Just a bunch of Jews
No I haven't gotten that cynical,
What happens when you mix a guy who's late to everything, two tons of baggage and a plane flight with chassids that speak only yiddish...
I don't know, but I'm having a good time.
Except that my bag exploded and I'm eating through my spending money like I'm a Somalian at a banquet.
I got on my plane thanks to Gmaps, a brother with a fast internet connection, and my parents... Not in that order, but if you can't tell, we got a little lost. When I finally got on the plane, I changed seats with a guy who wouldn't sit next to women and had started to hold the plane up, handed out bagels to people that forgot to check the "kosher" box when they ordered their tickets and had a great conversation with a swiss lady with a nail coming out of her lower lip (she'd never met religious Jews, so I was her "dummies" guide although I still don't know how they get their peyos to look that good).
On the plane to Israel I sat next to a guy starting the z'man (school year) at the Brisk Yeshiva... We learned parshas Noach together although it was really me listening to him explain the rashi in my artscroll. He learned in Lakewood New Jersey but he doesn't know the one person I know there; which isn't really unfortunate because I don't really know the person that I name-dropped and a conversation about him would be difficult.
Israel is a pretty place, like the southwest with a little more water and brown people that speak slightly more english. The hills are pretty, the city is historic, and the water is deadly; if you have my stomach. I registered for classes then set off to buy school supplies for the first day (which is today, here incidentally, it's 2:19 AM).
It went just the same way it did in college; except that to buy my books I went into a part of the city that looks pretty much the way it did when bronze weapons were high tech (that's a huge exaggeration, but I like the sound of it; so I'm keeping it).
Saw "The Kotel" (for those who aren't shiach; I mean the Western wall, the Wailing wall, or the the thing that people keep sticking paper into the cracks of) and was pleasantly "whelmed"; not over or under, just "whelmed". I had the best falafel ever and picked up fresh pastries from Angel's. The most important words in hebrew are rega (wait) and slicha (pardon or forgive me). Depending on how you say rega you can mean "just a moment" or F-off... I got the latter from a man who was having more trouble with english than I initially thought.... the question is, can something still be good times just because it's in hebrew? I was so excited that I knew what he was saying that I forgot he was mad.
But I haven't said the best thing yet, like half the guys at my yeshiva are English, every time they say "my stomach's gone all won-ky" I giggle like a school-girl. So take that Hamas.
I'm off to single handedly fix the peace process and then I'm going to resolve every machloches in the gemara; so I've got to run.
cars: 5 nigel:0
I was told a joke about how the women here are fierce and the men are sweet... I think it's about frosted hair but I still don't get it.
TRW
You gotta change your location on your profile now that you're There so that we can all be a bit jealous...
Hatzlacha and enjoy!
Anonymous
It is great to hear that you made it safely. Looks like you had beautiful weather on your first day there. Good luck with the time switch and the learning!
BTW, trw, I think we are all jealous just by seeing the pics ;-)
Debbie
Anonymous
Hey naphtoli, how was your flight? we bet if you were flying you would have been there in 30 minutes tops. If your ever feeling homesick just start screaming and rest your arm on your head...and then you can do a lil' dance.
BrownsvilleGirl
I, too, was just "whelmed" by the Kotel. The Eretz Yisrael of Israel didn't hit me for a while while I was there. If I remember properly, it took until I spent a Shabbat in the Old City until I felt what everyone claims you feel the moment you see the Kotel.
Anonymous
as dreams come true and one day you'll feel like just another jew behatzlacha toddler/preteen naphtoli
Abacaxi Mamao
The Kotel can definitely be "whelming." I have very mixed feelings about it, largely because I somtimes feel like people pray to *it* rather than to G-d.
P.S. It's "slicha" not "shlicha."
PinkDevora
They perm their payos.
Really.