David In Israel . דוד בישראל . داوود في اسرائيل 

I am in the midst of working on a paper, and sometimes I work up an appetite.  Today, I had a major craving for Campbell's tomato soup and a grilled-cheese sandwich.  First of all... Israel doesn't have Campbell's, let alone canned soups... only powders, and never tomato.  Second of all... Israel usually doesn't have American or Cheddar cheese, as these aren't kosher because of rennet (an ingredient that was traditionally derived from the lining of a calf's stomach) .  To solve this second issue, I finally found a place that sells cheddar.  I don't know if it is kosher, but it works.  The first was a bit more difficult, but then I looked in my refrigerator and realized that I did have some tomato paste!  "Hmmm... how to make tomato soup from tomato paste???" Well... IT WORKS... I mixed the paste with boiling water, added some salt and pepper, broth powder and some sweetener, and then milk, and guess what... It was actually better than Campbell's.  SO - Grilled-Cheese and Tomato Soup can happen here after all.

I was a bit frustrated today, mainly because of transportation.  I was running late for class, and as is my tradition in such a case, I punished myself for being late by hailing a cab driver and negotiating a fair to my school.  This time it wasn't so bad... 30 shekels ($7.50).  When we got to the school, I pulled out my 50 shekel note, and handed it to him expecting change (I was about 10 minutes late at that point).  He started arguing with me that he couldn't accept the bill as it had a tear in it!!! I was otherwise cashless... slightly embarrassing.  I explained to him that I would make it right and would call him later that evening... so after 4 more minutes he finally gave me the change and I walked to class rather late.  
Later on I called him, to set things straight, and he said "never mind... I gave the bill to someone else."  Hmmm... I guess ripped notes are still negotiable... even in Israel.

I had the pleasure of being invited to my cousin Clarisa and her husband Rueven's 40th Anniversary picnic, which involved stuffing way too many people in way too few cars and driving to some unknown forest in the North-Central Israel.  IT WAS A BLAST.  The whole event revolved around feeding, and of course, taking photos.  Clarisa explained to me that, though Israel is small, it is hard to get everyone together except on holidays, so this was a treat for her.  She was absolutely in her element the whole time... Both she and Rueven were loving every minute of it.  And I was too.  I especially enjoyed hanging out with Rueven's elderly mother who survived Auschwitz and has the tattoo to prove it.  I also had the opportunity to learn to dance "Debka" because I was invited to do so by an Arab family that was nearby.
I feel so blessed to have family here, and it was a fabulous experience.  

Well, not this year, I guess.  I just recently applied to be a summer intern for STA Travel.  My job would have been to Photograph, Video & Blog about my experiences traveling for them during the summer.  I wasn't selected, but it was still fun... I had to make a video for the application process... enjoy - here it is!
I still like what I said in the video, so if you know someone who could use the information... forward it to them.

Purim is a fun holiday commemorating the salvation of the jews from the wicked plot of Haman (boo) to kill the jews in the Persian empire, as found in the book of Esther.  It has become something like the American Halloween - where everyone dresses up, there are parades... and lots of drinking.  I am not one for the last part, but dressing up... SURE!!! I dressed up twice... once as a japanese tourist, complete with my camera - and another time as a cowboy.  I even tried to go to the parade in Holon... little did I know that, though a suburb of Tel Aviv, Holon takes over 1 1/2 hours to get to on the bus - especially during the parade... SO - I missed out... Oh well.  BUT - I got to see the relatives in the evening, and at night a bunch of friends went "BAWLING" (bowling).  AND I ate way too many Oznei-Haman (hamantashen in yiddish - haman's ears/hats in english) - YUM!!!!

I found a bus ticket to London from Cardiff and had a nice evening there before leaving for Israel in the morning.  It wasn't the most fun I've ever had in London, but it is always nice to go back. Perhaps I can take a holiday there sometime in the near future.  Jolly Good!

There is no hiding that I sort of have a thing for my name.  I love it... I follow it.  So - when I found out that I was going to be in UK on Saint Davids Day - and when I found out that Saint David just happened to be the patron saint of Wales - with an name like David Welch (Welsh!?!) I couldn't stay away.  I made my way from Ireland to Manchester and after a nice night there, I headed for Cardiff.  Wales was a VERY patriotic place.  Everywhere I looked, I could see daffodils (the national flower), and the flag of Saint David - a yellow cross with a black background - was everywhere.  Streets, Buildings & Basically everything else revolved around Saint David... OH YEAH!

Many of you remember how excited I was when I found the amazing price on my tickets by flying through Ireland... well, I've more than made up for it the price difference now after having spent 3 days there... IRELAND IS EXPENSIVE... In hebrew - the word for expensive and the word for priceless are the same... YAQAR... Well, it was both.  I had a great time.  I rented an Avis rental car and in 3 days, I put 1300 kilometers on it.  I basically drove around all of the south of Ireland.  I LOVED IT!!! WOW!!! It is such a magical place.  The first night I ran out of fuel and all the gas stations close until 7 in them morning... I had to sleep in my car at one of the gas stations... a memory maker... Then I continued on to Mizen Head - the southern-most point in Ireland.  This area is closed until March/April, but I snuck in...  After that I headed up to the world-famous cliffs of Maher, and watched the sun go down over the cliffs. YAQAR - in the non-monetary sense of the word.

The day before I left California, I had the privilege of going to the Get Motivated Seminar with my dad.  The seminar was fantastic.  I felt like it was the perfect end to my time in the States. I I had the opportunity to meet Rudy Giuliani (I even snuck a picture with him) and I was chosen to go on the stage for a dance competition! LOTS OF FUN.  
The day was strange, however, because Uncle Tim ended up in the hospital (following Alexa's 10th birthday party) with some chest complications.  Thankfully, lots of people were praying for him, and praise God, he is feeling a lot better now!!!

The video above is of my grandmother helping prepare the Shakshuka for one of the two parties I helped to host at my parents' house well I was home in California.  A friend from Israel, Tsachi, is visiting his sister in the bay area, and they came up for the weekend.  It was a blast (I have attached some pics from Snowboarding with Tsachi and from the parties).