. It was a big day.

Thursday was the day my good friend Chana Wortzman was getting married to Assaf. The wedding was in Ramat Rachel, which overlooks the valleys near Jerusalem. I saw some awesome friends at the wedding and shouted out to Amberlea, Joelle and Anne. The bride was magnificently beautiful and her smile told the whole story. The ceremony was very nice…late…but nice. Just kidden Chana J I would have to say that the music was good too. I found myself on the dance floor a couple of times while leaving winded. Good thing the whisky was flowing…I was shwilly. Leave it to the cab’s to drive me around town. I got to the fishbowl just in time. Ian was just finishing with a meeting of sorts and so then, we watched two or three episodes of Quantum Leap on his giant movie screen. Gosh, I liked that show…anyone else?

I returned to Beersheva Friday and felt like passing out for days. I was truly exhausted from running from one place to another. Thelma and Louise were sooo happy to see me. I could see the sadness in their eyes as each one hopped on my lap for rub time. That was the longest they had been without me. I know they are just cats but I felt guilty.

Now as I type, Louise jumps up and quickly passes out on my lap, preventing me from getting up for anything. Good kitty.

Saturday for lunch, I ate at my Cousin Orit’s house. It was her birthday and Chanukah at the same time. That means she gets a lot of family to visit her and wish her well. I saw my aunt Noga and cousin Polly. I also got to see Joy. She is Polly’s niece and she can tear up a rug. On Sunday, there was an ETAI national teacher’s convention. Opportunistically for me this year’s convention was being held in Beersheva. I managed to meet some new friends and see an old one. I decided to cut the day short, due to Red Alert sirens. Therefore, the last two days of vacation I spent at home with the kitties, and intermittingly taking cover in the bomb shelter.

I found I have prayed to God more times this week then in the whole year last year, even more. I truly thank The Almighty for everything there is in the world, and for letting me live, because I want to live.

What I find myself thinking about most at this moment is the tragedy that occurred in southern Israel Tuesday -- the bus accident near Eilat in which at least 25 Russian tourists died.

They had come to Israel to enjoy a warm vacation away from their chilly homeland and what greeted them was an eighty meter chasm off the side of a winding highway.

It was determined that the cause was driver negligence and road rage. As it turned out the driver of the bus that crashed wanted to pass another bus, did so in a non-passing area, and careened through the guardrail.

Poor souls…and it hit me this morning when I was in morning prayers with the 6^th grade boys. The teacher praying with them said, after prayer was finished, to be thankful for waking up healthy and intact and not to be bothered by petty arguments that they usually have.

I started to think how I don’t thank God enough that I am who I am and that I am healthy and happy. I then became overcome with tears and excused myself. No one saw me, but even if they had, I would not have been embarrassed. It is that empathy and sensitivity that make me who I am, and I thank God for that. My prayers are with the families of the victims, and that the injured be spared and receive a full recovery.

I can’t help but think how in the hell did the driver get hired to drive a private tour bus in the first place. I read that he had 22 prior traffic violations on his record. And that is normal for someone who has been on the road for 20 years?

Ironically, the driver came out of it with minimal injuries. Tell me that is not (expletive) up. It’s no wonder traffic accidents are the number one killer in Israel. Not terrorism, not crime and not even drugs, but normal driving and the lack of common sense drivers in general have in this country.

I just don’t get it, and perhaps I never will. I have seen some idiotic drivers on the streets and so my question is where are the cops? They are walking around town writing parking tickets and God knows what else.

As far as I am concerned, they are certainly not doing their jobs and as a result, every pedestrian and driver is put at risk. I think I need to start thanking God every time I step foot out of my house and am able to return in one piece.

Therefore, I ask that everyone who reads this posting please say a prayer for the families of those injured in the bus accident and pray that they make a full recovery

IT’S OFFICIAL!!!!!! I am now a member of Israel’s driving public. I found out today that I passed the road test, and now I just need to get behind the wheel of a car and dddddrive. All day today I was walking in the clouds with a smile on my face…probably because I had a feeling there was no way I could’ve failed the test. Therefore, the question of the day is…who is going to let me drive their car? Not everyone at once please. Even though I don’t have a car…it will be nice to have the option to drive if anyone needs me to.

This past Shabbat was a pleasant one. I was invited to my Aunt Rachel’s house and there I ate with two of her three kids and their kids. It has been a long time since I spent an evening with them. While there, I had an opportunity to see how Thelma and Louise’s brother is doing. He is also very adorable, albeit a bit of a scaredy cat. We are now in the process of looking for a good home for him. If you have any suggestions please let me know.

On Shabbat afternoon I went to my Uncle Yossi’s house and there I saw cousins I hadn’t seen in quite a while. Little Agam was there…and I got a chance to hold her. She played with my beard…hehe. So overall it was a great Shabbat, and all while I was visiting family…many of my downloads finished. Among the completions were Sicko, Boston Legal series finale, the latest Simpsons, among others. In other words, I have some good things to watch this week.

Well, I am on my way to getting my Israeli drivers license. Last week I had two lessons with a private school in order to practice my driving skills before taking the actual road test on Friday morning.

I hope the DMV tester is not a jerk and does not find the littlest thing to fail me in order to feed his pocket. I have heard some expensive stories about how people have to take the test repeatedly while each time paying the equivalent of $100 per failure. All I have to say is, “It best not happen to me or I may go postal at the DMV.” Not seriously of course, but man do I not want to get (expletive) by another Israeli bureaucracy . Updates will follow as I learn them.

This past Shabbat was very enjoyable and relaxing. I have to thank Simon and Shalva for making the trek to Beersheva to visit me. They are the first friends to visit me and stay over for Shabbat. That makes two straight Shabbats that I kept and actually went to shul (synagogue) on Friday night or Shabbat morning.

Simon and Shalva are religious and usually go to pray on Shabbat, whereas I normally do not. I was very impressed with the insides of the shul. It was full of Sephardim and I felt at home there. It turns out that Simon and I found two seats near the Bimah and he began to do his thing as I observed the atmosphere.

Lecha Dodi was something to behold. A different member of the congregation passionately sang each verse. When they finished, I thought to myself, “Wow, that was sung so beautifully and I was thankful to have witnessed it.”

We returned home to the amazing and inviting smell of dinner, but we waited a bit until our hunger was at its climax. I was starving, but I did not want to spring dinner without reflecting on the synagogue experience.

For dinner, I prepared roasted chicken thighs with cloves of garlic, rice and peas. We had hummus, red cabbage salad, olives, sweet pickles and mat’bucha. The salads before the hot grub were a great idea because they were just so good. Shalva brought a pecan pie for dessert. That was the first time I ever ate pecan pie and whoa what have I been missing. Simon and I ate a slice along with Tinskies Single Malt shots. All that while playing chess.

After four or five games, I believe we split them. Shabbat lunch’s menu included sweet pepper marinated chicken breasts with roasted potatoes and onions. Again, more compliments for this happy camper.

Both of my friends really took to Thelma and Louise. Or on the other hand, was it the other way around? Either way, both were relaxed and taking in a restful Shabbat. I am looking forward to more visits in the future. After all, I cook tastier foods when I am cooking for others.

So come south. As David Ben-Gurion once said, “Wisdom goes with south. It is written: Whoever seeks wisdom, south he shall go.” Who are you to argue with the greatest prime minister Israel ever had?

It has been a while since my last entry, definitely not due to little going on rather just that haven’t sat at the computer for a long enough period of time to jot down my thoughts. What happened this past weekend is what caused me to sit my tush down and gather my thoughts electronically.

This past weekend was official Turkey Day Celebration time. I think I ate my yearly quota of turkey…and oh was it worthwhile. Due to an illness during the second part of the week, I was feeling very weak and lethargic. What the doc ordered was lots of breasts (turkey) and rests. I actually didn’t go to the doc but if I had, I am sure that is what he/she would’ve said. So I left work early Wednesday and didn’t go in on Thursday. I was not able to teach at all. In fact I had a hard time keeping myself composed. But with the prospect of going away for the holiday, I stayed as positive as possible.

My trip started at the Beersheva bus station. I, of course, went ahead in line to the place where the bus actually arrives. Standing on the “road,” I eventually crept onto the platform. Behind me were 10 other people who had the same idea. Meanwhile 30 or so people in line pushing toward the bus with me in front led to somewhat of a squeeze. I was literally squeezed to the point where my backpack nearly fell off my back. All I could do was go in the direction of the push (We had to get out of the buses path).

Most of the pushers were soldiers and their free rides. I managed to board relatively early and got a seat right behind the driver. I consider that fun…absurd, but fun. In Israel the fun starts as soon as you step out of your house. That is one of the many reasons why I love Israel.

I spent actual Thanksgiving at Malka and Randy’s house in Mevasseret-Zion. MZ is a neighborhood of sorts near Jerusalem. It is where some Knesset members are said to live. On the way to their house I got lost, and as it turned out their phone wasn’t picking up. What to do?

I called Ian who lives in Jtown. Asked him to sign on as me on Facebook and leave a message on the wall for Malka or Randy to call me. I had to do that twice which sucked, but it worked. I arrived and the first thing that made me happy was the smell from the kitchen as I entered their home. Stuffing, turkeys, mashed and sweet potatoes…oh it was good.

That night I met a few people who were fun to be around and whom I got to know. I stayed over that night and the next morning I helped them move to an apartment five minutes away. I had two turkey sandwiches that morning for breakfast and a midmorning snack. I was so fatigued, and not fully recovered from being sick; I just made sure I didn’t over-exert myself.

I got to Jerusalem on time and as I approached the bus stop a big fancy bus pulled up with a number in the window. It was the number of the bus that was supposed to pass Hashmonayim but not stop. I asked the driver to assure me that was the case, and he said he would make a stop. I was like cool, so I got on and tried to pay him for the ride. He said that I didn’t have to pay because he doesn’t take money at the beginning of the trip, but rather at the end (and only if you go into the place where he ends his line).

I walked from the bus stop and arrived about an hour before Shabbat. I began to feel the warmth of her hold even though it was quite chilly. Shabbat was going to be a day of rest, reflection, friends and food -- lots and lots of food. Right before dinner I had a great appetite, so we bustled over the Greenspan’s house.

Once there I helped set the tables because no one can eat on a table without any plates. Soon others joined in and before you know it, all of us are sitting around the feast laughing, eating and having a great time.

After dinner I was completely and totally stuffed…like a turkey. Don’t eat me!!!! I was the first to leave after dinner, which meant I had first choice of beds to sleep on. I chose wisely and slept as if it was no one’s business. When I woke up I decided I was going to go to synagogue, and not just because that was where lunch was being served. Rather it was a special Kiddush for Shimon and Dena’s new baby girl Miriam. She had been born the week before.

I sat front and center so as to be close to the Torah when she was being read. As it turned out the rabbi called me up for an Aliyah to the Torah. I can’t remember the last time I was called up to the Torah, so I was a bit intimidated. I pulled it off quite well. After all I didn’t have to read from the scroll, rather just say the blessings of starting and ending a section of that week’s section.

The part that was read while I was up there included the story of Yakov and Eisav, the twin sons of Yitzhak. It told of how one was a good son and the other not so good. They grew up in an area surrounded by seven wells…aka Beersheva. Also throughout the section Eretz Canaan was mentioned numerous times as to the place that was meant to be for the descendants of Avraham and the future Jewish nation. I felt awesome afterwards…and sometimes I feel as if I should go to shul more often on Shabbat. But only the future can tell that.

After Shabbat, I took a walk through the Yishuv and what I found was a stable with four horses. I managed to pet a horse without getting my hand bitten off. After that I went back to Shimon’s house and crashed. I woke up ready to say goodbye to Shabbat and to my friends. As it turned out I got a tremp (ride) straight to Beersheva. It was super duper lucky to get a ride from Hashmonayim of all places straight to my home town.

I pretty much had a marvelous and spiritual Shabbat/holiday, one which I will think about for a long time.

This holiday for me has been a time to reflect on the previous year’s choices and behaviors. All in all I can say I have not made bad decisions, yet there are a few I feel that could’ve been handled a bit more thoughtfully. One choice that sticks out in my mind as one I could’ve handled better was how I transitioned from my previous job as a preschool teacher to my current job teaching English. I gave two days notice to my cousin that I was leaving her preschool, and now I know it was incredibly unfair to do that to her and her husband. Thank goodness their situation didn’t spiral and they found someone to take my place.

As a result of my impulsiveness our relationship hasn’t been the same. They had a right to be mad because from the time I moved to Beersheva to that moment they supported me by giving me a consistent job where I was wanted and loved. Yet I turned on them as soon as a better job came my way. The truth is that I have wanted to stand on my own two feet financially, yet as long as I worked there I knew that wouldn’t be possible. So in the best interests of my Aliyah and my personal and professional development I knew I had to move on. I can say that now a month later our relationship is on the mend. Hopefully this New Year will bring forgiveness and understanding for both sides.

For all of you who didn’t know, my birthday was last week. Yes it’s true, I am officially 32. I am not sure what I expected from this milestone, but as it turned out it’s just another year on my belt. I am still very young at heart and I love it.

The day of my birthday came this year on the actual day of Rosh Hashanah. I was at my cousin Sarit’s house in Herziliya. There I was surrounded by Sarit, Edon and their two girls Joy and Yali. Polly and her two boys were there too and at the stroke of midnight, they came into my room with a tray of candles. The candles were in the shape of a big 32 and they sang happy birthday to me. THAT was unexpected, and it warmed my heart.

The next day we went to the Tel Aviv harbor for lunch. I had a tasty burger and a Murphy’s lager. After lunch, we strolled in the mall and before I knew it, Polly and Sarit had bought me a couple of shirts. I told them they didn’t have to, but they said that birthdays are much nicer when you get presents. I told them that just being around them on my birthday was present enough for me.

The following day I returned to Beersheva because my aunt Rachel was having a surprise birthday party for her at a restaurant in town. The whole family was there, And what made it a better party was karaoke. The food was OK, and I got to spend time with Ron and Gil, even though they were super tired. As I was walking out they asked me to come up to the mike and there they also wished me a happy birthday. Lovely for me.

Thelma and Louise are starting to feel quite comfortable in their new home. I have begun to let them run around the apartment while I am not there. So far they haven’t disappointed me by peeing on stuff they shouldn’t or chewing on wires they shouldn’t be nibbling. I don’t think they will. I found them a big box, and I cut holes into them so that they can have a climbing play area. So far they really like it so there is another cost saving play idea that I have created for a kitty.

What’s kind of weird though is how Thelma nurses Louise. I knew I took them from their mom a bit early but for one to nurse on another is a bit unusual. I have been told that it can be normal and is a bonding experience for them. So I have decided to let it slide for the time being, but here and there I still separate them. I still won’t let them in my bedroom especially when I sleep. That is due mainly to the fact that they won’t calm down while they are in there. They climb on my closet, wrestle with one another, meow meow and meow some more. Maybe next month I will try it out.

I have given them two baths since I have had them. Mainly I did it because of their fleas, which they had when I first got them. Now they don’t, but the shampoo smells really good and they do look so much cleaner after it is done. Today though they really didn’t like it…too bad ha ha ha.

Both jobs have been going really well. The full time tutoring job in Yerucham is getting better and better every day I go. The children are really good and we have a good rapport. I think that has gone a long way, because I heard from the education coordinator that the principal wants to see me on Sunday to discuss my advancement to a full-time English teaching position. Honestly I am not sure I want it, mainly because it won’t mean a bump in pay rate. But it will give me valuable experience in lesson planning and future job stability. Sounds like I need to make a pro and con list.

My editing job is also going quite well. I feel like I am a part of a very well thought out and effective team. The editing is a bit redundant, but occasionally there are opportunities to understand pedagogical reasons for the lessons. So I am sure there is also room for development in this field..

Thank God I have been relatively healthy for the past few weeks. No sprains, no strains, no fevers, no nothing…tsfu tsfu tsfu. I have begun to take speed walks with my cousin Yitzik three times a week and on the off days I bike to an outside weights park. So everyday I am working on strengthening my body and toning my gut. The latter is soooo hard…but I can honestly say I am in the best shape of my life…even though I have a pot (Pulp Fiction fans will understand that line.)

So next month I will be getting a roommate. Lindsey is her name and she is coming along with her Turkish Van, Willy. So far Willy, Thelma and Louise have met twice and with each visit they are becoming friendlier and friendlier. I figure by the time Lindsey moves in the cats will be used to one another and there won’t be discomfort between them.

Lindsey comes from San Fran and she just made Aliyah last year. We met through the Anglo-Beersheva Yahoo group. I was searching for an apartment in her neighborhood and as it turned out the apartment I found was literally a two-minute walk from her house. I figured in order to save a bit more money on rent; I would invite her to come share my apartment. So now instead of paying 1600 sheks for a three-room apartment, we pay 2000 sheks together. It should be nicer because now I am not so alone at the apartment. As it turned out she also got a job at the high school in Yerucham. So I am hopeful that our arrangement will be a positive one.

I think it is official now…Thelma and Louise own my apartment. They roam as they please, leave food on the floor, and choose to nibble on my toes when ever they feel like it. I have to focus now and train them to respect my authority.

This week at work flew by with the greatest of ease. So much so that it is now Sunday night and I am done for the week. HaHaHa. It’s because of the Rosh Hashanah holiday, New Years for those of you who can’t understand transliterated Hebrew. Just kidding folks. I know you all know what it is, but if you don’t, I will have to send out Thelma and Louise to nibble on your toes.

Today was actually kinda long. I jumped in on most of the available classes, and in between managed to enjoy some apples and honey. In class we wrote New Year’s cards to the children’s parents. I saw some very creative cards, all decked out with cutouts, glue and sparkles.

And before I was sent home at the end of the day, I was asked into the principal’s office. There I received a gift bag with a bottle of wine, olive oil, chocolates and a jar of honey. All very kind of them to do. I gave away the chocolate due to the cut down in well…chocolates. After all I gotta watch my cholesterol.

This past Shabbat was a nice one. I was invited to my aunt and uncle’s house, and to get there I walked. It felt very much like living in Nachlaot again, except this walk was twice maybe thrice as long as any other walk I may have had in my old hood.

On the way to their house I passed an outdoor gym. I don’t know why they don’t build more of these in the states because it was a great workout complete with the breeze and sights of a beautiful late summer evening. It had machines connected to the ground…machines that worked your shoulders, biceps, triceps, thighs and calves. I can’t say they were all in the best shape, but they were good enough that I got a great workout earlier in the week.

Instead of just taking a long 3 km walk, I walk the 1.5 km to the park. There I make three reps of 12 a machine and I cool off by walking downhill toward my house. Works quite well and who know maybe in a month or two I will have no complaints about my tummy or love handles.

Yea I have been very inconsistent with my blog…my humble apologies. I suppose the blessing in that is that then I have more interesting things to include in one entry, instead of two or three.

In this one I will include pictures of Thelma & Louise; they are kittens I rescued from certain death. They are quite noisy, and Thelma is as rambunctious as hell. Louise is mellow and well honestly, not starving herself. Thelma doesn’t eat…so that’s something I need to keep an eye on. It certainly doesn’t stop her from singing the blues. I think she misses her mom more than Louise.

I have relatives who have told me that I am nuts for taking in two cats. To a point I am a bit of a nut for doing it, but it has such a positive influence on me therapeutically that I don’t care if I made a hasty decision. I know it won’t be one that I will regret. I believe it is best for kittens to be with a littermate. The bond they shared from being born to the present is therapy for each other in this their new home without their real mommy.

Three weeks in Yerucham and I am still there. I can’t say the same for my friend who told me about the job and started with me. I have begun to feel very comfortable in my role as an English tutor. I occasionally work with small groups of children but mostly I assist the teacher in his/her lessons.

I must say that there are many disciplinary problems in the classes. Boundary testing has begun and not ended. Good for me that I stay in the role of a good cop, while the teacher does the bad cop. There are students that are coming around to being more respectful to me, but in relation to the teacher…little or none is to be seen. I feel bad for him. He knows English in and out grammatically, probably better them me, but class management is not easy when you have a few bad apples that spoil the bunch.

My friend’s mom is in from Baltimore. She has been visiting for the past two weeks and will be here until mid October. She is a very spunky mom. Lindsey asked me to be a buffer between them so that she can get some peace and quiet. I agreed, I mean why not? What are neighbors for, if not to hang out talking about the old days with their moms?

One of our adventures was to Lindsey’s cousin’s wedding. It was a religious ceremony set in the Judean Hills near Beit Shemesh (house of the sun). The surrounding area was a gorgeous setting for my mischief. Jameson please. Make it a double J I was told that I couldn’t walk straight, but I believe it was 100 percent due to the rocks that littered the ground and not my level of Jameson. Needless to say I had a blast meeting Lindsey’s family at such a blissful occasion. There were four generations of family there.

The band was also quite good. We were out there boogying till 3ish at least. I certainly don’t remember the ride home at all. But I do remember the tasty dessert. That’s my selective memory at its best.

Through my teaching job I met some folks who have created a developmentally appropriate English computer program for schools all over Israel, including my school. They have asked me to do editing work on their project. The program is very innovative for Israel, and I am excited to be a part of it. I can work from home and sending via email is a jiffy.

I met with the two leaders of the project in Lehavim. As it turned out the office is two streets over from my cousin’s house. Sigi and Uri were surprised to hear from me when I called and said I can be over in a few minutes. Instead I met them at the park where I saw their kids Tomer and Roni. Roni was taking care of a kitten she found on the playground and Tomer was playing soccer with some other boys. Sorry for the tangent folks. As you may well know I ramble J

I made some extra money tutoring my landlord’s granddaughter in preparation for an English interview she has coming up. The interview is for acceptance into a flight to NASA. It is a program only for Beersheva high school students that excel in their studies and show an interest in the program. But when you think about it, if you’re 14 and from Beersheva wouldn’t you also show an interest in a program that could give you a week’s vacation in the US? I sure as hell would…hehe. So that was 30 sheks for one hour’s work.

The miniature golf course on my balcony is quite the fun. I may have said previously how I took bricks from around the neighborhood and used them as bumpers, tunnels and sometimes the holes. Lindsey and her mom certainly enjoyed putting, and so can you…just 25 sheks for 30 minutes. 5 shek putter rental too, unless you have your own. Ha ha, just kidding.

So that’s it for now…I am sure I will do better in the coming days. After all the holidays are coming up as well as my birthday. Guess my birthday before it gets here and you get a free kitten. Contact me via email, or call if you’re local.

My vacation is over this week and I have returned to work -- not to the work I was doing before my vacation but to a new job. I have switched jobs and the ripples caused from that decision has instilled in me a deep sense of guilt and regret. The way I told my previous employer of my intention to leave was definitely the wrong way. I made a huge mistake by waiting until two days before the preschool was opening to inform them that I took another job.

But in defense of my decision, I only found out about the job a day before. I feel as if I am in the stage of my Aliyah where I must think about myself and make tough choices that will enable me to feel successful and independent. I started by moving to Beersheva, then it was working with my cousin at her preschool for little more then minimum wage. Getting comfortable working in Hebrew and having confidence in my ability to still work with children was tough at first. Ella and Hagai supported me in so many ways while working for them. They gave me a steady job surrounded by a marvelous staff…and what do I do? I completely backstabbed them. I feel horrible about it, and rightfully so.

But when I look at the whole picture, I try not to be so hard on myself. I have a job tutoring English to elementary school kids in Yerucham. I have been told that they want to groom me into a full-time teacher, and with that there is an opportunity I didn’t have with Gan Ella. I am getting 40 shekels an hour now, which by the way is more then I earned at my last American job. And it is double what I earned at the preschool.

So now I have an opportunity to start saving for real and perhaps doing things that I have wanted for a long time. No, not repay my college loans, although I will little by little. Rather I will be able to AFFORD my apartment, be able to travel overseas eventually, perhaps buy a car in the future. At this stage in my Aliyah I finally feel financially independent. I just hope I didn’t pay too steep a price to get here (pissing my family off). I just have to have faith and believe in myself. Then my life here will not feel like Survivor Israel.

Also last week, I decided to finally go to the doctor about my achy knee. She set up an appointment in two weeks with the bone doctor, and she gave me a prescription for this lotion that makes my knee feel better. While I was there I also asked to have a blood test. For some reason I have been feeling as if I needed one. I eat healthy and I work out, but it never hurts to be sure. Well I got the results back and I had two items that were of concern. It was my LDL cholesterol and my regular cholesterol that were higher then normal. I have no idea how to lower their levels.

