week TWENTY TWO - "Matzav Shtaim" מצב שתים

It hadn't even been an hour since we all met and we were already off on a two day hike over the beautiful terrain of Jerusalem. We hiked a couple hours the first day, about 5 Kilometers to the Machal memorial. If you recall, I am in a program called Machal. It is a part of the Ministry of Defense and handles the process of joining the IDF if you are foreign, like me. Anyways, this memorial had the names of all of the "Machalniks" that joined the fight for Israel's independence in 1948 and had died, all the way up to present times. At the top of the memorial, a quote by Ben Gurion read: " The Machal forces were the Diaspora's most important contribution to the survival of the State of Israel. " As I read this quote, it all became real for me. I am about to be joining the long line of brave men and women who literally fought for their lives just for an idea of there becoming a Jewish state. We kept walking. We walked for roughly 3 more Kilometers and then decided to set up a camp site before it got dark. Boys sleep on the right, girls sleep on the left. The boys bathtree on the right and girls bathbush on the left. We slept in just a sleeping bag. No tents, no roof, no floor, no air conditioner, just the land of Israel beneath us and the air of Jerusalem over us. Every 30 minutes we would switch off doing Shmira or "guard duty" in pairs around the site, mainly keeping an eye out for foxes that would try to get our food. Before bed, we were divided into two groups, played one name game to start to get to know each other and shared our personal stories with our groups. We also heard from our madrichim "councelors/group leaders" briefly about who they were and what they did in the army. My madrich was named Levi, he also came from a Russian family, and moved to israel from Newton, MA! One town over from where I lived before I moved. And craziest part is, that he served in the same unit that I want to serve in. It is like someone hand picked us to be in the same program. What were the odds of all of everything lining up like that?! The first night was over and I was exhausted. 

6:00 the next morning its time to wake up. I look out over my toes in front of me and see one of the guys from my group saying his morning prayers. What a sight, a gorgeous orange sunrise, a young man swaying back and forth with a bright white tallit covering his head and shoulders. I look at it for a minute and stop my thoughts to soak in the moment. Next thing I know, we are running in a square one after the other to warm up after a rough cold night of sleep. The madas "exercise" is run by the other group leader named Sam. Sam was a paratrooper in an elite unit and you could tell by the way he was built that he took fitness seriously. It would be too easy if it was just running around in a square the whole time, so every few seconds, Sam would yell something out and we would have to immediately stop running and do it. Some things are: to do a push up, lie on our back for a second, slap the ground then jump up as high as we could. After the work out, we had breakfast, a cup of mint tea and we were off for day two of hiking. This time it was 15 kilometers back to the place we were staying for the rest of the program. In army terms, a 15k hike would not be considered a lot. But it was our first real hike, and it was over 35℃ and we constantly had to stop to find shade to avoid heat stroke. A hike that should have taken about 3 hours took 6. 

On the last leg of the hike, someone didn't feel well and could not carry on with the walking, so we had to break out the alunka "stretcher." The alunka never stops moving or touches the ground. Four people cary the alunka from the corners. Every 30 seconds the person on the stretcher yells HILUF "switch" and the switching procedure goes like this. The person walking in back of the stretcher taps the guy holding the back corner on the shoulder, he takes the back. The one who was carrying the back taps the front guy on the shoulder and takes the front. The guy that was carrying the front corner goes in front of the stretcher and takes the hand of the guy now carrying the front to pull them up if there is a steep hill and they need help. The last kilometer we walked like this up a steep hill. It was an intense exercise mainly because we had someones life on the line and literally in our hands. Something in my brain switched from "Wow this is painful and hard I want to stop" to "We have to keep pushing and get her to safety"  We get to the end of our hike and are greeted with two big bowls of freshly cut watermelon.  

For the next two and a half weeks we would wake up at the crack of dawn, (with a few exceptions) learn Hebrew and do madasim almost every day to get ready physically. In between classes, we would have lectures about the history of Israel, the politics, some IDF knowledge, and the rights of a lone soldier just to name a few. We have meals all together which mainly consisted of hummus spread on a piece of bread with some veggies and tuna if we were lucky. During this program, I finally found out for myself why everyone loves coffee. With little sleep, it is the only way to get through class after class without falling asleep. In class if we spoke english or any language other than Hebrew, we would have to do pushups. The classes were taught by the same soldiers that teach in the base where we will be learning Hebrew in basic training. 

