I think this line from the New York Times is appropriate:
"An American with the name Barack Hussein Obama, the son of a white woman and a black man he barely knew, raised by his grandparents far outside the stream of American power and wealth, has been elected the 44th president of the United States."
Obama is an example of hard work and intelligence paying off. No doubt his story will become an essential fabric of the American Dream for a very long time. Whatever your beliefs, he achieved something that most people with uncountable advantages could only dream of.
I stayed up last night until 5 AM here (when Obama had 200 electoral votes without the West Coast) and slept for an hour and half to watch the declaration and the first part of the acceptance speech. I have to say that I never thought I would witness something like this in my lifetime. There are many things that make this election exceptional beyond the obvious. Obama is the first non-Southern Democrat elected since JFK. He carried several traditionally Republican states, and won San Diego County. The most telling fact I heard today was that the voters who said race matters in this election voted the same as voters who said it did not. I think this is evidence that our country has come a lot further regarding race than I ever would have guessed.
I have also realized how important our politics are to the rest of the world. Israelis genuinely cared about who was President because it affects them. Everyone I met today asked me about the election.
On another note, I went to a city called Ashkelon today where I am living beginning in January. We toured the place I am living and the city as a whole. Ashkelon is about 10 km from the Gaza Strip. The Strip, controlled by Hamas, is the origin of the rockets that hit Southern Israel, and occassionaly Ashkelon. About 10 minutes after we got there this morning I was buying a banana when the air raid siren went off. The people in the store hustled us outside (away from the windows) to an area of cover where we waited about 20 seconds and the siren went off. About 5 seconds later I heard/felt an explosion, which was probably about a mile away from where I was. 10 seconds later everyone went back to business as usual. You would not have noticed anything unusual if you arrived a minute after the rocket. It was the first rocket to hit Ashkelon since March, and fortunately it hit an open park with no one around.
This was not nearly as scary as it sounds. The fact that everyone around me was so calm, and acted as if it was nothing was very comforting. It really is not such a big deal, so long as you are not in the open. I was startled and surprised, mostly because it was an unusual experience, but not scared. Feeling the explosion did make it hit home, though. In fact, in the immediate aftermath I was very angry that I had to experience that. I wanted to see some form of retaliation. These feelings subsided as I realized that to everyone around me it was no big deal.
Most of the people I talked to about it brushed the attack off. There reactions ranged from believing that the situation was in God's hands, to pointing out that you are more likely to be in a car accident. In either event, this one rocket did not interrupt life there. It was literally a 1 minute ordeal. This is a result of the Israelis having past experience with the rockets. They know that while the thought of it is terrifying the reality is that the rockets are generally harmless. They choose to not let themselves be unjustifiably terrified.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Guns and Ipods
I mentioned in another post that I would give my thoughts on security, so here goes...
Israel's security situation is obviously unique and foreign to Americans. A lot of people seemed alarmed when I told them I was coming here. Granted Israel does have some major existential threats that the U.S. does not have, everyday life here is fairly normal once you become adjusted to certain things.
For one, there are a lot of soldiers and guns here. I live in Be'er Sheva, which is the main city in the Negev Desert, and consequently the main transport point for all the soldiers going to the bases in the Desert, meaning every time you go to the bus station at least half the people are in uniform. It has gotten to the point where I barely even notice someone walking around with an assault rifle. It is normal here and no big deal. In fact, it is comforting, partly because I know that everyone here has extensive training in how to use said weapon. I cannot have this confidence with guns in the United States, because well I could go buy a gun right now and I have no clue how to use it/safety training. The only time I take notice of a gun here is when I happen to be sitting across one that is pointed at my groin and I pray that whoever is holding it made sure there is no bullet in the chamber.
Another thing that is different is that at every mall and many stores there is a guard who will check your back and most of the time wave a metal detector across the small of your back to make sure you are not armed. This was weird at first and has become normal and comforting. I would rather be in a mall than a store with no security guard.
