Israel - Land of Milk, Honey and Avatiach

It has been almost a week since I arrived in Israel, about time for an update.

The rest of my time in New York was spent with family - eating, telling stories, playing music. I found out my cousin Kate has a great voice and hope she will one day join the family band with myself and my other cousin Matt from Portland. Maybe we won't be a Michael Jackson cover band anymore, but you never know. The man who drove me to the airport from my grandparents house was quite an interesting person. His name - Allen Sharpe. His business - driver, judaism, story teller, lover. As soon as he started asking me deep personal questions about faith and god and love, I knew I had met the next Ronald Nicholson or Mr. Rosenberg. Turns out this old jew is not gay, but I would have guessed so,

 considering his overweight appearance and lisp followed by high pitched giggles. After hearing much about my life, he told me that I was on an excellent path, which is what I really wanted to hear considering I was about to begin a journey of epic proportions. Allen told me that I was going to do great things and change many lives along the way. As he complimented me, I felt a tingling in my seventh chakra, my crown chakra. I felt as though his words were resonating with my subconcious path of enlightenment, and something told me deep inside that he was speaking only the truth. For the rest of the journey Allen told me love stories that he should seriously write a book about. He grew up under orthodox Jewish parents and could not marry his highschool sweetheart because she was not Jewish. It broke his heart, but his mother said that it would have killed his father if he had married her, so he obeyed. He says that to this day he is still in touch with her, physically and kinetically. Not only was the content of his story captivating, but most of all the way he told his story kept me on the edge of my seat gripping my pants with tension, holding out for the next word. I love story telling and hearing new techniques like those used by Allen. I was sad to leave him as the airport arrived an hour and a half later, hoping to see him again the next time I come to New York. We embraced as we said goodbye, and he told me "ah, I love hugs," with a twinkle in his eye.

My flight to London was fantastic thanks to Charlie's recommendation of flying Virgin Atlantic. First of all, you have a personal telescreen with 30 newish movies that you can choose to watch at any time. I have missed a lot of movies this year and found this as a good opportunity to catch up. After I heard an announcement that all drinks were complimentery except for champagne, I asked the couple next to me if that meant alcoholic drinks as well. They told me you can drink as much as you want, but I better do it fast because they tend to run out of the good stuff. Next thing I know, I'm watching Sherlock Holmes, drinking a Stella, and eating chicken korma. Fly Virgin, fly in style. I landed in London and had five hours layover until my flight to Israel. I headed straight for the El Al gate so I could get in a nice nap before the flight. However, when I got to the check in, I couldn't find my flight. I was quite confused and only upon close inspection of my itinerary did I notice that my next flight was leaving from a DIFFERENT AIRPORT in London. I landed in Heathrowe, but was flying out of Luton. Fucking internet websites that find you the cheapest flights, how stupid. Please don't make this same mistake, always check the details. I couldn't believe it, but didn't have time to sit in shock and awe. I headed for the bus station in the airport to catch a bus to Luton. It cost me 20 pounds ($40) and took an hour and a half. As I sat on the bus in morning London traffic, I thought about what would happen if I missed my flight. But I realized that there was no point in worrying because I was on my way and there was nothing more I could do in that moment. I would either make it or not. I arrived to Luton and ran to the gate only to be interrogated by a beautiful Israeli woman before I could check in. I didn't mind :) I had made it with one hour to kill! Phew. So I headed for a bathroom to relieve myself of urine built up from the adrenaline. The men's bathroom was closed and I saw an old man standing confusedly in the women's bathroom, so I showed him to the private handicap bathroom and let him go first. When I got in there, I noticed there was no lock, but figured I would be quick. My hands were full, so I put my passport and bording pass in my mouth as I began to take a leak. All of a sudden, the bathroom door begins to open and a handicapped man attempts to enter. I can't reach the door and I can't say anything because my mouth is full. I finally try to say STOP, and my passport and boarding pass fall in a downward spiral for the toilet. With a matrix move, I snatch the passport, only to watch my boarding pass crash land into my own urine. "At least it wasn't my passport," I thought to myself as I quickly exited the bathroom to let in the handicapped man. After all of this chaos, I finally made it aboard my flight and realized that I hadn't slept for almost 24 hours. Of course, I was seated next to twin 8 month old babies, and so that lack of sleep continued, but man were they cute. I finally landed in Israel at sunset, which if you don't know in Israel is the most beautiful. A perfect welcome, with my brother hugging me tight after not seeing me for 8 months or since my surgery.

