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Diary of Wandering Japanese...

Nov. 7th, 2006 09:14 pm Supper with Uri's family in Kdumim

   After our Mt.Grizim visit, we were invited to Uri's place in Kdumim which is not too far from where we were, for supper. His house is in the West Bank and we could see Nablus from his house. The community of Kdumim is a very beautiful community and is situated on a hill over looking the villages of Shomron.
I had met Uri and his family several times at Leon's house. I also wrote about visiting him at Tel Aviv University once. Leon and Uri have been friends since they were in Moscow. Uri has a wonderful wife Olga and 3 cute children.
  I had met Uri's 2 girls before when they were babies, but they are no longer babies. I even played with them the computer game that I was familiar with. I have not met his son. Unfortunately, he was sleeping while we were visiting and never woke up while we were still there. Maybe next time.... His wife Olga prepared dinner for us while we were sightseeing in Shomron. Chicken, salads, wine and so on. After the the trip to Mt.Grizim from the early morning, I was very very hungry and was looking forward to the supper at his house. They were all very tasty, not just because I was hungry, but it was cooked with LOVE!!!. Home cooking is the best, as everyone knows. I was really tired of eating out and I always welcome home cooking. Nothing is better than the taste of home. I thought to myself "Uri found a very nice life in Kdumim with his family . Especially I loved Olga's gentle smile". Yes, she has such a wonderful gentle smile that reminded of Fred's smile. Again, I had a very good time with Uri's family. I wish them all the best and happiness.
 

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Nov. 6th, 2006 04:40 am Visited Good Samaritans in Samaria

  I Traveled to Samaria where the Good Samaritans ( Ha'Shomronim ) live.  It is located south of Nablus ( Shechem ) in the West Bank. LiveJournal Bloggers in Israel organized a trip to Samaria ( Shomron ) to visit the old Samaritan Synagogue and their sacred mountain called Mt. Gerizim which is mentioned in Deuteronomy, Joshua and Judges in the Old Testament. According to the information given by the Samaritan guide, Yafet Husni Cohen, there are approximately 700 Samaritans currently living in Israel and Samaria. 
   They consider themselves "Israelites" and have been keeping an old tradition tracing back to Old Testament time over 2500 years.  We started early in the morning on Friday, November 3rd so we could meet the rest of the group at the entrance to Ariel town.  There were 100 of us including Uri, Leon, Irena and me. We caravanned in 30 cars and traveled into an area where I no longer saw Hebrew writing and was separated by the barbed wires.  Leon said to me " If you told this to your American friends, they would think you are crazy" To be honest, I felt a little nervous when I saw only Arabic signs along the road and I prayed that nothing bad will happen to us.
   We had to make three U-turns since we drove in the wrong direction and almost went to Nablus.  We finally found the right direction to the small Samaritan village called Neve-Kedem near the entrance of Mt.Gerizim.  Near the gate to the Neve-Kedem, there was graffiti of David's Star with "I love you Israel" right by it.  I did not quite understand why they love Israel until we met our guide at the Samaritan Synagogue. As soon as we entered this small village, we saw a big sign "Good Samaritan Restaurant" on our way to visit the Synagogue. There was an old man standing in front of the restaurant. I waived at him and made a gesture of holding a camera to ask him if I could take his photo.  He blew a kiss to me to say "Yes".   I instantly felt very safe inside this small community and felt warm feelings greeting me and thinking to myself "Wow, I love it here!!!".  If it were the old religious Hideko back in college and high school time, I woul have said that "the Holy Spirit" moved me. 
    The feeling of "I love it here!!" became stronger and stronger as we continued our visit in Samaria as we entered into the Synagogue and listened to the eloquent and passionate speech by Mr. Yafet Husni Cohen how the Samaritan people kept their traditions faithfully as Israelites kept and that their lineage originated from the tribes of Ephraim, Manasseh an Levi from Aaron.
  Then it dawned on me at the entrance to the Synagogue, I met an old man with the white beard introducing himself as "Levi".  I did not understand the connection between Samaritan and Israelites of ancient Judaism name Levi when I encountered the old man named Levi with strange looking costume.
  I used to be a very fanatic evangelical Christian who believed in following only what the Bible teaches us, not all the organized religious/political nonsense. I always felt critical of modern Judaism as well as Catholics who were forcing all these laws and rules that were not in the Bible to other people. When I heard Yafet Husni Cohen speak about how the Samaritans only follow the Torah and reject Talmud, I thought to myself "wow, awesome, real Israelites are here!!! I am finally meeting the real practitioners of God's word that Moses received on Mt. Sinai. You cannot believe how I was soooo moved by Mr. Cohen's explanation of how they have kept their tradition ( their name of Shomronim comes from the Hebrew word "shomer" to "guard" to "keep" and they have been keeping their tradition faithfully when they are not even considered Jewish in their own land and not part of modern Israel and I could see the family tree of  the Samaritans starting from Adam and Eve.  They claim the oldest Torah is in Samaritan writing which looked very similar to Hebrew writing. Someone in our group asked if the Samaritan writing was Aramaic, but Mr. Cohen told us that it is an original Hebrew writing which the modern Hebrew alef-beit was derived from. 
 When I mentioned that to my Hebrew teacher in Ulpan Gordon, she dismissed it as "it is a different language and is not Hebrew".  But, somehow, in my gut feeling, I knew it was the original Hebrew since they had been living in Israel for all those years and kept their tradition so faithfully.  Their tradition did not get diluted in exile like European Jews or Hassidic Jews or their brothers in the Southern Judean Dessert where King
David ruled.  Rather than read my impressions of the Samaritans without in depth knowledge, I suggest that you read about it in more detail on these two websites
These Samaritan people still keep all the "original" Jewish holidays as they were observed thousands of years ago still pay their pilgrimage to the Mt. Gerizim today.  Wow, how could Modern Israel treat these people as non-Jewish, non-Israelites and cannot even get Israeli passport automatically? They should be learning the original traditions from these Samaritans.  If I were them, I would really organize a government led project and get as much knowledge as possible from the Samaritans.  After the soul moving experience at the synagogue, we visited Mt. Gerizim which the Samaritan people consider the most sacred place. Jerusalem is not a holly place to them.  
   Mr. Cohen asked "Do you know, there are over 30 places where Mt. Gerizim is mentioned in the Torah, but Jerusalem is not even once mentioned."  And that is true. Jerusalem is mentioned in the New Testament but not in the Torah part of the Old Testament. Somehow, the truth will come out someday weather what the Samaritans say is correct or the modern Judaism is correct. From this Mt. Gerisim, you can see the Mediterranean Sea, Jerusalem, Egypt, Dead Sea, and so on.  All Israel is visible from the mountain.  It sure make sense to use this site as a strategic point as the Bible describes.  The archeological site was quite huge and beautiful.  My hope from my heart is that the Jews and Samaritans join forces to learn what Samaritans can teach us about how the ancient people in Israel, the Israelites, lived and pass it onto future generations. Very valuable living information about ancient history is right in front of them.
 
