A normal week, sort of...

Its been a week since my last post and I don't have too much to update everyone on. Actually, for once, this past week has been quite normal. When I say "normal" I mean that there were no trips, excursions or absolutely out of the ordinary events. The only thing that was totally different about this weeks compared to others was the presence of my mom and dad in Tel Aviv. As a mentioned in my last post, my parents came to visit me (and get their first taste of Israel) here in Tel Aviv. It was absolutely wonderful to have them here. We shared some wonderful experiences together and I was happy to be able to show them around Tel Aviv. They also did pretty well themselves at exploring the city and seeing the sights in Tel Aviv. Right now they are currently in Jerusalem with their tour group and are continuing to get see Israel throughout the week. I think they are enjoying themselves very much!

Other exciting things to note are:

-The weather: its been really hot here, 96 today!

-I am going to Jerusalem to visit my parents this weekend! Should be a good time...

Well, thats really it for now! Ill write again soon. Be well everyone...

Picture Entry!

These pictures were taken by me over the last few weeks in different places that I have traveled too. If you wish to see more pictures let me know and I will post them! Enjoy...

UN Armored Vehicles in South Lebanon, about 5KM away. I am standing in Israel taking this.

Communication Antenna at the Israel-Lebanon Border

Blown up rockets at the Israeli police station. Bus stop bomb shelter with man inside. Playground bomb shelter in Sderot.

Long Overdue...

Shalom friends,

This entry is extremely long overdue. As explained earlier, the internet connection in my dorm was terrible. Luckily, they have fixed it. Here is just an overview of some of the things that have been going on in my life...

Galilee: The north of Israel is known as the Galilee. It is given this clever name because the area sits on the Sea of Galilee. The area is home to many famous places which include: Tiberius, Nazareth, the Golan Heights, etc. The trip I went on with NYU was packed with tours and information sessions in all of these places. All in all everything was really incredible and it was nice to get a more academic look at the Galilee. The most memorable part of the trip for me was staying in a Kibbutz that practically sat on the border with Lebanon. This kibbutz had front row seats to the wars with Lebanon and still has a birds eye view of South Lebanon which is now controlled by Hezbollah. When we arrived at the Kibbutz (at night) we were immediately taken to the border. To me, it was really strange and scary that I was 1KM away from Lebanon. I was also standing on ground that had been bombed and shot at during the war. I dont think I will ever forget the picture that is engraved in my mind from that night: The darkness of the night sky, the fence that separated Israel from Lebanon and the mystery of what was on the other side...

Sderot:Traveling to sderot was by far one of the best parts of my experience here so far in Israel. For those of you who dont know what Sderot is, I shall explain. Sderot is a city/large town that sits on the border of Israel and Gaza. If the name sounds familiar at all it is probably because your heard of some sort of rocket attack on this city. In the last decade different terrorist organizations have dumped thousands of Qassam rockets into Sderot. Almost everyone in the city has been effected by the explosion of one of these rockets and the city itself has been forever changed because of these attacks. Everywhere you look there is some sort of bomb shelter. (bus stop bomb shelters or part of a playground made out of concrete are among these shelters) Everywhere a person looks in Sderot there is a reminder of what has been happening to this city. The people of Sderot live in a reality that most people couldnt even imagine. Our tour guide even told us that the thunder from the prior nights thunder storm scared him out of bed...

I think the thing that really got me the most while we were visiting Sderot was when we went to the police station to see some of the blown up rockets. As we turned the corner in to the back of the station I saw the rockets sitting on shelves. Each one was cataloged, like it was a book in a library, with the date and location. There is nothing like seeing a thousand blown up rockets to make your think about life...(this trip was so complex and there was so much to it that I can't get in to written words, so if you want to know more, please comment and I will try and write more or talk to you personally).

Currently, Sderot is not under attack. But that may change at any moment. I am asking any person who reads this, religious or not, to say a prayer for the people of Sderot so that they may continue to try and live normal lives, or as normal as it can get for them....

