Chadica.com http://www.chadica.com Living a year in Israel and beyond! Sun, 26 Jul 2009 21:01:07 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.2 en hourly 1 Pictures of our House http://www.chadica.com/2009/07/26/pictures-of-our-house/ http://www.chadica.com/2009/07/26/pictures-of-our-house/#comments Sun, 26 Jul 2009 21:01:07 +0000 chad http://www.chadica.com/?p=166 So we’re still in the process of buying the house, and things could still fall through for one reason or another, but this will hopefully be our house!

Outside of HouseGarageLiving RoomLiving RoomDining RoomDining RoomKitchenKitchenKitchenHallwayMaster BedroomMaster BedroomBathroomFamily Room in basementFamily Room in basementUnfinished Basement / Laundry RoomUnfinished Basement / StorageUpstairs Hallway / OfficeSecond BedroomThird Bedroom (sorta)DeckDeck

]]> http://www.chadica.com/2009/07/26/pictures-of-our-house/feed/ 0 Trip to Turkey http://www.chadica.com/2009/06/01/trip-to-turkey/ http://www.chadica.com/2009/06/01/trip-to-turkey/#comments Mon, 01 Jun 2009 12:45:07 +0000 chad http://www.chadica.com/?p=159 I was going to post the pictures from our trip to Turkey, but for some reason the software that I normally use is crashing my web browser. That is Lo Tov (not good).

So here is a link to the Flickr page instead. In the upper right corner, there is a link to a slideshow which is the easiest way to view the pictures.

Blue Mosque - Sultanahmet CamiiChad and Jess in front of the Blue MosqueHagia Sophia Museum - Ayasofya MuzesiJessica stuck in a boxA flower in the gardenThe mineret of the Blue MosqueThe courtyard outside the Blue MosqueThe Turkish flagStainglass inside the Blue MosqueThe rough of the Blue MosqueNames on the side of Topkapi PalaceWall mosaicBuilding inside the palaceView of IstanbulWindow in the PalaceNames on the wallMore cool tile artDoorwayCool looking fireplaceThe Sultan's chambersPlease don't photograph the Sultan's sleeping chambersStained Glass inside the haremThe dome of Hagya Sophia. 1500+ years oldInside Hagia SophiaThe Mimbar inside Hagia SophiaLook, it's a cool wall paintingThe cool painted roof inside Hagia SophiaBefore Hagia Sophia was a mosque, it was a churchView of the Blue MosqueMore mosaics inside Hagia SophiaPretty painted archwayInside the Grand BazaarMuslim cemetaryJess showing off her head coveringMosqueThe Spice MarketWonder what they sell?More spicesWhirling DervishesMore whirlingView from the Bosphorus riverA mosque along the riverLocal fisherman....don't think he was so happy having his picture takenMore buildings along the riverThe beautiful hillsideNow that is a pink buildingJess and a statueA child sized replica of the Trojan horseA sarcophagusMore details

]]> http://www.chadica.com/2009/06/01/trip-to-turkey/feed/ 1 Catching up on Photos http://www.chadica.com/2009/05/05/catching-up-on-photos/ http://www.chadica.com/2009/05/05/catching-up-on-photos/#comments Tue, 05 May 2009 10:24:07 +0000 chad http://www.chadica.com/?p=156 Hiking near the Dead Sea

In March, Jess and I went with some friends hiking near the Dead Sea.

View of the DesertJim and LisaThe baby camel let us get close, but the mommie camel wasn't so happy with usThe camels we saw along the wayThe view of the desertJim and LisaAdena, Gavin, and BethJess and Jay Hang Out

Trip to the Negav

At the end of March, HUC took the students on a trip to the Negav. This included going to a solar facility, hiking, hanging out in a tourist Bedouin tent, and going to 2 kibbutzim.

Senior Alberto's Super Deluxe Composting ToiletMmm....muddy hands after making seed ballsSolar facility near Sde BokerLooking out over Maktesh RamonThe class at the top of the mountainLooking out over the AravaSun is setting over the Arava valeyOur hostDaniel and Jessica in the Beduin tentWalking across the side of the mountainAn educational moment on the hikeAmazing how the rock is one color on one side and a different color on the otherMountains near EilatMountains near EilatClimbing down the laddersThe mountains near EilatOutside the straw bale houseThe ceiling of a straw bale houseJess hanging out with CAPTAIN COMPOST!!!!

Birkat Hahammah

According to Wikipedia: Birkat Hachama (ברכת החמה, “Blessing of the Sun“) refers to a Jewish blessing that is recited in appreciation of the Sun once every 28 years, when the vernal equinox, as calculated by tradition, falls on a Tuesday at sundown. Jewish tradition says that when the Sun completes this cycle, it has returned to its position when the world was created.

This happened on April 7, 2009.