This was my Mechina (Preparation course) experience. Now my mechina is over. Next step, the real army. 

Gud Shabos

August 6th 2016

week FIFTY SEVEN - Nothing like fresh pasta for breakfast

 

WOW. It has been way too long. Sorry for the wide interruption of blogs. I have been waiting for the perfect time to catch you up on everything that has been going on in my life. Welcome back.  

It started about six months ago; I was sitting in the changing room covered in olive green. It was the first day of the army, somewhere on a base in a huge building with hundreds of new recruits. I finally got to the last station with a full bag of equipment and a drained look on my face. I had put my crispy formal pants on, tightened the waxy black laces of my boots. I dawned my olive green button down and tucked in my dog tags. I had one more step before I would be done with the process. With the click of my belt I would suddenly be carrying 8,585,000 people on my shoulders. I looked up at my face in the mirror and caught a huge smile that will last far into the future. 

It wasn't very long before I would be graduating my three month long Hebrew course. For me, it was spot on with what it was supposed to do. It was an exponentially pleasant way into the IDF, with just the right amount of hebrew class mixed in with a bunch of other activities. Not to mention the select few strong bonds that made it off the base. Some of the best guys I know. I got practice in keeping time, sleeping few hours, learning a lot in a short amount of time. I started becoming a more put together human. Call me crazy, but I enjoyed running on a schedule, and for the most part (although this was the easy segment) it didn't bother me. If I had to get up at 03:00 in the morning to stand on guard duty, it would be a happy time to reflect in silence, try it some times, its worth it! I had an M-16 slung over my shoulder day and night, only to be removed for a shower and to go to sleep. If we forgot our weapon somewhere, even for a second, we would be punished with staying Shabbat on base, and having to spend week after week without break. The Hebrew course itself was put together using such a calculated and clear cut curriculum, although there was a good amount of fun involved, which I believe was the best tactic to learn. I learned a lot about all of the cultures that came to do the same thing that I was doing from all over the world. When I say all over the world I literally mean 20+ countries. From Ireland to Uzbekistan and from all over the US, everyone had the same exact goal. It was easier to connect with people than to ignore them. We were all so similar, but yet all so different. The craziest difference for me was the number of different religions. Christian, Muslim, Druze, Jew. All religions in my 16 man team that will be with me for the remainder of my training, the next seven months.

That brings us to our next point. The next seven months. Its early November 2016 and I am being loaded onto a bus headed to the Nachal training base. It is called בא״ח נח״ל טוב  Which translates into Good Nachal Base, im not sure what is good about it but the ones who named it seemed to have a sense of humor. I was finally on the way to becoming a standing force against the evils targeting The land, but it was not without a few jams in the weapon.

No story about serving in the IDF is told without an interaction with bureaucracy, here is my little bit: Right after graduating the hebrew course, we were given out our jobs based on our medical profiles, hebrew level and desires. You all know my dream and path was to become a fighter in the combat forces so after receiving the job of truck driver, I was a little confused. I scratched my big ears for a minute and said something wasn't right. I found out there was a problem with my medical profile that could be resolved but it would be a lengthy and grueling process, that would test my patience and willpower way more than any training I will do. I started the process without knowing if I will make it in or not but all I could do is stay hopeful. During that time the army sent me to five different bases like a basketball around the whole country. A month of fighting the system to become a fighter (ironic huh). Now step into my boots a little deeper; The people that I was with were all trying to get out of combat, they were too frail or couldn't deal with the discipline, or just wanted a job that was a little less bullshit because lets face it, serving in combat is plain and simply taking orders and doing what your commanders tell you to do. Its pretty bullshit, but its necessary to have an effective force.  Flip the scale and there is me, trying to climb over all of that and still want to be there.  Finally I received the word that I have to go switch my boots to the red combat boots and pack my bags for an undisclosed time.

Fast forward to November where i'm standing in line ready to meet my team of 16 and our Sargent. Im excited, finally I am about to enter the ride that ive been standing in line for for my whole life. My team's name is 3B. 