Since I got here in the beginning of September there has been one terrorist attack here. An Arab, who had just had his marriage proposal shot down, rammed his car into a group of off-duty soldiers in Jerusalem. The incident was apparently random (there was no planning, no organization, etc.). It was unsettling to hear this, but at the same time so much messed up shit happens in America that does not happen here, so maybe it evens out. For instance, right when I got here there was a big deal about a 4-year old girl that went missing. It was an enormous deal here and it turned out that she was killed by her father. Again, it was a huge issue here and people were shocked and questioning what about their society could have caused such a tragedy. At home a kidnapping-murder rarely makes national news, yet stuff like this happens at an alarming rate.
On another note I just read an article about how the Iraq War has cost $1 Trillion, and what could have been bought with that many. Perhaps the most fun was that the government could have paved the entire Interstate Highway system with 23.5 Karat Gold leafing. Talk about awesome. Schools, schmools. The government could have also bought an ipod for every person on the planet. Picture this:
You're in a village somewhere in remote Iraq. You hate Saddam Hussein, but you hate the West more, because let's face it, the Europeans and America didn't exactly serve you well with the whole colonialism/I want to drive a f-ing huge ass Cadillac give me your oil thing. One day, out of the sky drops a package full of ipods. There's an American flag etched into the back (For free? Holy shit! Thanks Apple!). Loaded onto it is some Snoop Dogg, Dave Matthews, the iTunes song of the week, some crazy loud Arab music, a little bit of country and a bunch of other songs from all over the world (aw hell, we can even give them some Matisyahu). These songs would be free to Uncle Same, because every artist would want the entire world to have just one of their songs, imagine the album sales! How could you hate America then Mr. Iraqi. You just got an ipod that costs more than your whole goat herd, for free and just because. Don't worry, your village will figure out a way to charge them. Just like that, the world loves us and everyone gets to enjoy music. Not to mention Apple's stock soars through the roof.
Instead we dropped bombs, gave Al Qaeda more recruits than they can handle, fucked over Apple, and lost a great opportunity for everyone to act cool as they walked down the street listening to Gin n Juice.
Take it easy.
Jared
Israel's security situation is obviously unique and foreign to Americans. A lot of people seemed alarmed when I told them I was coming here. Granted Israel does have some major existential threats that the U.S. does not have, everyday life here is fairly normal once you become adjusted to certain things.
For one, there are a lot of soldiers and guns here. I live in Be'er Sheva, which is the main city in the Negev Desert, and consequently the main transport point for all the soldiers going to the bases in the Desert, meaning every time you go to the bus station at least half the people are in uniform. It has gotten to the point where I barely even notice someone walking around with an assault rifle. It is normal here and no big deal. In fact, it is comforting, partly because I know that everyone here has extensive training in how to use said weapon. I cannot have this confidence with guns in the United States, because well I could go buy a gun right now and I have no clue how to use it/safety training. The only time I take notice of a gun here is when I happen to be sitting across one that is pointed at my groin and I pray that whoever is holding it made sure there is no bullet in the chamber.
Another thing that is different is that at every mall and many stores there is a guard who will check your back and most of the time wave a metal detector across the small of your back to make sure you are not armed. This was weird at first and has become normal and comforting. I would rather be in a mall than a store with no security guard.
Since I got here in the beginning of September there has been one terrorist attack here. An Arab, who had just had his marriage proposal shot down, rammed his car into a group of off-duty soldiers in Jerusalem. The incident was apparently random (there was no planning, no organization, etc.). It was unsettling to hear this, but at the same time so much messed up shit happens in America that does not happen here, so maybe it evens out. For instance, right when I got here there was a big deal about a 4-year old girl that went missing. It was an enormous deal here and it turned out that she was killed by her father. Again, it was a huge issue here and people were shocked and questioning what about their society could have caused such a tragedy. At home a kidnapping-murder rarely makes national news, yet stuff like this happens at an alarming rate.
