Halvah Heaven

Slight twist in posts today. This is an unabashed plug! One of the Fulbright elves in Washington sent me an e-mail earlier this week. Elves are all those folks who work behind the scenes to make programs such as my Fulbright happen. Lamese said her uncle ran a halvah shop in the Old City. She knew it was in the muslim quarter, but didn't know where exactly it was. This afternoon, we took advantage of another 70 degree day and wandered over to the Old City. We climbed Mt. Zion, walked past King David's tomb, a Holocaust memorial, the church commemorating the spot where Mary died, the spot where the Last Supper took place, and finally reached the Zion Gate. Unlike the Jaffa and Damascus Gates, cars actually drive in THROUGH the Zion Gate (movie below). After walking our favorite route through the Cardo (both Pam and Noa have blogged on this,) we found ourselves at the start of the muslim quarter. Figuring the world had to be pretty small, we stopped at the first sweet shop we found. Pam asked the shopkeeper if he knew where the halvah shop Al-Amad was. Did he ever! Just seven shops further down the road, Suq Khan Ez-Zeit. Sure enough there was the halvah shop. We asked the gentleman if his neice was Lamese. He said they were related! We had accomplished a needle in a haystack task! We enjoyed terrific, three layer halvah this evening and have another treat awating us tomorrow. It is almond, sugar, coconut, sesame seeds. If you are ever in the old city, just around the corner from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, stop by Al-Amad for delicious halvah. Ribhi Amad will be happy to serve you. It is definitely worth a trip. Oh, and it is special holiday in the US....

Halvah Heaven

Slight twist in posts today. This is an unabashed plug! One of the Fulbright elves in Washington sent me an e-mail earlier this week. Elves are all those folks who work behind the scenes to make programs such as my Fulbright happen. Lamese said her uncle ran a halvah shop in the Old City. She knew it was in the muslim quarter, but didn't know where exactly it was. This afternoon, we took advantage of another 70 degree day and wandered over to the Old City. We climbed Mt. Zion, walked past King David's tomb, a Holocaust memorial, the church commemorating the spot where Mary died, the spot where the Last Supper took place, and finally reached the Zion Gate. Unlike the Jaffa and Damascus Gates, cars actually drive in THROUGH the Zion Gate (movie below). After walking our favorite route through the Cardo (both Pam and Noa have blogged on this,) we found ourselves at the start of the muslim quarter. Figuring the world had to be pretty small, we stopped at the first sweet shop we found. Pam asked the shopkeeper if he knew where the halvah shop Al-Amad was. Did he ever! Just seven shops further down the road, Suq Khan Ez-Zeit. Sure enough there was the halvah shop. We asked the gentleman if his neice was Lamese. He said they were related! We had accomplished a needle in a haystack task! We enjoyed terrific, three layer halvah this evening and have another treat awating us tomorrow. It is almond, sugar, coconut, sesame seeds. If you are ever in the old city, just around the corner from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, stop by Al-Amad for delicious halvah. Ribhi Amad will be happy to serve you. It is definitely worth a trip. Oh, and it is special holiday in the US....

And back again

Trying out blogwriter lite app to post this from an iPod touch. The three buses to get from Mofet in Tel Aviv back to Jerusalem cost less than the cab from our apartment to the bus station! Teachers in the computer class are making fine progress and began presenting to their peers yesterday. Their peers were an interesting audience. Some listened,some ignored the whole presentation and worked on their own stuff, some took cell calls. The computer lab is state of the art with brand new computers, flat screen monitors, ergonomic chairs, plenty of workspace, good light and airflow.  I wonder how many Israeli schools have such a facility?  Will post a few photos once I get a moment.  Back at the laptop.  Blogwriter lite worked as advertised....now I have to figure out how to access photos from the touch....Israeli snack breaks are terrific!  Hummous, olives, feta, cream cheese, fresh fruit, veggies.....I'd go to class just to eat the food!  Of course, it is good I don't drink coffee....instant in every school setting I've seen so far!  It felt good to arrive in Jerusalem again. All seemed familiar. Our long walks paid off. I knew exactly where the bus was headed.  Headed for the shower, dinner, and bed.  A meeting with Reuven Werber was scheduled for the next day.

And back again

Trying out blogwriter lite app to post this from an iPod touch. The three buses to get from Mofet in Tel Aviv back to Jerusalem cost less than the cab from our apartment to the bus station! Teachers in the computer class are making fine progress and began presenting to their peers yesterday. Their peers were an interesting audience. Some listened,some ignored the whole presentation and worked on their own stuff, some took cell calls. The computer lab is state of the art with brand new computers, flat screen monitors, ergonomic chairs, plenty of workspace, good light and airflow.  I wonder how many Israeli schools have such a facility?  Will post a few photos once I get a moment.  Back at the laptop.  Blogwriter lite worked as advertised....now I have to figure out how to access photos from the touch....Israeli snack breaks are terrific!  Hummous, olives, feta, cream cheese, fresh fruit, veggies.....I'd go to class just to eat the food!  Of course, it is good I don't drink coffee....instant in every school setting I've seen so far!  It felt good to arrive in Jerusalem again. All seemed familiar. Our long walks paid off. I knew exactly where the bus was headed.  Headed for the shower, dinner, and bed.  A meeting with Reuven Werber was scheduled for the next day.