 

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Nov. 5th, 2006 11:46 am Took the wrong train to Haifa when I wanted to be in Beit HaYehoshua!!!!

Took the wrong train to Haifa when I wanted to be in Beit HaYehoshua!!!!  I made such an awful mistake taking the express train instead of the train that stops at every station.

Okamoto-san from TOOL Corporation of Japan came to help me with my customer here. We were supposed to be in Netanya for the 10am meeting where I asked the engineers who work in different location to be there as well, to see the product demo. We left the hotel at 8:30 am and then the nightmare started from the beginning. The taxi driver was a crook. He wanted to charge us 45 Shekels for the trip to Shalom Station. I told him that it was ridiculous to pay him that much. So, I asked him to let me get out. Meanwhile, Okamoto-san was getting very worried since he did not know what was going on. Then he dropped us off at the Central Station instead of the Shalom Station.

I have gone to my customer's place in Netanya many times, so when I saw the train to Haifa on the platform we hopped in. The minute after the train started to run, they announced that the next stop was in Carmel Beach, Haifa. I did not believe it and we sat for a while. Then I saw the station I wanted to go was passing very fast,,,,, "Oh, my GOD!!! I got on the wrong train!!! That means we will be riding the train for an hour and then from Haifa we will have to return to Netanya. We will be late for the important meeting". I tried to keep my cool and quietly told Okamoto-san the mistake I made.

I remember making the same kind of mistakes in Japan when I was with the engineers from the US. What a familiar nightmarish experience!!!  I quickly called Kohavit and told her the situation. Then I called my customer that I would like to changed the meeting time to 10:30am rather than 10am. I explained the situation to them. Well, everything was OK. We safely arrived in Carmel Beach and then took the train back. I even asked if the train was going to stop in Beit HaYeoshua. I even heard the announcement saying "if you want to go to the direction to Beniamina, Hadera, Netanya, Beit HaYeoshua, platform 1". We waited for the train for about 10 minutes and the train came.

We thought everything was OK. We were talking to the old man who was telling us that he thought all Japanese look the same. I see the digital sign lighted up "Next stop Tel Aviv University". WHAT!!!!!  OH MY GOD!!!! So, we went back to Tel Aviv again. I called Ofer to ask him what he would like us to do. His staff was waiting for us and we were having a field trip to Haifa and back. He told me to take a taxi and come back to Netanya. He would be there and wait for us.  "What a nice man he is!!!" I thanked god that he was so understanding.

After the long trip to Haifa and back to Tel Aviv, we finally arrived to our customer's site. The meeting went fantastic!!!!Thanks to my patient customer!!!! 

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Nov. 2nd, 2006 10:08 pm Dinner at Mul Yam

   I went to the restaurant called "Mul Yam" for dinner with Okamoto-san.  It was the same night that I went to the Shlomo Artzi's show but I wanted him to enjoy his first visit to Israel.  The food was just fantastic!!!! Both Okamoto-san and I really enjoyed it very much.  We ordered oysters on the half-shells and marinated octopus for the appetizer to start with. The waitress also suggested that we try their special shrimps from the Mediterranean She told us that the local shrimp are naturally very sweet and very different from the shrimps in the US. So, we ordered the grilled shrimp dish as well. We wanted to have white wine to go with the seafood but the chef there recommended the Rose from the Chateau Golan winery from Golan Heights to complement our appetizers.  I am not usually a fan of Rose, but I decided to try it.  I have been to the Chateau Golan Winery but never tried the Rose there since I don't drink Rose at home. Contrary to my belief, it was indeed a very pleasant wine.  It was not sweet but was pretty dry for Rose.
   For the main course I ordered combination seafood platter that includes lobster from Main.  Okamoto-san ordered the fresh catch of the day which was local white fish called Denise. I am not sure what exactly it is in English or Japanese, but we shared our food. Everything we ordered was just excellent. The service there was excellent as well.  Service in Israel is generally very poor.  I found out that the waitresses don't get wages. They only get tips from the customers they serve. I was flabbergasted when I heard it. Especially because my husband is a labor lawyer and believes in people getting paid fairly by their employers.  It seems that the restaurants and cafés here are taking advantage of the American system of "tipping" and
use it for their advantage. How can a system like that is permitted? They have the waiters/waitresses working for them, but they don't have to pay wages to them? The customers are subsidizing their employees? Hmmmm.  It sure is fishy to me.  I am very glad that the state of California where I live will not allow such practice. But, a high quality restaurant like Mull has very good service.  It was like night and day compared with regular family type restaurants in Israel. The food was excellent and the service was also excellent. The waiters and waitresses must make a lot of money here. I heard that they are eager to work for this kind of restaurant even if they don't get wages from the restaurant owners.
   To top off, we ordered deserts. I ordered cheese cake and cappuccino. I had to go to the Shlomo Artzi concert that night and I did not have enough time to have a luxurious dinner. So, I had to leave the restaurant, leaving Okamoto-san by himself since I only had one ticket for the concert. As I wrote before, this was something that Avishay did for me to get one ticket even though the tickets were all sold out.  I wishI could have taken him to the concert so he could enjoy the greatest entertainer in Israel.  Next time!!!