On another note I just read an article about how the Iraq War has cost $1 Trillion, and what could have been bought with that many. Perhaps the most fun was that the government could have paved the entire Interstate Highway system with 23.5 Karat Gold leafing. Talk about awesome. Schools, schmools. The government could have also bought an ipod for every person on the planet. Picture this:
You're in a village somewhere in remote Iraq. You hate Saddam Hussein, but you hate the West more, because let's face it, the Europeans and America didn't exactly serve you well with the whole colonialism/I want to drive a f-ing huge ass Cadillac give me your oil thing. One day, out of the sky drops a package full of ipods. There's an American flag etched into the back (For free? Holy shit! Thanks Apple!). Loaded onto it is some Snoop Dogg, Dave Matthews, the iTunes song of the week, some crazy loud Arab music, a little bit of country and a bunch of other songs from all over the world (aw hell, we can even give them some Matisyahu). These songs would be free to Uncle Same, because every artist would want the entire world to have just one of their songs, imagine the album sales! How could you hate America then Mr. Iraqi. You just got an ipod that costs more than your whole goat herd, for free and just because. Don't worry, your village will figure out a way to charge them. Just like that, the world loves us and everyone gets to enjoy music. Not to mention Apple's stock soars through the roof.
Instead we dropped bombs, gave Al Qaeda more recruits than they can handle, fucked over Apple, and lost a great opportunity for everyone to act cool as they walked down the street listening to Gin n Juice.
Take it easy.
Jared
Monday, October 20, 2008
It's been a while since I posted. Namely because I'm lazy. I really haven't done much in the past few days, yet I still didn't find time. Fuck Me.
Well, last Sunday our program led us on an amazing day through Jerusalem. Of note was a trip up to the Temple Mount, which I will let Wikipedia graciously explain (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_Mount). You know that Gold Dome you see in every picture of Jerusalem? We got to go right next to that, which is something most Jewish groups do not do, because well, it's a rather contentious bit of land. Also under this Gold Dome is a rock that is believed to be the center of the world. There's also another mosque up there, known as the Al-Aqsa mosque, which you may recognize from the Al-Aqsa Martyr's Brigade, a terrorist group over here.
Following the extremely peaceful half hour at the Temple Mount we were shooed off as prayers began and went through the Christian quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem and walked down the road the Jesus carried the cross before getting crucified. This was not as cool is it may sound to some of you. We then went to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, where he was crucified amongst other things. It was a beautiful church, and the Polish tour groups had hordes of people sobbing and dipping trinkets in holy water.
Perhaps the most interesting part of the whole day was to see the crossover between Christianity, Islam and Judaism. The Old City of Jerusalem is small, yet it contains the holiest sites for both Judaism and Christianity, as well as Islam's third holiest site. Also of note was the amount of soldiers in the Old City. Technically, our program does not allow us to go to certain parts of the Old City so this was the first time I had been, and literally every 50 Meters or so there several soldiers on patrol. It is not like this in the Jewish quarter. Also, I noticed the Jerusalem is the only place in Israel I have been where the soldiers have their guns loaded. For those who do not know there a lot of guns here. Mainly you see them carried by soldiers going to and fro their bases. It is part of life here, but you get to the point where you don't even notice it/feel very comforted by the presence of an assault rifle on your bus. It was however weird/interesting to see that they were loaded. I will talk more about security, etc. in another post.
That night we stayed at the coolest/weirdest hostel in the Old City. We slept on the roof and it was at a high point in the city so we had an amazing view. This place was also filled with scary/weird/intriguing people. As I mentioned there are a lot of holy sites in Jerusalem. Accordingly there's a lot of crazy/lost/confused people who flock there looking for whatever it is they want/need/feel/etc. I will describe one such interaction with a nice Scot from the hostel as I sat on the computer downstairs late at night:
I have been downstairs for 5 minutes, with minimal interaction.
Scot: I wrote a book.
Me: Oh, ok.
S: God revealed a prophecy to me when I was on a Greek Island last year.
M: Far out.
S: It's on my website go to ....... (I forgot the name it was like revealedrevalation.org)
I go to website, and begin downloaded the PDF in silence for about 5 minutes.
S: God told me some things, and some have already come true. Russia is going to strike the U.S. next year.....Nuclear....war...blah blah blah.
M: Really, well I mean that's heavy...listen, do you know if the TV down here get's any American sports channels my team plays in about an hour.
