I just wanted to give my readers (hello...you are out there, right?) a little heads-up about what's "coming soon" on rachlovestheweb. First up, I'm definitely going to continue my exciting journey of discovery about what popular culture can teach us about the way schooling and education is now, how it could/should be, and might be in the future. I even have in mind which stories from popular fiction I want to explore next. First up, I'm going to look at the FOX television series House, M.D, a series I have been dedicatedly following for 5 seasons. I'm going to look at House (the character) as a teacher, and contrast his teaching approaches and characteristics as a teacher to some ideas in the literature about teaching and learning for the 21st century.
This might take me a little while to do, because I need to do a bit more research on two fronts. First, I need to go back and watch a few key episodes from earlier seasons. Second, I'm going to attempt to engage input into my analysis with the input of other House fans - who I'll access both from my personal family and friend networks (people I know), and from online fan discussion forums (people I don't know). As a prelude to the latter research strategy, I've been "lurking" on a fansite for the past couple of weeks, and I'm almost ready to step out from the shadows...
After the House research, I'm going to try to look at some stories from popular fiction that give us the ability to speculate about what education/schooling might be like in the future. I think this is probably going to steer me into the world of science fiction, and I've got one book in mind, Neal Stephenson's cyberpunk novel The Diamond Age. I'd love to get suggestions about any other examples you can think of which give interesting representations of education and schooling of the future - so if you've got suggestions, send them my way!
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
O! She doth teach the torches to burn bright!*
So in my last blog posting I said I was going to pick three fictional stories from books, television, or film, and deconstruct these to examine some ideas about:
- how they represent how schooling/education "is"
- what they say about how we think schooling/education "should be"
- and (if I can find some good examples) what kinds of possible futures they can help us to imagine for schooling, learning, and education.
I've chosen my first television show/character to discuss: Loretta West from the utterly brilliant New Zealand TV series Outrageous Fortune. The show is a refreshingly original comedy/drama that is unashamedly grounded in kiwi (or perhaps more accurately, the mythological "Westie" - West Auckland) culture, language, and humour. However, my small-scale experiments - these involved showing episodes to a Canadian friend and a Finnish houseguest - strongly suggest the show may have equally addiction-forming international appeal.
When Outrageous Fortune begins (season 1 started in 2005), Loretta is 15 years old and a student at Shadbolt High. The youngest child of Cheryl and Wolfgang West, Loretta has grown up in a family that makes a living on the wrong side of the law - through burglaries, break-ins, car conversions, robberies, and otherwise dodgy deals orchestrated by her father, usually aided and abetted by at least one of her older twin brothers. However, at the beginning of season 1, all this starts to change when Wolf is sentenced to prison for his last "job", and Cheryl decides to turn the family around and go straight. Cheryl doesn't receive rousing support or enthusiasm from her offspring (nor, for that matter from her safe-cracking father-in-law who's just moved in with the family). Yet she battles on, doing her best to carry the family through the "slings and arrows of outrageous fortune". Naturally, enormously entertaining complications ensue. (I hope I have convinced you to watch the show. Seriously. But if you haven't, be warned, this posting contains a few plot spoilers for seasons 1 and 2!).
Anyway, back to Loretta. What does she have to tell us about schooling, learning, and education?
During season 1 we learn that Loretta has been frequently truant from school. The reason for this is pretty clear: Loretta finds school boring, pointless, and an utter waste of time. What makes Loretta's attitude towards school interesting is that she is obviously extremely intelligent. She's a talented writer, she's articulate, can speak confidently and argue her opinions. She's no slacker; she has big goals for herself. Her single-minded goal at age 15 is to become a film-maker, and she's already working on a screenplay with her teenage friend and fellow video store employee, Kurt.
Yes, Loretta is highly intelligent. However, she is also rather devious (or, as her model-wannabe sister Pascalle puts it, "evil").
Loretta discovers the perfect way to avoid her mum finding out that she's not going to school: blackmail. Several years earlier Loretta's young and attractive female teacher entered into a thoroughly unprofessional and unethical affair with one of Loretta's older brothers, while he was still a student. Young Loretta took some incriminating photos, and now years later is using them to keep her teacher quiet on her truancy. However, through a series of plot twists and turns this plan eventually falls through and Loretta has no choice but to go back to school. (As an aside, by this time she has already blackmailed the video store owner into giving her the store - but that's another story).
In season 2, Loretta turns 16. This is both the legal school-leaving age in NZ, and the age at which each of her three elder siblings has left Shadbolt High. She is momentarily overjoyed - only to be foiled by her parents' insistence that she remain at school to develop her full potential. So Loretta does something to get herself expelled. But even this backfires, as her parents decide that she will have to attend a private Catholic Girls' school instead. Finally, in a stroke of genius, Loretta cuts a deal with a young homeless woman of a similar age and appearance. The homeless girl will attend the school as "Loretta West". In return, she receives a free education, a place to sleep, and payment. This frees the real Loretta to get on with her "real" life - managing her video business, and working towards her first film. As you can imagine, things don't work out exactly as she planned, but again, I can't give too much away....
In a truly digital-age convergence of television and the internet, you can read Loretta's view of school in own words, right here on Loretta's Blog. (N.B. I briefly debated about whether to put quotation marks around "Loretta" or "own words", but I decided you don't really need me to underscore the fact that it's a fictional blog written by a fictional character:)
So what can Loretta West of Outrageous Fortune tell us about how schooling is? I know that Loretta is a highly fictionalised character, and many elements of her life have been exaggerated for dramatic and comic effect. But I think there's something interesting simmering underneath this portrayal of a student's deep antipathy towards school. In representing secondary school, Outrageous Fortune has played on a stereotype or cliche not uncommon in television or filmic portrayals of school: The disaffected student, who finds teachers boring and uninspiring, doesn't do what she is told, and eventually goes on to become so disruptive that the school is happy to see the back of her. These kinds of students are rife in the film world - although usually they're often set up to be saved by a charismatic teacher who "won't give up on them" even when every other teacher has. Thus re-engaged, the delinquents become stars, show the world not to dismiss them while they're at it. Think Dangerous Minds, Sister Act 2, Take the Lead, etc. These cliches about students "work" partly because they are grounded in truth. Plenty of kids are disengaged by school by the time they reach secondary classrooms. Plenty of kids, like Loretta, have extremely complicated lifeworlds that sit at odds with the culture and practice of the secondary classroom. Plenty of them leave early, as soon as they are legally entitled to, with few or no qualifications. And not all of them are as resourceful and resilient as Loretta West. The question is, do we think this is just "part of life", "the way things are", "the way they are always going to be"? Or can we imagine something different?