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Nov. 1st, 2006 10:10 pm Went to see Shlomo Artzi's Show at Zappa

My long time dream has finally came true!!! 

The other day, when I went bicycle riding with Avishay to Yaffo, I mentioned to him that I was going to see David Broza that evening but the singer I really wanted to see was Shlomo Artzi.  I had been wanting to see him for the last 8 years, but I could not get the tickets since they were always sold out everytime I was in Israel. He picked up his phone and called his friend Menachem.  I asked him who Menachem was and Avishay casually answered to me "Oh, he is Shlomo Artzi's producer".  I just could not believe my LUCK!!! So, he got me a ticket to a concert at the club called Zappa.  It is just like Yoshi's in Oakland where you can have dinner and have deserts and drinks while you watch the performance.  I could not believe that I was actually listening to him singing in person. He is such a good performer. His voice was exactly the same as his recording.  Walking around the stage, walking around the audiences' tables, singing on the table, dancing, giving the audiences hugs, singing with them and so on. Wow, he was sooooo great.  With or without the microphone, he sounds so good. Just amazing.  I thought I was in a dream and if I opened my eyes, it would just go away..... It is amazing that Avishay was able to get the ticket for me.  And it is amazing that I met Avishay here in Israel and the fact that we became good friends. Really amazing.

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Oct. 31st, 2006 11:00 pm Trip to Haifa

I had a very busy weekend last week. To start with, as I wrote before, I went to the "David Broza and Mayumana" performance on Thursday evening, then on Friday I traveled to Haifa by train to visit Daniel and Ira.
   First, I got off at Bat Galim where Daniel was windsurfing and watched him surf and took photos of him surfing. I wanted to see how he did it and someday I want to do it myself. Daniel is offering to teach me. I wonder if I can really do it, but he says I CAN (???)
   
He is very much into it and he is also active in preserving the beach at Bat Galim where the politicians want to develop the place for shopping and housing. According to Daniel, Bat Galim is a very unique beach and he does not want the developer to destroy its natural beauty and the environment.
 After that, we drove back to his new apartment in Nesher, located at the edge of the hills right next to Haifa. He says it is not within Haifa, but the view is just breathtaking. His place has a balcony and from there you can see all the way to Akko, Rosh HaNikra and then even some of Lebanon. It is amazing how close Haifa is to Lebanon. Both Daniel and Ira lucked out since the apartment was in such a good shape. The owners of the apartment built a new house, so they can afford to rent it out. The rooms all around the apartment have very nice built-in solid wood furniture and cabinets--all very tastefully done. Ira says she loves it and I don't blame her. I love it, too. I stayed over night.
The next day ( I slept so well and did not wake up until almost 9:30 in the morning.) Daniel and Ira took me to a very nice spice shop about 30 minutes away from their place called "Derech haTavlinim". The place was full of spices, nuts, teas, rice and dried fruits. I wish I could find a place like that in California. It was just like the Egyptian Market in Istanbul.
After that, we drove to the small village, and visited Beit Lehem HaGlilit. There we saw a community that Germans developed before the WWII and also a farm with lots of cows. Unfortunately, the weather was not so great and we could not rent bicycles to ride around. So, naturally when the weather is not very good, we went into a restaurant to eat. Right? So, we visited the restaurant called "Pundak HaJahnun". It is supposed to be a Yemenite cuisine. Their specialty is beef stew , so I ordered it on Ira's recommendation. YES, it hit the spot. Warm and spicy stew in a cold day. The pancake called Jahnun was also very tasty. I really like Yemenite cuisine. Even the spicy sauce they gave us had the familiar taste of Salsa. When I finished eating, I looked at my watch and I almost jumped out of the chair. "Oh my God!!! It is already 4pm!!!!, I need to head back to Tel Aviv since I have lots of homework". Then Daniel and Ira laughed and said "Don't you know that the trains don't run today until sundown...". How could I have lived here so long and not know this basic rule of the Israeli public transportation system. I have been so spoiled by Leon and Irena taking me everywhere in their car. People here asked me "How long have you known Israel?". Yes, I have been visiting Israel for the last 9 years and I never knew that trains and busses don't run on Shabbat..... How could it be? How could the people of Israel go places? Not everyone has their own cars.... Wow, that is just so amazing!!!! We came back to the apartment, drank tea, ate cookies, watched movies and we went to the University on the hill to see the beautiful night view of Haifa. The sky was so clear after the rain and the almost half moon was shining so beautifully over the Mediterranean Sea.