Sunrise over JerusalemThe hundreds of people preparing for servicesSunriseMore people prayingAnother sunrise pictureJess and Chad at Sunrise

Paris, France

For Passover break, Jess and I met her mom and Aunt for 5 days in Paris. We explorer Musee D’Orsay, the Louvre, Versailles, Arc Du Triumphe, and eat a ton of great food. After they left, it happened that my old friend Julie and her husband were going to be in Paris for a few days, so we met up with them. Here are the pictures:

Pyramid in front of the LouvreArch outside of the LouvreArc de TriompheJess, Jan, and Judy in front of the Arc de TriompheUnder the Arc de TriompheNames of the soldiersMore namesArc de TriompheTomb of the Unknown SoldierArc de TriompheObelisk in Place De La ConcordeStreets of ParisFunny stop lightStreets near Place De La ConcordeJardins Des Tuileries near the LouvreEiffel Tower lit up at nightStatue of LibertyStatue of Liberty with the Eiffel Tower in the distanceEiffel Tower at NightA belated birthday cakeNotre-DameClock inside of Musee D'OrsayMusee D'OrsayCeiling of Musee D'OrsayLife imitating artClock inside Musee D'OrsayElaborate room inside Musee De OrsayView of Sacre Coeur from the Musee D'OrsayFound my storeGotta love these signsChateau de VersaillesChateau de VersaillesGardens behind VersaillesFountains in the GardensFountains in the Gardens of VersaillesFountains in the Gardens of VersaillesFountains in the Gardens of VersaillesGates of VersaillesPaintings inside of VersaillesJess looking cuteCeiling near VersaillesGardens outside VersaillesCeiling of VersaillesHall of Mirrors inside of VersaillesMore paintings inside VersaillesVersaillesInside the Napoleon quarters in the LouvreVenus de MiloVenus de MiloVenus de Milo

]]> http://www.chadica.com/2009/05/05/catching-up-on-photos/feed/ 0 Trip to the Negev with Scott and Amy http://www.chadica.com/2009/03/31/trip-to-the-negev-with-scott-and-amy/ http://www.chadica.com/2009/03/31/trip-to-the-negev-with-scott-and-amy/#comments Tue, 31 Mar 2009 12:25:03 +0000 chad http://www.chadica.com/?p=153 So Jess and I traveled with Scott and Amy into the desert. Even added another country when we visited Petra for a day.

Here are some pics:

Looking out over the Western WallA hyrex that we spotted along the side of the roadA mosaic floor in an ancient synagogueAnother cool mosaic floorthe Octo-ChadicaScott and Amy floating in the Dead SeaChad after getting out of the Dead SeaLove...this...picCrossing into JordanIndiana Jones and the Snack Shop? Never heard of that one...Ruins on the way to the TreasuryWashed out carvings in the valley wallsChad...the photographerScott, Amy, and ChadWatch out for incoming trafficOur first glimpse of the TreasuryA bigger glimpse of the TreasuryThe room insideThe 'guards' protect the Treasury. Cozy Bug makes his first appearanceAnother picture of ChadScott, Amy, Jess and Chad in front of the TreasuryTourist shop in front of old tombsOld tombsMore tombsThe different colors in the rocks is amazingThe Monastery stands even taller then the TreasuryChad and Jess in front of the MonasteryChad and Jess in front of the MonasteryThe full view of the MonasteryLook at the colors of the rocks...amazingTomb inside Petra. Love the color of the stoneScott and Amy in front of the TreasuryChad and Jess in front of the TreasuryScott, Amy, Chad and Jess in front of the TreasuryAnother view of the TreasuryCool view of the TreasuryMushroom rock in TimnaScott and AmyCozy bug goes flyingMaking sand artGuess who made each of the bottleA great shot of the canyons of PetraThe overlook at Mitzpe RamonThe overlook at Mitzpe RamonChad and Jess at the overlookIbex near Ben Gurion's graveIbexAnother cute ibex photoIbex leaping a stone fencethe view of Ein Avdat

]]> http://www.chadica.com/2009/03/31/trip-to-the-negev-with-scott-and-amy/feed/ 0 Oops http://www.chadica.com/2009/01/27/oops/ http://www.chadica.com/2009/01/27/oops/#comments Wed, 28 Jan 2009 05:51:28 +0000 chad http://www.chadica.com/?p=150 When I uploaded the entry about Africa, I left out the pictures for Zanzibar. They have now been loaded below.

]]> http://www.chadica.com/2009/01/27/oops/feed/ 0 Out of Africa http://www.chadica.com/2009/01/26/out-of-africa/ http://www.chadica.com/2009/01/26/out-of-africa/#comments Mon, 26 Jan 2009 18:28:20 +0000 chad http://www.chadica.com/?p=139 Well, we are back from Africa and life has officially resumed in Jerusalem. Jess is back in class and I’m back at the laptop working. In the past few days, I’ve edited and uploaded about 180 of the 2800+ pictures that we took. I feel like they are a good sampling of all of the wildlife that we saw. We also took some very amateur video, so at some point I may edit a short movie together :-)

I’m not really going to talk that much about non-safari stuff, since we didn’t have that much time to walk around any of the cities we were in.

You can either view the pictures here, or click the link to ‘view the slideshow on Flickr’. I’d recommend doing that as the pictures will be larger.

Masai Mara, Kenya

View slideshow on Flickr

Female impala licks her lipsImpala, zebra, and giraffes hang out in the savanaA baby masai giraffe and it's motherA dominant male lionanother view of the male lionChad sticking his head out through the sunroofOstrich walks through the savannaha small elephant eats from the treea family of elephants hang out in the treesa large elephant comes out of the treesa nomadic lion sits in the savannahgiraffes lookout over the savanahsunset over the savannahbuffalo eats some grassHartebeestGiraffeBuffalo copulateumbrella treesmall elephant walks in the grassbaby elephant hangs out with parentvulture sits on the top of the acacia treeWarthog familybaby warthogs run with their motherthe tails of the warthog pop straight up when they runbaby Topi stands with it's motherTopifemale Impalawarthogbaby warthogCheetah growls with two of its cubsCheetah with 3 cubs3 cheetah cubs look at the cameraOur jeepBorder of Tanzania and KenyaHanging out at the border with our Masai guide and our driverJess pointing at the hippos (ode to Nikki's family)hippo's dry in the sunbaby crocodileelephants find a drinking hole in the middle of the grasslandsAfrican elephantBaby elephantgiraffe looks up from behind some rocksBlack Rhinoan ostrich familySecretary Birdguinea fowllionesses sit in the shadeMasai giraffebuffalo eating grassBaby velvet monkey