I asked my friend Lindsey to Google it and she came back with some alarming information. She told me that I need to change my diet and eat more foods with fiber. But when I think of fiber I think of nasty, dry, shitty tasting crackers, but to my surprise there are foods high in fiber that I like but don’t eat enough. Fruits and vegetables have lots of fiber and so I think I will go shopping soon for bananas, apples, EV olive oil, beans and oatmeal. And I will cook more fish and less red meat and chicken.

I have also introduced Lindsey to the art of rock painting and I must say she is a big fan. At first she painted a rock of her calico cat, then the other day she made a doggy, but with a red cap as in Little Red Riding Hood. While she did that I finished my rat, caterpillar and snail. I am now working on a gecko and a clam with a pearl, even though it’s the oysters that have the pearls. I have decided to give them to the staff at the preschool as an end of the year present. I must start keeping the rocks if I want to start selling them, but I think I like giving them away to friends too much.

I am in the midst of a two-week vacation from work, and I am so wiped out. It’s not that I climbed the Hermon, or swam the Yarden or hiked the Negev , but I did travel to Tel Aviv for three days.

I stayed with my cousin Polly in Ramat Gan, and from there I planned my break from the desert. First thing I did was get to the Mediterranean. At Hof ha’Tzfoni I found my friend Alex waiting for me asleep on the beach, so I dropped off my bag and went into the water. It was 10:30 on Tuesday and I was feeling the waves pass over me. Then a sudden acute pain began and I realized that the sunscreen that I had put on my face moments ago leaked into my eyes. Luckily for me I was in waist-high water, so I stood up and fought the pain. Eventually my eyes regulated to the feeling and enjoyment of being in the ocean amongst the fishies.

Even though I applied and reapplied cream to my arms, legs, chest and sides, I still managed to get burned, the worst beong to my back, chest and shoulders. I couldn’t even lay on my back or chest while falling asleep. I had to sleep on my side. This was made worse because I was sleeping on a child-size bed that was too short for my height. Aloe visited me often and was so soothing. I promised myself that when I returned to the Mediterranean to swim, I would wear a T-shirt. I owe it to myself not to ask for skin cancer, tsfu, tsfu, tsfu.

After returning home and cleaning up, I went into town to meet an old friend. Odelia and I met at a rooftop party last year, and since then we've stayed in touch. I was at her birthday last year at the Tel Aviv harbor. It was a fun gig where I met some very cool folks. This time we met at Spagettim, an Italian restaurant if you didn’t guess from the name.

I knew it wasn’t a kosher eatery but when I saw spaghetti with a pepperoni sausage topping I became convinced. I stayed away from that dish, but did get Pollo Rosso, a red sauce with eggplant, garlic, mushrooms and parsley that was amazingly tasty, especially with parmesan cheese. Odelia and I had an amazing conversation about many subjects. She is an intelligent, well-spoken woman and it was really nice to follow her thoughts.

After dinner she walked me to the bus stop and I went home to reapply aloe and rest in the AC. But it turned out that when I got to the apartment I wanted to watch TV. I turned it on and lo and behold…USA BASKETBALL.I was rockin, especially because my cousin wasn’t there and I could cheer properly instead of quiet yays. Of course we won. In fact we went 8 and 0 and earned the gold medal in the Beijing Olympics. I found it hilarious that Michael Redd was on n the squad. It was certainly nice to see some Buckeyes earning gold medals. Kinda wish Israeli athletes won some…but maybe in 2012 in London.

Then it was on to Moshav Mattityahu, which is near Hashmonayim. I was there to visit Sidney and Shira Shapiro who were visiting from Canada for a month. My archeologist friend Amanda was also there. Now she is in Montana …missing you. We looked at their wedding video and wedding pictures. There were tons of pictures from disposable cameras that had been dispersed on the tables. I must admit the pictures of me turned out pretty nice( I was so pissed drunk on the video, but in control (always)). I gave them an original bracha from the heart, and in Hebrew.

In other words it was nice to sit with them and remember what a great time it was and to catch up since the wedding. In the morning we went to the new Modiin mall. It was a beautiful building with lots of natural light. Huge walkways and a diverse store set up was a positive in my book. As a matter of fact there is a picture of my friends Amanda, Sidney and me with Shira taking the picture. Tell me what you think.

From the mall I caught a bus to Jerusalem. Once there I immediately went to my friend Nikki’s house to visit my old roommate and her cat, Moe. We sat down for a few to catch up and then we were off to the shuk. We were there to buy meat for the BBQ that was planned for the evening. We’re standing at the butcher and Nikki says we want 300 sheks worth of meat, wings and breasts. At that moment I knew that I would not be going hungry. We also bought some other stuff like salads and pita. I carried the heavy stuff like it was my business.

After leaving the shuk, we met Moshe and Ian outside of Nikki’s apt. “Long time no see,” I said. They said, “We see you now.” It was one of those things…soon enough we would be partying. So I left to go to my friend Shanin’s house to unpack and rest for a couple of hours before the BBQ. I won’t go into details of the party other than to say we went through 14 kilos of wings, 6 kilos of chicken breast, countless hotdogs, and a dozen steaks. I must’ve eaten many many parts of chickens that night. Sorry, no harm no foul.

I woke up next morning, said my goodbyes and took off for the central bus station. With my luck I arrived at the platform about two minutes before the direct bus to Beersheva (1.3 hours) left. The express bus takes almost two hours to make the same trip. So I was LuCKy. I even got a good seat with no one next to me. Room to stretch is a commodity on an Egged bus (Gotta be Israeli about it.(

I hurt my knee while walking. I woke up with acute pains in my knee. I was able to walk but with a noticeable limp. I was really concerned when it got swollen. So I made a doctor’s appointment for Thursday morning. I will ask for X-rays and an examination of the knee so that I can satisfy myself that all is OK. I just have a feeling that my knee will need surgery.

It all started when I was about 11 or 12 and riding my bike with friend Adam Rosenberg. I was making a jump when a truck came around the bend and ran right into me. My left knee was wrapped around his Jeep’s front bumper. He stopped and I managed to untangle my knee.

What I should’ve done was call the police or go to the hospital. I didn’t and because of that I possibly have been living with something growing in my knee. Seriously I am not sure what will happen but I will keep ya’ll updated.

Today I went with a friend to Yerucham, a community about 28 km south of Beersheva . I accompanied Elana to Beit Yakov elementary school. As it turned out they were hiring English tutors for the upcoming school year. They are dying to have me work with them. The principal practically offered me a job on the spot. Doubling my current salary is the best part. They said they want me as much as I can give to them, so that’s mullah in my pocket.

It’s a no-brainer, right. I like the staff that I work with now and I will be missing the kids, but I think that I can’t live my life in order to not let someone else down, because in the end I will just let myself down. This opportunity is a door that can open to other opportunities such as a full teacher position, education coordinator…on and on and with increased income. Hopefully I can figure out when will be the best time to break the news to the happy contestants. It’s the SHOWCASE SHOWDOWN.

Can anyone tell me how Drew Careyis doing on The Price is Right? I can’t pick it up here in Israel. Did you all know I was on the Price is Right when Bob Barker was the host. Yup there I was third row behind the contestant’s row. Can anyone say, “Tangent?”

So there are some items on my menu that need to be dealt with and some that I am saving for dessert. Updates are sure to follow.

Not much has changed since my July 22 entry. I have finished two rocks, one new froggy for Eynat and for me a blue polka-dot sting ray. Both came out very nice considering I haven’t picked up a brush in at least a month.

I also have started creating my putt putt course on my deck. I have been scoping out brick piles around the neighborhood in order to create a boundary for the holes. With the size of my deck I figure I can create three to four holes. I am not sure if I want to get carpeting or just go with what I have. The tiles are pretty loud with the real golf balls, but with the plastic whiffle golf balls, it is not as loud. So that decision will come later on. And I thought I wouldn’t get any use of my golf clubs in Beersheva. I was even thinking of taking my driver to a couple of balls…I mean I am right on the border of the desert…so why the hell not.

During the past two weeks it has not been all fun and games. I actually have done some work. I created my flier for English tutoring and now I need to post them in proper places in the neighborhood. School starts here on September 1, so that week before school I plan on plastering the fliers on bus stops, near the post office, on the school’s campus and at the preschool.

Speaking of preschool, I have been given a large responsibility for the new school year. I will have a set time each week to teach English to the preschoolers and toddlers. Today I started creating topics of study such as family, food, animals, songs, colors, numbers etc. I racked my brain to recall songs, but that has proven to be the most difficult part. Oh how I wish I was in the States and able to get materials from there. A few CD’s with children’s songs and riddles would be just the thing I need. Guess I will figure something out…always do. At least I have Debbie’s Ditties to plan around. She has had a huge influence on me and I am thankful I was able to work with her at the Columbus Jewish Community Center.

I have been offered kittens from my Aunt Rachel. I have decided this time to get a brother and sister combo, in the hopes that having two siblings will lead them to live longer lives. I have already thought of two sets of names but want more ideas. If you want to help, email me your ideas (Golan.Canaan@gmail.com). Mine are Tom and Jerry & Pink Floyd. I’m still in the early stages of thought, and since the kittens won’t arrive for a month or so, I have time.

The kittens are of the black and white variety. I have yet to see them, but I am sure I will be there this week to check them out for myself. I still have the collars from Raffi and Kelev so I am sure they will become the new kitties’ collars. I knew there was a reason I saved them all these years. I have also decided to build them a scratching post. My inspiration for building it is from The Cats’ House by Bob Walker.

I have to mention this because it absolutely boggles my mind and it will blow yours too. I have a 1993 model Toshiba TV set in my apartment, and I wanted to hook up a coaxial cable to it in order to -- I don’t know -- watch TV. To my amazement when I checked out the back of the TV I couldn’t find a place to put the cable. I mean it doesn’t have a place to hook up the most basic of cables but it does have a place for RCA S video, and extra sound speakers. What kind of retarded TV do I have?

So now I am contemplating giving the TV back to my neighbor and living with no TV. I mean it won’t be that hard…I have plenty to do without the boob tube sucking out my life. I have dozens of movies and TV series on discs and my external hard drive. Well my computer won’t recognize my external hard drive due to some sort of malfunction. Hopefully that problem will be fixed when I go visit Moshe on Monday.

Did you all see the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics? I was awestruck at the skill and precision of so many of the 90,000 participants. I was afraid I wasn’t going to see it at all, but last night as my family and I were eating Shabbat dinner the TV here replayed it especially for me. (Hehe) Well not really but why not say so? The drum sessions with the lights were awesome, as well as the unwinding scroll.

Those folks dancing on it and drawing at the same time…whoa!!! Then while the kids were painting the scroll there were those guys surrounding them doing Tai Chi…How long did it take them to get that just right…must’ve been umm four years or so (LOL). Then to top it all off, the running man who ran around the stadium in flight…simply spectacular. I am glad my family isn’t religious because then I probably wouldn’t have seen any of the ceremony.

Currently I am fasting because of Tisha b’Av. What the means is that on the ninth day of the month of Av throughout the Jewish people’s history there has been death and destruction always falling on that day. For example the First and Second Temples were destroyed on that same day. So to commemorate it, Jews fast 24 hours.

I can’t say for sure if I fasted last year or the year before that, but this year I am fasting. It is the least I can do. It will help that tomorrow is a half day at the preschool. Later in the afternoon I have a date with a friend of one of the moms from the school. She has a friend in her law office who wanted to meet me (guess she heard some good things about me J

We were initially supposed to meet tonight, but she called earlier and told me that everything would be closed for Tisha b’Av, which is right. It just totally slipped my mind when we planned it. It’s all good though.

Where do I start? I have moved into my own apartment…my first in Israel all to myself.

The search was worth the hassle, because the apartment I found is really a diamond in the rough. It is the second floor of a villa that is literally a three-minute walk from my work. I found it through protexia (like most things here in the Holy Land). I asked the parents from the gan where I work, who live in the neighborhood, to keep an eye out for available apartments. And as it turned out one of them came through for me in a big way.

The apartment has two big bedrooms, two huge second floor porches, a large living room, full kitchen, great bathroom (with a bidet). The best part is the price. It’s a steal for the neighborhood I live in (Ne’ve Noi). I pay 1600 sheks a month (about $485) and that includes all the water, electric, property tax and cable TV as well as being fully furnished. The only other expense I have is gas, which is dirt cheap.

Most of my family here told me that I was paying too much…blah blah. Then they saw it and they were like how in the hell did you find it? I’ll take being lucky any day over being good.

I have been slowly making it homier, by adding necessities like a fridge (thanks Rachel), an oven, a kumkum, and of course my cat collection. I haven’t hosted anyone yet, but that will come soon. After all it is no fun cooking for one all the time.

I have also started to paint again. In my old apartment I had no space to spread out my materials, but here who is going to tell me to pick up my paints…no one. I have also met a fellow American olah who lives 2 minutes from my house. So we go bike riding together and hang out from time to time watching movies.

Work is also going well. I have been thinking about getting a second job, maybe in the evenings. What will be best I think is creating an English chug. A chug is best translated as an extra curricular activity. I have so much space and love working with kids so I think it is a perfect match. I just have to advertise it in the neighborhood and get some referrals. I am also on my way to doing some private tutoring. Hopefully that extra income will allow me to do some more traveling. This has been on my mind for a while.

I just finished hosting my cousin who made aliyah last week. I am proud to say I am not the only American Zionist in my family. Way to go Becca…and let me know if there is anything I can do to help your absorption go smoother. Becca was so kind in bringing me two sets of new rollerblade wheels and bearings. I mean what is wrong with this country in that you can’t find a decent set of wheels and bearings for a reasonable price. Thanks again cuz.

To end this update I wanted to send a shout out to some folks I miss very very much and want to let them know that they are always on my mind.

“When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace.”

What has been up with me of late? Well I’ll start off with what happened to me for the fourth time this past Sunday night. Yup you guessed it…my bike was stolen. Not from somewhere public or remote, but from right in front of my apartment door on the fourth floor of my building.

I was angry again, but instead of holding it all in I went to the neighbors and asked if anyone saw anything suspicious. Looks as if I lucked out because one of my neighbors gave me a description of a guy who was acting suspicious on our floor that same night. He had knocked on my neighbor’s door and asked her for a cigarette.

She was a little scared so she threw him two cigarettes and closed her door. After a few minutes she peeped through her peephole and noticed it had a piece of paper over it. When she opened the door and looked into the hallway, my bike was gone.

Fast forward to my vigilante moment à I was on my way home from work and was crossing the parking lot in front of my apartment building just as a guy approached me and asked if I had a cigarette. Of course I answered him “No.” Then it hit me. I remembered what my neighbor had told me about the thief. He had a short, thin build with red or light brown hair. He had a Russian accent and was scruffy look.

I asked him if he lived in the neighborhood and he answered “No.” I decided to tail him and report him to the police. At first I thought the dispatcher was pulling my leg. She told me to go up to him and ask him his name. I said WHAT!!!! I told her that I would stay on the line till an officer met up with us. And soon enough a detective in plain clothes grabbed him as he was crossing the street.

My neighbor went to the police station today to ID him. I am 100 % sure it was him. The cops at the scene were a bit more skeptical about my decision to call their attention to him. Just wait and see coppers. (By the way…What’s a penny made of? Copper - Moshe that was for you.).

I’ll try to keep you all updated as I become more updated. My search for a new apartment is ongoing. At the moment, paying for a new bike just isn’t in my budget because I’m saving the money for a new apartment search.

This past Monday I traveled to Jerusalem to meet up with my friend Adina. She came to Israel as a staffer on a Birthrighttrip and extended her trip to visit with friends. Before she came she asked me if there was anything I wanted from the states. There was one thing that jumped into my head…Sweetarts. You know them, you love them. Ahhhh so good. We hung out at a café in Machane Yehuda Shuk, and then we walked down Yafo road to chill. I also treated her to Shalom Falafelon Bezalel, and then I got her a cab so she could continue her visit to family up in the Carmiel area near Haifa.

Then I met up with my best friend Moshe and then Shalva and Simon to eat dinner. We were going to eat at Burgers Bar, but the line sucked monkey nuts. We then migrated to the New Deli. Was it a good decision? Hell yes. I had scrumptious pastrami on dark rye. Took me back to the days of life back in the states. Oh and Ahuva joined us at the last moment. Don’t want to leave her out. After dinner we went our separate ways and Moshe dropped me off at the bus station. I made it home early enough to still get a good night’s sleep and thus here I am today.

By the way here are some web sites I have found entertaining and thought you might want to visit. Let me know what you think!!!!

Here I am on the day I work a 2:30 to 5 shift. I really think that I should either be given the whole day off or I should be given additional hours. But on the topic of work (while I am there) it is going rather well.

We have been learning about Shavuot. Shavuot falls on the 6^th day of the month of Sivan and it commemorates the day that the Jewish people were given the Torah from God. The date of Shavuot is directly linked to that of Passover. The Torah mandates the seven-week Counting of the Omer, beginning on the second day of Passover and immediately followed by Shavuot.

This counting of days and weeks is understood to express anticipation and desire for the Giving of the Torah. On Passover, the Jewish people were freed from their enslavement to Pharaoh ; on Shavuot they accepted the Torah and became a nation committed to serving God.

Akdamot is a liturgical poem extolling the greatness of God, the Torah and Israel that is read publicly in the synagogue right before the morning reading of the Torahon the first day of Shavuot. It was composed by Rabbi Meir of Worms, whose son was murdered during the Crusadeof 1096. Rabbi Meir was forced to defend the Torah and his Jewish faith in a debate with local priests, and successfully conveyed his certainty of God's power, His love for the Jewish people, and the excellence of Torah.

Afterwards he wrote Akdamot, a 90-line poem in Aramaicwhich stresses these themes. The poem is written in a double acrostic pattern according to the order of the Hebrew alphabet. In addition, each line ends with the syllable "ta" (תא), the last and first letters of the Hebrew alphabet, alluding to the endlessness of Torah. The traditional melody which accompanies this poem also conveys a sense of grandeur and triumph.

Sephardim do not read akdamot, but before the evening service they sing a poem called Azharot, which sets out the 613 biblical commandments. The positive commandments are recited on the first day and the negative commandments on the second day.

Dairy foods such as cheesecake and blintzeswith cheese and other fillings are traditionally served on Shavuot. One explanation for the consumption of dairy foods on this holiday is that the Israelites had not yet received the Torah, with its laws of shechita (ritual slaughtering of animals). As the food they had prepared beforehand was not in accordance with these laws, they opted to eat simple dairy meals to honor the holiday. Some say it harks back to King Solomon's portrayal of the Torah as "honey and milk are under your tongue" (Song of Songs4:11).

Each of the five books of the Tanakhknown as Megillot (Hebrew: מגילות, "scrolls") is publicly read in the synagogue on a different Jewish holiday. The Book of Lamentations, which details the destruction of the Holy Temple, is the reading for Tisha B'Av; the Book of Ecclesiastes, which touches on the ephemeralness of life, corresponds to Sukkot; the Book of Esther (Megillat Esther) retells the events of Purim; and the Song of Songs, which echoes the themes of springtime and God's love for the Jewish people, is the reading for Passover.

The Book of Ruth(מגילת רות, Megillat Ruth) corresponds to the holiday of Shavuot both in its descriptions of the barley and wheat harvest seasons and Ruth's desire to become a member of the Jewish people, who are defined by their acceptance of the Torah. Moreover, the lineage described at the end of the Book lists King David as Ruth's great-grandson. According to tradition, David was born and died on Shavuot.

According to the Midrash, Mount Sinai suddenly blossomed with flowers in anticipation of the giving of the Torah on its summit. Greenery also figures in the story of the baby Mosesbeing found among the bulrushesin a watertight cradle (Ex. 2:3) when he was three months old (Moses was born on 7 Adar and placed in the Nile Riveron 6 Sivan, the same day he later brought the Jewish nation to Mount Sinai to receive the Torah.

For these reasons, Jewish families traditionally decorate their homes and synagogueswith plants, flowers and leafy branches in honor of Shavuot. Some synagogues decorate the bimahwith a canopy of flowers and plants so that it resembles a chuppah , as Shavuot is mystically referred to as the day the matchmaker (Moses) brought the bride (the Jewish people) to the chuppah (Mount Sinai) to marry the bridegroom (God); the ketubbah (marriage contract) was the Torah. Some Eastern Sephardi communities actually read out a ketubbah between God and Israel as part of the service.

The custom of all-night Torah study goes back to 1533 when Rabbi Joseph Caro, author of the Shulchan Aruch, then living in Saloniki, Greece, invited his Kabbalistic colleagues to hold a night-long study vigil, in the course of which an angel appeared before them and commanded them to go live in Eretz Israel.

According to a story in the Midrash , the night before the Torah was given, the Israelites retired early to be well-rested for the momentous day ahead, but they overslept and Moses had to wake them up because God was already waiting on the mountaintop.To rectify this flaw in the national character, religious Jews stay up all night to learn Torah.

Any subject may be studied, although Talmud, Mishna and Torah typically top the list. In many communities, men and women attend classes and lectures until the early hours of the morning. In Jerusalem, thousands of people finish off the nighttime study session by walking to the Kotelbefore dawn and joining the sunrise minyan there. The latter activity is reminiscent of Shavuot's status as one of the three Biblical pilgrimage festivals, when the Jews living in the Land of Israel journeyed to Jerusalem to celebrate the holiday.

For the children’s sake we left out much of the above rather focused on the association of Shavuot with milk products (i.e. cows). We are going to make our own cheese this week, they colored pictures of cows and added straws to the bottoms to make their beds, we also crushed wheat to make our own flour. The children really enjoyed this activity…so much so that they carried out more flour making to the sand box with all sorts of materials. I photographed them to send to parents. There are a few songs too that are part of our celebration and the kids love it…so it seems that we are doing our jobs.

On a personal note…I shared a most marvelous experience with my very good friend Sidneyand his new wife Shira last Thursday…yup their wedding. It was held in the moshav Shira grew up in called Mevo Modiin. I must give a big thank you to the Shapiro family as well as the Herzberg families for making this Simcha one that I will remember for many years. Shira you looked amazing in your dress and Sidney you looked quite the stud in your suit. The ceremony was unforgettable…as was the dancing on the tables. Do you remember that part? Amazing I do J

I managed to get out of there with one bruise…and that was from falling into my bed at the end of the night…great timing Gogie. All in all t’was a marvelous time and I wish only the best in your adventure to great white north…a.k.a. Toronto. You both will be missed by many…ahh thank goodness Facebook wasn’t banned in Canada.

That Friday I jumped over to Modiin to spend Shabbat with my three best friends, Moshe, Uncle Traveling Shoni and Dudu Fraggle Eynat. They have given me the nick Gobo…leader of the Fraggles. So now I have Gogie, Gogs, G-Funk, G, Gobo, Golan, any more I am forgetting? Email me!!

Tangent over…Shabbat was great. It was the first time I have seen Shoni in months, because he was overseas from before Passover. It was nice to have the chevre together again. We even played this game called Bendominos …and if anyone is thinking about purchasing it…I HIGHLY recommend you NOT buy it…it is so stupid and confusing. Just settle for a nice set of regular dominos. Your guests will thank you.

Well right after Shabbat I had to bold back home to Beersheva in order to work in the morning…so we couldn’t bond over BSG but perhaps another time buds. Yealla then hope you all learned a thing or two about me and Judaism as a whole and till next time.

Two entries in two weeks…I am on a roll. And it seems like being on a roll is all due to The Secret.

The reason I say this is because of my recent visit to my Aunt Rachel’s house. She just returned from California and she brought some goodies for me. I wasn’t expecting goodies. I just wanted to hear about her trip and tell me about my mom and her experiences in California.

While we sat on the couch I started telling her about what has been going on with me. Whether it was that I was looking for a new apartment or an additional job in the evening, or how it is difficult to meet new people. She told me how I should stop using the word difficult and instead use easy. Her words of advice did wonders.

So I started to get my ass in gear. I started thinking positive and because of it I got a whole lot done. For instance I went out and finished 90 % of my driver’s license. Now I’m just waiting to take the road test. I’m thankful that this was one of the easiest if not the easiest process I have gone through in my Aliyah process.

Starting the process without expectations was a key I believe. What also helped was the fact that my Rotem’s ex-girlfriend’s mom worked in the BMV so waiting in line was a nonfactor for me. I mean I entered the office, took number 527 and they were servicing number 450 at the time. So I might’ve been waiting till hell froze over, but instead protexia got me in and out in less then 10 minutes.