*The title of this posting is a line from Romeo and Juliet. In case it's not obvious, this is an homage to the writers of Outrageous Fortune (the television series) who have borrowed both their show's title, and the titles of each episode, from William Shakepeare.
- how they represent how schooling/education "is"
- what they say about how we think schooling/education "should be"
- and (if I can find some good examples) what kinds of possible futures they can help us to imagine for schooling, learning, and education.
I've chosen my first television show/character to discuss: Loretta West from the utterly brilliant New Zealand TV series Outrageous Fortune. The show is a refreshingly original comedy/drama that is unashamedly grounded in kiwi (or perhaps more accurately, the mythological "Westie" - West Auckland) culture, language, and humour. However, my small-scale experiments - these involved showing episodes to a Canadian friend and a Finnish houseguest - strongly suggest the show may have equally addiction-forming international appeal.
When Outrageous Fortune begins (season 1 started in 2005), Loretta is 15 years old and a student at Shadbolt High. The youngest child of Cheryl and Wolfgang West, Loretta has grown up in a family that makes a living on the wrong side of the law - through burglaries, break-ins, car conversions, robberies, and otherwise dodgy deals orchestrated by her father, usually aided and abetted by at least one of her older twin brothers. However, at the beginning of season 1, all this starts to change when Wolf is sentenced to prison for his last "job", and Cheryl decides to turn the family around and go straight. Cheryl doesn't receive rousing support or enthusiasm from her offspring (nor, for that matter from her safe-cracking father-in-law who's just moved in with the family). Yet she battles on, doing her best to carry the family through the "slings and arrows of outrageous fortune". Naturally, enormously entertaining complications ensue. (I hope I have convinced you to watch the show. Seriously. But if you haven't, be warned, this posting contains a few plot spoilers for seasons 1 and 2!).
Anyway, back to Loretta. What does she have to tell us about schooling, learning, and education?
During season 1 we learn that Loretta has been frequently truant from school. The reason for this is pretty clear: Loretta finds school boring, pointless, and an utter waste of time. What makes Loretta's attitude towards school interesting is that she is obviously extremely intelligent. She's a talented writer, she's articulate, can speak confidently and argue her opinions. She's no slacker; she has big goals for herself. Her single-minded goal at age 15 is to become a film-maker, and she's already working on a screenplay with her teenage friend and fellow video store employee, Kurt.
Yes, Loretta is highly intelligent. However, she is also rather devious (or, as her model-wannabe sister Pascalle puts it, "evil").
Loretta discovers the perfect way to avoid her mum finding out that she's not going to school: blackmail. Several years earlier Loretta's young and attractive female teacher entered into a thoroughly unprofessional and unethical affair with one of Loretta's older brothers, while he was still a student. Young Loretta took some incriminating photos, and now years later is using them to keep her teacher quiet on her truancy. However, through a series of plot twists and turns this plan eventually falls through and Loretta has no choice but to go back to school. (As an aside, by this time she has already blackmailed the video store owner into giving her the store - but that's another story).
In season 2, Loretta turns 16. This is both the legal school-leaving age in NZ, and the age at which each of her three elder siblings has left Shadbolt High. She is momentarily overjoyed - only to be foiled by her parents' insistence that she remain at school to develop her full potential. So Loretta does something to get herself expelled. But even this backfires, as her parents decide that she will have to attend a private Catholic Girls' school instead. Finally, in a stroke of genius, Loretta cuts a deal with a young homeless woman of a similar age and appearance. The homeless girl will attend the school as "Loretta West". In return, she receives a free education, a place to sleep, and payment. This frees the real Loretta to get on with her "real" life - managing her video business, and working towards her first film. As you can imagine, things don't work out exactly as she planned, but again, I can't give too much away....
In a truly digital-age convergence of television and the internet, you can read Loretta's view of school in own words, right here on Loretta's Blog. (N.B. I briefly debated about whether to put quotation marks around "Loretta" or "own words", but I decided you don't really need me to underscore the fact that it's a fictional blog written by a fictional character:)
So what can Loretta West of Outrageous Fortune tell us about how schooling is? I know that Loretta is a highly fictionalised character, and many elements of her life have been exaggerated for dramatic and comic effect. But I think there's something interesting simmering underneath this portrayal of a student's deep antipathy towards school. In representing secondary school, Outrageous Fortune has played on a stereotype or cliche not uncommon in television or filmic portrayals of school: The disaffected student, who finds teachers boring and uninspiring, doesn't do what she is told, and eventually goes on to become so disruptive that the school is happy to see the back of her. These kinds of students are rife in the film world - although usually they're often set up to be saved by a charismatic teacher who "won't give up on them" even when every other teacher has. Thus re-engaged, the delinquents become stars, show the world not to dismiss them while they're at it. Think Dangerous Minds, Sister Act 2, Take the Lead, etc. These cliches about students "work" partly because they are grounded in truth. Plenty of kids are disengaged by school by the time they reach secondary classrooms. Plenty of kids, like Loretta, have extremely complicated lifeworlds that sit at odds with the culture and practice of the secondary classroom. Plenty of them leave early, as soon as they are legally entitled to, with few or no qualifications. And not all of them are as resourceful and resilient as Loretta West. The question is, do we think this is just "part of life", "the way things are", "the way they are always going to be"? Or can we imagine something different?
*The title of this posting is a line from Romeo and Juliet. In case it's not obvious, this is an homage to the writers of Outrageous Fortune (the television series) who have borrowed both their show's title, and the titles of each episode, from William Shakepeare.
