I understand it has been a while since any new TAC post. I hope you don't think this is because TAC has reached the end of it's lifecycle. Oh no. This is false. Where do you get your information, Fox News?
There have been no new posts simply because there has been no new travel save for a long weekend trip to Portland, Oregon. I'll save you the details and give you the gist of that trip:
Thursday - College Basketball, Indiana wins
Friday - College Basketball, madness
Saturday - College Basketball, Indiana wins
Sunday - College Basketball, madness
Oh and Corey wore a French Fries costume. It's nuts how quickly he became known around Portland for being 'the french fry guy'.
It was round one and two of the NCAA tourney and Pete, Corey and I did nothing but watch our IU Hoosiers play at the Rose Garden Arena, absorb as much of the tournament as possible and enjoy the foodie and craft brewing areas of downtown Portland.
Anyways, the blog is migrating to a wordpress and will now exist with a slight name change (sorry Erika), on my server:
Dauntless Travel
P.S. Look forward to a new post soon, in one month I hike Yosemite.
Monday, August 13, 2012
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Kibbutz Lotan
!עם ישראל חי
שלום לכולם (Hello Everyone)
It has been a long time since the last TAC post. Our European adventures ended four and a half months ago, but I (Eli) am still wandering the world and at a slightly different pace. From Germany I boarded a plane to Tel Aviv where I stayed a few days visiting family. Ben, my brother, happened to be in Jerusalem on Birthright at the time, so I made sure to see him. His trip, however, was being lead by (madricha in hebrew) a friend of mine from College, Carly. Hey Carly. Ma shlomech?
Anyways, besides family, friends, beaches, home cooked food, nights out, a queen sized bed, I was in Tel Aviv where I was soon to be placed on a Kibbutz, where I was to remain between May and August. Between a few recommendations from my cousins and what was available at the time, I chose Kibbutz Lotan. (By the way, the video on the front page of the Lotan site, I made.. more on that later.)
Wait, its now October you may be saying. I may not have had my cup of coffee today, but basic math dictates that you should have left by now, Eli. Well I didn't. This place is fantastic.. and I'll tell you why.
Kibbutz Lotan is located in the Arava valley of the southern Israeli Negev desert right at the border between Israel and Jordan. Who else can say they wake up and walk outside (barefoot may I add, things here are reaaal chill) to the sight of the Edom mountains. Fantastic, nuff said.
While I assumed Lotan would be great, I felt the biggest challenge when living here would have been getting over what its like to live in the desert. When I imagined what life would be like, I imagined I would be living among cacti, scorpions and yak skulls. I imagined constant sun and heat, cold nights and mirages of oasis pools filled with beautiful Israeli women. None of that is true. There is constant sun and heat, but the heat is not a heavy heat because there is no moisture in the air, also there is shade everywhere. At night in most deserts around the world, it gets cold but for some strange reason the Negev maintains it's temperature. Actually, It lowers from the daytime heat to very comfortable temperatures. On occasion you will see a scorpion or a camel spider. But they don't bother you. I stay very hydrated on Lotan (we get our water from an underground aquifer of saline fossil water) so I have not yet stumbled towards that oasis mirage.. but its cool because there are REAL oasis pools here. You just have to know where to look. And some of us know.
The kibbutz itself is a very unique one. Unique because it is supported by four pillars.
The first is that is is completely collective. What this means is that everything is shared by everyone on the kibbutz. All income, all facilities, all food, all everything. Most people work on the kibbutz in the kibbutz industries (which are dairy, arguably the best dates in the world, tourism, and ecology) while others work off of the kibbutz and give all revenue to the kibbutz. All kibbutzim (roughly 270 of them) in Israel started out this way, and it is the tragic fate of 75% of who had to privatize in order to continue to exist. Lotan did not. In summary, I have been living like a communist/socialist for the past four and a half months of my life and its great. Suck on that Fox News.
The second is that it is Reform Jewish. Of all roughly 270 kibbutzim, only two of them align with Reform Judaism. Kibbutzim either associate with religion or they do not. In Israel if you are religious, you are almost always Orthodox and if you are not, you are very much secular. There are a handful of religious kibbutzim, but most are secular. Just because someone may live on a secular kibbutz, however, does not mean that there are not people on that kibbutz who are not religious, it is simply that the kibbutz as a whole does not associate with religion. BUT We consider ourselves a religious kibbutz, but we are not orthodox, we are reform. I was raised in a reform jewish household, and this is the level of judaism that I know and love. It meas we keep a kosher kitchen, celebrate all holidays, keep shabbat etc.