Masai Mara is a national park in Kenya. It is the Kenyan part of the Serengeti. Our safari started with 3 game drives in this park. Our driver, Jackson,  was great. (He has a daughter who is 6 years old) He talked about the different animals and how they are inter-related in the great ‘Circle of Life’. We also had a Masai guide, Kim (short for something I can’t remember). Basically a native Kenyan who lives in a village outside of the park.  There is a picture of him in the slideshow.

We had the jeep to ourselves which was great!  We got to move around the Jeep and didn’t need to make room for other people.   Unfortunately,  at the same time…we didn’t get to meet anyone else and trade pictures with them. The campsite here was much better than expected. We had a permanent camp site. The tent was huge and had a separate room in the back for a toilet. Outside there was a heated shower. They cooked our meals for us and had a campfire going both nights we were there.

Highlights:

- seeing all of the animals together. Apparently, zebras have a great sense of small, so lots of other animals like to graze near them for protection.

- baby animals, especially the 3 Cheetah cubs (adorable)

- standing on the border of Tanzania and Kenya

- meeting a bunch of Kenyan’s who are studying to be guides. They were very friendly and extremely jealous that we saw male lions while all they saw were lionesses

- Watching the monkeys play in the trees

- seeing all of the vehicles crowd around the ‘unique’ animals. A driver would radio in that they saw a leopard, and then every driver in the area would go there. This helped us to see a lot of stuff that we wouldn’t normally see.

- watching a bunch of cheetah hunt. we were too far away to get any good pictures, and they didn’t catch anything, but it was still cool watching them

Lowlights

- eating some bad spaghetti sauce. Jess was sick, while both the driver and I weren’t feeling well in the morning. We skipped our last morning game drive so that Jess could have some more time away from a bouncy vehicle.

- extremely bouncy jeep. Nobody told me that I should bring elbow pads on safari

- Too many vehicles crowded around the ‘unique’ animals.

Lake Nakuru, Kenya

View slideshow on flickr

Baboon and her babyA huge flock of PelicansChad and Jess with pelicans in the backgroundFeather in the sandPelicans taking offMore pelicansFlamingos in the waterBird in treeHerd of female impalaView of the lake from Baboon CliffFunky colored, one legged lizardBaboonBaby baboon in treeSpotted Hyaena with flock of pelicans in the distanceWhite RhinocerosCrane on branchZebra nipping at the behind of another zebra as they race through the fieldZebrababy zebra (notice the brown coat)Male waterbuck

After Masai Mara, we drove north for a couple of hours to Lake Nakuru. Lake Nakuru is a soda lake (A lake, fed by alkaline springs, that has no outlet). Due to the nature of the lake, there are a ton of pelicans and flamingos that inhabit the shore of the lake.

Highlights

- watching a herd of zebra running through the savannah.   Every once in a while,  a couple of the zebras would attack each other. I got a picture of one of them biting another

- standing at the lookout in Baboon Cliffs we  heard some cracking branches in the trees behind us.  Then I  saw a leopard walking in the trees. We promptly got back into the jeep.

- thousands upon thousands of pelicans and flamingos

Lowlights

- Jess still not feeling 100%

- this being our last game drive with Jackson

Driving to Tanzania

The drive to the start of our next safari included great views,  incredibly bumpy roads, and a pain in the butt border crossing. In the morning we got to see Kilimanjoro which is cool because it’s the highest mountain that I’ve ever seen. We also met a bunch of people that were about to climb, or had just finished climbing the mountain.

Where you go to find more Jessica'sView of Mount Kilimanjaro (19330ft high)Birds flying past Mount Kilimanjaro

Lake Manyara, Tanzania

View slideshow on Flickr

A young elephant hangs out on the side of the roadA cute baby elephant hangs eatsBaboon's hiss at each otherA baby baboon rides on mother's backbird hangs out on the top of treeVelvet MonkeyVelvet Monkey hangs out on an Acacia treea baby giraffe hangs out with two adult giraffesImpala grazes in the field3 baby baboons play in the street

Of the 5 parks that we went to, this was the least exciting. Pretty much just saw some monkeys and baboons.  (However, there were some cute baby monkeys and baboons.)

This was the start of our second safari. Like last time, it was just the two of us. Although we stayed in different campsites, we kept running into the same people.   That part was nice. This time, we were actually camping. The guide set-up our tent and we slept on sleeping pads at night. There were shelters in the different campgrounds, and they served us dinner there.