Monday, November 17, 2008
Using popular media to "shift thinking" about education (Or: How i learned to stop worrying and love TV )*
"How is education supposed to make me feel smarter? Besides, every time I learn something new, it pushes some old stuff out of my brain. Remember when I took that home winemaking course, and I forgot how to drive?” (HOMER SIMPSON)
In this blog posting I want to blend together two things I love. Namely, (1) shifting thinking about education; and (2) watching television. If you think these two things are incompatible, I hope to change your mind. Let's begin with a true story, which starts with (1) and ends with (2):
True Story: Jen takes on the legal education system
My friend Jen teaches Public Health and Social Research Methods at university. In recent years she's become interested in exploring the spaces where public health, research, law, and ethics intersect - so last year she decided to go back to school complete a postgraduate degree in Law. Being herself an educator, Jen has sometimes felt compelled to challenge and critique the methods and style of teaching she experiences at Law School and was even moved to write an essay on the topic (which she kindly shared with me) entitled "It could have been different: Emphasising Student Empowerment (Voice, Agency, Needs) in Modern Legal Education". In this essay, she examines and critiques some of the messages that legal education is transmitting through some of its most traditional and entrenched teaching practices. These include: the use of strongly hierarchical learning environments, aggressive or intimidating pedagogies, and a culture which teaches students that legal opinions ought to be written to sound as if they were produced by some invisible, disembodied entity of pure rationality and detached from embodied experience. I won't go into detail here, but Jen believes (and argues rather convincingly in my opinion) that legal education needs to do some serious shifting-thinking about education in order to address and accomodate the many challenges, criticisms, that have been levelled at it by various students, scholars, theorists, and educators. (If you want to know more about this, ask Jen!)
You might be wondering how a law course would even allow a student to submit such an essay. Well, stay with me, because now we're heading towards the good bit - the television part:) The class for which this essay was allowed was jurisprudence, the study of the theory and philosophy of law. In addition to allowing students like Jen to write essays critiquing the very practice of legal education, the teacher of this class encourages students to watch and dissect representations of law and the legal profession in the popular media. We're talking about TV shows like Boston Legal, or Law and Order, films like Legally Blonde,The Firm, books like Bleak House and The Crucible, and even excerpts from bodice-ripping Mills & Boon novels! In the teacher's view, the exploration of these fictional texts is a potent way for students to develop a "big picture" view of the workings and ethics of law - for example, in the way that the narratives raise legal issues, problems with the legal system, bringing in context, consequence, and clients' perspectives. This "woods for the trees" approach sits in contrast with the tendency of law teaching in other courses to focus on minutiae and the micro-analysis of facts and wordings.
Suffice to say that Jen's story has been extraordinarily stimulating to my television-loving mind. It's got me wondering how I might be able to draw on some examples from popular media to frame up some ideas relating to "shifting thinking" about teaching and learning in the 21st century. So I've set myself a little assignment - one that I'm really looking forward to. I'm going to pick three fictional stories from books, television, or film, and deconstruct these to examine some ideas about schooling and education:
- how do they represent how schooling/education is?
- what do they say about how we think schooling/education "should be"?
- and (if I can find some good examples) what kinds of possible futures can fictional stories imagine for schooling, learning, and education?
You're welcome to join me in this assignment. It's easy, just switch on the TV (or open a book), and of course, switch on your mind. Let's get together again soon and compare notes, shall we?
* I borrowed this title from the film "Dr. Strangelove", but it's slightly misleading. I haven't stopped worrying, and I've always loved TV.
Sunday, January 06, 2008
Winter Travels Part 2
Here is part 2....London to New York! As usual, watch with sound up :)
Sorry if your internet connection is crappy - you'll have to wait for the Director's Cut DVD release I suppose....
Sorry if your internet connection is crappy - you'll have to wait for the Director's Cut DVD release I suppose....
Monday, December 17, 2007
WINTER TRAVELS PART 1
Fans of my previous iMovies India: Snapshots and Tel Aviv Summer (the latter can be viewed here) may be pleased to know that I am working on some new movies about my Winter Travels.
I started to create a movie that included everywhere I've been since leaving Israel in late October, but it was getting a bit long so I've decided to break it into parts. Part 1 covers Scotland to Bath/Wales, and Part 2 begins in London and ends...well actually it's not finished, so I don't know where it will end yet!!
So without further ado, may I present Winter Travels 2007, Part 1. (Please view with the sound turned up)
I started to create a movie that included everywhere I've been since leaving Israel in late October, but it was getting a bit long so I've decided to break it into parts. Part 1 covers Scotland to Bath/Wales, and Part 2 begins in London and ends...well actually it's not finished, so I don't know where it will end yet!!
So without further ado, may I present Winter Travels 2007, Part 1. (Please view with the sound turned up)
Sunday, December 16, 2007
New York, part 1
I've just returned (to Summit, NJ) from a weekend in Manhattan, staying with Aviva in the upper West Side. New York was fun! I went out to mingle with the locals on Fri and Saturday nights, I caught up with a few different friends in the two days - and I met one of my third cousins on my mum's side of the family. For the genealogically uninformed, your third cousin is someone who's great-grandparent is brother or sister to your great-grandparent. (As an aside, I believe that I am, in addition to being myself, also my OWN third cousin several times removed, but that is another story). I'll be here in Summit, enjoying the company of Sue, John, Xander, and Buffy until Tues when I am headed back into the city to take up temporary residence in Brooklyn thanks to the always helpful and hospitable Jeff, who just so happens to have an empty apartment there. THANKS JEFF!!
Saturday, December 01, 2007
And the Beddy goes to.... [drumroll please]
I'm now in New Jersey, having completed my UK/Ireland/Denmark travels. Sadly, due to a lack of prolonged Internet access in many of the last few places I visited, I've barely blogged about the last month of my trip. Happily, I'm now in the land of the free! Free wifi that is, since the neighbours seem to be community-spirited enough to want to share their wireless internet connections :) So hopefully I'll have a chance to make up for the backlog.
In the meantime, I feel it is in order to spend some time thanking the wonderful people who have enabled my worldwide wanderings by giving me a warm bed (or inflatable mattress) and a roof over my head, not to mention dinners, breakfasts, cups of tea, travel advice, personalised tours, pickups from airports and train stations, and so much more as I traipse across the northern hemisphere. Since September, I am grateful to have stayed in ten different friends' flats and houses in five different countries. To those who have hosted me: I love you and thank you all!
In your honour, I have created a virtual award which I call the "Beddy" (Like an Emmy or a Grammy). I'll start with the European and Middle East Beddy Awards*
Would the following people please step forward to receive their Beddy!
Best Bed - The Kennedy family (Limerick)
Best Inflatable Mattress - Sonja and Henry (Bath). Honourable mention: Andrea (Copenhagen)
Best Location - Alon (Tel Aviv)
Warmest Flat - Andrea (Copenhagen). Honourable Mention: Ben and G (London)
Best Shower - Ben and G (London). Honourable mention: The Abrams Family (Liverpool)
Best Television Evenings - Tracy and Caroline (Edinburgh)
Best Internet Connection - Adam (Bristol). Honourable Mention: Tracy and Caroline (Edinburgh)
Best Sandwich recommendation - Adam (Bristol, England)
Best Home-Cooked Dinners - Tracy and Caroline (Edinburgh) Honourable mentions: Adam (Bristol), Sonja (Bath)
Best Bonfire - The Abrams family, (Liverpool)
Best Wine A tie: Tracy and Caroline (Edinburgh), Sonja and Henry (Bath)
Best Cat Companionship - Neer and Orit,and the Black one and the White one (Haifa). Honourable Mention: Tracy, Caroline, and Nigella (Edinburgh)
AND FINALLY
Special Beddy Award for Personalised Tourguiding - Tracy (Edinburgh), Adam (Bristol), Ben (London), Aine (Limerick)
CONGRATULATIONS TO THE WINNERS!! You are welcome to post your acceptance speeches here....