S: The S.A.S. (British's F.B.I) has arrested me three times about this. This is stuff the government doesn't want you to know.
The next morning as I was leaving the guy looks at me and says take care and to make sure that I come back before the end of the year, saying you know why and pointing towards the computer.
There were many like him at this hostel, including the guy who was talking about Israel being in a state of constant conflict makes it the safest place to be in the world (this was not nearly the weirdest thing this man said), and the 38 year old American man skyping with his ex-wife arguing about divorce and the Bible while sitting next to me.
After that I left Jerusalem and went to Haifa because there was an International Film Festival. Haifa is beautiful, but I was sick and essentially came back down to Be'er Sheva where I have been vegetating since. I am going to Tel Aviv tomorrow or Wednesday and plan on spending the bulk of a day at the Dancing Camel, Israel's first microbrewery. I will be like a pig in shit there.
I hope that all is well with everyone. Look for pictures when I stop being lazy.
Well, last Sunday our program led us on an amazing day through Jerusalem. Of note was a trip up to the Temple Mount, which I will let Wikipedia graciously explain (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_Mount). You know that Gold Dome you see in every picture of Jerusalem? We got to go right next to that, which is something most Jewish groups do not do, because well, it's a rather contentious bit of land. Also under this Gold Dome is a rock that is believed to be the center of the world. There's also another mosque up there, known as the Al-Aqsa mosque, which you may recognize from the Al-Aqsa Martyr's Brigade, a terrorist group over here.
Following the extremely peaceful half hour at the Temple Mount we were shooed off as prayers began and went through the Christian quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem and walked down the road the Jesus carried the cross before getting crucified. This was not as cool is it may sound to some of you. We then went to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, where he was crucified amongst other things. It was a beautiful church, and the Polish tour groups had hordes of people sobbing and dipping trinkets in holy water.
Perhaps the most interesting part of the whole day was to see the crossover between Christianity, Islam and Judaism. The Old City of Jerusalem is small, yet it contains the holiest sites for both Judaism and Christianity, as well as Islam's third holiest site. Also of note was the amount of soldiers in the Old City. Technically, our program does not allow us to go to certain parts of the Old City so this was the first time I had been, and literally every 50 Meters or so there several soldiers on patrol. It is not like this in the Jewish quarter. Also, I noticed the Jerusalem is the only place in Israel I have been where the soldiers have their guns loaded. For those who do not know there a lot of guns here. Mainly you see them carried by soldiers going to and fro their bases. It is part of life here, but you get to the point where you don't even notice it/feel very comforted by the presence of an assault rifle on your bus. It was however weird/interesting to see that they were loaded. I will talk more about security, etc. in another post.
That night we stayed at the coolest/weirdest hostel in the Old City. We slept on the roof and it was at a high point in the city so we had an amazing view. This place was also filled with scary/weird/intriguing people. As I mentioned there are a lot of holy sites in Jerusalem. Accordingly there's a lot of crazy/lost/confused people who flock there looking for whatever it is they want/need/feel/etc. I will describe one such interaction with a nice Scot from the hostel as I sat on the computer downstairs late at night:
I have been downstairs for 5 minutes, with minimal interaction.
Scot: I wrote a book.
Me: Oh, ok.
S: God revealed a prophecy to me when I was on a Greek Island last year.
M: Far out.
S: It's on my website go to ....... (I forgot the name it was like revealedrevalation.org)
I go to website, and begin downloaded the PDF in silence for about 5 minutes.
S: God told me some things, and some have already come true. Russia is going to strike the U.S. next year.....Nuclear....war...blah blah blah.
M: Really, well I mean that's heavy...listen, do you know if the TV down here get's any American sports channels my team plays in about an hour.
S: The S.A.S. (British's F.B.I) has arrested me three times about this. This is stuff the government doesn't want you to know.
The next morning as I was leaving the guy looks at me and says take care and to make sure that I come back before the end of the year, saying you know why and pointing towards the computer.
There were many like him at this hostel, including the guy who was talking about Israel being in a state of constant conflict makes it the safest place to be in the world (this was not nearly the weirdest thing this man said), and the 38 year old American man skyping with his ex-wife arguing about divorce and the Bible while sitting next to me.