There are so many things about Israel that I forgot, like how tense it can be here. I forgot how loud and how often Israeli's honk at each other. I forgot that from Friday night to Saturday night there is no public transportation because of Shabbat, and that Sunday is the first day of the work week. Most people work Sunday through Thursday and then also a half day on Friday. I forgot how little minimum wage is and how high rent is. I forgot how crazy young drunk religious kids are here. I forgot how much trash there is on the beach. I forgot that many Israeli's pretend they don't speak english when you ask for directions. I forgot how middle eastern this place really is when it comes to efficiency. However, I also forgot the feeling of connection that you have with everyone around you, that only exists here in Israel. I forgot how good the tomatoes are, how tasty the bulgarian cheese is, and the fresh fluffy pita made daily. I forgot how much I love to be on the beach and how warm the mediteranean is. I completely forgot how to play MatKot (a paddle ball game played on the beach), but am getting better every time I try. I forgot how gorgeous the women are, and how you always bump into someone you know whenever you go into Tel-Aviv. I forgot how beautiful the old buildings are and how ugly the new industrial buildings are. I forgot how aware Israeli's are about methods of conservation, be it electricity or water. I truly forgot how much I love being in Israel. And now I remember that this place is bipolar. That there are many good things and many not so good things. I am happy to be here, I am happy to be with family, and right now most of all I am happy to be.

I have spent a lot of time with family, enjoying my 3 week old niece Tohm and 4 year old nephew Niv. The last time I saw Niv, he was two and not talking much. Now, he talks a lot and is very funny. I really ought to start a collection of his quotes. That will have to be a post of it's own. Here are two the two best uncles (dodim) in the world with Tohm and Niv:

I think Micky is trying to eat Niv's ear

And I am giving Tohm a bath:

She is so small and precoius. Seriously, she sleeps 70% of the day. Her time awake is spent sucking on nipple and pooping. I mean, wow, what a great life, nachon? Today, I held her while she fell asleep and sang to her. She was cuddled in my neck and could feel the vibrations from my throat. At one point, I held an ohm and could feel resonance with her in it's vibrations. So powerful. I am trying to learn everything about babies from my sister, so she teaches me as it goes. Holding Tohm is a good motivation to get used to staying clean, I shower often and always wash my hands.

I have also been playing music with Elie. It's crazy that after nine months apart, we still remember how to play so many songs together. Our first night together we were sitting on a bench outside of a bar in Tel-Aviv drinking beers with my brother and a guitar. While I was playing something, an older couple walking by decides to stop and listen. They approach us, and so we played them one of our songs (American Vino). They really liked it, complimenting me on my guitar skills and telling Elie his voice is like an updated Paul Simon. Not too sure what that means, but it's definitely a compliment. We told them to check us out around the area, hoping that we will be playing shows often. A few days later, we returned to this same bar for an open mic night and performed for our first time together in Israel.

Here is a video of us playing American Vino at the Piano Bar in the Florentine District of Tel-Aviv:

WCMC aka Kamtzal aka Holot Hadashim

Lastly, I got to see Yair! Wow, what an honor. It feels so good to be in his presence again. People always tell me that I am so chill or laid back, but honestly, Yair is the definition of chill and laid back. I feel like I am constantly learning how to be more centered and true to myself when I am with him. I told him about how I have trouble making plans but also wanted to be spontaneous and in the moment, and how sometimes going with the flow gets cut short due to a feeling of obligation. He told me that making plans is okay, because you make a plan based on everything you know in the present moment. Then, if the new present moment has new information, you make a plan based on that, and it may be different. He said that people should understand that one must do what is best for themself in ever moment to the best of their knowledge in that moment. I will let these words digest. He invited me to this really cool place called Arsuf, just off of the Beach Highway, or Kvish HaChof, north of Tel-Aviv. He told me that it used to be a Moshav (farm-like community) until the highway was built and cut it in half. Now, the people live on the non-ocean side, and the ocean side is just open space. It is crazy because the land is very valuable (I'm talking millions and millions of dollars since it is so close to Tel-Aviv), yet because of all these building laws and land codes, nothing can be done with the land. There is a group of caravans there, like trailers, where some young israeli hippy musicians live. YES! We walked to the beach and Yair told me about his life in Barcelona, living with his girlfriend and working. He played guitar for me on the beach as I fell asleep for a nap. We returned to the caravans as everyone was returning home and we began a barbeque and jamming. Some of the guys are in a band, and we had amazing jams. Yair still plays the flute like a God and has a little box of random other percussion or small instruments like a kazoo. This is exactly the kind of community I am looking for. I got everyone's phone numbers and hope to see them very often this summer.

I'm feeling good physically, trying to do something physical every day. Mostly yoga, drinking a lot of water, breathing many deep breaths.

oh yah, and my new favorite word in hebrew is Avatiach which means Watermelon. Can't go without it in this weather :)

Until Next Time...

