Good morning. It's 7:23am here. Came upstairs, opened the sliding doors to cool off from 29C to hopefully 26C or so, before reverting to A/C for the day. A moment ago I watched a grey military cargo plane fly north along the shoreline, however it wasn't even as high as the high-rises along the beach, and not much off shore! While I know Dad gets fly-by's in Anacortes no thanks to the base out there, this was "walking distance" from me in our apartment.
Happy Fourth of July!
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Saturday, July 3, 2010
4th of July on the 1st and White Night Tel Aviv
PART 1 - The 4th of July
On the evening of July 1st, we attended a reception at the US Ambassador's home in the ritzy town of Hertzliya Pituach (where all the embassy people live. we looked at a couple places up there, but the value for the money was terrible). We received our invite from the Dept. of Commerce guys who work with Ford to relax import restrictions on goods from the U.S. I couldn't help looking at the whole evening from an events planning perspective. It was big, apparently 2,000 invitees. It was held on the back lawn (VIPs could go in the house, but we weren't on that list). We wondered how they funded such a large event, but quickly realized it was a lot like a corporate employee fair. Sponsors had tables, where they were giving away branded items. Avis, Carribean Cruises, and the local ambulance company were there. A Brooklyn Lager beer was being promoted, as well as a small local brewery run by Americans. McDonald's and Dominos provided the main sustenance via free burgers and pizzas. What a disgraceful representation of American food! The only redeeming vendor was Ben & Jerry's, which is all the rage here from what I've seen. The funny thing about that is, there appear to be many excellent gelato stores, much like in Italy. Ben & Jerry's is good, but Italian gelato certainly can give them a run for their money!
At 9pm the ceremony started, which was the most interesting part of the evening. US Ambassador Cunningham welcomed everyone, and briefly talked about the idealized significance of US Independence Day. He attempted some poorly pronounced Hebrew, but then this was in English (of course, his Hebrew was still better than mine!).
Then he introduced the President of Israel, Shimon Peres, who talked about his experience visiting with JFK after he was first elected but before he took office in late 1960. Apparently Peres has always been one of the moderates here who worked with Rabin in the 1990's to try to bring peace via concessions to the Palestinians. Finally, he introduced the guy with real power, the Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. He used the opportunity to reiterate comments about the ideals of America being good for the whole world, and then made a public call for the leaders of the Palestinians to meet with him and get back to negotiating peace. After about 30 minutes of these little speeches (which reminded me a lot of the warm fuzzy US history curriculum we got in high school), they concluded with a 5 minute fireworks show, set to the USO band. Being only a day and a half in the country, that was quite fun, knowing that I'm missing all the great 4th of July parties at home. For those of you prepping this weekend, try not to burn the forests down!
PART 2 - White Night - UNESCO
After the 4th of July on the 1st, we drove back into Tel Aviv, parked the car, and got on our walking shoes at about 11pm. Tel Aviv has decided to take advantage of their UNESCO site status, bestowed on them in 2003 for the profusion of ‘white’ Bauhaus buildings, by holding a White Night. Although these seem to be all night events held in northern cities, many mediterranean ones have launched their own (it's a great excuse for a city-wide street party). To learn more, check out http://israelity.com/2010/06/30/white-nights/. We attended one in Rome several years ago by dumb luck. This one was nicer however, as the events were well spread out so while it appeared that every Israeli within 50 miles was out on the streets, it wasn't over crowded. We walked around for 3 hours, down Rothchild St with live bands and street performers, then into the Shuk ha Karmel area for a midnight snack of shwarma and a potato buraka. On our way toward the beach we walked through a random street party where a DJ had set up on a small side street between two restaurants. Everyone was drinking and dancing (no open container laws here). A motorcyclist tried to break through the "dance floor" but didn't have much success. We walked home up the beach where every beach bar had a party going. Instead of pushing our way through the crowds on the boardwalk, we took off our sandals and walked along the water's edge. Had to watch out for a few beached jelly fish, but otherwise it was wonderful!
We got up late yesterday, Dan worked for a while and I measured spaces for Ikea furniture. Then we went to a Thai lunch and Ikea before they closed at 3pm. We stopped by Kuki & Ohad's place after and hung out with Benchik (their son). Then came back into town for dinner at a good seafood restaurant, Goocha.
A beautiful little black and electric blue bird with a long beek, not much bigger than a hummingbird, just landed on our balcony and chirped at me. Good morning Tel Aviv!