Highlights

- the smallest cutest little elephant

- seeing lots of baby monkeys and baboons

- watching the male baboons fighting

Lowlight

- the realization that we didn’t like our guide that much: he definitely wasn’t as good as our previous guide

Serengeti National Park

View slideshow on flickr

Giraffe behind a treeBird hanging out on branchLizard on rockCheetah in the distanceZebra and baby zebra running in the savannahZebra and baby zebraHerd of zebra with a baby suckling on it's mothertons of zebra and wildebeests in the distanceLion hanging out behind an acacia treeAnother nomadic lionCheetah in the fieldLeopard eating a killLeopard with a cubLeopard growling on a treeRainbow over the savannahRainbow over the savannah2 young cheetahs chase after zebraChad looking off into the sunsetSunsetOur ghetto tentUmbrella treeUmbrella treeUmbrella treeUmbrella treeLioness resting in a treeChad and Jess in the safari jeepLion cubs3 lionessesLioness with cubsLionessesNomadic lion approaching the lionesses and cubsLioness in the distanceNomadic lion in the distanceLion with mane blowing in the windLion with mane blowing in the windBaby guinea fowlLion walking down the path towards our jeepLion walking past another jeepCrowned Crane BirdLeopard in a treeHerd of impalaMale impalaRedbill HornbillGiraffeElephant eatingHippo growling in the waterHippos in the waterBaby HippoOur jeepElephants in the brush

The Serengiti is the same park as Masai Mara (see above), except it is the much bigger half that is in Tanzania. Throughout the year, the herds of  millions of zebra and wildebeests migrate between the 2 different parks. In January, the herds are in the Serengeti grazing.

Highlights

- watching 3 lionesses and 3 cubs, while watching a nomadic lion approach them. Nomadic lions will attack and try to kill the cubs of a tribe as they are future competition. Needless to say, the lionesses were very alert and slowly ran off with the cubs. As we were leaving, a second nomadic lion walked down the road right towards the same spot. In fact, it walked right past us, within a couple of meters.

- seeing a lion and a leopard in a tree

- the huge herds of wildebeests and zebras

- elephant knocking down a tree with it’s trunk

- listening to the gaseous sounds of the hippos (that one is all Chad)

- watching the starry night

- the rainbow that appeared at sunset

- watching a leopard and it’s cub eat a gazelle or impala

Lowlights

- our guide. he would find cool stuff, but basically drove around and didn’t tell us anything unless we asked

Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania

View the slideshow on flickr

A well-endowed zebraPelicans flying in the distanceZebras in the craterWildebeestsThomson's GazelleOstriches rolling in the dirtBaby hartebeest with parentHartebeest in the craterZebra rolling in the dirtHyena with food in it's mouthFlying kiteOstrich in the craterBlack Rhino with babyWarthogs rolling in the dirtOstrichCrowned Crane BirdLioness with zebra and wildebeest in the distanceLioness with zebra and wildebeest in the distanceWarthogWarthog is feeling a bit luckyHerds of wildebeestA wildebeest peeing with herd behind himFlamingosBaby zebra sucklingZebra with babyBaboonsBaby baboonNgorongoro CraterJess avoiding the dirty roadsSunrise over the craterMarabou storkMarabou storkElephant

Ngorongoro Crater is a huge crater with a diverse amount of wildlife. Normally, there is a huge soda lake with a ton of birds, but it’s mostly dried up right now. Needless to say, we saw several  similar animals, just with a different backdrop.

Highlights

- watching a lioness lie in the field with zebras walking toward her. then watching a warthog walk right past her.

- seeing 2 warthog piglets playing and knocking each other over

- watching the kites (birds) fly around our lunch spot

- seeing the flamingos flying in the distance

- elephant that hung out near our campsite

- beautiful sunrise (again, this was all Chad, I was asleep)

- laying in the field watching the stars

- seeing a baby rhino in the distance

Lowlights

- as much driving as we did, realizing that this was our last game drive

- the amount of dust that would fly in the window (not good for people who wear contact lens)

- having to spend 12+ hours driving back to Nairobi

Zanzibar, Tanzania

View slideshow on Flickr

Sunset over the Indian OceanWatching the inauguration with an international crowdJess in her scuba gearJess in her scuba gearThe island of MnembaDan took Jess out for her first diveA view of the blue waterOur dive shopThe restaurants signFinding some shade on the white sandy beaches


So once we finished up with our different safaris, we flew to the island of Zanzibar for some R&R. According to a The Guardian, a UK newspaper, the beach we were staying at was one of the top ten beaches in the world. Nice :-) It was definitely a beautifully white sandy beach, with very calm blue water.

Highlights:

- watching the inauguration at the bar. We sat there, watching a beautiful sunset, with CNN on the TV. As it got closer to 8pm (12pm in Washington D.C), more and more people started pulling up chairs. You could hear people from all over the world (Americans were in the minority) excitedly talking about the upcoming inauguration. During the actual ceremony and speech, everyone was clapping and really excited.

- Jess went on a discover dive (where they teach you the first of the 4 days of the scuba class, and then you dive with a dive master), and I got to dive with her. So it was fun sharing an activity that I absolutely love with her.  (and Dan, the dive master was excellent and really patient, he went out of his way to make sure that I felt comfortable… )

- at the end of the dive, we saw a pod of 30 dolphins, and I was able to jump in the water with my mask and snorkle and watch them swim around underwater

- walking down the beach at night

Lowlights

- knowing that it was the end of the vacation

Animals

If you haven’t seen this video yet, it is truly awesome. I only wish that we could have seen just a small piece of what this video shows:

President Obama

I just like the sound of those 2 words. More importantly, it was really cool to be traveling around Kenya and Tanzania because there were  Obama posters and paintings everywhere. Obama’s father was born in a village in the far west of Kenya, so the people there feel incredibly proud and excited that Obama is the president. I took some pictures of different Obama signs that I saw, but I haven’t uploaded any of them yet. It was one of the few times that I was proud of America while traveling. All the rest of the times, I felt like I had to apologize to the rest of the world for the country that I lived in, but not this time. This time, I’d say I was from America, and then we’d talk excitedly about Obama. Way to go America!

