X-Mass, New Year’s, and More

In the days between my trip and New Year’s I was in Maastricht, Bruxelles, Antwerp, Bruges, Gilo, Efrat, Ramallah, Bethlehem, and Jerusalem. It’s been crazy, but a lot of fun!

Christmas:

• After a very powerful and draining class trip through Jerusalem, some settlements, and the West Bank, I set out on another adventure…
  
  
• I went with my friend Adli (as well as Bengo and Masha) to his home in Ramallah. His family was very nice, extremely hospitable, and a pleasure to meet. Thanks for having us and serving a delicious meal!
  
• Then, the four of us ventured to Bethlehem for X-Mass Eve. It was very crowded, but it definitely was not your typical American movie Christmas scene. There were no carols, snow, or Santas. But, Manger Square, the area in front of the Church of the Nativity, was filled with visitors, most of whom I do not think were Christian.
  
  
• Bethlehem was very well organized in terms of crowd control and traffic. I was very impressed by the number of Palestinian Security Forces around. There was literally an officer, in full (S.W.A.T.) gear every few meters.
  
  
• I eventually met up with Mike Schwartz and Jeremy Seltzer. We walked back to the border crossing along the wall and ended up leading a “parade” of people who were also looking for the exit. Thanks, Mike, for your accommodations that night.
  
  
• I then spent a spectacular Shabbat with Josh Ackerman, his apartment, and many visiting friends in Jtown. (I think I’m beginning to appreciate Jerusalem again!) Josh, thank you for your hospitality.
  
  
• And, to conclude my two week journey, while I was loading my bag below the bus to return to Ketura, the driver nearly killed me by closing the door on me…then, he blamed me. Welcome back to Israel!

New Year’s Eve:

• There’s no better way to spend this evening than going on a six-hour hike under the full moon with a partial eclipse. And, that we did, thanks to Rabbi Michael and Alison.
  
  
• The New Year was actually brought in at the pub…and then I went to sleep.
  
  
• I owe a double thanks to Evyatar for picking me up at the airport at 12:30 A.M. and coming to visit last Shabbat. As always, we had a great time!

Finally, I am happy to announce that, THANKS TO YOU, AdventureAdi has been very successful since its launch in August ’09. Here are some stats:

• 3,000 Pageviews
• Nearly 2,000 Unique Views
• Over 500 Visitors

I don’t know who’s reading this stuff, but keep up the good work! Toda Raba!

~Adi

Befuddlements

• Isn’t it strange that Israel is one of the only countries to call New Year’s Eve by the name of a very anti-Semetic Pope: Sylvester?!
  
  

• I don’t know if it is global warming, but I REALLY love wearing shorts and a t-shirt on a daily basis in JANUARY!
  
  

Shoutout # 1: REMEMEBR…time has not run out…you can still get a shoutout if you join as a follower or comment on the AdventureAdi…

Shoutout # 2: Gabey Baby Seed, thanks for coming down to visit today/yesterday. I had a great time!

P.S. Nice review, if you're interested: Top green stories of the ‘00s

AYS