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Yalla, Yalla, Yalla.... Adventures in Jordan

To those of you who do not know: Yalla in arabic means “Lets go”. So “yalla, yalla, yalla” was theme of my trip to Wadi Rum and Petra. We started this adventure in Tel Aviv. I met my friend Caitlin for beers and some tacos on Thursday night, a great way to start off any adventure!

Eilat the southern most city of Israel. Some describe it at the Las Vegas of Israel. I can see where that could be true. Our night bus from Tel Aviv arrived in Eilat at 4:30am and the boarder to Jordan opens at 8:00am. What to do? Some coffee, some breakfast…Yalla! On the search for coffee we stumbled upon a lot of people who were still finishing their nights, while we were just starting our day. I always find this quite amusing, especially when the drunk guys are trying to pick you up. We found a restaurant/bar that was either just closing or getting ready to open, I wasn’t really sure but they were definitely bumping some sweet electronic/house music. The bartender said they were not open, but allowed us to buy coffee and sit at a table which overlooked the Red Sea. To our left the Jordanian flag was flying from the city of Aqaba, to our right the city of Eilat and their mountains. With the coffee and the electronic music we were now very awake and in need of some food. We ended up finding a 24 hour bar/cafe where we got some excellent Shakshuka. Which Caitlin and I could probably live off of. Next task get to the boarder…Yalla!

About a 10 minute taxi ride to the boarder and we were there. The boarder opens at 8am and that is the rush hour for all the day trippers, tour groups, and other adventurers into Jordan. We were the first in line and we were so unsure about having to pay, we were told it was free so we bypassed the exit tax cashier. For future reference to all of those who will go to Jordan from Israel: you must pay an exit fee of 106NIS. Once we figured out how legally exit the country, we had made it to Jordan. Our first encounter at the boarder was this man who looked like he had walked out 1975 Southern California: his brown skin, slightly balding grey streaked straggly shoulder length hair, tight-ish cowboy jeans and boots, he had a smile that was welcoming but also missing some teeth and he had a cigarette between his fingers throughout our encounter. With his cell phone he showed us that he had our names and that he was going to help us out. He guided us through the boarder patrol process and delivered us to our taxi that was waiting to bring us to Wadi Rum. If I didn’t know better it felt like we were being delivered. Our taxi driver was another character. We stopped to get gas and he opened the back side door and sat next to Caitlin, she moved over thinking it was another passenger. We were both startled, but he was just handing us water. While doing so he asked Caitlin “do you want to drive?”. On the drive to Wadi Rum we asked him where he was from and his answer “China!” Already a great start to our Jordan adventure….Yalla!

Our next delivery stop was at a gas station, we were met by a Jordanian in the traditional Jordanian dress. White long sleeve “man dress” (I am going to look up the technical term), with the red and white scarf wrapped on his head, he had a short beard and wore aviators. We hoped in his Toyota truck. Welcome to Jordan. 4x4'ing into the Wadi Rum National Park Desert we go…Yalla. We drove into this beautiful desert which had giant sandstone mountain jutting out of the flat endless sand. We arrived at Obeid’s Bedouin Life Camp, where we were to stay for the night. It was around 11:00am, but we had been up for about 6 hours so it felt like the afternoon. “We go on the desert tour…Yalla!” Nayel was to be our tour guide. The desert adventure was a 3 hour tour of the beautiful and vast Wadi Rum. We learned about the history of Lawrence of Arabia, the Nebatean people who had built Petra, and also did some canyoning. It was an awesome tour filled with a lot of photo’s, sand, and bumpy rides. After our desert tour we had time to relax and nap on this shaded spot that our tour guides brother Muhammad brought us to at the camp, and he even brought us pillow’s! It was a great place to relax and squeeze in a nap which was needed considering that I didn’t sleep much on the over night bus.

