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Thursday, March 31, 2005

Purim Never Ends

Hey everyone,
Well, let me say, my first Purim in Israel was a lot of fun. Oleh and I drove up to Eshchar Thursday afternoon. Since we rented a car, we couldn't take Kvish Sesh, which is the new main cross country road to the north. We couldn't take it because you're charged when you use it, and the car rental place charges you 50 shekel above the price that you're normally charged. Therefore, we had to figure out another way to get up there. There are only 2 options. Either, you can drive north through the Jordan Valley, or you can drive north using the Ayalon Highway and Kvish Chof. The second route takes you through Tel-Aviv and up next to the Med. That's why it's called the Beach Road, for all of you don't know that much Hebrew. Anyways, we left around 4:00. At that time, there was a very good chance we would hit major traffic up at Tel-Aviv, given that we'd get there by rush hour, on a Thursday, and on a holiday. So, we decided to take the route through the Jordan Valley.
Daddoo, let me tell you, you would have loved this route. It's one lane each way, but hardly anybody ever uses it anymore, so there's really no traffic. It's takes you down from Jerusalem to the Dead Sea, then you go left, and you're driving through the dessert and mountains, parrallel to Jordan. That was a funny thing. There were several turn-offs, where we could go to Jordan. We decided not to. Anyways, eventhough, we drove through most of the West Bank, it was so beautiful. The scenery was nothing I had ever seen before. I can't even describe how gorgeous it was. I can't wait to take that way again. The only problem is, since it's such a back road, and nobody really uses it anymore, you can't take it at night. There are no lights. That's a bad thing when you're driving through mountains, and sometimes there are double barriers on the sides, because if you had an accident, you would go over a cliff.
So, we got to Eshchar that evening and went to Megilla Reading. We went to the later one, so there were no kids; only adults. oleh and I dressed up in my hockey jerseys. We'll post the picture on the wedding website. Oleh was a Redwing, and I represented the USA. Hey, I'm a double citizen now. I can be both. Anyways, this Megilla Reading was the fastest I have ever been to. I though YIOP had some fast reading. I think the fastest I had ever sat through at Young Israel was around 45 minutes. This guy, at Eshchar took less than 20 minutes, but every word was clear, and we banged and booed at Haman. I was amazed. I met a lot of Eschar people that night. After, we went home and hung out, broke the fast, stuff like that.
Friday was great. There was a carnival up at the Shul and Children's Center. Oleh and I missed most of it because we slept in, but it looked like it was a lot of fun. It was also such a beautiful. The whole weekend was sunny and in the high 70's. I met some more of Eschar people and family friends, because everyone was dropping off Me'Shalach Manot. Beth made Hamantashen from scratch (sorry, Oznei Haman). They were awesome. Gained a couple of pounds on those. Friday night was a great meal with great conversation, followed by Oleh and I talking with his Dad until 2:00 in the morning. I now have an idea for my Socio-Behavioral Responses to Terrorism paper.
Saturday was such a beautiful day; not a cloud in the sky, light breeze, and lots of warmth. We all sat in the backyard by the pond and tanned, talked, and read. Dad, the view from there is so breath-taking. You can see the Haifa bay on one side, and, on a clear day, The Golan border on the other side. I know you won't want to leave Eshchar when you see it. Anyways, we spent the day walking around the Yishuv. We walked the dogs, talked to people, and just wandered in the sun. We also heard some fighter jets flying around. That was cool. I had never seen them before. They were flying so high; probably going to Iran to take some more pictures or something. Saturday night, we just hung around the house and watched Return of the Jedi. I am soo pissed at what they did to DVD. At the end of the movie, when the Rebellion's won, and Luke's joined the party. It shows him turning around and seeing the spirits of Obi Won, Yoda, and his father. It used to be that when they showed his father, it was the guy from the movie, that Luke saw when he took the Darth Vader mask off. Now, because of the prequels, they switched this guy with the guy who plays Annakin in the prequels. I couldn't believe it! I mean, first they add all these stupid special effects to the movies to show how much George Lucas can do now. This damaged the integrity of the movies bad enough. But, to add insult to injury, they take out the original actor and replace him with a different guy. That's just disgusting. I'm glad we have the original movies on tape. They'll probably become collector's items one day, because you can't get the real originals on tape anymore. OK, now that I've gotten that off my chance, I feel a little bit better.
In Israel, Purim is a 3 day event, so I can include Sunday in here also. Sunday was a big day for Oleh and I. We went to get our marriage registered at the Rabbinate office up north. It's a lot easier than getting it done it Jerusalem. They're more helpful up there and nicer because they don't see as many as down here, and they know most of the residents from the Yishuvim. So, it wasn't that bad. However, at first, we were so nervous that I forgot my Tehudot Zehut, so Oleh dropped me off at the place, then went back home to get it. Then, my brain froze through some of the questions to the point that when she asked for my phone number, I became dyslexic and told it to her completely backwards. It was funny afterwards, but it took a few minutes to calm down. As it turns out, the person who processed out application is also going to be doing the makeup for the wedding, so that's convenient. Later that night, we went home.
And, that sums up my first Purim in Israel. I can't wait for Pesach!! I hope y'all enjoyed my story. Later.
;-p

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