Today is Shabbat and we closed the site at 2 pm, and headed back to the hotel. Nissim invited us to his house for Shabbat dinner. It was lovely.
Hezy met us at the hotel and guided us to Nissim's house. His house is a contemporary Mediterranean style villa, concrete in construction, with a decorative concrete wall around the front of the house. The neighborhood seems affluent, and the homes seem very nice.
We knocked on the door, Nissim answered and invited us in. The greeting is "Shabbat Shalom". Nissim was a very gracious and generous host. He introduced us to his family, wife Betti, and three daughters, Michal, Anat, and I think Levit. All beautiful and warm. They seemed very pleased to be hosting us.
Our meal was nothing short of fabulous. We started with a traditional Jewish prayer, all of us wearing yamulkes (I was wearing the one that Cathy gave me - everyone loved it) that Nissim sung. His family chorused and sang along at various parts. The prayer was long, but Nissim said it beautifully and seemed to know it by heart.
The first course was multiple salads and dips, including two eggplant dishes - one a creamy type, and the other a sauted dish. There was a hummus dish that was a little spicy but very good, a sauce type tomato dish, and some steamed vegetables. And, of course, Nissim was filling our wine glasses at every opportunity.
What we thought was the main course happened to be the second course. It was a Mediterranean halibut type white fish that was very good. Also served was a calzone type dish with mushrooms. The crust was a little lighter than a calzone, and a little more flakey. More wine, also.
The main dish was then served and the presentation was terrific. Nissim's family must have worked all day to prepare the foods. There was a beef dish, meatballs, potatoes (Nissim made these), and some green beans. Everything was done just right and was delicious. I was stuffed. More wine.
And then, there was dessert. Some sort of ice cream that Hezy said is not made with milk, and a sesame cookie surrounded by excellent strawberries and kiwi. The cookie was similar to a shortbread cookie - dry and full of flavor. I think this would be good with an expresso.
After dessert, Nissim broke out some congac from Normandy France. It was rocket fuel. Anyway, being tired, I need to end this with still much to say about this evening. Suffice to say that the evening was wonderful.
Friday, December 21, 2007
The Exodus
We're making progress on the playground in Ashkelon. The Exodus is taking shape and the Magen David deck has the blocking needed for the inlay deck boards. The sailboat entry arch tops are complete and Bud and Carl are working on the support structure. The large timbers are cracked and split - I was hoping for a better quality.
We worked with three men from Ashkelon today. I think they were Arabs...or at least it sounded so. It was difficult to communicate. We used the language of pantomime.
In any event, I think we're about 1 day behind schedule. It's possible to catch up on Sunday. Tomorrow is Sabbat and no work, so we are trekking up to Tel Aviv to sightsee. I told Lev I would see him on the site at 7:00 am on Sunday.
We worked with three men from Ashkelon today. I think they were Arabs...or at least it sounded so. It was difficult to communicate. We used the language of pantomime.
In any event, I think we're about 1 day behind schedule. It's possible to catch up on Sunday. Tomorrow is Sabbat and no work, so we are trekking up to Tel Aviv to sightsee. I told Lev I would see him on the site at 7:00 am on Sunday.
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Shopping in Israel
I'm not a good shopper. My wife would rather hear scraping fingernails on a chalkboard than shop with me. I'm impatient and demanding. I usually know what I need, go in to the store, purchase it and leave. I do not poke.
Israel is different. Shopping is a social experience. Small businesses support this culture...you arrive and the staff offers you coffee. You discuss family, politics, and laugh. No one is in any particular hurry. Except me. I have 6 days to be prepared for 400 people.
Hezy and I were accompanied by Lev, who is a small business owner in Ashkelon. He creates fiberglass molds of animals and other creatures and builds furniture. He was also in the Israeli playground business for many years, knows the standards, and was there to help us. He is from Russia, and speaks only a little English. But it is much better than my Hebrew.
Our first stop was the lumber yard. Here, it was very organized. Bois had our order stacked and banded, ready to load. When I asked when he could deliver, he said right now. I was hopeful. So far, "right now" in Israel has a range of immediately to 3 or 4 hours...It's a crap shoot. In this case, after they had me check the lumber, they loaded it and sent it on the way. A good start, I thought.
Our second stop was the tool rental shop. Here, it took the better part of an hour to rent a generator, a few electric drills and saws, and other small tools. I had a difficult time adjusting to the way business is conducted here- I knew everyone else was waiting for me at the hotel or the site, plus they were walking because I had our vehicle.
Tools loaded, we were off to the fastener store, another small business. First, a stop at a cafe for an expresso and snack. Drive-through is unheard of here. You want a coffee, you go in and sit. The coffee is very good here. Strong, but good. Strong is desired by me because I'm wrecked from the jet lag. Oy!
The fastener shop was a little more prepared for us and had our order all boxed up. We changed out a few items, loaded the van and headed back to the site.
