Turns out Wifi signals are harder to find than I thought

I'm really sorry I haven't updated this more. I simply haven't had the opportunity either due to being busy, or not having any wifi signals. To make up for that, here's 2 weeks worth of posts. Photos will follow once I get home from the two weeks of weddings.

080811 1040 Israeli Time

Well I did get to play some airsoft after all. I felt much better on Saturday and got in a couple small games with Ron and his team. I'll relate more on that later.

Sunday I felt much better and linked up with the Sar El program. Myself and eight other men were placed with the Magav- the Israeli Border Police at a base somewhere in the Afula area. I don't know how much I can get into with regards to location specifics but to say that on three separate occasions we've heard large booms that seem to be the work of Israeli combat engineers.

Spartan accommodations describes this to a tee. I'm sleeping on a 3 inch foam mattress dated 2003. I have no sheets, but I got a sleeping bag from supply to use as a bottom sheet. No pillow, so I'm using a pillowcase filled with my clothes. No screen in the window, no working A/C. Last night we left the door to our room open to get some airflow. My sleep was constantly interrupted by the soldiers speaking, yelling, joking with each other and the clack of weapons being cleaned and prepped. As someone who likes racking the bolt on his airsoft guns I've got to say, none of them are as loud at the bolt on an M- 6 being racked repeatedly a 0300 right outside your room.

Sleep as it turns out wasn't my big problem. My diarrhea came back this morning with a vengeance. I missed the morning flag ceremony and the morning's work. The base medic took a look at me, checked my vitals and dispensed some soldier strength Immodium. I'll try working after lunch. In the meantime I'm drinking a lot of water. I feel kind of ashamed because of this. I know I can't help it and not knowing what made me sick I can't say I could have avoided it. All I can think is that I'm being a burden right now instead of an asset. Something which is the opposite of everything I wanted to do this trip.

I'm sharing my room with a middle age American railway worker(Who voted for Kinky Friedman) , a 28 year old French Army reservist and another Frenchman whom I don't know a lot about. We also have two guys from down under, one from Kiwi and one Aussie from Tazmania. So far I can see some of the usual group dynamics, some people lead more, some follow more and some are just along for the ride. I haven't yet figured out where I stand.


080812 1600 Israeli Time

The Magav is Israel's border police. They are pretty much what you'd get if you combined the US Border Patrol and US Marine Corps. The people on our base patrol the border of the West Bank, conduct operations in Israeli controlled parts of the West Bank including combat operations. This base also houses the Israeli military court which tries Palestinians from certain areas who commit crimes against Israel. These can range from illegal entry, theft, etc. up to terrorism such as bombings.

Yesterday, after cleaning up the area around the court we were allowed to observe part of a trial on the charge of attempted murder. the defendant looked about my age, perhaps younger. Sitting two rows in front of our group were a man and a woman, the man looked like his father, the woman could have been the defendant's mother or grandmother. Due to the seriousness of the crime there were 3 judges who would decide the case as opposed to one for minor cases.

While I liked the idea that we could see this I was pretty pissed off by the conduct of some in my group. They seemed to treat is as a spectacle, as entertainment, on kept asking if he could take photos. I found it very disrespectful to the court and to defendant and his family. It seemed like we were mocking them in a way.

Today I've been working in the kitchen doing a heck of a lot of cleaning, The base's main meal is lunch because the court personnel do not overnight at the base. In talking o repeat Sar-El volunteers the chow at this base seems above average. Probably because of the court and the fact that the Magav here do combat operations. Good food keeps up morale. With that in mind I didn't terribly mind the constant grind and sweat of the kitchen. Though when the time came to unload the food truck I smartly positioned myself at the end of the relay so that I was the one stowing the cartons of food in the walk in refrigerator.

The cast of characters:
T'chia ( Teh-Hia)- Our Madricha (Leader), she's the IDF soldier assigned to take care of our group, arrange things, see that we're well and working. Nice girl, good English, sometimes a bit scatter-brained. Somewhat stocky figure.