Do you know the saying time flies when you're having fun? Well here time flies when it wants to, and for the most part it really really doesn't want to. The past two months in combat training have flown by, don't get me wrong, but when you have to stand guard in the cold at night when its raining, the seconds just don't move forward. All the stereotypes of the army are starting to creep into my life and its honestly becoming like I am living some sort of other life. As soon as I put on my uniform and shine my boots, I take on a different role. Its a magnificent feeling of: I am ok with everything that will happen ahead and will give it my all in order to give. 

So far training has been a rugged experience. The typical day goes something like this: We wake up before the sun comes up at around 4:45, we have seven minutes to get into our uniform and be ready outside in formation. For the next two hours we get ourselves ready for the day and clean our quarters, except its not so simple. We do it in five minute increments, at the end of the allotted time, we have to be back in our formation. They teach us the importance of "Time comes before the mission." So even if we didn't finish what we were doing, even if one pant leg is on and the other isn't, we still have to stand in formation. Even the easiest task of mopping the floor takes forever with these time constraints. The whole day goes like this, no matter what task, it is always done with a stopwatch. The next thing we do is go eat, breakfast is bare with hard boiled eggs, some bread, maybe a cheese spread and if were lucky some warm day old pasta. After breakfast our day is sprinkled with physical training like running or strength training, shooting at the range, learning new tactics and skills in a classroom, team building exercises, and all sorts of meetings and briefings. Hot meals on base are not that bad actually, but that doesn't happen often because most of the time we are eating sandwiches with canned tuna and corn in the field, so even pasta in the morning brings us a smile. The day ends with an hour of free time where we can shower, get ready for the next day, and use our phones. We are only allowed our phones during this one hour a day. At the beginning this was hard but then you realize when you are running full speed in full gear and then have to fall into prone position as hard as you can, you're really happy your phone isn't on you. Lights out is around 22:00 and from that second the lights go out, we have exactly seven hours to sleep. During the night, we also have to do about half an hour each of guard duty around our camp site to make sure nothing is getting stolen and we don't have any visitors. So with everything, we really only get six hours, but that is enough. Day in day out, at the end of the week you look back and see a blurry vision of accomplishments and happiness, and that is what you remember. Not the three minute feeling of dread when you just wake up, but the smiles during the day. 

It feels like we have accomplished a lot, but we are yet so far from the finish line to becoming warriors. Another month of this kind of brutal schedule and we will be on to doing more interesting things. This four month segment is meant to break you down and build you back up again with right mind-frame to tackle anything, and by looking around at all my mates, I see just that, its brilliant. 

All smiles and good vibes,

Gud Shabos,

2/3/17

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Here is a diploma our group 3B got while competing in a week long warrior competition. 

Unfortunately, after asking countless times, I am not allowed to take any pictures on the base or during training, at least for now, so you will have to make do with the pictures we take in our free hour at night (all on my Instagram)  

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week FOURTEEN - What has holes but can still hold water?

Last week was my host brother Michael's birthday. Let me tell you a little bit about Mike. He is a former Communications Officer in the IDF, mainly organizing hundreds of troops during moves in between bases. He now is on his last semester of University, studying programing and is supposed to be finished with his studies in about two weeks. For the majority of the time that ive been in Israel, he has been stuck in his apartment in Be'er Sheva coding for his final project. But last weekend, he came home. In the time I get to see him, he tries to help me with my Hebrew. Every now and then he slips a work of Hebrew into an English sentence and asks me if I know what he said. Most of the time, through context, I understand the general meaning but not the exact word. 

His birthday plans were as follows: sit in the backyard with a bottle of his favorite liquor and a handful of his closest friends discussing random shit that wouldn't appeal to anyone but these geverim. Topics ranging from funny army stories to problems with stingy roommates and the future of the movie industry.

Now what language do you think these friends spoke around the table? If you thought English, you were wrong. Although the majority of Israelis speaks English, the priority is obviously Hebrew. As I started to become more and more a part of this friend group over the past few months, the frequency of English around the table has dropped to nearly zero. At the beginning I noticed that I could not understand a thing. But as we sat more and more, I began to understand what the conversations were about. I can only speak about 10 words of Hebrew, but I can understand hours and hours worth of conversation. HOW?