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Oct. 29th, 2006 05:04 am It's raining outside........

Rainy season is here in Israel.
It rains really hard when it does and it does almost everyday. Ugggg!!!!
I heard that they say "shooting rain" because the rain here falls like shooting bullets.

It is a little before 7 am in the morning right now.
I hear thunder and it is raining outside this morning too. Ugggg.
I hate rainy days...... It is so dark outside.
I am not able to ride the bike to school this morning.
I guess I will have to walk.

After I come home from school, I will report on my weekend trip to Haifa.


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Oct. 26th, 2006 11:41 pm David Broza and Mayumana

Gili, Olga and I just came back from the David Broza and Mayumana Show in Yaffo.  It was just fantastic!!! It is almost difficult to express with words the excitement I got from the show. It was like the feeling of being high and happy.  The combination of the Mayumana's dance and rhythms using all sorts of plastic materials such as buckets and plastic drums and pipes with David Broza's guitar music was such good mix.  It reminded me of the combination of The Blue Man Show plus River Dance of Ireland and Japanese Taiko Drummers. The members of Mayumana had such well toned muscles that you can see every part of their muscles when they were performing. They danced, sang and beat drums and played violines non-stop. They were such talented performers!!!! I think they are just as talented as David Broza. I am looking forward to their future performance.

 

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Oct. 25th, 2006 09:43 pm Had lunch with Avishay and his friends today

I received an invitation from Avishay via SMS to have lunch at Gilly's after school. He says he knows that I don't eat properly if I am alone, so he often invites me to lunch.  I biked directly from school and had lunch with Avishay and his friends at Gilly's in the Port of Tel Aviv after my class. That is where all the fancy restaurants are. Gilly's is right next door to Mul Yam.  2 of his friends were pilots and he has know them since army days. I came in the middle of their lunch and felt a little uncomfortable interrupting their lunch, but oh well, if it was Ok with Avishay, I am sure his friends will forgive him for inviting a stranger to their get together. 

One thing I feel envious about the Israeli people is that they go to the military after high school and they have such a tight knit camaraderie because they went to the war together, etc. I know how it is because I saw it when my father got together with his war time military friends who fought in the WWII.  The strong bond among them was just so amazing.  So, I got to listen to the interesting converstaion between Avishay and his friends.  I also encouraged them not to speak English just because I am there. 

And then, when I was about to finish my lunch, another friend, Danni, came over. He told me that he is a movie producer. I told him that I don't know the difference between a producer and director. A stupid thing to say, I thought. But, it just came out of my mouth, as usual. Actually, I was very honest about my lack of knowledge. I found out that a producer spends the money and the director just directs the movie. I asked Danni what has he produced lately? He told me that he produced the movie, "The End of the World, Turn Left"  סוף-העולםשמולה. It was a very good movie and got very good reviews. I am very fortunate that Avishay introduces me to all these interesting people here (except the nightmarish experience I had one of his friends). I even had some sales discussions with one of the friends who is CEO of a mechanical equipment company who does mostly military contracts. My TurboTool product will be just the right fit for his company I thought. I promised him that I would visit his company to show him the tool that I am offering.....

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Oct. 23rd, 2006 09:22 pm What have I been doing lately???

  Wow, I haven't written in my diary since the 15th??? It is already the 23rd. I wonder what I have been doing??? Oh, yes, now I remember.  I have been very busy catching up with school work.  While I was on vacation, I did not do any of the homework I was supposed to do.  I was having too much fun in Hawaii and in California.  On top of that I was suffering from jet lag so bad that my days and nights were upside-down for more than a week.  I think I finally got over it.

  Leon and Irena took me to the Dead Sea last weekend.  Unfortunately, I forgot to bring my camera.....
Leon and Irena entertain me almost every weekend. They worry that I am alone and lonely. They also feed me with good food every weekend.  I don't eat very well when I am alone.  Food just does not taste good when I eat by myself. 

  As usual, Leon picked me up from my apartment and drove us all to the Dead Sea. This time we were right on the edge of the north shore. The weather was sooooo nice!!!! The very clear blue sky, not hot, not cold. Jordan was lying right in front of us on the other side of the sea. I wondered what people on the other side of the shore were talking about.  Were they talking about  about the other side of the Dead Sea, too?  The water in the Dead Sea is just amazing. It makes my skin so smooth and it makes my rash go away.  It stung a little at the beginning, but the next morning I could not find my heat rash anymore.  It was like a miracle.

   After we came back from the Dead Sea, I asked Leon to take me to Tiv Taam, the huge supermarket in Rishon LeZion.  It is an incredible "super duper" market with live music, a restaurant and a bar in it.  People come here all dressed up, sitting around the bar,drinking, eating, dancing and smoking cigars.  I have never seen anything like that.  Mind you, this is a super market for buying food and some household necessities. They even have a section that sells Japanese food. They sell
live oysters and Ikura. One of these days I will take a picture and show you all what I am talking about. I just didn't think of taking my camera to grocery shopping. What do you know!!!

  In the evening, we played the Domino game after dinner with Olga and Gili.  Leon showed me how to play and as usual, I had a beginner's luck and I won.  Just once though..... Then I lost for the rest of the games. I loved the game. Next time I will do better.
 