The third is that the kibbutz tries its best to be as ecological as possible given the environment and the resources available. On of the kibbutz industries is the Kibbutz Lotan, Center for Creative Ecology and is in fact at the moment the division where I work and the reason why I extended my trip in Israel. The CfCE is a research center, an educational center and a center for educational tourism and learning. The CfCE hosts many programs including the Green Apprenticeship (which I would like at some point later, to return to participate in) where they teach practical ecology, permaculture, and community design. The video on the front page of the Lotan site is about the GA program. Pretty cool stuff.
The fourth and final pillar is that Lotan is an intentional community. What this means is that they have created a mission statement. Simply put, they don't exist only to make money and live. They see their time here as time with purpose for the greater good of themselves and hopefully the world.
My job on the kibbutz started in the kitchen. I worked there for two months and did zero cooking. Because of an injury to my knee playing soccer, I was advised by the local doctor to seek alternative employment so that I could stay off of my knee. I wanted to stay the remaining month but had to find alternative employment and living situation in order to stay. They also asked that I extend a little, and I say yes with almost no hesitation. That is when CfCE took me in, they also moved me in to the Bustan (in hebrew bustan is orchard) neighborhood where I have been living in a dome made of earth materials. Believe it or not it is incredibly comfortable consider I live in a mud igloo. You can see what they look like in the video, mine is the one with giant hands on the sides. But I don't mean to stray. The work that I do includes the following:
-Research
-Eco tour guide
-Marketing/Outreach
-Tech Development (I am making an iPhone app for Lotan CfCE)
-Office, clerical work
-Resident badass
While all of this is great, the one thing I have learned through all of my travels is that my experience is heavily dependent on the people I meet. I have met fantastic people whom I know I will be friends with for life. These people come from all over the world including: the U.S., England, Germany, Japan, Korea, South Africa, Australia, Sweeded, Switzerlnd, Spain, Austria, Holland, Argentina, Colombia, Ireland, Canada, and of course Ha'Aretz Yisrael (the land of Isreal).
On a more solemn note, I was here during the recent terrorist attacks by Hammas. Kibbutz Lotan is located only 15-20 km away from some of the attack sites. This may be frightening, but I can't imagine being in a safer place given the circumstances. What I mean by that is if there was a terrorist attack near me when I am somewhere else in the world (perhaps very similar to the sniper shootings of 2003 in Montgomery County.. where I grew up) I would feel less safe than I do here. Yalla Tzahel.
Hope I didn't bore you with my book. Now to the good stuff.
Highlights:
שלום לכולם (Hello Everyone)
It has been a long time since the last TAC post. Our European adventures ended four and a half months ago, but I (Eli) am still wandering the world and at a slightly different pace. From Germany I boarded a plane to Tel Aviv where I stayed a few days visiting family. Ben, my brother, happened to be in Jerusalem on Birthright at the time, so I made sure to see him. His trip, however, was being lead by (madricha in hebrew) a friend of mine from College, Carly. Hey Carly. Ma shlomech?
Anyways, besides family, friends, beaches, home cooked food, nights out, a queen sized bed, I was in Tel Aviv where I was soon to be placed on a Kibbutz, where I was to remain between May and August. Between a few recommendations from my cousins and what was available at the time, I chose Kibbutz Lotan. (By the way, the video on the front page of the Lotan site, I made.. more on that later.)
Wait, its now October you may be saying. I may not have had my cup of coffee today, but basic math dictates that you should have left by now, Eli. Well I didn't. This place is fantastic.. and I'll tell you why.
Kibbutz Lotan is located in the Arava valley of the southern Israeli Negev desert right at the border between Israel and Jordan. Who else can say they wake up and walk outside (barefoot may I add, things here are reaaal chill) to the sight of the Edom mountains. Fantastic, nuff said.
While I assumed Lotan would be great, I felt the biggest challenge when living here would have been getting over what its like to live in the desert. When I imagined what life would be like, I imagined I would be living among cacti, scorpions and yak skulls. I imagined constant sun and heat, cold nights and mirages of oasis pools filled with beautiful Israeli women. None of that is true. There is constant sun and heat, but the heat is not a heavy heat because there is no moisture in the air, also there is shade everywhere. At night in most deserts around the world, it gets cold but for some strange reason the Negev maintains it's temperature. Actually, It lowers from the daytime heat to very comfortable temperatures. On occasion you will see a scorpion or a camel spider. But they don't bother you. I stay very hydrated on Lotan (we get our water from an underground aquifer of saline fossil water) so I have not yet stumbled towards that oasis mirage.. but its cool because there are REAL oasis pools here. You just have to know where to look. And some of us know.