I also got a call about another teaching job. Berlitz called me and wanted me to come in for an interview. I am sure they don’t pay too well, but for the time being I feel like it can be a good thing.

After work on Wednesday we had the preschool Lag B’Omer picnic. It was a wonderful time filled with drum circles, art booths, cotton candy, pita making, dancing, singing and of course funny little people being cute and supervised by moms and dads …hehe. At the end of the evening we started our bonfire (medura) and ate potatoes that we pulled out of the bonfire. A marvelous time was had by all.

Upon arriving home I noticed the UEFA Champion’s league final was on TV. I am a de facto fan because of Nir and Rotem and their obsession of European soccer. So I sat and tried to watch but it was borrrrring. I actually fell asleep in the second half and when I woke up it was still 1-1. So I figured, it’s 12 and I smell like a bonfire…I am going to sleep. I later realized that it went into penalty kicks after an extra session and Man United won 6-5 in the penalty shots. So I was glad I went to bed because otherwise I would’ve been up till 1 or 2.

So I feel like things are getting better and with that I know the positive flow of energy will carry me to a better path. Aren’t you all glad you’re a part of it all?

Well if I left you on the edge of your seat regarding the eventual outcome of the Maccabee Euroleague games…don’t bother…we lost. Second place in the league isn’t that bad considering we weren’t the best team in Israel. Guess we’ll have to look forward to next season. I am on the edge of my seat for NBA playoff action and MLB games. I check them out as often as I can on the boob tube (we don’t get free cable anymore, because our pirated version got noticed by HOT).

Some great familial news that I would like to share with you is that there is a new baby in the family. Agam Israeli was born to Orit and Yitzik Israeli two Saturdays ago. She weighed in at 2.5 kilos of cuteness. She was very whiny-understandably, right…but she has since mellowed out. Agam in Hebrew means lake…so Israeli lake is her name…very pretty.

My cousin Nir has gone to milooim for the month of May. Milooim is the month of reserve duty that soldiers do after their initial release. He didn’t feel like going but that is what life is like here. Lives interrupted in order to protect us. G-d Bless all the Israeli soldiers.

People are living on the edge here…not necessarily near me, but in Ashkelon and Sderot. There citizens live in fear that the next missile will fall on their house or their mall. It stresses me out because I feel for them. Who knows…within a year or two maybe the missiles will make it to Beer Sheva. Hopefully before that time though we will flatten any and all of Gaza in order to prevent that from happening.

Last week we celebrated Israel’s 60^thbirthday. I should look this good at 60. It was filled with visitors from afar, as well as our home-grown “leaders.” Bushy Poo was here creating traffic jams and causing aggravated citizens to walk 20 minutes out of the way just to get home. Not me of course, but I know a few friends who have complained and not that quietly. I busted ass to get up to Jerusalem on Wednesday night before the traffic jams and aggravations.

But before arriving in Jtown I stopped in Mevasseret Zion . It is a suburb of Jtown and it is there that my new friends Randy and Malka live. They made Aliyah in January from NYC. They knew my Cincy friends Josh and Melanie Silver. So we hung out a bit and then I made it into town. I arrived at my old apartment just in time to see Gila and Aviva depart for Tel Aviv festivities.

All good but I wasn’t leaving my favorite place to celebrate independence…. Ben Yehuda Street. I was accompanied by the Captain( Morgans) and Nikki. Both are great walking buddies. Rivka also met up with us but then left with Rochel. Niks and I hung out a lot at the main stage at Kikar Tzionbut then moseyed over to Kikar Safra. There were dancing circles all over the place and when they tried to organize one big circle for traditional dances…all hell broke loose and I got out. I was pretty hammered thanks to the captain…but not hammered enough to circle dance J

We must’ve gotten back to the apartment around 2ish, and it was that early because the next day would be a long one too. It was BBQ day at Gan Sochar.

The BBQ in the park was amazing. First the Captain accompanied us along with 100 lbs of dead animal. Seriously there was some good eats. There were about 70 of us there…and everyone had their brand of intoxicant. I had the usual…and if you know me then you know what that was.

Some of the activities we participated in were Frisbee, football, hacky sack, kicking ass and taking names. There were so many absolutely rude and annoying Israelis that think that they have the right to boss all of us Olim around. If it wasn’t throwing out blankets to the side it was cursing us out for preserving such a large space. And what took the cake was this jerk with his family. He got offended that we were tossing the football near him and his family.

Now I work with kids and I understood his concern for their safety and I expressed it to him. But he was so incredibly stubborn and agitated that he decided to take my ball and threaten to keep it. Of course since I am such a passive and kind person I went over to apologize for whoever threw the ball in their direction. He decided to charge me and attack, like a freaking bull.

Never mind that his kids were crying hysterically that he was so loud…but he thought he could boss me around. As he charged me I backed up, because naturally I was a bit tipsy and didn’t want to waste such a great day dealing with the cops. So he decided to throw the football at me. Hehehehehe first Israeli’s can’t throw a football for their lives. So naturally I wasn’t feeling threatened too much. And luckily for me I had a Frisbee in my hand, because that was what I was playing when the argument started.

Needless to say I blocked his throw and when he got angry that he missed he decided to leg sweep me. And guess what he got me. I admit it…his leg touched my leg. But he was so drunk he wiped out. I just picked up the ball and went back over to my game WITH my football. All was good when I called the cops over. And as we approached the place where they were sitting we noticed how they were picking up and running. Funny how he couldn’t own up to his idiocy, but because he chickened out and ran I had a good laugh. All in all it was a great Yom Ha’Atzmaut.

This week at work has been an interesting one. I have these new awkward hours and all in all they have been cut. One reason is due to the return of another staff member from maternity leave and another reason is because of the low enrollment in the preschool. But I still have to work on Sundays, albeit I start at 10…which means I still can’t take long weekends to Modiin or to Jerusalem. That is where I am coming from now…Hashmonayim .

That is a neighborhood of mostly religious folks and that is where my friends Shimon and Dina live with their cutie daughter Aliza. It was a very relaxing Shabbat that consisted of darn good food, great friends, winning poker games…and last but not least Hashentaushens. Need I say more?

I have just made the last bus from Jtown to home…and I am realizing that I haven’t eaten since 3 pm and it is almost 11. I am STARVING. And the gum I am chewing just isn’t cutting it. On a side note…this is why I love Jtown. So me, Ian and Rivka were taking the Connex bus back to Jtown from Modiin and at the bus station we saw two other friends from our chevre, Yonaton and Sarah. And while on the bus Rivka noticed her cousin was sitting behind her…and a minute later a young woman standing in the aisle stared at me and we recognized one another from when I was living in Nachlaot . She was my neighbor. So we talked a bit to catch up.

Those coincidental run-ins are what I love about living in that area when I did. I totally don’t have that in Beersheva. I miss my friends terribly and feel like we don’t have the same quality bonding time that we used to before I moved. Regret…it is a word I don’t think about because it is a pessimistic word…but in my heart I regret moving away. I am an adult though and I need to stick to my decisions.

And now I am off to search for a new apartment, because the roommates I have now have decided that I am not a good match for them to live with. I mean basically I feel the same way…but I was willing to stick it out since one was my cousin. It’s better in the long haul to live on my own. At least then I don’t have someone nagging me about a few plates in the sink, or a weekly dusting, or any other anal need they may have.

Again I don’t want to use regret, because I enjoyed the time I lived here. But I am from a different generation from them and it comes through in many facets. My skin has gotten tougher while living here. Good thing.

I am adding an entry to my Thoughts page. It is a poem I wrote that describes a little about how I have been feeling of late. It was sometimes tough to describe in prose, but I feel like my intentions will come though. I hope you all enjoy it. And as I like to do at the end of these entries…here are some web sites I feel you all should visit.

Passover vacation is now officially over sad to say. I had my first day of gan in over 10 days…and I can’t believe how much the children have grown since before chag. It just shows how quickly children develop mentally, psychologically and most noticeably physically. Well, since you all generally know what it is like in preschool in the states, I will tell a bit about what I have experienced since preschool was let out on April 17^th.

April 17^th was a Thursday and since I had unmentionables I decided to invite my cousin over to my house to play some video games. I decided not to go out and drink mainly because the place my roommates went to was mostly a dance club and not a regular old bar, which I prefer.

Friday was the last day to clean all the Chametz from our apartment. So naturally I mopped the floors and well that’s it J At night I ate Shabbat dinner at my aunt Rachel’s house. It was a fun time as usual. Saturday night was Pesach Seder and we ate at my cousin Orit’s house. Orit is 8.5 months pregnant…woohoo. I became a bit aggravated after dinner because everyone began to play dominos and I was left out. They don’t normally let me play because they say I don’t know how to play…arghhh. So instead I went inside and played on the computer.

Sunday, Monday and Tuesday my roommates and I were supposed to go camping in the north. Unfortunately that didn’t come to fruition, primarily because we didn’t have a car big enough to take us and all the camping gear. So instead I did absolutely nothing.

By Wednesday I was sick of doing nothing and decided to go visit my friend in Ashdod . I spend a couple of hours at the mall and while there I made some arts and crafts, which I think was meant for kids. But I thought it was also fun. While making my craft, I witnessed a horrible accident. A mom with her stroller was coming up an escalator and all of a sudden the stroller got stuck and tipped over. The mom saved the infant from falling but the grandma wasn’t so lucky. An ambulance was called and they took her away. I think she was in shock, but guess they know best.

Well I eventually got to the bus and traveled to Hof Yigoolim in Ashdod. It was a beautiful beach and thanks to Karen and her friends I had a great time. After Ashdod I bussed to Tel Aviv to meet my old Beit Canadaroommate Alex.

I also called my friend Yoni who lives in Rechovot . He is now here from the states for a few months trying out Israel. He is contemplating making Aliyah. I told him to consider it well because he is a Katin Chozer (returning minor) and that means that the Aliyah process would be a little bit trickier for him then for regular olim.

Since it was Pesach and beer and shots were out of the question we trekked to the beach and hung out at LaMer, a restaurant and bar on the Tel Aviv beach. We split a bottle of vino and ate some tasty salads. We even had a nugilla. All of a sudden it was 3 and it was time to make it back to Alex’s apartment. Yoni decided to hang out until the taxis started up again at 4:30 but I crashed hard. I was dead tired.

On Thursday I had a whole day to burn until my friend Jenn got off work. So I went to the Dizengoff Mall. There I roamed around from store to store because I had never really been there (maybe once on another trip to Israel I ate at McDavid’s. Now that was gone and in its place who knows? In one of the stores I bought some little ceramic kitties…one for 15 sheks and 3 for 40…so I bought a mommy one and two kitties. They look great in my collection of cats. I also bought some tasty incense sticks.

Because I had more time to “burn” I decided to visit a museum which was literally next door to the mall. It was called The Etzel Museum. The museum introduced me to the history of the Irgun Zvai Leumi(National Military Organization). During the 17 years of its existence, it fulfilled a historic role in the struggle to end British Mandatory rule in Eretz Israel and pave the road toward re-establishing Hebrew independence and statehood. The Supreme Commander of the Irgun was a man named Ze'ev Jabotinsky. Food for thought because in every city in Israel there is a street that bears his name. I must say my visit was quite enlightening and I am really glad I saw the street sign that told me I was a block away from it, otherwise I wouldn’t have been aware of the museum’s existence.

After my trip down Israel’s history I made my way to my friend Jenn’s neck of the woods. Jenn is an old friend from the days of my time spent in Cincy. She was the hip friend of my friends Josh and Moshe. She was the first to turn me on to the Cranberries. Here is a link as an example of their music.

So instead of going to a restaurant to catch up, we went back to her apartment and talked there. It had been at least 7 years since I last saw her -- and that was in Kentucky. She whipped up some burgers and chips…and boy did they hit the spot. We did the regular how is so and so, where are they now, who’s married, You know, all those things you talk about when you haven’t seen someone in so long. It was there I again saw the movie Parenthood-- truly is a great movie.

So the end of the evening came and I made my way back to Alex’s house for the night. He is such a great friend…in the room in which he lives-- maybe 10 feet by 8 feet--he offered his bed to me while he slept on the floor. In the morning he told me that I spoke in my sleep…and not just a word here and there but sentences. I find that hilarious and would love to listen to myself while doing that.

So as it turned out my spur of the moment idea to hop on a bus and get out of Dodge ended up being a great trip to see new friends and old friends and learn something new about this wonderful nation of which I am a part.

Upon my return to lovely Beersheva, I have settled back into my routine. Preschool is great as usual. We have been celebrating and teaching the children about Israel’s Independence Day called Yom Ha’Atzmaut, and spending lots of time dancing and singing traditional songs. I am so glad I work with the little ones because it is fun.

Last night was my cousin’s birthday party and dinner. Kinneret turned 14 and for her birthday she received just about the best present in the world. Victory in the Euro-leaguesemi-finals for the Maccabee Tel Avivbasketball team.

It was such a great atmosphere at the house. I mean who would delay Shabbat dinner to watch a game on TV. That’s my family and I am sure there are many more families like that around Israel. The game was not looking to good early on -- trailing by 18 at one point in the second half. Then we started sinking the threes. All of a sudden we were winning and all hell broke loose.

Great time indeed, especially because I called it. I knew who should be in the game and as soon as the coach listened to me the tide began to turn. My family couldn’t believe it. I could barely believe it. So now we meet the Moscow team that features Trajen Langdon from Duke. Gosh I hope he chokes. That game is next Friday night and it looks like another Shabbat dinner/basketball game is in my future.

I guess I will leave you with some great web pages I have come across in the past few weeks…I highly recommend you check them out if you want to be amazed.

I must start by sharing a quote with you. One that describes what I have been going through these last few months at work……

The reason I like this quote is because it describes my day-to-day work with the children of Gan Ella. I work very closely with the children of my gan “preschool” without much brouhaha from the world around us. It’s the smiles and laughs that keep me entertained and coming back for more (plus a paycheck doesn’t hurt). Here are some pictures of the children in my group. They are angels.

A couple of warm Mazel Tovs to my friends who have just gotten engaged. Chana and Assaf are duo # 1 and Sidney and Shira are duo #2. Both couples are retarded for one another and I know because I am also pretty retarded.

I have had two Shabbat experiences, which I want to share with you all. The first one was centered in Jerusalem. It was a Shabbat based around my friend Shanin’s birthday. She officially turned 7, but she is really 28 because she is a leap year baby

Our mutual friend Rosie, whom I fancy (to use a British term), hosted of us at her house for a vegetarian feast. I must say it was one of the best veggie meals I have had in my life. Mad props to you Rosie Sallon and all who helped her cook that marvelous meal.

The second Shabbat experience was centered in Ramat Gan. I visited my cousin Polly and her sons. It was great because upon arrival I learned that we were going to babysit our newest little cousin Yaeli. She is so adorable, so much so here is a picture of her and her phone. She would hold the phone up to her ear and walk around the apartment and babble on to no one really, but on and on. It was hilarious.

On Saturday we all woke up early and drove to the Bat Yam beach. Polly wanted to meet her friend Smady before she left for Holland the next day. Aaron, Polly’s younger son, convinced me to enter the cold as shit water. I mean 17 degrees C is COLD. But I did it and after it was done I felt as if it wasn’t that cold. After the dip we went for some grub at the beach, and after the food I was in charge of running after Yaeli…and boy was I busy. She was walking, waddling, climbing…so much so that Polly was pooped.

Later that afternoon I was supposed to meet a girl that I met on Facebook…but it turns out she wasn’t that interested in meeting me. But I did find Jen from Cincy and will meet up with her another time. It should be fun to catch up with her. All in all it was a great Shabbat.

This week has been pretty good. Gan has been fun and the children have been learning about Purim. The weather has been weird. Thursday and Friday it was in the low 90s, while yesterday and today were in the 60s. Let’s just hope I don’t get sick from all the weather changes.

Also I received some emails from folks whom I care about a lot, my Aunt Judy and Uncle Robert who live in Joysey, as well as my cousin Erez who lives in California. Miss you both lots and lots.

Why has it been so long since I have entered into my Aliyah site? The truth is that I have been lazy J but there is plenty to tell. So much so that I have forgotten much of it. Although my memory is somewhat improving do the lack of unmentionables, I still feel as if it’s now my age that is preventing my short term memory from making new synapses. So please forgive me and here are some highlights.

A few Shabbats ago we had snow!!!!!!!!!! Well not exactly me…but in Jerusalem they had snow and I because I went to visit Moshe in Modiin, I had to catch the bus from Jtown and therefore got to play in the snow for about 15 minutes. Hehe.

I went to visit Moshe because his parents were in town and it had been a long time since I saw them -- And I was due for a quiet Shabbat. As it turned out I received an awesome gift from Moshe…a trio of books all about Dexter. If you don’t know who Dexter is wow…Google it. It was originally a show on Showtime and now CBS or NBC whoever bought the syndication rights and will water it down for the masses. But I have been downloading it for free and in love. The books are wayyyy darker, thus I think better. All in all it was a great Shabbat.

I also have been to a few simchas of folks that I know. I went to the wedding of a Belgian friend of mine from Beit Canada. Alisha got married in Ashdod two Shabbats ago. The path to it was the truly Israeli experience of bus hopping, haggling with cabbies and then just making it to the Chuppah. I think it was destiny that I made it just before the bride and groom walked down the isle. Lucky me J

I also went to a Brit for the son of one of my coworkers. It was at Shalom Hall ,which is quite famous around these parts for its excellent Moroccan cooking. I ate an amazingly tasty dinner topped off with a juicy 500 gram steak. I ate sooooo well that all I could do when I arrived home was to pass the hell out. I think I even fell asleep in my clothes.

Work has been going well too. I have grown very comfortable in my role in the preschool. I have started teaching English to the kids through song and movements…and the parents have been very happy which makes me happy.

My social life has had shortcomings but I nevertheless I am remaining positive. For instance, this past Wednesday three of my best friends came to visit me in Beersheva. Moshe, Shoni and Eynat came on a day’s notice, and I had to find a kosher restaurant to feed them since my apartment is not so kosher…LOL

As it turned out we went to the Golden Goose. Some of the items on the menu were turkey testicles, goose hearts, lamb ribs…but no lamb shislik which was what I wanted. So instead I ate Denis fish. It was marvelously tasty and the best part was that I could play with my food. It was served with the head and mouth and teeth and so naturally what did I do? I cut of the head and started making funny voices while moving the mouth up and down like the fish was talking. Gosh I am funny. So that is how I will end this entry of my Aliyah experience…and thanks my friends for reminding me that I am still close to your hearts. Love you all.

Since my last entry not too much has changed, except for the weather. It has gotten noticeably chillier here in the Negev Desert. So much so that I have busted out my winter hat and Gapscarf…ooo how I love the feeling of my Gap scarf.

The past few Shabbats have been fun, so much so that I will mention them here. It all started with a Shabbat that I spent with my best friend Moshe in Modiin. I believe it was a miracle I even made it before Shabbat. That’s because I was busting ass to get the last direct bus from B’Sto Jtown and then catching the last bus from Jtown to Modiin.

Our friend Shalva was with us at his house and together we had a very chilled Shabbat. I did the most reading in one day that I have done in a while. That’s because of my buddy Moshe. He gave me a book that I couldn’t put down…The Great Train Robbery by Michael Crichton.

I love historical fiction…just like Exodus. Now I have to find another one. After Shabbat we watched the Futurama movie. It was pretty funny, but I didn’t get all the jokes because I am not the biggest Futurama fan. Nonetheless it was funny. On the following Sunday I hung out with my friends Matthew, Erica and Yoni, and Gila and Shanin. It was way nice to see them. Oh how I miss them.

The following Shabbat I spent with family in Ramat Gan. But before that I went to a surprise b-day party for my cousin Orit in Ashdod . Lots of family was there…even a few whom I haven’t seen since Orit’s wedding to Yitzik. They were mostly from his side of the family.

After the party, my cousin Polly and her mom Noga drove me back to Tel Aviv with them to have Shabbat with them and more family. Yonaton and Aaron were excited to see me…and Roberto, their father, was also happy to see me. So much so that we started a competition of sorts…i.e. backgammonand then Scrabulous on Facebook . He got me in the match to 5 in BG but I got him in the first game of Scrabble.

For Shabbat dinner, Polly’s sister Sarit and her family came to eat with us. It was so nice to see them together again and with moi. Saturday we went to the Tel Aviv portto hang out, and to have dinner. Initially we planned on leaving and eating dinner at home, but the exit from the port was something out of a nightmare on Elm Street. Absolutely horrible city planning, I mean can you imagine 1,000 cars trying to exit a parking lot with just one exit? And to make things worse…the drivers were ISRAELI!!!! J Eventually we made it back and spent the evening building Lego structures and talking.

The following Sunday I telephoned my friend Alex with whom I lived at Beit Canada. His sister and her husband were in from France visiting him. They met up with me at the Yafo beach and we went out for coffee. Then we walked through the Shuk HaCarmel. It had nothing when compared to Machaneh Yehuda in Jtown, but that’s alright. He dropped me off at the bus station and I made the last bus to Beersheva…and pretty much the last seat on the bus too.

This Shabbat I spent in Beersheva . For dinner I went to my cousin Amir’s house. Which is right around the corner from my house. It was nice there because I got to hang out with a cousin that I have a lot in common with. I got to see his mom again after a long time. She’s a special education teacher here and has lots of advice for me concerning where and how to succeed in Israel. I took lots of mental notes…now I need to jot them down. Upon arrival home, my cousin Nir came home from work and although he was beat…his friend Vitaly who brought him home convinced him to go to the club. And they convinced me to come with them.

We arrived at Baraka at approx 12:30 and stayed till about 3 ish. Afterward we went to Raffi’s, which is a late night munchies restaurant, for what else…, some munchies. When we got home, I turned on the boob tube and what did I see? A live NBA game--how cool. But I was so tired I shut it off and went to sleep.

I awoke to my uncle Raffi, no relation to the restaurant, asking me when Amir and I were coming over for lunch. So after half an hour or so of getting ready, we made it to Omer to have lunch with more family. I got to see Elana…my mom’s oldest sister, who is very sick. It meant a lot to see her and let her know I am close if she needs anything. Then we got home and I crashed from eating so much.

Woke up around 4 and soon afterwards Nir arrived with some friends. They played Sony soccer and ordered pizza. It wasn’t fun after a while to watch them play soccer, so I decided to do some painting. I finished two projects I had been working on all week. I made a ladybug for my friend Adina who is here staffing a birthright group and a sheep for Erica’s birthday. I think they both will be very proud to be the newest owners of an original pet rock by Gogie.

Work has also been nice. We have a new little girl in our group and it has been hard for her to acclimate to the group setting. Soon enough she will get used to it and be a happy bundle of joy. I just hope it is sooner then later. We have been talking about citrus fruits this week because this week is the week where citrus fruits are harvested. I have so many lemons from the lemon tree in the school yard. I even made fresh lemonade last night instead of drinking Coke with the pizza.

So this is a little slice of Gogie’s life, which I hope sweetens all of your lives. I hope this New Year brings happiness, health, success, love, and all that makes life worth living.

Please write me back to brighten up my day with what is new with all of you.

Thee past month life for me has become more and more routine. This can be a good thing or a not so good thing. I have grown and have become more in tune with the lil’people at my work as well as the staff that works with me. I have stopped taking the bus to work. Instead I’m riding my bike.

Yes I got another bike and hopefully this one won’t be stolen like the previous three were. It was given to me by a new friend of mine, who knows my cousin Erez (who now lives in California). It takes me about 15 minutes less to get to work and back and that’s great for me. Plus I get a workout of my legs.

The only tough part is dodging the freaking crazy drivers on the roads. I have been almost hit twice already. I am really thinking about staying on the sidewalks, and if it weren’t for my super hard bike seat I would already be on the sidewalk.

One issue that I feel I must vent about to all of you is my situation with Hebrew University. I withdrew from classes to move to Beersheva and to my surprise when I went to the bank to withdraw some sheks, I saw that I had a negative balance of 6000 shekels. I was shocked.

What happened was that the accounts office at the university didn’t accept my withdrawal and decided to automatically withdraw the first tuition installment from my account (how rude I thought). As it turned out my account wouldn’t let the university take the money because of an existing negative limit on my account. The bill was rejected (thank G-d).

Now I am in a paper war with the university trying to convince them that I shouldn’t have to pay the first installment because I wasn’t at the university. Hopefully all will go well.