*The North American Beddys will follow at a later stage
In the meantime, I feel it is in order to spend some time thanking the wonderful people who have enabled my worldwide wanderings by giving me a warm bed (or inflatable mattress) and a roof over my head, not to mention dinners, breakfasts, cups of tea, travel advice, personalised tours, pickups from airports and train stations, and so much more as I traipse across the northern hemisphere. Since September, I am grateful to have stayed in ten different friends' flats and houses in five different countries. To those who have hosted me: I love you and thank you all!
In your honour, I have created a virtual award which I call the "Beddy" (Like an Emmy or a Grammy). I'll start with the European and Middle East Beddy Awards*
Would the following people please step forward to receive their Beddy!
Best Bed - The Kennedy family (Limerick)
Best Inflatable Mattress - Sonja and Henry (Bath). Honourable mention: Andrea (Copenhagen)
Best Location - Alon (Tel Aviv)
Warmest Flat - Andrea (Copenhagen). Honourable Mention: Ben and G (London)
Best Shower - Ben and G (London). Honourable mention: The Abrams Family (Liverpool)
Best Television Evenings - Tracy and Caroline (Edinburgh)
Best Internet Connection - Adam (Bristol). Honourable Mention: Tracy and Caroline (Edinburgh)
Best Sandwich recommendation - Adam (Bristol, England)
Best Home-Cooked Dinners - Tracy and Caroline (Edinburgh) Honourable mentions: Adam (Bristol), Sonja (Bath)
Best Bonfire - The Abrams family, (Liverpool)
Best Wine A tie: Tracy and Caroline (Edinburgh), Sonja and Henry (Bath)
Best Cat Companionship - Neer and Orit,and the Black one and the White one (Haifa). Honourable Mention: Tracy, Caroline, and Nigella (Edinburgh)
AND FINALLY
Special Beddy Award for Personalised Tourguiding - Tracy (Edinburgh), Adam (Bristol), Ben (London), Aine (Limerick)
CONGRATULATIONS TO THE WINNERS!! You are welcome to post your acceptance speeches here....
*The North American Beddys will follow at a later stage
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Remembered scenes
I've been in London for the last few days, having great adventures my first time in this world-famous city. I've been doing lots of museums and markets and gigs and the theatre and all that good stuff - so much so that each day I finish quite tired and without the physical or creative energy to write a blog entry about it...so for now I will offer you my photo album on Facebook and save the London stories for another time. Meanwhile, I've been meaning to write about some of the images from everyday life in Israel that I don't have pictures of. Since I can't create an iMovie montage of these little scenes and vignettes, instead I'll have to describe them and if you like, you can make the montage in your head...
1) Dirty skinny street cats, hundreds and hundreds of them, everywhere, on every street and next to every dumpster in Israel. Their piteous state did not, of course, deter me from attempting to make friends with them, usually with little success.
2)People in cars winding down their windows at traffic lights to ask directions either from the driver in the car next to them, or a passing pedestrian. I'm sure this happens in other places, but certainly not in New Zealand - at least not with the absolute commonplace frequency that I'd see in Israel. I think in New Zealand, if we're lost, we make a solid effort to figure out where we are for ourselves, and then, only when this proves impossible, do we pull into a gas station to ask for help. In Israel, people obviously drive around with no idea how to get where they want to go, but have no qualms about this because they can just ask someone while they are driving. It's so obvious! Who needs GPS?
3) Old people and their Thai or Filipina caregivers. Since the first and second Palestinian intifadas, Israel has brought in thousands of foreign workers to do all the low-paid jobs and manual labour that no-one else wants to do. This includes the job of being caregivers for very elderly and disabled people. Many times I would be sitting on a bench in a park or a Tel Aviv boulevard and see one such elderly person sitting limply in a wheelchair, perhaps having suffered from a stroke or degenerative illness, with a young Asian carer by their side. Sometimes there would be a whole group of them, because the caregivers would organise to get together with one another perhaps to break up the loneliness of being a stranger in a strange land. It made me a little sad to think about these two different groups of people, the immobile elderly and the foreign caregivers, each a little isolated from the people around them because of the barriers of language and the ability of the average passerby to, well, pass them by without any interest or interaction. One could write a much longer social commentary on this....
4) Ugly wedding dresses. If you find yourself in one of the more beautiful spots of Israel - like Neve Tzedek, the Bahai Gardens in Haifa, the ports of Akko or Yafo for example - in the late afternoon when the light is golden, chances are you'll stumble across at least half a dozen brides and grooms with their wedding photographer. And chances are that at least 60 percent of those brides will be wearing something that takes your breath away...with its utter hideousness. We're talking layer upon later of ruffly frills (like the kind you see on those decorative toilet-roll dolls), wench-like corset bodices, sometimes made from an attractive see through mesh (because everyone wants to see the bride's midriff on her wedding day, do they not?). My personal favourite was a blood-red dress, complete with the ruffles and bodice, not to mention black lace trimming and a bride-of-frankenstein hairdo to go with it. Now before you accuse me of being overly judgemental and insensitive towards tastes different from my own, please note that I deliberately did not take pictures out of respect for the fact that these people, on the happiest day of their lives, of course thought themselves to look beautiful. And I'm willing to accept that one woman's sense of what is hideous can be another's sense of what is beautiful.
There are lots of other scenes and images of course, but those are a few I really wanted to remember.
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Wifi rage!
