Chadica.com

So everyonce in a while, I just feel like writing about a bunch of smaller topics, so here goes.

It’s Cold

Ok, not really cold as midwest goes…but man, these buildings really don’t have insulation. It’s in the mid 60’s right now, and I’m already in sweatshirt, pants, shoes, and drinking hot tea. Of course, I could turn on the heat…but I’m stubborn and electricity is expensive.

Scuba Diving

I needed to renew my visa (it’s good for 3 months), so I headed down to Eilat for a couple of days. I made a 5 minute cross into Egypt to get my visa renewed, and also went on 3 dives. For those of you who don’t dive, 3 dives is exhausting. Not necessarily physically exhausting, but there is so much nitrogen in your system, that you just feel zonked (that is the actual clinical word for it….).

Some people go to temple, church, or a mosque to feel connected with something bigger then they are. I guess I go SCUBA diving. Diving is one of the few times in my life where my mind is just focused on what I am doing at this exact moment. It’s not thinking about work,  or who I need to call, or what I want for dinner. Focused on relaxing and breathing. Focused on observing the amazing diversity of life. For a perpetual multi-tasker, this is pretty impressive.

Sukkot (Festival of Booths)

So in hindsight, I’m saddened by the fact that I never went around Jerusalem taking pictures of the sukkot (booths) that were set-up. For those that don’t know, 2 weeks ago was the Festival of Booths. A week long harvest festival where you traditionally build these four walled temporary shelters and then you eat and sleep in them. Growing up, we always had one at Temple, but never really followed the tradition of eating and sleeping in them. Walking around Jerusalem and seeing them everywhere is pretty special. The Great Synaoguge had a humongous one that was at least 50ft x 50ft…but probably bigger. Other ones were tiny. Restaurants set them up outside so that people can eat there and still fulfill the commandment of eating in the sukkah.

A friend of mine took pictures of the different sukkot, and here is a link to his blog.

Voting

Our absentee ballots finally arrived on Monday. So Monday night, Jess and I sat down and cast our Ohio absentee ballots. Absentee ballots have to be postmarked before the 4th of November and arrive on or before the 14th…so we spent an extra dollar or two to make sure it gets there in time.

I hope all of you are either planning to vote on Tuesday or have already voted.

I feel that this year, people even more polarized about the candidates then in past years. So I’m not going to get into which candidate you should vote for, but I do feel that it is important that everyone votes. So evenif you disagree with me politically, I still encourage you to get to the polling stations and vote.

The Jewish holidays are finally over and live and school will go back to normal. It also means that are break for Sukkot is also done. For Sukkot, we went with our friends Nikki and Rachel to the Haifa area in the north, and then Jess and I traveled south into the Negev.

Ein Gedi and the Dead Sea

Ein Gedi is a beaitufl river valley not far from the Dead Sea. The main thing to do is go on the short hike and swim in the falls. If you’re looking you might see Ibex (which we did) and Gazelle.

We stopped at a beach that included a gorgeous restaurant and a pretty clean beach. If you’ve never been in the Dead Sea, it’s quite an experience. You don’t even need to try. It’s so calm and easy that you could bring out a book and read while just floating in the sea between Israel and Jordan.

Caesarea

Ceasarea is a city that was originally built over 2000 years ago and has since been modified and changed throughout the years. Walking around it was nice, but like most ruins, you just get hot. You also have to have a pretty good imagination as to what the place would have looked like back in the day. Thankfully, there was a pretty modern movie that had some 3D recreations of what they think the city looked like. The most impressive part of the city is completely gone and only available to see if you go on a scuba trip into the ruins of the harbor. This harbor was huge, and made all the more impressive in that it was made without any modern conveniences like tractors and dredging equipment.

Haifa

Haifa itself is a port city in the Northwest of Israel. Much of the city is pretty unassuming, except for the Baha’i gardens. My knowledge of the Bahai faith is limited to what a friend of a friend told me 10 years ago, so instead of trying to describe their faith, you can go to the wikipedia entry to find out more information.

