Day 72 - Last time at Performance Rock...

After a quick coffee, I stopped at the lab before meeting Patro and Talmon at the TEM. This was a bonus session, after the training was technically complete, because the time happened to be free and I needed to look at some samples for Noa, so Patro and I each took turns doing various startup and alignment procedures, loaded the sample, and began taking images. After about two hours Patro had to go to his Matlab class, so Talmon and I started taking and saving images so I could calculate an average tube diameter for Noa.

We ended just in time for me to head to San Martin directly for lunch, where I met and sat with Rachel, Tamara, Stephen, and Asaf and a visitor to the Institute. I was very nervous about meeting with Professor Wagner in the afternoon so didn’t eat too much, but we still had a fun chat about Stephen’s feelings with regards to chemical engineering. We all had to be back at work soonish, so didn’t linger too much after eating. I made some last-minute touches on my presentation back in the office, until 2 pm, my scheduled meeting time with Professor Wagner.

I was expecting to go to his office, so I printed a handout copy of my presentation. This turned out to be an excellent idea, as he actually came to see me and sat down as I went through my slides on the computer. It was good that I could take notes on the printed copy, as we chatted about good points and ideas for adjustments for over a half-hour. As soon as we were done, I e-mailed Greta asking how late I could submit the final copy. She said I could just bring it on my own flash drive tomorrow, which was great and helped me to relax before settling in to make all the changes.

I worked on the slides, and the images for Noa, until almost 6:15, when I luckily finished both to my satisfaction. I left the lab and fell into step with Chen, a woman on my floor, on the stairs. Earlier today, when chatting with Nitzan in the hall, she had waved us into her office and shown us her recent art submission on Threadless. It was getting good feedback so far, and we both really liked it, so this gave us something to talk about as we walked out of Perlman. I wore a Threadless shirt today (“bobshoppers,” for anyone curious), so we moved on to how the shirts fit; as it turns out, the one Chen has ever ordered fit her really weird so she sent it back. I really hope her submission turns into a shirt. I won’t ruin the surprise, in case it does, but I would definitely wear it!

Anyways we walked out the main gate and along Hertzl. I needed to get a snack before climbing, so we went to the small grocery across from Clore and both looked over the yogurt selection. She recommended one with toppings, which I won’t say no to, but it was a bit expensive. After I lent her two shekels to cover hers, I realized I was two short myself. She promised to give the store clerk two shekels tomorrow, and made our way out. We said goodbye right outside Clore, and I went inside and directly downstairs to change for climbing.

I found Asaf waiting in the lobby, ready to go, and soon Tamara and Rachel had joined us. I told Stephen to meet us at the train, and we were off. We walked down Hertzl to the station, meeting Yaron and Nitzan on the way through security, and all bought tickets and got onto the train. Stephen arrived soon and sat with us. After the train ride, Nitzan, Yaron and Asaf were hungry, so stopped for falafel, meeting the rest of us at Performance Rock not much later.

Once there, I helped Stephen and Rachel find matching shoes of the appropriate size, which turned out to be a failure in both cases: Rachel’s were fine but ended up not matching, and Stephen ended up borrowing Nitzan’s spare pair because there weren’t any of his size in the barrel. I gave Stephen an introduction, and he seemed to be doing very well on the intro problems, so I migrated over to Rachel and Tamara for a bit. They had changed all of the routes, as Tamara had reported, which was exciting! Tamara recommended a bunch of things for us to work on together, and we found some things for Rachel to do, most of which she finished rather quickly. Nitzan and Yaron were working on some interesting things, one of which was in the cave and which Tamara and I attempted. Stephen at first seemed to be enjoying just climbing around, but eventually sort of stopped climbing. Dave came a bit afterward, and Tamara and I worked with him on a few problems as well.

We stayed practically until the place closed, then headed back towards the bus station. We didn’t have enough time to really justify running for the train, so got on two sheruts (one with me, Asaf, Yaron and Nitzan, and one with Stephen, Rachel, and Tamara). Theirs left slightly earlier. When ours got back, we headed to Benny’s for ice cream, then Asaf and I returned to Clore. And thus ended my last Monday in Israel, a day which included my last visit to Performance Rock.

Asaf didn’t climb, but came to observe, due to his recent recovery from tendonitis in his shoulder. While this is regrettable, I am glad he didn’t reinjure himself and even gladder he agreed to be the official photographer of the evening! Here is the best of his work:

Nitzan, as Yaron and Stephen watch

Stephen

Me (I ended up failing at this)

Asaf!