As my family and friends know, my fondness for the Internet is so great that people often accuse me of being an “addict”. I don’t know whether or not this is true, but I do acknowledge that I have certain behaviours and propensities that suggest how important it is to me to have clear and unfettered access to the Internet wherever I am. In the presence of a free wifi connection, I can happily sit for hours on my laptop, needing no other company or stimulation to pass the day. However, when I can’t find a connection, I can become quite agitated and impatient. I spend a great deal of time thinking about all the emails or chats that I’m missing out on, or frustrated that I can't look stuff up or book things online, and wondering when and how I can get my next “hit”. Usually I can manage a few days without it, if I absolutely HAVE to (say, when out in the desert, or at sea, or engaged in outdoorsy-type activities). But when I’m in civilization nothing frustrates me more than the inability to look stuff up or email people or do whatever it is I spend so much time doing WHENEVER I WANT TO. To me, that’s freedom. I honestly believe that free wifi access in public places is every person’s birthright. Thus, my greatest rage is reserved for the cafes, hotels, and airports who have the AUDACITY to provide wireless internet access that you have to PAY for! Wifi should be free!! Free, damnit!! I’m the one who’s killing my shoulders lugging my laptop around the place, all you have to provide is the access! How can you justify charging the highway robbery prices you charge? $30 for an hour?? I’ve already bought a damn coffee at your café, give me my free wifi, you monsters!!
Wednesday, November 07, 2007
Bite-sized chunks of kulcha
Yesterday I had a fun day of wandering aimlessly and, at times, purposefully around the port city of Liverpool. 
Before coming here I really didn't know anything about the city, apart from it being the home of the Beatles of course (See me here with my mate John?). However, I didn't do the Beatles Magical Mystery Tour, or the Beatles Museum, since I was on my own for the day and both of those seem like they'd be more fun to do with a friend. Instead, I apportioned my day into small chunks of culture. I did a one-hour bus tour of the city highlights, hit a couple of museums, and then wandered around town admiring the beautiful architecture and taking in the city's vibe. Did you know that Liverpool with be Europe's "Culture Capital" in 2008?
One of my bite-sized chunks included a visit to the Tate Liverpool which this year is hosting the famous/infamous - Turner Prize, "a contemporary art award that always provokes debate and is widely recognised as one of the most important and prestigious awards for the visual arts in Europe". Luckily this year there are no dismembered cows or pickled sharks or condomed Virgin Marys or whatever it is that typically upsets people. My favourite of the four entries was this guy who dressed up in a Bear suit every night for 10 nights in a row, and filmed himself wandering around alone in the empty lobby of the Berlin Museum. A commentary on the cold war, amongst other things. Guy in a Bear suit. Artistic genius!
Before coming here I really didn't know anything about the city, apart from it being the home of the Beatles of course (See me here with my mate John?). However, I didn't do the Beatles Magical Mystery Tour, or the Beatles Museum, since I was on my own for the day and both of those seem like they'd be more fun to do with a friend. Instead, I apportioned my day into small chunks of culture. I did a one-hour bus tour of the city highlights, hit a couple of museums, and then wandered around town admiring the beautiful architecture and taking in the city's vibe. Did you know that Liverpool with be Europe's "Culture Capital" in 2008?
One of my bite-sized chunks included a visit to the Tate Liverpool which this year is hosting the famous/infamous - Turner Prize, "a contemporary art award that always provokes debate and is widely recognised as one of the most important and prestigious awards for the visual arts in Europe". Luckily this year there are no dismembered cows or pickled sharks or condomed Virgin Marys or whatever it is that typically upsets people. My favourite of the four entries was this guy who dressed up in a Bear suit every night for 10 nights in a row, and filmed himself wandering around alone in the empty lobby of the Berlin Museum. A commentary on the cold war, amongst other things. Guy in a Bear suit. Artistic genius!
Friday, November 02, 2007
Beware, the Jumper-Ooters!!
I've been getting a good taste of Scottish history in the last few days, with visits to the Scottish landmarks St Andrews, Stirling Castle, and the William Wallace Monument. But thus far the highlight would have to be last night's Witchery Tour, a night-time tour of the more ghastly and ghoulish bits of Edinburghian history. The tourguide is himself one of the unfortunate victims of the city's once merciless justice system; an executed highwayman who goes by the catchy moniker of Adam Lyal(deceased). Every night, Adam leads a group of thrillseekers around on a walking tour on which he tells stories about life in the burgh in the 17th century and later. Witch torture, hangings, as well as stories of the fetid and disgusting conditions of life in a city of 40,000 people without a sanitation system. As we wended our way through narrow "closes" (alleyways running between buildings), stairwells, and backstreets, we were startled by "jumper-ooters" - costumed spooks and ghouls who would burst out unexpectedly from dumpsters at appropriate moments in the stories. It was all in good fun - the costumes were so cheesy that there was no chance of real terror - but the old startle reflex kicked in a few times!
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
My 15 minutes
The day before I left Israel, I was interviewed for a NZ TV Music-documentary series that's going to screen on C4 or maybe TV3 in April 2008. It's going by the working title of "Musique Voyage" (I think), but the guys who I met said they might change the name.
In the series, Nick D and his camera crew (James) travel to exotic countries like China, India, Israel, check out the local music scene there, get local bands to do covers of classic NZ songs, and do little spots with kiwis living or visiting in those countries. In the case of Israel - me!
We did the interview in front of the fountain in Kikar Dizengoff. Nick asked different kind of smalltalk questions about Tel Aviv and what it's like to live there, which I tried to answer intelligently and not seem like too much of a dork. I wore my New Zealand earrings, a gift from Robyn, especially for the occasion! So New Zealand readers, look out for me on NZ TV in April. And international readers, if you want to see me onscreen I guess you'll just have to content yourself with my own home-made productions :)
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Sinai
I am writing this posting while sitting in Tracy's living room in Edinburgh, having arrived in Scotland this afternoon for my first-ever visit to the UK. There's lots of fun and exciting travels ahead for me in the next month, but for now it's time for a bit of wistful reflection on my last few weeks in Israel.
In previous posting I talked a little bit about my semi-retired-bum lifestyle living in Tel Aviv, and of course you'll have seen my little iMovie showcasing some of my favourite minutes of the summer. My happy period of residence on the mattress on Alon's living room floor came to an end on Oct 15, when my friend Brenna arrived from the USA to do a little touring and visiting with me before I left the country. Brenna arrived at what Laura refers to as "the ass-crack of dawn", and after a few hours' rest we flew down to Eilat (the city on the southern tip of Israel, on the Red Sea coast) to begin our desert adventure. We were lucky to make our flight; the pre-check-in security people, having virtually waved me through after a few token questions (and a gushing exposition by my questioner about how much she loved her recent trip to New Zealand), decided that OF COURSE Brenna was suspicious and spent at least half an hour asking her a million questions, making her unpack her bags and inefficiently swabbing down everything in there two or three times to test for explosives. Once it was painfully evident that she wasn't a security risk, they spent another ten or so minutes asking more redundant questions and casually swabbing everything over again, before finally letting us through to run to our plane in the nick of time.
