In the land of Ire...and a smidgen of London

Posting things a bit out of order, but it seems that my blog should reflect my mind these days...a "balagan" or 'mess' in Hebrew...so here it goes.

It's no secret these days that I have a vested interest in a young Irish lad named Frank, so a few weeks ago, I finally made the voyage to that small, beautiful island in the Northwest of Europe.  The trek there was interesting, as most of my stories begin.  I arrived at Ben Gurion airport with plenty of time to spare before my flight, and I was patiently awaiting my turn in the baggage screening area.  Just then I looked down, and noticed a bloodstain soaking through the knee of my jeans.  Apparently I had cut myself hours earlier, and at that exact moment, it decided to start bleeding.  Nothing sketchier in an airport security line than being covered in blood.  Awesome.  Luckily, some nice Israelis had a few wetnaps, which although stung something awful, provided me some way to clean myself up.  Note- Israeli security was not too helpful, unless you consider their barrage of questioning about what I did to myself to be covered in blood "helpful."

When I landed in London some 6 hours later, I was incredibly excited to be in an English speaking country again.  I was reading all the signs, browsing through magazines, and chatting to any and everyone I encountered.  It's amazing how often in Israel I have no idea what is going on around me, but here in London, eavesdropping and people watching regained its place as one of my favorite hobbies.  Oh, and Starbucks!  How I missed that delightful coffee chain, especially at this time of year, where I was able to get one of their festive holiday beverages...amazing Toffee Nut Soy Latte :)

After spending a good 10 hours in the Luton airport curled up in a basket I created with two leather chairs, I finally landed in Dublin!  I was instantly shocked by the weather, having been at the beach in Tel Aviv just a day before.  Since I arrived so early, we took a few hours to sleep and relax before beginning our tour of Ireland.  That Saturday we were in Dublin, and saw some great sites including Christ Church Cathedral, which was built in something like 1030 and incredibly beautiful, but also haunting in that way only churches can really make you feel.  Later, we went to the Book of Kells Museum near Trinity college, including a visit to this amazingly old and huge library.  If I was a Harry Potter fan, I would imagine this sort of library is what their wizardry school has...Of  course, no touristy trip to Dublin would be complete without a visit to Temple Bar, which much to my suprise is a neighborhood, not just one bar, and last but not least, the Guiness Brewery.  Now, I've been on a few brewery tours before, but I have to say that this one wins for coolness handsdown.  It was a self guided, interactive tour, where you could watch old and new Guiness commercials, check out how the bottles and advertising campaigns have changed over the year, and of course, sample the stuff.  We opted to have our free pint on the top level of the brewery, called the Gravity Bar.  This large, round bar has floor to ceiling windows on all sides, offering an amazing 360 degree view of Dublin.  We were there when the sun had just set, and I am a sucker for a cool city view at night!  Later, we made the 2 hour drive down to Cork, the city I had heard endless stories about during my summer in Chicago, with a band of 10+ native Cork-ians as my neighbors.

Inappropriate Leprechaun....of course!

We managed to struggle through tiredness and mild sickness to make it out to see some of the guys from the summer, which was a real treat for me.  No longer were they just the Irish neighbors that partied all summer long - these were friends, with jobs and school and shirts...blew my mind!  (just kidding guys :) )  We all went out to the pub that night...something I think the Irish are kind of known for?  Good times, but not nearly enough time to catch up!

Sunday we drove out to West Cork, which is absolutely beautiful!  We drove the Ring of Kerry, which is a beautiful 170 km drive along the Southwest coast of Ireland, with some stunning views of the sea and the Cork & Kerry Mountains (which interestingly enough, divide Cork & Kerry Counties).  Along the way, we stopped at a few detours to break up the drive, mainly to check out ruins of castles, churches or forts, or to grab a cup of soup and tea in a little town.  I won't bore you with every detail of our week, but I will say that in short, Ireland is a beautiful, fun place, with very friendly folks and lots of cool towns, sites and views!

Before heading back to Tel Aviv, Frank and I spent a day in London.  We flew in from Dublin around 8 in the morning, dropped our bags at the hotel and headed into the city.  Our luck being what it is, the temperatures in London that day were the coldest of the year so far!  Our first stop on the tube was in Westminster, were I had some authentic fish and chips at a pub...no beer yet though, it was only like 11:30am.  The dish was....ok.  The fish was delicious and fresh, but I would have liked the crust to be seasoned a little more for my liking, and the side dish of mashed peas was a bit confusing.  Later, we went into the Westminster Abbey, which is one of the biggest, oldest and most famous churches in the world.  The beauty and history located inside the church is like nothing I have seen before.  Kind of exciting to be there around this time, since the royal wedding is taking place there in the spring!  Sadly, no Prince William sitings to report.  Later in the day, we headed to Trafalgar's square, visited the National Art Gallery, the Tower of London and saw the Tower Bridge (what Frank told me most people think is the London Bridge, but it's not!).  Before leaving the city for the night, we had a nice "Thanksgiving" dinner in the Shepard's Bush neighborhood.  Instead of the traditional Turkey Day dinner (since let's be honest, I don't eat most of it!), Frank found a great vegetarian restaurant to check out called Blah Blah Blah.  I was a bit skeptical of the name, but it turned out to be awesome!  It was a BYOB, which I miss dearly from Chicago restaurants, so we brought along a bottle of red wine.  A bit odd being away from home for Thanksgiving, but as much as I missed the traditional meal with my family, it was a great day in London, to cap off a great week!  Looking forward to my next visit already!  

This is how excited Frank was about the art gallery.... :)

Also, purchased my ticket home last week....Chicago here I come on February 9th!  I'm expecting some sort of a blizzard or at least a cold front that day to properly welcome me home.... :)

Haifa's ablaze and Muslim delicacies in the Old City....

Hello again fair readers, it has been far too long since I have written an update!  I wish I could say that I have been so busy that I haven't even had a chance to sit and write...but that wouldn't be entirely honest.  I know I have fallen to the wayside a bit in terms of entries, so I'll do my best to fill you in on what I've been up to, and try to keep it entertaining!