After that I left Jerusalem and went to Haifa because there was an International Film Festival. Haifa is beautiful, but I was sick and essentially came back down to Be'er Sheva where I have been vegetating since. I am going to Tel Aviv tomorrow or Wednesday and plan on spending the bulk of a day at the Dancing Camel, Israel's first microbrewery. I will be like a pig in shit there.
I hope that all is well with everyone. Look for pictures when I stop being lazy.
Friday, October 10, 2008
Some Pictures
Sorry this is so horribly posted. I will work on that when I have more time.
This is a cat I met in Ashkelon. He was plotting to rip my heart out.
This is my barren room. And me. And Kira.
This is my friend Ashley in front of our local DVD rental store.
The men and I taking a hike in a giant crater.
The church that sits on the site where the Angel Gabriel told Mary she was knocked up.
This is a cat I met in Ashkelon. He was plotting to rip my heart out.
This is my barren room. And me. And Kira.
This is my friend Ashley in front of our local DVD rental store.
The men and I taking a hike in a giant crater.
The church that sits on the site where the Angel Gabriel told Mary she was knocked up.
Tonement
So Wednesday was Yom Kipper as many of you know. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yom_Kippur) Since it is a pretty important day in Judaism my program took us to Jerusalem, a pretty important city not only to Jews, but to Muslims and Christians as well (more on that later). So, despite not being religious I was pretty stoked to be going there, and it turned out to be pretty amazing. It is illegal to drive on Yom Kippur in Jerusalem, and since it is a holiday most people observe anyways the city was very quiet. Everyone walks in the middle of the street and there are gangs of kids riding there bikes all over town. We went to the Western Wall several times to see the really religious people praying down there (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Wall). Overall it was very relaxing and an interesting experience. Needless to say the highlight of my day had nothing to do with Yom Kipper. My friends and I walked by about 10 kids playing in a fountain in their underwear about 100 yards from the Old City and its 3,000 year old self. It was hot and they looked like they were having fun. Here are snippets from our short deliberation that followed after the three of us decided that yes, this is what we wanted to do as well:
it's not pedophilia. Right? I mean it's hot out. I'm not saying I like little boys, I just want to swim. It's totally fine dude. But I'm wearing boxer briefs, it is a little weird. What if people walk by. Just take your shirt off and I will too. I can't believe I'm doing this.
Needless to say that yes, my and three of my friends stripped down into our underwear and hung out in a fountain in the middle of the day, only after my friend got one of the kids to say welcome to us. It was really fun and refreshing and the kids turned out to be very nice. They were Arab, but knew enough english to talk to us. Good cultural experience overall.
Onward. I am excited because this coming Sunday my program is taking is back to Jerusalem to do a seminar on the three major religions that consider Jerusalem to be holy. Aside from much of the Jewish stuff they are taking us to David's Tomb, where Jesus supposedly ate his Last Supper, the Temple Mount, where Mohammed supposedly ascended to heaven (where the Gold Dome of Jerusalem is, and where many Jews are not exactly welcome) and last down Via De La Rossa, the path where Jesus supposedly carried the cross and where he was crucified. I say supposedly because no one really knows exactly where and if all this stuff happened. It should be another interesting day.
Stay safe everyboyd.
it's not pedophilia. Right? I mean it's hot out. I'm not saying I like little boys, I just want to swim. It's totally fine dude. But I'm wearing boxer briefs, it is a little weird. What if people walk by. Just take your shirt off and I will too. I can't believe I'm doing this.
Needless to say that yes, my and three of my friends stripped down into our underwear and hung out in a fountain in the middle of the day, only after my friend got one of the kids to say welcome to us. It was really fun and refreshing and the kids turned out to be very nice. They were Arab, but knew enough english to talk to us. Good cultural experience overall.
