Catch Up

Well, it has only been five days since my last post, but I have a lot of catching up to do, but before I go back to shabbos in Strasbourg, I want to write about something interesting that happened today. To put it in context, I have to mention the rhetoric that is not so uncommon that says that the Palestinians want the Jews out of Israel because they are anti-Semites and don't like Jews, that they are "Amalek" and want to kill us. It may sound extreme, but I have heard it more than twice. To the story:
Today I went to the top of Tour Montparnasse, probably the best view of Paris, and when I exited I saw a street market. Of course, being obsessed with food I wandered around, salivating over the cheeses, meats, fish, and all of the other items that make up a gourmands dreams but a kosher-keeping Jew's nightmares. Of course, the fruits and vegetables are A-OK, so I decided to buy some. The vendor did not speak any English, but with pointing and knowing how to say 'demi-kilo' I was able to communicate what I wanted. He saw my kippah (yes, I am wearing a kippah; France is anti-Semitic, but it is not as bad as people make it out to be), gave me a huge smile, and said "Shalom!" I thought he may have been Israeli, wouldn't have been the first I met, so I said back "Atah medaber Ivrit" (you speak Hebrew)? He responded, "Mah shlomcha, Baruch Hashem!" Clearly, he did not speak Hebrew either. With some rudimentary French I asked him where he was from, and he said, Palestine, Gaza. He has been in Paris three years, and seems to be glad to be here.
That was the end of our interaction, but I wondered, if all of these people hate us so much, why would he go out of his way to engage me in a friendly manner? Sure, it was a crowded area, he can't express his hatred, but then t least give me my fruit brusquely and then be done with it. Of course, I never bought into that rhetoric of hatred, but it was nice to see some real proof.

Zurich and the Sauters

The great thing about not having plan is that they cannot unexpectedly change. Instead of going straight to Paris from Zurich, which was my original idea, there were no Eurail Pass seats available before the weekend, so I am going straight to Strasbourg for shabbos (Thanks Sarah!), and then going to Paris from there on Sunday. This actually worked out really well, as it gave me sometime to relax (jetlag is killing me) and to see the city.
Zurich is really nice. It is the biggest city in Switzerland, but still pretty small, with a population in the hundreds of thousands. What it lacks in people though, it makes up for in amazing architecture. And a beautiful lakefront with parks and fountains and a ferris wheel. And a really charming old city with cobblestones and buildings that go as far back as the Roman Empire, though the Roman buildings are really just ruins. The city is really gorgeous, as is, I assume, most European cities. There is a river that cuts right through the city and empties into the Zurichsee (lake), and swans glide up and down the river and into the lake, where you can see the snow covered Alps in the distance. It's all a bit surreal. The weather is also beautiful; it is warm, around 85, not too humid, and not a cloud in the sky. There were tons of people out sunbathing on the lawns and by the water, and walking along the cobblestoned streets of the old city. So far a great start to the trip.
The Sauters, parents of close friends of the family, are also amazing people. Not only are they insanely hospitable and ridiculously accommodating, hey are also extremely intelligent and great conversationalist. Over dinner (and after) we talked about European and American history and politics, Jungian psychology, Einstein's life, Jewish history of the Inquisition, Spinoza, Jewish theology, theology in general, and the etiology of cancer. All in one sitting, with appropriate segues and everything. If al Europeans can converse like that, I may move here; also med school is a thousand Franks a year, as opposed to my 60,000 dollars a year. Jeez, they have it good!
Tomorrow morning I am off to Strasbourg for shabbos, and then on Sunday I am going to Paris, after which I will return to Switzerland. Until next time!

Arrived

I landed in Zurich at 8:26 am local time. The city, from what Ihave seen so far, is beautiful. I was picked up from the airport by friends of the family, amazing people, and I am in their ridiculously amazing house right now. There are shelves of books lining all the walls, an apple tree, a cherry tree, tons of books, a garden, an amazing den with a big piano, and tons of books everywhere. Of course, being in Switzerland, it is also very clean and organized. And there are shelves of books.
I almost did not make the flight, first because I did not have a return ticket, though in the end my Railpass sufficed. Then, the flight to Phillly, where I was supposed to conncet to Zurich, was delayed, but we got there just in time for boarding.
Nothing much to say yet about Europe; haven't seen much ineresting yet, though the Swiss airport is quite something. Clean, organized, pretty advanced with all kinds of fancz projected screens and sounds (you can hear cows mooing on the inter-terminal rail), but with a baggage carousel that looks like it is from a regional airport in Argentina.
The Swiss keyboard is annoying as the Z and Y key are switched; it takes a while to type up a blogpost when zou need to paz attention to everzthing zou are doing on the kezboard. If I type normallz the word yebra comes out completely misspelled.

Off to Europe!

It's been a while since my last post. I guess that's mostly because nothing interesting has been going on recently. I've had a couple of adventures and good times here and there, like when I biked to Baltimore, or all of Pesach, which was really nice, or the two Shabbatot I spent in QC this semester, but overall it's been either work or just bumming around. Well, today that changes. In a few hours my Mom will be taking me to LaGuardia, where I will get on a plane for Zurich. No, I have no idea what I am doing in Europe, or how long I will be there. Actually, not knowing what to expect, and not really knowing where I will be or what I will do, not having done much research, makes this trip a bit intimidating. In theory, of course, this type of trip is supposed to be super flexible and free, and allow for more fun, which I am sure it will, but right now it's just a tad scary. For the next month or two I have no plans; my life in front of me a complete void on a continent I have never been to (except Hungary). In my mind, I know it will be fun, but I guess it is not knowing what it is that will be fun is the intimidating part. It's also what makes this trip more of an adventure and not a vacation, though the fact that there is nothing that I need a vacation from also helps. I think the fact that I am not able to do the Europe trip that I really wanted to do, by bike, is a bit of a bummer also, but I am not ruling out coming back a little earlier if my knee starts behaving and doing a biking trip in the States.
Well, I have to finish up packing. The next post will come from the other side of the Atlantic!

