Dahab, Southern Sinai

Under the Dahab Bridge

I needed a break from break. Yeah, I've had a week and half off but it didn't feel like a real break. The breaks around here have never really felt like real time off. So with Kaitin here we decided to get out of the country for a few days.

The drive down itself wasn't too bad. The bus #444 from Jerusalem to Eilat, a quick taxi ride to the Taba border crossing and finally a 1-hour 45-minute taxi ride to Dahab. Not too bad. The hard part was that we needed to watch the craziness of getting our passports stamped and taken care of. I'm sure when you send in your information back in the states, six or seven people see our information and it get's tossed around the office. I think there were six people that took our passports and wrote down information from them before we actually crossed into Egypt.

Then we got to our destination. It was incredible.

The Red Sea

For two-and-a-half days we did almost nothing. The breakfasts in the morning we took on the beach were complimentary with the exception of the turkish coffee, and we sat on the beach reading and watching the waves for a long time each day. It was really refreshing to sit with Kaitlin and just be on vacation. No cares, no worries and very little scheduled.

One of the few things that was actually arranged was taking a tour on a camel. She had her heart set on riding one since we were in the desert climbing Masada. So we arranged it and took a ride out to the Blue Lagoon to watch the sun set a little, but then our guide needed to make it back for prayers, so he brought us back before the sun went all the way down.

Kaitlin and Me Riding a Camel

We ate a bunch of meals in different restaurants, sitting on the floor or at tables. We sat in the open and in enclosed areas. We ate on the beach and in our hotel room. This vacation was exactly what I needed and what we needed to have together. It was incredible to have some time to just be with each other, watch movies, sit in the chill-out areas, watch sunsets and just really get a chance to relax.

Sunset

There isn't much more I can say. Dahab and Sinai is an incredible trip, if you have the chance to visit I would highly recommend it. If you need a place to stay, use the Dahab Plaza Hotel. Mr. Emad, the manager, is great. When we arrived, he gave us a tour of the strip along the beach and pointed out his two restaurants, Same Same But Different and Fresh Fish.

On the walk with Mr. Emad, we were left alone by most of the annoying salesmen. He explained that he tried to tell the salesmen that most "westerners" don't like the aggressiveness that they work with. Many of them ignored his advice, but the ones that did leave us mostly alone, these were the ones that we shopped at. We loved to pop into the restaurants that only asked us once or twice to check out their menus and ate there. We also made a point of buying from the shops that were laid back about us.

Some of the salesmen were very aggressive though. One of my favorite lines I heard was a guy that very slowly said, " God Bless America. Yo. Yo. Yo. Whas up?" I also really liked the guy that told me each time we passed, "Remember when you said yesterday that you said you would come back?" It was a lot of fun experiencing a new place in the world and I realized that I have now been on the African continent now.

One final word of advice. If you go to Sinai, do not, I repeat DO NOT take a cab from the guys just inside the border. You need to walk through the border and out of the building. From that point you need to walk beyond the first gate. There you will find a group of men with taxis. You will be able to get a better price than we were able to get. Be ready to haggle.

She Arrived!

On Friday Kaitlin finally arrived in Israel. In the morning I was trying to get some last minute things ready. I bought some groceries for Shabbat, cleaned the apartment, started on a little bit of laundry and then I needed to wait.

There was nothing to do because all of my exams were finished so I sat.

I was waiting to leave to catch a shieirut (shuttle) to the airport to collect Kaitlin, but I couldn't take it anymore. I left my apartment to wait on the street near my pickup point. Luckily I found a way to get some of the West Wing onto my iPod so I could kill some time until the cab arrived.

Emily met me a little bit before we were supposed to leave and we went off to the airport.

Sitting in the arrivals area is one of the most stressful things I had to deal with all week. Not nearly as bad as any of the exams. The plane was almost an hour late and after we saw that the plane landed we stood near the exit so we could wait until our friends got through customs. It took a long time for her to come through and I was very anxious.

I kept standing on my toes and stretching me neck to see over all of the other people. I knew she would be carrying my guitar and every time I saw a guitar my heart started to race a little bit. Emily's friend, on the same flight, came out first even though she saw Kaitlin in line ahead of her.

Finally, finally she popped out of the door. Very bewildered I caught her attention and there was a hug smile on her face. I tried to get as close as I could. When she finally got past the pack of people I gave her a huge hug! Aside from waiting to see her, all I could think about the whole time is that scene from Dogma at the very beginning. Matt Damon and Ben Afflek are discussing how great it is to see the reunions at the airport. They were right. There is so much joy in seeing that person you've been missing after so much time apart.

The rest of the night we spent trying to get to Jerusalem, unpack a little bit. We had dinner at a great restaurant, Dolphin Yam. After hanging out with some of my friends for a while, we met at another of my friends' apartment to celebrate New Years Eve! What a night and what a great way to start off 2011!

I know it's been a while since I've posted much. We've been traveling and the internet at my apartment is shaky at best right now. I hope to be able to update the blog while Kaitlin is here, but we're trying to squeeze as much out of Israel into her visit.

Happy Belated 2011!

Travel Log

This trip was very uneventful in comparison other flights I had. The trip between Minneapolis and Philadelphia was fast and pleasant. I merely read a lot and we were on the ground shortly. It took a long time for my guitar to come out from the gate check, but with a four-hour layover it's not like I was in much of a hurry. The time came in handy sine the airport is very large in Philadelphia. But there were a bunch of places that I could sit and eat and hang out to make some phone calls and read some more.