Conclusion

Well, that’s our trip. We have a ton of other pictures, so if there is a favorite animal of yours, we could definitely find a good picture to send you.

]]> http://www.chadica.com/2009/01/26/out-of-africa/feed/ 0 -1.7249589988527971 35.3759765625 Safari in Kenya is cool…. http://www.chadica.com/2009/01/13/safari-in-kenya-is-cool/ http://www.chadica.com/2009/01/13/safari-in-kenya-is-cool/#comments Tue, 13 Jan 2009 16:02:21 +0000 chad http://www.chadica.com/?p=137 ..but having it during baby season? much cooler.
 
So Jess and I are back from our first safari in Kenya. Tomorrow we leave for Tanzania. Trust me on this, it will take a while to get pictures posted and a full blog entry to describe everything we’ve seen. Hopefully I remember most of it.
 
In the two parks we visited (Masai Mara and Lake Naguru) we saw a ton of animals. Our current count is:
 
Lions: 4 lions, 6 lioness
Cheetah: 6 adults, 3 cubs (ultimately cute!!!)
Leopard: 2 (although one was in the woods near the lookout we were at and we ran into the van!)
Rhino’s: 1 Black Rhino (rare), 3 (white)
Giraffe’s: a ton (plus baby)
Elephant’s: a ton (plus babies)
Gazelle: a ton (plus babies)
Impala: a ton (plus babies)
Pelicans: a ton
Zebras: a ton (plus babies)
Velvet Monkeys: a ton (plus babies)
Baboons: a bunch (plus babies)
and many more
 
Unfortunately for us, it will be harder to go through safari pictures then it was to go through wedding pictures. I believe we’re at something like 1200 pictures (in 3 days of safari). Trust me when I say that I’ll go through them and only post the highlight reel to the internet.
 
The safari has been a bit different then we expected. First, it was just Jess, myself, and the driver (Jackson). So we had freedom to sit anywhere, got to talk to the driver a bunch, and always got the good window (or sunroof) for pictures. Also means that we didn’t meet anyone. Second, we stayed in a permenant campsite. So we didn’t have to cook, set-up tents, etc. In fact, we had a toilet in a separate compartment in our huge tent.
 
The people have been very friendly. Always wanting to know where we’re from and our names. Our first night in the camp, there were a group of student guides and they loved to talk about what we saw and what they saw. Heck, we’ve even learned a few Swahili words. Of course, the rest of the words I know…I learned from Lion King.
 
Otherwise, we’re doing well. Both Jess and I have already had our first bout of stomach issues, but are doing much better now.
We’re off to grab some dinner and then to repack our bags for our trek into Tanzania. This time we will really be camping, so it won’t be as easy going.
 
We’ll back back on the 19th of January, so we’ll send out another update then.
 
Hakuna Matata,
Chad and Jess
]]> http://www.chadica.com/2009/01/13/safari-in-kenya-is-cool/feed/ 0 -1.5294931 35.1708741 Wartime in Israel: What it looks like from Sderot http://www.chadica.com/2009/01/08/wartime-in-israel-what-it-looks-like-from-sderot/ http://www.chadica.com/2009/01/08/wartime-in-israel-what-it-looks-like-from-sderot/#comments Thu, 08 Jan 2009 08:24:02 +0000 chad http://www.chadica.com/?p=134 This is not an article posted by me. From what I have heard, the American coverage of Gaza has been extremely biased. So here is a blog from a woman living 1 mile away from Gaza in Sderot. Sderot is the city that has been bombed for the last 6+ months.

This comes from the official Sderot Movie Website

Wartime in Israel: What it looks like from Sderot

January 6th, 2009

These have been interesting days. For the last week, I’ve wanted to write my experiences and share them with all of you. To be honest, it’s been hard to concentrate. I’ve been busy — I’ve been trying to capture as much as possible with my video camera. I used to have a crew, but my two usual shooters are afraid to come to Sderot right now. So I’m on my own, except for my husband, who has become my assistant cameraperson because he won’t let me out of his sight. We’ve made a pact to try to stay together as much as possible so we don’t worry about each other.

I want to describe what it looks like – and sounds like –- from here.

Every morning, we are awakened by the Tzeva Adom alert. This is one of the most bizarre air raids in history. It starts with the click of a loudspeaker, and then a calm woman’s voice says “Tzeva Adom (Color Red), Tzeva Adom (Color Red)” over and over again. The alert has been difficult to hear at times, especially if you were playing music or watching TV. Last week, two soldiers from the Home Command Unit appeared at our door and handed us a home beeper system that goes off two seconds before the Tzeva Adom alert. So now the loud beeper sound is added to the repertoire.

The moment of the alert, my husband Avi and I jump out of bed and run to our Mamad – our bomb shelter. We huddle there and hug each other waiting to hear the explosion. Sometimes it’s a distant thud. Sometimes it is terrifyingly close, and our house shakes. After about twenty seconds, it’s over. They say that you have a fifteen second warning. Actually, it varies. And once in a while, you will hear a Qassam land without a Tzeva Adom alert. Those are the worst times, because that means there is a very decent chance that someone has been hurt.