Rachel finishes a problem

Day 56 - Proof of my past as a Super Jew

Today I got a chance, for the first time in a while, to sleep in.  Especially after a late night followed by an early start and a very long day, this was a welcome change.  I woke up just before lunch time, and had a relaxed shower and remainder of the morning.  Once I emerged from my room I found Stephen, Dave, their friend Mish from MIT, Jonathan, and Joel sitting in the kitchen, munching on leftovers from the previous night's shabbat dinner.  I was supposed to meet Daniela for lunch, but since I figured it would be difficult to find an open place to eat on Saturday, and there was food 10 feet from my room, I invited Daniela to join us in Clore.  The chicken Stephen (and Dave?) made was delicious, and there was plenty of that as well as pita, hummus, and other stuff.

After the meal we all sang Birkat Hamazon (the grace after the meal), and Joel kept making me laugh by looking at me during the parts where the summer camp version would have us sing silly English phrases instead.  Afterwards, Jonathan told me that he finally believes that I was a relatively observant Jew at home (because I knew all the words, or something).  I guess I have Camp Ramah to thank for that!

After all that hooplah, I walked Daniela partially home, then grabbed some juice at a convenience store before heading to Perlman for the afternoon, to continue the work I had begun on slides for my presentation Monday.  I was surprised to find Noa AND Patro both in the office and lab, but it was nice not to be alone.  While at work, Tamar called me and invited me to go climbing with her tonight at the top roping place.  As I was excited to try my new harness, I happily accepted.

I left work around 7, and snacked on some hummus at Clore before changing and heading out.  Tamar picked me up right outside along Hertzl Street and we drove to Kiryat Ono together, where we met Giora and climbed!  There were lots of new routes up; we finished many, including an orange one, a green one, and a red one which I led.  I finished two routes I had made it to almost the end of before: a blue one which wasn't so bad but I had only tried at the end of last time, and the yellow one which has been my nemesis for almost a month.  I successfully finished both on lead!  That was exciting, but my new harness, while comfortable for belaying, cut slightly into my legs while I was hanging from the wall.  Hopefully I'm just wearing it wrong or something, but we'll see.

When I got back to Clore, I made two very important and pleasant phone calls: my parents, and Ben.  Finally, I chilled with everyone a bit before bed.  All in all, a relaxing day compared to many in the last week.

Day 55 - Asaf was right! (or alternatively, the best and most jam-packed road trip ever!)

{Readers beware: this post will set a record for most pictures of any single post for this blog. If it loads slowly, that is why. Dial-up users: there is no hope for you...turn back now}

Stephen, Dave, Itamar and I woke up before 6 am today, and after working out the sharing of the shower and getting dressed and packed, left the apartment and got into the car for what promised to be an amazing roadtrip.

Once we got on our way, I of course fell asleep. I think this was allowed, or maybe even intended, because Stephen did it too. Itamar kindly woke us at our first stop: a kibbutz called Lohamei Hagetaot, where we got out to see a Roman aqueduct. After some pictures we explored the kibbutz a bit on foot, and bought some breakfast food at a small grocery store before getting back in the car.

As we progressed farther and farther north, the scenery got more and more unbelievable. Itamar had served some of his time in the army at a base near the border with Lebanon, and therefore was very familiar with the region's roads and history. He warned us whenever we were about to embark upon a particularly beautiful piece of road, and was able to answer all of Stephen's questions about the locals: what they do, what the towns are like, etc. Stephen was really enamored with the landscape and area in general.

The next stop occurred after Itamar navigated us through the dirt roads of a small national park near the border with Lebanon. We got out of the car to find an amazingly beautiful overlook, and across the gaping ravine stood the ruins of a fort used by Crusaders, creatively named Montfort. Itamar is very knowledgeable about this area, and told us a bit about the history of the structure. On the way back out of the park, we stoppped a few times to take pictures, then were back on our way.

Since we coulnd't really go much farther north (due to fences and, you know, national borders), we were now headed South. Next was what I think is Itamar's favorite of the stops: Bar Am. A national park, it contains the ruins of a very old stone synagogue, and also the ruins of a village, where fruit orchards had long since been abandoned. Most of the fruit wasn't ripe, but we found fig trees and picked some pomegranates which will hopefully ripen on our windowsills in about a month. The park was filled with fragments of old stone walls, and occasionally a peek through the trees rewarded you with an amazing view of the countryside.

Being hungry once more by the time we got back onto the road, we stopped in a town called Jish (which was pretty Arab-looking) for lunch. Once we got back in the car after this, we were in a slight hurry. Dave started driving in a slightly less leisurely manner, and when we made stops to take pictures, we got out of the car less and less. We still had to make it back to Givat Shmuel to grab our stuff and the food, and then get to Rehovot before shabbat, so our schedule was tight.