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Oct. 12th, 2006 10:40 pm Visited the Keidar family this evening


I have been out every night since I came back to California.  It was the Keidar family's night today.
We usually get together almost every other week when I am around. They are like the part of my family and their kids, Daniel and Daria consider me as their aunt. You cannot believe how much love I receive from them. Hugs, kisses, and reports of all their activities in school, dance, piano, etc., etc...
  I met Igal Keidar and his beautiful wife Yana at Exemplar Logic 9 years ago. Igal and I were such a good team then. I miss those days so much. When I met him, he did not speak much English and he was such a quiet guy. I like men who don't talk too much since I talk so much that it is easy to be with quiet people so that I can do all the talking, but later I found out that he was not so quiet after all. He just did not speak English well then :-) 

  I forgot to mention it before, but he is the one who started to teach me Hebrew. He used to come to my cubical and started to write Alef-Bet on my white board and taught me some words. When I started to take real Hebrew classes, my teacher asked me why I speak Hebrew with such a thick Russian accent. I was dumbfounded. "Heavy Russian accent???" I thought I was speaking Hebrew with a Japanese accent. Then I realized that yes, Igal speaks English with heavy Russian accent too. That is how our friendship started. Furthermore, he is the one who introduced me to Leon Koll's family. He is the beginning of my chain of Israeli friends. How can I thank him for all the friends I have here. Starting from his wife Yana who I became a very good friend with and her mother Jeanne, Leon, Irena, Ilya, Olga, her boyfriend Gili, Uri, Alisa, next door  neighbor Igor, Lena, his parents, etc. etc. etc.....Now, thanks to Igal,  I have so many friends here in Israel.		 

 

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Oct. 11th, 2006 11:00 pm Went to the Oakland A's Game today!!!!

  Today, I went to the Oakland Athletic's baseball game with Fred.  It has been so hectic!!!!  We just came home from Hawaii last night, and then again going out???  I have to do the laundry, do the cleaning, pack my suitcase for going back to Tel Aviv, etc. etc..... Can't I just rest a little???   But, when Fred told me that we were going to see the game, I could have screamed but I behaved like a good old fashioned wife and just smiled and said "OK, sure I'd love to!!" .

  My husband Fred is a baseball nut.  I think the baseball game, especially Oakland Athletics game, is much more important than anything else to him.  I used to go to the game with him until we had been married for 25 years and I realized that I don't really like it and I should be able to say "NO, I don't want to go to the games anymore!!!".  After all, I had been married long enough to tell him what I like and don't like.  I sure became more brave......... I don't know why I didn't do that earlier.  Now he found a very good base buddy Neal, our neighbor.  He is as nutty as Fred, or even nuttier when it comes to the baseball games.

  Every year,  Fred says that the A's will win the World Series and he buys the world series tickets, but the A's have not won the world series for a long time.  This year, I told him that he was not allowed to spend thousands of dollars on the play off games and world series games.  After all, I am a student and not bringing in the funds he is so used to freely spend....  It turned out, the A's did great this year and they won the division series and are now playing in the American League Championship series at the division's playoff game.   What do you know!!!!!  It might have been because Fred did not buy the tickets?

  However, he did buy the 2nd home series game tickets and it was today.  This was the 2nd day that they played against the Detroit Tigers.  Alas!!!!  They lost...  :-(  But, they still have 5 more games where they need to win 4 games in order for them to go to the World Series.  I told Fred that it would be better for the A's if he did not purchase the playoff tickets at all.  They might have won the World Series if we did not go to see any games at all.  Why can't we just watch it on TV?  Fred insists that nothing can replace the games in real time.  

  If you don't know what American Baseball is, just let me know.  I will try to explain to you.  I realize that baseball is not very popular in Europe.  But, it is very popular in Asia, especially in Japan, Korea and Taiwan as well as in the U.S., in Mexico and in the Carribien countries.  I do like playing it myself, but watching it is not my cup of tea.

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Oct. 8th, 2006 08:15 pm Melanie's Wedding on Waikiki Beach

  Today was Melanie's wedding day. I think I should explain who Melanie is. She has been my daughter Melissa's best friend since they were 6 years old. They met when both of our families had just moved to Fremont and the school district did not have the room for Melissa and Melanie, so they needed to go to school in Niles district as over flow for six months.  They have been best friends ever since.

  Melanie spent almost everyday with Melissa and spent lots of time at our house, eating Japanese food and being introduced to Japanese culture when she was growing up. It was almost like I had 3 daughters at my house. Eventually, she developed an appreciation for the Japanese culture and the food so much that she wanted to go to Japan as an exchange student, and then went on to teach English in Japan for 3 years with Melissa, went to Hawaii for the MBA program at University of Hawaii together. They are truly "best friends for life". In her speech at the wedding, Melissa described how their friendship started. Here is what she said:

  "First, I would like to start with a confession: My name is Melissa Duscha, and when I was six years old, I tripped Melanie on purpose in the tan bark at the playground. She fell flat on her face and cried. She had wood splinters in her face. I looked down at her and laughed. We were in the second grade, and this is how we became mortal enemies. It was the spring of 1985. She has never forgotten this moment in history. And neither have I.

I have one more confession to make. It is the story of how we became friends, several months later when we were seven. It was the first day of the third grade. The fall of 1985. I was mean again. Lunch-time. I saw Melanie sitting down by herself on a bench under the tree by our classroom. We were still mortal enemies. I walked up to her and gave a small speech: “Don’t think this means I want to be your friend or anything, but do you want to sit and eat lunch together?” She agreed to it, and that’s how we became friends.

Kids are so much more sensible than adults. Imagine if all enemies could become friends in this manner? We could have world peace in two point two seconds. You may be thinking to yourself, “That doesn’t make any sense.” And you are exactly right. It doesn’t make any sense. True friendship, like true love, does not make sense. It’s not supposed to make sense. Everyday, I am grateful for this friendship, and I realize the significance of such a long-lasting relationship.