Jean/John- A Frenchman from the Toulouse area. He's a veteran of the French army and thinking of moving to Israel. He's a Gentile.

Yaniv- The other Frenchman. Not the best English, fluent Hebrew. he tends to use that to go off on his own with the Israelis much to the consternation of others. He's not someoen I like to entrust with the key to our room.

Art/ Arthur- A Texan on his second marriage. he works for the railroad and voted for Kinky Freidman in Texas' last election. He and I get along wonderfully despite about 30 years difference in age. This is his third Sar El trip.

Mark- Mark's done over five Sar El's and has written a book about the Sar El experience. I plan on picking up a copy and late4r picking his brain about the process.

Brad- I have a hard time figuring him out. He's a tall middle age man with a very soft voice and a manner that makes me wonder if he wasn't out in the sun too long. He was on the first Sar El that our base had about a month ago.

More to come later.

2100 Hours

I'll continue the rogue's gallery another time. For now I'll talk a little about a typical day here at the place I'm calling Fort Apache. ( As I said before, I don't know how specific I can get about the location, but that name should give you a clue as to the neighborhood. ) There are two details, outdoor detail and kitchen detail. Outdoor detail has mostly been doing things like trimming plants, pulling weeds and sweeping up pigeon crap. Kitchen detail is... yeah in the kitchen. Mainly cleaning, but also doing some food prep.

Anyway, kitchen crew has to report for work at 0730 to set up a small breakfast for the volunteers. This base does not normally serve breakfast. Then it's cleanup and prepping lunch, which is the big meal of the day. Lunch is also he only meat meal of the day. Once lunch is clean up kitchen crew is released until 1700 when they report to prepare dinner which resembles a typical American diner breakfast with eggs and fried potatoes being the main attraction. The outdoor crew is released from work around 15:30-1700 and has a chance to relax and clean up before dinner.

At 19:30 both teams get back together for an evening activity. Last night it was M-16 night, a brief rundown of the M-16 rifle, it's operation, parts and shooting positions. I managed to keep my mouth shut most of the time. Tonight it was the bomb squad who live in the barracks behind us. They showed us real (rendered safe) devices as well as reproductions. They also took responsibility for the two explosions we heard our first night on base. We got to try on some of their body armor and test drive the smaller of the two robots they keep on hand. On the first try I was able to pick up a brick with the manipulator arm and move it a few feet before setting it back down in a standing position. A light touch is key. When that fails, the robot does have a 12 gauge shotgun.

Right now I can hear some of the soldiers singing some traditional songs. I think I heard “Dayenu” a few minutes ago. I'm a little too tired from running around the kitchen all day to remember the others. It sounds loud, boisterous and fun. I can really get a sense of their camaraderie.

From the first 5 minutes on base I decided to give up on being clean. I've worn the same pair of socks every day, changed my underwear once. It sounds disgusting, but there simply is no point in trying to be clean here. Between the weather and the work I'm constantly sweating and stinking. Showers are a nice way to end the day, but in the morning they're an exercise in futility. My ill-fitting uniform could probably stand on its own and I'm kind of looking forward to turning it in at the end of the week. At the same time, I'm kind of attached to it and not in the, “Oh G-d it's not coming off,” sense, although that is a real possibility.

Well, time to enjoy the evening air and the five minutes of clean feeling my shower gives me.

080813 14:45 Israeli time

Tomorrow we're leaving the base for day trip to a water park in Holon, near Tel Aviv. All the Sar El groups will be there so in addition to cooling off there will be programs and maybe some networking. Afterwards we'll be released for the weekend. Contrary to what I though I'd do I find myself registered at the soldier's hostel in Jerusalem. I figure I'll save tel Aviv for the last weekend because it will be easier to make my flight. And by then the hotel bill will be quite easy for me to justify. In the meantime I'll see Jerusalem on shabbos, wander around the shuk, maybe go to the Israel Museum. I'll probably pick up some militaria at Mr. T's on Ben Yehuda for myself and the airsoft crew. I also plan on partying it up on Saturday night.