Here in Sderot, we are accustomed to Tzeva Adom alerts on a weekly and even daily basis. But last week, the situation reached a new level. On Wednesday, December 24, we received over 60 rockets. The following Saturday, we heard a new sound – airstrikes. It was a strange moment. Finally, after eight years, Israel was taking action. Since then, the Qassam attacks have been endless. In the old days, we knew there could be a Tzeva Adom alert. Now we know there will be.

This week, there have been approximately 10 Tzeva Adom alerts in Sderot every day (some days more, some days less.) Keep in mind – each Tzeva Adom is accompanied by two to four exploding rockets.

So this is how we live. We stay alert at all times. If Avi takes a shower, I need to be nearby listening for the alert, ready to grab him out of the shower if need be (and vice versa). If we drive somewhere, we tune our radio to channel 104, the army channel. All Tzeva Adom alerts are broadcast on that station, so you can immediately get out of your car and run for cover. We also drive with seat belts off, and windows open, just in case. (Several of the people who have died from Qassams were in their cars when the attack occurred.)

Where do we run? Well, Sderot is pretty well prepared. There are bomb shelters of every shape and size everywhere you look – almost every ten meters you have one. The idea is that you are always within fifteen seconds of a shelter. However, this concept is flawed in its execution. Some areas are covered with shelters. But some residential streets have none. If you are on a residential street in the middle of a Tzeva Adom alert, you run into the nearest house. This is what happened today. As we heard the alert, we saw a flash of two people in front of our house. We ran, opened the door, and the two young guys followed us, running into our bomb shelter. We waited to hear the explosions, they thanked us and were on their way.

Another issue – not all homes have bomb shelters. In fact, several of my friends don’t have one, and fifteen seconds are not long enough for them to reach the public shelter. They usually crouch under a stairwell hoping everything will be okay.

But ironically, Sderot is probably the safest place in Southern Israel at the moment. Because now the entire South is being hit: Ashkelon, Ashdod, Be’er Sheva, and Netivot, among others… We have friends in these cities, and when the bombs started to fall there, they were in shock for days. They are less prepared than us. There are not bomb shelters lining the streets of these towns, but fewer, larger community shelters where now many people are sleeping. While we definitely feel a sense of solidarity, the fact that large part of the country is living much like us – running for shelter and fearing for their lives – creates a whole new sad reality.

When I first came to Sderot I didn’t run to the shelter. The threat seemed so random. It seemed almost impossible that you were going to be hurt. The fear of Qassams is something that takes a while. It grows on you. Because now, I know too many people with near misses. I have a friend who reluctantly left his bed to go the shelter. He was lucky he decided to go, because the Qassam landed directly on his bed, where he had been sleeping a few seconds earlier. I have another friend who miraculously survived a Qassam hit on her house. She is okay after massive rehab, but she has shrapnel in her brain that is too deep to remove. And I have friends who have seen people killed by Qassams – right before their eyes.

I often feel that the international press doesn’t get it. They make light of the rockets. Because when you come to Sderot for one day, the attacks seem random and you feel somehow immune from harm. The words “amateur homemade rockets” that I see written in most major news publications, make the threat seem less serious. But the fact is, these rockets are nothing other than bombs, falling from the sky, designed to kill civilians. And they do.

The press usually focuses on the number of dead people. If these Qassams are really dangerous, why haven’t more people died? Good question. Thousands of lives have been saved by the 15-second warning system. With over 10,000 rockets that have landed in this area in the past eight years, there would most likely be hundreds killed if not thousands. But the fact that we know when the rockets are coming, saves our lives. Still, is this any way to live? Can you imagine this happening in any city in America or Europe?

On Sunday, I filmed a home that had been completely destroyed that morning. It was a small, three-room place. No bomb shelter, but miraculously, the room where the owner took cover wasn’t hit. The rest of the house was demolished. I’ve seen tons of footage of destroyed homes in Sderot, and filmed in broken houses. But I had never set foot on fresh rubble just a few hours old. I was shaken. That house was struck by a Qassam, which is approximately 6-8 kilos of explosives attached to a metal tube with fins. Last night we were informed of new intelligence that Hamas intends to begin shooting Grads into Sderot. Grads are twice the size of Qassams and are what Hamas uses to bomb the further cities like Ashkelon, Ashdod, and Be’er Sheva. Now you know why my cameraman has headed out of town.

Besides the Qassams, there are other developments. Being about one mile away from Gaza, we can hear everything. The insanely loud sound of bombs being dropped from airplanes, F-16s, helicopters, helicopter guns, mortars, tank shells… these sounds have now become the soundtrack of our lives.

When I first came here over a year and a half ago, Sderot was almost like a ghost town. Now the international media has descended on us in droves. There are TV trucks and cameramen everywhere you look, and reporters from every network, broadcasting in every language from the hilltops and town corners. At least my friends who own Coffee To Go, the local café, are finally getting some business. (When I first arrived here and hadn’t yet found a house, Avi used to joke that I was single-handedly keeping the place afloat.)

For me it’s interesting. Sderot is a small place, and after a while, you recognize most people you see in the supermarket, café or falafel stand. For months I must have seemed to Sderot’s citizens like “that strange American girl wandering around with a camera.” Now after a year here, I feel like a local. With the town full of foreigners, I really feel like this is my town. That I am one of the people that they are here to film, running to the bomb shelter during a Tzeva Adom alert.

All around, you just feel war. People stay in their houses, schools are closed. “Learning Together,” a wartime television program broadcasts daily high school classes for kids who can’t go to school. The classes are taught by famous Israeli writers, poets, and philosophers.

