Neighbors

I HATE THEM

I hate my neighbors.

I don't know their names, and what I usually call them in my head is not printable, so I will entitle them: Obnoxious and Noisy.

Obnoxious and Noisy seem to believe that we are not in the USA but in their native India, because they are on Indian time and make a ton of noise between the hours of 1 and 5 am. Sometimes it's just a good old fashioned marital disagreement that goes deep into the night. Twice it's been their toilet breaking at 3 in the morning which they seem to think they can fix by opening and closing all their doors and yelling. Usually it's television and loud laughter. Tonight it's a guest who arrived at 1:30 am, a smelly curry they've cooked up using every pot they own and which they have continuously dropped, and the television in the background as they carry on a conversation which seems to revolve around the husband and male guest comparing their Yahoo commercial yodels. I haven't been able to sleep through the night for the past three nights.

And don't think I haven't tried to quiet them. Early on I went over to their apartment and knocked on the door so they would see I wasn't threatening and just very tired. They responded to my knocks by turning their television waaaay up, and then when I didn't go away they turned it off and tried to pretend they weren't there. So, I have resorted to knocking on the wall and pleading "Please be quiet" which only eggs them on.

But tonight, tonight it all changes! Oh yes, I emailed my RA. This will probably do nothing, but it takes the edge off my anger. I will also bitch and moan to you. I hate being passive aggressive.
In 15 minutes it will be 3 am. If they are still noisy I am going over and knocking on the door. Oh yes I am. Grrrrrrrr

P.S.
So roughly 10 minutes later they became extraordinarily loud, and I made my move, which is hard for me. Anyway I went over and knocked and when the wife came to the door I was hardcore "are you aware of the quiet hours?" and "you are begging for an RAing" and she was saying "So sorry, our cousin is staying with us, we're planning a Nepalese party... won't happen again" So firstly, I apologize for saying they were Indian, that was ignorant of me. Secondly, I am going to this Nepalese party you had best believe. Thirdly, I just emailed my RA again to tell him nevermind. And Fourthly, now I can't sleep because of my adrenaline rush from my confrontation. I feel faint.

Thanksgiving

There's so much for me to give thanks for, especially in comparison to my last Thanksgiving which was in Arad and the only turkey in sight was breaded and heavily fried by a group of motherly Russian women with a penchant for shnitzel.

So in light of that, I am very happy to be home in Chicago, perhaps for the last time, with my family which has grown to include Mike. I've had lunch with my brother and sister at HP institution, Michael's. I've shoe-window-shopped with Shira. I've watched movie after movie with my father and caught up with my mother between her cooking meals large enough for to send extras to the new WUJies (and I think I might). I've also gone door to door to family friends to drop off Buckeyes (GO BUCKS!) and spiced nuts.

Still, my mom seems to use these holidays to sneak in her Old World flavorings that on most any other day would simply not be allowed. I seriously just peaked into the gravy and there was a turkey NECK in there, and what my mom called the "pupik." This, for those that don't have words like shmaltz, shmutz, and shluffen naturally roll of their tongue, refers to a belly button. I was reconciling myself to this when I realized turkeys lay eggs, they don't have belly buttons, WHAT IS GOING ON????? I now have to pray that this hasn't happened for the last 21 Thanksgivings, just as once I convinced myself my mother only threw in chicken feet to her matzah ball soup recipe that one time to scare me. Now I know better than to open any pot in our kitchen. If I had wanted random parts of crazy meat thrown into my food I would have traveled to China, or been more adventurous while in Japan.

So, as I give thanks and pray for the sanity of my family, my mother is calling my grandmother to determine exactly what that random thing was. I'm considering becoming a vegetarian. My grandmother also doesn't know what it is, but promises her own grandmother swore by them, to but hair on your chest. Hmmmmmmmmmm. Perhaps next year Tofurkey?

Weekend in DC!

I just got back from a really great time in DC seeing my brother Asher and good friend Emily.

I took the train down from NY to DC late Thursday night. It would have been tedious but convenient, if only the train had reached its destination. Instead, it stopped just outside of the Baltimore station, and stayed there for roughly 40 minutes. Due to some trains coming off the track earlier that night, there was a huge holdup and no trains were going south. Luckily, I have the fantastic Emily at my call, and she drove up to take me back to her place. That night we did some quick catching up before falling fast asleep.