Melanie remembers so vividly, the two stories above that I just shared with you about how we became mortal enemies and then best friends. But does she remember the time when I interviewed her about friendship? I was in junior high, and I interviewed her over the phone. I asked her how long a friendship would last, and she said a real friendship will last forever. I think she was twelve years old. These same words were spoken by Saint Jerome, the patron saint of school children, one thousand seven hundred years ago: "The friendship that can cease has never been real."

I was dumbfounded. Forever seems so long, but the twenty two years we’ve known each other seems like forever. As her friend forever, I am honored and very pleased to be a part of one of the most important days of her life."

From the cry baby with learning disability label to the MBA program. Melanie sure beat the odds. She was even accepted to the UC San Diego Graduate school, but she decided to go to Hawaii with her best friend Melissa.  And now she is marrying a Japanese diplomat!!!  Sounds like a Cinderella story, doesn't it?  I am so proud of her.   I wish her and her husband all the best!!!!

Fred and I were also proud parents even though it wasn't even our daughter's wedding......  Melissa did a great job being a maid of honor at the wedding.  I really liked her speech.

 Melissa and Melanie were getting their hair and nails done before the wedding.....

Melissa and I were waiting for the Bride to be ready for the ceremony.  The maid of honor and the best man walked down the aile first.  Melissa seemed a little nervous but she kept her smile all the way.  Good job Melissa!!!!
It was such a hot but beautiful day on Waikiki Beach.   The wedding ceremony was started by traditional blowing of the Conk shell.
 

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Oct. 6th, 2006 08:31 pm Aloha!

  Fred and I arrived in Honolulu, Hawaii 2 days ago.  Time flies when you are having fun!!!  I forgot what it was like to be in Hawaii, but now I remember.  It is a very nice place.  We got married here 31 years ago and stayed over a month since my father had a heart attack the day after our wedding (I will write about the whole story one of these days, but I am going to concentrate on my current trip for now).  The water color in tropical Hawaii is very different from the water in the Meditterranean Sea. It is turquoise blue and lots of coral reaf with colorful fish.  It is just like the water in Eilat, but the air is much more humid and the color is so much more vivid. It is very green everywhere with lots of palm trees and colorful flowers and birds.  It gives you the feeling that you are in Paradise. 
   We went to the Waikiki Beach to relax and to visit the bar on the beach called Duke's Place, named after Hawaii's most famous athlete also known as the father of modern surfing, Duke won Olympic swimming medals in 1912, 1920, 1924 and 1928.  My daughter, Melissa, surfed in the same spots when  she was going to school here.  The beach was very crowded with lots of Japanese tourists.  Amazing!!!  I felt as if I was back in Japan.  Honolulu is like Tel Aviv.  Many highrise buildings, shops, heavy traffic and many people.  The difference is the mountains in the back ground.  You can see the hill behind Melissa and Fred in this picture.  The hill is called Diamond Head.  The landscape of the Honolulu beach is stunningly beautiful surrounded by the green hills and the mountains covered with rain clouds and blue skyes. 
  We were looking forward to the famous Hawaiian drinks even before we got here.  The list of Hawaiian drinks includes Maitai, Pinacolada, Island Itch, Lava flow and so on.  The drink menu is quite long.  But, for some reason, I always go back to the "Lava Flow" which is a Pinacolada with creamy frozen strawberry juice swurling in the middle.  It tasts very much like a strawberry milkshake.  Soooooooo gooooood!!!!!!!  Please blame the Lava flow for me being  behind the schedule on my Blog....
  It was the eve of Sukkot this evening.  The full moon was peaking between the hotel buildings while we were enjoying our drinks at the Duke's.  It was such a romantic view!!!  Why does the full moon make people feel so romantic?  It is always the full moon that drives people crazy or romantic, or whatever.  It makes people do strange things.  There are lots of tales and stories around the world that are based on the full moon.  Ware Wolf, Princess Kaguya (a Japanese fairy tale) and the others.  If you know of full moon tales from your country, please share it with me.  I would like to hear the story.
  The sunset on the Waikiki Beach was just fantastic!!!  The color of the sunset changes every minute.  It is like a dream to be able to watch such a beautiful sunset while you are sitting on the beach, drinking Pinacolada and wishing all my friends are here with me....

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Oct. 2nd, 2006 08:47 am Fun in London with Paul Gibson

I flew from Tel Aviv to California via London.  I had almost a day there, so I asked my friend Paul Gibson if he had time to see me when I stopped over in London. Paul picked me up from the hotel at Heathrow Airport and showed me around the streets of London that I had never seen before.  Then he took me to a very interesting restaurant called Sarastro. We approached building covered with beautiful flowers, at the corner of Drury Lane and Kemble Street in Covent Garden, close to the Royal Opera House and many other theaters.  I toId Paul that I would love to have dinner in the restaurant in such a romantic setting.  Paul said, "Splendid because that's where we are going to eat."  It was truly a unique experience for me. 

The restaurant layout is much like a theatre: balcony seats, a royal box, a dress circle and stall seats. The decoration was rich in gold, red, silver and green. Generous silk and velvet drapes hang from the ceiling and walls with theatrical props in  every corner. The ceiling was covered with murals and the walls were hung with portraits. The food was also very unique just like the restaurant.  The appetizers were mediteranian dishes such as Hummus, Tzatziki, Taramosalata Chicken with apple puree, Dolma, Cheese Borek, Garlic Mushrooms and  Falafel.  Since I just visited Istanbul, I decided to try the Lamb Anatolian Style dish and Paul had the duck.                                                            

 We talked and talked about everything.  I felt that Paul and I have so much in common that we could talk all night.  Well, it's a good thing that time is limited, so that I didn't become such nuisance.  I hope I have a chance to visit London again.  It was so much fun.  With the short time I spent with Paul, I saw much more than I would have if I were all alone.