The war is the only thing people talk about. It’s hard to get things done. It’s hard to keep ourselves from watching the news all day. And the weirdest thing is to watch the news about something that just happened a block away. When you realize that you are the news. Two nights ago we sat in Coffee To Go for dinner. Suddenly, Tzeva Adom. We ran to the interior of the room, away from the glass storefront. The Qassam exploded just across the street — the café rocked with the blast. Journalists who had been on a coffee break raced out to try and get their shots. Five minutes later, a large-screen TV above our heads was broadcasting the update from Sderot – including what we had just felt and heard.

This morning Avi looked at me and said, “It’s impossible to relax, to have fun, to enjoy life. The war just makes life stop. We aren’t living right now. We are only surviving.” I know he’s right. I’m trying to think of it as an experience that we are going through that will make us stronger. That everything is going to be okay.

Its very sad and depressing for us to hear the loud explosions in Gaza and to know that there is no way for innocent civilians not to be killed in this war. But most of us also feel that finally the government is doing what it needs to do to defend us. I get emails from people and read articles calling Israel’s response “disproportionate.” It upsets me. I feel they just don’t have a clue. What would be a proportionate response? For us to shoot unmanned missiles targeted at civilians every day? Instead, we are doing something more effective and humane – we are taking away their weapons. We are bombing their stockpiles, tunnels, and terror infrastructure. We are sending SMSs and leaflets warning civilians to leave areas that will be bombed. And we are doing what we need to do to stay alive. From this corner of the State of Israel, it is obvious that if we don’t do something now, we are looking at an existential threat. If anyone has any doubts about that, then I invite them to come live with me here in Sderot. I have an extra bed and am happy to offer it. I guarantee they will change their mind once they’ve spent a few days in my living room.

Last week, before the war started, I did an interview with Yossi Cohen, an established Sderot musician who plays bass in Avi’s band and has a band of his own. He’s had his own share of trauma – he now suffers a hearing loss from a Qassam that landed right near him, and has anxiety and depression as a result of another close landing that killed someone. He also happens to be one of the nicest people I know. Yossi works for the city (his day job) doing landscaping projects. He took me to his most recent work of art. It was a bomb shelter — one I had passed a million times. But now it had been painted a nice shade of brown, and was covered with panels of green vines. Design-wise, it looked like something you would see in Palm Springs. It seemed so surreal to create designer bomb shelters. Yossi explained that someone thought it would be a good idea to boost morale. These kind of absurdities run amok in Sderot.

A few meters away, was a smaller bomb shelter with graffiti spray painted on it. I asked Yossi what it said (my Hebrew still not up to par). It says “Secede from the pathetic state.” Yossi added, “I know the person who wrote it.”

This sort of sentiment wasn’t unusual in Sderot. When I first arrived, I was told by many residents that this was a city without a state. And last year friends told me they were not planning to put up a flag on Yom Haatzmaoot (Israel’s Independence Day.) Sderot had such a terrible year. It was hard to feel patriotic.

But last week everything changed. We watched speeches by Barak and Livni about how after eight years, something had to be done and they were going to do it. Avi felt they were finally apologizing to the people of this area for ignoring their suffering for so long. No one is happy that there is a war, that we are bombing Gaza, and that innocent people will suffer as a result. But the people here feel that finally the government is addressing what has been an unbearable situation. Yesterday, Yossi’s job included hanging up Israeli flags all over the city, and he was interviewed on Channel Two saying, “I’m finally proud to be part of the country and to put up the flag.”

When I went out of the house this morning, there they were. Hundreds of blue and white flags, shiny and new, on every lamppost and lining every street. It was a beautiful sunny day, and as I turned down one particular street – the street where Avi proposed to me — I saw hundreds of blue Stars of David staring back at me.

It’s hard to live here and not wonder, “Will we survive? As a country? As a people?” I have been thinking this on a daily basis, and last night went to bed in tears after a stressful argument with a friend on this very topic. But somehow seeing that row of flags made me feel better. Maybe we won’t make it. But we’ve got to do everything we can to try. Here in Sderot, we are part of a country again. And as a people, a nation, we have history on our side. The flags and those two thoughts are going to get me through this war.

]]> http://www.chadica.com/2009/01/08/wartime-in-israel-what-it-looks-like-from-sderot/feed/ 0 31.56730322656187 34.541015625 Christmas, New Years and Beyond! http://www.chadica.com/2009/01/05/christmas-new-years-and-beyond/ http://www.chadica.com/2009/01/05/christmas-new-years-and-beyond/#comments Mon, 05 Jan 2009 20:07:18 +0000 chad http://www.chadica.com/?p=131 Well, it’s definitely been a couple of weeks. So here’s the update.

Christmas Eve

The strangest thing about Christmas in Jerusalem is how normal the day felt. Stores were open, people were all around. No Christmas lights, or Silent Night on an endless loop. To be honest, it didn’t feel like Christmas at all.

Since Chinese food is hard to find, and the movie theater is far away, we decided to fore go the usual Christmas Eve festivities.  So what to do instead? Well, Jess and I ended up doing different things, but in the same line of though. So what did we do? Well…we went to Midnight Mass. Ironically, in Jerusalem it seems like a cool thing to go to Midnight Mass and see how Christians celebrate. In the states, I would probably never go to Mass. Figure that out?

