A Lovely Long Weekend

As my title describes I had a great four day weekend thanks to Lag Ba-Omer, the Jewish holiday which celebrates the 33rd day of the Omer (According to Wikipedia, I know I'm a terrible Jew, don't judge me), and is often celebrated with a bonfire.  On a sad note I saw a pretty sizable forest fire on my way back from Netanya today :-(, probably due to some idiots having their bonfires in the forest with high winds.  I remember my uncle told me on Thursday that every year stupid people go to the forests to have their bonfires, while there are high winds, and what do you know, a forest fire.  So sad, and stupid.  Come on Israelis, there are enough empty lots and spaces that aren't filled with timber that could easily host a bonfire.

The long weekend began with a trip downtown to do some homework and errands.  While downtown, I ran into a buddy of mine from Ulpan who also happens to be a former resident of the keystone state (PA).  We had coffees, worked, and chatted a bit at Cafe Hillel on Yafo street in Jerusalem.

 

Eventually another buddy joined us for some more quality bro time.  I'm always a big fan of the bro time, especially when it's unplanned.  I just happened to come to the same cafe as Menachem, and joined him for a coffee while we each worked and caught up.  Eventually Jeremy aka J-bone joined us until we had to go our separate ways.  I took this candid of J-bone and Menachem while we hung out.  I love how Jeremy looks very excited about what he's saying while Menachem sports a serious listening face.

After bro time I had a great dinner at home with my aunt, uncle, and cousins, followed by a night out to celebrate some Ulpan birthdays.  I love how whenever someone has a birthday at Ulpan everyone gets so into it and goes out to celebrate with the birthday boy or girl.  There's such a feeling of camaraderie  here, and I simply love it. 

For the first half of this long weekend I kept it pretty chill, staying at the Ulpan with my buddies.  I usually travel to one of my family members' homes for the weekend, but this weekend I stayed to hang with my friends.  As my time here at Ulpan draws to a close (Only a month and a half left :-( ) I'm trying to get as much out of this experience as possible, and a major part of relishing this experience will be spending my time with great friends.  For instance, on Saturday I took an impromptu trip to a pool at a local Kibbutz, and we had an amazing time.  Just me and a few friends, completely unplanned, decided to go swimming on a hot day and we all had a blast.  

So far an amazing weekend right? It just kept on getting better.  Yesterday a good friend of mine invited me to Netanya for the last two days of our long weekend.  It took a while on a few different busses, but once I arrived in Netanya I instantly knew that the trip was well worth the long ride.  Prior to yesterday I had never been to Netanya, and it's a shame because the beach in Netanya is absolutely beautiful.  As soon as I arrived I went straight to the ocean, feeling that I had to at least put my feet in after the long bus ride.  Walking down to the beach I noticed that the sun was beginning to set, and I remembered that in Israel I can actually see legitimate sunsets on the beach; something that I could never have at the NJ beaches back home.  I tried to take a few pics of the sunset, but they didn't come out well.  I took one to try and contrast the different lighting/ I thought it looked cool; you all be the judge.

I always love the beach, and I'm so glad that I chose to take the trip to Netanya.  After a fun night of red wine and games with friends I woke up early this morning determined to go back for some fun in the sun.  We spent about five hours on the beach and it was amazing, minus the bug attack that forced us to move down the beach.  We had a slight breeze and the water was beautiful and calm.  There were no waves, and we spent plenty of time swimming  and sitting near the water.  Just another great day at the beach with perfect weather and great company. 

What a view, right? I'm back now and blogging way past my bedtime because I had to get my thoughts down while they're still fresh.  Today reminds me how thankful I am to have such kind and generous friends in my life with whom I can share great times. Whether it's at a cafe, in the dorms, or on the beach, nothing tops spending time with great friends.  It's just been a perfect weekend, and I couldn't ask for much more.  Wish it didn't have to end.  No worries, back to reality tomorrow, and hopefully another fun long weekend in the near future :-).