A quick word about the shops. The location is definately a commercial zone. Old warehouses and shops, constructed mainly of concrete and brick with steel roofs. There are what we might call Israeli strip malls - with 5 or 6 stores paritioned off within one larger building. The parking lots are very small, and customers park in all different configurations. Some parallel park, others pull in, and some even park at angles. It's very confusing.
Customers are constantly in an out of the shops, speaking loudly in Hebrew and Arabic. Many of the workers are from Russia, so this is another language frequently heard here. The shops themselves are only slightly organized. There are some items on the shelves, but many, many more just located on the floor or crammed into small storage areas. Space seems to be a valuable commodity here.
I think if I had more time, I would have enjoyed this much, much more.
Joe
Israel is different. Shopping is a social experience. Small businesses support this culture...you arrive and the staff offers you coffee. You discuss family, politics, and laugh. No one is in any particular hurry. Except me. I have 6 days to be prepared for 400 people.
Hezy and I were accompanied by Lev, who is a small business owner in Ashkelon. He creates fiberglass molds of animals and other creatures and builds furniture. He was also in the Israeli playground business for many years, knows the standards, and was there to help us. He is from Russia, and speaks only a little English. But it is much better than my Hebrew.
Our first stop was the lumber yard. Here, it was very organized. Bois had our order stacked and banded, ready to load. When I asked when he could deliver, he said right now. I was hopeful. So far, "right now" in Israel has a range of immediately to 3 or 4 hours...It's a crap shoot. In this case, after they had me check the lumber, they loaded it and sent it on the way. A good start, I thought.
Our second stop was the tool rental shop. Here, it took the better part of an hour to rent a generator, a few electric drills and saws, and other small tools. I had a difficult time adjusting to the way business is conducted here- I knew everyone else was waiting for me at the hotel or the site, plus they were walking because I had our vehicle.
Tools loaded, we were off to the fastener store, another small business. First, a stop at a cafe for an expresso and snack. Drive-through is unheard of here. You want a coffee, you go in and sit. The coffee is very good here. Strong, but good. Strong is desired by me because I'm wrecked from the jet lag. Oy!
The fastener shop was a little more prepared for us and had our order all boxed up. We changed out a few items, loaded the van and headed back to the site.
A quick word about the shops. The location is definately a commercial zone. Old warehouses and shops, constructed mainly of concrete and brick with steel roofs. There are what we might call Israeli strip malls - with 5 or 6 stores paritioned off within one larger building. The parking lots are very small, and customers park in all different configurations. Some parallel park, others pull in, and some even park at angles. It's very confusing.
Customers are constantly in an out of the shops, speaking loudly in Hebrew and Arabic. Many of the workers are from Russia, so this is another language frequently heard here. The shops themselves are only slightly organized. There are some items on the shelves, but many, many more just located on the floor or crammed into small storage areas. Space seems to be a valuable commodity here.
I think if I had more time, I would have enjoyed this much, much more.
Joe
Building
Monday was a hectic day. We had many meetings and were exhausted from the long travel. I slept a few hours on the plane, but 10 hours on an airplane is tough.
The site was a bit of a disappointment. The grading was not complete and we had no materials to work with. On top of this, our Israeli liaison, Hezy, told me that we needed to go shopping for our materials on Tuesday. We had hoped to hit the ground running first thing Tuesday, but it was not to be.
Instead, Kelli, Andy, Bud, and Carl were resting and I began my day shopping in Ashkelon with Hezy. Also, I'm told that the breakfast at the hotel is excellent -metsuyan...I still don't know first hand. Another story.
joe
The site was a bit of a disappointment. The grading was not complete and we had no materials to work with. On top of this, our Israeli liaison, Hezy, told me that we needed to go shopping for our materials on Tuesday. We had hoped to hit the ground running first thing Tuesday, but it was not to be.
Instead, Kelli, Andy, Bud, and Carl were resting and I began my day shopping in Ashkelon with Hezy. Also, I'm told that the breakfast at the hotel is excellent -metsuyan...I still don't know first hand. Another story.
joe
Catching Up
Hmmm...where to start.
Our travel to Israel was a challenge because of the winter storm in New England. Kelli, Andy, Bud and I drove from NH to Newark the day before our international flight and stayed overnight. I'm not sure what finally happened to our original Continental flights.
Unfortunately, Carl had a much more difficult time traveling from Indiana because of a winter storm in the mid-west. He was awake at 1 am checking on his flight out of South Bend - which was eventually cancelled. He phoned United and they re-booked him on an American flight out of Chicago. So, Carl's excellent bus adventure began at about 5 am. What typically takes 1 hour to travel by bus wound up taking several hours. It was slow traveling in the bad weather conditions.
In Newark, I was awake at 5:30 am and called Carl, already on the bus. We checked his American flight from our hotel and were loathe to tell him that it, too, had been cancelled. What happened next was nothing less than sheer brilliance combined with shit luck.
Kelli and I logged on to United. We saw that there was a flight from Chicago to Newark at 9 am, arriving at 12 noon. It was sold out. But we knew that there would be at least one or two no-shows because of the weather. United didn't see it our way and refused to sell a seat on this flight.
