Chadera and Nitzana

The last week has been pretty crazy here in Israel.

Last weekend all of the guys from our trip went to Chadera, a city near Tel Aviv, for the weekend. We took a bus there that was relatively inexpensive, and one of the guys from the trip set us up with a few rooms in a hotel that his family owns. Unfortunately, the conditions of the rooms were less than flattering (there wasn't even a seat for the toilets, so it was pretty old school if ya know what I mean). Nevertheless, I think that we really squeezed as much lemonade out of the situation as possible. The first thing we did when we arrived at ten in the morning was have a big meal of schwarma in a local restaurant. For those of you who don't know, schwarma is a type of meat (usually chicken, beef or lamb) that is peeled from a large metallic stick onto a burrito-type of carbohydrate (such as lafa or pita). We got a lot of odd looks when we ordered such mass quantities of meat so early in the morning (imagine getting a foot-long beef sub at Quizno's or Subway at ten in the morning). After that we went to the beach for pretty much the entire day. Even though it was February, we didn't care that it was not prefect beach weather. We jumped head first into the Mediterranean and laid out in the sun for hours drinking beer on the beach. Later that night when we returned to our hotel, we found out that the nearest clubs were so far from Chadera that it wasn't worth the drive. Instead, we ended up hanging out with some of the locals at a Kiosk in Chadera, having a few beers while they practiced their broken English and I practice my broken Hebrew. The next morning we returned to Hod Hasharon (where we are staying right now).

The following day (Sunday), we left Hod Hasharon for Nitzana, a youth village and communal settlement in the Western Negev, about two miles from the Egyptian Border. On our way there we stopped in a Bedouin village (nomadic Arabs who are now settled in Israel) and saw the dojo that is part of the program "Budokan for Peace", a martial arts program that brings Jews and Israeli-Arabs together where they practice Karate together. It is a marvelous program that I hope to participate in.

We were without phones and internet for five days. It is a marvelous place. Surrounded by the wilderness of the Negev desert, there is nothing more a wilderness aficionado can appreciate than Nitzana. While we were there we met a group of Russians in the who were in the midst of being absorbed into Israeli society. These Russians had decided to make Aliyah, which is basically when Jews decide to move to Israel. For the first six months of their stay, these Russians were taking Hebrew classes for five hours a day, along with classes in Math and various other subjects. The basic objective is to absorb these new citizens into Israeli society as quickly as possible and to give them the basic educational skills to help them find their place in Israel. After their first six months in Nitzana, these immigrants usually go into the Israeli army. I find it just amazing that these kids, some as young as 17, leave their family and friends behind, move to another country in which they don't speak the language, jump right in, and then join the Israeli army. It takes incredible maturity and bravery.

Our days in Nitzana were packed from sunrise to sunset. I barely slept at all from the adrenaline rush of daily activities. We did hiking throughout the Negev desert almost every day, seeing the ancient ruins of civilizations from thousands of years ago. We also got to ride camels across the desert and take in the sights. I think my favorite part of being there was the first night and the following first morning in Nitzana. For the first evening when we arrived, we sat on top of a giant hill that overlooked the Negev desert and the Egyptian border and watched the sunset. While there, our Karate master, Danny lead us through some meditation exercises that were so amazing that I cannot put into words (ya gotta trust me). It was one of the most therapeutic and head-clearing experiences I have ever had. The following morning we again did some meditation and tia-chi exercises as we watched the sun rise over the desert. Another enriching experience while there was our mountain biking excursion through the desert and to the Egyptian Border. Through our ride we say various ancient ruins and came withing about 50 meters of the gate that separates Israel from Egypt. On Wednesday we trained with an Israeli instructor in Muay Thai in Krav Maga, learning how to devastate our opponents fists, feet, knees, and elbows. I never realized how the elbow can be used as a weapon, but now I realize that being elbowed in the face may be on par with being kneed in the balls (exageration, of course nothing compares to the latter). We spent our last night in Nitzana making a fire in the sand dunes of the desert, studying the constellations and animal tracks, and making dinner.

Thursday morning we arrive back in Hod Hasharon to enjoy the weekend. Hope you all enjoyed. Stay tuned for more updates.