Alps VI

The shot of the day (one of many). Just to clarify, this photo and those below were meant for the post "Germany?! II: The Alps. For some reason, they wouldn't show up. Blogger must only like one photo per post. Sorry for the confusion, enjoy!

Alps V

The snow hole.

 

Alps IV

Our mountain guy

 

Alps III

Here is the snow/ice chips photo. 

Alps II

" Here is the second picture. It was meant to go before the caption, "Dahlia putting on her snowshoe, but is it necessary?". 

Let's Try This Again

I'm not sure why this didn't work, but here is the first picture I wanted to include in the last post. It was meant to go at the beginning.

Germany?! II: The Alps

The trip started light. After a 7 hour plane ride and an interesting Shabbat with the Munich Jewish community, they took us snow-shoeing in the Alps. This is a shot of the team trekking up a smaller Alp.

At first I didn’t understand the concept of a snowshoe. At the base of the mountain, where we put on the shoes, I walked around in only my regular boots and found no difficulty. I didn’t sink into a snow cave. We’ve all walked on snow before, and without the help of a crazy plastic shoe.


Dahlia putting on her snowshoe, but is it necessary?


I was going to forget the whole snowshoe business and just walk along without the cumbersome things, but I thought I’d go along for the sake of the group. Everyone was doing it, I didn’t want to be a party pooper. If you know me, you know this kind of thinking is contrary to my personality. Maybe it was the lack of oxygen way up in the Alps, or maybe it was the effect of the group starting to cohere…

Whatever the reason, by the time we started up the mountain I was happy to have the crazy plastic things around my feet. As we climbed, the snow got fluffier and deeper. Without the annoying shoes, I would have been struggling to keep up with everyone.

The snow itself was like no other snow I’ve seen before. There were two-inch chips, or crystals of snow/ice sticking out everywhere. Here’s a picture:



I asked our mountain guy:


what had caused this phenomena and he went on for five minutes in German. I then asked our German guide what he said, and she told us that the snow would evaporate at dusk when the temperature would drop suddenly. This vapor would freeze and evaporate repeatedly. The crystals of snow/ice are the result.

The high mountain air, fantastic vistas and crisp temperature shocked us out of any remaining jetlag. I felt energized. This feeling propelled me through the rigorous schedule of the rest of the trip.

One incident on the mountain removed any doubts I may have had about the shoes. Elana Stein, our second in command, fell waist deep into a snow hole:



After I went around to take this photograph, I said to the team, “I don’t understand how that happened-” whereupon I fell into the same trench. I expected the same rush of help that Elana received, but I heard only laughter.

I eventually made it out of the hole and back down the mountain. On the train ride back to Munich I felt groggy from all the clean air and exercise. The shot of the day remained clear in my mind as I dozed off to the quiet, guttural German conversations on the train:

Germany?!

Well I’m back.  Most of you didn’t know I was leaving, and for that I apologize.  The rest of you know that I’ve been in Germany for the past couple of weeks.  I mooched another trip out of YU.  

This makes three.

People ask, “Why Germany?”  And I agree, it wouldn’t be my first choice for a vacation.  Especially this time of year, it was so cold.  I first applied for the trip because it was free.  They could have sent me to the Czech Republic; I didn’t care.  

I’m not choosy when someone offers me a free trip.

In retrospect, though, anywhere else would have provided only a mediocre experience.  We had an amazing time, and I think it’s because Germany provided such an intense experience.  Our group went to a concentration camp on Thursday, and then sang and danced in a shuel on Friday.  

We snow shoed in the Alps, spoke with German Jewish college students, met with the education ministers about holocaust education, and toured Munich and Berlin.  But more enjoyable than any of these activities was getting to know the group of YU and Stern students who came along for the ride.  

They made the trip the incredible experience I’ll remember.

We had as much fun on a seven-hour train ride as when we did any of the other activities.  At first, I thought we could have been anywhere and cohered as well.  In thinking back, though, only in Germany could we have become “The A Team” and eventually, “The Gemeinda”.  The intense experiences we shared were bonding.  

I’m curious to know how the Honduras group fared.



Stay tuned for photos and stories.  And good luck with the first days of class.

The Space Inside Our Heads

We start the day in our room, generally behind closed doors.  As we become more animate, we expand into other rooms of the house.

When we start out for class, the world we occupy balloons into the outdoors.  Space inflates and contracts as we move throughout the day.

At the end of the day, this all happens in reverse.  The expansive outdoors, the smaller world of the home, the bedroom.

We crawl into bed and eventually close our eyes.  We now enter the smallest and the most expansive space of the day, the space inside our heads

We take the space of our heads with us everywhere, of course.  Yet the spaces of the outside world often distract us from the tiny expanse behind our eyelids.

I once got claustrophobic from the thought that I was stuck in my own head.  I think I was daydreaming during a MBP shiur at the time.

Try exploring the world behind your eyelids during the day.  Sit for 20 minutes without opening your eyes (don’t fall asleep).  I don’t mean “discover yourself” or anything metaphoric.  Literally check out the places inside your head.  I’m not sure how else to explain it.

It’s the smallest and the most expansive space of the day.

Another Article

CNN.com - Gaza spirals into lawlessness - Jan 2, 2006: "It appears as if Gaza has degenerated into anarchy."

Here's another article for controversy. I look forward to hearing what everyone has to say.

Still Here

Just so no one forgets about YU Blog?!, here is a photo to ponder. I expect to be posting regularly again, now that I have emerged from my self-imposed, work related hibernation.

I'd like to thank the posters who took part in the previous controversy about the NY times article. I'd also like to add that my mother phoned in to comment. It is her opinion that "Cultural Judaism" has no future, because it provides no continuity for future generations. One person's definition of Judaism may work for that individual, but without the tradition of Moses to carry the religion, it will fail.

Thanks again to everyone that commented. I look forward to hering more from you in the future.