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I just arrived back in Los Angeles this morning. I'm a little delirious after my 14 hour direct flight, which left Israel at 1:00 a.m. and arrived at 7:00 a.m. local time. I'm sitting here in my room, which is hardly recognizable to me at this point, reminiscing about the past 5 months. I remember the feeling that I got when I arrived in Israel, it was a feeling of anxiety and uncertainty. That feeling went away about an hour after I met my roommates. I didn't know what to expect from my 5 month adventure in Israel at that point. Would I become an Orthodox Jew (yeah right), would I meet beautiful Israeli girls (yes please!), would I figure out what I want to do with my life, or what I dislike living there altogether. The point is that I was thinking way too much about what I was supposed to feel and all the possible outcomes. However, as I settled in I realized that I had to stop trying to analyze every situation. Israeli's have a saying which goes something like this "hakol beseder" (everything's ok). They have a tendency to say this no matter what the situation. I'd like to think that I've taken a little bit of that attitude back with me.

Some of the things I mentioned above did come true, most importantly meeting beautiful Israeli girls. If you have ever been to Israel then you this isn't difficult because they are as plentiful as stray cats that litter the streets of Israel. One thing that happened which I didn't intend nor will I ever be able to explain to others is the relationships I developed with some people in my program. You guys know who you are! I'm a cynical bastard and I don't believe in destiny or fate, but it trips me out thinking about how well we got along with one another and how much I'm going to miss everyone.

As for figuring what I want to do with my life, that has yet to be determined. However, I have come to the conclusion that I love traveling and would like to set off on another adventure in the near future. I can come up with a million reasons why I shouldn't, but I learned that sometimes you need to follow your heart instead of your mind. This is a modus operandi which is quite foreign to me. Did I use the phrase modus operandi correctly? I think it's the first time I've  ever used it in a sentence. Like I said I'm following my heart and not my mind so fuck off. Anyways, I think the gurvblog is officially done, or at least until I figure out my next destination. I can't wait to see all my friends and family at home and I want say Toda Raba ( thank you very much) and L'Chaim ( to life) to all my Har Mezada family. A few pics from my last days in Israel......

one eye open means it was a good night

Me, Elana, Rolan- tequila shots followed by tequila tears

Group 50 Ashdod Volunteers on our last hike- L'Chaim!

Eilat

For our last weekend in Israel we were taken to Eilat. Eilat is a beach resort on the Red Sea. The weekend was filled with a couple amazing hikes as well as some lounging by the pool and beach. On our last night we went on a booze cruise filled with 200 other people on similar programs around Israel. It was obviously a final attempt at getting us young Jews to fall in love with one another and stay in Israel. Don't worry everyone, I'm still "planning" on getting on the plane this thursday. All joking aside it was an awesome weekend. Here's some pics......

some of my fellow volunteers on the booze cruise

we've got some good height on the left but the people on the right blew it

Kibbutz Sde Boker / Ben Gurion's Grave

Amazing hike in Eilat on our last day. From this view we could see Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt.

Caesarea/Haifa

This past thursday we took our final day trip. We went to Caesarea, Zichron Yaakov, and Haifa.

 Caesarea:
- named after Augustus Caesar It was founded by King Herod in the 1st century B.C.E. and flourished as a port city under Roman rule.
- It is one of the oldest cities still in existence in Israel.
- Caesarea had palaces, an ampitheatre, a hippodrome, and aqueducts.
- After Roman rule the city was conquered by Arabs, Crusaders, the British and many others.