The kibbutz itself is a very unique one. Unique because it is supported by four pillars.
The first is that is is completely collective. What this means is that everything is shared by everyone on the kibbutz. All income, all facilities, all food, all everything. Most people work on the kibbutz in the kibbutz industries (which are dairy, arguably the best dates in the world, tourism, and ecology) while others work off of the kibbutz and give all revenue to the kibbutz. All kibbutzim (roughly 270 of them) in Israel started out this way, and it is the tragic fate of 75% of who had to privatize in order to continue to exist. Lotan did not. In summary, I have been living like a communist/socialist for the past four and a half months of my life and its great. Suck on that Fox News.
The second is that it is Reform Jewish. Of all roughly 270 kibbutzim, only two of them align with Reform Judaism. Kibbutzim either associate with religion or they do not. In Israel if you are religious, you are almost always Orthodox and if you are not, you are very much secular. There are a handful of religious kibbutzim, but most are secular. Just because someone may live on a secular kibbutz, however, does not mean that there are not people on that kibbutz who are not religious, it is simply that the kibbutz as a whole does not associate with religion. BUT We consider ourselves a religious kibbutz, but we are not orthodox, we are reform. I was raised in a reform jewish household, and this is the level of judaism that I know and love. It meas we keep a kosher kitchen, celebrate all holidays, keep shabbat etc.
The third is that the kibbutz tries its best to be as ecological as possible given the environment and the resources available. On of the kibbutz industries is the Kibbutz Lotan, Center for Creative Ecology and is in fact at the moment the division where I work and the reason why I extended my trip in Israel. The CfCE is a research center, an educational center and a center for educational tourism and learning. The CfCE hosts many programs including the Green Apprenticeship (which I would like at some point later, to return to participate in) where they teach practical ecology, permaculture, and community design. The video on the front page of the Lotan site is about the GA program. Pretty cool stuff.
The fourth and final pillar is that Lotan is an intentional community. What this means is that they have created a mission statement. Simply put, they don't exist only to make money and live. They see their time here as time with purpose for the greater good of themselves and hopefully the world.
My job on the kibbutz started in the kitchen. I worked there for two months and did zero cooking. Because of an injury to my knee playing soccer, I was advised by the local doctor to seek alternative employment so that I could stay off of my knee. I wanted to stay the remaining month but had to find alternative employment and living situation in order to stay. They also asked that I extend a little, and I say yes with almost no hesitation. That is when CfCE took me in, they also moved me in to the Bustan (in hebrew bustan is orchard) neighborhood where I have been living in a dome made of earth materials. Believe it or not it is incredibly comfortable consider I live in a mud igloo. You can see what they look like in the video, mine is the one with giant hands on the sides. But I don't mean to stray. The work that I do includes the following:
-Research
-Eco tour guide
-Marketing/Outreach
-Tech Development (I am making an iPhone app for Lotan CfCE)
-Office, clerical work
-Resident badass
While all of this is great, the one thing I have learned through all of my travels is that my experience is heavily dependent on the people I meet. I have met fantastic people whom I know I will be friends with for life. These people come from all over the world including: the U.S., England, Germany, Japan, Korea, South Africa, Australia, Sweeded, Switzerlnd, Spain, Austria, Holland, Argentina, Colombia, Ireland, Canada, and of course Ha'Aretz Yisrael (the land of Isreal).
On a more solemn note, I was here during the recent terrorist attacks by Hammas. Kibbutz Lotan is located only 15-20 km away from some of the attack sites. This may be frightening, but I can't imagine being in a safer place given the circumstances. What I mean by that is if there was a terrorist attack near me when I am somewhere else in the world (perhaps very similar to the sniper shootings of 2003 in Montgomery County.. where I grew up) I would feel less safe than I do here. Yalla Tzahel.
Hope I didn't bore you with my book. Now to the good stuff.
Highlights:
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Côte D'Azur
We returned to Nice, France to spend a week relaxing beachside and exploring the French Riviera. Nice is the perfect place to do this because you can reach many French coastal cities within 30 minutes by train and with our train passes every ride was free. And the hostel, Villa Saint Exupéry never ceases to amaze (see the previous Nice post).
We explored, in particular, three towns along the Riviera.