Another issue that has been plaguing me during these last few weeks is the state of my health. It has been a slow deterioration to the point where I am in bed today with a sore throat, congested nose, headache and pretty much feeling fatigued. I believe it is due to the endless germs I have been exposed to at the gan that I work at. Every few minutes I am wiping a nose, giving a hug, absorbing germs from everyone there and finally my body just gave up rejecting them all. Very much a bummer because today and tomorrow I have off from work for Chanukah…figures.

Speaking of Chanukah, it is the festival of lights and for once I have spent it here in a new place, but surrounded with old family. I can’t say that I have lit the Channukia at all consistently, but at least it’s the thought that counts, right? My friend Elana brought over a menorah to light the first night and since then I haven’t really lit them. Really if it hadn’t been for her I wouldn’t have lit any at all so far. Thanks Elana.

Chanukah at the gan has been one continuous party with songs, arts and crafts, food, and did I mention songs. We have this CD of songs that the children love love love and I feel like it has burned in my brain. I suppose it would be nice if I hadn’t heard it a million times, inside, outside, lunch, breakfast, before leaving….ahhhh.

Wednesday night I was invited over to my Aunt Rachel’s house for suvganiyot. It was so awesome to sit around the table with family during this holiday season…an experience I really missed when I was in the states. I only wish my American family could be here too.

My cousin Ella, the owner of the gan I work at, also showed up. Her son Ron who is 2-years old is in my class and when they arrived at Rachel’s he instantly came to me to hang out. I fed him pieces of suvganiyot and listened to the family speak about how sweet it was that he came to hang out with me, instead of his mom or grandma who were also there. Guess it is the magic I have with children.

Last Thursday we had an official Chanukah party and of course it was at a place where I had to catch a bus to get to, as well as being on the other part of town (or so it seemed). Needless to say I arrived way late, pretty much in time to say hi to a few kids and parents, hand out dreideles, and eat a suvganiya (and to help take down decorations). Bummer I thought, but I guess that’s what I get for leaving 15 minutes before the scheduled beginning time.

This Chanukah also is a special one, because it marks the Hebrew second anniversary of me making Aliyah. It has given me a chance to reflect upon my amazing experience of living in the land of milk and honey while struggling with the emotions that have arisen within me.

Love, frustration, excitement, hope, regret, uncertainty -- all have entered my thought processes. And thank G-d because of the support and love of my family and friends I have managed to stay focused and positive, making it quite possibly the best two years of my life and knowing that moving here was the best decision I have ever made. True love can be a place and I feel as if Israel is my true love, even through it came with associated heartache.

During these two years I have seen numerous fellow olehs and olahs return to their countries of origin, all because they didn’t have the support system that I have formed around me. My skills set and talents have provided me with the ability to make myself feel like a part of this society and not as an outsider.

It is an ongoing process but I feel in the bottom of my heart that I belong here. The heart doesn’t lie. All in all I feel I have grown emotionally, physically, and socially since my arrival and I see it only getting better in the future. That is the HOPE at least…and hope is good. HATIKVAH!!!!

There have been numerous activities that I have enjoyed over the past month that I have not written about because of the busyness of my life. I’m struggling to remember what they are so that I can update my loyal fans around the world. I will do my best to recall them and even number them by date.

Oct. 5^th- I was invited out to the movies by my friend Rosie. We went to see The Hunting Party, which I must say was pretty good. Afterwards we went to grab a bite at a restaurant in town…if I recall correctly it was called Focaccio. I definitely remember the super tasty entrecote steak we shared…mmmmm steak.

Oct. 10^th- This day was awesome…because it was the second meeting of our Inner Child Group…in which we finger painted. I couldn’t have foreseen how much fun we ended up actually having. Many of my close friends actually showed up including Moshe, Ian, Nutty, Jessica, Baruch, Shalva, Ahuva and Rosie. I really wanted Moe to make a painting, but that didn’t happen…lol.

Oct. 11^th-The following night was game night at my friend Aviva’s house. Rosie and I attended and played this game where we make up definitions of words…and try to trick the others in the game into believing that our definition is the real one. Chaval (too bad) I can’t remember the name of the game. Oh well, nevertheless we had a good time.

Shabbat of Oct. 13^th- I spent this Shabbat in Beersheva with my Uncle Yossi and Aunt Rachael. It was very nice…especially because during this trip I was told about an opportunity that could change my life a bit here in Israel. I was offered a job working at my cousin Ella’s preschool as a lead teacher. I would be working with children aged 1.5 to 2.5 and it would be a full-time position. I told them I would think about it and get back to them. More on that later….

Oct. 15^th- This was a day that started kind of with a bummer. I don’t remember exactly why, but I know why it became better. My best friend Moshe invited me to come with him to Ashkelon to his cousin’s Sheva Brachot. It was super nice because his mom, grandma and lots of his family were there…many of whom I recognized from previous visits. Thanks Moshe, it was just what I needed…and the food was simply awesome.

Oct. 18^th- This was the day of the Merkaz Hamagshimim job fair. I was there in a minhal ha’studentim capacity, which made it kind of annoying. That’s because I wasn’t really getting paid…since I was actually paid the month before…because of their insufficient budget planning.

Oct 24^th-This day was our third official Inner Child meeting. Tonight’s activity was tie-dyeing. Instead of at my house this was done at Shaina’s house. For me it was the first time tie-dying and it was a hoot. I did two T-shirts, a wife beater for Yoni (bc he gave me his OSU cap after I fell in love with it), and a pair of socks. The best one’s outcome seemed to be my WEBN fireworks tee from three years ago…I have provided a picture of it so you all don’t have to imagine it J

Oct. 25^th- This day consisted of me chillin at home for most of the day…till 5ish when my friends Ian and Shoni took me to a gig. They were filming the Shemspeed concert at the Ma’ah’Beda (Lab) bar near the old train station in Jerusalem . My job was to stop and start the recording equipment up in the video room. Pretty simple job and I was responsible from 8 p.m. until 3 a.m. I made if without a nap…pretty impressive Gogie. Of course a Long Island iced tea or two helped. Hopefully I will get paid for my time put into the job, but that all depends whether they actually get orders for the tapes.

Oct. 26^th- This was a Friday and I was invited to Moshe’s house in Modiin . The reason for inviting me, Shoni, Eynat and Ian was because it was the final Shabbat that Moshe’s mom and grandma were going to be in Israel…till next time that is. It was a great Shabbat that I slept a ton at. I also ate wonderfully…mmmmm schnitzels and mashed potatoes…thanks Mazil.

Oct.27^th- Saturday was nice and relaxing…and after Shabbat, Ian and I went back to Jerusalem for our friend Michelle’s b-day party at Acho or acha (something). It was a good time…didn’t really drink…not really into it anymore. But I must say two friends who where there had a Mary well time…mmmmm brownies. LOL

Oct. 29^th- I spent most of the day at Moshe’s place of employment. He helped me format my computer’s hard drive because it was behaving like a little shit. Skipping and whining every time I tried to play a movie or song. Yea, well we showed him. It was nice to see how Moshe works too…or hardly actually. Just kidding Moshe J Upon retuning home I received a call from my friend Joelle and she invited me over for Mexican dinner of tacos and well tacos. It was amazingly tasty…thanks Joelle.

Oct. 30^th- This evening I made it to Moshe’s house for the weekly installment of Heroes night. It was a great episode…and the company was great too. Shimon, Dena, Jessica, Shoni, Nutty and Moshe were there. Ahh what a great time. Thanks friends for being there for me when I needed company.

Oct. 31^st- Today I finally had my old roommate’s stuff moved out of my apt. Not that I didn’t like sleeping three feet off the floor, but there was lots of other stuff clustered in the apartment that crowded me. Later in the evening my friends Shira and Ben hosted a farewell BBQ for me. It was so nice of them to host me and some friends…I totally enjoyed their company and feeding them. I made marinated eggplant and it was a bit hit…and I am actually becoming a great eggplant cook to my total surprise.

Nov. 2^nd- This was the day I moved to Beersheva . I had a pleasant breakfast in the shuk with my friend Rosie. After that I went home to finish packing a few more things. As it turned out I had two rolling suitcases trailing behind me, a backpack and a laptop bag over my neck. In other words I was way overloaded. I had no bus pass or money for a cab so I hoofed it from my house to the main bus station (which normally is a nice walk).

But with my luggage, I was super drained. Upon arriving at the bus station I noticed there was a huge horde of people crowding the entrance. I have never seen it that busy. I quickly turned on my Israeli chutzpah and created a direct route to the metal detectors. Hehe…I am such a sabra. I just stood by and observed how all the other folks just stood there waiting and waiting. I made it to the terminal and then exactly to the direct bus (had some great luck there). I arrived in Beersheva and then realized my cousin’s apartment, where I am staying, at is a five minute walk from the B’S bus station. KickAss!!!

Now my room is definitely smaller then the room I had. But who cares when I am paying a ton less in rent and have a decent job to boot. Compared to my J-town apt which was 1,300 shekels a month…this one is 470 shekels a month, and it is as a whole double maybe triple the size. Maybe now I can save some money for my travel hopes…Florida, Amsterdam, England, India…and perhaps Africa. I had a great Shabbat dinner at my Uncle Yossi and Aunt Rachael’s house along with my cousin Nir. All in all I ate a ton…and also got a lot of hand me down clothes from my auntie…clothes that were brand new practically. Currently I don’t have a closet to put them in, but that will change soon enough.

Nov. 3^rd- Saturday, I went for a rollerblade ride around the neighborhood and while the streets were totally empty b/c of Shabbat I got to ride a lot in the streets. When I returned, I saw my roommates had finally awakened after a long night of dancing and drinking. Later in the evening we went to the BIG, which is the outside mall here in the neighborhood. Mainly I went along for the company even though I was super exhausted.

Nov. 4^th- This was the first day of my new job. I work as a ganan in my cousin’s gan. I am responsible for a class of 1.5 to 2.5 year olds (12 of them). Now it has been awhile since I have worked with children this young (since the OSU child care center to be precise). So some things I have forgotten -- like how needy and whiney they are. (G-d bless their little souls).

What stuck with me most about the first day was the reception I got from one of the children who just started one day before me. His name is Elai…and when his mom brought him in and he saw me…he instantly stretched out his arms and kept saying abba, abba, abba. Which if you don’t know Hebrew…means daddy, daddy, daddy. In other words he officially adopted me as his comfort zone while in a new place with all sorts of new people. I felt touched. Now it isn’t all peaches and cream…it’s a lot of attention paying and constant moving around. I have found a very warm place to work with great children and staff.

Nov. 5^th- Today I had a pretty good day at work. There was lots of laughs and of course some cries, but overall it was a productive day. I actually closed for the first time and at about 5:30 p.m., my cousins gave me a ride home. I also ended up having to work an opening shift the next day and would have to be in the gan at 6:50 a.m. Yowzers I say…I have never had to be at a job so early…but this will be a once a week thing…thank G-d. This evening, my cousin Nir made some ravioli in cream sauce with mushrooms for dinner and we watched The Last King of Scotland…which I managed to actually finish watching.

Well now we have made it to today…Nov. 6^th. Today I actually made it to work on time at 6:50 and made it through the day. Exhausting yes, but I made it and then told my cousin I would babysit for her and her husband tonight too. So that is where I am this minute. I am watching the story of the Titanic on the History Channel. I find myself remembering this story from previously seeing it numerous times (but still watching it).

Well I bet your eyes are tired of reading my memoirs, so I will stop here. Till next time folks and hopefully not a month later like this time turned out to be. J

Happy birthday to me…along with the imaginary music I am enjoying my imaginary cake. It is my 31^st anniversary of life and probably the best present I got was a call this morning at 6:30 mind you, from my dearest sister from back in Ohio.

I am at the point in my life where presents are not what I am searching for on this day of reflection, rather I am searching for more of a connection to the people I care about. Whether it is my mom of whom I miss incredibly, my dad of whom I compare myself to consistently trying to find hidden meanings, or today Israel and how she and I can get along for me to make my life here in her arms. Next year Israel will turn 60 and for me to be now half of that…I feel like it is a time to reflect on who I am and who I want to be in the coming years.

I am a person who has left all that was comfortable…job, language, school, friends, family, routine and instead transplanted myself in this place where I struggle with the language, even though folks tell me I have come a long way, where I miss my family so much that even a 20 minute conversation with my sister turns me into a tearing brother, and self doubt creeps up on me whenever I find myself struggling to focus on my school work or on my friend’s relationships.

I believe in my choice to move here, I struggle with the consequences. Doesn’t everyone want to succeed in life? With the New Year upon us, I can’t recall how many blessings I have gotten for success, wealth, health, wish fulfillment, love etc…and as hard as I want to believe in those things…I have been alone for so long, it just feels like it is a farfetched dream…a dream that no matter how hard I work to fulfill it, G-d is still just in the crowd and didn’t bring a glove. I’m not sure if that analogy made sense, but who cares…

In the past month things have been pretty good…I have found a new job, part time cleaning a medical research lab, I still have a roof over my head, and I see I have amazing friends who are there when I need them, even if it is a midnight chat outside their apartment. I have become interested in learning more Torah, for example saying Shema and Modeh Ani in the mornings, I like hanging around my friends during Shabbat because it rubs off on me, but honestly most of the Shabbats I am home and doing what I normally do.

An exception was this past Sukkot (holiday of huts and harvest), where I was invited to chateau hippie up in Kesalon. My friends Shoni and Eynat invited me and 14 other friends to their house to spend the holiday with them. I must say it was an amazing time full of laughs, closeness, tons of food, joy, coyotes in the background, and probably the most amazing group of friends around. I had a marvelous time and actually got to say the prayers over the Lulav and Etrog in the sukkah…it was so neat it gave me goose bumps.

I have wonderful scholarly friends who share their knowledge with me when I ask, but most of the time I don’t…because I feel so behind the times. Especially when it comes to seeing girls who are more religious then I am. I know my level of religion is not something that girls more religious then I am are looking for. That is the feeling I get when I am around certain girls I like in my group of friends. I can be the kindest, softest, and funniest at times, but because I don’t have the grasp of G-d and Torah that they may, I feel like I have less of a chance to become closer to them. Sometimes I feel as if I would do better with a no religion at all kind of girl. But my hope is to someday have a traditional Jewish home and if that is what I want then I know what I need is a strong Jewish wife and mother to my children. Some day over the rainbow…birds fly low…hehe just kidding.

\My friend and I started a Facebook group that consists of letting your inner child out to play. We plan to have get togethers and have fun activities like when we were children. For example tie-dyeing, finger painting, baking cookies, watching Muppets and other G movies, make fresh popcorn and the like.

We had our first meeting a last week before Sukkot. It was a huge success; as a matter of fact I think my apt had not ever been that packed. Check that, once it had when my old roommate Lazar brought his new army recruits by the house for a stop on their Nachlaot tour…water and bathroom breaks ya know. But back to the main issue, of our group. It’s going to be a blast to do the fun things that make us smile and laugh, and without adult supervision.

I have also been working out everyday. I have always thought of doing a regular regime, but with the on days and off days I never committed. Now I have. Everyday I do 50 to 100 sit-ups to get rid of belly, 3 sets of curls, lifts, and butterflies with 2 kg dumbbells, squats, and a variety of leg lifts and pushups. In the month I have been doing it, I can honestly say I have seen a burst of energy, more definition in my shoulders (which is great considering my chronic dislocating shoulder prob.), huge thighs…so who know even with my old age (lol) and the fact that I never did that sort of thing when I was younger, maybe I can actually be fit. Now I just need to work on my diet. I need to be able to cook in my apt, which brings me to my next topic.

I have written about Bridges for Peace before in a previous entry. I have a story that will possibly warm your heart. It certainly did mine when it happened to me. Lets start by saying my fridge at home was in serious need of a defrost. I thought it would be better to chip away the ice instead of unplugging and waiting. So I grabbed the hammer and screwdriver and started chipping. It was nice in the beginning, huge chunks of ice came off and I threw them from the balcony in the yard…almost felt like a snow fight in the winter.

Then with the next chip, white gas started spewing in my face. I closed the freezer and thought the cold air would slow it down. Ya hopeful thinking because every little peak kept spewing. Fast forward a day to when I realized it was broke and had to tell Nikki I broke her fridge. She was mad but as long as I would replace it she wouldn’t take my first born. Of course I was going to fix it if possible or replace it. I learned fixing it wouldn’t be financially prudent, so the decision was to buy a new used one. I checked out prices and saw that prices range between 600 to 1000 sheks, and as far as the price I can pay…zilch.

BUT here is where the story comes in. I contacted Bridges for Peace for their advice on where to find a used fridge that doesn’t take advantage of olim. They told me to go to this certain store on Derech Hevron and price one at between 500 and 1000 sheks and get a quote, then bring the quote to the office and they would in turn cut me a check for the amount of the fridge. My jaw absolutely dropped when I heard. So much help they give without asking for anything in return, and they help so many other olim too. So after Sukkot I plan to go by this store and pick out a new fridge.

There is some stuff I would like to do in the coming weeks that I hope will come to fruition…for example go to the beach, finish at least one of my papers, start to jog twice a week, maybe play basketball once a week, paint some rocks for my collection, take more photos of the holidays and friends, call the vet for Moe, and probably numerous other things that don’t come to mind. Guess I will cross that bridge when I get to it.

I will start this entry with the menu I prepared for Shira and Ben when I invited them for dinner after two other friends canceled on me at the last minute (as I was putting the dinner in the oven. It worked out well though and actually couldn’t have been better.

3. Stir fried green beans with carrots and garlic, with a hint of lime juice.

Needless to say, the three of us were stuffed through and through with healthy goodness. As it turned out it was Ben’s birthday that night, so it actually was a birthday dinner. They were great guests, and they said I was the host with the most…so compliments all around were in order.

Unfortunately Moe was left out of the mix, because we ate on the mirpeset (porch) and Moe is not allowed out there, so he harassed us from my bedroom window instead. I felt so sorry for him. But I otherwise felt great, especially because I finished taking the second go around of the Statistics final I failed a month earlier. I should get my grade this week.

Last week, I also started receiving the services of Bridges for Peace. Basically it is an organization headquartered in Jerusalem, which is made up of Christians around the world supporting new immigrants to Israel. I waited on the list for 8 months before it got to be my turn. Services I receive include bi-weekly food deliveries and a monthly bus pass. The food packages include basics like fruits, veggies, milk, cheese, canned fruit or veggies, rice, noodles, tomato sauce, oil and sometimes items like a package of TP, or frozen meats. In other words without that food, I probably wouldn’t be getting my daily dose of vitamins and minerals…so thank you.

As it turns out I have sponsors from Japan and so I wrote a letter to thank them last week, telling them a bit about me and thanking them for supporting Jews who try to make it here.

This past weekend was also my cousin Aaron Weinstein’s Bar Mitzvah. His family lives in Ramat Gan, which is a city bordering Tel Aviv. I arrived on Friday around 2ish and pretty much from then it was a free for all celebration. Aaron and Yonatan’s father was in town from San Diego, as were his other set of grandparents from Virginia. Now it is time to skip ahead to the party -- which was amazingly fun.

The party was in Kiryat Ono, which is a city bordering Tel Aviv. Some of the games available for playing included a mini table tennis table, mini billiards, Wii on a projector, an air-filled climbing wall and a Playstation driving arcade game.

In the beginning, the kids ruled the games, but after the dancing and food, the uncles and cousins sort of dominated the games area. Upon arrival there were a few family members there, really the ones we arrived with, but after one trip to the bar to get a glass of wine it’s like everyone appeared at once. It was pretty cool. I saw cousins whom I haven’t seen in a few months, along with their adorable children.

I also made a great contact there. One of my cousins is married to a woman who owns her own gan, and she has offered me advice on how to open my own up. I am definitely looking forward to picking her brain. The party was great, the family was great, and the food was great. It was just a greatly planned celebration of Aaron’s coming of age. And now to the synagogue experience, which was interesting to say the least.

The reading from the Torah took place at a synagogue five minutes from Polly’s house. It was wonderfully designed with a polished stone bima and a gorgeous Aron HaKodesh. The services went at a very slow pace, which was one of my gripes; another was the dictatorial nature of the members of the crowd. I had crossed one of my legs over the other, and a guy came up to me and told me that in their synagogue that was not allowed.

If I wasn’t there in support of my not so little cousin, I would have told him another place I could put my leg, but I let it go. Later my cousin arrived and in the lobby he handed his phone to his wife and the rabbi saw him. As the rabbi returned into the sanctuary, he was going off at ‘us’ for not respecting Shabbat and sinning for bringing a phone to services…even though it was on silent. The rabbi wouldn’t leave it alone. It aggravated both me and my family. After Aaron read from the Torah I went outside to smoke a sinful cigarette. My cousins were more peeved about the situation. I mean the nerve of going off and saying how we were worse than other Jews. Screw him!!!

After the service we all met at Polly’s house for lunch and more celebrations. It was a great afternoon with loads of food and lots of laughs. Aaron had his friends over for a while, then it was pretty much family. I took loads of pictures, even to the point of my family saying I am not American anymore so stop taking so many pictures…I laughed. I got some great pics and I am glad I am still a bit ‘American.’

Later that evening I attended the 30^th birthday of my new friend Odelia (whose name in Hebrew means thankful to G-d). She is, among other things, a magazine editor, writer, reporter, creative genius, and a grad student at Hebrew University. She had her party at Galina’s, a restaurant in the Tel Aviv Port. It is described as a poshy pick up bar and I totally agree with that description, seeing I got a few numbers myself.

I met some of Odelia’s friends and realized that I need to get out more and meet more Israeli women. It was too bad I couldn’t stay longer then 11:30, but I had to make the last bus to Ramat Gan. I did and rested super well once I found a fan to keep me cool. Otherwise I would’ve never fallen asleep -- it was so hot and humid.

And to top off the weekend My OHIO STATE BUCKEYES kicked butt in their first football game of the year 38-6. As opposed to the Crappy School from Up North…who lost to a Division 1 AAA team Appalachian State. HAHA Wolvercraps!!!!! Yella I am out.

Hey everyone, how are you all feeling? Myself, I’m doing okay. Things could be worse for sure, so I’m counting my blessings.

Why am I counting my blessings you ask? Well, a couple of days ago I left my apartment with my bike locked in the stairwell to meet a couple of friends in town, and upon my return I saw my bike was ganked from its home.

And for all of you that are counting, it is the third time it has been stolen. I am much less angrier then the first two times, just more frustrated. To my amazement my friends are pooling together some money to buy me another one, and this time I’m getting a super lock.

And this time, when I see my bike being ridden around town I will instantly recognize it because I have identifying stickers all over it. However, the thief will probably just take off the stickers…who knows.

Last week, I also found a job on Janglo that was pretty simple…helping a new oleh family unpack their lift. Made a good 250 sheks for 7 hours work which is a nicer paycheck then I have gotten for a day’s work in a while. I just hope I don’t have to rely on jobs like those to make ends meet, but for now it seems that is the way to go.

This past Shabbat I spent in Modi’in at Moshe’s house with Shoni and Eynat. Oh and by the way that was the first Shabbat I kept in many a Shabbat…felt good. I have always said that when I am with people who keep Shabbat it is easier for me, but when I am alone, the boredom takes over and the computer or TV pops on. Maybe I will just surround myself with friends on Shabbat so that it will become a more consistent occurrence.

I have a big retest tomorrow in Statistics and I feel as if I will not succeed. Even with the review I have done and the absurd amount of notes I can use in the test, I have a bad feeling. If I fail, I can’t continue with the master’s degree, so I am quite stressed about it. Hopefully tonight’s activities will release some pent up stresses. I can’t share what the activities are, but if you use your imagination I am sure you can figure it out.

Nikki is being missed all around. She left for Toronto last week for her 6 month stint with the Toronto Hillel. I feel like she is coming back any day now due the fact that all her stuff is still here and her cat hangs out in her room instead of mine (like he knows she is about to walk in). Cats are smart like that, or maybe it is just this one…you go Moe. Hurry back Nikki.

Well I guess that’s about all for now. Keep in touch folks via email and I look forward to hearing from you. By the way if you want to donate to the Gogie’s new bike fund…go to Paypal and enter my email: Golan.canaan@gmail.com that should take you to the right location. Even small donations will help out (gosh it feels weird to ask for donations).

This past week has been very eventful and full of WALKING. We’ll start with my realization that I may not be able to continue with the master’s program. Why you ask? On Monday I went to check out my ulpan grade for the final. In order to pass to the next level I needed at least a 70….I got a 55. Getting a 55 means I will have to redo the whole course again…plus the next level. But there is a catch that I found out about later when I met with the director of the master’s program. It seems I have to finish all 6 levels of Hebrew before the beginning of the second semester of the second year.