Friday Emily and I went to the United States Institute of Peace to hear a trilogue on a new book that was recently published by USIP called Generals in the Cabinet Room: How the Military Shapes Israeli Policy. The three speakers were the author and Tel Aviv University professor Yoram Peri, Martin Indyk the director of the Saban Center and former assistant to President Clinton, and former US ambassador to Israel Samuel Lewis. The book and talk centered around the militarization of Israeli politics and politicization of the Israeli military. The best parts were when each of the three men discussed anecdotes such as Golda Meir playing coy with Dayan.

I then met up with Asher to visit the National Museum of the American Indian. We started out with the best, and perhaps most educational, part of the museum, the cafeteria. It's set up with 7 food stations representing 7 regional menus. I had peanut soup and blue corn bread from one station while Asher had the venison, there was also Pacific dishes featuring salmon and buffalo burgers from the plains. After that cultural experience, we went to the exhibits. For such a large museum, little space is actually dedicated to the exhibition rooms. There were 4 rooms, each dealt with topics such as how American Indians self-identify and have been historically identified by the US government, the choices communities make to maintain their cultures, history from the natives' perspective, and one which focuses more on traditional artifacts. What Asher and I found really interesting was that the museum was non-linear, that the exhibits were curated by actual members of each community that it represented, and what those communities decided they wanted to show to the larger community. A few things that have stuck with me was a community exhibit from the "Acorn Eaters" who traditionally relied on acorns to survive and now run a casino called The Golden Acorn in order to provide for the tribe. Another was an photograph of an exhibit done by an American Indian man in which he lay on a table in a museum with cards explaining his featured and scars, his aim was to comment on museums' only displaying Native Americans as a dead culture, something this museum hopes to remedy.

After stopping back in the cafeteria to take a Mexican hot chocolate to go, Asher and I took a complete turn and went to an art museum on the Mall that was classical in structure and content. Then we walked through the Mall and on to the new World War II Memorial. It's gotten mixed reviews I've heard, and I can see why. President Bush's name is far too large, and I think somewhat taints the structure and its purpose. It's hard not to relate all the quotes that decorate the stone walls to the Iraq War. It brought up a lot of what I've been discussing at TC, especially with Brittany. It made a lot of the issues very clear, and Asher and I had a great talk about it. We walked on in the dark to the Lincoln Memorial, my favorite. After a long and uneventful dinner, Asher and I parted and I headed back to Emily's...

There the party was in full swing. Emily had invited a few friends from her grad program at American University and from her high school days, as well as Rachel and myself to represent WUJS. It was a house warming for Emily's new apartment. It was a great time, with lots of conversations about our shared love of the Middle East and conflict resolution, some hooka smoking, and quite a bit of wine.

The next day we slept in (well, sort of, Rachel left early) and then Emily and I had and Indian lunch. Evan joined us for some reminiscing/ exchange of WUJS gossip/ what are we doing with our futures conversation. Evan is looking very good and taking classes at Johns Hopkins. After he left, Emily and I explored Eastern Market on Capitol Hill and met up with her mom for coffee. The last time I saw Ms. Siegel was in Israel, when she took Emily and me on a great jeep tour of the Negev Desert. She is recently married to her boyfriend of 14 years! Emily then took me home for some pad thai (she makes it soooo good) and Ben & Jerry's. We watched "Walk the Line" to which I say "feh" and "The Troupe" and Israeli film I last saw on EIE when I was in highschool.

Sunday was very laidback. Emily took me on a tour of AU and her old schools and neighborhoods. We stopped by the FDR memorial, which I think is also pretty new, and really inspiring. All the quotes could be thrown into any peace ed class. It's structured very differently from the other memorials. Rather than a central figure or columned building, it's spread out and sprinkled with waterfalls. Really beautiful and natural. I then headed home to NY...

I have to say, I am so excited for Thanksgiving. The American Indian museum whetted my appetite for Thanksgiving foods, hanging out with Asher reminded me of how fun my family can be, and I got Shira the MOST perfect birthday card! Happy 26th Shira!

