Ray and More Birthdays and Jerusalem

During our year abroad we have made some really nice friends.  Among those friends are some families that go to the kids’ school.  It’s quite common in life to make friends via the kids’ schools, but this was a bit different.  I try to be brief in my blogs, but the parents and kids at the American International School are very kind, welcoming, worldly and warm.

On Friday, we all four went out to Herzliya Pituach, which is a gorgeous and expensive town just north of Tel Aviv.  We all ate at this beach club, a large group of us, and we had a couple of white wines.  Anyhow, in the daytime, my pal Ray and I went stand up paddle boarding.  You can see us here paddling.  We look pretty cool, maybe not as cool as the 20 year old guy in the foreground hitting on two Parisian girls in bikinis, but cool nonetheless.  Ray really wanted to be in the blog, and since he works for Cadillac, I figure I get one of those new electric ELR’s out of the deal.  Seriously though, we have made some really nice friends at the school and we will miss them a lot.  Ray and his wife Jennifer were our first friends here and we appreciated their including us in a lotta fun, even stand up paddle boarding.

Ray on the board above, me on the board below. Abercrombie three kids in foreground probably in Ibiza by now.

Me and Randall at Ray’s Beach Club pretending we are members.

Saturday we celebrated some important family birthdays in Haifa.  Jesse, Noga, Efrat, Omer, Michal, Ben Ami and Tali (Noga’s sister), Zak and the four of us all attended.

It was nice to celebrate some March and April birthdays.  Noga spoke briefly but emotionally about celebrating birthdays with her brother Effie (Ephraim) growing up, and that birthdays were hard for her since he was killed in the Lebanon war.  Jesse spoke a bit as well as did Zak and Efrata.  So nice to celebrate happy occasions together, as we enjoyed some amazing food with a gorgeous view of the sea.  Jesse’s Mom Beverly sent some nice champagne to the lunch which was delish also.

This week started the girls’ Spring Break . Taking a vacation from Tel Aviv doesn’t make much sense, like leaving Cabo to go to Maui, but thats the way it is.  We went to Jerusalem for a night the four of us plus our good pals Laura and Gabe.  Here are some photos from picturesque Jerusalem.

Hummus is really good. Try some.

Two chicks that went to Herzl, wear horizontal stripes and like Hummus.

Old dudes playing backgammon en masse.

Bread is really good. Low carb craze hasn’t caught on here.

My Mom likes Halva. Me, I think its gross. No thank you.

Some guy.

Some crap you can buy in the Shuk. I don’t like to buy this stuff, but its visually interesting. Especially since there are a thousand colorful shops like this all around Jerusalem.

Pretty Mosque.

Another pretty Mosque.

Liza and I walked the “ramparts” of the Old City wall. I’m afraid of heights so I peed in my pants, but no one noticed. Views are great.

View of Jerusalem and the Hills and Homes in it.

Orthodox dude pushing a stroller.

Me and some kid from California. Oh also the Dome of the Rock and the Western Wall.

Soldier praying. I like this photo a lot.

Its obvious but Orthodox Jewish by standing next to two Arab Muslim women. Taken on the light rail train. Maybe could be a Benetton ad.

Spices. Just trying to show the foods, smells, colors. Tough to do.

Have a great week.

Sababa.

E

Noga, Bibi and Akko

Hello everyone.  Another good week in Israel.  I’ve been enjoying the blog writing, hoping it serves as a nice journal for later, when all of these great experiences will be things I want to remember. Three items this week to cover as major highlights, and maybe a couple other loose ends. Noga. First of all, my brother’s wife Noga is a super inspiring person and key role model to our entire extended family.  It was Noga’s birthday on Friday, and we had the opportunity to celebrate her and Randi made a delicious meal.  Noga was born in israel, grew up here, and is a direct reason that my brother is here, his kids are here, and my family is here.  Noga has always welcomed the four of us and made it easy for us to come here, including letting us stay with them upon our arrival in August when we didn’t have an apartment.  Or a car.  Or cell phones.  Or a bank.  Or hummus.  I could go on.  Noga is the strong silent type, but I think her values of Family and Israel come through loud and clear.  She asks good, tough questions, and she listens to the answers and gives her view in a clear way.  She lives her values and knows what is important, and I know that her focus on family rather than rat race will affect me as I proceed in life. I appreciate all that she has done for me and us and I truly admire the family she has built.  Randi cooked a heck of a meal, salmon, chicken, broccoli, salad, bruschetta, challah, and more and Randi was very motivated to reciprocate for Noga who has done so much for us, and as someone that we seek to emulate in our own way.  Thanks to Randi for the feast and for knowing a good role model when she sees one.  One funny note, the table you see came off of our porch, and we moved out the couch in order to fit the table in our apartment.  The size of the common area is about fifteen feet square, so it can be a dining room or a living room, not both.