The roads in the Golan were straight and empty, so Dave was able to make up for some time. We zoomed past abandoned tanks and ruins of Syrian bases amid the golden-brown grass. Dave slowed slightly as we passed the Sea of Galilee, and we made our last stop soon after, at the Quneitra overlook. Itamar had been showing us where we were on the map all along, and continued at this stop. Using my camera's zoom lens, we were able to identify a few amazing things from this vista: a suburb of Damascus in the distance, a semi-permanent UN camp, the ruins of a relatively modern town among the trees nearby, and some windmills (for power) atop a distant hill. Itamar imparted some more knowledge about the location before we got back into the car. He also pointed out two nearby hills, one of which is home to an Israeli base and one a Syrian one.

After a bit more driving, including Hamat Gader, a gorgeous downhill drive and view, we reached a checkpoint: the entrance to the West Bank. No other cars were around. Dave was asked to show his ID but was given no trouble, and soon we were inside. The lanscape was different than even slightly north: it was desert. We passed one or two settlements, which were like oases of white walls and green trees in a sea of sand. A few donkeys could be observed along the deserted road, and once we passed a herd of sheep, but other than that all we had to keep us company was an endless expanse of dunes, dotted with low bushes, and the narrow road stretching out like a gray ribbon in front of us.

A few things to note about the West Bank portion of our drive. One, Stephen, using my phone, was able to get perfect cell reception to call someone about shabbat plans. Two, an interesting sign, reproduced below, revealed to us that Israelis have less-than-unlimited rights and access in the region. It came at an interesting point in our journey, because at the three-way intersection where we stopped to see whether to go right or left, it stood to our right, by a checkpoint, and told us explicitly we weren't allowed past it. At about the same time as Itamar concluded we needed to go left based on the map, I concluded that we needed to go left based on the law (apparently). And three, while we had no trouble exiting (except that Dave volunteered information about our destination which wasn't requested and led the soldier to believe he was asking for directions), the driver of the car next to us was asked to pull over and get out.

Past the checkpoint, Dave was relatively familiar with the roads because he worked nearby, so we flew along towards Tel Aviv. We could see the sea in the distance, tinged pink. Soon thereafter we reached Givat Shmuel. We all hurried upstairs and gathered our stuff and the food, then packed up the car and I navigated Dave to Rehovot. We luckily made it in time! After bringing everything into Clore and putting the food on the hot plate, Stephen and Dave showered and dressed quickly, and headed to services. I chilled a bit, showered, and then helped (a very tiny bit) to set up for dinner.

Joel, Jonathan, Dave, Stephen, some of Stephen's and Dave's friends who happened to be in Israel for various reasons, and someone from Stephen's lab, joined us for the shabbat meal. I unfortunately had to leave slightly early to head to the mall, but was able to eat my fill before this occurence. I called Asaf on the way, and soon was sitting outside the movie theater with he and XiaoMeng. A few minutes before 10, we were able to enter and pick up our pre-paid tickets. I left Jonathan's and Joel's with the man at the door, and we went inside to find almost the entire summer population of Clore scattered about the theater.

Soon Joel and Jonathan arrirved, and the movie, The Dark Knight, began. I have to say, I really enjoyed it. I love that superhero films are so dark now...I like having something to think about when leaving the theater. Heath Ledger's performance was remarkable - I still can't really believe it was him. There also weren't too many unnecessary computer-generated scenes involving explosions or the like, which I appreciate. And that is all I will say, in order to avoid spoiling anything (although since it came out a week later in this country than in the country where most people are reading this, I probably shouldn't worry).

On the walk back, Asaf, XiaoMeng and I discussed various things, including the fact that XiaoMeng and I should really be making our nanocomposites for Batman and not "science," as clearly the former has more money in it and is cooler. Asaf and I also discussed that he needs to be mentioned in this blog more, as his tag count is too low. This topic seems to be coming up often nowadays...people are probably realizing I will be leaving soon and that they have to start hanging out with me in earnest, or their tag counts will never increase enough to make them competitive.

Anyway, back at Clore I said goodbye to Asaf and XiaoMeng, and went to bed soon after getting back to my room, after a quick hello to Stephen and Dave. It was a long, but exciting, day that I won't soon forget. I have way too many pictures, but I've tried to include a representative selection below.

Me at the aqueduct

Itamar and Dave racing back to the car

Stephen looking out at MontfortItamar, Stephen and Dave
Montfort
Itamar taking a picture out the car window


Goats!
The Lebanese border
The location at which this picture was taken
...



Dave about to ask directions from some farmers
By an apple orchard


Stephen dozing off
Jish!
Another road in Jish
At the convenience store in Jish...note the interesting brand name

The synagogue at Bar Am
Me observing it
Pomegranate!


Us walking along a path with fruit trees...
An open pomegranate

Two on one branch! I picked these.










Ruins from when the Syraians occupied this area
The demolished town, and a Damascus suburb in the background
Windmills!
The Sea of Galilee





The Golan is so lush in places...
Entering the West Bank
Donkeys

Desert...


Let's not turn right...
A soldier at the exit checkpoint
Exiting the West Bank