On the evening of July 1st, we attended a reception at the US Ambassador's home in the ritzy town of Hertzliya Pituach (where all the embassy people live. we looked at a couple places up there, but the value for the money was terrible). We received our invite from the Dept. of Commerce guys who work with Ford to relax import restrictions on goods from the U.S. I couldn't help looking at the whole evening from an events planning perspective. It was big, apparently 2,000 invitees. It was held on the back lawn (VIPs could go in the house, but we weren't on that list). We wondered how they funded such a large event, but quickly realized it was a lot like a corporate employee fair. Sponsors had tables, where they were giving away branded items. Avis, Carribean Cruises, and the local ambulance company were there. A Brooklyn Lager beer was being promoted, as well as a small local brewery run by Americans. McDonald's and Dominos provided the main sustenance via free burgers and pizzas. What a disgraceful representation of American food! The only redeeming vendor was Ben & Jerry's, which is all the rage here from what I've seen. The funny thing about that is, there appear to be many excellent gelato stores, much like in Italy. Ben & Jerry's is good, but Italian gelato certainly can give them a run for their money!
At 9pm the ceremony started, which was the most interesting part of the evening. US Ambassador Cunningham welcomed everyone, and briefly talked about the idealized significance of US Independence Day. He attempted some poorly pronounced Hebrew, but then this was in English (of course, his Hebrew was still better than mine!).
Then he introduced the President of Israel, Shimon Peres, who talked about his experience visiting with JFK after he was first elected but before he took office in late 1960. Apparently Peres has always been one of the moderates here who worked with Rabin in the 1990's to try to bring peace via concessions to the Palestinians. Finally, he introduced the guy with real power, the Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. He used the opportunity to reiterate comments about the ideals of America being good for the whole world, and then made a public call for the leaders of the Palestinians to meet with him and get back to negotiating peace. After about 30 minutes of these little speeches (which reminded me a lot of the warm fuzzy US history curriculum we got in high school), they concluded with a 5 minute fireworks show, set to the USO band. Being only a day and a half in the country, that was quite fun, knowing that I'm missing all the great 4th of July parties at home. For those of you prepping this weekend, try not to burn the forests down!
PART 2 - White Night - UNESCO
After the 4th of July on the 1st, we drove back into Tel Aviv, parked the car, and got on our walking shoes at about 11pm. Tel Aviv has decided to take advantage of their UNESCO site status, bestowed on them in 2003 for the profusion of ‘white’ Bauhaus buildings, by holding a White Night. Although these seem to be all night events held in northern cities, many mediterranean ones have launched their own (it's a great excuse for a city-wide street party). To learn more, check out http://israelity.com/2010/06/30/white-nights/. We attended one in Rome several years ago by dumb luck. This one was nicer however, as the events were well spread out so while it appeared that every Israeli within 50 miles was out on the streets, it wasn't over crowded. We walked around for 3 hours, down Rothchild St with live bands and street performers, then into the Shuk ha Karmel area for a midnight snack of shwarma and a potato buraka. On our way toward the beach we walked through a random street party where a DJ had set up on a small side street between two restaurants. Everyone was drinking and dancing (no open container laws here). A motorcyclist tried to break through the "dance floor" but didn't have much success. We walked home up the beach where every beach bar had a party going. Instead of pushing our way through the crowds on the boardwalk, we took off our sandals and walked along the water's edge. Had to watch out for a few beached jelly fish, but otherwise it was wonderful!
We got up late yesterday, Dan worked for a while and I measured spaces for Ikea furniture. Then we went to a Thai lunch and Ikea before they closed at 3pm. We stopped by Kuki & Ohad's place after and hung out with Benchik (their son). Then came back into town for dinner at a good seafood restaurant, Goocha.
A beautiful little black and electric blue bird with a long beek, not much bigger than a hummingbird, just landed on our balcony and chirped at me. Good morning Tel Aviv!
Thursday, July 1, 2010
24 hours
What can you really say about a place after only 24 hours? I'm here. The A/C works. My first meal was hummus, second was italian, third a typical Israeli breakfast (fried eggs, tomato/cucumber salad with sour cream that doesn't taste like sour cream on the side, fresh whole grain bread with little samplers of sundried tomato spread, tuna, and tahini, plus homemade fig jam and nutella. Also a fruit smoothie of pineapple, fig and mango.)
