To all my pals back home and abroad: I'm sorry I've been such a terrible tour guide for Israel this week. It's a good thing I'm not a CNN news correspondent as (1) I'd probably be fired by now for my poor reporting skills and (2) you'd all be worried sick that I'd been kidnapped and held ransom. Truth be told, I haven't written anything lately because I've spent most of my waking hours at work this week. And unless you're intrigued about my endeavors at discovering the relationship between monkey sweat and the brain, I must say there's not much to talk about. I've written several beautiful programs that organize my data and now I'm in the process of looking for neural activity called "spindles." Once I start finding my little spindle buddies, I'll let you know how the story of my research is taking shape!
Other than busying myself at the computer all week, I've been meeting with our now regular lunch group everyday at 12:30. It's probably the highlight of my day! From couscous to lamb, I've discovered a couple new tastes this week but nothing incredibly exciting. Tess introduced me to a new falafel stand which is ten times better than the one I'd previously been frequenting. In fact, Tanmay and I grabbed dinner there last night cause it's so delicious. They have five different types of falafel and though I have no idea what the difference between them is, they're all equally scrumptious! When the cook asks what type of falafel I want, I have to resort to saying "mixed" or identify the different types by color: "green", "yellow", "whitish"…. It's a lot like ordering a handful of m&m's and asking for a specific color (except, unfortunately, they have yet to introduce a blue falafel).
On Tuesday night, Lior and I went to see "No Country for Old Men" at an auditorium on campus. Though I'd already seen the film, Lior had only seen it half-way through, several times. Until the movie was over and Lior told me how incredible the Cohen brothers were, I didn't understand why the Institute had arranged the free event. "It's so Jewish," Lior explained to me excitedly. "It's the entire story of the Jewish people!" What!? I must've missed something. Lior then went on to explain (in great detail) his take on the myriad symbols throughout the movie: the hills in the opening seen of the movie are in the shape of pyramids and represent the Jewish exodus from Egypt. All the people that wear hats in the movie represent the Jewish people (apparently the kippa/skull-cap that Jews wear could really be any hat and is worn to remind the Jewish people of their time in slavery and their relationship to God). None of the "Jews" (hat-wearing people) in the movie concede to the demands of the villain….so on and so forth! I must say, it was odd to see the film interpreted in such an entirely new light.
Last night Tanmay, Oner, and I went to a pub on Herzl Street and watched the soccer match between Turkey and Germany. Given that I know absolutely nothing about soccer, Tanmay patiently walked me through the various rules and told me about the various players. Since Tanmay wasn't rooting for a specific team, he was especially happy with all the plays despite who scored. Being Turkish, on the other hand, Oner was less ecstatic about the result of the match and several times disagreed with Tanmay on specific calls made by the refs. As a newcomer to the sport, it was an exciting game for me to watch…though I think it'll take a couple more to be fully enthralled! Of course, drinking and being surrounded by avid fans makes the game much more exciting. It was a bit upsetting, though, when the Israeli reporters had technical problems the last five-minutes of the game and we all missed seeing the final victory goal kicked by the Germans!
Other than busying myself at the computer all week, I've been meeting with our now regular lunch group everyday at 12:30. It's probably the highlight of my day! From couscous to lamb, I've discovered a couple new tastes this week but nothing incredibly exciting. Tess introduced me to a new falafel stand which is ten times better than the one I'd previously been frequenting. In fact, Tanmay and I grabbed dinner there last night cause it's so delicious. They have five different types of falafel and though I have no idea what the difference between them is, they're all equally scrumptious! When the cook asks what type of falafel I want, I have to resort to saying "mixed" or identify the different types by color: "green", "yellow", "whitish"…. It's a lot like ordering a handful of m&m's and asking for a specific color (except, unfortunately, they have yet to introduce a blue falafel).
On Tuesday night, Lior and I went to see "No Country for Old Men" at an auditorium on campus. Though I'd already seen the film, Lior had only seen it half-way through, several times. Until the movie was over and Lior told me how incredible the Cohen brothers were, I didn't understand why the Institute had arranged the free event. "It's so Jewish," Lior explained to me excitedly. "It's the entire story of the Jewish people!" What!? I must've missed something. Lior then went on to explain (in great detail) his take on the myriad symbols throughout the movie: the hills in the opening seen of the movie are in the shape of pyramids and represent the Jewish exodus from Egypt. All the people that wear hats in the movie represent the Jewish people (apparently the kippa/skull-cap that Jews wear could really be any hat and is worn to remind the Jewish people of their time in slavery and their relationship to God). None of the "Jews" (hat-wearing people) in the movie concede to the demands of the villain….so on and so forth! I must say, it was odd to see the film interpreted in such an entirely new light.
Last night Tanmay, Oner, and I went to a pub on Herzl Street and watched the soccer match between Turkey and Germany. Given that I know absolutely nothing about soccer, Tanmay patiently walked me through the various rules and told me about the various players. Since Tanmay wasn't rooting for a specific team, he was especially happy with all the plays despite who scored. Being Turkish, on the other hand, Oner was less ecstatic about the result of the match and several times disagreed with Tanmay on specific calls made by the refs. As a newcomer to the sport, it was an exciting game for me to watch…though I think it'll take a couple more to be fully enthralled! Of course, drinking and being surrounded by avid fans makes the game much more exciting. It was a bit upsetting, though, when the Israeli reporters had technical problems the last five-minutes of the game and we all missed seeing the final victory goal kicked by the Germans!
1 comment:
Lior's got that right. The Coen Brothers truly are incredible!
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