Bibi.  This week was the election in Israel.  It was a major event and I learned a lot.  The biggest thing i learned was who typically votes for whom in this country.  In general, the people who live in big cities and are more cosmopolitan and educated and affluent vote Left.  And in general, the religious, the smaller town folks, and the people from the North and the South vote Right.  All of you know the outcome, Bibi won.  I’ll avoid discussing politics here in my blog.

When i came to Israel, everyone told me that you could see anyone here.  So i thought, well I’d love to see the Prime Minister, Bibi.  My niece Effie texted me the night of the election that Bibi was on his way to TLV to give his victory speech.  I jumped in a cab with Ellen, our house guest from Marin, and we went to see Bibi.  This involved a lot of pushing, and the showing my American passport at the entry to the speech and party which was held at a Fairgrounds.  I was maybe 100 feet from Bibi.  The Likudniks (his party) were dancing and exuberant and it was a fun atmosphere.  I scored a t shirt, hat and flag.  Here are some photos from his victory speech and party.

Akko. Akko is an ancient port city on the Mediterranean in the North of Israel.  We went up there for a day trip yesterday, as part of Randi’s effort to educate the girls and ourselves about this country while we are here.  The city was controlled by Greeks, Egyptians, Napoleon, the Brits, the Turks, and eventually became part of Israel.  At this point I believe it is a “mixed” city of Arabs and Jews, mostly Arab from what I saw.  We saw their market, ancient baths, walls, and sea port.  Pretty place.  Have a look.

Akko is pretty.

Fam on the Sea Wall at Akko Port.

Walls that protected the city from invaders.

My butt and my kid and a steep ramp to the top of the wall surrounding Akko.

Green mosque in the near distance.

T shirt that would look amazing on me.

Shrimp aren’t kosher, but they’re delicious.

Famous fancy restaurant called Uri Buri. We just had dessert and cappuccino truth be told.

Kanafe, a delicious dessert.

This is Uri, the dude that owns the restaurant. His English was better than my Hebrew. Also, I liked this doorway, gives a sense of the ancient-ness of the area and the restaurant.

Lastly, I graduated from Hebrew lessons this week, here is a photo of my graduation ceremony with my teachers Ran and Gidi.  It was hard, but I learned a lot. Have a good week. Sababa. E

Efrata’s Bday

Hi.  Happy Sunday.

Big news this week was my niece Efrat’s birthday.  Efrat is my niece, and she lives a block from us in Tel Aviv.  Being near she and her husband Omer has been one of the real high points of our year here.  Efrat is charismatic and fun and smart and hard working and just a lot of fun to be around.  When i lived in the States, I never had much time with her, and I have loved getting to know her.  Being an Uncle is a really great role, because you get all the fun upside, without any of the downside of responsibility and discipline that comes with being a parent.  Anyhow, we celebrated Effie’s birthday by the four of us going out for a nice fish and seafood meal.  Effie likes to celebrate her birthdays, and I was happy and flattered to get to spend one with her.  Good chance she ends up Prime Minister (no pressure).

My niece on her birthday.

Here’s a photo of me drinking a Heineken at a really cool bar called “Port Said”.  The bars here are awesome, and you feel like you are on vacation in some distant land when you go out.  To be honest, in the States I don’t go out a ton.  But here I have and its been fun.  Great chicken salad sandwich and a couple drinks.  I went with my college pal Jason.  The woman in the photo is the DJ, and she was spinning real records, when she wasn’t outside smoking cigarettes.

Me, a Heineken, some records, and the DJ.

Tonight Liza and I went swimming at the Gordon Pool.  Gordon Pool is a fancy pants gym and pool on the sea, which Randi belongs to.  Me, I belong to a Crossfit gym which is under a freeway in a parking structure and smells like dust and butt.  Anyhow, Liza and I went and swam, outside, as the sunset.  It was pretty priceless.  We were in the same lane, and I could see her swim past, faster than me.  It was fun to get a fish’s eye view of her swimming technique.  She swam, showered, and did a conference call about her camp plans, all in the time it took me to do my 2000 meters.  In my defense, I haven’t swam in years.  Anyhow, another great family moment and an iconic place in Tel Aviv to see.  Nice to be among the beautiful people for an hour.

Me and my younger kid at the fancy pants pool (I paid to get in for the day).

Last but not least, I had a nice visit from Michal, who is my youngest niece.  Michal is in the army, and is super sweet and friendly and kind and warm and funny and awesome just like the rest of my five other nieces and nephews.  My brother and sister have raised such great kids, its pretty inspiring, amazing and even intimidating, to live up to how polite and kind their kids are, and Michal is a great example of the type of people they raised and are in my family.  Anyhow, Michal was in the neighborhood and I was happy and flattered that she felt comfortable to come over and hang out with me for a few hours.  I was having a crappy day (Sonia was sick), and Michal turned the day from lousy to awesome.  We played checkers, I made her a cappuccino, and she took a nap.  Point is, its so cool to be near family, and in a way where checkers and napping are good options, no wool dress pants are needed.  To not need a wedding or bar mitzvah to just be together.  Thanks for teaching me that Michal, and thanks for coming by.  Hard to know what a great effect you can have on someone by dropping by.