The Superbowl and the Emasculation of the American Male

I have a confession to make. The 44th Superbowl was my first Superbowl ever. Actually, it was really my first football game ever. The Superbowl is probably one of the single most iconic American events of the year, right up there with the Fourth of July, so I guess I've been missing out on an essential part of our culture. I have to concede that, though I do not follow any sports, and I won't stat now, the game itself was pretty entertaining, and there were some massively good plays (and just plain massive players). However, I've always heard that the best part of the Superbowl are the commercials. Corporations vie for prime slots during the game, and second are measured out in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. I was sorely disappointed.
First of all, none of the commercials were clever, witty, or even remotely interesting; I'm not a big fan of commercials in the first place (perhaps one day I will rant about them) and these were no exception. There was not one redeeming quality to any of the commercials this year. I did, however, notice something quite interesting. At least three of the commercials (I think there was another one, maybe two) were based on the American male losing his 'gender role.' I won't get into what that role is right now, but I don't think I need to (I actually have a picture of a Dockers billboard commercial that illustrates what I am saying on Facebook). Car companies to wireless providers tried to sell there products by saying that men should fight back and demand certain 'manly' pleasures, strongly implying that the American male is swiftly becoming emasculated, and these benevolent corporations want to help. It was, frankly, weird. I have no idea where this idea came from, and I don't even know if it is true, if feminists will rejoice, if men really care, etc. It just stood out for me.
The funniest add, I think, followed the stages of a man's life, highlighting all the manly responsibilities he had and then, almost as if giving men permission, tells the audience that men deserve skin care. Buy Dove MANLY skin care products.
And a Post-Script: The Who were a great band. Their songs are iconic and they were revolutionary, but the performance tonight was actually sad to watch. They looked as though they were on their last legs (though the light show was cool). Why don't they get contemporary artists for these shows, or at least a band who aren't yet members of AARP.

I'm Back

Sorry for the very long delay in updates; for any of you still reading, I went to California right after the last post and then to Puerto Rico a few days after that. I did not have a computer in either of those places, and I just got back yesterday. Both trips were awesome (though not quite on the level of 2.5 months in Argentina), but since I have a huge backlog of stories to write from all three trips, and, of course, everything that is going on now, I am going to randomly switch around what I write about. Things may not be in chronological order.
Meanwhile, I am now back in NY for the month of February, working to make some more money for the next phase of traveling. Speaking of, I am not yet sure where I will go. Obviously, finances play a huge role in my decision making process; if I had (much) more money I would spend 3 or 4 (or more) months in Europe. I'm looking for cheaper suggestions however, and I am definitely up for advice. Do any of my faithful readers have suggestions for a penurious pilgrim?

The Hotel Lobby of South America

Puerto Madryn, a Welsh settlement, is the marine life capital of the country. Sea mammals flock from north and south to the milder temperatures of Peninsula Valdes to mate, kind of like how frum singles flock to hotel lobbies to date. Just like the hotel lobbies, besides for the love-scene, not much goes on in Puerto Madryn. When I arrived, I went straight to the tour offices to find a wildlife tour that could have me in and out of Peninsula Valdes that day in an attempt to avoid staying in Puerto Madryn overnight. Unfortunately, our bus arrived in the town at 8, just as all of the tours were leaving. I was a little disappointed at first, but I then made a decision that taught me a great travel lesson; when you are stuck somewhere with nothing really to do, rent a bike and explore. After finding a hostel and taking my first shower of the trip, that is exactly what I did. I rented a mountain bike and biked down the coast (Puerto Madryn is on the Atlantic), to a sea lion colony, where I stopped to have lunch and watch the wildlife. Sea lions behave very differently in their natural habitat than in zoos, and watching them that day I understood why they have lion in their name. The males each have harems that they protect with tenacity and ferocity; one impetuous young troublemaker continually tried to encroach on one of his elder's harem until, finally, the older sea lion had enough and drove the youngster into the ocean; he did not allow the fellow to come back to land for almost an hour. At one point a number of fights broke out amongst the males, fierce fights where each lion attempted to bite the other's head off. They must have been making too much noise though, because the leader of the pack, a massive old sea lion easily twice the size of most of his subjects lumbered out of a small cave and roared, which quieted the rowdy sea lions immediately. It was quite a sight and quite a lesson in discipline (though anyone who can roar like that can easily command obedience).
After lunch I left the sea lion colony and did some fun dirt biking in a cluster of steep but shot hills outside of town (it was me and a motorcyclist; he was going faster of course, but the hills were steep enough that I was able to pick up a surprising and sometimes frightening speed). After I returned the bike I walked around town exploring, got a haircut, and bought some food, before I returned to the hostel for another shower and dinner, followed by a fruitless search for some sort of nightlife with two French travelers before I went to bed (a little early; the wildlife tour would begin early in the morning).