Re-read the title of this blog

So what is the answer? A sponge. Thats right, I feel like a sponge, soaking wet, waiting to be drained all over Israel. 

It all goes back to 5th grade when I was learning Spanish. My teacher, the first day did not speak a word of English to us. At the end of the class, he said that the best way to learn is to immerse yourself in a language and start to think in that language without translating it to a language you already know. 10 years later, I am trying out his theory and it seems to be working. 

I hear it everywhere and subconsciously have been taking it in. It would take a lot of skill to avoid Hebrew here on a daily basis. As with any language, it consists of much more than just words. Immersing yourself is great when you have a foundation of vocabulary, but for now, all it is is repeating patterns, changing tones, and a representation of a history that can be heard in every word. 

I am patiently waiting for my Ulpan course (Learning Hebrew) in the army to give me that foundation of vocabulary in context so I can drain everything that is in my sponge without thinking about it. 

My favorite part about soaking up Hebrew like a sponge is Spongebob in Hebrew. 

Gud Shabbos!

7/1/2016

Week THIRTEEN - Hi everyone, lets try this again.

It is hard to believe that just a few days ago I got on a plane headed back towards Eretz Israel. After the bureaucratic mishaps with Soviet Union paperwork about two months ago, I can tell you with confidence that, my drive to protect and serve has not dwindled. I have been having dreams the past few nights of standing guard at car checkpoints all night, and whisps of walking in the desert loaded with gear "sweating out of every hole possible."

To my surprise, I managed to talk with many more people and hear many more opinions during my two months back in the United States, and the overwhelming support I have received feels like a big hand resting gently on my back in case I ever need a little push forward. Thank you.

When I first heard the news back in March that I did not make the April draft, I was pretty upset and thrown off. How could this be? I came all the way here to volunteer for your country and this is how I get treated? But as the days went on I started to realize how much of a blessing missing the draft really was. 

I got to spend 2 extra months with the people most close to me. I got to rest in the arms of a woman who has kept me smiling since I met her. I got to eat at a Brooklyn Diner one more time. I got my wisdom teeth pulled! I got to eat a bowl of my grandmas soup. I got to build an herb garden with my brother. I got to work at an Amazon Book distributor. I got to enjoy the moment. I often devoted time specifically to enjoying the moment. That quick moment that I was longing for ever since I landed in Israel the first time. 

As I wrote this 35,000 feet above that moment, I am REALLY glad I stopped to notice it and enjoy it. I am ready to take on whatever the world throws at me because I always have that moment to come back to. 

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It has been a week since I landed in israel. I am very happy to announce that I finally got my Army Visa and all of my paperwork is cleared and has been sent to the IDF. Now my job is to wait for my draft paper to come in the mail and I will be officially part of the most advanced counter-terrorism task force on this planet. 

In the meantime I will be working at my host-families business as I did the last time I came, and practicing my Hebrew with my new friends. 

I love you all. Thank you again.

Baruch Hashem

Gud Shabbos

6/18/2016

Week ELEVEN & TWELVE - Don't eat cabbage before flying in an airplane

Its 6:00AM and Im sitting in the Charles De Gaulle Airport in Paris, France. Let me rewind for a second and catch you up.

Since I didn't make the April draft, I had two options. Either stay in Israel for the three months until the next enlistment month of August, or come home to the states to spend time with friends and family before I am stuck in Israel not knowing when I can come home next. Im not going to hide anything, I also really want to come home to see Maria. As much as I love seeing her face through a phone, I can't wait to actually poke her and make sure she is real!

Back to the reason why I am in Paris, I am waiting through my layover on the way to JFK! Im going to be spending time in New York for a few weeks and then head home to Boston to catch up with my growing family and friends. Why growing? My brother and amazing sister in law just gave birth to my second nephew, Simon Angelov! He is so cute! I really can't wait to hold the next patriarch in the Angelov lineage. 

