Chili Success

It is difficult to predict how many people will come to a one-time fundraiser in a foreign country where fundraisers are not the most popular thing and where the food you are serving is a spicy American dish that most people have never tried before. Thus, the group of us that were organizing were afraid no one would come even though we had worked very hard in advertising: telling everyone we knew, putting up posters all over campus, and going door to door in the dorms trying to convince people to come. The night before we cooked more chili than I have ever seen. A short list of the ingredients will illustrate: 13 kilos of ground beef, 52 red and green peppers, 26 large onions, 20 carrots, 2 head of celery, 42 (28oz) cans of tomatoes, 6 cans of tomato paste, 42 cans of chili beans, 6 cups of hot chili powder, etc. We had three jumbo pots and a bunch of little hot plates to cook on. We lined them up so that each pot sat on two of the hot plates. You work with what you've got. It was a big production but we did it.

The next night, we fed around 200 people. The fundraiser was a huge success. The line was all the way out the door and into the street. There was music, a raffle, dancing, etc. Everyone remarked how good of a time it was and to my eternal satisfaction they said the chili was delicious. Some of the members of my Rotary Club here in Haifa came as well as administrators in the International School. Those of us that helped organize were really astounded. So many people helped set up and take down and nearly all of the chili was eaten. The best part about it was the presence of many of the Nitsan members who came and ate and danced. And, in the end, we raised way more money than we had hoped. With the help of the Rotary Clubs back home, who donated all of the advertising and food costs, everything we made could go towards the cause. In addition, through the generosity of my Rotary Club, Moriah, and the attendance of so many people, we were able to raise $4,250. This money will go towards the completion of an extra room at Nitsan so that the cramped center can have more space for their activities. We all fell that the fundraiser was a truly wonderful way to end our year in Haifa. Thank you to all who donated or supported us in any way.

The Set-Up

Just a few of the cans of tomatoes

The Production Line

Beer, the magic ingredient

The Chili Committee

Transporting Chili

The Chili Committee

just before we opened the doors

A wonderful sight

Rotary, Best Buddies and Chili Fundraiser

Considering I am nearing the end of my time in Israel (just four weeks to go), I figure I should write about some of the other aspects of the Rotary scholarship. First, the scholarship has offered me the opportunity to develop a very close relationship to Yisrael Lazar and his family. Yisrael is my Host Counselor and has invited me to spend many holidays like Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Hannukah, Passover with his friends and family. Yisrael is also constantly making sure that I am well, enjoying my time, and that I have everything I need in order to make my year a great one. In addition to attending several meetings and speaking to Yisrael's Rotary Club, I have had the opportunity to meet with them at a variety of events over the course of the year so that I am on a first name basis with many of its members. Giving speeches to other Rotary Clubs throughout Israel has been a wonderful way to see much of the country, meet "regular" Israelis and to spread the word about Iowa, the United States and my own personal journey. Also, I have found that speaking about my impressions of Iowa and life there as well as my past experiences and future goals has allowed me the opportunity to look at my life from the outside in to better understand where I come from and who I am. They always say that if you really want to learn something try to teach it to others and this expresses perfectly what Rotary presentations have done for me. In trying to teach others about myself and my world perspective, I have gained insights and been forced to articulate things that I would otherwise not even thought about. In this way, these scholarships offer young people like myself a huge opportunity for growth and self-learning. In whatever way we attempt to give back to Rotary and the community, it cannot match what we have been given.

Annelise Cohon is another Rotary Scholar in Haifa from the United States. She is originally from New York but has lived for several years in Southern California. Last year, she worked for a non-profit organization called Best Buddies, which attempts to match developmentally disabled members of the community with students to form lasting friendships. Annelise brought the idea of Best Buddies with her to Israel and within the first few times that I met her, she had already told me all about it. I agreed to volunteer in whatever capacity she could use me. We began to visit a local center, Nitsan, for the developmentally disabled in Haifa. Nitsan offers a place and a community for people that would otherwise have no other place to feel "normal". We have visited Nitsan once a week ever since, attempting to become part of that community, helping to teach English, develop independent living skills through cooking and computer tutorials, as well as immersing ourselves in social activities including arts and crafts, daily discussion of current events and music therapy. Ultimately, we have attempted to interact with them as friends and not as instructors or volunteers. The experience has been enriching for all of us. And so Annelise, myself and several others have organized a big Chili Fundraiser for the end of this month with the hope of giving a monetary donation to Nitsan, which needs such donations to supplement their public stipend. We are hoping to feed more that 200 people at this Chili dinner, which has been generously sponsored by local Rotary Clubs here in Haifa as well as ones back home in the U.S., including my sponsor club Cedar Rapids Sunrise. With all of the positive support and encouragement we have received over the past few weeks, the event is sure to be a success. I have offered to cook all of the Chili for the event (with help of course). The idea originated out of a large Chili dinner I hosted for all of my friends in Dublin when my parents came to visit and a similar event that Cedar Rapids Sunrise holds for the Make-A-Wish foundation. Wish us luck.

