"Push the Button"

Tonight is the final of Eurovision 2007 contest. What is Eurovision? Wikipedia, almost always has the best and simple answer, so check it out. You could also go to the official website. Here is my short version - country's through out Europe have competitions for a new song and then the winners compete against other European countries. For whatever reason, surrounding countries that may not be technically in Europe, compete as well. Israel is one of these countries. They also play basketball and soccer in their leagues. This has been going on since the 1950's. Israel has competed since the 70's.
Lots of people are talking about this, especially this year because of the song (link below). It's bigger than Sanjaya was in the US. I don't watch Amercian Idol or care about it, but I know who this guy is...
Eurovision is so much more interesting to me. People feel patriotic about their country and are exposed to many cultures. In the US I think the melting pot is good, but the country is so big, that we get lost. Americans as a whole forget about other cultures. Israelis, as well as many other people around the world, listen to "world" music and in my opinion, are much more interested in other cultures.
Unfortunately Israel did not make it into the finals, but the song did make headlines all over Europe and maybe in the US. Excerpts from Haaretz.com article yesterday about the song, the controversy and the loss:
-Two months ago, the organizers of the Eurovision Song Contest decided to allow Israel's entry, "Push the Button," into this year's competition despite some early complaints about its lyrics, which allude to nuclear war.
-The song is widely interpreted as a commentary on Iran's atomic program and statements by its president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that Israel should be "wiped off the map."
Watch a performance by Teapacks of "Push the button"

People around Europe will vote by phone and SMS(free for most countries). Interestingly, you should be blocked from voting for your own country, but I am sure someone has comeup with a work around.

People have asked - Choomy is doing great and sooner or later I will post some more pictures and stories. He says, "woof" to everyone.

It's the 7th inning stretch

My cubicle-mate, a very nice guy, got up to take a stretch when the janitors came to take his trash. I told him it’s the 7^th inning stretch… he just smiled and nodded. I shook my head in frustration and proceeded to try and explain this baseball term. He did not blow me off, but it was clear my cliché did not do anything for him. My subsequent explanation just ruined the cliché too. At the end of it, I realize I was just trying to relay my understanding that he is wearing thin (another cliché) and ready to go home soon.Israeli’s have their own cliché’s, but they can be harder to understand or explain. Just picture Bill Cosby or Dr. Huxtable from the Cosby show having one of his television kids explaining to him how “bad” is good.

“Al ha panim,” translates to English as “On the face.” Example: Q-How was your date last night? A-We went to a restaurant last night, it was al ha panim. Basically, it sucked really bad (as in bad). Think of it as egg on your face, that would suck, so saying “al ha panim” is negative. Did you watch the game last night? Yeah, it was al ha panim.

A more complicated one is “Chaval al ha zman,” which translates as “it is a pity on the time.” This can be used as good or bad. Imagine your buddy asked about the date last night; “Was she hot?” and you could answer “Chaval al ha zman…” Depending on your tone and your next few words, it could mean “Damn, she’s smoke’n! (worth every minute)” or it could mean, “Ouch, someone was hit by an ugly stick! (what a waste of time)”.

If anyone reads this and thinks I am wrong, please post a comment…

The country is on fire!

No I am not talking about the Winograd report, it's Lag Ba'omer. The holiday where you can't listen to music, get married, shave your face from Passover until yesterday! Oh yeah, you can light bonfires everywhere on the night of Lag Ba'Omer! Okay, maybe I am just going too far on making it sound weird. It was probably the fact that I actually listened to the entire song "Wild Thing" by Tone Loc on my Ipod with out hitting skip... please don't tell anyone about it. Let's just move on.

Lag Ba'omer is actually another nice holiday. My Dad used to organize all the Israeli's in Dallas for a family picnic. 50 people would be a small crowd. If you want to know about this holiday or other things Jewish, I recommend checking out Jacob Richman's website. Don't know him, but he has lots of great links. http://www.jr.co.il/hotsites/jewish.htm

A few more interesting things about Lag Ba'omer.
1) when searching Jerusalem Anglo user group on yahoo for fun events on Lag Ba'omer - Janglo, watch out for the Muslim matrimony advertising (at the top).

People get married on Lag Ba'omer - ususually Jewish!

2) Per the advice of our friend Hanni, don't leave laundry on the clothes line - it will smell like fire!