Our awesome makeshift Hanukkiah

Today is December 4th (wow!) and it's the fourth night of Hanukkah.  It's actually pretty exciting to be here for, as it's the holiday that I remember most growing up.  Clearly, my family and I weren't the most traditional of Jewish families...think the Christmas Tree (or the Hanukkah bush, as my Dad delightfully refers to it as) gave us away there.  But regardless of how we defined ourselves as Jews, Hanukkah was always a great time.  Lighting the menorah (or Chanukiot, as it's called here in Israel), eating latkes (yum!) and of course opening some gifts.  Always a good time.  It's interesting to see no Christmas decorations, not to hear the music in all the stores, and of course, lest we not forget the lack of winter weather - or at least what I'm used to.  It's just now getting to be chilly enough at night to require a light to medium weight jacket.  Sometimes during the day, in the shade, you might want long sleeves.  Not to bad at all!

Here are a few things I've learned about Hanukkah here in Israel:

1.  Sufganyot, or jelly donuts are the typical treat enjoyed.  Not latkes.  This literally blew my mind, as latkes have been an essential part of my Hanukkah celebration since I've been a child.  They are delicious, sinful, sugary and awesome, but they sure don't hit the spot for me exactly like latkes do.  There will be a latke night in the next four evenings, rest assured.  Photos to follow, should be interesting.

2.  Dreidels, those little spinning tops popular among the Jews this time of year, have four sides, each with a Hebrew letter.  In the Diaspora (Jewish world outside of Israel) these letters are nun, gimel, hay, shin - which stands for "Nes Gadol Haya Sham" or "A Great Miracle Happened There" (the miracle of Hanukkah, the victory of the Maccabees during the uprising in the 2nd century BC, and the famous oil story, one day's worth of oil sustaining the eternal flame at the temple for a miraculous eight days instead...).  Here in Israel, however, the letters on the dreidel are:  nun, gimel, hay & pay, which stands for "Nes Gadol Haya Po" or "A Great Miracle Happened Here."  Here (Po) instead of There (sham).  Kind of cool, right??


3.  A menorah is any old lamp...but a Hanukkiah is what you light during these eight crazy nights.  Apparently lots of people knew this, but I didn't, so I'm adding it to the list.

Yummy Druze dinner!

Thursday of this week, Career Israel took us to Haifa for the day.  Haifa is the third largest city in Israel, and one of the few places that Jews, Arabs, and Christians all live and work together, seemingly in harmony.  We visited the Bahai Temple Gardens, an Islamic mosque, and had dinner and hospitality in a Druze village.  In case you've been avoiding the news for the last few days, you may be away that there is a raging forest fire that broke out in the national forest on Mt. Carmel near Haifa.  The sky was filled with thick, black smoke that interestingly enough, tinted the sunlight a blazing red color.  During our tour, we had to take a detour around the mountain due to the fire to get to the Druze village of Usaffiya for dinner - a village that a day later was forced to evacuate due to the spreading blaze.  To read up on the efforts to stop the spreading, or to see photos, check out any major news site at the moment... or try www.jpost.com.  During the time we were in and around Haifa, we weren't really aware of the massive scale of the fire, or that it was spreading so rapidly.  I suppose that's for the best though, as I would have been much more anxious knowing this at the time!  But, as always, our madrichim (counselors) were on the ball to be sure we were only entering safe areas.

After our day in Haifa, I hopped the bus back with the Jerusalem people to spend the rest of the weekend there.  That evening, we headed into town and had a few beers at a bar named Uganda, which a very chill lounge bar that had DJ's spinning music for the evening.  Interesting crowd, mostly "hipsters" I would say, but nonetheless, I enjoyed the atmosphere and my frosty Goldstar.  Friday afternoon, Keren and I went to the Jerusalem Shuk, which is WAY more awesome and functional than the one in Tel Aviv, I must say, to get food for Shabbat dinner.  I felt very much like this would be my typical Friday routine if I happened to be an observant Jewish women.  For now, I just enjoy cooking and eating with friends, so that was my angle!  We planned a potluck dinner with a few girls that we knew downstairs, and it ended up being a fantastic dinner/evening with seven ladies, lots of food, a couple bottles of wine, and an amazing three layer chocolate mousse cake.  Yummmm!  Our menu included homemade chicken soup (from scratch, compliments of Ms. Keren Freeman, part-time chef, full-time bad ass photographer), ratatoulle, polenta with mushrooms, israeli couscous, breaded eggplant, challah, and cabbage salad.  In short, way too much food for how many people we had.  And not nearly enough wine...but isn't that always the case??

The next morning, we slept in, and made ourselves an amazing breakfast with some of our leftover food items.  Here was the result:

Challah French toast with caramelized bananas, fruit salad and mint tea

Later in the day, we found ourselves walking around the Old City.  On this trip, we switched it up a bit and entered through the Damascus Gate and headed into the Muslim Quarter.  

Unlike the Jewish areas, which on Shabbat are closed, this area was bustling with activity, restaurants, shops and stores to browse through.  Our mid-afternoon snack was a surprisingly great pizza and Arabic coffee, which was as sludgy and strong as usual, but had enough of a caffeine kick through the rest of the afternoon.

Keren, Becca and I getting cozy outside the Damascus Gate

I think the best story of the weekend, and one that fairly accurately describes a lot of the general interactions here in Israel, came at the very end.  To get get between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, the most common and inexpensive way to do it is to take a Sherut, shared taxi.  These are mini buses that hold 10 passengers each, and cost 22 shekels (or about $6)for a ride.  There is no need to book in advance, you simply show up at one of the designated zones to get in one.  Sounds fairly simple, right?  That'd be true....if this were anywhere other than Israel at the end of the Sabbath.  Becca and I arrived at the spot to hail a Sherut about 6:45pm.  There were already probably 20-30 people milling about the area, anxiously awaiting their ride.  There isn't a line culture here, no one waits in lines, no one respects the lines that do exist, and there is no such thing as simply waiting your turn.  And forget giving way to the elderly, people with children, or tourists with loads of bags.  Those people just get in your way.  Whenever a Sherut arrived, the mass of people just all out ran for it...the second the side door swung open, people started pulling, shoving, pushing and elbowing their way into the doorway.  Two of these passed before Becca and I made a decision:  we are getting on the next bus, if it means one or both of us come out a little scathed.  A few more minutes pass, and Becca's phone rings.  It's her dad, and they sit for a minute having a chat as she attempts to describe the scene we are in.  Then, suddenly, I see the next sherut coming down the street - there is no time to waste.  I shout "Hang up the phone, it's here!" and she says verbatim to her father, "Gotta go Dad, it's battle time."  We grab our bags and run to the door, pushing and shoving in true Israeli fashion.  We somehow managed to get great position to the door, but then all of a sudden, everything just stops.  There is a mass of about 9 people wedged in the area around the door.  Becca is in the first pile, and manages to burst through and into the van.  I am immediately behind her, and not having so much luck.  I manage to poke my head into the car, but my shoulders are pinned back by a man on either side, and they are not relinquishing control of this situation.  Oh, and my bag, the good old rolley suitcase is bringing up the rear behind me, tangled in a web of feet and legs.  I cry out "REGA!" (wait!) as I continue to scramble forward.  Luckily, the driver spots me, and yells at the men to release their grasp on my shoulders, and I tumble into the van, dragging my bag with me, and collapse into the seat besides Becca, that she has been saving with her life, literally.  Finally, we are on the road back to Tel Aviv, back to Bet Leni, that magical dormitory on King George.  Oh, Israel!