Onward. I am excited because this coming Sunday my program is taking is back to Jerusalem to do a seminar on the three major religions that consider Jerusalem to be holy. Aside from much of the Jewish stuff they are taking us to David's Tomb, where Jesus supposedly ate his Last Supper, the Temple Mount, where Mohammed supposedly ascended to heaven (where the Gold Dome of Jerusalem is, and where many Jews are not exactly welcome) and last down Via De La Rossa, the path where Jesus supposedly carried the cross and where he was crucified. I say supposedly because no one really knows exactly where and if all this stuff happened. It should be another interesting day.
Stay safe everyboyd.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
A few general observations
1. Cellphones - Israelis young and old love cell phones. They love talking on them. They love speakerphone. They love to listen to shitty quality music as they walk. Best part is they are called Pelephones here.
2. Hunger - Israel has a fawtwa out against hunger. I feel that about 50 percent of the time I sit down there is a plate of pastries placed in front of me. Whenever I am with a family there is always way too much food. If you stop eating a plate of something is motioned your way and you are compelled to eat. They will cook 4 or 5 entrees per family meal. My adoptive mother was making schnitzel and I asked to try a piece before dinner. She put three big pieces on a small loaf of bread for me.
3. Parking Lots - A busy Israeli parking lot is indescribable. It is pure chaos.
4. I ate heart, lung and brain last night.
5. Real World - Many of the houses here look like they were once on The Real World. The house I am right now has a huge common area that is openly connected to the kitchen. You could have dinner party of like 40 in this room. You can also get drunk, make in out in the jacuzzi, make a racist comment to a black person and offend the token gay guy all within the sights of the camera in this room. At night the room is lit blue. I felt like I was swimming. If I recall the Real World carefully they light the houses in odd colors as well.
6. Rich Rod. In Rod we trust.
7. Today I was learning the colors in hebrew using a 3 year old's legos. About 10 other people were in the room, having fake conversations while watching me, occasionally laughing. I have never been so embarrassed in my life. The 3 year old's 2 year old cousin would say the color before I could.
8. Hospitality - People are incredibly nice here. I had several people invite me to their homes for Rosh Hashana.
9. Beans - During dinner with my adoptive family I was trying to ask what kind of beans we were eating. The father responded by saying something that sounded like Penis. I have no idea if he was trying to say beans, or was just being funny. Either way, it was very difficult not to laugh.
10. Word of the Post: Arsim - Think Jewish guidos. "The type of guy who spends 7000 shekels on a car and 4000 shekels on the speakers. See here: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=arsim
2. Hunger - Israel has a fawtwa out against hunger. I feel that about 50 percent of the time I sit down there is a plate of pastries placed in front of me. Whenever I am with a family there is always way too much food. If you stop eating a plate of something is motioned your way and you are compelled to eat. They will cook 4 or 5 entrees per family meal. My adoptive mother was making schnitzel and I asked to try a piece before dinner. She put three big pieces on a small loaf of bread for me.
3. Parking Lots - A busy Israeli parking lot is indescribable. It is pure chaos.
4. I ate heart, lung and brain last night.
5. Real World - Many of the houses here look like they were once on The Real World. The house I am right now has a huge common area that is openly connected to the kitchen. You could have dinner party of like 40 in this room. You can also get drunk, make in out in the jacuzzi, make a racist comment to a black person and offend the token gay guy all within the sights of the camera in this room. At night the room is lit blue. I felt like I was swimming. If I recall the Real World carefully they light the houses in odd colors as well.
6. Rich Rod. In Rod we trust.
7. Today I was learning the colors in hebrew using a 3 year old's legos. About 10 other people were in the room, having fake conversations while watching me, occasionally laughing. I have never been so embarrassed in my life. The 3 year old's 2 year old cousin would say the color before I could.
8. Hospitality - People are incredibly nice here. I had several people invite me to their homes for Rosh Hashana.
9. Beans - During dinner with my adoptive family I was trying to ask what kind of beans we were eating. The father responded by saying something that sounded like Penis. I have no idea if he was trying to say beans, or was just being funny. Either way, it was very difficult not to laugh.
10. Word of the Post: Arsim - Think Jewish guidos. "The type of guy who spends 7000 shekels on a car and 4000 shekels on the speakers. See here: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=arsim
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