After a night in Eilat, we crossed the border into the Sinai peninsula and headed down to Dahab. The Lonely Planet's description of this town as "like the Koh Samui of Egypt" was spot on. Dahab is the independent traveller's relaxation paradise, and is known for its excellent diving and snorkelling sites, not to mention Nargila and milkshakes. In three days we packed in three dives and a dawn hike up Mount Sinai. This would have to be one of the most memorable multisensory experiences of the last six months. Here's how it goes: You take a minibus from Dahab at 11pm, speed through the dark desert night with a leadfooted Egyptian driver who does his seatbelt up every time you pass through a checkpoint and undoes it the moment the minibus has passed through. Finally after two hours, you arrive (at 1 am) in a dark carpark full of vans and coaches, where you are meet by young Bedouin man who says, gruffly, "my name Moses. Go this way". Switching on a flashlight, you follow him as he sets a brisk pace walking up the mountain path. Out in the desert, with no light pollution, the stars are incredible. In the darkness you can just make out the profile of the mountains around you, and you get a feeling that they are going to be incredible when you see them by daylight. As you make your way uphill through the darkness, camels suddenly appear, sitting patiently by the side of the path. Bedouin men ask "Camel? You want camel?". Nay, no camel for us! We hardened hikers scoff at the thought. But after passing dozens and dozens of camels, climbing ever upwards, you start to wonder, just how high is this mountain? And are we doing these camels out of a job? "You want camel? Good camel!" says another Bedouin. You start to feel a little bad for the camels. They probably are good camels. But, you came here to hike up the mountain, and hike it you will. After half an hour, you look back down and take in the the incredible sight of hundreds of flashlights snaking their way up the mountain, showing you how high you have already walked. How many people are climbing this mountain tonight? (You start to wonder). It looks like hundreds, is that possible? After about two hours, sweating, still in darkness, you reach the end of the "slope" part of the climb and begin the final ascent up the stairs to the top of the mountain. Hot and sweaty, step after step, huffing and puffing, you finally, finally reach the almost-top where a series of Bedouin huts await your arrival. "Come come, coffee tea chocolate chai! Blankets! Come inside, warm inside!". After warming yourself with a cup of tea, you climb the last few steps up to the top of the mountain and find a "spot" to wait for the sunrise.....
With the sun finally up, it's clear that the mountains really are as spectacular as they promised to be in the dark of the night...
And the parade of humanity starts to pur back down the mountain, this time taking the thigh-killing "other stairs" down to the famous Saint Katherine Monastery nestled at the base of the mountain...
In previous posting I talked a little bit about my semi-retired-bum lifestyle living in Tel Aviv, and of course you'll have seen my little iMovie showcasing some of my favourite minutes of the summer. My happy period of residence on the mattress on Alon's living room floor came to an end on Oct 15, when my friend Brenna arrived from the USA to do a little touring and visiting with me before I left the country. Brenna arrived at what Laura refers to as "the ass-crack of dawn", and after a few hours' rest we flew down to Eilat (the city on the southern tip of Israel, on the Red Sea coast) to begin our desert adventure. We were lucky to make our flight; the pre-check-in security people, having virtually waved me through after a few token questions (and a gushing exposition by my questioner about how much she loved her recent trip to New Zealand), decided that OF COURSE Brenna was suspicious and spent at least half an hour asking her a million questions, making her unpack her bags and inefficiently swabbing down everything in there two or three times to test for explosives. Once it was painfully evident that she wasn't a security risk, they spent another ten or so minutes asking more redundant questions and casually swabbing everything over again, before finally letting us through to run to our plane in the nick of time.
After a night in Eilat, we crossed the border into the Sinai peninsula and headed down to Dahab. The Lonely Planet's description of this town as "like the Koh Samui of Egypt" was spot on. Dahab is the independent traveller's relaxation paradise, and is known for its excellent diving and snorkelling sites, not to mention Nargila and milkshakes. In three days we packed in three dives and a dawn hike up Mount Sinai. This would have to be one of the most memorable multisensory experiences of the last six months. Here's how it goes: You take a minibus from Dahab at 11pm, speed through the dark desert night with a leadfooted Egyptian driver who does his seatbelt up every time you pass through a checkpoint and undoes it the moment the minibus has passed through. Finally after two hours, you arrive (at 1 am) in a dark carpark full of vans and coaches, where you are meet by young Bedouin man who says, gruffly, "my name Moses. Go this way". Switching on a flashlight, you follow him as he sets a brisk pace walking up the mountain path. Out in the desert, with no light pollution, the stars are incredible. In the darkness you can just make out the profile of the mountains around you, and you get a feeling that they are going to be incredible when you see them by daylight. As you make your way uphill through the darkness, camels suddenly appear, sitting patiently by the side of the path. Bedouin men ask "Camel? You want camel?". Nay, no camel for us! We hardened hikers scoff at the thought. But after passing dozens and dozens of camels, climbing ever upwards, you start to wonder, just how high is this mountain? And are we doing these camels out of a job? "You want camel? Good camel!" says another Bedouin. You start to feel a little bad for the camels. They probably are good camels. But, you came here to hike up the mountain, and hike it you will. After half an hour, you look back down and take in the the incredible sight of hundreds of flashlights snaking their way up the mountain, showing you how high you have already walked. How many people are climbing this mountain tonight? (You start to wonder). It looks like hundreds, is that possible? After about two hours, sweating, still in darkness, you reach the end of the "slope" part of the climb and begin the final ascent up the stairs to the top of the mountain. Hot and sweaty, step after step, huffing and puffing, you finally, finally reach the almost-top where a series of Bedouin huts await your arrival. "Come come, coffee tea chocolate chai! Blankets! Come inside, warm inside!". After warming yourself with a cup of tea, you climb the last few steps up to the top of the mountain and find a "spot" to wait for the sunrise.....
With the sun finally up, it's clear that the mountains really are as spectacular as they promised to be in the dark of the night...
And the parade of humanity starts to pur back down the mountain, this time taking the thigh-killing "other stairs" down to the famous Saint Katherine Monastery nestled at the base of the mountain...
Thursday, October 04, 2007
Tel Aviv iMovie
During my period of semi-retirement I have been a little creative and productive and produced my first Israel iMovie!
NB. PLEASE WAIT FOR THE WHOLE THING TO LOAD BEFORE PLAYING, AND MAKE SURE YOU CAN HEAR THE SOUNDTRACK!