Some of the girls and I testing out new ways to wear our scarves...

Happy Hanukkah from Tel Aviv!!

:)

  

  

Birthday Weekend!

Shalom again friends and family!  I am 26?!  Feels like this last year has gone by so fast!  It honestly didn't feel like my birthday here...the season is just off for me.  I'm used to leaves changing colors, sweaters, crisp breezes and close-toed shoes around the time of my birthday...but not here!  Days here in Tel Aviv are still in the 70's, and although it gets a touch cooler at night, it really only requires a light sweater unless you are right on the sea...then maybe a slightly thicker sweater...!  Among all of the birthday love I received from afar, I did have a special visitor for the weekend...I'll let you all guess who that might of been!  Of course I have had birthdays away from home before....well, i guess just in college, but nonetheless...this is way further than Michigan State to Chicago!

Thursday I got a rather unpleasant early birthday gift....my phone broke!  Even though the rental phone I initially received was COMPLETE crap...I cannot declare my innocence in this situation.  I, in fact, destroyed my phone in a hilariously ridiculous fashion - I drowned it in a sea of tuna salad.  The tupperware containing my lunch leaked in my bag..and low and behold, I pulled out a tuna soaked phone upon my departure from work.  Fail.  Now I was officially phoneless until Sunday, when I would receive a replacement.    

Friday evening, my actual birthday, started out on a much better note, with my special guest and I sampling the local culinary creations.  I was excited to try a tapas restaurant recommended to me, so we headed to La Champa.  Much to my dismay, this was not the Cafe Babareeba I know and love...they had a much smaller selection of dishes, and not so many vegetarian friendly ones at that!  The few things we did try were pretty tasty, but coupled with the fact that their wine selection was lacking any form of robust yain adom (red wine), we decided to move on for the main course.  We next arrived at a swanky looking Italian spot I had noticed a few times during my wanderings about the city, called Cantina.  We grabbed seats at the bar, ordered a few Peroni's and some very satisfying pasta dishes - dinner was finally a success!  A little later into the evening, we met up with a group of friends at Rif Raf...or rather at the spot where Rif Raf was supposed to be.  Little did we know, the bar apparently ceased to exist.  Whoops!  As I mentioned before, I was phoneless, and since it was birthday, I figured it was OK to show up fashionably late, thinking the group would be inside, enjoying cocktails and chatting away.  Not exactly...they were all gathered outside on a bench wondering if I would ever show up...as I was already about 30 minutes late...whoops again!  After we convened, we popped into a somewhat drab looking bar around the corner.  We might have left immediately, but the music was great and the lounge area had this as it's decor:

It ended up being a great night out with friends, at a most unusual bar that turned out being awesome.  Oh, Israel, you never cease to amaze me!  As with most birthdays, I've been getting many inquiries about my hopes and goals for this next year.  To be honest, I don't have a clear view of my life over the next year...that's part of the reason I am here in Israel and doing what I am doing.  I hope to find out a little more about myself, and to reflect on my desires for myself in the future.  Everyday is a new experience that helps to shape what comes next....and I hoping that soon one of these will be a breakthrough into what I really want to do when I grow up....but for now, I am content in the fact that I am in a beautiful, fascinating country, with lots to see and discover, and most importantly, I have the support of so many people who although may be far away, are never far from my heart.  Love you all!

Beautiful Views in Cesarea!

Last Saturday, Lynne and Asaf took me to Cesarea, a beautiful ancient sea port that is just a few minutes drive from their house.  There had been a little rain the previous evening, and as the result, the sea had waves unlike I have seen here!  We spent a good chunk of the day walking around the park, which has lots to see and do, including shops, cafes, galleries, a museum and archaeological excavations to explore.  We had a lovely breakfast at one of the seaside restaurants, the traditional Israeli breakfast.  This is a pretty awesome meal, I must say!  We ordered the breakfast for two to split between the three of us, and it came with two huge servings of eggs, Israeli salad, freshly squeezed OJ, coffee, warm bread and TONS of little sauces, jams and other delectables (smoked salmon, tahini, various cheeses, olives etc.) for dipping, mixing and enjoying.

It was the perfect way to spend Shabbat - exploring nature's beauty, enjoying the warm sun on our faces and the mist of the sea in the air...oh, Israel!  In other news, the 5th anniversary of my 21st birthday is coming up this week...and I honestly can't believe it!  That means I've been here just over two months....has it been that long??  Does this mean my time here is almost half over?  YIKES!!  If that's the case, I am thinking it's time I step my game up and figure out life a little bit...still feels all too much like a fantasy a lot of the time...much love from the Holy Land!

Lynne & Asaf :)

Looking as if I'm about to get soaked here...

Check out the power of the Mediterranean for yourself!

Weekend Update!

It has been a pretty packed week to say the least!  So much so that I am writing this on the train on my way north.  I'll be spending Shabbat with Lynne and Assaf once again, and am very much looking forward to a small escape from Tel Aviv!