I have already been welcomed by what I affectionately call the Israeli mafia (due to the strength of the network) - phone calls/emails included Magda (mother-in-law in Prague), Miki (brother-in-law in Phoenix), Mazi (our local relo contact), and about a dozen offers via Dan for everything from sightseeing/aclimating, to helping find dance studios. Talked to Dad on Skype last night. Everyone at home is asleep by now.
Working on getting signed up for Ulpan. Our air shipment has apparently been sitting in the warehouse in Michigan all this time, but as of last night they seem to have realized this and started the paperwork to get it here. Somebody was asleep at the wheel. Good thing I know how to camp out. :) We're in our apartment until July 14th, then we go to the Sheraton until the end of August, when we're able to move in here for "real" with our own stuff. We've been notified that our container has been scheduled to sail 7/3, with an expected arrival date of 7/20. Then it will need at least a week to go through customs, maybe more. We can't use it until the end of August anyway, so they'll have to store it somewhere if it comes any quicker.
On Sunday I'll meet Dan at work to return Noah's car (one of the guys he's replacing), then we'll meet the moving company out by the airport to go over customs laws. It's complicated with the whole expat vs. citizen thing that Dan has going on. Hopefully we'll get some clarity on the best status for him to claim in terms of tax liability and social benefits.
I have already been welcomed by what I affectionately call the Israeli mafia (due to the strength of the network) - phone calls/emails included Magda (mother-in-law in Prague), Miki (brother-in-law in Phoenix), Mazi (our local relo contact), and about a dozen offers via Dan for everything from sightseeing/aclimating, to helping find dance studios. Talked to Dad on Skype last night. Everyone at home is asleep by now.
Working on getting signed up for Ulpan. Our air shipment has apparently been sitting in the warehouse in Michigan all this time, but as of last night they seem to have realized this and started the paperwork to get it here. Somebody was asleep at the wheel. Good thing I know how to camp out. :) We're in our apartment until July 14th, then we go to the Sheraton until the end of August, when we're able to move in here for "real" with our own stuff. We've been notified that our container has been scheduled to sail 7/3, with an expected arrival date of 7/20. Then it will need at least a week to go through customs, maybe more. We can't use it until the end of August anyway, so they'll have to store it somewhere if it comes any quicker.
On Sunday I'll meet Dan at work to return Noah's car (one of the guys he's replacing), then we'll meet the moving company out by the airport to go over customs laws. It's complicated with the whole expat vs. citizen thing that Dan has going on. Hopefully we'll get some clarity on the best status for him to claim in terms of tax liability and social benefits.
Monday, June 28, 2010
Rain
Thoroughly enjoyed the rain and cool winds here in the northwest this week. Taking in the mountain and bay views, bald eagle watching, and catching up with wonderful friends. I think I'm in for a bit of climate and culture shock in 3 days!
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
What happened the last 2 weeks?
The last couple weeks have been a blur of activity. Upon returning from our pre-trip on May 30th, we spent Memorial Day getting organized, picked up Dan's mom from the airport, dropped Dan off at the airport (for a week in London for work), and then I went to work in Flint Tue-Thu. Miki arrived on Thursday morning the 3rd. Thursday evening I flew to Boston for our 10 year Wellesley reunion, stayed with Lisa two nights, and Anindita & Erin one (thank you ladies!), and had a blast on campus catching up with great friends, and learning about all the changes on campus and amazing accomplishments of my fellow alums. Even connected with the Center for Work and Service, and am hoping to help them expand their internship opportunities in Israel! On Sunday 6th, I met up with Dan (he flew in on Friday after returning from London) and Craig & Sara hosted a really nice BBQ at their house where we saw all our "old" Boston friends. Thanks guys! Had our last true New England steak tips...Sara, you are quite the chef!
Sunday night the 6th we flew back to Detroit, worked a full week, and spent every evening getting organized. This move was much more difficult than the previous ones, as we had to determine which items we thought should be sold, donated, stay in storage, go via container, via air, or via suitcase! What a process. Also had to sort out storage of Miki's furniture, and a few of Maca's boxes. In the end it all fit in the storage room, but it was quite a bit of work to get organized. And of course, as soon as the house heard we were moving, little things started to break everywhere. Luckily they were easy fixes, just time consuming. On Sunday June 13th we held a "Last Ham" BBQ to say goodbye to local friends - or should I say, the Velez's, Nicholson's and Leoni's threw us a great party.
