I'm Just Not That Interesting...

I think that I've come to the conclusion that I am not interesting. I don't have a lot to write about. There isn't that much that is happening to me here in Israel that seems worth writing about. Maybe that's just an easy way out but it is the way I feel. I'm sorry. Wish there was more to it than that, but I'm not sure there is. Let's see what I can come up with...

A week or two ago Gillian and I confronted the people in charge of our stay here and told them that we were getting bored having the same conversation over and over again with students in the two high schools we're vollunteering in. They responded by finding us a place to teach in a school in Qiryat Bialik, only 20 or so minutes from Karmiel. We will supposedly be starting soon, teaching (not tutoring) Ethioipian students in English. I remember saying I was bored, not insane... Regardless, I think it is an opportunity to truly be useful, and maybe prove to myself once and for all that I'm not cut out to be a teacher.

Way back a few weeks ago, on the fourth of January to be exact, a birthday was had. I turned 23 years old. We didn't really make a big deal out of it or anything, simply going out for dinner to a local restaurant that specializes in chocolate. It was a very pleasant day punctuated by the consuming of an apple crumble pie, baked by Gillian Tanz, dessert chef extrodinaire. The apartment reeked of deliciousness for a week...

In other news we have taken up tennis. OK, I'll give you a moment to stop your snickering. Are you finished? Good. Let's proceed. So we've taken up tennis. Stop snickering. That's enough. I gave plenty of time to get it out of your system and I won't stand for it any longer. OK, maybe just a bit more... Anyhow, yes, we've started playing tennis, or rather swatting at a bouncy yellow ball with so-called "rackets". We're not very good at it and have the sore muscles to prove it, but we're trying anyway. We need to get out of our apartment more and be more physical. We haven't gotten much exercise since we acquired the car.

We've been taking instruction in the ways of speaking Hebrew. We're not very good at it (me worse that Gillian) but we're slowly trying to get better. We weren't able to enroll in an Ullpan program (Hebrew Language Immersion Program) because our schedule didn't allow it, but we're meeting with a tutor on the college campus once a week to learn the basics and hopefully learn how to hold a simple conversation before we leave. So far all I've been able to do is order pasta at a restaurant because the word for pasta in Hebrew is fairly simple: pasta. Oh, well. Perhaps progress will occur soon. I sure hope so... I'm getting tired of spaghetti.

I think we may have made a few friends... This evening, we went out with a guy we met in a round-about way. Maxine, the woman hosting us on campus put us in touch with a family that lives in her community. The mother is a ceramacist like Gillian and the woman's son is a filmmaker, currently applying to film schools in the U.S. including Emerson College, my alma mater. Elon, the son, is a really cool guy, just about our age, and tonight he introduced us to a few of his friends and we all went out for drinks at the only local watering hole within several miles of Karmiel. We had an awesome time, playing Tekken 4 on Playstation2 (a rare commodity in Israel) and also play a Texas Hold'em Tournament over a few pints of Guiness on tap (another rare commodity in Israel). Good beer, good people and a good game of poker were all welcomed reminders of home that Gillian and I have missed considerably. Although it wasn't the same as a Blue Moon Wednesday or a weekly Poker Night with Russian comrades it was nice to finally socialize with Israelis outside of elementary and high school students. Hopefully it won't be the last time we meet up with them.

The only other thing that I have deemed worth mentioning to those of you who have stuck with me this far (and I appreciate that), has to do with what I see as a strange phenomenon here is Israel. Everyone hitchhikes. It's really weird. You can't drive up to an intersection without someone soliciting you for a ride. Everyone thinks it is completely normal to stand in the middle of the road and stick your thumb out in the wind. Israelis from kids serving in the army to religious Jews (curly sideburns and all) take part in this stateside forbidden practice. They even get angry at you for not stopping. I can't say I have seen anyone actually get picked up yet, but I have to assume that people are successful at this endeavor condisering no one would continue trying unless people actually stopped every once and a while. I dunno... I'm still glad we rented a car.

A few pics to tide you over until I get my new digital camera in a week or so. Maxine has been kind enough to take pics for us lately and I share them with you now:

A self-explanatory two-shot taken by Maxine.

Maxine often insists on taking photos of of the two of us for no reason whatsoever.

This is a photo of Gillian and I with a man named Gary Perl. He is the Campaign Director of American ORT and used to work for/with my father when dad worked there as the Executive Vice President. Gary came to the college for a tour and we had the opportunity to eat lunch with him. I haven't seen him for almost 15 years.

Anyhow, I think that I may start opening up the possiblility of post topics wider that I was willing to allow before. I do a lot of reading on the internet, from articles on politics to articles on technology and media. Perhaps I will begin to use this blog as a forum for sharing those types of information with you. Maybe I should take a survey of what the readership is interesting in consuming. Yes, I think that is a good idea. It will force you to form an opinion and disavow myself of any responsiblity incase I bore any of you to death...

Do you think I should keep this blog pure and continue to struggle coming up with topics that relate to my travelogue or should I expand and include posts regarding thing outside of Israel that interest me like politics and media? Leave a comment to let me and the rest of cyberspace know what you think! Thanks in advance for participating.

Miss you all and hope to hear from you soon...