The gardens themselves are absolutely gorgeous. Physically, they are impressive. Covering the side of Mt. Carmel with 18 terraces of lush green beauty. As it is a holy place, access to most of the gardens is limited. You can enter an overlook at the top and a garden near the actual Shrine of the Bab anytime during the day. But that is about 5% of the whole gardens. They have tours that take you through the top half of the gardens, but we missed out on that. The bottom half is pretty much off limits to everyone but pilgrams making their way to the shrine. The shrine is open and available to the public between 9 and noon. There is one proviso, none of the sections are open when it is raining. And it rained both mornings that we attempted to go to the gardens. D’oh!

Rosh HaNikra

The Israeli costline is pretty flat and full of beaches all the way up to the Lebanese border. At the border, the coastline becomes a beautiful cliff face with these large grottos that they have built paths that you can walk through and around.

Akko (Acre)

Akko is another ancient city with a turbelant past. It has been around since the days of the greeks in 333 BC,  and since has traded hands between the Egyptians, Romans, Arabs, Crusaders, Mamluks, Ottoman Empire, Turks, British, and now is a part of Israel.  Phew. The main section that we walked around was the Old City. Walking around old walled cities is amazing. Old cities that still have a population living within the walls in a non-touristy fashion is even coolor. Just the small narrow streets underneath covered archways that span imbetween the buildings. Walking through the market place that are selling things beyond cheesy touristy stuff. In fact, I was amazed at how many cheap toy stores there were.

While walking around, our main stops included the old Citadel, Al-Jazzar Mosque, and the harbor.

Mitzpe Ramon

Our adventure then took us south of Jerusalem into the Negev (desert). Maktesh Ramon (The Ramon Crater) is the largest natural crater in the world. We stayed at Sukkah Bamidbar aka Tents in the Desert.  The place consisted of 7+ small primitive (no bathroom and a single solar panel for lights) huts of various sizes. The place also had a communal eating area and some gardens and some animal pens. Bathroom facilities were of the camping variety, which meant you either walked away from your cabin and went in the desert or there was an outhouse. The place was definitely not for everyone, but was great to spend some time experiencing a little bit of what life in the desert must have been like.

I can see why people fall in love with the desert. It is beautiful and stark. I’m constantly amazed at how much life can exist in a place with such harsh conditions.

While in the town of Mitzpe Ramon, we stopped at the visitors center, Bio Ramon (they have some of the desert critters on display in their native environments), and an Alpaca/Llama farm. We also drove down in the crater and went on a canyon hike.

On the way back, we stopped at Ben Gurion’s grave and his house on Sde Boker. Also went for a short hike to a cold water spring in a beautiful canyon.  As luck would have it, my camera battery died…so alas…no pictures…this time.

Other stuff

When we’re driving around, I constantly have thoughts and ideas that I’d like to share with you all. Of course, now that I’m writing I can’t remember any of them. Must be in the family genes.

Things are quieting down now that the holidays are over and we can get back on a regular schedule. Jess is at class right now, and I’m at home either working or if there isn’t work…finding something fun to do. We have some friends that are coming out to visit Israel (and in turn us) in November, so that is exciting. I need to make a border crossing in the next 3 weeks so that I don’t overstay my Visa.

So I’m curious what you’d like to hear more about. Travels? Classes? Jewish Life?

Today is Yom Kippur, the Day of Repetence. In the States, we would have woken up, got dressed, hoped in the car, and drove to services. We would have had to deal with the hustle bustle of a normal day in Cleveland. Just a day where 80,000+ people were purposefully fasting and going to services instead of work.

Jerusalem is different. Today, the city is quiet. It’s not 80,000 people that are fasting and going to services…it’s the entire city. Walking back from services last night was like living in a ‘Twillight Zone’ episode. People were all dressed up walking down the middle of the streets going to and from services. Visiting with friends and seeking forgiviness or just hanging out with friends and shooting the breeze. Today is the one day of the year, that there aren’t any cabs on the road, or cars driving around. For the first time since I got to Jerusalem, it’s quiet.