Zichron Yaakov- On the surface Zichron Yaakov looks like most other small coastal cities. It has many cafes, boutiques, and picturesque streets. However, it plays a much larger role in Israeli society than one would imagine. Zichron Yaakov became famous during World War 1 for the establishment of the Nili spy ring. During this period modern-day Israel was controlled by the Ottoman Turks. One of the families of Zichron Yaakov, the Aharonson's, volunteered to spy on the Ottoman's for the British. One of the methods they used were carrier pigeons. They attached coded letters to the pigeons, which gave the British valuable information on Ottoman positions. The Ottomans intercepted one of these pigeons and traced it back to the Aharonson residence. They tortured Sarah Aharonson, one of the main spies, for three days but she wouldn't give up any information. They decided to then take her to their headquarters for further interrogation.  She asked if she could take a shower before they went and they permitted. She proceeded to the bathroom and shot herself once in the head with a pistol which was hidden in the bathroom. She died there in the Aharonson residence. This is a popular story in Israel because it shows the personal sacrifices that young Jewish people made which eventually made it possible to establish Israel.

- a small coastal city founded founded in 1882 by European Jewish immigrants
- land was bought from the Bedouins
- was one of the first Jewish agricultural colonies


Haifa- Haifa is one of the more diverse cities in Israel in terms of it's mixed Arab and Jewish population. Apart from being a main seaport city it is also plays a central role in the Bahai religion. It is home to the Bahai gardens and Bahai shrine. I could go on forever talking about Haifa and also the Bahai faith because I learned so much from our guide but I'm just to lazy for that right now. Enjoy some pics.

Caesarea urinal

Me and my roommate Sarah

Hippodrome in Caesarea (place where chariot races and gladiator games were held)

Zichron Yaakov

Aharonson residence

Roommates plus 1: Me, Uri, Goose, Margaux, Rolan, Dan

Bahai Gardens in Haifa

Haifa 

Everyone passed out on the bus back to Ashdod

I've been hearing that I don't update the gurvblog as much as some would like. Therefore, I have decided to put forth a little more effort into this blog. After living here for a substantial amount of time there's no doubt that I've settled into a routine and that Ashdod has started to feel like home. For this reason I haven't been thinking about my real home lately, resulting in the lack of posts. It's weird because this is something that I never imagined would happen. This past week the old group on my program left and 20 new people came. All of a sudden it hit me that we only have one month left here and that this adventure will sadly be coming to an end very soon. I've been thinking about all the things that I still want to do here before I leave. I guess you could call it an Israeli bucket list. This last month should be really eventful and I'll be posting more frequently, not only about trips but also some randomness. Stay tuned. Peace and love from the holy land. Shalom.

Rome

This past week we were given some freedom to do whatever we pleased. Some people took the opportunity to travel around Israel or go back home for the week. I chose to go to Rome. As some of you may know my family emigrated from Russia, and through a series of events ended up in Rome for a short while. The people that I stayed with were those that helped my family out and continue to be very close friends of my grandparents until this day. So, I have to give props (I know they won't know what that means) to my Dedulya Yasha and Babulya Ella for always keeping everyone connected and allowing me this opportunity. On top of having me over for dinner almost every night, they also gave me my own apartment. Their daughter, Sasha is often out of town on business so she was kind enough to let me stay at her place for the week.

 The week I spent in Rome was so much different from my life here in Israel in many ways. In Israel I am constantly surrounded by other people whether it's at my school, in the apartment, or always going out together. I have become super close with everyone in my apartment, but it was cool doing my own thing in a new city I had never been to. During the day I spent most of my time wandering around alone exploring the city. I had no set schedule and I was able to cover a large portion of the city mostly on foot.  Often times I would just take some random streets to get to my destination and discover new things on the way. At night I would usually go over to Irina and Tony's (family friends) apartment for dinner and futbol. Throughout the week I ate a lot of pizza and gelato. Whatever I had been missing by keeping kosher in Israel I made up for with all the pork and cheese consumption that week. The food was ridiculously good. I also caught up with my roommates Margaux and Sarah on two of the nights. One of those nights was a successful and the other not so much. SARAH had the bright idea of signing up for a bar crawl, although I won't hold her accountable for the nights events. Wait,  I just did. I just want to say first that I love America and many people in America, but goddamn there were some stupid fucking Americans on this bar crawl. It was like they airlifted the most retarded 20 somethings from the states and dropped them off in Rome to kill all potential possibility of us having a good time. Furthermore, the term bar crawl would indicate that the bars are in close proximity to one another, so close in fact that if you were drunk enough you could crawl from one to the other. This was not the case. They were spread out all over Rome. By the end of the night we just wanted to get the hell out and I jumped on the first bus I saw, not knowing where it was headed. Marguax and Sarah foolishly trusted me and we ended up in the middle of some cornfields on the outskirts of Rome. It would have been a good scenario for a Roman-style slasher film. Anyways, eventually the right bus came and I navigated our way back to Rome while they slept on the bus. It was a small price to pay for a week in Rome.