3) Lastly, breathe lightly during and after the holiday - even the climate is effected (not a global warming friendly holiday).

Look at the bottom-left, "Haze"

More about Choomy the scaredey-cat Dog, next time

It's my Birthday! (as in Israel's B-day)

As the sadness of Memorial Day ended, the parties began. All over the country there was music, bonfires, and much more. Streets were blocked off in some places to make room for stages. While I had to work on Memorial Day, we all left early and had Independence Day off. From our bonfire and party we could see the firweworks on Mount Herzl. Suzanne and I were lucky and made it to the full dress rehearsal on Herzl 5 days earlier. This is the official braodcasted celebration for Israel. Troops are honored, there is music, dancing, speeches and pyrotechnics of course...

Soldiers singing

Kids all over Jerusalem try out to be part of this celebration and practice for 6 months

The next day, actual full day for Independence Day, everyone was having barbeques with family and friends. We went to Tel Aviv with Suzanne's class. We went to Independence Hall and the Hagana museum. There is so much to tell about both places, that I will just leave it at - COME VISIT! In 2-3 hours you can get so much understanding of Israel's history.

For a chilling version of the Hatikva, Israel's national anthem, check out this link of a recording by the BBC when liberating the Bergen-Belson concentration camp in Germany 1945.

I'll leave you with a picture of our friend Louis...learning to be like an Israeli, happy barbeque'ing on Yom Ha'atzmaut.

Yom Hazikaron -> Yom Ha'atzmaut

This past week was Yom Hazikaron (Memorial Day) and Yom Ha'atzmaut (Independence Day) in Israel. Israel turned 59 this year (FYI - Jerusalem reunification is 40 this year). As on Holocaust Rememberance Day, we have a minute of silence, but this is much more emotional in my opinion. Holidays in Israel and Judaism go from sunset to sunset. So Memorial Day started Sunday evening and ended with Independence Day beginning the next night. I believe it is a Jewish thing to go from such great sadness and mourning to celebrating. We attended a tekes (ceremony) in a park by our apartment. It was for our neighborhood. Scouts took care of it and it was very sad. It started with the siren followed by a short prayer. They had pictures of fallen soldiers from the neighborhood, candles for them and read short bios about them. Sad songs were played and some designs were made to burn in honor of the day. One is pictured below.
I don't know how to explain the minute or so of silence, which occurs at the beginning of Memorial Day and at 11am the next day. Suzanne and I watched a bus from the ceremony in the park stop and anyone on it stands up. Imagine a busy street in New York City, a siren goes off and everyone stops. No talking, eating, walking...nothing. Cars stop and drivers stand beside their car at attention. See this link for a video of a busy spot in Tel Aviv during this siren at 11 am Monday. The poor sound quality buzzing is actually the siren that is going on all around the country.
One has to understand that just about every Israeli has a close friend or family member killed as a soldier. Army service is compulsory in Israel. While I have family that has served or is serving, I don't have anyone with a close bond killed (I am lucky). As someone new to the experience, it is strange.
At the risk of losing readers...Here is a link to a great blog I read regurlarly. He explains it better than I can as a "New Israeli."
At sundown, start the barbeque, the parties began all over the country - more next time!

Meet the new member of our family

This is Choomy our new dog! His original full name is Choomiel, which comes from Choom in Hebrew. Choom means brown. Clever huh? We didn't come up with it, but thought it easier to keep it. Start learning to hock a loogy, or at least the sound.

Suzanne and I take a walk together almost everyday. We walked by two ladies, each with a dog. I commented in English to Suzanne that this dog is perfect size and short hair. One lady heard and spoke up in Hebrew that he is available. Turns outs she works for the Jerusalem version of the SPCA. She took him home for the last 2 months because he was "special." He was probably traumatized by the family that abandoned him. So now he just wants attention, he is already potty trained and is extremely calm. Tonight will be his second night with us.
Yes, barring the unforeseen, he will come to Dallas or wherever with us.
Many of you have heard us say we will send an 8X10 photo of us for the crib. We want to make sure Uncle Oren and Aunt Suzanne are known, so now we want Choomy to recognize you! Please send us an 8X10 photo and a sock you've worn for a few days (he's a dog you know...); care of Choomy Wilner-Minc to our address (email if you need it).
Other interesting info: All dogs get a microchip implanted, Jerusalem requires you to pick up after your dog (but maybe 10% actually do), and we paid 550 shekels (@$130) which includes 1 year shots, vet visits, neutering and the microchip.