...lets switch to something a little less sad....

Running: Running is on "track". (pun definitley intended) There aren't many new things to report about the running. I am still enjoying it and although I am not running everyday I can feel my level of fitness improving. Besides, it is still allowing me to see parts of Tel Aviv that I otherwise might not have seen.

Purim: This wonderful Jewish holiday is celebrated in Israel like halloween is celebrated in America x10. Purim, to put it, was simply wild. Although it was pouring and there was a terrible thunder and lightning storm, Purim still managed to be a ton of fun. Everyone, or it felt like everyone, was dressed up and walking around celebrating. There were street parties, club and bar parties and just all around mayhem. A few of the guys in my group and I dressed up as the T-Birds from grease. Some of the girls dressed up as the pink ladies, it was a lot of fun. My hair especially looked good.

My parents have joined me here in Israel for a two week vacation. It is there first visit to Israel and I am super excited that they are here. I look forward to blogging about my adventures with them. Keep an eye out for that...Tomorrow, I am going to attempt to post a blog of just pictures so you can get an idea of what some of these places look like.

I hope you have enjoyed my brief summary of what my life has been like in the last few weeks. It seems as if the time here is flying. Its already March which means my time in Israel is already half over. Israel so far, to say the least, has been amazing. I am looking forward to all of the things that I have coming up in the next few weeks and can not wait to see what the rest of my semester brings. I just wish there was a way to slow down time. Here is a preview of some of the things that I have coming up....

-Parents are here; traveling to Jerusalem

-Trip to the Negev (central desert of Israel)

-Spring break in Greece

-5 day trip to Cairo

-The arrival of Dan and Lisa Levine! (Lyndsie's parents!, hope Arizona is treating you well! Are your swimming yet?)

-Weekend trip to Cyprus!

Besides all of this, there will of course be adventures in Tel Aviv. And I PROMISE I will blog more...

Apologies..

Hello everyone

So, the internet situation has gotten worse. When I do have internet I try and use it to do work or check facebook or emails. I plan on blogging as soon as I have a free moment with internet.

Just know that I am doing really well and am in both good health and good spirit.

Come back soon....

Dead sea scrolls, running, class, beach volleyball, and much more!

First off, sincere apologies for not blogging sooner. The last week was super super busy and what free time I had I was either sleeping or exploring Tel Aviv. On top of that, the place where I am living had a little problem with the internet and for the last few days I've been without a connection. In order to make up for my lack of post's I am going to try (and hopefully succeed) at re-caping the major events of this past week.

Dead sea scrolls: Last Friday, we had the opportunity to have a tour with Professor Larry Schiffman, who is an NYU Professor and the leading expert in the world on the Dead Sea Scrolls. For those of you who don't know what these are please google them. Any way, the trip/tour was two part. First, we went to the actual site where all of the Scrolls were found. This is in Qumron, which is near the dead sea. Its pretty incredible what they have done at this archaeological site. An entire village has been discovered and the surrounding hills create an incredible setting. The whole history of this place is too long to explain here but if any reader is interested to hear more, just contact me. The second part of the trip was to the Shrine of the Museum in Jerusalem where the scrolls are now kept. Outside the museum there is an awesome and I mean really awesome model of the old city of Jerusalem. Within the museum the scrolls are kept for viewing pleasure. An overall great day and something I suggest for any visitor to Israel.

Running: I have really been enjoying my running life here in Tel Aviv. Luckily enough, I had the opportunity to join up with a elite running group that meets Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Unfortunately, because of my schedule I can only run with them on Mondays. My first run with them was really, really great. This really nice guy named Aviv immediately took me under his wing and showed me the ropes. We ran a 15km fartlek workout and then did some form work. Aviv was then nice enough to run with me on Tuesday. We met up outside my dorm and he took me on a really sweet running tour of Tel Aviv. It was great to get to see parts of the city that I had never seen before. One thing that really struck me was when he took me by a a monument for people who were murdered at a cafe when a suicide bomber blew him self up. It was both shocking because it was erie to just run by a place where people had been murdered but also because my new running friend was so nonchalant about slipping it in to conversation. He basically just pointed it out and then moved on. I guess thats what Israeli life is like, you just become numb to certain things. I am looking forward to working out with Aviv and his group in the future as well as running a few races with them. I will keep everyone update on my training as well as running experiences.