This means that if I am not allowed to redo the test then there is no way I can complete the Hebrew requirement, and that will lead me to drop out of school. I went to the director of the Hebrew Department and begged to take the test again. He told me he would think about it and get back to me. I hope he lets me…because I don’t want to fail at school.

I tried to forget about the heartache of failing classes by relaxing my soul and enjoying my friends. That led me to the Israel Museum Wine Festival, a yearly occasion in which my whole chevre goes to drink the wineries dry…or at least tries to do so.

This year was no different; actually it was a bit different. There seemed to be fewer wines to taste and spit, and it was held near the museum in the rose garden, which had pebbles to walk on instead of level ground. Some of the friends I saw there on Tuesday were Moshe, his dad and cousins, Eynat and Shoni, Ian, Nikki, Elle and Yossi, Rivka, and Chaya.

It was a lovely time and we closed the joint down…that’s how WE roll. I returned on Wednesday with a new friend. Kathleen is a girl that I met at Sidney’s house a couple of Shabbats ago. She had a great time tasting and spitting…and really liked the atmosphere of the museum. Her background is archeology, and off to the side of the wine festival was a sculpture display of archeological findings, which she dug…LOL…get it dug J

After the wine festival we went for a walk to eat ice cream on Ben Yehuda Street. When she saw they had French Crepes, she got that and I ate yummy sherbet dips on a cone. I decided to walk her home because she had a long walk and I didn’t feel as if it was safe for her to be walking alone, (despite it being Jtown). Well it took well over 45 minutes to get there, and I was beat…and I still had to walk home. I was famished to say the least.

On Thursday night I decided not to go to the wine festival and instead went to my friend Yonatan’s house to see the new Simpson’s movie projected onto the side of his building on the roof. About 30 ppl also showed up to see it And while the movie was playing there were wings to munch on as well as some brewskies. Me, I had some wings but I couldn’t fly -- probably because I didn’t have Red Bull to drink. I thought the movie was hilariously funny, even though some of the sound was not working. After the movie ended, we played Wii tennis and then went home.

On Friday my cousin whom I have never met came to Jtown to hang out and see the town. I was her tour guide as well as her concierge. Her name is Becca and she is from Orlando. She’s spent the last two months working with Ethiopian children in an absorption center in Haifa . She told me that it is very meaningful to her to work with this population, so much so that she wants to return and make Aliyah after she is done with high school next spring. I will root for her.

I can see the passion she has for Israel and we need more folks like her. So when she arrived we hung out in the apartment for a few and then went out on a walk. First we went down to Ben Yehuda Street, and then continued to the Jerusalem City Hall where we were pleasantly surprised by the exhibit that was on display. Becca took many pictures of the bears from African nations, while I asked her to take a picture of me next to the Israeli bear.

We continued down toward the Old City, and decided to enter through the Jaffa Gate. We followed the path to the Kotel and we also checked out the southern wall excavations. Eventually we made it back to the apartment thoroughly exhausted and ready for some great Shabbat dinner. Unfortunately I forgot that Becca was a vegetarian. At dinner there wasn’t much for her to eat other then salads and rice.

I felt bad…but she said she wasn’t disappointed. Actually she said she was surprised that my more religious friends even talked to her at dinner. I have chosen wonderful people to surround myself with, even though sometimes they make themselves seem like idiots. After dinner, each of us dropped dead of tiredness.

On Shabbat I normally wake up early, but I let Becca sleep in because I felt as if she could use the sleep. After both of us were awake and we checked our emails, we dressed and ventured out again into the Old City. This time we entered through the Zion Gate and went in though the Cardo . We went for an adventure through the Arab shuk (market), eventually making it to the Holy Sepulcher church. From there we took a snack break. And because of the extreme heat made it back to the apartment shortly afterward.

The afternoon was one big nap. Later that night Becca went to visit another friend and she then returned to Haifa. It was very cool to meet another Zionist member of my family, especially one so young and determined. Woohoo Becca!!

That evening was a huge party here in town for Tu B’Av , called the white party. I was originally going to go, but when I heard my roommate Nikki was upset at the day’s occurrences, I decided to hang out with her that night and watch a movie. I was really upset about the situation that led to her feelings getting hurt…but it wasn’t my place to say something to the person. So I let it go. I was going to be a better friend then he was by spending time with her and listening to her concerns.

That was my week in a nutshell. Hope you all had wonderful weeks as well and I hope to hear back from some of you via my email up above. Bye everyone.

Since my last entry into cyberspace there have been some fun and interesting happenings. Among them was my weekend in Tel Aviv where I got a bit burned from the rays of the shemesh. The reason that I went to the beach to relax was because of the awful results received from my final in statistics. I received my grade and 44 was just telling me that I was stressing out and needed a break…so I left. I will be able to retake the test so I am not too upset, but it would’ve been nicer had I just barely passed the stupid test. I also took my Hebrew final a couple of days earlier and I feel I did better on that. I will find out tonight online…please God, pass me.

Back on the topic of the trip to TA, Nikki and I went to visit some coworker friends of hers from Toronto Hillel. Dave was a MADA volunteer for the past couple of months and he extended his stay a week or so to hang with us and party. We had a great Shabbat dinner at his apartment with his two roommates Yoni and Shimi. After dindin we strolled over to the roof and partied with some neighbors. Can’t say it was a great party but the girls were cute. After the party I was so zonked I remember saying I can’t get out of bed to turn the lights off because I was a burrito…mmmm burritos.

The next morning, or should I say afternoon, we ventured out to the beach and even though I put sunscreen on, I still burned. Not on my head but on my shoulders and chest. Guess all of those chest hairs don’t do a lick of protection…guess I got to change my thesis. In other words it was a great weekend.

A couple of days later was Tisha B’Av, and for all you folks who don’t know what that day means…then click the blue link. It is traditionally the saddest day of the year because so much bad stuff happened to the Jews in history on that day. Jews are supposed to mourn that day in commemoration of those tragedies.

I returned to the Western Wall to hear Eicha , which is in the book of Writings. It means lamentations, and is full of descriptions of past tragedies and how we should remember them and learn from them. The southern wall is an amazing excavation site as well. We sat right below Robinsons Arch . I was way tired and kinda wanted to go home to sleep instead of hanging at the Kotel people watching, like Nikki. Instead I walked Rebecca to Kikar Zion and I went to crash. I woke up very very hungry, like the caterpillar and I managed to fast until 4. God won’t be disappointed.

Later in the week I did some other interesting things. For instance, yesterday I went to meet with two school partners of mine from university. We met at this little yishuv near Ashkelon. Kazzim was the name of it and it is no ordinary village. It is the place where many of the Gush Katif evacuees were relocated after the Gaza withdrawal.

Batsheva was the partner and she was having a tough day remembering what it was like when she had to leave her home - a home where she had everything you would want in a home. The promises the government told those residents have been broken and she felt as if they were being ignored. The government provides them with trailers but it is nothing compared to the house, garden, grass and neighbors they had back in Gush Katif. It was a memorable moment when she shared her thoughts and feelings, and I felt honored. In the end we finished our assignment and I was back on the road back to Jtown.

I arrived 10:30ish and immediately went down to Gan Sochar for my friend Eynat’s 10 year anniversary of Aliyah BBQ. I brought down my steak that I was salivating for all day and had been marinating for a couple of days. MMMMM was it good, but it didn’t compare to Eynat’s steak which was quite possibly a whole cow. Very hip Fraggle she is.

After eating my steak I laid down in the grass for a few and realized I was about to pass out, so I decided to walk home with Nikki. She eventually decided to cab it so I rode my bicycle and on the way I saw a kitty that went to heaven. It was a biggun L Oh well, that’s why I never allowed Raffi outside because of the dangers that lurk.

The following day was also a busy one. I had an event to do for the student authority at the Tel Aviv Dan Panorama hotel on the beach. At first I thought ‘great I can get some hours of work in and get a free lunch.’ But after I got there it turned out that I got a whole lot more.

The event was in honor of Michael Levine. And for you who don’t know who he was; he was the only American/Israeli soldier to die in last summer’s war in Lebanon. This event was for soldiers like him (lone soldiers), without immediate family in Israel and who serve our country with honor and passion.

Michael was a hero for me and millions of others. His commitment and sacrifice will be remembered forever. I have so many friends who knew him personally and were torn apart when they heard the news. I certainly became torn up thinking about the passion he had for Israel, and how it is the same for me in my heart.

There was a short movie in his honor, ‘A Hero in Heaven,” and it touched me. I listed the link above where Mikey’s name is in blue. If you’re an educator and would like to show the video to your students or congregation then get in touch with the maker of the video.

For Shabbat I was invited to Mattityahu, a moshav near Modi’in but actually in the West Bank. My friend Sidney lives there with his family. Since his family was in Toronto, he opened his home to archeologists, an army buddy, and me. It was a great success…possibly due the amazing air conditioning, tasty food, and great personalities. I was a pig in shit. For you all who don’t know that expression, it means I was totally happy. I met some great folks and made some Facebook friends in the process.

I arrived back in town late last night and I immediately went to Mike’s Place to meet my roommate and a couple of friends for a drink and some live music. In my opinion the music was horrible but the company was great. I made it home by midnight and promptly crashed from exhaustion.

Today was a day like many before. SUPER HOT and well SUPER HOT. I had to do a couple of errands, like picking up a manuscript from Givat Shaul for Gil and to turn in my bus ticket for my work. Also I went by Elle and Yossi’s moving sale and I got some stuff -- sandpaper, acrylic paint, letter and number stencils (my favorite thing), and some nails -- all for a buck. Elle you rock!!

Tonight I am meeting a new friend in town for a drink, her name is Odelia and she is from Tel Aviv. I met her on Dave and Shimi’s roof two weekends ago. It should be fun and this week is the Israel Museum Wine festival. So be on the lookout for more fun stories…I promise there will be plenty and with pictures.

I must say I haven’t been writing as much as I had hoped since starting this blog. That’s because life has become more hectic then anticipated. Not hectic in a negative way, unless you live by my blog, but rather in a lots of goings on kind of way.

I have finished my ulpan level 5, although not officially because the level test is next Friday. Next week is also the final week of the semester, which should have been nearly a month ago. I have many final papers to write, which I am kind off psyched about because I like researching and writing my opinions on subject matter that interests me.

Some of the topics will include the roles of communities in the development of the child and family, social-emotional competence in children, curriculum approaches in early childhood education and the role of the teacher in an early childhood setting. It’s going to be a lot of library time and sitting in front of the computer time, but I am sure I will create works that show that I belong in the program.

I haven’t been doing too much fun stuff for the last two weeks, mainly because I sprained my ankle a couple of Sundays ago playing hoops. I have been hobbling around on crutches when I feel like lugging them around. But most of the time I just wear my ankle brace from the time when I actually broke my ankle eight years ago (also playing hoops).

Yes I am stubborn. Instead of being active outside, I am being active inside by reading, cleaning, rearranging my room and watching downloaded movies. One really great movie that I recommend is called Garden State. Zach Braff wrote and directed it. If you don’t know who he is just think of Dr. Dorian from Scrubs (and he is a Jew--another one for the team). Oh and Natalie Portman is also in it.

I think about going for a road trip. Among the places I want to visit are up north to the Golan and the Kinneret , down south to the beaches of Eilat so that I can go snorkeling with my cousin Dror who is an instructor there, definitely to Beersheva to hang with my peeps, and on a closer level just to Modi’in to visit Moshe of whom I haven’t visited in months it seems. Guess that is what a crazy university and ulpan schedule does to you.

But that will change soon (thank goodness). I have been looking for more work (for instance at Steve’s Backpacks and Tower Records). I mean I already have three jobs, but here I swear you need four or five to just get by (that is if you don’t have an 8 to 5 job five times a week).

Actually a friend asked me if I want to work as a nude model at the art academy…for 50 shekels an hour (which is awesome)…but I think it would be hard to stand still in a cold room with nothing on. So I declined…but interesting nonetheless.

My roommate Nikki is back in town till late August. It’s really nice to have her back, even though she catnaps Moe from me. It is her cat, so I forgive her. She took her room back so that is why I am rearranging my room so much. I have so much crap all over the place, thus I am throwing a lot away.

I am eating better now that Nikki is back too (not that I was losing weight before).I am still 70 kilos. I haven’t been working out the last few weeks, but I have been riding my bike, so whatever muscle I put on before my injury is probably now disappearing…oh well.

So I hope this wet your palates a little, and I hope to add another wonderful entry to my updates soon. Till then, Lehitraot!!!!!!

It must have been a month since my last posting, and I blame that on the cat…shame on you Moe. The Adopt a Gogie fundraising event didn’t feed or cloth him. Rather it showed that in order to fully accomplish adopting a Gogie it is necessary to get up off a tush or two and dial the number…after all it is a 1 800 number.

On to more pressing news. It seems as if the semester’s end is in sight, which is kinda nice since we as students were supposed to have the last week THIS week had it not been for the strike.

I am finishing my work semi on time, but my professors don’t seem to mind as much as I thought they would. I particularly enjoy making a home visit with the child I was observing at the gan. Her parents were really cool, and in her home the child was so cute playing Dora with her little sister. I am going to write a report this weekend and it will be completed by next week.

Also ulpan is finishing up, although in that sector of my learning I am struggling grade wise, but in usefulness I am doing well. So which is more important? Argh guess it’s the grades, because without the high enough grades I cannot graduate. I will keep y’all informed.

I am starting to peel from the sunburn I received a couple of weeks ago. It’s just too bad I can’t reach the places that are peeling. I gave myself a haircut and thus I got burned on my kepi which surprisingly doesn’t hurt. I guess it’s because there are less nerve endings up there (any doctors in the house to confirm). Since I am talking about injuries, I will mention that I jammed my finger the other night playing hoops. Kinda aggravating but I will take a jammed finger any day over a dislocated shoulder…wouldn’t you?

So who really reads this thing? I mean it’s taken me a month to get enough time to sit and write something. The truth is that there is a lot going on with daily school issues and the lack of enough work. I enjoy sharing my life with all of you who actually reads what I write about it. Unless I suddenly find a calling card tree that gives free calling cards. That’s another story, but for now I will just get to the blog when I can, and if you want to know specifics on how I am feeling a certain day …email me. The address is on the top of this page. Hope to hear from you, whoever you are J

Recently I returned to university classes and I must say…I didn’t miss it. I mean it is nice to be in the hallways and seeing friends again, but I feel that the time I missed listening to lectures has pretty much brought me back to feeling that it is the beginning of the semester again. (Kind of frustrating, but it will come back.)

This past week was very draining on me physically. I have been getting up at 6 a.m. since Sunday and skipping on my afternoon naps. On Monday at lunch I received the call that I was hoping to get…from the HOP network. They want me to come in to the office on Sunday afternoon to talk more in depth about what I will be doing there, conditions and pay rate. This job looks very promising indeed.

Currently, I am in Ramat Gan at my cousin Polly’s house. My sister and niece were there. It was the first time I have seen them in almost a year. Tonight we are meeting Sarit and her family for Shabbat dinner in Herzaliya. It will be very nice to see everyone together for supper. Tomorrow supposedly we are going to the beach, or Caesarea. Either one would be OK with moi.

The reason I am in Ramat Gan is because on Monday I am going to my cousin Orit’s wedding with my sister and Alexis and the rest of the crew. The wedding is in Holon or somewhere near it…most likely a moshav wedding, which is the best from a secluded private party kind of feel.

I brought so much school work to do. Goodness I hope I get the work done. Because if I don’t then I will be further behind then I already am. Hebrew work is getting more comfortable The hard hours of practicing are paying off.

All day yesterday I was in a training conference with my student authority friends. The afternoon sessions were kind of boring, but in the long run it will help me be to become a better tour guide and resource to the students that I will be speaking with this summer.

After the sessions, we as a crew went to a moshav outside of Jerusalem and ate at an Israeli-Indian restaurant. Afterwards we ate and sang karaoke. I must’ve done five or six songs, but the ones I wanted to do alone ended up being the ones that the DJ didn’t have on his machine. I wanted to sing Pink Floyd’s Wish You Were Here. The DJ told me to come up. He started the video and the words popped up and to my surprise there was the wrong tune playing and the wrong words.

It turned out to be an Incubus song and not the PF song. The other song I wanted to sing was Pinocchio. That one is a Hebrew rap version and I was totally looking forward to it, but the DJ said at the end of the night that he didn’t have that one. Nice timing dude. I had a blast though even though I didn’t get my solos.

Later that night I went to my friends’ Chana and Jackie’s going away party. They are moving back to the States. Lots of folks came out to see them off. Sarah created this slideshow and song video for the girls. It was a great show and everyone was awwwwing. I made it home kind of late and when Nikki and I got home we made some schnitzel and fries and watched the first 10 minutes of the last Heroes episode. I passed out after 10 minutes because I was just so tired.

I woke up a bit later today then I was hoping, but the extra sleep definitely helped me relax a bit. No 6 a.m. today!!!!

During the past week some very interesting and surprising sets of circumstances occurred and I would like to share them with you…my literate friends.

First, let me start by letting you know that WE the students of Israel’s institutes of higher learning are STILL on strike. It has been a disaster how the student leaders of the union have been representing us. However, maybe I shouldn’t actually be a part of it because my tuition is being picked up by the state and not from my own pocket. Maybe that is why I am indifferent to the commission’s pending decision to raise tuition.

The event was the annual MASA festival, which took place outdoors this year in the rain. I represented the Israel Student Authority by handing out information and gifts to the students. It could’ve been kind of fun if we had enough chairs, and enough actual materials to hand out. We carried so much stuff with us but didn’t actually use it. That was super frustrating because now that material is sitting in my living room. ARGH I SAY!!

Exiting the event was also an experience I will never forget. There was so much confusion and unwillingness to bend the rules that my crew and I had to hang out at the entrance for 45 minutes just waiting for the people to stop coming in so we could leave with our boxes. The guards were such morons, and that was being nice.

So finally we were able to leave. I got home at 11ish and from there went to my friend Shayna’s 30^th b-day party. Great times ensued. I saw folks I haven’t seen in ages. I all but finished my roommate’s bottle of rum, but he later said he forgot he even had it. Hehe.

The next day I had a bit of a hangover, but it wasn’t too bad. Shabbat came and went, and on Sunday I received a great phone call - one that I had no idea I would get. It was from the folks at HOP!, which is the early childhood development television network here in Israel.

A few days earlier I had sent them my CV with a letter expressing how I would be interested in what they do there. At first I thought they said they were from HOT, which is the cable television and internet company that had been harassing me via phone. I almost hung up without giving them a chance to say whatever they had to say.

Thank goodness I remained patient and listened to what they had to say. They invited me to Tel Aviv to speak with them about some positions that they were looking to fill. I told them that I would go to Tel Aviv on Wednesday and speak with them.

That day was also Jerusalem Day, which this year commemorates the 40^th year in which Jerusalem has been reunited. In other words it was supposed to be a huge day of parties, bbqs and parades, but actually turned out to be much less because of a very heavy thunderstorm that popped out of nowhere. It also impeded my trip to Tel Aviv making me late to my interview. It didn’t seem to matter though because the executive director of the station offered me two part-time jobs. We still have to discuss details, like salary, transportation, workload, and hours, but I know there is a potential for a great opportunity to develop. I will keep all of you in the loop, so don’t worry.

Monday night was something amazing too. Because of the rioting at the Tel Aviv soccer stadium, the Betar Jerusalem soccer fans were given a treat here in J-town. For the championship game they were hosted in the middle of Gan Sacher. The city put up nearly a dozen super large screens with a concert stage alongside and provided them with a huge party to enjoy (without rioting).

I went to check it out, but decided to play basketball while doing so. Bad idea Gogie, because in the first game I played in, I dislocated my shoulder again. It went back in pretty easily this time, but I am getting very uncomfortable about the frequency. That was the second time in a month. I am thinking that surgery is the only thing that will fix it. That or never playing upper body sports again.

Well some more things happened this past week that I didn’t really go into like a students art exhibition that I helped set up. I did another panel at the Novotel for some Oranim students; saw two movies…Spiderman 3 and The Hills Have Eyes. The first one was good but the second one was simply awful. Good thing I didn’t pay for either.

Take care everyone and please don’t hesitate to respond via email. I love getting emails from friends.

Today I attended university classes for the first time since before the start of Pesach. I was hopeful that maybe some of my classes would be in session even though officially the students are still on strike. I even heard there were going to be demonstrations outside of the school’s entrance with chained doors so as to not let students in. To my surprise there were no demonstrations, no chains, and mostly no students.

My first class I attended was Introduction to Statistics. It turned out to be just me and the professor. So she gave me a private lesson and we went over the exercise that was supposed to be due in class two weeks ago, had it not been for the strike. So now when I turn it in, it’s going to be 100%.

None of my other classes had lecturers or students, so I took it easy. I rescued a butterfly that was stuck on the window in the hallway. It was a very pretty one, all white with black dots. It climbed on my hand and I took it outside. That felt good. I also went down to the financial aid office to fill out my application for next year -- this time early and not super late like last semester. I also had lunch with my preschoolers. We ate fish sticks and these funny noodles that I don’t know the name of.

But the kids were dying to shove more in their little mouths. Speaking of preschool tomorrow is my practicum day and I am planning a special art activity with the children. We are going to have a color mixing activity-- dropping blobs of paint on a rectangular piece of construction paper. Then I am going to instruct them how to fold the paper in half. I will then document their reactions when then see the symmetrical pattern their paint choices made. We will then talk about how butterflies also have symmetry on their bodies. It should be a hoot and I will try to take pictures.

This weekend was also fun. I ate at Gil and Randy’s house. We ate this great dish called Gooba I think, which was sooba dooba. On Saturday, I busted out my final paper from last semester. I don’t know what stood in my way to complete it (I had all the articles, the interviews, the directions) I just couldn’t start. Finally I just kicked myself in the tush and got it done.

Later that night, I traveled down to Hashmonaim for Lag B’Omer. L’B’O is a very fun ‘holiday’ in Israel. Tradition says to have a Medura which is a bonfire. Kids of all ages, along with parents and other grownups, collect wood weeks in advance for this one night. I had to do some convincing in order to get my friends to go and take some wood from a building site. But once we did, I was able to make my bonfire.

It was mini, but it was my fire. It lasted a few hours and all the while we ate tasty BBQ grub. I also got taken into a game of spades which lasted until 3 a.m. In other words I was way way beat. And falling asleep in that house was tough. First it was soooo hot in the room I was sleeping in, and there were skeeters all over the place. I must’ve killed six or seven before even laying down. But I did end up sleeping, and I only was bitten twice, which is better then a dozen bites.

Sunday was good. I didn’t do much other then sleep, and then at six I went to ulpan. After ulpan, I went to shoot some hoops in the park. Unfortunately the competition on the advanced court was a bit too good for me and the lower court was full of awful players, so instead of suffering both ways I left and watched a movie at home. I am in the process of downloading the Blade trilogy, so I watched episode three last night because it was the only one that had finished downloading.

Later while sleeping I dreamt that I was a Blade type character and I was killing vampires I woke up at 6:45 a.m. I so wanted to continue the dream but had to get to school, or so I thought (See beginning of this entry).

It is Monday and (so far) day 11 of the student strike here in Israel. It is an idiotic strike to which I am opposed, but I am following it because my professors aren’t showing up to teach. Nevertheless, I have been going to Hebrew ulpan classes because I can’t afford to miss those classes. I do have some good news though. I have been working more and making some shekels for my bank account.

Since my last blog, a few holidays have passed. One was Yom Ha’Zikaron, which is the day of remembrance for the fallen soldiers. It was marked for me by a two minute siren heard throughout the country at 10 a.m.

The second came on the very next day, but started in the evening. Yom Ha’Atzmaut is the Israeli day of independence. It’s a huge celebration of dancing, music, and barbeques in national parks.

I celebrated by going into town and watching a Dag Nachash concert http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hadag_Nachash . That is a band which raps in Hebrew and is totally kickin.

I took some pictures of the show, which didn’t turn out too well but were cool nonetheless. That was the beginning of the week.

I have also just come back from a most wonderful weekend with my family. I attended a family wedding in Beit Hanun. My cousin Lior married Dykla, his sweetheart of four years. There was no chuppah because they actually had been civilly married over a month ago, but had a party just now. I have a couple of pictures but camera batteries died so I didn’t get any good ones. It really sucks that the camera eats the batteries so quickly, but it’s better than 35 mm.