Michal and my right knee in a heated Checkers match.

Have good week.

Vote Bibi.

Best,

E

Athens Swim Meet for Liza, and a quick trip to the Greek Island of Hydra

This week the four of us came to Greece, to watch Liza swim in an International swim meet.  The other countries (other than Israel whom she swims for) were: Greece, Kuwait, Egypt, Dubai, Tunis.  Vey cool.

I was proud of Liza, who cares a lot about swimming, and like all of us, wants to do well and that desire creates pressure.  Anyhow, she did great, and I am so proud of her for continuing to pursue her sport, and her love of swimming while abroad.  Getting to do a swim meet in Athens created a once in a lifetime opportunity for all of us to come here.

The second batch of photos is from my quick jaunt to a Greek Island called “Hydra”.  I came here for a day by myself, because I married the coolest person in the world, and because I’ve always wanted to see a Greek Island so here I am.  Anyhow, there are no cars on the Island, so they use donkeys, and the place is just gorgeous and exotic and fascinating.

That’s about it for the words.  Here are some pictures:

Here are a bunch from the Island of Hydra:

Beer.

This donkey is a car here.

Boats are cool.

Green ferry is similar to the one I took here. Imagine the most turbulent airplane ride of your life and multiply by seven. Greek guy sitting next to me with a fishing rod was watching youtube videos on his phone of someone cleaning a fish.

Colorful pots.

They use these carts to get stuff around the island.

Cement mixing and beer.

A boat and a cart far from the water.

Red paint.

Pickup truck.

Have a good week.

E

Lithuania, Marathon, Yochai and Save a Child’s Heart

Hi.  This week is a bit of a smorgasbord (thats what we call dinner at home when we eat like eight random things from trader joe’s boxes).

Mid week we went to an Independence Day celebration for the country of Lithuania.  Liza’s best friend here is from there, and her father works for the Embassy.  They are a very warm and friendly family, and I like the kid Viktoria a lot for her positivity and enthusiasm.  Anyhow, growing up in St. Paul (which was delightful in every way), we rarely went to embassy events with ambassadors celebrating the freedom of Baltic nations.  Honestly sometimes I don’t know what planet I’m on here.  It was pretty touching to hear the ambassadors from Israel and Lithuania speak about the value of their mutual friendship, and about the importance of freedom from oppression.  Lithuania suffered while under Soviet rule.  Also WW2 was mentioned in relation to Lithuania, a very dark period in their history.  Anyhow it was a nice event, with a piano performance, speeches, cake and wine.

Viktoria and Liza.

Possible 2015 family Christmas card if I can crop out those people in the background and my wine glass.

Just hanging out at a museum for a concert on a school night in a gray suit. Not something I would have ever imagined doing.

Another thing that happened this week was that Camp Randall Stadium and I ran the Tel Aviv marathon.  We started out together, for maybe 10k or so, and then she ran off like Speedy Gonzalez.  It was a gorgeous day, a flat course, and the roads of the city were closed to run on.  It was fun to train, I got the t shirt, and my nephew Omer ran me in for the last 8k which I would have walked or crawled without him (Thanks Omer).  I guess I am pleased at the accomplishment, that we did it (relatively) together, and that we have the fitness and the motivation in our 40s to train and accomplish physical challenges.  For me, running is a great stress burner.

Bask in the glory of my new pink Tel Aviv Marathon brand tank top.

Had breakfast with my nephew Yochai today.  He lives in Michigan, but he’s Israeli.  He is married to my first niece, Liatkela.  They are both kind of a big deal.  Yochai runs some massive billion dollar water business for Dow, where on the Org Chart he sits at the right hand of Gd.  Liatkela is about to finish a Doctorate so she will be Doctor Liatkela.  I like these guys, am proud of them, and am proud to be their Uncle.  One massive upside of Year Abroad, if not the top, has been the chance to spend time with family, even those that live in Michigan (also Boston, Iowa, Haifa, TLV, Jerusalem, New Canaan) and are passing through.  It’s hard to explain, but the commitment to family here is different from in the States, they are much better at it here.  I like their model of family closeness.  Anyhow, thanks for the Eggs Benedict Yochai.  Some swanky place in Ramat HaSharon.

Me and my oldest nephew. Please note that the Israeli living in America is wearing a suit, and the American living in Israel is wearing a T shirt and flip flops. Yochai and I agreed who wins that one.

Last is that Randi and Sonia have been volunteering at “Save a Child’s Heart” which is sort of like a Ronald McDonald House.   They bring kids that have heart problems from (African) countries that don’t have pediatric heart surgeons.  Israel gives them the operation, and then they house the kids while they recover.  You can see Sonia playing with a kid here from Ethiopia.  Both Randi and Sonia have done a good deal of volunteering while in Tel Aviv and it makes me happy that they/we are giving a bit back.  Perspective is one of the goals of Year Abroad.

Sonia and Fenan who is four years old.

Happy Month of March.

Achla.

E