Monaco
Not French, Monaco is actually the second smallest country in the world (next to the Vatican City) and is home to many of the world's wealthy for the simple reason that residents of Monaco are not subjected to taxes. The monarchy of Monaco (yes there is still an active royal family that rules the country) has found other ways to raise money for the state, the primary source being tourism (I don't know how much we contributed to the economy, I think Corey bought a Coca Cola but that's it). That being said, Monaco is famed for the Grand Prix, a Formula 1 race through the streets. While there, we got to see the city setting up for the race, missing it by only two weeks. We also visited the famed Monte Carlo Casino, and if I can put things in perspective some people were winning easily 7,000 Euro in one hand and so naturally felt compelled to tip the dealer upwards of 300 Euro. Naturally, right? I would.
Cap D'Ail
Just south of Monaco, Cap D'Ail is where you move if you would like to live in a gated mansion with a pool instead of a flat (Monaco is so small and so crowded that there aren't mansions like you might expect there to be). There is not much here besides these mansions, owners of these mansions, their cars, yachts, beachside restaurants and of course beaches. Being of the financially deficient variety, we spent our time on the beach. Funny story in this town: I had scraped my knee a bit while swimming to the cave. Later in the day I was getting hungry and determined to find a sandwich of some kind. This was harder than I thought since there are only a few things in this town (as stated earlier) so I was walking around, alone mind you, for quite some time. I noticed that strolling couples would double take when they saw me walking, often the wife would whisper something to her husband and their pace would quicken. This struck me as strange until I realized that my leg was bleeding. To these people, I was seen as a threat. Me. Ha. I don't blame them, though I may try to aide the wounded.
Antibes
I visited the town of Cap D'Antibes as a child and wanted to return to see what it was like with an older perspective on things. The trip with my family as a child was under much different circumstances. Needless to say we stayed with an incredibly affluent friend of my Grandfather. Their estate was so great we barely left. This time around, the only rich part of my trip to Antibes was my humor (I hope at least one person laughed when they read that). We explored the old town, the marina and the beaches.
Highlights:
We explored, in particular, three towns along the Riviera.
Monaco
Not French, Monaco is actually the second smallest country in the world (next to the Vatican City) and is home to many of the world's wealthy for the simple reason that residents of Monaco are not subjected to taxes. The monarchy of Monaco (yes there is still an active royal family that rules the country) has found other ways to raise money for the state, the primary source being tourism (I don't know how much we contributed to the economy, I think Corey bought a Coca Cola but that's it). That being said, Monaco is famed for the Grand Prix, a Formula 1 race through the streets. While there, we got to see the city setting up for the race, missing it by only two weeks. We also visited the famed Monte Carlo Casino, and if I can put things in perspective some people were winning easily 7,000 Euro in one hand and so naturally felt compelled to tip the dealer upwards of 300 Euro. Naturally, right? I would.
Cap D'Ail
Just south of Monaco, Cap D'Ail is where you move if you would like to live in a gated mansion with a pool instead of a flat (Monaco is so small and so crowded that there aren't mansions like you might expect there to be). There is not much here besides these mansions, owners of these mansions, their cars, yachts, beachside restaurants and of course beaches. Being of the financially deficient variety, we spent our time on the beach. Funny story in this town: I had scraped my knee a bit while swimming to the cave. Later in the day I was getting hungry and determined to find a sandwich of some kind. This was harder than I thought since there are only a few things in this town (as stated earlier) so I was walking around, alone mind you, for quite some time. I noticed that strolling couples would double take when they saw me walking, often the wife would whisper something to her husband and their pace would quicken. This struck me as strange until I realized that my leg was bleeding. To these people, I was seen as a threat. Me. Ha. I don't blame them, though I may try to aide the wounded.
Antibes
I visited the town of Cap D'Antibes as a child and wanted to return to see what it was like with an older perspective on things. The trip with my family as a child was under much different circumstances. Needless to say we stayed with an incredibly affluent friend of my Grandfather. Their estate was so great we barely left. This time around, the only rich part of my trip to Antibes was my humor (I hope at least one person laughed when they read that). We explored the old town, the marina and the beaches.
Highlights:
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Barcelona
We have now reached the last major stop and new city within the three month European expedition. Barcelona, Spain is indeed an interesting place and if some Barcelonians could have it their way, the city would not even be Spanish. Of the Catalan region, the primary language of Barcelona is in fact Catalonian, an interesting and unique combination of Spanish and French (find Barcelona on a map and you'll see why). Here's an example: The word for 'exit' in Spanish is 'salida' and in French is 'sortir'. The word for 'exit' in Catalan is 'sortida'. Furthermore the word for 'I' in Spanish is 'yo' and in French is 'je'.. in Catalan it is 'jo'. Beyond the obvious language barrier this creates between the Spaniards and the Catalonians (side note: all Catalonians speak Spanish but not necessarily the other way around) this principle is just a microcosm of the Catalonian spirit and is therefore not surprising that the Catalonian region even has a strong separatist party.