I must say that my family is getting quite annoying in the area of looking after Gogie. Before we even left for the ceremony, my aunt and cousin were saying to me to take it easy and not to get drunk….thinking that is all I do at these things. I am 30 years old and I have people telling me what to do and what not to do (and there is not even a ring on my finger).

All I have to say is butt out. I am a grown man and can handle my own drinks. I must find other ride possibilities for the next wedding in June, because I am not leaving a kickin wedding at 12 again. Getting there late and leaving so early I barely spent 4 hours there, not nearly enough time for me.

The day after and Shabbat afterwards I spend in Omer, where is where my sick aunt lives. I had a great Shabbat dinner at Raffi and Faviola’s house and a very quiet peaceful Shabbat with Elana. I got homework done, played backgammon with Elana, chased Juanita around (Rotweiller) and relaxed in the garden. I even saw a porcupine run around the yard. In other words, it was a very good weekend. I just wish I wasn’t being policed so harshly.

What has happened in the past few days that is worthy of sharing with the world as I know it…I won the Israeli lottery!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Just kidding. But I thought of playing it, after all if you don’t play, you can’t win.

I did in a sense win the lottery. I got news this week that I was granted a scholarship from Hebrew University. This means that I don’t have to eat Ramen noodles this month, unless I want to. I have been eating things that I usually wouldn’t go near, like cottage cheese, avocado from the fruit as opposed to guacamole, also I have been drinking water like it’s out of style. I have realized that my ‘gut’ is not going to go anywhere unless I cut off my sugar fix. So we’ll see how long I can last….maybe I will try diet coke…yuck.

The university professors finally stopped their strike, which means I may have school on Wednesday, but Sunday through Tuesday nothing. No school because it is ISRAEL’S INDEPENDENCE DAY. She will be 59 years young. Pretty amazing…she is almost twice as old as moi. This week also was Holocaust Remembrance Day. And with the recent events at Virginia Tech and hearing the story of the Israeli professor and Holocaust survivor who sacrificed his life to save his students, it really touched me.

Sunday night Yom Ha’Zikaron begins…which is the day in which we remember the sons and daughters who have lost their lives defending our country. Last year’s Yom Ha’Zikaron, I remember well. I remember the ceremony at the ulpan and the 2 minutes of silence that quieted the whole nation. Tears chilling my cheeks, but warming my heart…Tears for our brothers and sisters who have made the ultimate sacrifice. My prayers are with the families who are remembering for the first time this year…Mikey’s parents.

On a brighter note, I am in dire need for a haircut. I have a mop head. I want to get it cut but waiting for someone to help me cut it with clippers. I refuse to go to a barber, because it is simple to cut my hair, just chop it off. And I am not paying 30 shekels for 3 minutes of work from the stylist. Guess it’s my stubbornness, but at least I have some hats to wear. I played basketball today and I didn’t dislocate my shoulder…where’s the fun? Knock on wood. I also spent a couple of hours in Gan Sochar reading articles for school. It was really warm and not chilly in the shade like usual. I then returned home to shower and take a nap. It was a great Shabbat in my book.

Thursday I am going to Petach Tikvah for a cousin’s wedding. Should be a hoot…I am sure I will supply pictures. Oh I have to get a haircut before the date. OK, so good for now, more later.

Hello world. How is life treating you all? I must say life is treating me adequately. This past week has been good to me. I have managed to find another job to take care of my financial needs, and it involves cleaning my building’s stairs. It should be an easy enough gig, especially since I don’t have to leave the building.

My roommate Nikki just left today to go back to Toronto. She was here for two weeks visiting and making her preparations for returning in June. We had fun hanging out and celebrating Easter with Mary, her friend.

Nir is also her friend and he is a musical gentleman. Last Thursday he came for a visit and he brought his instruments. He plays flutes and other instruments, but brought his mandolin. That night he started jamming. My roommate Lazer’s brother, Asher, came home. He pulled out his mandolin and all of a sudden we had a jam session. It was very nice. The tunes in the air reminded me that I want to get back to learning the piano. It’s

too bad Bastian disappeared without teaching me more. But somehow I will get back to it.

Last Shabbat was fun. I was invited to the old couple’s house for dinner. They are the caretakers for the property that I live at. They are an old Sephardic couple who are very warm and kind. It was just the three of us and for the whole meal I spoke Hebrew and I understood most of what they said. It felt good I must say…my comprehension and speaking skills are getting pretty high…finally. And yesterday Sasson brought over some bread buns, which his wife made, for me to eat. Woohoo.

I have also been doing loads of homework during the last couple of weeks I have had off from school. And today I’m also off from school because of a student strike. It sucks because I had to get up at 7 to double check and see if there was school. But now I am enjoying the time. Slept till 12…and just finished lunch. About to paint a little after this blog entry, then do some more homework. I never stop.

Moshe is also coming back from the states today. He was there for two weeks visiting his family for Passover. He is bringing me back lots of stuff. Like shoes, shaving cream, maybe socks…it’s like my birthday all over again.

Last night I also went to a Pidyon Haben, which is a party of sorts, celebrating the birth of a new son and (in biblical times) his redemption from the priests for five pieces of silver. My friends David and Elana had a boy named Eeshai. He is so cute and such a little button nose. It was nice to stop by to see them, especially because I missed the brit. So I guess that is what’s been shaking lately. I hope it satisfies your needs to know what is going on with Gogie. Till next time….

I am currently spending the holiday in Herziliya with my cousins whom I don’t spend enough time with, and I must say it is very heartwarming. Today is the second day of Pesach, which is the holiday in which we commemorate the Jews’ Exodus from Egypt.

The Seder, which is the traditional dinner we have with family and close friends, was no different for me. I was hosted by my cousin Sarit’s in-laws, who live in Haifa. There was a very festive atmosphere, which included songs, children, family and my favorite part…FOOD.

The hosts made amazing grub highlighted by roast chicken, tasty potatoes, feta fish, and the regular staples of the Seder, which included maror, haroset, matzah, and an endless supply of wine for the drinking.

I was very careful not to drink too much…mainly because drinking really doesn’t interest me anymore. I mean here and there I will have a glass of wine, or a few shots, but for the most part I am known as sober Gogie.

Another highlight of the evening was the search for the Afikoman, which is the hidden matzah that is meant for the children of the Seder to search out. Sarit’s daughter, Joy, sang this amazing song too.

Now she is just 7 and she totally wrote it alone and performed it with little help. What a talented family. I have some pictures, but unfortunately I am not the greatest picture taker with my new digital camera so they didn’t come out well, but the others sure did.

My cousin Sarit gave birth to new baby girl a few months ago and this was thus another opportunity to spend time with them. Yahly is her name, and her name means My God. My God is she adorable. She reacts to my voice with a marvelous smile. There was another baby there at the dinner that was so adorable. His name was Shon…chubby lil guy…he came from Sweden with his mom, who is Sarit’s sister in law.

In recent months, due to my studies, I have not had a chance to visit my family much. But it has not been in vain because I just got back a few of my grades and wow was I impressed. I mean I know I am very smart and hardworking, but to get such high grades was still a bit of a surprise for me. I got two 87s and a 74 in the one class I absolutely hated. I am now working on my final paper for my cultural diversity class and I should turn it in just after my break is over. My professor and her graduate assistant have been very helpful and understanding in allowing me extra time to complete it. I even brought my work with me on my mini-break. Hehe I am such a dork sometimes, but hey I love who I am.

Tomorrow my cousin Sarit invited me to come with her to a benefit to free the three soldiers being held by Hizbullah and Hamas. She will be singing for the troops. There will be paratroopers who parachute down to the site. I will take lots of pictures and upload them when I return to online status. I really can’t wait to see the effect that she has on the soldiers because she is an amazing individual with talents that she shares with anyone and everyone.

Another example was this morning. She told me how she got a call from a friend a couple of days before the holiday. Her friend told her of the situation in the animal welfare system, which was very sad. Turns out that all the animals left behind from the summer Lebanon war were taken to shelters, and just recently the animal food companies here in Israel started telling the shelters that they weren’t going to give food to feed the dogs anymore.

That news sent her into motion. Since she is a very well known actress here in Israel, she went on the radio asking for donations from the public. This morning she got a call from her friend and she told her that in the span of a few days 14 tons of food was donated. Isn’t that amazing? Then she told me how when Katrina hit the America’s southern states, she volunteered by going door to door rescuing people and animals left behind. I am very proud to be related to someone so compassionate.

Much has happened since my last entry. I really can't remember what I wrote about in that entry (check the entries below), but I will just let my thoughts ramble. If ideas overlap then so be it. First of all I have to share with you an amazing adventure I had in early March. First a little background…I got off the flight in December 2005 with a duffle bag containing clothes, my backpack, computer and a travel case with my golf clubs.

I was under the impression that even though there was one golf course in the country I would soon be able to smell the fresh air and see the sights of my most favorite activity in the world. Weeks turned into months, and I realized that maybe it was a mistake to bring the clubs with me because there was very little chance I would get to use them properly. Golfing was my first love, and to come to the realization that leaving the U.S. meant no more golf sent me into a slight depression.

As it turned out, the one course in Israel is in Caesarea, and it was way overpriced. I mean in reality it was a public course quality with private course prices. I thought about taking a trip to Spain or England to play a few rounds would be more likely than having enough money to play at a course in my back yard.

Well this is where my story becomes amazing. My friends Moshe, Ian and Shoni became hooked on my Tiger Woods 2006 golf game and the love I kept all to myself crept into their consciousness. Moshe told me if I ever wanted to go play a real round of golf, he would treat me. My jaw dropped; in a sense it was a wish come true.

So theoretically, after almost two years of not swinging a club, my game should have been terrible. It’s a fact of life and I was willing to accept it. But what I experienced was something that shocked me. My mechanics were crisp, swing smooth, power was out of this world but my putting was horrendous. In other words I was psyched. My drives were going 260 consistently, which for me is long and they were straight.

Ian and Shoni, who were pretty much beginners, were also doing well. Moshe was cracking the ball cover with his hits. All of us were having a blast, so much so that we let some groups play through us so they wouldn’t be stuck behind us. We thought we were being considerate to the other golfers, but when it got dark and we had to go home, we went to return the clubs and the desk guy reamed the guys.

OK, so nine holes isn’t supposed to take four hours and 14 holes six hours, but we paid to play golf. To be harassed because of it was pretty unprofessional. Not everyone in the world can be scratch players, and they needed to understand that. Especially because it wasn’t Pebble Beach Golf Links we were playing, it was like a Reeves or Avon Field course (Cincinnati) http://www.cincygolf.org/cincinnati.asp?id=96&page=1230.

But I have some pictures to commemorate the event and hopefully someday I will be able to use my clubs again to play golf instead of using them to pick up clothes that dropped off the clothes line onto the roof below my balcony.

Some other things that have been occurring with me are more Hebrew lessons in ulpan. I am growing more comfortable with my master's degree courses. I have also started working. I have found a job tutoring a fellow oleh from Russia. He said he needed conversational English lessons. So twice a week I speak with him after my ulpan class. I also found a job painting for a contractor. The pay is low but it is under the table, which in the long run is good. I also have a job transcribing conference lectures for a professor from Hebrew University's business school.

I get my first tape tonight, and for each tape I get 250 shekels (about $60). That’s not under the table, but what can you do. I have been trying to balance all these activities so that I still have time to write my blog and still paint my rocks.…no worries, it will all work out.

Some of my recent obsessions include two TV shows. The first is NBC's Heroes (http://www.nbc.com/Heroes) . I am always thinking about the plot and the characters. I even have dreams in which I am a hero and I fly. Weird but fun for sure. The show is on a break until late April, so it gives me some time to catch up on the online comics that accompany the show. They explain many of the underlying themes and stories.

Another program that I am addicted to is "24." (http://www.fox.com/24) . Folks say that since the first season it is the same over and over, but I like it because of the good episode cliff hangers. The other show that I follow is Battlestar Gallactica (http://www.scifi.com/battlestar ) . The season finale was last nightand it blew me away. I am not sure whether I can wait until autumn to see where the plot goes. No choice though.

This morning I woke up with a cough that wouldn’t rest. I think it is from the sudden change in weather these last few days. I called my practicum advisor to let her know I couldn’t go in. I hope she understands.

I spoke to my mom last night. The last few times I have tried to talk with her the line was fuzzy and we were disconnected. So I was glad to be able to actually speak with her. She was doing her fair share of worrying, but I feel as if I have more to worry about than she does.

I really wish she had more job security, or a nest egg to dip into to get out of debt. I wish I was rich so I could help her and my father for that matter. No one in my family has money to help one another, and God knows we are a good family.

That reminds me …the other night I felt the need to pray…and I mean really pray. I must’ve spoken out loud to God for about 20 minutes. I started by saying how much I felt I was doing the right thing being in Israel, but how hard it was keeping my thoughts positive. I prayed for my mom and dad's health and for my sister and niece to be happy and healthy

But then I realized that I didn’t pray for myself. It brought me to tears that I didn’t think of myself in that intimate moment between me and my Maker. I truly felt he was listening, and I know that He is looking out for me. How else could I be blessed with such a loving family, supportive caring friends and a soul in my body that is so generous and humble. Everything for everyone and what’s left is my heart and soul being held up by the people in my life. And the cats…can’t forget the cats.

I could never wish for a different life. I love my life and the people in it. I will keep on working hard and focusing on what is important in my life. Letting the cards fall where they may. However, some day, a full house would be the best blessing of all.

This past Shabbat was totally and utterly action packed and fun. It was the Shabbat before Purim and because of it there were a lot of people around whom I rarely see because of my school schedule.

I was part of a large Shabbat dinner in Hashmonayim, which is where my friends Shimon and Dina live. They have a daughter who became very sick over Shabbat with pneumonia. Her name is Aliza Channa Bat Dena Amiela, so please pray for her to get better. Refuah Schlema sweet angel.

The holiday of Purim is supposed to be a joyful holiday in which loads of drinking occurs (to the point where we wouldn’t know the difference between good cousin Mordechai and the evil Haman.

I couldn’t keep up with that tradition, but tried to keep up with another…listening to the Megillah. I heard it twice I think, and both times rocked. Sunday was supposed to be the big official party but it turned out to be much less of a party because Aliza was taken to the hospital and our minds weren’t on partying.

We had a fun jam session thanks to Moshe and his guitar, and a rap session when we started to freestyle. We believed that we were supporting the party since Shimon and Dina were at the hospital with the little one.

The following day Shoni, Eynat and I stayed with Moshe at the Hampton’s because Moshe wasn’t feeling well. We think he ate something that made him sick…symptoms included not being able to keep any food down. He was in a sad mood, so what can make a friend feel better when he feels like that? Friends.

Another great facet of holidays here in the holy land is the fact that university was closed Sunday and Monday for the holiday. That meant I missed a Monday Hebrew class; my super busy day at school. Woohoo. The week ended real quickly after that.

One thing I absolutely must write about is my Shabbat experience last Shabbat. I stayed in Jerusalem and went to synagogue at Yikrah, which is a synagogue in Katamon. It was Lazar’s regular place of prayer, so I went. It was nice and I met a couple of nice girls afterwards. We walked one of the girls halfway to the home where she was to eat, and then we continued to the home where we would be eating.

As it turned out, at this stage of the game, I was pretty hungry. I hadn’t eaten a good enough lunch. That was because I had been told that the dinner would be a potluck meal and that everyone would bring a dish. Initially, that made me pretty happy, until I got there.

The congregation was a new age humanistic ‘Jewish’ group of folks. It was a dinner created to attract members of every nation…and it succeeded. As Lazar and I walked in, the members were hymning as the Rabbi described breathing and focusing their energy.

My immediate reaction was that I knew this would be interesting. Eventually that part ended and the meal was about to start. But there were 40ish people there and each had to wash. That took foreverrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

Finally we made it to the meal and do you know what they had nothing of????? MEATTTTTTTTTTTT. Nothing at all…chicken, beef, anything would’ve done the job…but nope. Just salads and salads…who eats Shabbat dinner like that? Needless to say I was close to the wine bottles to distract myself from the lack of sustenance. The two friends with whom I came I came were also smirking at every possible moment. I am sorry Yonit and Lazar.

So ‘dinner’ ended and we started chatting with the hosts, which was cool. Then the rabbi started singing a song which was shabbasy, still cool. Still sang, getting less cool. Then she stops and her daughter comes to the circle and she sings this song. Amazing Grace was what followed and my jaw just dropped. How did I find myself in this situation?

After that wonderful rendition of a Christian song after Shabbat dinner, the rabbi started a discussion of an experience the group had before my arrival that evening. The topic was how they felt and what they saw when they ‘entered’ the holy tabernacle. Holy rusted metal Batman. I have to get out of here. It’s like Yonit, Lazar and I all thought at the same time that it’s time to leave. We did leave but with empty belliesL.

The experience was worth it I guess. Part of the potluck that I brought was my family’s recipe for roasted jalapeno pepper salad. It was a spicy hit and I was glad I shared my cooking skills with this salad crew. Good times good times.

This week I began my second semester at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. For those of you who don’t know what I am studying, it’s a Masters in Early Childhood, which is part of the School of Social Work. My classes this semester are somewhat general like, statistics intro, ethics in teaching, what is curriculum, and my practicum. Good because I have a big challenge in my ‘level hey’ Hebrew language classes.

The teacher is tougher then in previous semesters, but she seems reasonable. Something that bugs her is people chatting, like me. That is why I sit in the first row. I have a test on Tuesday on some story and the new words. Should be great…NOT. I mean Sunday and Monday are Purim days and to have a test the day after is so not fair. But that means I don’t have university classes.

Instead I am going to hang out in Hashmonayim at my friend Shimon and Dina’s house. They are having a Purim party Sunday night and I am going as myself but with a king’s crown. It should be original. So now it is time to study a bit.

Farewell and thanks to everyone who reads my site. It helps to know that there are people out there who want to know what Gogie is going through during his adventure into Israeli society. The goods and the not so goods.

Israel's biggest joke is its police 'force." Everyone has told me that it consists of a bunch of crooked jerks that have issues with power. And today I experienced proof that they are a bunch of (expletive deleted) who take advantage of their positions.

I was waiting at a crosswalk for the little green walking light, and as I paid attention to the traffic pattern of the intersection I noticed that the cross traffic had stopped. I assumed then that pedestrians would get the light to cross, so I begin to cross. I was half way to the other side when a policewoman yelled at me to come towards her.

At first I didn't have any idea why, but then she started to get smart with me and asked, 'What do I think I am doing?' I realized that the light had not changed to green so I explained to her that I had made a mistake and didn’t realize that the light hadn’t changed.

She assured me she only wanted to see my ID to check it, so I gave it to her. She took it and told me she was writing me a ticket for jaywalking. I totally was waiting for the light to change I told her. If it hadn’t been for the (expletive deleted) light system it would’ve been green.

She told me there was nothing she could do, unless I had cash on me. I said why would that matter? She told me that if I had cash on me she wouldn’t write me the ticket. Is that not amazing? How in the hell is that legal? I totally plan to challenge that ticket in court…I mean I can't let her slide on that. Plus it wasn’t as if I was crossing on purpose to spite the light. That pissed me off so much so that I wanted to push her into traffic.

That (expletive deleted-- referring to the common term for a female dog). One-hundred shekels really isn’t that much but in my situation (where I can't even afford to buy food), she had the nerve to ticket me for an honest mistake.

I am in a mood now from which it is hard to calm down from. I will let you know how the case ends up, but it will probably end with me paying it. This just confirms to me that in this country, a country with a multitude of societal issues, with which the police can actually help, they are wasting our taxes by ticketing people like me. I don't understand that because there are thousands of speeders, robbers and terrorists that laugh at the cops every single day.

I had another very interesting dream this afternoon. Let me spill it out and let’s see whether or not it makes sense.

I am sitting on the floor typing up some work on my computer when I see both my work partners entering a room with my professor. I ask if they need me inside with them and they say no and to just keep doing what you’re doing. I felt unneeded but did as they said.

Next thing I know, a woman is rushing at me screaming that her daughter disappeared somewhere on the Hebrew University campus. I don’t know why she came to me, but I bolted into action. I thought of someone taking her, but not necessarily getting lost on campus. I ran to a part of campus that seemed as if it were the place to go to kidnap someone. (I don’t know why I went there first.)

There I started to walk up to some dude who seemed emotionally upset. I walked up to him and told him that what happened was OK and that all that mattered was bringing the girl home. He had vomit all over him and was speechless. I patted him on his back and encouraged him to tell me where he put the girl. He brought me to some bushes and uncovered a backpack, which was mine (and yes covered in puke). Underneath were these two little eyes. She was alive, but very scared.

I instantly called 911 and not 100 (in Israel it is 100, but in my state of sleep, guess I didn’t know that). The man was frozen in fright. I brought the little girl home to her mom. As it turned out the man was starving and he was under the impression that the cheerleader would have food in her backpack, so he took both.

But on the way to take her home I realized that I had left my backpack in the bushes. So I had to trek through this country club type of atmosphere on my golf cart to get my bag. Once I found it the cart disappeared and I had to walk back. But I got lost.

I walked for what seemed like hours through the hallways, bathrooms, showers and dining rooms. I even passed a basketball court, where I saw the dude who took the girl. He was sitting on the bench, and I found out that he never played again. Then I woke up and realized that I had work to do in my real backpack. So I am taking a break to write this, but now I need to get back.

I have wonderful news. There will be a wedding in my future. No not mine LO, but my two cousins will be getting married (and not to each other LOLOL). My cousin Orit is getting married June 4^th while my other cousin Lior is getting married in May. It is so wonderful to be in Israel to be part of these simchas (joys). They really popped out of nowhere.

I am feeling better now. I was ill at the beginning of the week -- Nyquil symptoms-- but with lots of rest and staying out of the yucky weather I have recovered…woohoo. I also finished some of my school work this week. All that is left are two papers and a report that I will do this weekend and next week. I hope I get them done OK because I am really sick of writing papers.

Tomorrow I am going to a friend's house for Shabbat dinner and I have decided to make some pepper salad. It is a family recipe and I must say that I make it with great skill. Wish I could share it with all of you via blog, but I can't. You’ll just have to come visit me and eat at my house to savor my cooking. I have been on an egg salad binge this week. I didn’t realize it was so easy to make. Breakfast, lunch and dinner of egg salad and hummus. Maybe that is why I am feeling better. I've also been eating lots of salad this week.

Next week will be nuts. I wish there were more days in the week. I was really hoping to visit my family in Beersheva later in the week, but that means I need to get my ass in gear to finish the work that I have to do. We’ll see if I can focus to the point that I need to. I have decided to make a real effort to quit smoking too.

This past week, because of being sick, I stayed away from cigarettes, and I did it with ease. So I figure why not quit for real, I mean that garbage is so not me. I am not a smoker, I am a joker. I will hope you all have a wonderful weekend and a peaceful Shabbat.

Gogie is currently sick. I am not sure from where, but it still sucks. I am sick just in time for a final exam that I am scheduled to take Monday morning in the most awful class that I have on my whole schedule.

For the past week, I have been getting some wonderful help from a friend in class. I really hope the review we did resonates in my medulla oblongata. I hardly have seen my friends this past week because of the stress I am feeling. I also wrote one of my research papers last week. So needless to say, in terms of doing fun enjoyable things, I am using my Chofesh (Break) to the worst of my abilities.

I was asked by a friend if I was depressed. The first thing that came into my mind was of course not. As I began to dive a bit deeper into my situation, I realized maybe I am a bit. Definitely not to the point of no return, but lately I have been feeling discouraged, saddened and lonely. Thank goodness I have the friends I have that encourage me to look on the bright side of my situation.

The vivid side is that life here in Israel is quite wonderful, and I can think of many advantages of being here. Of course with the advantages there are disadvantages and they are taking a toll on me. I am working so hard to keep afloat in university classes and ulpan. I am struggling to make enough money to feed myself, let alone pay my rent. I have never been in this kind of situation in my life and to have it thrust upon me in the place I want to call home for the rest of my life makes it is discouraging to say the least.

Luckily I have friends and family that haven’t let me fall under the table. But how much longer can I ask them for help? I need to help myself. I feel as if I am alone even though I am surrounded by amazing people. I have decided to write some poems to help express the wonderfulness about this situation, and I believe it helps, but how far will it take me?

I certainly don’t want to worry all of you who are reading this, but it is better if I share some of my thoughts with you, because otherwise you might think things are honky dory for me. Maybe it is the feeling of being ill that is bringing out all this introspection, since I haven’t really seen another soul since Friday night. I mean the last couple of mornings I have slept until 11:30, and that never happens to me. I am always up early.