The next activity was to see the sunset over the Wadi Rum desert. The colors were beautiful! The sun at different times throughout the day enhances different colors in the sand. It is indescribably beautiful. Caitlin and I were quite hungry after our long day of adventures, so we were very excited for the Bedouin BBQ. Once we got back to camp we sat around the camp fire and chatted with our new campmates. They included a couple from Japan, a film/documentary crew from Thialand, two women from Georgia (the state), and a Man from Pittsburg who was living in Jordan. After a lot of very sweet hot tea and a chance to learn everyones story it was time to take a “Night walkrdquo; , this threw Caitlin and me off because we didn't want to walk we wanted to eat. As we walked around the camp we then realized that they were walking us to show us how they had prepared our Bedouin BBQ. This was very interesting. They had heated up coals and thrown them in a deep pit in the sand, and on top of them they place a metal 3 tiered stand that had all of the dishes on them: chicken, rice, and this amazing middle eastern style vegetables. We ate dinner in this main tent which was large enough to fit about 100 people. It was traditional sit on the ground Arab style, which I really enjoy. With pillows for the ground who needs chairs? After dinner we sat around the fire for a bit more. The brothers played and sang some traditional Jordanian songs. They wanted us to join in with the clapping and dancing, we couldn't quite find the beat. Nayel clapping wasn't a traditional rhythm, there would be 2 claps then followed by 4 in a row and then maybe 3. Even though I couldn't get the beat the music was beautiful and I have realized that I really enjoy Arabic music. Our long day had finally caught up to me and we decided to crash after the beautiful song and dance.

Petra day...Yalla! We started our day with an excellent Bedouin breakfast. Then a little more 4 wheeling to exit the the Wadi Rum Desert where we were met by our taxi driver for the day at the same gas station we were dropped off at the day before. Our drive to Petra was 2 hours of gorgeous mountains and beautiful scenery. When we arrived to Wadi Musa, which was a bustling small town, our driver dropped us off and told us he would be back in 4 hours to drive us back to the boarder.

Israel Womens National Team Practice in Ashkelon! #israellacrosse

Its been way too long... Let's talk about FINJAN!

Good news to you all, I am still alive and well! It has been a while since my last blog and I apologize. In my defense I have been busy: Hiking, swimming, coaching, working, and traveling around this culturally and environmentally diverse country.

The most exciting news I have to share is my hiking adventures with the FINJAN Hiking group. I found this Tel Aviv based group on Facebook. FINJAN was started by two amazing people who enjoy hiking in Israel and want to share this passion with the international community in Israel. I had debated about paying to go hiking. I then realized that this was going to be a great way to meet people who like hike and enjoy being active. Guess what? It was a great success, I have met some great people and experience Israel by hiking through the countries diverse landscapes.

THE BEKA’A The first trekk into the Beka’a was everything but boring: I learned a lot about the Jordan-Israel relationship, experienced beautiful landscapes, and met some pretty amazing people.

The Beka’a is located in the West Bank Area C, which is under full Israeli control. The Beka’a is part of the Jordan River Valley. At the peak of our hike we looked out and we could see the Jordan river and the beautiful Jordanian mountains. The Jordan River serves as the boarder of Israel and Jordan. There is a small strip of land between the fenced boarder of Israel and the Jordan River. I would call this strip of land No Man’s Land, because it is stricken with minefields left over from the Israel-Jordan conflicts. There is a project to deal with this landmine problem in the West Bank.

The Beka’a hike took place during the end of Israel’s winter, which is known as their rainy season. The winter rains created a beautiful display of wild flowers. Picture Colorado wildflower season, but in Israel. I would have never thought this occurred in what I perceived Israel: a desert and beach landscape. We hiked up a water run off canyon, which involved some scrambling up some rock faces. My favorite type of hiking.

In additions to the history and the buena vistas, I met a lot of great people each with their own story about how they came to reside in Israel. I also made some pretty awesome friends who have shown me around Tel Aviv and introduced me to even more great people.

The next blog will be about the Gilboa Hike

Football the game that brings all cultures together...