Road Trip to Be'er Sheva and Hatzor

Yesterday, I woke up in Jerusalem.  After breakfast, I cabbed over to the Central Bus Station.  The CBS in Jerusalem is a three story building that is so closely modeled after a European train station that there is even a large clock on the outside.  Pam already described security.  Buses depart from.....the third floor!  Travelers line up at one of 17 gates (there may be more, but I could only account for 17), and everything is automatic from there.  At approximately 12 minutes prior to departure, passengers move from the gate through the door to the bus which is locked.  Three minutes later, the driver arrives, gets on the bus and closes the door.  He inspects the inside of the bus and dons his tie (blue and white, I thought it was a talit at first!).  One minute later (8 minutes prior to departure, he opens the door, and passengers get on.  Soldiers flash their ID's, rifles are stowed under the bus.  Luggage doors are activated by the driver INSIDE the bus (Catlin Gabel needs to get this installed!)  I told the driver I wanted to go to Masmiya and asked him to tell me where the stop was.  He said OK and reminded me to take my ticket.  There was no reason to take the ticket, but I did.  At 10:30 (departure time) on the nose, the bus pulled out!  Talk about punctual!!  We were quickly out of the city heading down.  Jerusalem is a high point, so every way out is down.  Passing villages, I was amazed by the vehicle traffic heading towards Jerusalem.  It was literally a solid mass of cars and trucks for about 20 minutes!  Villages became smaller and smaller.  The driver would pull over to a bus stop, but nobody got on or off.  Finally, after about 30 minutes, single passengers would get off.  Jay had sent me a great map, so I could track where we were.  I knew we were close to Masmiya, got ready to get off, and was waiting for the driver to tell me we were there.  My phone rang and Jay asked if I had missed the stop....I asked the driver if we were at the stop AFTER Masmiya.  He said "Ken," which meant I grabbed my bag and raced off the bus.  Jay arrived three minutes later, and said it was a good thing I had gotten off since the next stop was a long way down the road!  The whole area had a very rural feel about it.

After working for a couple of house at Akhava College, we left for Be'er Sheva.  Talk about straight roads!  And, if the Florida orange crop is damaged this year due to the cold, we will all be eating Israeli oranges.  They are growing a lot of them....lemons, too!  arriving in Be'er Sheva, we stopped at "the best falafal stand in the city."  Jay had asked students to create a Google Map showing their favorite falafal places, and this was the winner!  Falafal was very tasty! 

According to many, the Be'er Sheva campus resemble the University of Chicago....I didn't think so, but it did resemble a lot of high schools built in the 70's.  Concrete building, courtyards, open stairs, etc.  The plaques were often ONLY in English, a testament to American support in the construction of the campus.  The quad area was gorgeous with an artifical stream running through it.  Boys were flirting with girls, and a traveling marketplace had set up shop.

After Jay's class, we headed to Kibbutz Hatzor, stopping to pick up his oldest son and a friend.  Hatzor is home to about 600 people, housing is in duplexes.  After a delicious cheese omlette, fresh vegetable dinner, Jay's daughter, Jay, and I played Set.  The Hebrew word one says when one finds a set is "Set."  Jay and I managed to collect 8 sets....Hila, a precocious 12-year old, collected the other 15.  Sigh.  After Jay and I had eaten, his two sons foraged for food.  Both teenagers, they grazed the refrigerator.  Finally, Tzipi, Jay's wife arrived home.  We figured out sleeping logistics for me, they figured out water logistics (showers before washing the dishes, downstairs shower before upstairs shower), and then it was off to a good night's sleep after a very long day.

Breakfast today was 6:45-6:53, then it was off to Tel Aviv.  90 minutes later, we arrived.  Everything about horrific Tel Aviv traffic is true.  I'll leave it at that.  Normally, Jay commutes 10 minutes to work....enjoy the pictures...falafal stand, Be'er Sheva University, Jay's house.  The plant pictures are of a plant at Hatzor.  No, Jay and Tzipi are not green thumb types, but the neighbor is .  If anybody recognizes the plant, please let me know what it is.

I'll post the return bus trip later today or tomorrow.