Just when I started to feel like an Israeli, I get the chance to turn back into an American for a few months and you better believe I am going to take it! I am finally starting to form my own opinions about Israel not only from what I hear through media but also through my own two eyes immersed in the country. For example, I learned a new word on this trip, and its not in hebrew.

Bureaucracy. - "excessively complicated administrative procedure, seen as characteristic of bureaucracy."

Until I came to Israel I didn't know what bureaucracy really meant. Ive heard about it before but I never fully grasped the meaning until I met it face to face. Me and bureaucracy are not good friends. Unfortunately we met too many times in Israel and every meeting turned out bad. I love the country, and shit does get done, but the way things work are not easy to get used to. For one, without connections, good luck getting something done on time. The beauty of a small country is people know each other, and that really helps. When I had to expedite my enlistment process while getting verified as a jew, we were required to send a packet of information and documents to an undisclosed address to move the process along. At this point there was a week left before I had to get all my papers in so we couldn't just mail it because that alone would take up the whole week. We drove up to Jerusalem and gave the packet to a brother of a postal worker who knew a driver that was on a certain route the next day which would cross routes with another drive that would take that packet all the way to Tel Aviv. The packet got there the next day. Its great to have connections. I can pretty safety say that the country runs solely on connections, nothing else.

Unfortunately I ran into these kinds of problems a lot, the kinds of problems that only locals can foresee. I guess thats part of the adventure! But I am glad that was the hardest part so far. 

Thankfully, all of my paperwork is done and ready to go for August so I don't have to worry while I am in the States. But as soon as I hit the ground in Israel, its game time. I have my first real meeting with the army the following week after I land. 

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This first week in New York has been quite the breath of fresh air. I landed at JFK to my American sim card not working correctly so I had to ask to borrow someones phone. WOW, people are nice here. Although the man did ask if I was going to run away with his phone, but at least I could answer something back in a language he would understand! While I waited for Maria to scoop me from the airport, I decided to call Verizon and was happily surprised by a soothing southern accent that smelt like gumbo and sweet tea. To my surprise, the young lady understood everything I was saying without me having to say it veeerrrryyyy sllloooowwwllyyy. I missed being able to speak freely without having to think about translating in my head. I never thought I'd say this, but the customer service call actually helped me for once. 

MARIAAAAA! She picked me up a few minutes later and we were on our way straight to her temple for a little Purim carnival her mom was running for the kids. It brought back warm childhood memories of my Hebrew School days on the North Shore. The last few days I have been meeting her friends and family, hanging out and enjoying every second we can together. Other than my own mother of course, I have never met anyone more willing to go out of their way to make someone happy.  One day when it gets lonely on the army base, Im going to think back to these moments and smile knowing what I have waiting for me at home. Who would have thought that me offering my shoulder would amount to so much love and support. Thank you Maria.

And a HUGE Thank you to everyone who has given their all to help me on my journey, from my parents to friends to local Rabbis to random brothers of postal workers that make my life just a little bit easier. You are awesome. 

Minnie mouse and I on Purim 

FUN FACT: Israelis dont have a voicemail system. If someone doesnt answer a phone call, they immediately send a text instead of leaving a voice message!

Until next week! 

Gud Shabbos

3/25/2016

Week TEN - The chemicals of Happiness

Happiness should not be taken for granted.

Imagine this: A blank piece of photo paper magically producing an image on it in a matter of seconds. After briefly flashing a bright light through the negative onto the paper, and soaking it in a few different chemicals, a beautiful image is can be seen. At the start, the paper is blank. After the exposure the paper is also blank! Only after the soaking does the image finally appear. Now focus on the part after the exposure and before the soaking. This seemingly blank piece of paper actually holds so much information and the potential to be a stunning photograph. But we can not see it.

I feel like my life now is in a stage that resembles the blank piece of paper after the exposure. In my 19 years, I have seen a lot. Experienced a lot. Heard a lot. Well, it's a lot for me, at least. I have been exposed so many times with different pictures and it is time for my final image to start developing.

But what kind of chemicals can I use to develop my photo? No, you can't smoke them, or eat them, or even drink them. These chemicals are all around us, in may different situations, people, areas, forms. Each person has their own photo waiting to be brought to life, and we all have the access to this happiness weather we know it or not... I mean... Chemicals.