at Nitsan

Hannukah

English Class

Avram and I

Volunteers with Buddies

Yam l'yam (Sea to Sea)

One of the many popular things for tourists, and natives alike, to do in Israel is called Yam l'yam, translated "Sea to Sea" (Mediterranean to Galilee). It is possible to walk from its western-most point (Mediterranean Sea) to the eastern border (Sea of Galilee) in only 3 days, which really gives a sense of how small this country is. It is roughly 60 kilometers of walking or about 40 kilometers as the crow flies. We knew that it would be difficult to make the hike in just three days and that four would be more reasonable, but being five young men, (or relatively young in my case) we thought we could make it all right. We packed late the night before we left and took as much food as we thought we needed for a couple of days, hoping to resupply along the way. In addition, because two of our five were religious Jews, we decided to rest on Shabbat. Under strict shomer interpretations of Jewish law, they are not allowed to carry anything and need to spend much of the day in prayer and reflection. We slept just a few hours before waking at dawn and taking the train North to Nehariyya, a small city on the coast of the Mediterranean. We walked to the beach and finally started our trip when we all stepped into the Mediterranean Sea at around 9 am. The first couple hours of our hike meandered through a number of large farms that grow bananas, with huge nets covering the orchards. In the late morning, we finally reached the trailhead and began our hike in earnest. In contrast to what many think is the Israeli landscape, myself included, the Northern part of Israel is verdant and lush. Later in the summer, the hills and mountains of the Galilee will dry out considerably but at the end of the winter, the hills are full of green plants and wild flowers. We began to ascend through the hills, walking along a stream for the whole of the first day. We passed an old Crusader Fort, called Monfort, which sits atop one of the steep hills and looks out over the whole of Galilee. Towards the end of the day, we hiked out of the valley on a very steep climb and found a nice campground overlooking our day's hike, where we would spend the next day. Without tents, we were leaving it up to the weather Gods to treat us well which they did throughout the trip. Yet, up high on the hills of the Galilee it was impossible to avoid the wind and I was able to sleep very little. On Shabbat, we sat around and played cards or read, made a large fire and cooked a big dinner. Since it was Pesach(Passover) we decided to keep Kosher so there was no bread, or noodles or rice. We brought a lot of Matza (enleaven bread), vegetables and fruit. By the end of the hike, I was ready to never see another box of matza as long as I live. Saturday night was spent much like the first, largely sleepless because of the cold wind, compounded by the presence of jackels in the campground. Several times we all woke up when one wandered very close to camp.

Sunday morning, Easter, came and Tucker and I, the only Christians, had a moment to ourselves before we began to hike. This day was going to be much longer than the first as we were going to hike over 20 kilometers, mostly up, to the second highest peak in Israel, Mount Meron. We slept the third night up near the top of the mountain and this time I slept apart from my compatriots in trying to find shelter from the wind as my sleeping bag was the most thin of all. I slept much better this night. We started early the next morning because our last day was the longest of all, compounded by the fact that we hiked a half an hour in the wrong direction at the very beginning of our day. The last day was: (1) full of the most difficult hiking, going up and down the sides of a canyon for nearly three hours making no more progress than a few kilometers, (2) the warmest (around 90 F) and we began to run out of water about half way through because we had been unable to find a place to fill up (eventually, we were forced to ask fellow hikers for water and their kindness did was greatly appreciated) and (3) the worst for our feet which were feeling the effects of the two long days before. All of us had blisters and by the later hours of the day, mere will was keeping us moving. The last few kilometers were spent walking up a road before we saw the Kinneret spread out before us with the last few rays of the day on our backs. We reached the public beach around 8 o'clock, where we promptly stripped to our underwear to take a dip under many watchful eyes. At that point, we didn't care. We hopped on a bus back home which only took about 45 minutes.

It was a great few days without modern technology or the worries and amenities of the world. It was a refreshing reminder of just how difficult life can be without cars, or telephones or microwaves or refrigerators etc. In addition, a place like Israel with such a long and significant history adds a special aspect to such a trip. To think of Christ walking these hills or the Crusaders living in such forts prompts much pondering and makes one especially aware of our connectedness to human history; reminding us that the things we have only read in books happened in the real world as well. Then again, I was very glad to return to my little room and bed where I dreamed of cold beers, air conditioning, fluffy slippers and steaming hot showers.

Beginning

1st Day

Lunch break

Eve of Easter sunset

Shabbat journaling

Midway point

Flowered Paths

Typical stew concoction

At rest on the last day

End