...I know I am living in Israel and coaching a not very well known game around the world. But lets talk about a sport that is the most globally known and played sport, Football, or as us americans known it as soccer. Yesterday I played in a Tel Aviv Football and Beer club game, the competition was ok but it was more for the social and exercise aspect. It is amazing how little English you need to know when playing on a soccer pitch. Granted the common language for all of us was English. It was so great to play on the field with people from so many different cultures and countries. We were all brought together with the common ground of soccer. After the game we all met up a the pub they always go to after the match. Here we could get 1+1 beers, which is is essentially buy one get one free. As we all sat around the table I was in awe of everyones different story on why there were in Israel and their background. We our mix of countries included: England, Bosnia, Israel, U.S, Argentina, Spain, Brazil, and Canada. We had all come together because we had a common interest in Football. What had also amazed me was the number of languages most of the other people knew. The Argentinean knew Spanish, Hebrew, and English. The Spaniard knew Spanish and English. The man from Bosnia who actually grew up in England knew English and his native language in Bosnia. The Canadian knew English and Hebrew. My friend from California knows English and does very well with her Hebrew. The Israeli knew Hebrew and English. The Brazilian knew Portuguese, Spanish, English and Hebrew. As I sat around the table and listened to the Hebrew the Spanish and mostly English, I felt so ignorant and "a dumb American". It is so frustrating to be among international people and be one of the only ones who doesn't know another language. I am so envious of those who speak multiple languages and I wish I was brought up in a bilingual home. The Brazilian made an interesting comment and said that "you can't truly experience another culture until you learn the language." This is so true because so much in the culture is the way that you interact with people in their native language. His comment really slapped me in the face and is going to inspire me to learn as much Hebrew as I can here. Especially because he is now trying to learn Italian and French, granted those are easier for him because he already knows the basics with his Portuguese and Spanish background. Still I am inspired to learn some Hebrew while I am here so I don't come across as a "dumb American".

Jaffa, Independence, Haganah: Israel's Brief History

…This past week I spent several days discovering and learning about the history of Israel. So it was a week filled with history from 3800 years ago to the current era of the establishment of Israel, the Jewish State.

I started with Jaffa which is one of the oldest ports in the Mediterranean. Which was fitting since it was first established between 1800-1600 BCE (before common era or b.c. for the Christians). It didn’t become an Israelite Settlement until 1200-1000 BCE. Throughout history Jaffa was ruled by the Pharaohs of Egypt, the Persians, Ptolemaic and Seleucid rule, Hasmoneans, Byzantine rule, Islamic rule, Ottoman rule, Napoleon conquered it at one point, then British rule, and now Israel. This is a brief history of Jaffa over the past 3800 years. While walking through the Old Jaffa Port it was so interesting to think about all the history, people, and different cultures that has been lived within the walls of Jaffa. I have always been interested in history and this really took me back to my Art History course I took in College. We learned about all the different empires and era’s that ruled Middle East and Europe, mostly through the different types of art work which was even more interesting. After my visit to Jaffa I want to pick up the Old Testament and read about the interesting events and stories that could have taken place in this historically rich land.

The next day I decided I wanted to learn about how Israel became a State. On May 14th, 1948 at the Tel Aviv Museum on 16 Rothschild Blvd in Tel Aviv: The reading of the Declaration of Independence occurred followed by the the signing of this document. This took place eight hours before the British Mandate was scheduled to end. It declared the establishment of the Jewish State of Israel. Visiting Independence Hall (formally the Tel Aviv Musuem) was so intriguing, first because I learned all about the history of this very young State, and secondly because of how modern this building and history was. There is actual video and radio footage of the reading and signing of the Declaration of Independence. Imagine if we had radio and video footage of Thomas Jefferson and George Washington, that would be so amazing. After the end of the British Mandate and the retreat of the British Troops the Palestinians were set to invade the new born State of Israel, they probably would have succeed in their take over if it wasn’t for the Haganah.

About a block down the street from Independence Hall is the Haganah Museum, whose ground floor is the Golomb House. Eliyahu Golomb was the founder and de facto commander of the Haganah. The Haganah is the predecessor to the current day Israel Defense Forces (IDF). From 1907-1945 the Bar Giora (1907) and the Hashomer (1909) which eventually turned into the Haganah, was a secretive volunteer self-defense organization. Without this organization the State of Israel would probably not exist. They held off violent riots, revolts, and also helped in aiding the Holocaust survivors and displaced persons immigrate into Israel when Britain shut off immigration to Israel during the end of WWII. In one of the exhibits there is a radio clip from the the Independence War. In the broadcast the claim to the citizens of Israel that there order is “NOC, No Other Choice, in the survival of the State that all must fight to defend their Independence.” This part of the exhibit stuck with me because of how much these people had gone through throughout the history of Israel and that they all were dedicated to fight for a homeland for the Jewish community. In ending my historical day I left with so much knowlegde and more of an understanding about why the State of Israel was needed for the Jewish people that had immigrated to this small stripe of land.