Well I am not sure that things are as bad as I think they are. I mean there are, for sure, people out there who are in worse shape than me. I just need to vent and get some things off my chest, and writing them out has always been easier for me then speaking them out. So I will study hard for this test and hopefully that will chill me out a bit for the rest of my school break. Have a wonderful week everyone.

I had a very disturbing dream last night. It had to do with my upcoming exam in my Introduction to Socialist Policies and Social Welfare. It starts with me sitting in the class waiting for the teacher to enter. I already felt as if I I didn’t want to be there, yet when she entered the room that feeling multiplied.

She was not the course's normal teacher. It was someone else. She was a he and he was mean. He distributed the exam, which was entirely in Hebrew even though it was supposed to be in English. When I confronted him and told him that I had difficulty understanding it, he vanished.

I remember him telling us that if we left the room during the exam, he would fail us. But when he vanished I lost my patience and took off looking for another teacher to help. I took my exam with me and began walking around in the hall. Every time I caught a glimpse of him, I would approach but he would vanish. This occurred a few times.

When I finally found him in an office, he told me I had a couple of minutes to finish and that there wouldn’t be an extension. I went off at him, explaining my situation and how I searched for help but was avoided. He denied avoiding me and took the test from my hand. I had time to answer one question.

I am just hoping that on Monday this is not how the test really goes. G-d willing I will be able to answer more than one question. I have been studying like mad, while ignoring the papers I have to write. Thank goodness I only have one exam, unlike other friends of mine who have five to seven exams.

On this cold winter day in Jerusalem I received a couple really nice surprises. One is that I can now download pretty much anything I want from the internet, so no more bugging my friends who have it down pat.

Second is that the little girl who I prayed for last week is getting better. She went into the hospital with pneumonia and was in surgery to remove the infection, which was causing it. And now she is looking as if she will recover. I became emotional when I heard the good news, not to the point of crying, but definitely some tears rolled down my cheek.

I am also feeling a bit of relief. I received a text message from Hebrew University's Hebrew Department that provided my grade for last summer's class. Who do they have working in these offices, I mean six months later…that’s דפוק. By the way I got a 78, which was a little below the class' average. but fine with me.

Initially I thought it was the grade for the class I just finished on Friday, but NOPE. It's all good because I think I will do better than the summer course. I am currently working on the final papers for my courses that I took this past semester. I feel very good about the direction I am going in them and my professors have given me great encouragement after reading some of my previous writings.

I am very much into www.facebook.com. It’s a site where you can see who is friends with your friends but it's kind of addictive. I have found friends that I have lost touch with from college (seven years ago). I even found folks with my name from all over the world.

Some other web sites I frequent are : http://milon.morfix.co.il/Default.aspx , which is the best (by far) English/Hebrew dictionary, http://www.quotationspage.com/qotd.html , from which I get my inspirational quotes of the day, and one more for you http://di.fm/ . This is a web site with amazing streams of music. Just a little taste of where I go when I am online.

Israel has political relations with Russia. Russia is sending engineers, equipment, and knowledge to Iran to build up the nuclear capabilities of that country. Iran wants to destroy Israel. What can we do about this?

America produces enough wheat to feed all of the world's starving people, yet instead of sending that surplus to the people who desperately need it, what they do is burn it to protect their precious economy. How utterly stupid is this policy? Way to go American politicians !!!!!

It’s been nearly a month since my last blog update and the reason is that nothing really exciting has happened to me. In my last blog I mentioned the snowfall we got, but I didn’t truly explain the effects it had on me and even more so on my fellow Israelis.

It started by raining all day and also chilly. About 3 p.m. the rain switched to sleet. I told my classmates jokingly, “This is what you call snow? This is nothing compared to what I am used to back in Ohio.”

They were psyched nevertheless, which amused me. I was sitting in my last afternoon class with one tiny window in the corner facing the Old City (Jerusalem).

All of a sudden one woman said “ תראו!!!! This means LOOK!!!! When we looked out the window, the snowflakes were the size of silver dollars. They were huge. Everyone’s attention in class diverted to the window and the instructor let us leave early.

I walked outside and let the snowflakes drop in my mouth…as many Israeli students did as well. Everyone except me was taking pictures with their cell phones, mainly because I don’t have a phone camera. But if I did I would have a ton of pics showing the looks on students’ faces. Every one of them was drawn to the outside mesmerized.

I was super glad that I took the bus that morning because of the rain, But then felt kind of cheated because I couldn’t ride my bike back in the snow, which would’ve been a whole hell of a lot faster then the actual bus ride back. A normal 35 to 40 minute bus ride took 2 hours!!!!! And I have never seen the bus as packed.

I mean the driver was letting people board for free. What an experience. When I finally got home, I got out my new digital camera and went to Gan Socher to capture some photographs of Israelis playing in the snow. AHHH and with all that snow on the ground (maybe three inches), it was gone the next day…what can I say.

Currently I am in my last week of the first semester of grad school and let me just say, What the hell was I thinking? I have so much work to do…papers, exams, practicums, home visits. Oh and then fit in some visits to families I almost never see. I very much feel like a zombie…which is not too good I think.

Tonight I have an end of the term Hebrew test which sucks because on Friday morning I have the final level test in the same class. I feel Hebrewed out. I think the weather is bumming me out too. I just feel as if I am a hermit. At least I have work to keep me busy and a cat to keep me distracted. Balance is the key to life…and I am all about balance (Libra).

I am dying to go play golf. I mean this is the longest period in which I haven’t golfed since I was 11. Thank goodness I have a golf game on my computer but it just isn’t the same. I need to feel the grass, step in the bunker, pull the flag out and close my eyes and feel the wind. I so wish I had a money tree, so I could go play when I felt like it.

For me it is a very relaxing experience and I just feel as if I deserve it. I don’t know what’s going on with me lately. I am in a zone that is hard to exit.

A couple of weeks ago I went to a friend’s wedding at the Great Synagogue in Jerusalem. Hymie (Australia) and Chaya (Florida) got married in a beautiful ceremony. I had never been in the actual synagogue and boy was I missing something. It was so majestic, and truly the perfect place to have a wedding.

When I get married I wonder if my family would trek from all over the country to Jerusalem or get me to get married nearer to them. I guess we’ll have to wait and see. I took so many wonderful pictures of Hymie and his wife and I can’t wait to show them.

New Years here wasn’t all that grand. I mean we (the Jews) had our new years back in September, so what’s the big deal? My friend Ian had a party but I had university classes early that next morning so I slipped out just after midnight. It was nice though. He had loads of guests and I met some new folks. And I only drank one beer…GO GOGIE!!!!!

Well I know I have written a lot this time. I hope it satisfies the people who love to read about moi. And for those who dread reading long blogs…too bad J

December 27, 2006

Last night I dreamed I was in Hawaii…why you ask? Well all evening yesterday and all throughout the night we have had the first real strong winter storm. Winter storms here in Israel aren’t all that impressive, by North American terms…really what it is some heavy rains and some wind.

Ah so why I dreamed I was in Hawaii, I don’t know…maybe because I knew it was raining hard like it does in Hawaii, with the exception of the fact that it wasn’t in the 80s as if Hawaii was getting a storm. Oh well, guess it was just wishful thinking. A good byproduct though of the heavy rain is that today we got a SNOW FLURRY and all the students in my research class went bonkers…worrying about the drive back to their homes…I laughed so hard at them…inside laugh of course. That is something I truly miss about the states…the SNOW.

I have been doing well since my last journal entry. I have all but finished my friend Moshe's crab (rock painting), and have been doing a lot around the house. Mainly homework but I have been doing other things as well -- moping, scrubbing, cooking, and playing with kitty (Moe).

Also last week I had two panels…and in case you all have forgotten what that means…it means that I sat a table with other people from the Minhal HaStudentim Authority and gave a small presentation to a group of Taglit-Birthright Israel groups about why they should make Aliyah and how the Student Authority would pay for their degrees if they decide to do move here. It is a rocking job with way rocking people. So I’m glad I work there.

Also the other day we had a program fair at the Beit Hillel building at Hebrew University. We set up tables with other programs like AACI, Nefesh b’ 'Nefesh, Utzma, The Reconstructionist Movement and one more that I can't recall. It was very nice. All that was missing was some Chinese food…I mean isn’t that what Jews are supposed to eat on Christmas? Instead I had Thai food, which I had delivered on Christmas to my class partner's house. It was quite spicy but mmmmmm so good.

Some really fun news is that my former roomy Nikki just arrived on the Taglit-Birthright Israel flight that she is accompanying. She brought presents, which is way sweet of her. Among the things she brought were Star Wars transformers for me, Ian, Moshe and Shoni. But she gave me more stuff like some toys for Moe to play with, and she also bought me a super cool kitty journal book with a peek-a-boo cat on the cover. I will use it soon because I am running out of room in my Mead notebook.

I have also been progressing well in my school work. For instance, I got an assignment back today from my professor and she said my writing is amazing. She told me I write with such talent and perspective like a poet or a writer. Then I admitted to her that I do write poetry in the little spare time I have and that I am also working on a children's book. Who knows when the children's book will be done, but with Hashem's help, it will be done before I move into the next world.

I have received great advice on where to go with it and how to make it more attractive to publishers but I have no time to apply that advice. I have more pressing things on my to do list, like three final papers to write, three presentations to put on in front of my class, one incredibly hard final in Introduction to Socialist Policies of the Welfare State, and my final test in ulpan class.

Needless to say I will have very little time to do much else then to study my butt off. That’s what earning a Masters degree is all about… I love it. I miss learning. I just with I had more time to spend with family.

I am actually going to Tel Aviv this Shabbat to be with Polly and her boys. It is Yonaton's birthday and I wanted to be there to celebrate. Of course I will be taking my school work, but will have to see if I get to it. Well I hope you all enjoyed this peek into my life…oh and wow I almost forgot…tomorrow is a very special day. TOMORROW IS THE 1 YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF MY MAKING ALIYAH!!!!!!

December 18, 2006

Chanukah is here and low and behold it has been a whole Jewish year since I have made Aliyah. I arrived on the third night of Chanukah last year and tonight is the fourth night. YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!

There have been lots of experiences that I would like to share with all of you but I think it would be best to do it via a list. It’ll be a fun list, and it will come soon. In the meanwhile I will just update you on some news of late.

This past Shabbat I spent in Kisalon at Chateau Hippie, aka Shoni and Eynat’s house. We had some seven or eight Chanukiahs going, which was some sight. Some of the friends there, in addition to S & E were Moshe, Ian, Jordana, Tova and moi.

I spent most of the day on Shabbat studying. I have been studying a lot of late and it has paid off…my Hebrew midterm test was a 73. Very good considering that I thought I bombed it, but I guess all that studying paid off big time. I am also getting back a project from my Family Systems course and it should be very good. The assignment was to create a personal family eco-gram and genogram. It was very in-depth and wow, I was impressed with my research method.

Overall, university classes have been going well. I have stayed the course and kept to having no life b/c of all the studying I do. Ehh what can I do? I have made many new friends in my classes, and today my professor asked me to read her PowerPoint presentation to the class because it was in English and her reading is well…not that good in English. She sure is an amazing researcher…and the topics she speaks about are issues with cultural diversity and sensitivity.

I have recently begun watching a new TV series from the states…called Heroes. If any of you have never seen it then watch the reruns because it rocks. It will come out with new episodes in mid-January, so you have some time. Battlestar Gallactica is also taking a break till mid-January, which sucks for me b/c I adore both shows. But I will survive because of all that work I have.

Speaking of work, I will have my first day of actual work on Wednesday. I'm part of a panel and will be speaking to a group of Birthright kids from the states. Should be fun and informative. I will let you know how it went after the fact. Well as Elmer Fudd (or was it Porky Pig, used to say, "bdey, bdey, that’s all folks." Be in touch.

December 6, 2006

I wish I had better news to write about, but I have to start by saying that life is not fair. There was a terrible tragedy in our ‘family’ yesterday afternoon. My oldest cousin’s boyfriend of 4.5 years, Yitzik was killed.

It wasn’t by a terrorist, not by a traffic accident but by a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. He was working on a construction site in Herzaliya. He was working near the lift elevator that was lifting some sort of material up top, when the weights got loose. Tons of weights dropped on his head crushing and killing him instantly. He suffered nothing at all. But what I saw at the funeral today shows that we are truly suffering his loss.

I have never seen such grief in person before. I saw a mother crying out to whoever was listening, “why did you take my son away?” I saw a son crying in anger after saying Kaddish for the first time. I saw tears falling like flowing rivers, embraces without end, truly an experience I will never forget…but am sure to repeat.

The last funeral I had been to was my friend Josh’s mother’s funeral almost four years ago, and I don’t remember such sorrow although I am sure it was there as well. Seeing the children made me the saddest. Knowing that his two boys will grow up the rest of their lives without their humorous and caring father breaks my heart.

I heard the news between classes this morning and as much as I needed to be in the class because it is a class I am struggling with, my emotions wouldn’t let me. I just walked out and found an empty class to cry in. I biked home without thinking, like a program. I was truly somewhere else. I got home threw some clothes in the suitcase and bussed to Tel Aviv to be with Polly and her boys. I must say that I don’t have much experience bereaving for passed loved ones, but I just hope that by me being here did something to help.

This is a picture of Yitzik and Polly together. Polly’s son, Yonatan, showed it to me tonight and looking at their faces brought tears to mine.

How can this be right to tear this apart? Guess G-d has his plan, just wish it didn’t hurt so much.

This week wasn’t all bad though. There were some things that were kind of nice. I started officially working for the Minhal Ha’Studentim (Office of Student Affairs). We had a training orientation this past weekend. It was in Neve Ilan which is near Jerusalem. We had workshops on public speaking and received in-depth background into what the Minhal does for new olim who want to continue their educations at Israeli universities.

I will be handling tours of Birthright groups around the Hebrew University as well as serving as a representative of the Minhal at panel discussions and Birthright mega-events throughout the year.

The people I have met through this organization have really brightened my days. I have new friends from places all around the world; Uruguay, Paraguay, Brazil, Argentina, Costa Rica, Canada, the U.S., France, Portugal, South Africa, Ukraine and Russia.

These are all people who, like me, left all they were used to in their old lives to make new ones here in the Holy Land. Each one is an inspiration to me to keep on truckin' and knowing that my choice didn’t leave me alone here. I am surrounded by Jews who have made the same decision as me and it feels good.

Monday I went on a pseudo tour of Hebrew University campus, just like the ones I will be giving. It was super interesting to find out things that make Heb U unique. I also got back an assignment from my Sensitivity and Cultural Diversity class. It was a research review; a precursor to my research paper which is due at the end of the semester. I got 9 out of 10.

I worked really hard on it as well as on my family’s genogram which I turned in on Wednesday. If you have never done a genogram about your families I highly suggest it. It's very interesting to see the patterns of so many behaviors and themes arise that haven’t really been advertised. You can even download the free software to have it neat ( http://www.genopro.com/ ) check it out.

Well I feel as if I have written enough now, and feel a bit like I need to put some food in me. I haven’t really eaten anything heavy other then some tea cookies since Wednesday, so I am going to prepare some lunch. I don’t want all of you to worry about me, I will be fine, just do me one favor.

Live life as if it were a gift wrapped just for you, and every day you're unwrapping it. Enjoy it, savor it, and enrich it because you never know when your number will be up…just ask Yitzik.

November 26, 2006

Where I last left off twas the day before Thanksgiving and Gogie’s belly was a grumbling monster ready to devour any gobbler that crossed his path. Luckily for their species only one crossed my path on that specific day. Before I made it to the feast at Shimon and Dina’s new house in Hashmonayim, I was the good student and went to ulpan class at the Givat Ram campus (http://www.jerusalemshots.com/cat_en70.html).

The fountain in the picture is one I walk by every Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday as I make my way to my class -- the first building on the right. SEE IT??? It's nice arriving here because the fountain is working, but by the time I usually leave. it has been shut off.

I arrived at class a bit early and called my mummy back in the states to say a quick hi before I returned to Hebrew class. I missed her because she was walking Snoopy. I miss that little guy so much; a Jack Russell terrier that we raised from puppyhood. I always thought of my self as his big brother Gogie.

As I was about to enter class, my phone rings and who is it? It’s my mom. She had just gotten inside and immediately called back. We talked for about 10 minutes. Her voice hadn’t been heard from by my ears for almost a month. I have tried to reach her but its hit and miss because she works too much. She spoke of seeing her friends more which made me happier. She is such a social butterfly and to be cooped up working all the time with no personal time makes me feel sad. I guess I just want her to be happy.

I left class early because I was getting a ride out to the dinner by my friend Shoni. But he ended up stuck at work for another half an hour, so that gave me enough time to go home and relax a little until the departure. We eventually arrived and made it in time to catch the gobbler while it was still warm. There were at least 40 friends and family there…a regular Greenspan get together from what I understand. I saw folks I haven’t seen in at least a month, which is way way overdue and is just what the doctor ordered for me after a week from the depths of H**L.

Later that night we got a couple of Texas Hold’em tables going. A 10 shekel buy in which is nothing. I did well for a couple of games then I was getting tired…yea that’s it…tired and I “gave” my chips away. J

Friday turned out to be a very short day. I didn’t get back into town till 4ish, which meant I had time to get a shower, grab a small bite, and pick up a friend, Shanin, to go to Shabbat dinner. I spent Shabbat at my Canadian friend’s house near T’mol Shilshom ( http://www.tmol-shilshom.co.il/ ) in the center of town. Gil was the first person I met when I moved into the merkaz klitah at Beit Canada. He is a reporter for the Jerusalem Post here in J-town. He does mostly freelance stuff, but he dabbles in other things as well.

Dinner was rockin…actually it was gobbling…because we had turkey and stuffing. Why frack up a good thing I always say. I think that is why I have been sleeping so incredibly well these last few nights…isn’t it turkey that aids in sleeping? Who knows why? I can’t remember.

During the day on Shabbat I decided to do some school work, which meant review my Hebrew notes from class and rewrite them in my actual notebook so that they can be referred back to with ease. If they were giving grades for neatness of notebooks, well I would have straight A’s, oh well. So I worked on stuff and before I knew it Shabbat was over, 5 p.m. around this part of the world. I went to hang out with Ian, Dave, Moshe, Nava and Eliyosef at Ian’s house. There we listened to Moshe and Eliyosef jam on the guitar and bass. Great atmosphere. Then Nava and Eliyosef left and Shayna arrived. It was up to her to choose a movie for us to watch on the big screen (at least 6 foot screen) at Ian’s house. She chose a nice one and not very chick flicky either…King Arthur the newest one. ( http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0349683/ ) I think I give it 3.5 stars out of 5. Ending wasn’t that exciting.

I came home and checked my email and saw this attachment on my email. http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xf9oo_jerome-murat , it is where you will find a ventriloquist show like no other. I was thinking “How does he do it?” Maybe you will think the same. And so this is how my weekend ended. But now it's NFL Sunday and I am hoping for good things for my fantasy team. So it’s going to be a great first day of the week and a wonderful week to all of you.

November 22, 2006

Today has been some kind of day, and not in a good way. I started out by waking up super hungry, but not having any food other then a brownie to eat for breakfast. So I ate that and had a cup of tea, and made it to class. I arrived on time and got a seat next to the lecturer, which is good b/c the last time I was in the class I sat next to these two girls who would not shut up; totally interfered with my attention, but not today. I sat next to Maya who helped me with some words that I didn’t know and was way quieter too.

After that class I rushed over to my next class which is by far my most difficult. It is a class that goes in depth into research methods and designs. It is a requirement in my graduate program. It is very difficult because what it expects from me is to be able to understand and research the topic of just that …research.

Both lecturers speak incredibly fast and until today I thought were way too busy to have time to understand my situation. After class I approached Yifat, the lecturer, and told her of my difficulties. She asked me to talk a bit more about what was bothering me; I don’t know how she knew, but maybe it was my glassy eyes. I explained to her that I felt like I was drowning in her class. My partner has bronchitis and I was the only one from both of us to be in class the past two weeks and for me to be in class and not have any idea about the project made me feel kind of incompetent. She was very understandable and ready to help.

I tell all of the professors and students that I am a new immigrant and they are shocked to see me where I am already. They feel like I have sped through the process of making Aliyah and arrived at a place that they would never see themselves 10 months after moving to a foreign country and barely speaking the language.

But then there is me. I expected to be where I am thinking I can handle it socially, emotionally, physically and cognitively. But lately I am having second thoughts. Why then would I feel so alone, not seeing my friends as much as I want to, not seeing family, and feel so weak most of the time?

It is immensely hard for me to balance these and still keep a dry eye. Today I just couldn’t do it anymore. While speaking with my professor I just started sobbing. I just couldn’t hold it in any more. I don’t know why all this is affecting me now, maybe it is because I am now seeing that there must be sacrifices in order to succeed here - sacrifices that I was not ready to make in the states. But now I am thinking that I must make these sacrifices so that I can make my home here and accomplish what I dream of.

So on my way home I stopped at the grocery store to spend money I don’t really have on some food for the house. As I walked in, I ran into a good friend and his wife, Gil and Randy. They are great Torontonians who made Aliyah like myself, but are of a little older generation. Anyway, they saw I was a bit under the weather so they invited me for Shabbat dinner this Friday. It was really kind of them and I expressed my gratitude.

Of course I asked if I can bring something and they said “NO” just come. They understand some of the difficulties I have been having, and are very supportive. So I got home and cooked some noodles and schnitzel. Then I had my favorite time of the day…kitty cuddling time with Moe. He knew I had a hard day and was right there purring away in my lap. Thank G-d I live with a kitty, such a wonderful stress reducer.

After taking a 15-minute nap to let my food digest, I got a phone call. It was my professor Yifat and she told me she found a solution to my problem. She would let me join another duo already working on a project of their own and they said they would love to have me join with them. Sharon, one of my friends in the class, even suggested I join.

What a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. I know I will still have to work very hard to succeed in the class but now at least I have someone who goes to class to depend on and help me when I need it. That was very kind what Yifat and Sharon worked out. Now I need to prove my worth and contribute to the team.

Then my Aunt Elana called to see how I was feeling. I talked to her the other day and I told her that I was not feeling well. She talked to my mom today and she wanted to check up on me. My mom is someone I haven’t spoken with in almost a month and which is too long. I consider myself and her to be pretty close and to not have spoken to her for such a long time must be very hurtful. I have tried to ring her but to no avail. Always seem to miss her. Tomorrow I will try again and I hope to reach her then.

Tomorrow is also Thanksgiving, in case any of you forgot. I was invited to my friend’s, Shimon and Dina, house in Hashmonayim. It is a yearly tradition they have and I am totally looking forward to it. All my friends will be there and it will be a wonderful feeling to be around all of them. I only wish I could be around my family at the same time. I miss then very much. Soon I hope to be able to travel down to Beersheva for a visit.

I got some pretty good advice today, from a couple different sources. It was to take time for myself, do things that I ‘enjoy,’ because if I don’t then I will regret it. Lately I have been hibernating in my apartment, either working on ulpan language materials, or university homework. Barely seeing my friends and family has affected me in a way that I don’t like, and didn’t really see it till I ended up sick and fragile like I was today. So that is something I need to put on the front burner, so that I don’t have a repeat of today’s emotions.

Well I guess that is enough rambling for one day. I will write more after eating loads of turkey this weekend.

I want to leave you all with a great quote from Gandhi that I hope resonates with me as well as with all of you.

“Every night, when I go to sleep, I die. And the next morning when I wake up, I am reborn.”

Nov. 19, 2006

The best news I have heard in a long time is the absolute beating of U of M by my beloved OSU Buckeyes. The game was a strong call for OSU finally to be the best team in the country. Only took 12 weeks to get the respect we deserved from the first week of the season. Better late then to be in Meeechegans shoes, LOL.

I came back from being in Tel Aviv on Sunday morning. I traveled up there to possibly see the game on the tube, but that didn’t happen. It’s all good though because I got to see a lot of it on the computer and then see endless game reviews once it was over. Really wish I could’ve been there for that epic game, perhaps the best one ever.

One thing I came back to Jerusalem with that I wish I could’ve left in TA is my sickness. I am currently in a state of yuckiness. I have a sore throat, a nagging cough, congestion, weakness…pretty much all over. I didn’t go to university today because of it and I really hope it goes away soon. I have been drinking loads of fluids and resting, yet still am sick. I wanted to study today instead of going to school but I can’t even focus on a page let alone a whole article or 6.

