The River Wild

The Jordan River to be exact.

This was the scene of last weekend's big adventure - white water rafting. I had never done this before and, honestly, found myself a bit disappointed that there wasn't more carnage. I only got a minor scratch on my finger. I was hoping for capsizement, submersion, and rock bashing... Can't win 'em all I suppose.

Considering that carrying a camera on a rafting trip would be... problematic, the only pictures I have to share are from the pre and post-game. Enjoy.

Everyone













Jared, Rafaan, Vafa, Awesome, Rox













I squared off against Vafa... and smoted his ruin upon the mountainside.














While we're at it, lets share some more photos from the last year. These are long overdue.

I did this drawing of the Statue of liberty as part of the backdrop for "Sounds of the World", a huge, flashy, cultural extravaganza held annually at the BWC.

















This is Anyssa, star of the show, standing in front of another portion of our cardboard New York Skyline.

















The whole cast of the show.













Friends Ilya and Anjali, both Canadian, both music lovers.













Being restrained by Rafaan as I, presumably, try to obliterate something.













After a paintball apocalypse. I shot Vafa in the head several times...













A glimpse of the wonders of Yehudiya, the most beautiful place I have ever seen. Miles and miles of hiking trail along a river that has cut a several hundred meter crevasse into the Israeli dessert. It is full of waterfalls (pictured), natural pools (pictured), and precipices of various heights (not pictured) off of which you jump into the aforementioned pools. It's pretty much my favorite thing.













This crew ventured to the Dead Sea and the top of Masada.












This is what Masada is...












These are my flatmates Omid and Jamal and our friend Lewa, with Omid Djalili, comedian, actor, and Bahá’í. I took this picture in our flat, where he spent approximately one half hour. If you've seen Gladiator, The Mummy, or Pirates of the Caribbean III, you've seen him act. Nice guy.

See this movie.

aber auf Deutsch



It's the first truly worthwhile experience I've had at a theatre in Haifa. I'm not counting last fall's film festival, as that was not held in a movie theatre, and did not involve pop corn or the obligatory Israeli intermission.

A word of explanation: In Israel, all movies have an intermission, even really short ones. I'm not sure if it is meant to be a bathroom break, or a smoke break, or if the cultural attention span is somehow different... but it can sometimes take up to 15/20 minutes. It's no fun.

My previous experiences here were:

TMNT (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) - It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. That said, it was still mostly lame.

Spider Man 3 - .............. Shall I compare it to Star Wars: Episode... lets say II? I'll translate for those unaware of my feelings on the Star Wars prequels. It was one of the worst movies I've ever seen.

Pirates of the Caribbean III: At World's End - It was as convoluted and weird as part two, and nowhere near as charming as the original, but I can't say I didn't have fun scoffing at it...

In conclusion... this German flick was gritty and interesting, and it managed to tug lightly on my heart strings. It's my favorite German export since Hardy Fuchs.

Reminiscing

Approximately one year ago...



I post this picture to remind those who were there, and those who weren't, of the fun we all had at Kalamazoo College and, in particular, on this rustic weekend at my Cottage. All of you who were there should know that I frequently lose myself, staring at this picture, and wish that I could have that moment, that time again. (Jess, I always think about how you belonged there too...)

I recall this now because I am preparing to return to the United States for the first time in more than a year. I will be coming home for a few weeks in July/August and I think that this trip may very well be my last real chance to connect with those I knew and loved in Kalamazoo.

When I left last June I expected to quickly fall into place in my new world and develop friendships which would easily transcend and eclipse those forged during my four years at K. I was foolish to expect such a thing... I have fallen into place in my new world, but I find myself clinging tenaciously to the memories of my classmates, fearful that they will slip out of my grip and float off into the ether, leaving me with no connection to those who (still) know me best. I haven't been very good at keeping in touch with most of them and, no doubt, they wouldn't have expected anything different.

This is why I am informing the world that Curtis, pictured on the left,



...and I will be making a 4 day trip across the southern hemisphere of the lower peninsula, from Detroit to Chicago, stopping in Kalamazoo along the way. This will most likely occur between Monday July 30th and Thursday August 2nd. Should anyone reading this blog be in either the Detroit, Kalamazoo, or Chicago Area at this time, we would appreciate knowing, so we might be able to stop and share a breakfast/lunch/dinner/7-11 with you, at which we would consume one of the following:

1. The "Curtis" - a feta and spinach omelet from the Crow's Nest together with curry potato soup and banana bread.

2. A Chicken Queso Burrito from Q'doba

3. The Stir-Max Buffet

4. A chili-cheese hot dog and a root beer float at the Root Beer Stand

5. Hummus and falafel at Shwarma King

6. 100 pieces of fried chicken from the Chicken Coop

7. Mongo

8. FRAAWWWWWWGG!!!

9. Cheesy Fiesta Potatoes at Taco Bell

10. A 1/2 Pound Burrito at Taco Bell

11. A Chalupa at Taco Bell

12. Anything at Taco Bell


Rest assured, that if I knew you... or only even just met you once... I would love to see you again, and eat any of the above with you.

Swedish Fish

A friend - and fellow BWC staffer - recently returned to the Holy Land after several weeks of holiday back in the U.S. She had been given a task ere her departure, the completion of which was to, in my mind, define the friendship. You see, in my many months away from home I have grown desirous of many former comforts, most of which are completely inaccessible (By some blissful stroke of luck, our Food Centre started carrying Dr. Pepper several months after I arrived, so I had at least one).

This friend, demonstrating exemplary devotion and resolve, returned triumphantly with her quarry and I have neither words nor actions which can adequately express my gratitude. What she brought me was this:



A bag of Swedish Fish.


P.S. I am aware of how long its been since my last post/update. I am choosing to ignore this...

P.P.S. ...apart from the postscript.

mmmmmmmmmm....stir fry

Is there anyone in Kalamazoo... or anywhere else for that matter... who wants to pretend to be me and use my free Mongolian Barbeque meal birthday coupon??? First come first served. Emails are prefered to comments. I'll email the winner promptly.

I recommend chicken with a peanut & teriyaki mix sauce, with a liberal use of cheese, thrown together with a salad, then rolled up in tortillas. Croutons are a plus.

Shopping...

We totally get to go shopping now that Haifa is open again. I'm gonna buy some cushions. :D

So far, cease-fire, so good...

Everything is opening back up and looking normal again...

cross your fingers.