The movers arrived on my last day of work, Tuesday 15th. On Thursday 17th they brought the bright orange 40ft container and filled it about 3/4ths full. We spent Wed and Thu nights in hotels, then I flew out to WA Friday evening, and Dan flew to Israel Saturday morning.
Sunday night the 6th we flew back to Detroit, worked a full week, and spent every evening getting organized. This move was much more difficult than the previous ones, as we had to determine which items we thought should be sold, donated, stay in storage, go via container, via air, or via suitcase! What a process. Also had to sort out storage of Miki's furniture, and a few of Maca's boxes. In the end it all fit in the storage room, but it was quite a bit of work to get organized. And of course, as soon as the house heard we were moving, little things started to break everywhere. Luckily they were easy fixes, just time consuming. On Sunday June 13th we held a "Last Ham" BBQ to say goodbye to local friends - or should I say, the Velez's, Nicholson's and Leoni's threw us a great party.
The movers arrived on my last day of work, Tuesday 15th. On Thursday 17th they brought the bright orange 40ft container and filled it about 3/4ths full. We spent Wed and Thu nights in hotels, then I flew out to WA Friday evening, and Dan flew to Israel Saturday morning.
Monday, June 7, 2010
Wellesley in Israel
Just came back from my 10 year reunion weekend at Wellesley College. What an inspirational, intellectually challenging, affirming group of women - best friends, really. 158 of my 599 classmates were there, along with members of every class on a five year cycle (2005, 1995, 1990, all the way back to 1935 - there were two 97 year old Wellesley women there to celebrate with us!)
It is a small college, but Wellesley alums are all over the world doing incredible things, from new cancer drug marketing, to geologic oil drilling science, to international criminal justice in the Hague, to stay at home moms and mental health counselors, every one of these women is exceptionally interesting.
I dropped in on the campus Center for Work and Service to see what resources they had, and ended up speaking with an Israeli-American career counselor, with helpful tips and resources for filling my professional time in Israel. Then I ran into one of my old contacts there who shared that Wellesley is increasing summer intership opportunities and I may be able to help them increase their presence in Israel. Between this, and my hope to spend some time working for and learning from local sustainability experts, this could turn out to be better than I ever imagined.
It is a small college, but Wellesley alums are all over the world doing incredible things, from new cancer drug marketing, to geologic oil drilling science, to international criminal justice in the Hague, to stay at home moms and mental health counselors, every one of these women is exceptionally interesting.
I dropped in on the campus Center for Work and Service to see what resources they had, and ended up speaking with an Israeli-American career counselor, with helpful tips and resources for filling my professional time in Israel. Then I ran into one of my old contacts there who shared that Wellesley is increasing summer intership opportunities and I may be able to help them increase their presence in Israel. Between this, and my hope to spend some time working for and learning from local sustainability experts, this could turn out to be better than I ever imagined.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
one foot in the west, one in the middle east
Following our travel tradition, things seem to heat up in areas shortly after we have visited. Only this time, we'll be heading back there quite soon, and for some time.
Thought I'd share a few perspectives on the current situation in Gaza:
A blogger's story
http://lizarosenberg.wordpress.com/2010/06/01/israel-a-fairytale/
Video of the IDF naval boat
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYjkLUcbJWo
My overall sense, even before this event occured, from conversations with Israeli's, is that the majority do not feel that their goverment reflects them. The goverment continues to serve a minority that controls the political system because the two majority parties cave to the minority instead of finding common ground and combining forces to represent the majority. Apparently most of the leadership just rotates through the top 5 or so governmental roles. And we thought it was impossible to get "change" in the USA. As I learned from a great high school physics teacher, everything is relative.
Thought I'd share a few perspectives on the current situation in Gaza:
A blogger's story
http://lizarosenberg.wordpress.com/2010/06/01/israel-a-fairytale/
Video of the IDF naval boat
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYjkLUcbJWo
My overall sense, even before this event occured, from conversations with Israeli's, is that the majority do not feel that their goverment reflects them. The goverment continues to serve a minority that controls the political system because the two majority parties cave to the minority instead of finding common ground and combining forces to represent the majority. Apparently most of the leadership just rotates through the top 5 or so governmental roles. And we thought it was impossible to get "change" in the USA. As I learned from a great high school physics teacher, everything is relative.
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