My friend Annie recently went through an intensive yoga instructor course here in Israel, and now has organized a morning class for a small group of us.  Yes, getting up at 6:50am to do yoga is a bit of a challenge, but it was a great way to start the week on Monday!  Later that evening, we were hustled onto the oh-so-familiar coach buses and driven to Jerusalem for the Idan Reichal concert, which was a MASA kickoff event.  MASA is the organization that provided me with a partial scholarship to participate in Career Israel, and they sponsor over 200 different long term programs to Israel.  There was a VIP cocktail/dinner prior to the actual show, and yours truly managed to find a way to partake...it honestly wasn't an impressive scam or anything, I must admit.  The chairperson of WIZO had given the other intern her ticket to the event, which included the afforementioned VIP access, so I simply offered to go with her to the entrance to be sure she got in...and somehow wound up with a trusty VIP badge, providing me with food/drink access.  Score!  Aside from the free stuff, the best part of the pre-concert event:  I was able to hear my roommate give a speech she had been asked to prepare for the occasion.  Becca did an amazing job sharing her story with the group, a lot of whom are huge donors to MASA.  Way to go roomie!!
After some excessive propoganda promoting the benefits of moving to Israel permanently, Idan Reichal and his "project" took to the stage.  Now, it may have all been in Hebrew, but the message was pretty clear - their songs are all about love, acceptance, and peace.  And of course our VIP badges got us pretty damn close to the stage!  Late bus ride back to Tel Aviv made for a groggy next morning, but well worth it!

Idan Reichal!

Wednesday was another Career Israel program day.  This one kicked off at 7:45am, packing yet again onto the buses, only this time heading south, to Sderot, a town on the border with Gaza.  Sderot is pretty infamous across Israel for having been the town with the highest number of missile shellings during the period of the disengagement from Gaza around 2005.  Depending who you ask, the town had between 40-80 shellings a day.  A DAY.  Bus stations double as concrete bomb shelters, every home has its own bomb shelter room attached, and even playgrounds have shelters incorporated into their design.  We were instructed upon arrival, that if we heard the alarm "sheva adom", we had 30 seconds to seek shelter, as there is an incoming missile.  Just a little unnerving way to start a day of touring!  Thankfully, things are a lot quieter than they were in say, 2005 during the disengagement, and there were no alarms sounded that day.  On a visit to the local police station, we saw that they collect and date any missiles that are shot into town where possible.  This particular shell was at the top of the pile we saw:

just a little unnerving that this was about 2 weeks before our visit!

Our day of touring ended with a visited another border town of where we heard the story of a woman named Barbara, who was a resident of Gush Kafin village in Gaza, until they were forced to leave in 2005.  The village was founded in the 1970's and since its inception, had flourished into one of the most successful agriculture farms in the area.  When the residents had to relocate, all their hard work was left behind, and for the most part, destroyed.  Now, I'm not going to get into details regarding the disengagement, mostly because of my limited knowledge about Israel's circumstances that lead to this decision.  What I will say, however, is that the country was utterly divided over this decision, and since Ariel Sharon, who made the final decision, has been in a coma for the last few years, we may never know the true intentions behind his choice.  The financial and emotional loss the residents suffered continues to this day, and many of them will never fully recover.  It is too often you hear stories about political decisions and actions, and it is easy to forget that there are actual people involved.  Seeing a person whose life was drastically affected by theses decision make it so real - not just a story you see on the news.  Intense day with a lot of lecturing and information, but a very important day - adding yet another layer of knowledge about this Israel place...

Roomie love at a playground of Sderot...this odd looking caterpillar also doubles as a bomb shelter.

By Popular Demand...

After receiving several requests to see pictures of my homely abode here in Tel Aviv...see below!

 reminiscent of the college years...minus the extra long twin bed!

my lovely "bedroom"

complete with home made "curtains"

 "kitchen"

something missing?  Oh, a stove perhaps - electric hot plate is located in the cabinet for this shot...

entrance 

note the art on the wall...its a painting found on the streets that I covered with fabric!  Inspired by the lovely Miss Ashley Mays, of course!

 Bathroom

here in Israel, I guess that bathtubs, or shower stalls for that matter are overrated...better to just hang up a curtain and provide a squeegie for water removal...yeaa that's a great idea!

Becca's "area"

Well, it's no Wellington...but it's not infested with insects and the location can't be beat - approximately 8 minute walk to the beach, around the corner from the Dizengoff Center mall, and down the street from the Carmel Market (shuk).  It'll do!

WIZO

I have been in Israel about 7 weeks.  Pretty crazy, right??  Clearly, my life here in Tel Aviv wasn't going to be entirely beach days, excursions, hiking, shopping and wandering - I had to start work at some point!  After all, they don't call it "Career Israel" for nothing...

For the remaining four months of my stay, I'll be interning with WIZO, Women's International Zionist Organization, in the fundraising department.  I realize that the name itself carries with it certain connotations....Women's = Feminist & Zionist = Pro-Israel super Jew.  I had these same kind of ideas when I was entertaining the idea of working with them, yet despite whatever you may think about the name, the organization does truly wonderful things for the state of Israel.  Since was a bit confused over the meaning of Zionism, I did a little research on the subject.  There is a plethora of ideologies that encompass a Zionist mindset, but at the very root, Zionists can all agree that they seek the preservation of a homeland for the Jewish people (aka Israel).  The Zionist movement was founded in the late 19th century by secular Jews, largely in response to growing antisemitism in Europe.  In 1948, Israel declared independence, and thus, a Jewish state was born, sadly not without opposition and struggles that continue to this very day.

WIZO's goal is to provide for the welfare of women, children and the elderly, and to strengthen the bond of Jews all over the world with the State of Israel.  They operate a staggering number of facilities, programs and services all across Israel, with the financial assistance from WIZO members from more than 50 foundations all over the world.  Just a few numbers to get an idea of how big WIZO is in Israel - 600 day care centers, 6 youth villages, 44 youth clubs, 8 schools, and dozens of women's shelters.  I had the opportunity to visit one of the youth villages last week, and it was an amazing experience.  As I said before, I will be working in the fundraising department, which as you can imagine, involves a lot of office time and computer work.  Not exactly glamorous work, but upon seeing the results in person, it makes it all the more worthwhile!  The youth villages are communities for youth that have been removed from their homes by the welfare department for a host of reasons: abuse, neglect, out of control behavior etc.  Instead of placing children in foster homes to become lost in "the system" WIZO offers these youth a home, with the education, love, nourishment and enrichment activities they have lacked in the past.  

WIZO Hadassim Youth Village- Grounds Map

The fundraising department is fascinating in itself.  This small (4 person) department is responsible for coordinating the fundraising efforts of the 50+ WIZO federations around the world.  Not a small task!  Our Sunday status meeting consisted of running through the list of all the federations to see how things are going.  (i.e. what's going on with Austria?  How are things in Belgium?  Fundraising in Rome going as expected?)  Pretty amazing to work in an office that is so international!  On the plus side, the majority of work is conducted in English, so I don't have any troubles communicating or participating in meetings.  Most people in the office speak 2, 3 or more languages - which I find just amazing.  Our department chair, for example, without fault can switch from Hebrew to Italian to English and back again...and perhaps throw in a little French just for variety.  And here I am still struggling to come up with creative responses to "manishma" (what's up) other than my standard "kol beseder" (everything's ok) or "sababa" (good).     