Class: I have really been enjoying my classes here in Tel Aviv. All of my professors are extremely intelligent. I am specifically loving my Israeli-Palestinian conflict class. My professor is Hillel Cohen and let me tell you the man is a genius. The class consists of lecture and discussion. However, for the first time in my life I will admit that I actually enjoy the lecture more than the discussion. Professor Cohen knows absolutely everything there is to know about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and he is able to present it in such a clear and coherent manner. I am learning a plethora of information and the best part is that it is allowing me to formulate my own opinion on the current conflict that is going on every day here in Israel.

My other classes are enjoyable as well. Hebrew is a lot of fun and I am definitely making advances in the language. My teacher makes it a lot of fun too! Today we actually went to the supermarket and had to go "grocery shopping" in hebrew.

The other two classes, Politics and the Production of everydayness in Israel and my religion class are really interesting as well. In the everydayness class we are learning about lots of different aspects of Tel Aviv society. The professor brought in a famous poet from Israel and he read us his poetry and talked to us about Israeli society. Still one of my favorite days since I've been here.

Beach volleyball: Believe it or not, not everything here is academic! NYU was nice enough to buy us a volleyball and the group here has gone down to the courts on the beach a few times to play. Its really incredible to stand on the beach, look at the Mediterranean and simultaneously spike the ball in to a friends face. Ah, the simple pleasures in life.

Social Life: Social life here is pretty wonderful. The bar and club life is a lot of fun. It actually seems like people are always partying. Not me though. Im in my room studying most of the time. ;). The only thing that has bothered me, and the rest of my classmates, is this mysterious 25+ rule that some places have. Its a little annoying but there are still plenty of places to go have fun.

As you can see, things here in Tel Aviv are wonderful. I am having a great time exploring the city and have a lot of other wonderful things ahead. I am going to try to go back to my plan to blog every two days, as long as the internet cooperates. I hope all is well with everyone and please email or comment updates on your life! I would love to hear about things going on with everyone :).

Have a wonderful day! Shalom!

p.s. lyndsie this is your shout out.

Nightlife: Its the only life

My first weekend in Tel Aviv has come and gone. It was a wonderful weekend all around. The weekends in Israel start on Thursday night as most people work a Sunday to Thursday week with a Friday and Saturday weekend. For the most part, I kept it simple this weekend. Just went to a few different bars on Thursday, went to one of my friends apartments on Friday and stayed in Saturday and relaxed. During the day on saturday the group headed down to the beach for some R&R in the sun. Although it was a tad cold (when I say a tad cold I mean 60s) the day was still very enjoyable.

Today I am pretty much just doing some work. Yes, I do still do work here. Its not all fun and games in Tel Aviv. Tonight, I will head to "Mikes Place" which is the American sports bar that I mentioned earlier to watch the J-E-T-S beat the Colts. Depending on my mood I may stay for the vikings-saints game. However, I do have class tomorrow and football games don't start till very late hours here.

Running is still going well. I am looking to get in to a more serious routine this week and try and find out if there are some road races here that I can run. I will continue to update everyone on my running observations as the week goes by.

All in all, everything in Tel Aviv is wonderful. I am having a great time and so far love every aspect of my term abroad.

This week I am hoping to develop a normal routine of life and start to explore Israeli culture more. I am hoping to find a synagogue to go for Shabbat services next weekend as well as begin to immerse myself fully in Israeli society. I will let everyone know how that goes.

Anyway, I would really like to hear from everyone who reads this! Let me know how things are going. You can email me at ianschwartz15@gmail.com, facebook me, or even skype me (my skype name is schwartz.ian). Hope all is well!

