And So It Begins...

Why hello there, Casual Reader/Undying Jake-Fan!

You will soon realize that I absolutely hate introductions, so I'll try to make any exposition as quick as possible. As of right now I (Jake Rosenbaum) have made Aliyah. I plan on using this blog to keep friends and family who are stateside posted of any soldierly doings I may have, observations of Israeli society I may make, and particularly good felafel balls I may consume. I also plan on having a section titled "Things I Like" so that you emulate me in hopes of becoming as tall as yours truly.

Soldierly Doings:

Not too much to report on that front (<-- pun possibly intended) as of yet; I visited Beit Rimon (the Kibbutz I'm moving to for the next three-or-so years of my life), and I can tell that the view there makes any possible view in Rochester look as dull as a Pro Ball-in-the-Cup competition. That, in addition to meeting my fantastic new  רכזת קיבוץ ( Rakezet Kibbutz, or kibbutz coordinator) definitely helped assuage some of the not-quite-so-small butterflies that were raging in my stomach on my flight from JFK.

The View (photo credit: Adina Israel)

The Translation. It was certainly a good try, Google Translate.

General Observations

While Jerusalem was a fantastic place to really get to know Israel and become acquainted with it's many-faceted population, I absolutely cannot wait to get out of here and move to somewhere a bit more rural. The traffic here is Rush Hour-esque. That being said, it does boast some fantastic felafel joints which brings me to my next segment:

Particularly good Felafel Balls I Have Consumed

On Rechov HaNeviim in Jerusalem houses the best felafel joint I've ever been to. המרכז הפלאפל התימני (HaMerkaz HaFelafel HaTeimani, or the Center for Yemenite Felafel) an absolutely fantastic place to eat, despite its name sounding like it's a halfway house for socioeconomically disadvantaged felafel balls. The owner is a genuinely nice guy and constantly gives away free felafel balls as well as fries if he is in a particularly good mood (all of it unprovoked, by the way). The felafel itself is incredibly fine (in every sense of the word) and has the strange quality of almost melting in your mouth. Everyone should and will go there. Of course, I must thank Yomi Groner for introducing my family and I to this place a year and a half ago (Yomi is also an incredible tour guide; I highly recommend using him for all of your future tours that need guiding).

Things I Like

(I thought I'd play it safe today. Edgier things that I like to come)

That'll do (pig) it for today. Will Jake ever establish some sort of Israeli accent? Will he attempt to revive his admittedly dormant workout routine? Are there any more felafel stands worth noting?! The answers to all of this and more on my next post!