As many of you know, Yom Kippur is a day of repetence. For the last month, Jews around the world have been reflecting over their past year and looking at the mistakes or sins, and trying to make amends. Instead of just thinking about the bad things you’ve done, you’re supposed to seek amends for it. Ask the person for forgiveness. It is also traditional, that if someone asks you for forgiveness, that you give it. That all mistakes happened last year, and that you have a fresh year ahead of you. Today is the last day. The day where you hope you’ve done enough, and that you can start the new year with a clean slate.

Walking around the city makes you feel reflective. The distractions and annoyances of daily life are just gone. No Israeli drivers speeding down the street honking left and right at any little annoyance. Or steroes blaring music. No sounds of speeding cars or down shifting trucks. No sounds of construction. Just the sounds of humans talking as they walk down the street.

Today, the site rests and reflects. The mood of the city makes it hard for me to just pick up my laptop, play a computer game or do something meaningless. I sit here thinking about my year about the crappy things that I’ve done, and the amazing things I’ve done. About the things that I would change in myself, and the things that I’m proud of.

Each year, you are supposed to look at yourself and look at the sins you’ve committed. As I sit here, I am not spending a lot of time about the times that I lost my temper and yelled at the stupid help desk people at Capital One, AT&T, or TIme-Warner Cable. I’m thinking about the times that I’ve hurt the people that are closest to me. The times I’ve lost patience with Jess or my Mom. Or not called my grandmothers as often as I should have. Sadly, the list can go on and on…but I guess that is part of being human. Ironically, I’ve also reflected on the fact that it is easier to seek forgiveness on a blog that my whole family and friends will see, then to actually call up the person and forgive them.

If you are celebrating Yom Kippur today, then I hope you have a short and easy fast. I hope you have a good day of reflection and remember that the ones you have hurt the most are probably the ones you love the most. If Yom Kippur is not part of your religion, I hope you can also look at someone you love and just say that you’re sorry for the last time you yelled at them, or did something that you regretted.

May you be written in the book of life for one more year,

Chad

So after a 43 year ban, a Beatle has finally played in Israel. And man was it a packed show. The concert took place in a park in Tel Aviv. It was us and our 50,000 closest friends all singing along to Hey Jude.

Overall, the show was pretty good. Israeli’s have a strange sense of space. You figure park, put down a blanket have a picnic. Nope. They’ll walk all over your blanket, sometimes even walking right through the middle of your game of cards. Other times, they’ll use you for balance without asking. Fun stuff.

But the concert was good. Well worth the trip. Here are some videos that I took with my digital camera. so the quality is pretty amateur.

Live and Let Die: Part 1

Live and Let Die: Part 2

Let It Be

Hey, Jude Part 1

Hey, Jude Part 2

I know…I know. We haven’t updated in forever. The main reason? Not much has gone on, till this week. Jess just finished her Ulpan, intensive hebrew, program and I’ve been working and generally being a bum. For those that care, ‘How I Met Your Mother’ is a good show, ‘Terminator: The Sarah Conner Chronicles’ is okay, and the Futurama made for DVD movies are fun.

So now that Jess is done with her Ulpan program, she has a week off before school official begins. We had a lot of ideas of where to go, but have decided to take it easy and explore more of Israel. Since the south is too bloody hot right now (105+ degrees during the daytime), we decided we’d head to the north. So we’ll update with more pictures and stories as soon as we have something fun to talk about.

Hope all is well with you.

The hardest travel entry is always the last. It’s the hardest because I am now comfortably sitting at home. No more Da’s, and Na’s, Kvala (Thanks), etc. So now, the vacation is just a memory more then anything. Ironically, I was so looking forward to coming home, yet home isn’t so different then Croatia. I still don’t speak the language, still need to convert currency, etc. At least I don’t have to pack up my life into a small pack every night and then travel to a new room.

Last time I wrote, we had just finished our time on the island of Vis and were now headed inland.