Road Trip to Be'er Sheva and Hatzor

Yesterday, I woke up in Jerusalem.  After breakfast, I cabbed over to the Central Bus Station.  The CBS in Jerusalem is a three story building that is so closely modeled after a European train station that there is even a large clock on the outside.  Pam already described security.  Buses depart from.....the third floor!  Travelers line up at one of 17 gates (there may be more, but I could only account for 17), and everything is automatic from there.  At approximately 12 minutes prior to departure, passengers move from the gate through the door to the bus which is locked.  Three minutes later, the driver arrives, gets on the bus and closes the door.  He inspects the inside of the bus and dons his tie (blue and white, I thought it was a talit at first!).  One minute later (8 minutes prior to departure, he opens the door, and passengers get on.  Soldiers flash their ID's, rifles are stowed under the bus.  Luggage doors are activated by the driver INSIDE the bus (Catlin Gabel needs to get this installed!)  I told the driver I wanted to go to Masmiya and asked him to tell me where the stop was.  He said OK and reminded me to take my ticket.  There was no reason to take the ticket, but I did.  At 10:30 (departure time) on the nose, the bus pulled out!  Talk about punctual!!  We were quickly out of the city heading down.  Jerusalem is a high point, so every way out is down.  Passing villages, I was amazed by the vehicle traffic heading towards Jerusalem.  It was literally a solid mass of cars and trucks for about 20 minutes!  Villages became smaller and smaller.  The driver would pull over to a bus stop, but nobody got on or off.  Finally, after about 30 minutes, single passengers would get off.  Jay had sent me a great map, so I could track where we were.  I knew we were close to Masmiya, got ready to get off, and was waiting for the driver to tell me we were there.  My phone rang and Jay asked if I had missed the stop....I asked the driver if we were at the stop AFTER Masmiya.  He said "Ken," which meant I grabbed my bag and raced off the bus.  Jay arrived three minutes later, and said it was a good thing I had gotten off since the next stop was a long way down the road!  The whole area had a very rural feel about it.

After working for a couple of house at Akhava College, we left for Be'er Sheva.  Talk about straight roads!  And, if the Florida orange crop is damaged this year due to the cold, we will all be eating Israeli oranges.  They are growing a lot of them....lemons, too!  arriving in Be'er Sheva, we stopped at "the best falafal stand in the city."  Jay had asked students to create a Google Map showing their favorite falafal places, and this was the winner!  Falafal was very tasty! 

According to many, the Be'er Sheva campus resemble the University of Chicago....I didn't think so, but it did resemble a lot of high schools built in the 70's.  Concrete building, courtyards, open stairs, etc.  The plaques were often ONLY in English, a testament to American support in the construction of the campus.  The quad area was gorgeous with an artifical stream running through it.  Boys were flirting with girls, and a traveling marketplace had set up shop.

After Jay's class, we headed to Kibbutz Hatzor, stopping to pick up his oldest son and a friend.  Hatzor is home to about 600 people, housing is in duplexes.  After a delicious cheese omlette, fresh vegetable dinner, Jay's daughter, Jay, and I played Set.  The Hebrew word one says when one finds a set is "Set."  Jay and I managed to collect 8 sets....Hila, a precocious 12-year old, collected the other 15.  Sigh.  After Jay and I had eaten, his two sons foraged for food.  Both teenagers, they grazed the refrigerator.  Finally, Tzipi, Jay's wife arrived home.  We figured out sleeping logistics for me, they figured out water logistics (showers before washing the dishes, downstairs shower before upstairs shower), and then it was off to a good night's sleep after a very long day.

Breakfast today was 6:45-6:53, then it was off to Tel Aviv.  90 minutes later, we arrived.  Everything about horrific Tel Aviv traffic is true.  I'll leave it at that.  Normally, Jay commutes 10 minutes to work....enjoy the pictures...falafal stand, Be'er Sheva University, Jay's house.  The plant pictures are of a plant at Hatzor.  No, Jay and Tzipi are not green thumb types, but the neighbor is .  If anybody recognizes the plant, please let me know what it is.

I'll post the return bus trip later today or tomorrow.

Behind Closed Doors

Yesterday, Pam and I headed into East Jerusalem. On our way, we passed through the Old City (seriously, it was a shortcut! And, there is no car traffic!!) Most shops were open, but many were still closed. Behind one partially open door deep in the Christian Quarter, near Via Dolorosa, Pam and I observed children using computers. We were maybe three steps past the door, when I stopped and said, I need to take that picture. I poked my head in the door, walked to the man behind the counter, and asked if I could take a couple of pictures. I wanted to take them quickly before the kids began posing. While shooting, I noticed that all the kids, boys and girls, were playing various games. Nobody was surfing, nobody was practicing a school subject, everybody was playing some form of computer game. We subsequently noticed three other such places in the Old City. Now, we don't know if this is some new form of daycare or if these kids are just training in game playing. It certainly caught our attention, though. With all of their computer game skills, will these kids want to grow up to take over the family shop? Or, will they leave for places where they can put their skills to use.....