When we were about to take off, it was very pretty. The sun had just started to set and there was a dull orange splitting the night sky from the daytime. Then as we climbed higher in the sky, the colors separated into a bright rainbow. Being that it was the 3rd of July, of course there were fireworks. Not quite as cool as I would have thought, but it was still nice to see them going off celebrating the holiday.

On the ground, I got through customs and passport control without major issues and met up with a friend from camp TEKO, who gave me a ride down to Tel Aviv. It is really cool to see some of the history lining the side of the road to Jerusalem. We got to the apartment and unloaded all my stuff that I brought for the year. The place is a lot nicer than I thought, even after seeing it on Skype the other day.

I met a bunch of the other students and we hung out at someone's apartment before heading home. Right now I have most of my stuff put away. I'm exhausted and heading to bed. Maybe I won't have to deal with jet lag tomorrow.

Shalom from Jerusalem

No Day But Tomorrow!

I am almost done with all of my preparations. I'm looking at two fully packed bags, minus a couple of things that need to be tossed into them, a packed, tightened and locked guitar and a half packed backpack with items scattered around my bedroom that I will undoubtedly be tossing into my backpack at the last minute. Who could expect anything different from me.

But what is sinking in is that when I wake up, I will be almost 24 hours from leaving the United States of America for almost a year and be started on my way to becoming a rabbi. Today, my roommate got to our apartment in Jerusalem and through the brilliance of Skype (feel free to skype me at BNels2422) I got a quick tour of the apartment. Let me just say that it is well worth the rent we are paying for it.

It's strange though, I know I'm leaving. I have been anxiously awaiting this moment for the last four years when I decided this just may be my path in life. I have been excited about this moment for three years when I found out that my first year is in Jerusalem and that I was sure this was the path for my life. For the preceding two years, by the grace of my parents, I have been able to live at home and do youth work, building my resume and continuing to study so that in 37 hours, I will be sitting on a plane ready to take off to go back to Israel. It all leads up to this moment when I will really feel like I am on my way.

I have been rationing KFAN Podcasts this week so I have some good ones to listen too. No doubt that after the Twins game tomorrow there should be some good anger floating from the airwaves of 1130 AM in Minneapolis. I have some school reading and some enjoyment reading ready to be had on the flight. I also put some great movies on my computer and on my external hard drive so I will have plenty to listen to watch, listen to and read as well.

The past two weeks have been great. I have spent some time with great friends and family. My cousin got married, my sister announced that she is pregnant (due in January) I got to eat at some great restaurants, I finished the services I have been working on for Camp TEKO, saw my cousin play some soccer (watching 4 year-olds chase a ball around the field was really cute), went for a great bike ride out to Lake Minnetonka, found out that I will be making guest appearances on the website TCJewfolk about a rabbinic school (you will be alerted to posts coming on that site) and so much more that I'm sure I'm forgetting to mention. The last two weeks have been great, but I also cannot wait to get to Jerusalem.

There is still something that is missing though. I am really going to miss Kaitlin and my family. I have never gone for more than a few weeks without seeing Kaitlin and I have never lived further from Minnetonka than a 15 minute drive. I wouldn't say I'm nervous about it at all, but there are things that I know I will miss. The common thing I keep coming back to is that I will be in Israel. For those of you that have been, you know what I'm talking about. For those that have not, there aren't many words that can do it justice. The place somehow just grips you and doesn't want you to leave. I continue to console my worries with the fact that I will be in Jerusalem and that I will finally be on my way to becoming a rabbi.

I'm merely rambling at this point and I really should get some sleep tonight. I have one long 30 hour day until liftoff from MSP International Airport. I will not be making another post until I land, but if you have heard about my travel issues to New York City for my HUC-JIR interview or the return journey from Cincinnati from the College Colloquium back in 2008, I can only expect some marvelous adventure on Saturday.

This chapter comes to a close with me saying the following;

To everyone I was able to see in the last two weeks, "Thank you for making my last weeks in the USA fantastic. Some of the best weeks I have had in the last few years."

To everyone I wasn't able to see, "I'm sorry we didn't find a chance to meet up, hopefully we will find a time when I'm back in the states next May."

To everyone I that has helped me on getting to this point, "Thank you. I love you. I couldn't have made it to this point without you."

To anyone I know who will be in Jerusalem in the next 11 months, "Find me on facebook or skype and we'll meet up. It will be great to see another yankee over there."

Packing Fail

Yesterday I tried to pack a bag the first time. Needless to say it didn't go so well the first time through. THe issue is that I have this problem of wanting to be over-prepared for living in a foreign country for a year. I was trying to pack in clothing options, as well as some dressy clothes since I don't like going out or to class looking like a bum. This is a big change from high school and even college, I know. There's just something about looking like an adult that I enjoy, herein lies the rub. I can't fit it all into two bags and still have things to make my apartment feel like a home.

Possible Solutions:
Number One; pack less. After failing miserably, I went through and started skimming some things out of my bag. I probably don't need all of that Twins and Gophers gear, right? The next thing to look at was getting new undershirts and boxers so they are packed tighter. Maybe I'll tape all my shirts into bundles like the ones that come in the bag.

Number Two; bring a third bag. Ingenious! I looked on US Airways website and it appears that the first two bags I bring are free. Completely free! If I want to bring a third bag, it will cost $100 to bring another 50lbs of stuff with me. I need think about that one. It may get a bit pricey to do it that way.

Now that I have that situation a little under control, it's back to worrying about real issues like pictures for my Visa and seeing friends.