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Oct. 1st, 2006 02:36 pm Found another wonderful restaurant - "Rutenberg Restaurant"

 Again, I have to talk about a wonderful restaurant we discovered in an unlikely location. It is located in a place called Old Bridge by the old power station right on the border with Jordan.
 This was the restaurant we wanted to go last time we visited the winery in Golan Heights.
The guide at Chateau Golan winery told us that the food there was excellent.  But, when we saw the building, we were not sure how good the restaurant could be when it looked so dilapidated.  Unfortunately they were closed when we visited the restaurant then, so this time we made the reservation and made sure they were open.  Lo and behold, the food was indeed excellent!!!  More than excellent!!!
 Everything we had was excellent.  The starter, which was small serving of radish salad, marinated calliflowers and olives.  The radish salad reminded us of Japanese "Takuwan".  I had Creamy Carrot Crab meat soup with ginger and it was very very tasty.  Irena had Orange Carrot soup which was also very unique and very yummy as well.  The main dish I chose was Seafood Couscous with Musssels, Squid and shrimp.  It reminded me of Paella.  I also had Nectarine salad with baby lettuce and walnuts.  The dressing was again excellent.  Little sweet taste with nectarine and a little honey.  Hmmmmm, I wonder how I can make this dressing???

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Sep. 30th, 2006 02:04 pm Trip to Megiddo

 Last time when we were in the North, we drove by Har Megiddo, Leon asked me if I had been there and I said "No, I have not". So, Leon and Irena thought I should see it on our next weekend trip since it is a very interesting site. We took the trip last Saturday, the day before I left for California via London.It was indeed a fascinating place.
 Since the beginning of the 20th century, several archaeological expeditions have exposed more than 25 layers of civilization from the historical layer cake of Megiddo. Meggido was in a strategic position as the mid point on the international highway between Egypt and Mesopotamia as well as the strategic location for conquorers from 4000 B.C to 400 B.C. Among them,
there were Canaanites (Late Bronze Age ) possibly the very ones that unsuccessfully defended Megiddo against the Egyptian pharaoh Thutmose III in 1468 BC as described in Egyptian history.
 The most impressive structure that I saw there was the water system.
The Israelite engineers dug a deep shaft and a horizontal tunnel through solid rock to bring water from the spring inside the city. The spring was permanently diverted from outside the defensive walls, making the city's vital water supply secure from attack. The spring is no more than a trickle today.
 Also, this place has a significant meaning to the Christians all over the world. Megiddo is known as Armagedon ( Har Meggido ) and this place is believed to be the battle field when the Satan is freed from the prison and starts the world war against the holy before God takes over the world again.  Many Evangelical Christians all over the world believe that the current
situation in the Middle East is the sign that the end of the world is near.  Many of you must have seen men or women standing on the street corner saying "Repent, the end of the world is coming soon!!!".

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Sep. 30th, 2006 09:15 am My landlord Avishay and his wife Tzipi

 I decided to go back to California for 2 weeks during the Sukkot holiday since my Ulpan class will be closed for almost 2 weeks.  I wanted to tell my landloard Avishay about my plan, but he was in Costa Rica for the last 3 weeks to see his brand new grandson.  So, I waited until he came back to Tel Aviv.  I needed to give him the house keys and return Tzipi's bicycle to him.
 When I called him to arrage the time to meet him so that I can return the keys and the bicycle, he asked me if I wanted to visit him at his house and meet his wife.  Of course I wanted to meet with his wife but I also wanted to say good-bye and thank him for his kindness and hospitality.  I did not want to just return the keys without seeing him and telling him that I really appreciated his hospitality.  He has been such a
wonderful landloard to me and also we became friends.  He showed me around Tel Aviv when I first arrived and introduced me to the fun of riding bicycle, where to go and what to see on a bicycle in Tel Aviv and introduced me to good restaurants around the neighborhood.
 His wife Tzipi was also very nice.  They looked like a perfect couple in every way.  Wonderful children and beautiful new grandbaby who just had brit milah.  Proud grandma Tzipi told me how wonderful the baby was, and how he slept well and so on.  Their home was filled with happiness, many friends coming and going, telephone ringing non-stop while I was there.   I now know why Avishay is so wonderful.  I have a belief about people's behaviors.  When people are happy, they want to share their happiness with others, hence they are kind to others.
 Such was the impression I got from my landlord Avishay and his wife Tzipi.
I am looking forward to their visit to Japan next year so that I can reciprocate their hospitality in Japan.

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Sep. 28th, 2006 12:24 pm Good friends and not so good friends, but they are all my friends

 I wanted to share with you my happy moments and disappointing moments that I experienced today.  In order to do that, I have to tell you how I think of all of my friends. I firmly believe that all my friends are god given friends that I was destined to meet along the way in my life.  I somehow believe that I did not just happened to bump into them.  I was destined to meet them at the certain places at the certain moments of my life. So, I try to treat them with respect and with my best behavior as much as I can.  Here is something I always try to follow:

A Friend....
------------
Accepts you as you are
Believes in "you"
Calls you just to say "HI"
Doesn't give up on you
Envisions the whole of you (even the unfinished parts)
Forgives your mistakes
Gives unconditionally
Helps you
Invites you over
Just "be" with you
Keeps you close at heart
Loves you for who you are
Makes a difference in your life
Never judges
Offers support
Picks you up
Quiets your fears
Raises your spirits
Says nice things about you
Tells you the truth when you need to hear it
Understands you
Values you
Walks beside you
X-plains things you don't understand
Yells when you won't listen and..
Zaps you back to reality

A friend is someone we turn to when our spirits need a lift, 
A friend is someone we treasure for our friendship is a gift
A friend is someone who fills our lives with beauty, joy, and grace 
And makes the world we live in a better and happier place.
 