I don't have to be back at the kitchen until 1700, but won't bother showering until the evening. It really doesn't pay until all the day's work is done.

It's kind of odd that I've paid several thousand dollars to come halfway around the world to scrub huge pots and pans, pull weeds and generally do other work that i wouldn't want to be paid for in the States. But for some reason doing those jobs here gives me a sense of pride I haven't had in a while. I'm helping to feed Jewish soldiers. I'm helping to make their difficult military service better. I'm physically standing up for what I believe in. It sounds corny when I say it, but when I feel it it's anything but.

Did you know that when they raise the each morning here they don't sing Hatikva? Why do they need to? They're living it. For these few weeks, so am I. Another thing that I just realized yesterday- the bred on the tables at the cheder ochel (mess hall) is rye bread. Fairly good rye bread too, but no seeds. And no corned beef in sight.


22:16 Israeli time

This is what being on a combat base is. I just watched a dozen or so troops armor up, gear up and head out to do a mission on the other side of the border. Less than five hours ago I was serving them spaghetti. I hardly know these guys but I find myself quite concerned for them. I wouldn't mind if they woke me up in three hours and I don't sleep a wink tonight. As long as all of them come back. I can't wait up for them, hey packed several boxes of food so they plan to be out quite a while. This is a small fraction of something I've never had to deal with. The relative or close friend going on a tour of duty to a war zone. Seeing a friend from way back depart on a mission not knowing what may happen. I know I tend to be overly emotional about a lot of things but with this kind of thing going on, how can I not?


080815 20 45 Israeli time Shabbat shalom

I guess I figured out the reason for coming back to Jerusalem despite having every reason in the world to either go play airsoft or sit on the tel Aviv beach with an umbrella drink. It's part of the whole “promise keeping” reason I came here again. One directive I gave myself was, “Walk the same ground (As I did 10 years ago with the youth group.)” It's a little redundant as going to the Kotel with my father, walking down Ben Yehuda Street or the main drag in the Armenian Quarter all fulfill the letter of the directive. But I was after something different. Something specific to myself and fewer than 40 other people on planet earth. So tonight I found a holy place- it has been used for prayer before and I said what I needed to say.

“I'm back. It took me ten long years but I'm back. I'm here as my own man. Grown, self reliant and good at heart. I kept this promise. I will keep others. I hope it won't take ten years.”

See, that place in Independence Park, near a concrete rectangle on the ground, between some trees with enough room for 30 people to sit in a circle is where we did Shabbat services the first weekend our group was in Yerushalayim. Funny how I got more chocked up there than at the Kotel. I guess holiness is wherever you find it, especially from within.

One of the other directives I gave myself was much more earthly. On the way to do that service we walked past a bunch of sidewalk cafes with people eating good food and drinking good beer. So I found a place that's actually open on Friday nights had a couple Stella Artois a decent sandwich and people watched for a couple hours. I think this trip is the last hurrah of “Eli the loaner.”

When I was growing up I had very few friends. I was and am extremely self conscious and so afraid to slip up and bring the inevitable ridicule that I just came to depend on myself at the expense of interpersonal relationships. If I get one thing out of this trip I hope it is the memory of this as my last solo expedition. Next time I need someone else. Friend, girlfriend or family I don't care. Some things just need to be experienced with someone you care about. I think this is one of those things. So ladies- You know where to find me and what I'd like you to wear. Gentlemen- well, just bring beer if we can't get the ladies to come out.

I spent most of the day wandering the area around the old city. I did pretty well in the Jewish and Armenian quarters and by myself didn't have the stones to go into the others. Next time. I did well for myself at the market on Jaffa street. Some tea and bread for Shabbat and black jelly beans for the back on the base. all for under $15. I guess that's the kind of deal I could get at the public marked in Rochester- if I were ever awake for it.