The formula for these chemicals are different for everyone. A dancer might get them in the sweat that drips off of them while they dance, just as a mechanic can get them off of the grease on his fingers. What ever it is that brings out these chemicals, what ever it is that makes you happy, do it until your photo is developed.

But don't for a second think that these chemicals are instantly poured into our buckets at birth. Happiness does not come easy and should not be taken for granted. 

Drip by drip my bucket is being filled and I will soon start to develop. I hope you too are starting or continuing to fill your bucket and are sharing your happiness with others. Who wants to see my photo? 

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In other news, I am still waiting for an interview to sort out my nationality.

Until next week! 

Gud Shabos

3/11/2016

Week SEVEN~EIGHT~NINE - When you catch up with life

It has been a long three weeks since I last wrote. Im sorry! I can write a long list of excuses why I haven't been consistent with writing every week but what would that really prove? The past three weeks flew by faster than you can say "Ha'kol Sababa!" This hebrew slang translates into "Everything is chill!" A phrase I have heard on repeat from almost everyone I have come in contact with. This is the mentality that everyone has! They accept what is going on around them and use it to appreciate the moment. Its truly beautiful.

Week SEVEN -

 I greeted the week with a huge hug from my dad! I have to give this guy a shout out, traveling abroad with a child less than two years old would seem like a big hassle, but he with the help of his wife made it look easy. He came to Israel on business and it just so happens that I am here! We spent a sentimental Shabbat listening to old Soviet stories told by all of these close childhood friends. [My parents and the family I am staying with knew have known each other almost as many years as they have been alive] I hope that my generation and the ones to follow will have such a need to keep connected throughout the years. Years of life count down but the number of friends you have should not.

Also during this week, I started a pretty cool part time job! My host father, who's name is Alex, started an engineering firm specializing in fabrication of electric motors. Now i'm not talking about a little motor that powers a fan in a spray bottle, Im talking about high voltage industrial drone motors, just to name one of their projects without giving away too much information. I assist all of the different engineers with whatever task their time is too precious to lose over. I am learning a lot about mechanical and electrical engineering and seeing first hand how 9th grade algebra is actually used in real life! 

Week EIGHT - 

Let me start by saying this: I have forgotten what the word "BORED" means! My weekdays were filled to the brim with work with Alex in the engineering lab. My evenings are either spent with newly made friends, trying to study hebrew, unwinding on Facetime with Maria,  and most common of all, falling asleep to an Israeli movie that I can't understand. For a brief second I actually forget why I came to Israel in the first place, but not for long. 

I was asked to supply extra documents in my drafting process that support my parents Judaism. I need this conformation to obtain a 2 year army visa. At the time of their leaving the former Soviet Union, many families faked documents to try to get out of the strongly antisemitic country that it used to be. Can you guess who the scapegoats were? Jews. Everyone wanted to be a Jew when Gorbachev opened the boarders for Jews to leave the country. My family was one of the real Jewish families that left Russia in 1990. Now fast forward 26 years and here I am. I am trying to emigrate to Israel but something is stopping me. The legitimacy of my Judaism, rather my parents Judaism. 

A week before the deadline for the April draft, I get handed a paper from the IDF officer that I report to asking me to supply these possibly faked birth certificates, marriage licenses of my parents and grandparents to a secret organization that checks them in which ever secret way they do it. Great! I will finally be able to say I am 100% Jewish! But not everything is "Sababa."

No one told me this little step takes up to a month. 

Week NINE - 

It is now less than a week away from the deadline and I have not heard back from the organization. I don't even know if they received my documents. But I continue my work and hope for the best. At this point everything is out of my hands. I cant do anything other than wait, patiently. 

I call my officer to inform him that the everything is in the works and to see if I could get an extension. He gives me until Thursday of that week. 

By Wednesday it is clear it won't be done in time. At this point I have come to terms with not making the April draft. The next one is in August, they come around three times a year.

Everything happens for a reason, right? Why does this shit always happen to me? How do I end up the only one that had this step out of the group of draftees for April? Maybe I am not ready yet. I believe our decisions and outcomes are not really ours, we are just puppets that think we can control what happens in life, but actually the decisions are already made for us before we can even think about it. 