FYI - tomorrow evening, Sunday night, starts Memorial Day here through sundown Monday which then starts Independence day. From sadness to joy!

Holocaust Memorial Day

Monday was Yom Hashoah (holocaust remembrance day), which is also the anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising. I think it will stick out in my mind for a long time to come (Suzanne, the one who hasn't written in a while). The night before Yom Hashoah, my class went to a ceremony. Oren, Josh (other Jewish and American student) and I were very surprised when it turned out to be at the Young Judea Year Program Facility. It was a very nice ceremony lead by freshman. We felt like it was an event by BBYO, NCSY, NFTY....pick your Jewish American youth group. The Israeli social advisor said it was very different from anything that Israeli's do for remembrance. It was the only English Yom Hashoah ceremony they could find in Jerusalem. The next morning, Yom Hashoah, we had class from 8:30am-3:30pm. At 9:45am they dismissed us from class to attend a ceremony in the school auditorium. There was around 400 people in attendance. The ceremony started with 2 minutes of silence, marked with sirens throughout the entire country. During these 2 minutes, the entire country stops. If you are driving, talking, eating, learning you stop and stand up. It was a very eerie feeling throughout in the auditorium. I felt chills going through my body. All you heard were sirens. Following the silence there was a ceremony, totally in Hebrew. I cannot really tell you what it was about. The only thing I caught on to was that a 94 year old holocaust survivor spoke (in Hebrew). He was amazing. This guy survived Auschwitz and played the violin as the prisoner's were sent to the work fields each day. At the end of his speech he played the violin and then everyone joined him in the national anthem. Simply Amazing!

I think it is important to point out some of Oren's family history. Oren's paternal grandmother survived Auschwitz. She was a patient of Dr. Mengala. Unfortunately, I do not know more. I think it will be important to get more information from his grandfather. It is an important part of our history and NO ONE SHOULD FORGET. Oren's grandfather escaped the Nazi's. He saw the Nazi's coming into his home town in Poland and fled. Unfortunately, the only other family member that survived a concentration camp was his brother. When Oren's grandfather escaped he joined the red army(Russians) and spent over a year in Siberia. As soon as I learn more, I will share their story. I hope everyone is well. Back to my homework!

Oren's interjection: I was at work when the sirens went off. Conversations abruptly stopped and everyone that I could see with my peripheral vision was standing at attention and their head bowed. This Monday will be memorial day in Israel and immediately at sundown the celebration for Independece Day begins. From tremendous sadness to tremendous happiness. Can you imagine traffic on LBJ (freeweay in Dallas) stopping for 2 minutes of silence? Another interesting fact - the government adjusts the day if it effects shabbat (the sabath).
Another explanation of this day at this link: http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/yomhazikaron.html

Passover vacation - this is it!

So, I don't know about you(as in the 2-3 readers I have), but I am tired of talking about our Passover vacation. Here are the remaining highlights...
We went bowling with my Uncle Israel, his girlfriend and her daughter. They were also our gracious hosts.

For those who don't know, Suzanne loves taking baths. So I took her to Hamat Gader in the far, far North East part of Israel in the Golan Heights. Many years ago I went there with my parents. You could sit in the stinky hot water among Roman ruins. The smell is from the minerals, specifically Sulfer which smells like rotten eggs. Excellent for the skin, but not the nose. Today it is a well developed resort. Many things to do like, Restaurants, ruins to see, alligators, massage treatments, and more. After some time here your skin feels like a baby's butt!

Syria wants us to give back this?

The next day went to Arbel. It is a cliff and old fortress. We hiked down and ate a picnic lunch in the fortress past this sign...
So, what do you think it means... My uncle likes to challenge new people to this hike, Suzanne loved it. The flowers were in bloom and everything was green. These pictures are the best, so check out the link below!

http://www.dotphoto.com/go.asp?l=ominc&AID=4431825

Who is carrying stuff???

Anyway, before Suzanne's birthday, we had our first house guest from Dallas. Sara Weinstein was in Israel and stayed with us for two nights. We had a good time and explored Ein Karem, a neigborhood near us plus a little more. Remember, everyone has a place to stay in Jerusalem!

