Saturday Morning Picture Show

So here’s the thing. . .  I finally get a chance to write a bit.  Then I bring the file over here, and would’nt you know my doc won’t open! Read the rest of this entry »

the show so far

Here are some of the notes I’ve been taking when I get a chance to sit down. . More later. . . .

Rolling

Thursday was spent rolling. Rolling, rolling and more rolling. Friday was filled with rolling. Saturday was filled with rolling. Yet while with all this rolling going on I didn’t roll in the ocean at all until Friday afternoon. But I didn’t need to roll either. With 9 students in each class there was a lot to do. The students here are so excited about the class and eager to get stuck in. With that of course comes the pressure to do their expectations justice.

My Rolling

I got in a rolling boat today for the first time in quite I while. I stunk with lace curtains! I blame the boat, but in truth I’ve just not practiced enough in the last few weeks to be jiggy.

Food

In the Kibbutz there is a dining hall where everyone who lives there is welcome to eat. Free of course. This is where we take our lunches. We grab a tray and slide down the line choosing from cucumbers, lettuce, humus, noodles, and chicken or fish.

The restaurant we went to the first night was “Dairy”. There was sushi. Fish, but no meat. Others have no dairy. Vegetarians would have an easy life here.

The food served at Steve’s home is the best on the planet!

Don’t Say It

Last evening we went out for a few hours, a few drinks, and a few rude stories. We laughed for hours. The inside joke of the day is that it’s ok for an American to say the word “Customer” in Israel. However, most Brits should avoid the word complexly. It’s got something to do with how their “u” sounds like “oo”.

Karel

So I finally met Karel Saturday (Weatherman to the Stars). Karel brought along his mum who also happened to be visiting from the states. He says that’s why he’s not been out paddling, but you have to wonder. . . . I think his mother would be rolling a kayak in no time.

Do It Anyway

A student came up to me in the office and asked, “Pardon me, but what should I have to take the BCU 2* when I have at least 3* skills? Funny, my internal response was, “Because of the way you just asked that question.” But instead I sympathized with his plight and said I’d been there myself.

Yalla Chant

As I walked past the big square school building, loud traditional Hebrew music was wafting out the open windows. Behind me I could year Hadas yelling, “Yalla, Yalla!” to someone who was obviously taking too long. I looked out as the sun set over the Mediterranean and the last lights of sun filtered through the open palms and thought about how far from home things seemed at right that moment.

That Lady

So the first day I was walking through the Kibbutz as I mentioned an older (than me) woman escorted me to the little shop. Along the way of course I was quizzed and immediately feeling like a son who was hiding a secret from his mother. I do swear she was fighting back the command that I should be washing behind my ears. Of course now I see her at least once a day and she asks how I’m doing and what I’m thinking of Israel. She’s genuinely warm and friendly, and in some places caring people just tell you what their thinking without all the bull. It’s refreshing, but each time I know I’m going over to the Kibbutz I’m tempted to wash thoroughly behind my ears. . . just in case.

Arabs

Friday morning the sun was shining. It was warm and aromatic. I was in the back office of the shop learning that the internet connection was not working. Two men came into the club. They asked me questions I of course couldn’t understand. The older man pointed to his watch. “8 am” I said. They walked out. Later I learned that they were Arab workers here to do construction that could not get through the gate. “Oh.”, I said. Sometimes what you see on the news is closer than you think. How you feel about it is something you can’t quite put into words.

Halloween

Halloween came and went. Sitting here writing as a warm evening breeze lifts the curtains of my room and the sound of the surf hisses below it was easy to forget.

At Steve’s we noted Halloween with a raising of the glasses, Shalom, Salute, Auf Wiedersehen, Goodnight. . .

Ed Zacklie

Hadas is looking Ed Zacklie. . . “Has anyone seen Ed Zacklie” (reliving that bit in the movie, “Brazil”.) See the thing is, it’s got to do with differences and similarities. Oh, and walking across the floor on your hands and knees . . . sans attire. .backwards. . . (Not Hadas of course, so don’t you go there sister!)

Television

Last night I thought I’d turn on the television to listen to some quiet chatter that I wouldn’t be able to understand. The problem was the instructions . . . another thing I couldn’t understand. Boy does it make you feel small. I’m still tempted to fiddle with the controls just to see what happens. Then I ask myself, “Are you really desperate for television?”. No, not really. But sometimes when we’re alone we seek the comfort of a soft voice.

Shekels

I found myself with $250 Shekels and nowhere to spend it. On the other hand, I’ve got some dollars and Euros and no place to go with them either. 