Of course, as you know I am not as perfect friend as I want to be, but I
also try to accept my friends as they are.
 
 So, today I received 2 email messages simultaneously one after another. The first message was from Gary who says he does not even have a minute for me while he is in Israel.  It would be nice if the friendship is a reciprocal one, I thought. But, I said to my self  "here he goes again, that is how he is. I did not accept him as my friend to get something back from him", but deep inside, I was hurt. He does not even have a minute to call me that the situation changed and he cannot meet with me as he promised.  Instead he sent me an email message the day he is leaving. Then the second message arrived. It was a happy surprise message from my other friend Mark Dorner who lives in Los Angeles, who was introduced to me by Gary a few years back, saying he just arrived and he wanted to see me. You cannot believe how happy I felt. Someone would make the time to see me even though he just arrived and he was tired, but he would come and pick me up??? I was laughing to myself thinking about my 2 friends who are sooooo different in personality. And the irony of it is that Gary had introduced me to Mark. How funny and they are both in Israel at the same time.

 Mark took me to his mother-in-law's place near Ra'anana where his wife Keren and his son Aiden were waiting. I had already met his mother-in-law,  brother, sister and wife when I visited him in LA last year. So, his mother-in-law greated me with a very warm welcome. Aiden was still not 1 year old. But now he is walking!!!  He is now a big boy. What I love the most is to watch my friends' children grow.  It makes me feel like I am their grandma. Nice feeling indeed. Mark is a very kind hearted man. So is his wife Keren. The young couple is very good to each other and so much fun to watch them together with their family.  I also met Aiden's Great Grand Parents. They are over 80 years old, but in very good shape. I could tell that their heart was melting while they were watching their great grand son who looks just like their son who passed away 8 years ago, talking, walking playing.  A warm family environment that people always like to visit. Definitely the sign of a happy family.
 
 So, by the end of the day, I was happy again and thankful that I have so many good friends in spite of occasional disappointing experience with some not so good friends. I consider myself such a lucky person who have so many wonderful friends.
 

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Sep. 27th, 2006 11:26 am Istanbul Continued

 Topkapi Palace was just so amazing. What struck me were the striking blue colors of the tiles. I don't know how to express it in words, but it was very colorful with gold and blue decorative Arabic writing all over the place. I believe they are the scriptures from Koran.   I think the pictures will explain it much better than thousands of words. So, here they are.  The palace was huge. I was told that it was the largest building in the world until recently and I believe that.
 As Edom tried to explain to me the first time, cultures in Japan and Turkey have many similar things, such as harems and baths. The harem is like the Ooku at the Shogun's palace where all the wives, children of Shogun and concubines lived, studied and worked. Of course, the Japanese culture does not have the diamonds, precious stones and gold like Turkey, but the basic idea is very similar. Also, the Turkish bath and the Japanese Onsen are very similar. Although, the style of the Japanese Onsen might have come from Turkey.... Who knows!!!! We have lots of Turkish baths where women do all sorts of services for men.
 
Day 3:
 
 We got together at 8 AM for breakfast. The breakfast was served every morning on the roof top terrace overlooking the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia andthe Mediterranean Sea.  It was a good idea to build such a interesting dinning area on top of the building. It seems that is the style in Istanbul.  I saw them everywhere. Breakfast consisted of French bread, tomatoes, cucumbers, olives with tomato sauce, hard boiled eggs and coffee or tea.  I especially liked the olives. They were very tasty. Black olives, not too salty but very tasty.  Also, coffee in Turkey is very good as well. In fact, I thought it was much better than the one in France or Italy.  I don't know how to explain but it tasted like really coffee.
 After breakfast, we decided to go to the Archeological Museum and then to take the ferry to the Asian side of Istanbul. The Archeological Museum was again just amazing. The rich collection made me feel just breathless.... Egyptian, Palestinian, Israeli, Babylonian, Greece, etc. etc.... Where they conquered, they brought back the valuable treasures.  Just amazing. That is all I can say. After the museum, we took the ferry across the Bosphorus straits where the Sea of Marmara and the Black Sea meet, and where the Europe and Asia meet.
 We wanted to see as many places as possible with short amount of time we had. So, we decided to go to the Yerebatan Cistern, the underground cistern called Sunken Palace which are left from the days of Constantinopol.
 It is huge underground structure (70 x 140 meters, or 2.4 acres)with a capacity of 80,000 cubic meters-over 21 million US gallons and 336 marble columns. Walkways and atmospheric lighting were installed during the 1990s so you can see all of its curious corners.
 We also went to the Egyptian spice market where we bought all sorts of spices, teas, sweets and nuts. Amazing how much stuff they have!!!! I also bought beef salami. Hmmmm, it is so good with beer. I wish I could take it back to California, but I cannot. So, I will have to eat it all by myself. Too bad I will not be able to share it with my family back home.....
 

Beshiktash Fish Market   (to be continued...)                                                                                                                 
 

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