This could be you...

In case you did not know, I have become very famous here. They have even named a street after me! "Ha" means "the."

More random vacation pictures: http://www.dotphoto.com/go.asp?l=ominc&AID=4429504
More Ein Karem and our Saturday with Sara: http://www.dotphoto.com/go.asp?l=ominc&AID=4429576

Passover vacation - Part2

Revenge of the Gefilte Fish... Ever heard of Montezuma's revenge? (Similar but a twist Jewish style) Gefilte fish is basically deboned chopped up white fish and formed into simple oval/rectangle shapes. Generally I like it and Suzanne hates it. So, we had our seder at kibbutz Ein Hashofet as listed in Passover Part1. It was in the kibbutz cafeteria and packed. To help ease the food service, several items were already put out. Maybe I am wrong, but I believe the gefilte fish was left out toooooooooo long (this was not Manischewitz). That night I felt something funny. My Mom or Suzanne will attest to my usually strong stomach.

Well, Suzanne and I went to this spice shop (Hebrew link) with my Aunt the next day. I love this stuff, especially because I am buddies with our local spice guy. All those smells did not sit well with me...then things went downhill.

Something here was used in Gefilte Fish!

So we eventually made it back to my Aunt's. Sometime on my way to Kibbutz Kinneret where my Dad is from, I started feeling worse. To fast forward this story - I have never had fever and bathroom breaks like this! I had nothing but Tea and water for almost 48 hours.

One of the many great views driving down to the Sea of Galilee

During my recovery, we saw family and saw the usual kibbutz beauty. Kinneret is well known for its date trees and products. Suzanne fell in love with Haroset made with dates, that most Israeli's use during Passover. Kinneret is also well known for the Yardenit, where Jesus is said to have been Baptized, as well as walk on the water. I personally remember fishing here before it was fully developed. Also, I have heard stories of my Dad diving for coins that tourist threw in when he was a little kid. Kinneret is also known for the late Naomi Shemer who wrote songs like "Jerusalem of Gold." It is one of the oldest kibbutzim in Israel. My dad was from here and is now buried in the cemetery with people like Naomi Shemer, Rachel the Poet and others.

My Father - Zvi Minc 1948-1997 in his Air force uniform around 19 years old.

We were supposed to be in Tel Aviv for the end of our vacation, but that did not work out. I'll tell you about the rest on my next posting. PLEASE - this blog was NOT only meant to tell our friends and family about us, but for you to be motivated to tell us about your life, week, day...anything! We miss our friends and family.

Side stories - before Passover Part 2

Unfortunately, animals, I mean invertebrates, were accidently harmed during this photo shoot... don't try this at home.

I have seen snails in Texas, but not like these snails. I guess not everything is bigger in Texas. They are about the size of a golfball. I have seen 5 or more congregating near our apartment and sometimes they get smooshed on the sidewalk. I accidently stepped on one while I risked life and limb for these pictures!

Hot butter sauce anyone?

Passover vacation - Part1

Oren has so many cousins in Israel!

Friday before Passover we went to the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo. It was extremely family oriented and very large. After walking through a large area seeing no concessions all day, we realized some American differences. No wacky overpriced giraffe mug with sugar, I mean soda in it. Yes there was a place to eat and one other tiny stand. The ratio of concessions to acreage was possibly 1 to 500, while in America it would have been 1 to 2. Furthermore, we could bring our own food in! They had ample room and encouraged you to picnic. Remember the days that you could bring your own peanut butter and banana sandwich to go with your cola into the amusement park?
Below is a link to our zoo pictures. If you need help sleeping, I may record my exciting descriptions (I may fall asleep myself).
http://www.dotphoto.com/go.asp?l=ominc&AID=4402781

Sunday we picked up a rental car and visited Seroq caves 30 minutes outside Jerusalem. Muleta and Louis from Suzanne’s class joined us. They reminded me of Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico. Very cool, especially when the tour guide pointed out rock formations that looked like the smurf houses and papa smurf looking over them. Please don’t ask if you do not know what a smurf is! We also stopped at a small winery for the usual tasting, Tzora.
More Pictures:
http://www.dotphoto.com/go.asp?l=ominc&AID=4420446

Sunday night we decided to go to the mall for some last minute gifts and stuff for the week. There was a basketball game near our house, so parking afterwards and parking at the mall would have been crazy. I was right about the parking, but Suzanne was right about us taking the wrong bus back home. We ended up spending too much time on a crowded bus and paying too much for a cab home. This along with my dress for the evening proves I have gotten old. I took off my sweater at the mall and walked around with these comfy pants that are a cross of slacks and sweats, no zipper. My white t-shirt was tucked in and the pants were up too high. I am that guy I swore never to become.

