This last week was our cousin Tuvya's birthday.  His wife planned an amazing adventure.  SKYBIKING!  We all headed up to Herzliya and watch Tuvya strap into the golf cart with a big fan and a parachute attached, and lo an behold, it took flight.  He went on a 20 minute flight which took him to the coast and back and had a fantastic time (all for about $125).  Then we headed to a local restaurant for an awesome lunch.  A GOOD DAY!

 
 

April 20th Marked 2 events:
Holocaust Memorial Day - in Israel when nearly the whole country stands in silence as a sirene is sounded in every city to commemorate the loss of over 6 million Jews and over 6 million others in one of the 20th centuries worst exploits: The Holocaust.  I attended a memorial event at my school along with a sea of people.
The other event is the Durban II conference, which is currently being held from April 20–24 in Geneva, Switzerland. Nine nations boycotted this event to protest the blatant anti-semitism and anti-Israeli themes that were present at the first conference and were expected at the second conference.  The nations that took a stand are: Israel, the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Italy, Germany, Poland and the Netherlands.
Israel doesn't have very many friends in the world, but we are glad to have had the support or at least lack of offense from those eight other nations.  
If you live in the United States call the White House Comment Line – 202-456-1111
If you live in Canada call 1-800-622-6232
Please take a few minutes out of your time to call the above numbers – the more people who call to thank them the bigger an impact it will make.

 
 

I had the pleasure of traveling around Egypt and Israel with my brother Jonathan this month.  He came for his spring break, and we had an absolutely blast exploring most of Israel, along with parts of Egypt!  Check out these Photo Videos:

Egypt:

Northern Israel (Haifa, Carmel Mountains, Druze and Zikron Yaakov):

Tiberias and Nazareth Village:

Pesach = Passover:

Masada & the Dead Sea:

Ashdod, Tel Aviv Port, Shabbat with Nola, Qeasarea, Rosh haNikra (border with Lebanon) and family in the North:

Jerusalem:

 
 

My friend Avner invited my roommate Omer and me to go to his Moshav (colony) near Eilat for the wedding of one of his best friends.  It was my first Israeli wedding and I absolutely loved it.  Carmel (the bride) had the wedding in her parents Palm date orchard and there were lights everywhere.  It was so great.  The next day, Avner took Omer and me on a tour of the Moshav.  It was great. 

 
 

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.

 
THE TAXI 03/24/2009
 

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 03/11/2009
 

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!!!!

 
LONDON 03/11/2009
 

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!