In regards to how we spent our time in Barcelona, there is much more to see than is possible given only 2 touring days. Plus, we are getting burnt out from all the tourismmmm (imagine me saying that word out loud as it is typed.. and that may help put a mental picture in your head of how I feel about tourism after three months non-stop. Vacationing is hard work.) The point that I am trying to make here is that in the last few stops of our travels, we have been embracing opportunities to enjoy the experiences along side or instead of the must-sees in each respected city. This one no different. We spent one lazy day wandering the Guell Park, a park created by the Spanish architect Antoni Guadi known for his love of 'natural curves'. There is really no rhyme or reason behind his architecture and yet it is beautiful. The videos and photos will do no justice in showing you what I am trying to explain so.... go to Barcelona and see for yourself. We also spent time wandering the gothic quarter, the Sagrada Familia cathedral, relaxing port side and even watched people and pigeons interact for about an hour. I got some great photos of this, be on the lookout.
All great Barcelonian things aside, the city is also known for it's extravagant pick pocketing and prostitution scenes. Sometimes they are two within one. Just walking home from a night out with Tom, we we're confronted by easily 20 prostitues in 10 minutes, their pimps waiting on the other side of the block. So if you do make it here, watch out... especially at night.
Once again, we met up with my friend Tom whom you might recognize from the Stockholm video who showed us around town. He has been spending the semester abroad in the city. Watch the video and this following comment will make sense, but I yet again forgot to buy him the batteries that I owe him. You'll get them within the next 20 years, I promise. Hopefully I'll see you and the other guys in Chicago come August.
One more thing, for anyone whose known me since elementary school, you will especially appreciate the last clip in this video (but don't skip to the end).
Highlights:
In regards to how we spent our time in Barcelona, there is much more to see than is possible given only 2 touring days. Plus, we are getting burnt out from all the tourismmmm (imagine me saying that word out loud as it is typed.. and that may help put a mental picture in your head of how I feel about tourism after three months non-stop. Vacationing is hard work.) The point that I am trying to make here is that in the last few stops of our travels, we have been embracing opportunities to enjoy the experiences along side or instead of the must-sees in each respected city. This one no different. We spent one lazy day wandering the Guell Park, a park created by the Spanish architect Antoni Guadi known for his love of 'natural curves'. There is really no rhyme or reason behind his architecture and yet it is beautiful. The videos and photos will do no justice in showing you what I am trying to explain so.... go to Barcelona and see for yourself. We also spent time wandering the gothic quarter, the Sagrada Familia cathedral, relaxing port side and even watched people and pigeons interact for about an hour. I got some great photos of this, be on the lookout.
All great Barcelonian things aside, the city is also known for it's extravagant pick pocketing and prostitution scenes. Sometimes they are two within one. Just walking home from a night out with Tom, we we're confronted by easily 20 prostitues in 10 minutes, their pimps waiting on the other side of the block. So if you do make it here, watch out... especially at night.
Once again, we met up with my friend Tom whom you might recognize from the Stockholm video who showed us around town. He has been spending the semester abroad in the city. Watch the video and this following comment will make sense, but I yet again forgot to buy him the batteries that I owe him. You'll get them within the next 20 years, I promise. Hopefully I'll see you and the other guys in Chicago come August.
One more thing, for anyone whose known me since elementary school, you will especially appreciate the last clip in this video (but don't skip to the end).
Highlights:
Friday, April 29, 2011
Seville
While in Marseille, we met a guy who told us that he "arrived in Sevilla at night and spent only a few hours there but even at night walking through the streets I could tell this was my favorite city in Europe." With a recommendation like that, how could we pass on that city? Plus my friend Mike Skoda, whom we ran in to in Stockholm, had been spending the semester studying abroad in this city. We only spent 2 nights in Sevilla, Spain but they we're well worth it.
Spending two nights really means only one full day of touring, so we rented bikes. There is a lot to see and do in this smaller town and we we're only able to do so much yet I am still satisfied with our visit there. At night, Mike took us out where I ate my first helping of authentic paella and my first authentic sangria followed by a night of bar hopping.
Sevilla is a must see Spanish city.
Highlights:
Spending two nights really means only one full day of touring, so we rented bikes. There is a lot to see and do in this smaller town and we we're only able to do so much yet I am still satisfied with our visit there. At night, Mike took us out where I ate my first helping of authentic paella and my first authentic sangria followed by a night of bar hopping.
Sevilla is a must see Spanish city.
Highlights:
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