"Trust me, I know where we are going...is that Jericho over there?"

Monday on the way to our seder at Kibbutz Ein Hashofet, we stopped at the Latrun Armored Core memorial and museum. Basically tanks and other war vehicles were everywhere and a remembrance to fallen soldiers from this group of the military. I have a distance relative on the wall of rememberance there.

Will you follow this Birthday girl into battle?

More Pictures of Latrun- http://www.dotphoto.com/go.asp?l=ominc&AID=4420448

Belated Purim wrap-up

Short recap of our purim... The picture to the left is so everyone who doesn't know already, I can take a joke too. Actually, my big freak ears were cold! Purim was about a month ago, but I am finally writing.
Imagine Halloween in the US in some wild place like Six street in Austin, that was Ben Yehuda and Hillel street in Jerusalem. I wore a funky hat at times and tye dye, nothing more than that.

The worst thing were the firecrackers that kids have been using for the two months leading up to and on the day of Purim. Imagine a crowded area that has an unfortunate history of suicide bombings and hearing loud boombs! I saw one get lit and Suzanne and I quickly ducked in a corner and covered our ears.

Gettin jiggy in the holy city with a dog and drag queens

I know most of my friends know what drag queens are, but my mom might need that link to wikipedia. I love you anyway Mom!

I am not going to get all Michael Moore (Bowling for Columbine) on everyone, but this gun is too realistic and big for a young kid like this. If I saw a kid walking down a street with this thing, I would turn and walk the other way. I think I'll assume its real and rather not find out the truth.



Maybe this is not the A-team, but I know I will follow my mitzvahs after seeing this swerve through the streets of Jerusalem extoling G-d. Can you imagine the bearded hassidic rabbi behind the wheel like Mr. T? I pitty the fool who forgets a commandment!

I love it when a plan comes together!

For more purim pictures, go to:
http://www.dotphoto.com/go.asp?l=ominc&AID=4403439

Long time, no type

Here I am finally writing something. I may loook into audio blogs, if someone knows a good way to do that, please let me know. If no one has done that, I thought of it first (probably not - podcasts galore).

A little joke between Suzanne and I, we always blame silly things on each other in jest. So the long pause between blogs is her fault! We don't have a staff of monkeys yet...

This week is Passover and I have 7 work days off, plus weekends. It doesn't make up completely, but the benefits make up some for the low pay. In general, salaries are lower in Israel, but depending where you work, many benefits apply. There is a company called 10bis.co.il, which connects employers and restaurants. Many companies pay for their employees lunch everyday. Other perks include cars and gas cards. I received several hundred shekels in gift certificates to a wide variety of places for Passover and I get the vacation with less than half charged to my vacation time. The office is literaly closed, locked, empty....just the dust collecting. Could you imagine a KPMG office in the US with the doors closed for over a week - not even between Christmas and New Years.

Not even a peice of chametz left behind!

On another note, has anyone in the US not experienced some sort of Proslytization? We went shopping for a Bar and Bat mitzvah gift on Ben Yehuda street last Saturday night. It was acually me following Suzanne walking into the stores with almost the same stuff in each and you could here my moaning and groaning all the way. While in one of the stores somehow it was discovered we were from Dallas and another couple was too. The conversation was nice....until we learned they were Messianic, which in and of it self does not make them bad people. They started talking about their love for Israel, then eventually the bible...as we were trying to get one foot out the door, I saw the woman reach in her bag...uh oh! Before she could get out the pamphlet, my hand went up and I politely said, "No thank you." We were gone in 30 seconds. Later that evening we saw them and I did my best not to make eye contact.