After so much fun with my family just the other week, it seems to be falling apart. I saw my grandparents for the first time in a year (due to Israel) at Shira and Mike's engagement party, and my Grandma Franny, who just turned 80, was looking quite beautiful. But this week she was not feeling well and had to go to hospital. She is now home, but it's hard to see my Grandma in pain and my Grandfather struggling as well. I think it shook the whole family up.

My Daddio was also not doing so well. He tore a ligament or something or another in his knee, and he had outpatient surgery to fix it. He was limping quite a bit, but true to form he decided, not a week after the surgery, to walk from the 50s up to 122nd street to see me. Once here, we had a nice lunch and I got to show him the Columbia campus and TC's main building. I think he was suitable impressed that he was getting his money's worth with architecture and gardening. We also took a tour of Grant's Tomb (though it belongs to two Grants, Ulysses and Julia). We took turns quizzing each other on Civil War trivia, which he won since everything I know he told me at some point and I don't remember half of what he tells me. I never had a chance. We then hung out at my apartment and took naps, until dinnertime when we headed out to Shira and Mike's place.

After a nice family dinner, we bid Daddio adieu, and Shira, Mike, and I went to see Borat. I usually don't go in for "stupid" humor movies, but absolutely everyone is talking about this film. I was 3/4ths horrified, 1/4 entertained. There is a great deal of anti-Semitism in the film, which seems acceptable since the star and writer is Jewish, but one must wonder what the non-Jewish and middle-American audiences take form the movie. There was also a great deal of nudity, unattractive nudity. There was also ironic commentary on American culture, everything from gun laws and Southern racism to NY's fear of human contact. I felt for the first time a bit like a NYer when I saw Borat on the subways and streets of my residence. I don't want to ruin it for anyone...

Kareem!!!!! Kareem and I met about 4 years ago at OSU when we both attended the Palestinian National Convention. Then, a few summers later, I met Michelle Weiner through my then roommates in Jerusalem. I ended up hanging out with Weiner a lot, and then one day we hung out with her friend Kareem as well, and it turned out we had already met! He stayed at my apartment a few times that summer, and this past summer in Jerusalem we met up quite a few times and he took me and a few friends to Bethlehem (look at old blog). More importantly, everyone loves him, LOVES HIM. So it was a special treat that he invited me out with his friends this weekend, which included Weiner as well!

Pictured: Kareem, Me, Weiner

I met up with Kareem, Weiner and two of their friends and one fiance at the Museum of Sex. I'm not sure that it was really an educational experience, the kind of non-formal institution we're taught about at Teachers College. The first exhibit was on Japanese pornography, mostly tiny sketches from the 19th century. Strangely enough, I had seen a similar exhibit in Jerusalem. Brian and I had gone to the Israel Museum because they had a few exhibits on Japanese cultures and art, which included these same sketches. It's strange what pops up in your life. After the museum we took a long walk to dinner, which ended up being Afghani food, very similar to Indian and very tasty. We then headed back to the movie theater, where they were all going to see Borat and I was going to go home. We stopped for some Ben & Jerry's, the literal cherry on top of a nice evening out.

Catch Up: October

Lets us catch up, shall we?

1. Daniela, Evan, and Anna all came in to the Manhattan area. There is photgraphic evidence:



















2. Midterms. They were ugly, now they are over, we move on...


3. Halloween at I-House







There was a party, though not thrilling. In one picture I'm with Prithvi (dark warlord) and Honza (crazy mugger). The inflatable cow is Imre, he even dance Hungarian. Asher was a good sport and pretended he was having fun.


4. Mom's Birthday!


5. Shira and Mike's engagement party!
We took a ride out to the party in NJ, all the trees are changing colors and it was quite pretty, not at all like the city. When we got there the hall reminded me a lot of Shira's South Bend Bat Mitzvah, complete with family! I got my grandmothers together to discuss water therapy and arthritis. I had soem great conversation with my grandfather about George Washington which eventually lead to stem cell research and then the Earth's magnetism. I also was able to talk with my father's fun first-cousins and aunts and uncle. It was also great to meet Mike's family, even the drunker ones :)