In the upcoming weeks, we have some exciting things to plan for, including a bar mitzva celebration in Jerusalem, and the office is always buzzing with work to be done, so at the very least, I won't be short on things to do while I am there!  And so far no filing paperwork - but I have been on a few coffee runs for the boss.  Here I am again, I suppose, starting at the bottom in my long journey to the top!

Shabbat Shalom from Tel Aviv!     

H goes North...

Hello again friends and family...sorry for the delay in updating...but I am finding myself all over the place lately!  Most recent developments have been the end of Ulpan, which was a bit sad because I really loved Michal our teacher, but also kind of happy in the sense that, well, quite frankly, I'm not very good at Hebrew, and Ulpan was a daily reminder of that!  Here's a quick sample of how most of my Hebrew interactions go:

Me:  Slicha, Cama Ze?  (Excuse me, how much is this?)
Israeli:  (mumbles) hamishim vachetzy
Me:  Ma? (what?)
Israeli: (scoffs) hamishim vachetzy
Me: uhh, 40?  Lo lo lo, toda (no no no, thanks)
Israeli:  (in perfect English) it's 4.50, not forty.
Me:  Ohh, thanks!

So yea...sometimes I think I get it, then a lot of times, things go as above, and I end up looking pretty ridiculous at my attempts.  And lately, I'll be honest, I hardly try.  I should probably work on that!

Tuesday last week, we began our voyage to the Northern part of Israel, including the Golan Heights and the Galilee.  The first morning, we had a short (3 hour) hike in the Galilee which was beautiful, led by a really awesome guide named Anat.  She was great at telling us stories along the way about the area, and even made some pretty tasty sage tea mid-hike, with sage she found on the way!  After the hike, we continued north a bit and arrived at Rosh Hanikra Grottos, which is an amazing rock formation on the north-west most point in Israel, on the border with Lebanon.  And yes, we were about 300 meters from Lebanon, but I swear, there was no war going on there, however seeing the military border did give me goosebumps...but the sunset on the water was amazing, and well worth the voyage!

Wednesday morning, we had an interesting lecture in the north at Kibbutz Misgav Am, by one of it's, ahem, colorful residents.  This particular Kibbutz is right on the border of Lebanon, and has been the target of many attacks and raids during the ongoing clash between Israel and the Hezbolah, who control the majority of South Lebanon.  The guy who talked to us (can't recall his name) was hilarious - first thing he said was something along the lines of "I'm going to give you my opinion on the situation here.  This is not a discussion.  I will answer your questions based on what I think.  You might not like a lot of what I have to say.  Deal with it."  In short, I loved this guy, and his blunt views of the situation.  Vastly different opinion than reading a story by some political analyst!  He's been here through fighting, ambushes of his kibbutz, air force bombings and more.  He's got some radical opinions on the way Israel handles it's political business, but who can blame him?  There's a huge divide between the Knesset in Israel who makes political decisions and the people who are actually affected by said decisions.  A nice change of pace to hear from the latter!

Later this same day, we went to yet another Kibbutz and had a short lecture from yet another hippie...this ended with a very awkward encounter at a high school in one of the Arab communities of the area.  We were funneled into the gym and circled around unsuspecting groups of 16 and 17 year old Israeli-Arabs, and directed us with some "light-hearted" topics to discuss, ranging from "how does it feel to be a minority in your country" to "do you believe in God, and how does that affect your daily life".  Needless to say, this resulted in a ridiculously awkward conversation with some high schoolers that should have been done with people our own age, and maybe people that knew we were Jews (shock!), as most of these kids didn't...and in case you were unaware, Israeli-Arabs and Jews kind of have a dysfunctional relationship here...FAIL on that one, Career Israel!

View from Kibbutz Misgav Am looking into Lebanon (border is just beyond the road approx 300 meters)

After a grueling hour talking with these kids, some of whom I have to say were good sports about the whole thing, we finally headed to Tzfat, which is a very historic town in Israel, and home to some of the oldest and most beautiful synagogues in the country.  Tzfat is also a sort of artistic mecca in Israel, with tons of galleries, shops, etc where you can check out cool (and some lame, but still entertaining) artwork of all kinds.  While in town, I stopped by David Friedman's gallery to pick up a print - he's a very talented artist whose work features his graphic interpretations of Kabbalah, the study of Jewish mysticisms.  In case you'd like to check him out...here is a not so accidental link to his website (newly redesigned, at that!)

http://www.kosmic-kabbalah.com/  

We ended our trip in the North quite appropriately - with a morning spent at the Kinneret, or the Sea of Galilee.  It was a nice change to be in a fresh body of water!  As beautiful as the Mediterranean is, it's pretty damn salty!  Try as I might, there was no walking on water for this girl.  Still not sure how anyone ever actually did that...

Just for fun, here is a photo of our mid-hike swim break...the robust man in the salmon pants is Itzik, my madricha (counselor) and he's basically the most hilarious Israeli I've ever met.  His English is great, in a sense that when he tries to communicate, oftentimes it results in a cultural misunderstanding that you can't help but laugh at...

Cheers!

Binyamina Winery Tour

Knowing me, you probably are aware of my affinity for all things wine, so naturally, I was beyond excited to take a tour of the Binyamina Winery.  Oddly enough, I have never been to a winery before!  This particular one is kosher, so we were directed to not touch ANYTHING, for fear of contaminating the kosher-fied items related to wine making.  On the interesting side, seeing a winery supervised by a bunch of Rabbis was pretty cool!  We also learned that the winery doesn't actually grown it's own grapes - I thought they all did, but I guess with Israel's not so ideal climate, it's better to import the grapes from elsewhere.  Then came the best part of the day...the tasting!  Now, as this programming always goes, we were with a pretty large group, so it was quite the balagan (Hebrew for "mess" which basically can be used to describe most of the daily situations here).  The wine, however, was delicious!  So tasty, in fact, that I purchased two bottles of red wine to take home with me.  Score!  Also on winery day, we stopped at some botanical gardens, and although I wish we had more time to explore, I still managed to make an impromptu attempt at some "artsy" photo shoot.  Cheers!