One last quick story - Suzanne and I went salsa dancing this past Thursday. No, this story is not about going to the hospital after we stepped on each others toes! As you may know, we don't have a car, so we take the bus, walk and on occasion taxis. The bus driver's vary in quality, which is a nice way to say they are mostly crazy! Driving through narrow streets, dodging cars, dogs, people and on occasion leaving the doors open while they drive. So Thursday, while the bus was manuevering around a curve, a car was double parked with just a passenger left inside. He did the typical Israeli thing and held the horn down for a good minute - nothing. So he got out, yes leaving the bus, said something to the passenger and proceeded to move the car himself. Stepped back into our bus and went on. Nothing will stand in the way of Egged bus drivers.

"Em eh, Can I help you move your car?"

For the next week we will be out and about, so if you try calling our vonage line...you will have to leave a voicemail. By the way - Mazel Tov to our friends Shane and Tracy Stein, they just a had a beautiful baby girl named Emma.

EILAT of FUN with the Class

Finals are Finally over (except for 2 more papers due this week)! In order to celebrate an intense semester, the school took us on a trip to Eilat. Unfortunately, Oren had to stay home and bring home the bacon! We had a private bus, tour guide and 2 body guards to accompany us. The drive from Jerusalem to Eilat should only take 4 hours and 30 minutes, but instead it took 9 hours! Although, for good reasons. One is we went on an awesome hiking trip! We went to this place called Wadi Tamar (Wadi is a dry river bed). No one knew what to expect and to put it politely some people are just not meant to go hiking (see pictures). The trail is in a dried out river bed in the Negev (dessert). The obstacle began with walking down a steep hill. After the steep hill we climbed down steep ladders and ropes until we got to the bottom of the wadi. Some people were so scared of this hike, it took us almost 2 1/2 hours to finish when we probably could have done it in 1 hour. Although, it was quite humorous watching people try to push them-selves to get to the end of the trail. I hope Oren and I will do more stuff like this in Israel! The other reasons it took 9 hours to get to Eilat is because we made a ton of stops. Jokingly, I told Oren, "the bus is nicer than you" because it will stop all the time to let me go to the bathroom. When I was a youth director, I cut off my water intake at 11am if we were going on a retreat. This was to avoid the walk of shame to the bathroom in the back of the bus. One of the better stops was to Yot Veta, a kibbutz that produces milk products. We all enjoyed buying ice cream and taking pictures with fake cows. Now to Eilat details. The school booked us at a nice hotel called the Palamaro. Our stay included a huge breakfast and dinner buffet. One day we went to the aquarium which Oren and I talked about in a previous blog and rested by the pool. I found it very interesting that a bunch of my classmates have never seen or heard about a hot tub before. It was exciting experiencing this with them for the first time. They became addicted like me! Also, several of my classmates went in a swimming pool for the first time in there lives. I tried to teach a couple of them how to float, but wasn't so successful. On our last evening, I went to this place called King Cities with 3 of my classmates. It is an indoor amusement park that tells stories of the bible. We had a great time! It had an indoor water ride, a 4D movie, an obstacle course, illusion exhibit and a story telling maze. It was very well done. Even the 20 something crowd could enjoy it! My friend Luis from the Dominican Republic went with us to King Cities. It is amazing watching him go through all of this stuff. He has never experienced stuff like this. Everything we do is amazing to him. It really makes you appreciate the activities we do. Other things that took place during our vacation is visiting the Jordan and Egypt borders, walking around the strip, shopping, dancing and mainly just relaxing. The only thing missing was Oren. I wish that he could have come. My next blog will be about me and Oren's trip to the north.

All the Eilat pictures can be seen at this link below: http://www.dotphoto.com/go.asp?l=ominc&AID=4340764

One Semester down 2 more to go!

Hi Everyone! I am back to the land of relaxation and communication (but only for a few days)! I apologize to all of our fans for not writing and keeping in touch. My excuse is that I was taking 13 classes. The first semester was very intense and enjoyable at the same time. I learned so much about public health and I can not wait to go into the field and apply my new knowledge. The best part about my studies is my classmates. They are so fascinating and genuine people. (I do not want to talk too much about school, so here are the top 10 things you might want to know:

1. I have never fallen asleep in a class before this semester.Not because they were boring, but because of a lack of rest.In order to fix this problem I started drinking Mocha's (the only coffee drink I like). The workers at the coffee shop know me.As soon as I walk in they say mocha and put my order in.Even better is that the cost of a mocha is only $1, much cheaper than starbucks.
2. Between classes I enjoy window shopping at the mall on campus or grabbing lunch at the mall or Acadomon (student center)
3. My favorite classes this semester were Nutrition, Sociology, Economics, and Organizational Health
4. My least favorite classes were statistics (obviously), communicable diseases (the content was good, but the group project was torture. Everyone's work ethics were different.)
5. If I had to guess the school population it is 40% Arab, 50% Israeli, 10% other
6. A law in Israel states that all teachers must allow students to retake final exams if they are not happy with there grades or they failed. This law has something to do with military service and the possibility of students being called to reserve duty. This law applies to all students, even if you did not serve in the army.
7. Every morning I take the bus #19 to school. Many mornings the bus is so full, it does not even stop to pick up people. Sometimes I watch 3 buses pass me, before I can get on one.
8. This semester all 13 classes were in the same room with the same 26 people. I sit in the front row, next to Soumik. We have become great friends this semester. Soumik is from India and we have fun joking around
9. The new semester starts on Monday and I will be taking 11 classes.
10. I am now just as addicted to Yahoo messenger, as my AIM. All my classmates have it! It is so convenient. We chat to each other about school assignments. It even has a function that you can call each other.

More pictures are at: http://www.dotphoto.com/go.asp?l=ominc&AID=4340732

Happy Love Day, food and how to get rid of it

Today is Valentines Day in the US. Suzanne has finally accepted that I could care less for Valentines Day. If you need one day a year to remind you to show your wife, girlfriend, partner or whatever to tell them you love them, then you have a problem. I am not perfect, but I tell my wife I love her and I have gotten flowers for her other months of the year. It’s a commercial epidemic that is growing all over the world. What retailer would say no to something that may help them make a little more profit.

In Hebrew the translation is “Day of Love.” At least it was not overdone since Christmas, not that we noticed it was ever Christmas here. Just today I noticed a table at the supermarket with stuff and the flower shop was a bit busier. Either way…Happy Love Day Suzy!

Back to one of my favorite topics to discuss, food…wait. I am watching a TV show that is very popular here in Israel, “Born to Dance.” It’s similar to American Idol, but they dance with partners in all sorts of styles. Then they get critiqued by 4 people. They have a Paula Abdul type who wears a tie similar to her back in the 80’s and a Simon Cowl personality. The difference is this Simon is obviously gay and has had a face lift that left him with plastic skin.

Ok, back to food – I promise future pictures of the “shuk” or market soon. Meanwhile here are pictures of a few things we got down our street, all this for under $10.

Just the Kiwi and Strawberry could have been $10 in the U.S. Things are seasonal here, so strawberries might be gone in the next month. We are definitely eating more fruits and vegis here to go with our pastries.

Burger and Chicken places are very popular here. We have become somewhat regulars at Flame, a local place here. Burger Bar is a chain in Israel that is similar. Both are a walk up bar kind of place. They have a few seats and serve chicken sandwiches, burgers and more, simple but good. Sauces are a must and the workers get upset Suzanne gets no sauces. Israelis love garlic mayonnaise and everything else on it. I like some sort of spicy thing and chimi-churi (not sure what it is). Unfortunately with these places, as with many places here, are not very clean. I don’t think I have gotten sick here more than in the US from food, but don’t watch them so carefully. You would think kosher would also mean cleaner…not a chance. Pizza – years ago they would put one olive on each slice, they don’t anymore. We ordered a pizza last week and had up to 4 toppings. This meant something different here. 4 different kinds of slices, so we had 8 slices (1 pizza) with 2 slices of each topping we chose. Each slice had cheese and a different topping, not mixed. One last thing, thats a picture of two mini-pitas on the right.

Suzanne and I take walks almost everyday. Jerusalem is hilly, so it means the streets are not straight and places are built on hills. In between buildings or neighborhoods there are sometimes stairways. These stairs are in a neighborhood called “Malha” between us and the mall. We walk through there to the mall and use them as a workout.

The picture of me also satisfies a fan… the stairs, me and my purse.

Lastly, today on our walk home from the stairs and pastry shop an old dog was trying to cross a busy street. Suzanne and I kept calling him to us to keep him from getting run over. We could tell he wanted to get across, so I walked him across when it was safe…Suzanne wanted me to tell everyone I walked an old dog across the street. Aahhhh.