Running Tel Aviv

After a week of fun (for the most part) its back to academic life. Classes here have started and I am slowly settling in to a "normal life". For those of you who are interested in what I am studying while in Israel here is a brief summary of my classes:

1. Politics and the production of everydayness: this course offers a unique opportunity to explore various aspects of the production of everydayness in Israel as it is manifested in different sites: the arts, the leisure industry and the spatio-temporal arrangements of daily routines and practices. In a nutshell, this course immerses us in Israeli culture through academic study.

2. Israeli-Palestinian Relations: Conflict and Negotiations: Pretty self explanatory...

3. Hebrew: We learn hebrew.

4. Religion, state and politics: Comparative Aspects: the purpose of this course is to examine the relation between religion and public life both in western and non wester societies. The professor is incredible and the course looks like it will be an incredible experience.

5. The final course that I am taking here is called the NYU Tel Aviv Core Course. This class meets one a week for two hours and we have lectures by prominent people in Israeli society, i.e. movie directors, authors, etc. This class also ties together all of our group trips that we will be taking to places like Jordan in an academic fashion. The final aspect of this course is a personal project. Each student must choose an interest that he or she has and relate it to something in Israel.

I am not really sure what my personal project will be but I think it may have something to do with this:

Last night I went out for my first run in Tel Aviv. The place where I am living is very conveniently located next to one of the biggest parks in Tel Aviv. In the park there is miles of well maintained running and biking surfaces, a very nice rock climbing wall, out door gym (these are placed all over Tel Aviv, they are sort of like parks but all the equipment is for working out, the only negative aspect is that that they dont have any weights on them, pretty much if you can lift your body weight youre out of luck, so for me (the muscular bro that I am) this is a problem), and lots of different playing fields and courts.

One thing that you will notice about Israel in general is that everyone truly loves to be outside. I guess when the weather is so nice day after day, who wouldn't want to be outside?

Anyway, I set out on my run last night with no specific course in mind. I decided that I just wanted to run where my feet took me. A few minutes in to the run I realized that running was going to be my best way to efficiently (and cheaply) get to know the city of Tel Aviv. I also realized that running would also allow me to get to know the people of the city better. Over the numerous years that I have been running I have realized that running alone allows you to observe a lot of different things. My fellow high school and college teammates would probably agree with this statement as we have all probably witnessed some of the most bizarre and astonishing things while out on a run. So, while I was in the first few minutes of my run, I decided that Israel should be no different. Here are just a few of the good and bad things I observed yesterday while on my run...

-Israeli kids will still laugh and yell at you for your short shorts. The only difference is I (right now) can not decipher what they are saying...I'm sure its probably the Israeli version of run forest run. Soon I will be able to respond in hebrew, just wait kids, just wait.

-Israeli runners still wear short shorts. However, the short short pride in Israel is not the same as the states. Usually, when one short short runner runs past another short short runner there is a certain acknowledgement. As if to say "I got your back short short wearing comrade". So far, here, this is not the case. I hope it changes.

-Everyone has a dog and all of them are really cute. The only problem is that people dont like to use leashes. Naturally, running past a random dog off a leash is nerve racking, but I think ill get use to it.

-Finally, (for this post at least) running in tel aviv feels very safe. In a city where all the drivers are nuts its nice that all the running routes are safely guarded from the roads. I find it really interesting that the Tel Aviv park and city planners care more about bicyclist, runners and walkers than the New York State department of transportation does.(some of you will understand what I am trying to get at here)

After my run, I started to think about how I can incorporate this in to my personal project. I guess I will have to figure that out...

Anyway, for some less serious stuff. The beer here is good. I've found a new love for Tuborg and Israeli Goldstar beer. It sure beats natty ice and keystone. The night life is pretty fun here. I am going to save that post for after I have my first weekend out here.

To conclude, I would like to know how everyone is enjoying the blog. I am sorta just writing about whatever, but if anyone would specifically like to here about something else please let me know. Email, IM or comment here! I miss all of you and hope that everyone is well.

I will write again soon....