 Rome is probably the most beautiful city that I have ever been to. The churches are are not only beautifully designed, but just so unbelievably massive. It's really hard to wrap my mind around all the work that went into creating them. You can't be inside one and not be in awe. My favorite places were definitely the ancient Roman sites, such as the Forum and the Coliseum. Even a simple side street can become something interesting. There is literally something to see at every turn. Even a month in Rome might not be enough to see everything, but I'll take a week over nothing. Hope I make it back there again someday.

Piazza del Popolo-a beautiful square which leads to Via Del Corso, a popular street for shopping. In the past it was used for public executions 

Italian zombies

Piazza di Spagna

Roman Forum

 Signifying the Roman conquest of Jerusalem. Who steals a menorah? Not cool.

inside the Coliseum

salty pork products- delicious

Anubis

JP2 with a koala- part of an exhibit in the Vatican about the culture of the Aboriginals.
"Your culture, which shows the lasting genius and dignity of your race, must not be allowed to disappear."

cool graffiti

not so cool graffiti

morning ritual. pizza at the local bakery. 

inside the Vatican

going nuts after Roma scored a goal on Lazio

Apparently this is how Italians pose for pictures. Italian folk- Luda, Me, Giorgio

pizza and wine- "Make perfect pair. Go together like lamb and tunafish."

view from inside the cupola of St. Peter's Basilica

Giorgio and I

St. Peter's Square

more Italian folk- Irina, Tony, Alla

Sarah and I

Margaux and I

on the train leaving Rome

IDF

Last week we were given some vacation time for Hannukah. We were offered the chance to participate in an army volunteering program or stay here in Ashdod. Most of us chose to participate in the army volunteering, without much knowledge of what we would be doing. (Just a little background for everyone. Military service is mandatory for men and women in Israel. Women serve a minimum of 2 years and men serve a minimum of 3 years.) We all met at the bus stop at 7 in the morning and were split into two groups. My group went north to a base called Hativa on the Lebanese border. Once we got there they gave us uniforms and sleeping bags and told us a little bit about what we would be doing. For those five days we were soldiers. We had to be up at 7, eating breakfast in uniform by 7:30, and on the bus by 8 which shipped us to an outpost on the border. At the border we carried sandbags for hours re-fortifying one of the many Israeli outposts. The bus took us back for lunch at the base and then drove us back to the outpost for some more heavy lifting. At night we had dinner with rest of the soldiers and afterwards we were free to do what we wanted. For me that meant playing soccer with some of the soldiers and many games of durak (a popular card game). On the last day we were given military clearance to go to the location of the event which triggered the 2006 Lebanon war. At that moment I was standing at the exact spot where two IDF soldiers were killed by Hezbollah forces and dragged back into Lebanon. This event led to the Israeli invasion of Lebanon and was the beginning of the controversial 2nd Lebanon War. The commander was able to explain the kidnapping in great depth because his brother was part of the first special forces unit sent in to rescue the soldiers. The whole experience of volunteering at the base was one of the most fulfilling I've had thus far in Israel. There were many things that I wasn't allowed to take pictures of and that they asked us not to post online, so I'll take this as my opportunity to show off my de-classified modeling pics.

recreation room

luxurious accommodations

Hativa base

killing time

outpost

I can pretend

 On the other side of the fence is the UN buffer zone and beyond it is Lebanon.

Here's Ronald!