During the fall term the international school here hosted a talent show. I tried for a month to gather a small group to perform a salsa dancing routine. Finally, a week before the show I confirmed three other people - none of whom had much salsa experience. I choreographed a routine and, since our schedules all differed, taught it to each person individually. Two days before the show we found time to practice as a group. Everyone worked really hard and we got it down! We performed at the talent show and ended up winning! Here is the video.

The guy in silver is Jonah, who is a graduate student from New Mexico. We were roommates during the fall. I am in blue on the right. Jonah's partner is Florence, who is from Belgium and works in administration at the international school here. My partner is Leora, who is an undergraduate student and friend from the year.

Enjoy!

THAILAND, POLAND, SOLDIER REMEMBRANCE DAY, INDEPENDENCE DAY, JACOB'S LADDER FESTIVAL, LAG B'OMER MYSTIC CELEBRATION

Wow, it's really been quite a while. My time here is coming close to an end. I have done a ton since my last post. I will give an overview and throw in some anecdotes.

I travelled around Thailand for three weeks. I desperately searched for a travel partner for a solid month before going. No one could come, so I did it alone! I was thrilled to find an excellent priced ticket, but the catch was that the plane departed from Amman, Jordan. I bought the ticket and by doing so created a whole new adventure.

To say it shortly, the morning of my flight, it took me a very long time to make my way over to Amman from Jerusalem. The border crossing was not so efficient and on the Jordanian side I ended up paying a little to much for a cab that could get me there quickly. I made it on time and boarded my flight on Etihad Airways.

I had a 24 hour layover in the United Arab Emirates. Where's that?! It's a small country on the southeast corner of Saudi Arabia. Etihad airways surprised me and took care of everything: transportation to and from town, hotel, and food. Thanks Etihad!

Abu Dhabi, UAE was gorgeous. It's rich from its oil supply. The city is packed with skyscrapers, yet the streets are clean and crime is low.

I made it to Thailand and travelled around most of the country. I started in the islands in the south. There I obtained an egregious sunburn that caused the entire upper half of my body to peel for the rest of the trip : ). I then went to Bangkok in the central region. There I played an Ultimate Frisbee tournament with some fellow players that travel to the States to play each year. From there I travelled north where I went on a 3-day trekking adventure and floated back on a bamboo raft.

I returned to Israel.

My next international adventure, a complete 180 degress from the previous, was to Poland. We travelled to four concentration camps, including Plashow (where Schindler's list takes place), Auschwitz I and II, Maydanek, and Treblinka. The March of the Living was the following week so the country was filled with Jews from all over the world and plenty of Israeli flags! I also traced the cities of some family while I was there.

Now I can bring it back to Israel.

We just had Soldier Remembrance Day. I went to a solemn ceremony at the Western Wall during the evening and then in the morning to another ceremony at a cemetery at Kiryat Anavim, near the small town of Abu Gosh. That evening then marked the beginning of Israeli Independence Day. Solemn remembrance abruptly turned into a huge party and enough BBQ's to make one think the entire country is on fire. I went camping at the Dead Sea during this time and participated in the BBQ'ing festivities.

Coming up this weekend are another two large events. The first is the Jacob's Ladder Music Festival. This is a day of camping, dancing, and bluegrass music performances on the Kinneret (aka Sea of Galilee) in the north. I will follow this secular event, which completely breaks the Sabbath, with a totally Orthodox event. This event, also in the north, is a dancing festival for the holiday of Lag Ba'Omer. The event attracts thousands of Orthodox Jews and involves dancing near the grave site of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, the rabbi who wrote the Zohar, which is the book of Kabbala, or Jewish Mysticism. The event goes all night!

That is all for now. Enjoy the photos that follow.


Danny K.






PHOTO 1: Here I am having a good old time on Ko Phi Phi island in Thailand. Unfortunately I forgot to by SPF 200 sunscreen.
PHOTO 2: This is a girl from our inside Auschwitz II, Birkenau, looking at the entrance. Auschwitz II was the main extermination camp that gassed up to 12,000 people per day. The trains full of Jewish prisoners came in on these tracks through the arched entranced and stopped to unload people right where we are standing. If you have seen any holocaust movies, you have probably seen this ominous archway.
PHOTO 3: This is the morning ceremony for fallen soldiers I attended on Soldier Remembrance Day. The event included a salute with a firing squad shooting blanks.