Phil Eccles, Dog Slinger

“When locating your coach tomorrow please look for the man swinging a Labrador retriever by its tail over his head. He is after all, Phil Eccles, Dog Slinger.”

Patagonia

So Yosale is going to Patagonia on the 9th. We’ll be talking more with him later this week and hopefully post a video just about the time they start their expedition.

look

Hadas looks cool, Phil looks on, jeff looks away. . . 

guest

I was sitting quietly in my room sorting quarters from Euros when a knock came at the door.  A man that I did not recognise appeared.  He said he was there to take me somewhere.  It was ok he told me. We would go to the home of the owners of the club.  I walked with him down to the car and we drove off into the night. driving along a secluded road his cellphone rang, he answered a couple quick questions.  Plans had changed.  Soon we arrived at the gate of a high secuity area along the coast.  He talked to the gaurd in Hebrew.  After a short conversation we turned and went to a side gate.  Slowly the 12 foot raser wire gate began to open.  I wondered what would happen next. . . Read the rest of this entry »

Sdot Yam

 

We arrived here in the cover of darkness as lightning flashed across the northern sky.  I still have not slept yet, but I plan to in a few minutes.  While I certainly should have went to bed last night, we instead sat up chatting until not long after the sun rose, Jeff & Phil showed up.  Well, obviously it was then time to paddle.

The interesting story for me today was not that we went out and paddled with no sleep. . or that Hadas got some great video of Jeff looping. . . which was all good, but no what was most interesting was my little side track into the Kabutz of Sdot Yam which is right next to our rooming house. The simplest way to explain a Kabutz is that it’s a communal neighborhood where everyone who lives within the community works together to provide for the needs of the community as a whole.  Not everyone in Israel lives in a Kabutz but many do. 

Sdot Yam is a little beach side paradise filled with beatiful homes and towering palms.  Walking the streets reminded me of many of the tropical places i’ve roamed in the past.  Yet the roads were narrower and the homes while mostly modest were emaculate. I set out to find a little shop that I was told would be some 300 or so meters down the seaside road. My goal was to buy all those little personal items you can’t take on a plane.  Along the way I came across three women who were chatting in the narrow street. 2 of them talking while holding up their bycycles.  Most everyone here speaks English, so I asked the group if I was getting close. Next thing I Knew I had a personal escort!   The price paid for a personal escort of course is the full story as to why an american finds himself wandering the side street of a little Kabutz by the sea. Fair enough.

I went into the little shop which luckily took plastic and purchased my goods.  The man at the register asked where I was from, I said “the states” never sure if the details of what state actually mattered.  This time it did so I found myself holding up the line as I explained where Wisconsin was, and what I was doing in this tiny little shop.  Leaving the shop I found a small park and path (shown above) which led off to the anchient ruions of Ceaserea.  I plan to nap a bit, then have an evening wander back in time. 

At the moment the rest of the gang are off to Jeruselam which is about a 2 hour drive from here, so that Phil can see a bit of the old city before he returns home. (Phil will only be here a couple short days).  For my part I will head to Jeruselam later in the week, for now I must sleep. 

Israel is an amazing place.  You don’t sense the sort of havoc that you often see in the news, however every loud sound in the distance immediatly makes people at least ponder the what ifs.  For a traveler like me dropped into a sea side Kabutz, there is certainly a sense of culture shock and isolation.  Not a negitive feeling, but one of knowing you are certainly far from home.

3 hours till lift off. . .

Almost Like Home

Ok, so I’m back at the airport with 3 hours to kill.  Oh and speaking of kill, today is the first time I’ve seen armed soldiers walking an airport.  I suppose I should get adjusted.  The idea that the military is protecting the airports should make you feel safe.  Somehow though, the sight of all the guns tends to do just the opposite.  Read the rest of this entry »

Ah, Paris!

Now this is really, really, really big!!

Hello from Paris.  I have no idea what time it is, or what day it is but when I arrived and called home at 10am it was 3am back in the states.  Ooops!  3 hours walking the streets of Paris was interesting.  Only 3 people tried to part me from some cash.  Later I’ll write more about the brilliant scams.  They’d work too if you didn’t see 6 other guys doing the same thing not even a block away!  Oh, and yes I did buy a little Eiffel tower from a street vendor!  When in Paris. . . .

I have to say, all those rumors about Paris Fashion sense is absolutely true!  I felt way under dressed!

Anyway, back to the airport and off to Tel Aviv. .. I think I get there at mid-night tonight. . . or tomorrow. . . or yesterday. . . I need a nap!!!