I've never uploaded a video onto my blog before, and it's definitely not as good when it's compressed into Quicktime - it will be much better and sharper on the DVD version. But you'll get an idea of how things have been - and your feedback is welcome!
The Bum's Life
So, since my last blogposting, I have graduated WUJS, set up camp in my friend's living room in Tel Aviv, been back to Jerusalem twice (once for Yom Kippur, and once to eat in a friend's Sukkah). In general, I have been living the life of an unemployed bum - or as I prefer to think of myself, semi-retired!
It feels like there's not much to write about, but my days are surprisingly packed with errands and activities. I spend a lot of time making travel plans and arrangements for my upcoming trips to the UK and New York area, and for my friend's upcoming visit to hang with me in Israel. Between myself and Laura, my co-"semi-retired" Canadian friend, there are always shopping missions - like going to the Old City in Jerusalem to buy Shesh Besh (backgammon) boards; going to my favourite Jewellery co-op in West Jerusalem to buy a hamsa necklace, going down Sheinkin st in Tel Aviv to buy boots for my ordeal in the Northern Winter; etc.
For "free" fun, there is the beach, wandering around Tel Aviv taking pictures of Bucket Tubes, watching friends' pirated DVDs on the computer, and sitting on a park bench on Rothschild Boulevard staring at passers-by.
It's still very warm here, even though it's already October, so I'm still wearing the same clothes I've been wearing all summer. It's hard to believe that soon I will be shivering in the cold wet damp and maybe snowy UK and North America!
It feels like there's not much to write about, but my days are surprisingly packed with errands and activities. I spend a lot of time making travel plans and arrangements for my upcoming trips to the UK and New York area, and for my friend's upcoming visit to hang with me in Israel. Between myself and Laura, my co-"semi-retired" Canadian friend, there are always shopping missions - like going to the Old City in Jerusalem to buy Shesh Besh (backgammon) boards; going to my favourite Jewellery co-op in West Jerusalem to buy a hamsa necklace, going down Sheinkin st in Tel Aviv to buy boots for my ordeal in the Northern Winter; etc.
For "free" fun, there is the beach, wandering around Tel Aviv taking pictures of Bucket Tubes, watching friends' pirated DVDs on the computer, and sitting on a park bench on Rothschild Boulevard staring at passers-by.
It's still very warm here, even though it's already October, so I'm still wearing the same clothes I've been wearing all summer. It's hard to believe that soon I will be shivering in the cold wet damp and maybe snowy UK and North America!
Saturday, September 15, 2007
Precious sleeeep
So - moments before going to bed tonight I semi-remembered (then verified with my good friend the internizzle) that daylight saving in Israel ends tonight. Although I normally mourn the end of DST, in this instance I'm rather pleased since I have to get up early tomorrow to shlep back to Arad. One hour more of precious sleep! How fortunate!
Walk sit pray stand pray sing sit eat stand walk sit pray stand eat more drink sleep (Repeat x 3)
And so ends three days of Jewish Holiday! This Year, Erev Rosh Hashana (the eve of the New Year) fell on Wednesday Night. This means that Thursday and Friday were Rosh Hashana (I) and (II). Then, we roll right over into Shabbat (Friday evening and Saturday). In Jerusalem terms this means that everything closes for three straight days, and most people (the religiously observant at least) engage in the sequence of activity described above.
Two days of New Year? Yes, that's right. Why, I hear you ask? Hmm, good question. This is one that I've wondered about for several years. You see, I am aware that many Jewish Holidays are traditionally celebrated for two days OUTSIDE Israel (the first/second night passover seder, for example). Why? Because in times past, the Hebrew calendar depended on witnesses in Jerusalem appearing before the Sanhedrin to report that they'd sighted a new moon, and hence the beginning of a new month. If no moon was sighted (let's say it was cloudy), the month would be deemed to begin on the next day - and it would be clear on which night each Jewish holiday for that month would fall. However, Jews exiled in Babylonia couldn't necessarily know that a new moon had been sighted in Jerusalem and hence they would celebrate two nights in a row, to ensure they didn't get the date wrong.
So, let's now put aside the fact that we no longer need witnesses to tell us when there is a new moon. WHY would this two-day rule apply in Israel? According to my research on the Internizzle,
BUT - further reading shows that in Israel, once a "fixed" calendar had been introduced in the 4th century, Rosh Hashana become a one-day affair INSIDE Israel and remained a two-day chag OUTSIDE Israel. According to Rabbi David Bar-Hayim, whose article I found on the web, it was only in the 12th Century that the two-day observance was re-introduced back into practice in Israel by some powerful European rebbes who migrated back to Israel. It's all quite interesting - you can read more about it here
Two days of New Year? Yes, that's right. Why, I hear you ask? Hmm, good question. This is one that I've wondered about for several years. You see, I am aware that many Jewish Holidays are traditionally celebrated for two days OUTSIDE Israel (the first/second night passover seder, for example). Why? Because in times past, the Hebrew calendar depended on witnesses in Jerusalem appearing before the Sanhedrin to report that they'd sighted a new moon, and hence the beginning of a new month. If no moon was sighted (let's say it was cloudy), the month would be deemed to begin on the next day - and it would be clear on which night each Jewish holiday for that month would fall. However, Jews exiled in Babylonia couldn't necessarily know that a new moon had been sighted in Jerusalem and hence they would celebrate two nights in a row, to ensure they didn't get the date wrong.
So, let's now put aside the fact that we no longer need witnesses to tell us when there is a new moon. WHY would this two-day rule apply in Israel? According to my research on the Internizzle,
"On Rosh HaShana this problem was compounded. Since Rosh HaShana was the first day of the month, immediately upon the Sanhedrin's declaration it would be Yom Tov (actually earlier because of the doubt). It would therefore be prohibited for the messengers to leave the city limits (techum) of Jerusalem. Thus no one outside of Jerusalem would know when the Yom Tov began. It was therefore necessary for all residents of Israel as well to keep two days of Rosh HaShana.
BUT - further reading shows that in Israel, once a "fixed" calendar had been introduced in the 4th century, Rosh Hashana become a one-day affair INSIDE Israel and remained a two-day chag OUTSIDE Israel. According to Rabbi David Bar-Hayim, whose article I found on the web, it was only in the 12th Century that the two-day observance was re-introduced back into practice in Israel by some powerful European rebbes who migrated back to Israel. It's all quite interesting - you can read more about it here
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Jerusalem Week 2007
Shana Tovah U'Metuka to all the J-crew out there!