Other then being sick I have been pretty well lately. I have begun to work for the Office of Student Affairs, and they want me to come in again to finish what I was doing. This is good because this means I can go buy some food next week. Although I haven’t been exercising lately that much, it seems like I am staying at my present weight, in kilos.

I can’t remember what I weighed in pounds; it has been that long since I have done it. I plan to put some weight into my web site this week, so keep a look out for it. And I am also searching for fun ads to interest my friends, should be rad. Well it is time for me to make some tea. Hope y'all are fine and also hope to hear from youz soon.

Nov. 15, 2006

So with these articles I've been reading I have learned a lot about the history of family therapy, child abuse and neglect, family systems theory, and a few other topics. Some of them are pretty dry, but I know they will help me in the long run.

As a matter of fact I got my first exercise back from my research class and my partner and I got a 91. She told me that she never gets grades like that and gave a lot of credit to me for thinking of the topic and expanding it to fill the guidelines. Good booster Einat is...and now we have the mother of all exercises coming up soon. Hope I make us proud for goodness sake.

I have met some wonderful friends in the Schwartz Program at Hebrew University. I am the lone American and oleh in all of my classes so I seem to be kinda famous. And the only guy, which has its benefits...if you know what I mean :-) My teachers are all very helpful and insightful. They have been encouraging me to stay focused and not to get down on the language. They say it will come...I believe them.

I had my first day of practicum experience yesterday. It was great to be back in the classroom again. I have been assigned to a class of 1.5- to 3-year-olds at the university. I blended right into the class...to the great surprise of the mentor teacher and her assistants. I guess they are not used to see a man get along and interact with children as quickly and well as I did. That boosted my confidence when they told me that. I must say there were a couple of moments where if i were in QA (quality assurance), I would've written them up for their actions, but I am not. I feel as if I will do very well there.

OF COURSE I CANT FORGET ABOUT MY BELOVED BUCKEYES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Saturday is the much anticipated annual slugfest of OSU whooping Meechigans asses back to that state up north. All I read on www.espn.com is how the Bucks are going to romp. I only wish I could watch it somehow online or through a (video) stream, but of course ABC won't webcast it. Guess I will have to watch updates throughout the game.

My roommate is a pretty cool dude. Lazar is his name...he is from Boston originally and is in the IDF (Israel Defense Force). He is an officer who trains new soldiers for combat. Now he is stationed just outside of Gaza, which is kinda like our new war. Soon enough it will be, especially after what those ragheads in Gaza pulled today killing a woman with one of those homemade rockets.

I think we need to bulldoze that whole area and make it our new garbage heap instead of dumping our trash outside of Tel Aviv. Maybe it is not a popular view but hey everyone's entitled to their own opinion.

OK, it is time to return to my studies...hope to catch up with you all soon enough. Keep in touch...nothing makes me happier then receiving e-mails from friends and family back home and here home gogie1976 at hotmail.com (Replace at with @, no spaces)

Lehitraot (farewell)

Nov. 4, 2006

Gee, what is new with me? Guess I can say not a whole lot other then buckling down to study and not much else. I have been reading more these days than I have been in years. Reading interesting articles about the origins of family therapy, previous social policies and others. Plus of course studying Hebrew language at the level of daled (4th).

Ulpan is OK I guess. My teacher seems to have a lot of interesting tales to tell, and his jokes are pretty dry...but his sense of humor is good. Keeps class fun, which is important. I have kept on biking to class at the university and also to ulpan. Staying in shape, which is great, because without my beefcake frame, I would be, well, a chunky monkey.

Hehe...So Battlestar Gallactica is working my mind hardcore. I am thinking everyone is a Cylon...especially that Baltar dude. I am pretty much keeping up on that show to keep my breaks non-educational.

I have started to work on my master's thesis. I am working with two other classmates on creating an opening question to base my research. It's great because both women that I am working with work with populations in which I can get great input from.

One is a social worker in the system here in Israel; the other is an Israeli mom with multiple contacts with young families. I hope to research Israel's perspectives on a male's roles in early childhood education.

I have experienced many moments where Israelis have told me that a man's role is not with children, but with the 'real' world. Times are very slow to change here, thus I feel as if there is room to document that change. This is my hope, so we'll see where it goes.

I'll keep all of you updated as I become more entrenched. Till then, take care.

Oct. 24, 2006

Back to the flow of school

Well it has been about six years since I was in a college classroom. That sudden start up again, and in another language, has been very overwhelming for me. I missed the atmosphere and action of university life, but I certainly didn't miss the workload. I have a ton, especially because some of the articles that I have to read are in Hebrew. OY OY OY.

Monday was my first day of classes and of the three classes I went to, I have the same teacher in two. The other class is entirely in Hebrew, and in social work. And I am not at all familiar with the terminology of that field.

Needless to say I will have very little time to do anything else than work this semester. Plus I am now seeing that I will probably have no time for an actual job in addition to classes. But my financial situation won't allow for it. Gosh I wish I had enough so that I wouldn't have to think about saving this shekel and that shekel because I may need it for rent. I hate thinking about money. Sorry about the rant.

So I am back in the swing of ulpan too, kitah daled (4th level). It is surprisingly close to my home and I ride my bike there, except on Sunday. When I was riding home, the pedal arm on the bike fell off. I went to the bike store to ask for a bolt to fix it and they told me I have to buy a whole set of pedals because there is no bolt by itself. Conniving jerks. So I will look for a bolt on my own and until then I think I may duct tape it on.

My situation is sad is it not? At least I have a roof over my head, and a fridge with some food. Oh, and today I actually got my insurance card from the hospital after nine months of living here. That's bureaucracy for ya. Baruch Hashem that I didn't break a bone or catch pneumonia or something. I will just wait until they screw me when I do, because that is what they do.

My cousin Sarit Vino Elad had a new baby on Shabbat. It was a girl, so now its two girls that she has.

Oct. 13, 2006

These last few days have been quite eventful for me. My travels led me to Tel Aviv for a mid-week visit. I was accompanied, to and from on the bus, by friends, different people. Jessica (ulpan buddy) to Tel Aviv and Rachael (merkaz klitah friend) on the return ride. Jessica and I went to visit our mutual friend Sydney and his gf Sheera. Sheera was pet sitting for her sister who is in the states and the two dogs that were there were very cute. One was a bull dog and the other was a mix breed that was identical to my friend Mitch’s dog Maximus. Pretty sweet if you ask me.

When Sheera returned from her job, we all went out for a night on the town. Turns out that Sheera was friends with the members of the Moshav Band. They were from the original moshav. So we got in free to a very closed show. They almost didn’t go on stage b/c of their girl drummer.

There were some Hareidi Jews who planned the show and who didn’t want to have a girl on the stage, but they eventually gave in. They jammed for a good hour and a half then the girl went into this drum solo that blew everyone away. After the show the four of us and another friend, Dina, went to a friend’s house for cookies and tea. Eventually we got home and I passed out.

On Thursday I went to visit my old shutaf (roommate) Alex. We had a good time at his place. First he had satellite TV which meant that I could watch sports, American style. I got to watch some golf, football, billiards and Texas Holdem. His GF Rachael cooked this awesome chicken and rice concoction that was mighty tasty.

After lunch, Alex and I went to the beach. I stayed in the water for a good hour or so. Unfortunately it was already sunset, but amazingly the water was still pretty warm. I was playing a floating and sinking game. The water was very clear so that at 4 feet deep I could still see my toes. We returned to the apartment to sleep a bit. When we woke up, we went out for a drink at a local pub near his house. The three of us reminisced well and had a few good laughs.

I was talking to Sydney and Sheera about my plans for a child care center and they helped me brainstorm names of possible centers. We came up with a great catchy phrase which will be the ultimate ad. If you know of the radio station gal gal gal Galatz, it is close to that. Email me if you want to know what it is. But I am not going to put it out there for all to read. I may need to get it copywritten, it’s that good.

Now it is about to be Simchat Torah (celebration of Torah), and with Shabbat it will be a pretty good weekend. But next week I have shiyatloads of errands to do. No worries, I can handle it. Well good luck Buckeyes and Bengals this weekend, and everyone else take care and Shabbat Shalom.

Oct. 8, 2006

I have meant to write a little bit for a while now. Guess now is a good time as any to write a thing or two. First the title is not to be taken seriously; I don’t need to change my underwear. But Battlestar has returned and that is true...and it is great to see it again. Shownie, Ian, Eynat, Moshe and I watched a mini marathon building up to the new episode. We miss you Nikki, you were here in spirit. And you get to watch it earlier then us, lucky you.

Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and Sukkoth have come and the holidays have provided me with family, friends, food, field trips and cant think of another f word except FRACK!! LOL

I have been spending a lot of time with my friends Shownie and Eynat. It was a weekend of October birthdays. Mine 1, Eynat 5th, Eli & Shira 8th. They had me and a lot of folks over there house in Kisalon (Chateau Hippie). I made Gazpacho soup of watermelon and other yummy ingredients. I was going to write down the whole menu, cause the food was rocken, but I feel too lazy to do it.

My dad just won a $9000 golf cart. He lives in Florida in a place called the Villages. There everyone travels by golf cart, so he is set. Now it’s my turn to win a something or another. A golf cart would be pretty cool to roll into the shuk. Anyways congrats poppy.

Here I am...30 and still kicking. It feels alright to be half of sixty. I am a quarter of 120, which was the age of Moshe Rabenu (the Moshe that led us pit of Egypt). So maybe it will be a year that will bring me simchas (joys), Bruit (health), have (love), and maze (luck). And with this New Year I wish the same to ALL OF YOU.

Sept. 29, 2006

Today is my 30th Hebrew birthday; the actual date is the 7th of Tishrei. I was told of it at a birthday party for my friend Rivka last night. It was a great time by all. I was just real tired and I wasn’t drinking at all, so I left early.

Last weekend was the Hebrew New Year. 5767 is the exact year we are in, can u believe it...already.

I spent the holidays with my family in Be'er Sheva and had a great time. I was at my uncles in laws and they were so welcoming and hospitable. They sent me back to Jerusalem with two ribs strips to cook at home and loads of other yummy treats. Me so lucky.

I finished ulpan class Gimel this week also. I feel like I have a tight grasp on the structure (mivneh) of the language. Now in class Deled I will be more focused on reading and comprehension. I don’t start Daled until October 22nd, which is when my university classes also start.

I am getting antsy about going back to school. As a matter of fact I had a real dream the other night that I was in this class and the teacher flew through some lesson and before I knew it he was done with the lesson. Next I remember the next day in class and he handed out a test on the material from the prior lesson and I was shocked I didn’t catch he was going to test the next day. So I asked a classmate and they said yea they knew. I was very surprised, so I went up to the teacher and explained my language situation and how didn’t understand that there would be a test on the material so soon. He next was running out of the class. So I followed him and pled my case. He wouldn’t listen to me and went into an office. I was not a happy camper. Glad it was just a dream. So anyway...

I am now in Modiin spending Shabbat with Moshe, his mom and grandma. It will be nice to be in air conditioning with people I consider to be family as well. So I hope to hear from some of you soon, and till then MAY YOU ALL BE WRITTEN IN THE GOOD BOOK OF LIFE.

Always with you all,

April 2, 2006

Since my last entry in the now famous blog, well some action has occurred. A busy week for sure has past and here I am going to share it with the world. Sunday I made it to ulpan and not that I think about it I did on Tuesday as well. That was all she wrote though for the rest of the week. It was kinda funny how when I walked into class the teacher thought I dropped the class. I told her NO I am just rethinking my attendance policy. Tuesday was Voting day here in Israel…and let me tell you wow…what a system. I was actually interviewed for an article in the Jerusalem Post. The article appears on the following web site: http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1143498765819&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

I truly felt like I had taken a leap back into the Stone Age as far at the voting process went. But hey at least I got to vote. Others who were around me, like my roommate couldn’t. Red tape is long here, especially if you’re a new immigrant (oleh). My guy didn’t win either…as a matter of fact he came out like 5th or so. Oh well. Wednesday was good, or at least what I remember of it. Thursday was the fun day. I left work early to I could go home and have a few beers with some friends. We played Drinking Jenga. Which is pretty much Jenga with drinking instructions on each block. It was a blast. Even my new friend Sara came down to play. She is a former participant on the Livnot U’lehibanot program that I actually work at, which is how I met her. She’s rad and she has a very cute smile. Well what was best about that night is that I didn’t go and drink too much, b/c the next morning there was NO hangover.

I was planning to go to Tel Aviv this Shabbat to chill with my family. My aunt Noga was there along with her daughters Polly ( two sons Aaron and Jonathan) and Sarit ( with daughter Joy and one in the oven). Another cousin was there and her name is Orit, and she wasn’t feeling good. She had a naselet ( runny nose). But it was so nice to hang with them. I was lucky enough to catch the Usual Suspects on TV too right before bed. It sucks that I can’t watch my VCR movies. Cause I got a bunch I love to watch over and over and one of the is you got it, The Usual Suspects. Could be worse though.

The whole time change thing is screwing me up big time. Like tonight I was hoping to leave work a bit early to invite Sarah to a cup of tea or something and a movie, but the clocks at work hadn’t been moved forward…so as I thought I was leaving work at 9:30 it was actually 10:30..argh!!!!!!!!! Got home at 10:50 and realized what had happened. It took me an hour and 20 minutes to get home. So I called Sarah to watch the movie and was like oops…so I got a rain check.

There was a lot that happened at work today…considering not much exciting happens there. I , Me , Moi was accused of being a racist. By someone who never spoke to me and doesn’t know me at all. Had to do with an applicant who is undergoing a conversion process and she happened to be black. Well she waited till the absolutely last moment to send in her paperwork and when she is told that there is no space for her on the trip. I emailed her and told her she may go on the waiting list of wait till the winter cycle to apply again. She was polite and understanding. But a couple of days later …today her fiancé emails my boss and big boss and accuses me of refusing her because I saw from the picture that she was black. Pissed me off so much, I mean the nerve. I was on the phone for 20 minutes talking to my boss about it. I really got offended and expressed my disappointment in their possible decision to place her on the trip if that is what they decide. And that jerk wants an apology from me…screw that…he can kiss my tuchos ( ass).

Well I won’t let that jerky ruin my attitude though…I know there are ignorant people out there and he just so happened to be one. Thank goodness he is the one coming to Israel on a program, because I would have to kick his ass back to the states. Anyways….hope all of you are caught up and I hope you enjoyed the article I was in .

March 24, 2006

My day today was 100% better then yesterday. I got up later then I was hoping, but it worked out well. First because I didn’t have ulpan, so I didn’t have to skip. I had an appointment with a friend named Avital. I met her at my friend Gil's Purim party. She is a student at HU and I talked with her about my recent troubles comprehending the master’s application process.

She told me she would help me, and today she did. It was so nice of her. Even she was surprised to see that I was interested in working with young children. But anyways...we spent about an hour going over the application and the requirements. Her mom invited me for Shabbat lunch tomorrow, which was sweet. Of course I accepted, cause pretty much otherwise I wouldn’t have eaten tomorrow.

After her house I made it over to the grocery store near the merkaz. I wanted to make chicken wings like my mom makes. All good, but I didn’t realize how much work went into it. I must’ve spent 45 minutes just cutting extra skin and defeathering the damn wings. But wow did they turn out goooooooood. I made fresh scalloped potatoes too. Mixing milk and meat never tasted so good. What’s funny is that I was pretty much cooking for myself. At the store I called my roommate and asked him what his plans were for dinner and he said he and Bastian were already invited to David’s family’s room for din-din. I was like whoa, guess I am eating and cooking for myself. That was my thought though till I walked up the path to my house.

I ran into Graham from Ireland. I asked him if he had any plans for dinner, he said no...So I asked him if he wanted to eat with me. He was like sure why not. Well he got a treat, the dinner turned out delicious. He was impressed much like everyone else when they saw what I prepared. I really did observe my mom well when she cooked, cause I think I create much like my Ima ( mom ). Bastian and Alex were kidding that they were feeling sick and weren’t going to go to the Navaro's room for dinner. Cause they wanted to eat my food I prepared.

I feel good when people compliment me on my food. I try to be creative and innovative when I cook. Those potatoes were a prime example of this. I was planning to take a picture of the food once prepared, but I forgot. Oh well.

I said Kiddush and Hamotzi and me and Graham sat and ate. It was much better then eating alone. Glad I asked him. After dinner he left, and I started to watch a movie I got as a gift form the grocery store, from points I earned through purchases. Good movie too...called Hostage with Bruce Willis. And I can watch it on my computer which Moshe fixed for me last week. Big Props to Moishe. Then I watched one of my favorite DVD's, Pink Floyd's THE WALL. Riveting movie I must say.

"If you don’t eat your meat, how can you have any pudding. How can you have your pudding if you don't eat your meat?"

March 23, 2006

I am finishing up a roller coaster day. I am currently at work but I did not start out there. I started out in my bed, surrounded my Kermit, RaffiTaffi cat and my Brutus the Buckeye pillow. I woke up amazingly right on time for ulpan, but as you can guess...I didn’t go. There reason is not because I simply wanted to skip...it was because I had a big day planned at the Hebrew University campus.

I skipped breakfast, which I shouldn’t, cause I was starving when I arrived on campus. As I arrived I made it to the school of social work to get an internal application for the Schwartz Masters Program. I found the right office after roaming around like a freshman would walking into a new high school. Finally I called the office that I was supposed to visit and the other person on the line said, "Ani shoma'at otcha, aval loh ba telefone." That means she heard me but not on the phone...which I got to understand that I was right near her office and she heard my voice. I thought that was pretty funny.

Her name was Shuli and after I asked her for an internal application to the school of social work, she gave me the one that was specially for people who are interested in administrating path. Then I told her that I was actually interested in the Early Childhood Development path, and she was quite shocked to see a man inquiring. I guess here as well as in America, male roles in working with young children are not expected. I hope to change that misconception with my knowledge, compassion, sensitivity, humor, and hard work. And indeed it will be a lot of hard work, like today was.

I left that office with a good feeling, and that quickly fizzled when I arrived in the library to take the Hebrew language placement test. I struggled with many words, and finally just gave up halfway through the test.

I felt very incompetent...which was very unfair of me to feel. Soon after that I felt I needed music stimulation to help me feel better. That is when I popped in my Weezer CD and sang to two of my favorite songs. One was called the sweater song and the other only in dreams. I must’ve sang like way off key, but I didn’t have to hear it...I had headphones on. By now I was feeling better, so I switched CD's and put in a CD called Tikkun Clali. It is actually a collection of 10 of King David's psalms and they put together supposedly has properties to fix the Neshama ( spirit). I totally felt like I needed that. By the middle of the first psalm I was already getting tears rolling down my cheek. Thank goodness I wore my shades.

I began thinking about my purpose of being in Israel. If I had made the right choice, if I was really prepared for such a move. Then I thought of the people I missed so much back in the states. I needed someone to talk to so bad about it. But I couldn’t find a moment to dry out. Every now and again I get so emotional and everyone says it is normal to feel that way, but for me it is not that normal. Interestingly I got a call from a Nefesh B'Nefesh representative on the walk to work, and she asked me how I was feeling? What timing I thought, it was hard to tell her what I was feeling. But I did and she told me she would put me in touch with the University liaison to help me with the registration process. I was supposed to be sent to her line, but instead they transferred me to her fax line. I still haven’t called back, but I will.

At work, Meredith and Pesach gave me a group hug to help me feel better. That was awesome, then Moshe stopped by and we talked about the feelings I had today. He told me how everyone he talks to about me, thinks I am so awesome and so prepared...and I think which Gogie do they know...the confident one who found a job the first week here and found a great supportive group of brothers and sisters, or the Gogie that is an emotional wreck when things don’t go the way he thought they should. Then everyone says this is normal. I need to remember that advice, cause it will help me I know.

Well felt like I have vented enough. Now don’t everyone worry about Gogie...he will be fine. Just plop him on a bench and give him the Jerusalem air to breathe in and he will be fine. That is what I will keep doing, cause it feels just so darned good. Everyone have a wonderful peaceful Shabbat.

March 21, 2006

This entry is going to be 100% better then the previous one. Last night when I returned from work I arrived to a dira (apt) where olim (immigrants) from around the world came. David and his sister Rachel were over with their dad Moshe. They are from Peru and made aliyah the same week that I did. David is a great guitar player and him and is sister singing along sounded like the Peruvian version of the Jackson's, I kid you not. Along with Bastian's uncle Eliyahu on the bongos, it was like being in the Andes singing songs swaying in the mountain air. Labamba was sweeeeet, and he played some Metallica too which made me a fan instantly, even though I couldn’t remember words to the songs.

Then Chaim (Holland) and Graham( Ireland) stopped by and it was like the coolest circle of songs and cultures and fun that I have had in a long while. It is nice to see Bastian and Alex keeping their chins up about the whole experience. Alex said, "We will be back to our pretty selves in a month." No Doubt.

That was one night that has stood out in my mind as something out of the ordinary. Although we all live in the same building community, everyone is busy and the energy was right, I am just glad I was around to absorb it.

In terms of studies I am getting my application in to Hebrew University this week. I may have to take an entrance exam and GRE, so that will give me something to focus on short term. I am also thinking Ulpan Gimel is going to be my last. I feel like I could pass the test where I am in language without going on to Daled. Plus I have to do a special ulpan in the summer before I enroll, so break time here I come.

I am starting on another rock painting. I am thinking out of the box and I may try an animal that is not, get this, a cat. Does anyone have any ideas? I am willing to try anything really, within reason so let me know. If I don’t hear soon then a frog looks like in the future. Or dog.

Jan. 3, 2006

Good day all. I have had quite a long day. It started by waking up at 8, instead of the 7 that I set my alarm clock for. Didn’t hurt my day too bad. I actually got to town early and walked to five banks. Each told me that all the banks would rip me off. Great news huh? But of course I couldn’t start a bank account till I received my Teudat Zehut (identity card), and so much more. I think I remember them also saying my first-born.

Gosh I must’ve walked 5 to 10 miles around the city. Great work out but I don’t need it because I’m thin.

Tuesday, first thing I am heading to the army office. Wish me luck in getting out without a hassle. Then hopefully I will be able to get all the other necessary paperwork to progress my file.

Jan. 2, 2006

Hello my wonderful friends. How are the cold states of America doing? I must say I thought Israel would be chilly this time of year, but it actually is amazingly and extraordinarily warm. I don’t mean to be rubbing it in.

I spent my first day today roaming around town. I hung out at the main pedestrian mall at Ben Yehuda Street. I wrote some ideas in my blog too, but this was after my belly was full of Kosher Burger King. Boy did I have it my way :-).

I moved into my apartment. I have a French roommate, and he’s nice enough. Also found out that three people that were on my flight were actually living right next door to me. We share a wall. It’s pretty cool, except for (the center’s) distance from the main part of Jerusalem. I tried to walk to town and what a failure that was. I made it to the Promenade then I called my favorite buddy here in Israel, Moshe. Thanks to him I didn’t collapse right there.

The Internet room (at the Beit Canada Absorption Center) is actually a big joke. Its first come first serve, and there is no WiFi That is why I trekked with two friends to this pleasant café, Aroma. And I am drinking my favorite tea with Nana (mint).

I have met so many people and amazingly I have remembered the names of most of them. Not bad for my memory skills.

Dec. 30, 2005

Now that I am here in Israel...line up the falafel, shwarma, glida and whatever else I crave.

Today finally came. Why so important? Because today, December 28th, is the beginning of the rest of my new life.

Well I am finally a resident of this fine country of Israel. It is my first official day of citizenship and I am wide-awake. I totally crashed at 9 the previous night after I ate my first real shwarma in a long time.

Unfortunately, I woke up at 1:30 a.m. Thus here I am at 6 a.m. chillin on the computer. I am going to be so tired tomorrow. Who cares? All I have to do is make some phone calls.

The Nefesh flight I was on was cool. I met a ton of new olim, just like me. The actual flight was very uncomfortable and the food was like eating cardboard.

All in all, my move and transition has been going well. I really miss my family and friends back home in Cincinnati and the rest of the USA, but I can work on that.

Well I am so jet lagged that I fell asleep during two very short car rides. Today Moshe and I drove a sister of a good friend to the airport. Naomi was returning to Toronto.

Since we were near Tel Aviv, we stopped by the beach. We sat at a sand cafe, and enjoyed the sites. One of the sites was this beautiful sunset. Anther beautiful site was Mor, our waitress and she was soooo hitting on me. Whoa!! Anyway, after we left the beach we arrived in Modi''in to eat dinner. Burger Barn was the source, mmmm Burger Barn. Am I still awake?

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