Brooklyn - A City With SOULE

I arrived at JFK airport on Tuesday morning at 8 am after an all night flight. My last goodbyes with Josh, Dylan and Charlie had been really painful, singing "your long journey" together before i walked off brought me to tears. I love these men a lot, and their power will be with me on my long journey. My frown returned to a smile when i reached into my back pocket and noticed that josh had slipped me some cilantro seeds to plant in Israel in order to make good mexican food whenever I am missing California.

My directions to David Gajer's house in Brooklyn were flawless and I made it in time to have breakfast and hear stories before he left for work. The actual daytime was dedicated to catching up on sleep and preparing for a night out in Brooklyn. When I woke up, I searched for any Spoken Word events going on in the neighborhood. Fortunately, there was an open mic happening that night within walking distance from his house off Washington Ave in Prospect Heights at a restaurant called SoulE International. If you are ever in Brooklyn, check this place out for events. Upon arrival, we were asked if we wanted to sign up, but I was a little hesitant and told her I would let her know if I changed my mind. We listened to some awesome poetry and learned what a digital poet is. Apparently, it is someone who types their poetry and uploads it to their smartphone, then uses their smartphone to read the poetry. I understand how convenient this must be if you have a lot of poetry, but after taking Kip Fulbeck's Spoken Word class at UCSB, I prefer when pieces are memorized, and the digital thing especially weirds me out. But it's a new culture I guess and maybe one day i'll become a digital poet myself. (I sure do wish i had my Ronald Nicholson piece on me at all times).
Here's a video of the girl who was the feature poet the night I was there. She is young and writes about things she hasn't actually experienced yet, like being a mother, but feels like she transcends herself and finds these words in a deep place of empathy. She's a true digital poet, and a damn good one.
Digital Poet

At one point in the night, the MC goy on the mic and starts talking about Women's Empowerment, which was the theme of the night. She then asked what the audience thinks about the topic, and got everyone sitting in the restaurant involved in a 30-45 minute discussion about freedom, equality and advocacy. It was such a cool element to add to an open mic night, and it felt so cool to have a conversation with the entire restaurant while eating your food. (i'd love to hear about this idea spreading to bean night, like a weekly topic of discussion or something) I finally decided that I was ready to perform even though Kip Fulbeck told me to be cautious doing my dreadlocks piece in front of an entirely black audience, since it means something different to them. In order to avoid any problems, I opened the piece by saying that I am just a white kid from California with dreadlocks, and this poem is about how dreadlocks have affected my life. For some reason, whenever I don't know anybody in the crowd, I seem to give my best deliveries. There I am, screaming "AND WHEN IT'S POURING RAIN, COLD ENOUGH TO PUT ICICLES IN MY BRAIN, I RELEASE MY BODY OF IT'S CONSTANT STRAIN, AND SUCK ON A DREAD." The poem was greeted with a bouquet of applause and more laughter than a giggling grizzly bear. I was individually complimented my many respectable poets and felt proud that I had something to share with them. Someone videotaped my performance, so hopefully it'll be online sometime soon and i can share it with ya'll. The night continued with a guitar player covering wonderwall, kind of unexpected, but he impressed me with something he said. As he finished the song, he kept playing the chords and began talking. He said that someone once told him that people don't let songs marinate often enough, and so that's what he was going to do. And he continued playing the chords and humming a bit and casually faded away. It was pretty sexy and I definitely resonate with the idea of letting songs or poems marinate. Another guy did a poem that was extremely informative about the banks and the fed and how each play into each other and how they affect our lives. The best way to describe it is poetic education, and I really like this idea.

However, the coolest thing I heard about in the night was an event called "War in Harlem," which they are now bringing to Brooklyn. It is a true open mic night where there is no order or any kind of MC. Whenever someone feels like performing they just go and people can feed off of it or transition however naturally or organically the night allows it. They try to keep the room as dark as possible and performers can perform from wherever they are in the room. Apparently the event goes on for 4 hours like this. I would give my pinky toe to attend one, but they only do it once a month and I won't be here. Hopefully, I will try to make a war event of my own in the next community I settle into.
After the night was over, Gajer and I stuck around and chatted with a lot of the poets and hosts. Everyone was so nice and smiling and happy that we were there. I felt so warmed and loved by this community who was expecting me to return the following week. I told them that I was leaving town, but i would spread the word to all my friends and anyone passing through Brooklyn. If I can't make it again, then maybe I can at least see them vicariously through one of you if you go one day.
I am a breathing time machine

And to top off the night, on our walk home two guys were standing on a street corner excitedly and drunkenly screaming that they were giving away BIRTHDAY CAKE!!! I remembered that in heaven we feed each other and graciously accepted their gift of sugary sweets. I only took a few bites, but it was a perfect sign of how damn cool Brooklyn is!

Also, if you haven't seen this yet, then please check it out. I probably watch it about once a day.
Avett Brothers - NPR Tiny Desk Series