Shout-out to Oren!
I'm writing this posting from the Holy City of Jerusalem where I've been for the past week, spanning the final days of 5767 and the first few of 5768. It's been a very interesting week of walking tours and visits to various sites.
Some highlights:
- Touring the Christian Quarter of the Old City, including the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and visiting various churches on the Mount of Olives
- A walking tour of Abu Tor, an old Arab Neighbourhood, and the Haas Promenade which gives a commanding view of the whole city of Jerusalem. (I've been there before but it's always impressive)
- A day looking into the world of the Haredim (Ultra-Orthodox) society, including a guided walking tour of Mea She'arim and surrounding shtetls
- Visiting ZAKA - a religious volunteer organisation that goes to the site of terrorist attacks, accidents, car crashes etc and helps to aid survivors and to recover every body part and piece of tissue so that those who have died can be given a proper burial
- Visiting Hadassah Hospital and learning how they deal with mass casualty events (Israel is, unfortunately, world-leading in their preparedness for these kinds of emergencies)
- Going to a friend's Very Orthodox wedding!
I have been getting a little slack on the photo-taking, but you can see a few pics on my Facebook album here
Shout-out to Oren!
I'm writing this posting from the Holy City of Jerusalem where I've been for the past week, spanning the final days of 5767 and the first few of 5768. It's been a very interesting week of walking tours and visits to various sites.
Some highlights:
- Touring the Christian Quarter of the Old City, including the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and visiting various churches on the Mount of Olives
- A walking tour of Abu Tor, an old Arab Neighbourhood, and the Haas Promenade which gives a commanding view of the whole city of Jerusalem. (I've been there before but it's always impressive)
- A day looking into the world of the Haredim (Ultra-Orthodox) society, including a guided walking tour of Mea She'arim and surrounding shtetls
- Visiting ZAKA - a religious volunteer organisation that goes to the site of terrorist attacks, accidents, car crashes etc and helps to aid survivors and to recover every body part and piece of tissue so that those who have died can be given a proper burial
- Visiting Hadassah Hospital and learning how they deal with mass casualty events (Israel is, unfortunately, world-leading in their preparedness for these kinds of emergencies)
- Going to a friend's Very Orthodox wedding!
I have been getting a little slack on the photo-taking, but you can see a few pics on my Facebook album here
Wednesday, September 05, 2007
Goodbye King George!
Not the Monarch - the Address.
Woe unto me, tomorrow is our last day living in the Rooftop Ghetto apartment at 37 King George!! This marks the end of our PSJ Internship period. It's been a great 2+ months. Living in central Tel Aviv was fabulous, even with the suffocating humidity. I enjoyed my internships, even though they didn't particularly relate to my professional experience (well actually #2 did but I haven't blogged about it yet, and didn't manage to progress with it as much as I'd hoped).
I'm very happy with what I did for the Heschel Center. The website isn't complete yet, but that's largely due to the fact that we need a graphic designer to help us to realise our "vision". If you want you can check out the work in progress, that is, the website. Please note that it's not finished yet!! (But if you see bugs you are welcome to let me know).
OH and if you want to be on the mailing list to receive the exciting Heschel Newsletter that I created, post a comment or email me and I will add you to the list!
From here it's onto Jerusalem for a week of WUJS activities, then a break for Rosh Hashanah (I think I'll be in Jerusalem participating in some nice Kesher Outreach courtesy of HUC!). Then back to Arad for the final 2-3 days of BBQs, "graduation", packing up our rooms, etc. Then I'll be couch-surfing for a month or so... with a possibility of a house-and-cat-sitting position for a couple of weeks in the middle... FINGERS CROSSED!
Woe unto me, tomorrow is our last day living in the Rooftop Ghetto apartment at 37 King George!! This marks the end of our PSJ Internship period. It's been a great 2+ months. Living in central Tel Aviv was fabulous, even with the suffocating humidity. I enjoyed my internships, even though they didn't particularly relate to my professional experience (well actually #2 did but I haven't blogged about it yet, and didn't manage to progress with it as much as I'd hoped).
I'm very happy with what I did for the Heschel Center. The website isn't complete yet, but that's largely due to the fact that we need a graphic designer to help us to realise our "vision". If you want you can check out the work in progress, that is, the website. Please note that it's not finished yet!! (But if you see bugs you are welcome to let me know).
OH and if you want to be on the mailing list to receive the exciting Heschel Newsletter that I created, post a comment or email me and I will add you to the list!
From here it's onto Jerusalem for a week of WUJS activities, then a break for Rosh Hashanah (I think I'll be in Jerusalem participating in some nice Kesher Outreach courtesy of HUC!). Then back to Arad for the final 2-3 days of BBQs, "graduation", packing up our rooms, etc. Then I'll be couch-surfing for a month or so... with a possibility of a house-and-cat-sitting position for a couple of weeks in the middle... FINGERS CROSSED!
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Tiyul B'Tsafon (Trip in the North)
Last week we had a week in the North of Israel. Highlights included two hiking trips in the Golan Heights, along streams that feed into Lake Kinneret; on one section of the first hike, you had to actually swim through a waterhole to get across. I didn't take my camera so unfortunately I haven't got any photos from that day. Another day we hiked the Banias stream, where there were also many optional swimming opportunities. We came across an old tank, Syrian, along the streambed. No-one's quite sure when or how it fell down there, but I guess it was probably in 67.
We also had the chance to visit two important somewhat unnerving lookout points. First the Ben Tal lookout, which overlooks the Syrian border (I remember coming here in 2001), and second, a lookout hill in the Northeast of the country which looks over Lebanon. Standing there, one can see quite clearly, only a few kilometres away, a huge Hezbollah flag flying on the hill.
We did heaps of other things too; live floating down the Jordan River on inner tubes; visiting the Rosh Hanikra caves, and going to Rosh Pinna and Safed/Zfat. Yada yada yada....it was a good week!
We also had the chance to visit two important somewhat unnerving lookout points. First the Ben Tal lookout, which overlooks the Syrian border (I remember coming here in 2001), and second, a lookout hill in the Northeast of the country which looks over Lebanon. Standing there, one can see quite clearly, only a few kilometres away, a huge Hezbollah flag flying on the hill.
We did heaps of other things too; live floating down the Jordan River on inner tubes; visiting the Rosh Hanikra caves, and going to Rosh Pinna and Safed/Zfat. Yada yada yada....it was a good week!
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