Well, Jess went with her friend Nikki (grew up Catholic and converted to Judaism about 4 years ago) to a service in the area, while I went with a few people to Bethlehem to see how Christmas is celebrated in the city where Christ was born.

I’m not sure what I expected in Bethlehem. First off, it’s in the West Bank. We needed to bring our passports and go through a security checkpoint to get in. Once across the fence, the entire landscape changed. We went from nicely paved roads, nicer buildings, and Hebrew signs, to very rundown, dirty, and Arabic signs. It was a bit of culture shock, and it was only about 30 minutes from where I live!

We got there a few hours early and they had this whole concert set-up. The weird part of it was, they had a lot of the groups were singing in Spanish. Huh? They would say all of these pro-Palestinian lines at the end, but again it was in Spanish, so nobody was really listening until they said something like ‘Viva Palestinian!” and then everybody would cheer.

Around midnight, we tried to get into the services, but tickets had been sold out for weeks. This is the service that a lot of the big wigs show up to. Supposedly Abbas was there. Outside of the building were a ton of dignitary limo’s with flags from all different parts of the world represented.

We were able to go into the Church of the Nativity by entering the ‘Door of Humility’. Basically it’s a door that is about 4 feet high, so you have to bow to enter or exit. From there, we were able to go to an alcove and listen in to the services, which we did for a few minutes. Unfortunately, we had no clue what was going on, so it wasn’t that impressive.

The most interesting part was just walking around and watching the people. Palestinians were walking around in Santa outfits handing out pro-Palestinian rhetoric. People were there to celebrate, others were there for the free music and festive atmosphere. It was a cold night, and tons of people were walking around selling two from what looked like the tea kettle from their house.

Jessica on the other hand, went to the entire midnight mass, and probably had a much more interesting experience since she was able to get the play-by-play.

The Palestine Red Crescent SocietyKids and adults dressed in santa costumesCute kid with Santa beardRed Crescent First RespondersSign on the streets of BethlehemChurch of the NativityRandom street guysOutdoor cooking chimneyThey love their cornDignitary's arriving for Midnight MassDignitary's arriving for Midnight MassExiting through the Door of HumilityBethlehem Police StationRandom buildingKids walking around serving teaMore Christmas FlairMosque at nightStage with Christmas musicFire TruckTourist CenterChristmas TreeLooking in on Midnight MassMan praying while listening to the Midnight MassGraphiti on the Security WallGraphiti on the Security WallGraphiti on the Security Wall

New Year’s Eve

So one of the students organized a New Year’s Eve celebration for any of the students that wanted to join. She rented out a bar, organized the open bar, decorated the place, and bought snacks. The theme? Prom. So you know what this means? In the mighty words of Barney….SUIT UP!  So everyone got all gussied up in the finest clothes that they brought to Israel.

Ever weeks of trying to get up the courage, I finally was able to ask the girl I was interested in if she wanted to go to Prom with me. Thankfully, she hadn’t been asked yet and said yes. So Wednesday night finally came along, and I showed up to pick up my date in my finest suit. There was much dancing and hanging out with friends, and midnight came and went.

Overall, a very fun evening. To top off the evening, we caught up with almost all of Jess’s family on Skype.

Chad and JessDaniel and JessicaDan and LuanneLisa and JimJosh and AmyRena and JillianGavin and BethJason and JimNikki and JessicaJessica and JessicaJason and SarahSarah, Jason, Rena, and JillianLauren, Jon and SarahSome relaxing time on the couchJason and SarahLauren, Jaclyn, and AriMore dancing shotsJosh and DeenaMore self portraitsNikki and DeenaAmy and Rachel dancingAh...gotta love the self portraits

Packing and Finals

So this week is Finals for Jess. She has had 2 ten page papers to finish, one oral exam in chanting Torah, and 4 additional tests. Needless to say, she has been a bit stressed. As of right now, she is over half done as she handed in both papers, took both the oral exam, and one of the written exams. I’m just tired thinking about all of the work she is doing. Right now, her and a friend are studying Hebrew in the main room.

We are also leaving for Africa late Thursday night (Jess’s last final is Thursday morning). So this week, I’ve been finishing up work and trying to remember where I placed all of the things that I want to make sure to bring with us to Kenya and Tanzania.

This will probably be the last post for a little bit. If we have the opportunity, we’ll try and post while we are traveling, but if not…there will be a long post when we get back with hopefully a ton of pictures!

]]> http://www.chadica.com/2009/01/05/christmas-new-years-and-beyond/feed/ 2 A bittersweet Hanukkah http://www.chadica.com/2008/12/21/a-bittersweet-hanukkah/ http://www.chadica.com/2008/12/21/a-bittersweet-hanukkah/#comments Sun, 21 Dec 2008 21:10:53 +0000 chad http://www.chadica.com/?p=127 hannukah

Jess and I would like to wish everyone a happy Hanukkah. We were out for a walk tonight and got to see the large menorah’s being lite around the city. Near Ben Yehuda (the big tourist street), there was a large menorah with loud speakers blaring jewish music as they were lighting the menorah.

Tonight is bittersweet for us. We always knew that we would have to say goodbye to friends we made because they were going to be going to one of the other campuses. Tonight, one of our good friends is heading back to the states. She decided that she wanted to pursue a different career path then being a Cantor, which we are definitely supportive of her decision. On top of that, she had a family emergency, so needed to head back to the states 3 weeks before she had initially planned.

So a joyous night, yet at the same time bittersweet.

Chag Semeach (Happy Holidays),

Chad and Jess

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