Heading out

Passover is officially over here, as my diet last night so kindly confirmed.

Today, Emily and I (luggage in hand) are off to Netanyah for the afternoon.

And then very early tomorrow morning through Sunday: Prague.

Not too shabby

The final day of Passover is quickly approaching, but it's tough to feel as though I've really been missing out on anything food-wise.

After all, food over the last few days (in addition to the tremendous amounts consumed in Bet Shemesh) has included: actually okay-ish pizza, practically real pasta, barbecue-flavored chicken wings, ice cream, and lafa-less shawarma. Take-home lesson: Israel's a pretty good place for this holiday.

Also, Emily Enyaj Diamond is here and has insisted I mention such (with a link).

Day two

Day one of Passover with family in Bet Shemesh? Great.
Day two of Passover not being yom tov? Priceless.

Now I'm back in Jerusalem (with a Haifa guest) and proudly celebrating chol hamoed.

Seder, not seders

I arrived in a very warm Bet Shemesh last night, where I'll be spending the first day of Passover with the cousins and Bubbie. (It'll be a bit strange to attend a seder away from Dix Hills and without the usual suspects, and I'd best be given some obnoxious acknowledgment in my absence.)

"Sea to Sea" was actually a lot of fun. A certain person (9th on the list) may have become very attached to a certain egg (the kind from the supermarket). And Shabbat in Tzfat was quite beautiful (and, like its chocolate cake, delicious).

Chag kasher v'sameach! Have a delightful Passover!

Architectural alliteration

This past Sunday was an unfortunate one in that a good chunk of it was spent working on a take-home midterm for my architecture class. Fortunately, I managed to work the following into one of the essays: "By comparing and contrasting the contemporary and considerably consequential constructions crucially connected to Christianity..."

It's a most serious and academic course.

Also, Passover is apparently happening soon, so it's probably time to clean the apartment to a status of kosher for Passover (and possibly locate and deal with the source of the smell under the sink). 

Finally, Israel greatly looks forward to tomorrow's arrival of the Buechler matriarch! Yes, that's a real link.

A latke, warm and sweet

A much needed haircut was carried out today by an Israeli man named Moti. (Moti came highly recommended by a certain sibling.) Consequently, everything is once again under control on the top of my head.

Also,  I received the itinerary for next weekend's Office of Student Activities trip.

I was under the apparently mistaken impression that the trip titled "Sea to Sea" would entail a physically strenuous and emotionally challenging hike from the Sea of Galilee (a.k.a. the Kinneret) to the Mediterranean Sea or vice versa. In actuality, my "Sea to Sea" adventure will involve some day-hikes, Shabbat in Tzfat and a barbecue by the Sea of Galilee, which is, in fact, a lake.

Juliano Mer-Khamis

Earlier today, a masked Palestinian militant shot and killed Juliano Mer-Khamis in the Jenin refugee camp. The militant had been waiting for the actor/director/producer/activist outside the Freedom Theater that he had co-founded in Jenin back in 2006.

Several weeks ago, Juliano stopped by Search For Common Ground's Jerusalem office during one of the afternoon's that I was there. He described his current theatrical work with Palestinians in Jenin, and then we discussed the possibilities of our collaborating on current projects.

Although we only met with Juliano for a few minutes, it was evident that he was a very generous, humorous and personable individual---and one whose life's work will be sorely missed.

Thanksgiving

Due to an Internet failure in the Search for Common Ground's Jerusalem office, I had a little more time flexibility in my Thursday afternoon. And thanks to a wise suggestion on behalf of the rest of Brandeis' delegation to the Rothberg International School, Rose and I ended up spending part of the afternoon on a Tel Aviv beach, where we met all kinds of wonderfully polite and pleasantly articulate individuals.

Also, since yesterday was March 31, the lovely inhabitants of apartment 691 hosted a dairy Thanksgiving meal, complete with macaroni and cheese, stuffing, pumpkin deliciousness and a wholly worthwhile and redeeming discussion of spices starting with the letter "C."

Finally Hebrew word of the week (for certain present-day Princeton gentlemen and 19th century Austrian composers): Agevet.