Mostar, Bosnia

Wahoo, new country. So we’re now in a beautiful valley inside of Bosnia in a city called Mostar. One very noticable part of Mostar is the divide. One side of the river are the Muslims, the other side…Christians. The other very noticable part of Mostar is the damage from the war. Modern buildings sitting next to blown out husks. Very new looking buildings in a medieval design, etc.

There isn’t much to do in the city, except for walk around. It was pretty hard to see the real effects of war on the city. Beggers on the streets missing arms or legs. Cemetary’s full of people that died in between 1991 and 1994. Destroyed buildings everywhere you look. That being said, the city had a life to it. The old town had cobble stone sidewalks, great architecture, friendly people, etc.

A centerpiece of the city is a main bridge that connects the east side with the west side. The bridge was 400+ years old, destroyed in 1993 (?) and rebuilt to resemble the original bridge. Apparently there is a club of divers that will jump off the bridge if you pay them 25 Euro (around $40+). You’ll have to see the pictures (below) to get an idea of how high the bridge is, but needless to say….you wouldn’t jump off of it. Apparently a lot of people pay as we saw 2 divers within about 30 minutes of each other. Part of me wanted to pay, just to be able to say that I paid a man to jump off a bridge.

Mljet, Croatia

Mljet is an island off the coast of Dubovnik. It’s a small 35km long island. Half of the island is a national park, and it is all highly. We got their and rented a car to take us around the island. Let me tell you, this car was the smallest POS that I’ve been in. The car was standard, so Scott had to drive, and I don’t think he was enjoying the experience too much.

Our first few spots that we stopped were these sleepy little coastal villages. Not much to do besides swim, hop in a boat, and talk with your neighbors. We then stopped in the national park where we swam in the salt water lakes and visted an old island Monastary.

Probably the highlight of the island and also of the trip was our hike down to Odysseus’s cave. Why they call the island that, I don’t know. The story goes that Odysseus stayed on this island for 7 years. We hiked down to this very rocky part of the coast. Forget the hills and rocky beaches. THis place just had large rocks jutting out of the water. The cave went in from the ocean about 25meters and then opened up to the sky. The easiest way to get into the cave was to swim. The easiest way to get into the water was to jump off the rocks. You could jump from various heights, from 2-3 feet to probably around 25feet. The area was beautiful. The water was clear and a shade of blue that is just…pure.

Dubrovnik, Croatia

The best part of Dubrovnik is the old city. The worst part is also the old city. Dubrovnik is a stop on all of the Meditterean cruises, and so it is very touristy. I can understand why people want to go there as the old city is amazing. It’s a walled city with Guard towers, parapats, and drawbridge. The streets are too narrow for cars. The whole city just feels old. You could almost picture what it would be like to live there hundreds of years ago.

Again, the main thing we did in the city was walk around and people watch. We did stopped in a few churches and a museum or two.

Zagreb, Croatia

Are lsat day found us back at the capital of Croatia, getting ready to fly home. Spent most of the day just walking around the city, looking at Churches, and all of the old architecture. Apparently, finding a place to eat on a Sunday is a difficult thing to do…at least in the area where we were. It’s a nice city to spend a half day in.

I wish I could say the flight back was uneventful. We left for the airport at 3:30pm. Scott’s flight was at 6pm, mine was at 7pm. The airport is pretty small, and Scott and I hung out until he boarded his late flight. My flight was on time to Budapest. I then had a 3 hour layover that consisted of watching the Olympics. The three hour layover became about a 4:45 minute layover. The strange thing about the 3 hour flight to Israel is they turned off all of the lights for take off. (it’s around 2 in the morning).  So I start to dose. Then they turn all of the lights back on and serve dinner and drinks. Dinner at 2:30am? All I wanted to do was sleep. Everytime I started to dose, the woman would come by and ask me something. Maybe got about 30 minutes of total sleep that night because of that. Eventually got to the airport and by the time I got back home it was 6:45am. So about 14 hours total. Oye. I’m still recovering.

That’s all for now. Here are the pictures: