Gertz walks on water...kind of

So for this Shabbat, I went on a camping trip up north to the east side of the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee). I have pictures posted on my Facebook, but it was unbelievable. We tried to Tremp (Hitch hike) there, but we got too close to Shabbat after awhile and had to take a bus. The beaches there are absolutely abandoned because nobody is crazy enough to go there in the dead of winter. So, it's really surreal with all this wilderness around you and empty playgrounds and abandoned hotels and little stores to sell ice cream or food.

We camped out right on the beach and while we were walking there, these stray dogs started following us. I didn't know whether they wanted to play or eat me, so I nearly shat myself while we continued walking for like 2 miles while they followed us. Finally, they gave up, and we camped out to enjoy a beautiful night looking at Tiberias from across the sea. In the night, there were these very high pitched howls that sounded like Hippies yelling at a party. I thought it was one of those infamous parties in "The North" with X and whatnot, and I wanted to go check it out. Zohar said they were jackals, and even though they can't really do much damage, it's probably not a good idea to go finding them.

In the morning we went hiking all in the hills there and stumbled onto 2 amazing finds. 1) Grapefruit on the tree still and 2) Birthright groups. Naturally, we ate the grapefruit and mooned the birthright groups and continued on our hike. We then packed up and headed home.

Also, I have to comment on the political scene here. Obama is in the paper every day and more people support him here than I previously thought. However, it is really up in the air until elections Feb. 10th. I can't believe I'll be in Jerusalem when a new Prime Minister is elected (hopefully). Until the combination is solidified and a coalition is formed, nothing's really determined. However, it was really cool watching the inauguration on T.V. I felt that the Australian kids and the British kids cared almost as much as the Americans. They hated Bush and really were happy to see new leadership...even though I don't know exactly how much Bush changed the average Sydney Cititzen's daily life...

I miss you all very much because it's so hard to make friends living where I'm living. Also, I'm not quite sure if my humor gaps international boundaries....most people just find me to be an ass.

Shalom for now.