So, we booked Carl on a 10:30 am flight (arriving at 3 pm - much to late for an El Al flight at 1:30 pm) and told him to fly standby on the earlier flight. We knew he probably would arrive in Newark without his luggage! As predicted, Carl got a seat on the earlier flight, arrived in Newark and discovered that his luggage made too. Unfortunately for Carl, he had to run from terminal A to terminal B to have time to do the Israeli security prior to TSA screening. His luggage remained in Newark.
If the saying "all's well that ends well" is true, then we are no worse for the wear. The five of us arrived safely in Tel Aviv on Monday am, albeit without Carl's luggage. I made him carry mine just to look the part (and to lighten my load!) Our client, the Jewish Volunteer Connection, made several calls for us and Carl's luggage has been forwarded. A few sheckels were spent getting Carl some essentials in the meantime, but all is well that ends well.
Joe
Our travel to Israel was a challenge because of the winter storm in New England. Kelli, Andy, Bud and I drove from NH to Newark the day before our international flight and stayed overnight. I'm not sure what finally happened to our original Continental flights.
Unfortunately, Carl had a much more difficult time traveling from Indiana because of a winter storm in the mid-west. He was awake at 1 am checking on his flight out of South Bend - which was eventually cancelled. He phoned United and they re-booked him on an American flight out of Chicago. So, Carl's excellent bus adventure began at about 5 am. What typically takes 1 hour to travel by bus wound up taking several hours. It was slow traveling in the bad weather conditions.
In Newark, I was awake at 5:30 am and called Carl, already on the bus. We checked his American flight from our hotel and were loathe to tell him that it, too, had been cancelled. What happened next was nothing less than sheer brilliance combined with shit luck.
Kelli and I logged on to United. We saw that there was a flight from Chicago to Newark at 9 am, arriving at 12 noon. It was sold out. But we knew that there would be at least one or two no-shows because of the weather. United didn't see it our way and refused to sell a seat on this flight.
So, we booked Carl on a 10:30 am flight (arriving at 3 pm - much to late for an El Al flight at 1:30 pm) and told him to fly standby on the earlier flight. We knew he probably would arrive in Newark without his luggage! As predicted, Carl got a seat on the earlier flight, arrived in Newark and discovered that his luggage made too. Unfortunately for Carl, he had to run from terminal A to terminal B to have time to do the Israeli security prior to TSA screening. His luggage remained in Newark.
If the saying "all's well that ends well" is true, then we are no worse for the wear. The five of us arrived safely in Tel Aviv on Monday am, albeit without Carl's luggage. I made him carry mine just to look the part (and to lighten my load!) Our client, the Jewish Volunteer Connection, made several calls for us and Carl's luggage has been forwarded. A few sheckels were spent getting Carl some essentials in the meantime, but all is well that ends well.
Joe
Friday, December 14, 2007
Off to Israel
The weather is certainly causing some anxiety over my travel plans. We're scheduled to leave Manchester, NH at 6:30 am on Sunday. Mother Nature is scheduled to arrive in Manchester, NH at approximately 3:00 am on Sunday. Hmmm...I don't like my chances.
Plan B is to rent a vehicle one-way to Newark to make our international flight. Of course, Mother Nature is also visiting NJ...Rain and sleet most of Sunday am. Beats snow and sleet. Not by much. A nose. Maybe.
Weather report is so bad here that the National Weather Service is forecasting "freezing fog". Never heard of it, but it sounds really bad. Stephen King bad. Perhaps an omen in advance of our trip to Israel.
Plan B is to rent a vehicle one-way to Newark to make our international flight. Of course, Mother Nature is also visiting NJ...Rain and sleet most of Sunday am. Beats snow and sleet. Not by much. A nose. Maybe.
Weather report is so bad here that the National Weather Service is forecasting "freezing fog". Never heard of it, but it sounds really bad. Stephen King bad. Perhaps an omen in advance of our trip to Israel.
Snow in New Hampshire
There are those for whom the snow is beautiful - virgin white covering up the early winter devastation of the landscape.
There are those for whom the snow is fun - start up those snow machines or strap on a pair of twigs to your feet and head downhill at ridiculous speeds.
Then there is me. I hate the snow. I hate the cold. I tried embracing the winter - didn't work out. I ski like I golf - I'm always in the woods.
December 14th. It's going to be a long winter. Maybe I'll try the embracing thing again.
There are those for whom the snow is fun - start up those snow machines or strap on a pair of twigs to your feet and head downhill at ridiculous speeds.
Then there is me. I hate the snow. I hate the cold. I tried embracing the winter - didn't work out. I ski like I golf - I'm always in the woods.
December 14th. It's going to be a long winter. Maybe I'll try the embracing thing again.
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Israel or bust
We're all excited here at the office about our trip to Ashkelon, Israel. I's have been dotted and T's crossed. The impending snow storm here in the northeast US has us a little wary, but we'll keep our eyes on it and have a Plan B just in case.
More later.
More later.
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