H tries camping... hilarity of course ensues

Everyone camps here.  It's crazy, really, how much of the Israeli culture is centered around one's ability to "make it" in nature, to be one with their campsite.  I, however, have not always been one for these type of outdoor activities.  Sure, I enjoy the sun and frolicking outside as much as the next girl, but it's things like bugs, rocks, lack of sleeping surfaces, and hard work that generally keep from being an avid camper.  Aside from these potential setbacks, the ladies (Shosh, Anna, Becca, Keren, Steph, Alee & myself) threw together an impromptu camping trip.  And by impromptu, I mean we figured out we wanted to go camping about 6:30pm on Tuesday, decided where to go about 7:30pm, how to get there around 8:15pm, made a supplies list about 9:00pm, etc.  Early Wednesday morning (the day we were leaving), Keren and I set out for the grocery store at 7:45am to get food for the group, we all had Ulpan, then had to catch a bus at 2:55pm to get to our destination of Nachsholim (midway between Natanya & Haifa).  We made it onto the bus literally by the skin of our teeth and were on our way!  The bus ride took about 2 hours, then we had a bit of walk ahead of us to get to the beach...and of course, by the time we arrived the sun was setting, so we had to find our camping site and set up mostly in the dark - which was interesting!  All I can say is thank goodness some of the group had some legitimate camping skills, as I felt pretty helpless wandering around the camp shining lights on people who were actually doing important things like putting up the tents.

After settling in, we set about to making dinner.  Being the self appointed culinary director of this excursion, with the help of my Aussie friend (Keren) we had decided on some sort of stew for Wednesday dinner.  This consisted of peppers, white beans in tomato sauce & corn, basically thrown into a pot and set on the burner.  It actually came out really well, and with the addition of some rolls made for a pretty decent meal.  We polished off a few bottles of wine and had some quality girl talk before we made our way to bed.  Apparently there was some night swimming, but I was far too exhausted to be up for any of that!

When the sun came up the next morning, it pretty much woke everyone, between the heat and the raging beams of sun through our camp.  Upon rising, we finally got a true glimpse of where we had set up camp:

Not too shabby for doing this in the dark!  And yes, that is the Mediterranean Sea in the background.  Please pardon the slightly dilapidated tent, as we had very limited resources to work with!  Most of Thursday was spent lying around on the beach, or exploring the opposite side of the beach we were camping at - ruins of the ancient city of Dor.  You could walk around excavated foundations of this old city, which was pretty cool.  The best part of this adventure, was near the coast of the little peninsula, where you could climb down from the rocks and into natural pools formed by the rocks and coral.  A bit of a challenge to get down into, but completely worth it once you were floating, swimming and splashing about right on the cusp of the Med, feeling the waves crash over you and fill the pools with slightly warm, and very salty aquamarine-colored water.  Completely surreal and so beautiful!

By the end of the day, I was pretty exhausted from all the exploring and time in the sun, and the sunset brought about some very welcomed shade and cool sea breezes.  The group sat around our campsite, cooked up a dinner of pasta, potatoes, corn and garlic bread and drank cold beer as we listened to the Beatles and watched the night sky for shooting stars (which I am happy to report, that I spotted one for the first time in my life!  Made a seriously intense wish that will be a secret until it comes true...).  All in all, a great trip (excluding the fact that my back was in complete knots from sleeping on a seashell & rock filled beach and that my legs were covered in more bug bites than I care to count).  It's absolutely true what they say, that it's all about who you are with, and I feel very lucky to have been with the people I was, as they are quickly turning into some great friends of mine, and I look forward to sharing more adventures with them over the next few months...

Shabbat Shalom from Tel Aviv!    

A Trip to the Doctor....

Dr. Shakshuka that is!!

Shakshuka is a Middle Eastern dish made of poached eggs cooked in a sauce of tomatoes, onions, peppers (and whatever other delicious veggies you choose to put in).  It generally has a little kick to it, which is very tasty as well!

Pictured here is our homemade Shakshuka, not from the Dr. but still wanted to give a visual on the dish.

Our whole group (all 120 of us Career Israel-ites) had a guided tour of Jaffa (or Yafo) on Sunday afternoon.  The tour was nice, and although I have been to Jaffa a few times before, I had never seen it at night, and it's so beautiful!  I tried to take some pictures of it illuminated at night, but photos just don't do it justice!  At the conclusion of our tour, we had dinner at the famous Dr. Shakshuka restaurant!  Dining here is always a bit of a CF (cluster f*ck), as you sit at long tables with large groups of people, and the waitstaff just starts loading your table up with plates of food that get passed among everyone.  The warm up round consisted of cabbage salad, regular salad, tahini, some sort of roasted veggie puree with fresh bread.  Then came the big kahuna - the shakshuka, couscous, roasted veggies & baked beans.  All vegetarian, all amazing!  The "crew" and I walked back from Jaffa to Beit Leni (our apartment building), which was much needed after eating so much food!

Historic Jaffa at Night...beautiful!

Speaking of food, which is pretty shocking that I haven't blogged about it yet, I am in LOVE with the food here.  I try to visit the shuk (market) usually once or twice a week to pick up fresh fruits and veggies.  Of course there is lots of hummus and pita eating, and the occasional falafel!  Another local favorite - bourekas, which are a pastry filled with tahini, hard boiled egg, spicy sauce, pickles, and some other mystery sauce.  Sounds strange and probably disgusting, but I can assure you, it's one of the most delicious and sinful meals you can eat here!  Cooking has been pretty interesting, given our limited "kitchen" - which consists of an electric burner, a microwave and a fridge/freezer.

Boureka....despite the appearance...it's amazing!

Some of our dining out ventures have been pretty successful as well, most recently a trip to the Max Brenner Chocolate Bar, where we had some out of this world dessert creations, and Goocha, an amazing seafood spot just a short walk from Beit Leni (I had the mussels...amazing!!).  We also tried the brunch at Benedict's, which although was a touch pricey, had some standout, decadent dishes, and the unlimited bread & Nutella to start your meal was not to be over looked!

Boffla Waffle creation at Max Brenner Chocolate Bar

Better Place

Yesterday, we had the chance to visit Better Place, a company that is focused on producing and integrating fully electric cars into mainstream Israel within the next year. 