The important thing to do is to keep my head up, smile, and not let this roadblock block my road :) 

When I left the states I never thought I would run into such problems so I kept a relaxed attitude about all of the formalities. I learned the unpleasant way that relaxed is not how Israel survives, and neither should I. 

My first big curve on my path, I hate straight lines anyways. 

Whats next? 

Gud Shabos, Gud Shabos, Gud Shabos

Ha'kol Sababa 

3.6.2016

Week SIX - The little things

Piece by little piece, life here in Israel is coming together. Im learning the truth about the country and its people, but I cant learn everything at once. There are just so many things! Things that a native may take for granted. Here is a list of just a few:

• The work week starts on a SUNDAY (Yom Rishon) and ends half way through FRIDAY (Yom Shishi). Yes this means people go to work or school on Sunday and usually don't work Friday. 

Which brings me to my next point

• Stores close at sundown on Friday, they stay closed through Saturday (Shabbat) and don't re open until Saturday evening. This is nice for the shopkeepers and workers that can be home on Shabbat with their families, a time to appreciate the little things, but is not so nice for someone who needs toilet paper on a Friday night. Granted most gas stations are open all week for this exact reason, but you get the point. 

• Police drive around with their blue lights flashing regardless of the state of emergency. Yes, even while they are on the way to the local Falafel shop. There is a pretty interesting and simple reason behind it. They do it to increase the feeling of safety among the people, or so iv'e heard. It's true, when you see the lights, it reminds you that there is security all around. It gives off a sense of readiness. This is great and all, but someone coming from a different country, beware. You don't want to be that one fool that pulls over. Now when the sirens come on, shit gets serious. Are there any other countries that do this? What is the real reason behind it? 

Just two little things that make this country what it is. 

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My second video blog made it to Youtube! Check it out and subscribe to the truth. 

Gud Shabos

2/12/2016

Week FIVE - Seat 52J

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.

When life gives me Israel, I will make Israelade. My Israelade is in the form of a video blog that I will be updating regularly. Everything from the gorgeous to the not so gorgeous parts of my life. With this Vlog, I am passing on what I learn, what I see, feel, experience in the most truthful way possible. 

Here is my first batch of Israelade, made especially for you:

Thank you to everyone who helps me and will continue to help me throughout my journey. Id love any feedback 

P.S. Today marks one month that Maria and I started dating!!! 1/6/16 

Week FOUR - What should I name it?

Im bored. Four weeks into my journey I am finding myself laying in bed all day and on social media all night. The seemingly simple task of going to do my laundry makes me want to fall asleep again just to avoid doing it. Waiting for answers is proving to be not so easy either. When I am awake, I am constantly checking my email for at least one reply to drop into my inbox. It has been almost a week. 

This is a familiar feeling. When I lived in the states with my dad, which was for almost the last year of me living there; I unwittingly also found myself sitting behind my computer pretending to do something important all day long. I would only come out for a few hours for a delicious meal we prepared together every afternoon. Nonetheless, the feeling of boredom then was just as strong as it is now, and it was starting to make me unhappy. Taking away from the happiness that I started this trip with. 

This whole time in Israel, I have had a pretty lit fire burning inside me. This flame burns for many reasons but those reason tend to die out periodically. There is one spark that burns constantly day and night. I am 5,731 miles away but I can still feel the warm heat she resonates. Call me a fool but I couldn't be happier with the situation that Maria and I both fell into. Many say long distance relationships don't work. To them I say I am sorry it didn't work out, because either they have had a long distance relationship fail in the past or they are too scared to take the risk. 

During a Facetime with Maria one night, I randomly went blank and blurted out without warning "I am going to go insane if I don't start occupying my time." She calmly replied with "Why don't you do something about it?" 

On Monday February 1st, 2016 I will be putting out my first Video Blog. This will be an ongoing series of videos that will capture my experience serving Israel, in a true, candid, boots on the ground journal that I and the generations below me can click on. 

But I need your help! If you made it this far down the page, Thank You. I also want to ask you for some help. I want to keep this V-log interactive, so this is where YOU come in. What should I name it? Comment below

Thank You

Gud Shabos

1/29/2016