The airsofters out there will be happy to know I hit up the two surplus stores near Ben Yehuda. I bought a pair of IDF trousers to replace the earlier ones I bought and outgrew, but also to guarantee that I'll have a pair of pants that fits me for this week as opposed to last week's flood pants. The trousers are not the most recent pattern (There's a reason it's called “surplus.”) but I've noticed at least 3 distinct patterns of uniforms in use sometimes within the same unit, sometimes mixed and matched on the same soldier. So as long as the cut is right and the pockets are in the right place it works., I would like to find a Magav uniform for airsoft use. In additions to being grey rather than green the Magav uniform has two important differences that I really like.
1)The option for a short sleeved shirt.
2)A zippered fly as opposed to a button one. Needless to say, this matters a hell of a lot more to me than sleeve length.

080817 21:04 Israeli time

This is going to sound weird but for the last three days I've actually missed my accommodations at the Magav base. I missed the lack of sheets, the stuffiness, the bugs, the now familiar noises. I missed the people, the soldiers I recognize, now they nod as we pass. We volunteers seem to have been allowed more respect after the first week. I missed my constant companions. Jean and Art. Yaniv has gone to another base and we're all more or less happy to be rid of him. Everyone works better now. It seems like the times' passing very quickly, like the last week of school or summer camp.

I know my contact with home has sucked. I haven't found all the WiFi hot spots I thought I would. Truth be told, I've been too busy to be bothered much by it.

My Canonet shit the bed on me the other day in Jerusalem. I've gotten less than three full rolls through it. I know I'll take all the film home because I can use that in other cameras. As much as i want to bring the camera home and maybe get it repaired I will most likely leave it here. It was purchased at a garage sale to be expendable and it was always somewhat unreliable. The real downside is that I really like having a rangefinder in the arsenal and replacing this is going to cost me a lot. Hasselbald Widelux anyone?

080820 16:45 Israeli time

This will be my last entry from the base. Today was our last full day of work. Tomorrow at about 1300 we'll board a bus for Tel Aviv and go our separate ways. Most of my time here has been spend in the kitchen doing many, many rounds of dishes. Yesterday I got to do some cooking which I found much more satisfying. especially because the troops really liked the food. I think I'll try making some schnitzels at home. Feeding 3 or 4 people will be much easier than 3-400. I got out of the kitchen and did some weeding followed by helping Art (one of my bunkmates) do some painting. We painted two reasonably identical representations of the military court insignia flanking a saluting soldier. It took some creativity because the only colors we had to work with were red, green and yellow.

Tonight is a special dinner, we're having a barbecue. We'll also be exchanging contact information, there will be many kind words and who knows, maybe tears. We all chipped in to get Techiya our Madricha some jewelry.

Tomorrow Art and I will be splitting a room at a hotel in tel Aviv, he flies out on Saturday, I fly out a day later. I don't mind paying full shot for a night in a decent hotel at peak rates. If anything, I'm looking forward to it.

I suspect I'll spend a very long time coming to terms with exactly what I got out of this trip. For right now, I'll simply say pride in a job well done and pride in myself for not disappointing. As with the first Israel trip, much of this will take years to work itself out. But this time I'm far more prepared for that process.

080821 16:45 Israeli time

I'm now at the Hotel Adiv in Tel Aviv where I will be staying for the next three nights. The room is small, the price high, but since I'm way under budget I don't really care. We're a block from the beach and a short walk to the Carmel market. Tomorrow I'm planning on taking a longer walk to the IDF museum.

As expected, parting with the group was bitter sweet. I now know that if I ever get to New Zealand I have a place I can stay. I'll certainly make an effort to try yo keep in touch with most of the people on the trip, although two of them will most likely fall by the wayside. I guess that's pretty good. Six out of eight fall into the “cool” category, and two are in the, “Well, I could live with them for 2 weeks,” category.