Upon arrival, the place itself felt mildly cult-like:  minimalist design, expensive and impressive looking gadgets sprinkled throughout the main lobby,  lots of attractive people in crisp white logo button down shirts, and of course the obligatory free coffee/espresso/hot chocolate vending machine (that clearly our group swarmed...jews, eh!).  First we were ushered into a large video room and seated into recycled car seats (which were way more comfortable and chic than I think they will come across here) to watch a 20 minute video on the need for electric cars, and how the world's dependence on oil is destroying the earth and all livings things that dwell on it.  Let's just say, the marketing people in this company are spot on with drawing in their audiences, as by the end of the video, our group was basically in agreement that the "future is electric" (that one might be a trademark of Better Place, so here is there credit).  Then came the best part....driving the cars!!  In groups of 3 we loaded into the cars and each got to take it for a spin around the track. 

this is how excited I was to drive the car...not so flattering, but gets the point across!

A few of the strange things with electric cars:  No muffler (since there is no fuel, there is no exhaust), and literally no start up noises - all you heard when you "started the engine" were two clicks.  Felt like I was turning a video game car on, and not a real one!  Surprisingly, the thing still had pretty good pick up and speed, and was a real quiet & smooth ride.  Anyways, pretty cool place, and a great idea.  If you are interested, check out their website:   Shalom!

http://www.betterplace.com/

Yom Kippur in TA!

Yom Kippur in Israel is like something I've never experienced before.  Everything in the city of Tel Aviv shut down around 1:30pm on Friday - and I mean everything.  In the states, even on the most religious of holidays, one could surely find plenty of shops and restaurants open.  But not here - it's apparently against the law for any place of business to be open on this day.  As a result, as nighttime fell on TA, the streets grew eerily quiet - no vendors calling out to customers, no cars or buses whizzing by, no music belting from storefront windows.  Then, new sounds brewed in the streets.  People were walking, biking, sitting, gathering.  It was like pedestrians taking back the land that they have coveted all this time, and Yom Kippur gave them the chance to be out and about like cars never took over.  I guess it doesn't sound all that exciting, but it was one of the coolest things I've ever seen.  A few of the gals and I took a stroll to Rabin Square to catch the action, or rather, lack thereof.  Granted, this was not the first time I've experienced pedestrian take over of the streets - clearly concerts, 5K's, special events, etc. have often been a cause for restricted driving and walking with abandon in places not usually allowed.  But this was very different.  People were hanging around in the streets, sitting on curbs, medians, intersections...and the biggest difference?  There was no direct "event" to pull them from their homes on a warm September evening.  No amplified music, no speech to hear, no food vendors, no art to be seen...just people.  The sound of people chattering away, some praying, many gossiping filled the streets, punctuated with playful laughter of children as they chased each other around on bikes.  Many donned the traditional white dress, which symbolizes our purity, in hopes that God will inscribe us into the aforementioned Book of Life when he passes his judgement onto us.  Me, I wore green, guess I hadn't really thought about the white garb.  Perhaps Saturday, while attempting to fast (it never really seems to go well for me...) I'll pull an old white standby out of the closet, and hope for the best. 

Addition:  so fasting for me went as it usually does...not well.  But on the plus side, I went for a leisurely stroll around the city and ended up at the beach, where I spent a good 2 hours sitting, listening, reading & writing.  It was glorious!  Later in the evening, my usual crew and I prepared an amazing break the fast feast (for those that actually fasted, and for others, like myself, that just enjoy cooking/eating/socializing!)  Thanks to Lynne, I have a crock pot and made my first successful meal in it!  Basically threw in lots of fresh veggies, spices & lentils and let it do it's thing...and of course it came out amazing :)  Thanks Lynne!  On a related note..if you have any crock pot recipes, send them my way!  First Hebrew test is in the morning...so the rest of my Sunday will be spent doing some much needed studying...

By the way, this is the A3 room as we refer to it...home of Annie, Alee & Anna - my room is shockingly similar to this one, but next door.  Perhaps a future post will highlight my humble abode...but I need to do some decorating first!

Back in the big city...

Well, it has been just about a week since my last post, and I have tons to report on!  My last entry was on Rosh Hashana, which I was lucky enough to spend with the Halamish family!  Many thanks for their hospitality, and most importantly, for making me feel like I have a real home while I'm here in Israel :)

Thursday night of last week, I drove with Shachar and her friend Galya up to the Golan Heights (in the nothern most part of Israel).  The drive was beautiful, as this part of the country is very open, mountainous, lush, with lots to see along the way...including the Sea of Galilee (where Jesus walked on water, as the story goes...)  There we camped under the stars in preparation for our hike early the next morning.  It was a beautiful night, there aren't so many times we can spot a sky full of stars in Chicago...even if it was a bit rocky beneath my sleeping bag.  Flash forward to 6:15 am the next morning...the ladies are waking me with promises of coffee and breakfast sandwiches.  I'm tired and feel as though I slept on a pile of rocks...probably because I did.  The particular trail we are braving is the Yehudia Trail...(which unbenownst to me until after the hike, is recommended for experienced hikers only...hmmm).  We hit the trail around 7:30am and let me tell you one thing- any previous "hiking" experience I have had did not prepare me for what we encountered.  Boulders, swimming, cliff hanging (well, for me it was anyways..), hot hot Israeli sun....and of course, I had one somewhat minor fall, but it lead to some pretty nasty looking bruises.  8 hours, yes 8 hours later we made it out in one piece...and I must say, trying as it was, I feel pretty damned accomplished!  Shachar, being the experienced hiker she is, managed to bring along a camera and took some pretty sweet shots, so I'll add some when I get a chance.  I proceeded to pass out the second we got in the car...and was woken up when we were the only acceptable place for a post hike refuel- McDonald's.  (Sidenote about McD's, the non-dairy koser mcflurry tastes suspiciously like the real thing...hmmmm).

Saturday I returned to Tel Aviv, and was ridiculously sore from the hike.  Despite that, I agreed to head out to dinner with some of the girls, and was SOO glad that I did.  Annie from New York lead us to this Indian restaurant which turned out to be a restaurant + hostel + rooftop bar....great food, good prices and lots of places to lay/lounge complete with pillows.  Basically, amazing!  Ulpan (Hebrew class) picked up again on Sunday, and I actually felt like I was making a bit of progress!  I guess spending 4 days around people mostly speaking Hebrew is good practice!  Had a bit of a headache most of the day, and was generally exhausted from the weekend....no good but luckily had a bit of cheering up on Sunday, but I'll keep that part a bit of a mystery :)

As I write this, I'm sitting at Dizi, a pretty swanky laundry mat/restaurant/bar/coffee shop a few minutes walk from my apartment.  Not a bad combo, I'm finding out!  I'm off to study some vocab words before heading to bed...I'll post some more pictures soon!  Love to all back home and everywhere...

La'Chaim!

some Jewish humor on a holiday morning....

Understanding the Jews

A video compliments of Lynne & Shachar Halamish...

Shana Tova!

Rosh Hashana is upon us...which is the Jewish New Year.  It also begins a 10 day preparation for Yom Kippur, which is the day of atonement.  Basically, you have 10 days between now and next Friday to get in the Book of Life, or you are inscribed in the Book of Death forever.  Whoa...I'd better do some reflecting.  (Just a note, in the states I have always said L'Shana Tova, but apparently that is not correct.  Simply Shana Tova will suffice.)

I thought I would take this holiday to reflect on this current time in Israel compared to my last...On Friday in Jerusalem, we went to the market, which on Fridays is crazy busy with people buying what they need in preparation for Shabbat.  Last time in Israel, I took tons of photos here at the market, and the one that caught my eye the most was this:

Now, here I am, back in Israel a year and a half later, and in the very same spot, it now reads this:

I'm not quite sure why this struck me the way that it did.  Maybe because when I last saw that wall, the phrase "war is forever" seemed to epitomize life here in Israel.  I was here as an outsider, a tourist, spending only a few days here to try and understand how life really works.  And now, as I begin my 5 month journey to truly experience Israel, the phrase "love is forever" represents to me, the struggle of Israelis to enjoy life and love, despite their constant political battles.  I prefer this view of Israel - optimistic, hopeful, and above all - loving.  On this note, I say adieu, and wish everyone near and far Shana Tova, and hope that this new year brings you happiness, love, and success in all that you do.

random update

On my lunch break from Ulpan (Hebrew lessons) and thought I would make a list of random thoughts since my arrival in Tel Aviv:

1.  running on the beach, although torturous in terms of its difficulty, is AMAZING!
2.  Israelis are not nearly as excited to hear my attempts at Hebrew as I am to speak it
3.  apparently my passport number is required to obtain a grocery store discount card....i tried giving the dominick's number i generally use (brigitte's mom's house..) to no avail...no discount club for me!
4.  the dezengoff mall puts woodfield to shame when comparing the size...and i hate the crowds and overpriced shops that I can't possibly afford just as much.
5.  Ulpan does rock....yesterday I generally knew the alphabet, but not in script- which is how it appears everywhere in this country.  Today, I know how to read and write script surprisingly well- guess they have the format down!!  OK...back to class - lunch break is only 35 minutes...also...Happy Birthday Brigitte!!

Love to all...

First morning in Tel Aviv!

As I write this, I am sipping on a coffee and sitting outside on Hamelekh George (King George Street) in the heart of Tel Aviv!  The location of our apartments couldn't be any better...walk out the front door and you are on a bustling street, with everything just a few minutes away...coffee shops, restaurants, TA Mall, shuk (outdoor market/shops) and probably loads more that I haven't discovered yet.  So as I haven't been able to get online the last few days, there's a lot to catch up on, seen so much already!

Yesterday (Sunday) was a pretty hectic day - I knew right off the bat that at some time we would be moving out of Jerusalem and into our Tel Aviv housing, and there was a lecture about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict (always a joy, oy).  Breakfast was pretty early compared to the usual schedule, but I had to savor it, as this would be our last day with meals provided for us....so I pretty much went to town on the buffet, which always has lots of fresh veggie salads, fruit, cheeses, etc.  After breakfast and loading our bags onto the buses, we settled into the affectionately dubbed "vault" room, although i prefer to call it by its actual name - bomb shelter.  Now, I don't have a very political wired brain, so generally during these types of discussions I tend to check out...which I feel badly about, but I think I am getting a basic gist of the situation here.,...albeit from a skewed perspective.  After the talk, we loaded onto the buses to take a driving tour around Jerusalem to see some of the areas of separation, as well as neighborhoods that have been affected by the conflict during the last boundary shift.  It was pretty profound to be driving next to one of the secure borders between Israel and Palestine territories...and to see the signs, barbed wire, police, etc that are preventing Israeli & Palestinian people to cross freely through the border.  Surreal to see a neighborhood that once was united, but now is divided by the seam line, which refers to the new boundary around Israeli territory set by the 1967 resolution. To see the wall that the Israeli police are constructing (and reconstructing) between Israeli territory and the West Bank - which by the way, doesn't look like a war torn wasteland...rather just another neighborhood about 200 yards from where I was standing.

Again, took some interesting photos, and clearly left my camera back in my room, so I promise to post photos later, hopefully our internet in the apartment building gets fixed and is working properly today!  Heading to our first class of Ulpan (Hebrew) lessons now....wish me luck....after the placement exam last week, I'm going to need it!

Love to all!

Holler from the Holy Land!

Sorry to anyone who did not receive the carrier pigeon message that I arrived safely, that damn bird couldn't follow directions!

Anywho, after a LONG day of traveling, I have finally arrived in Jerusalem!  Well, actually arrived yesterday, but the internet at the local gas station was suprisingly unreliable... It's completely surreal to be back in this place, but I can't describe in words how good it is!  Yesterday was check-in and basic orientation, and yes it was as exciting as it sounds.  Actually mustered the energy to join a few ladies out for a beer off Ben Yehuda Street - found a pretty cool outdoor cafe, and enjoyed our Goldstar's to the sound of some live music!

Today was pretty packed, but a highlight for me was a guided tour through the Old City.  I had visited before on Birthright, but this was a much more in depth tour, and included stories of the 3 main religions (Christianity, Judaism & Muslim) and their ties to Jerusalem.  It's easy to forget that although the Jews call Israel their homeland, that the Old City is a holy place to so many other people of different faiths.  So many different people have been coming to this place for so long to worship and to remember the basis of their faith - I'm not a very religious person, but it's tough to be in a place as sacred as the Wall and to not reflect on your own faith, and how, if at all, it relates to your own life.  More on that later, I'm sure...Snapped some cool shots of one of the Oldest Churches in existence, once I get a more reliable internet source I'll try to upload some photos.

Moral of the story...I'm here, happy, and can't wait to soak it all in.  Stay posted for updates, hopefully a bit more put together when I'm not sharing a 2 hour internet pass with 3 people...