I think it is so important to try to learn about the history of the culture, community, and state that you are visiting or living in. It is also important to enter into these experiences with an open mind and try to see the world through those peoples eyes. I am eager to learn more about the current and past history of this land and Israel.

At the end of our trekk in the Beka'a we went to a pepper farm #bestpeppersinisrael #finjan #westbank #jordan

#jordan #bestpeppersinisrael #finjan #westbank

Fighting the good Fight...

…Ok I know this blog is all about my adventures that involve lacrosse, but I am going to take this post and make it more towards my thoughts about recent happenings in women sports and coaches. I must preach to the choir and to whoever wants to listen and whoever wants to help make a difference.

We hopefully all know the recent stories: Iowa Field Hockey and MN Duluth Women’s Ice Hockey. Exciting news in the MN Duluth Women’s Ice Hockey case: 13 members from the MN State Senate have sent a letter to the President and Chancellor of University MN - Duluth asking them to explain their decision on the terminating of Coach Shannon Miller. In the letter they reference several points about the success of Coach Millers program in comparison to the men’s ice hockey counterpart, whose coach receives about $20,000 more a year. The letter also talks about the recent decrease of Women Coaches in women’s collegiate sports from 90% to 40%. The senators finish the letter with a reference to Title XI and asking for further explanation about why Coach Millers contract wasn’t renewed.

So how does this relate to my adventures? Well, granted I probably wouldn’t be in Israel trying to grow women’s lacrosse if I wasn’t terminated from my position as Head Coach at Fort Lewis College. Being here we are trying to teach the young girls of Israel that they can play sports and that there is a career in sport for women. To girls who haven’t grown up with the opportunity like american girls have had with sports, this is a big deal. The U.S. is a role model for women in sport, we lead most other countries in this category. So how can a country that encourages their girls to be involved in sports be so hurtful and mean to the women coaches who are trying to be excellent role models for all girls across the United States and to other countries.

In a recent forum about the Coach Millers situation I have learned that in fighting the good fight, she and women’s sports as a whole have been criticized and belittled. There have been comments about how “women sports don’t bring in as much money as men”, and how "people would rather watch mens sports.” These are ridiculous arguments, and they are disrespecting women in sport. What are we trying to prove with these arguments? Do we not want our girls to compete in sport? Do we want our country to be a country that doesn’t allow women to be involved in sport all together? I don’t understand these “timeless” arguments that people are resorting to. When I hear these comments I think about countries like: China who have been on the known for not wanting their baby girls or those countries who suppress their women. Why are we disrespecting women in sport, what have we done to deserve this? We just want a chance to compete, coach, and to be treated with the same respect as our male counterparts.

I know that something good will come of Coach Miller fighting the good fight. I respect her so much and she is true role model to all women involved in sport. Let’s silence these ignorant people who don’t truly understand the importance of women role models.

#coachshannonmiller #womeninsport #strongtogether #fightthegoodfight

Old Jaffa #israel

#israel

So there are tons of stray cats in Israel, but this one looked so cute in Old Jaffa #straycats #israel

#straycats #israel

Let's Talk about Food Baby...

…I have only just scraped the surface of Israeli and mediterranean food, but lets talk about my experiences so far.

First off if you are on a “gluten free diet” I would feel bad for you to visit Israel, because their bread is so delicious and served with most everything you order. From their Pita bread to their bagels to their loafs of bread they serve for dipping in certain dishes, believe me it is so worth every bite. I can’t say enough excellent things about their bread.

Shakshuka, my new favorite breakfast dish. It is served hot in a pan, and also served with a fresh and warm loaf of dipping bread. Shakshuka is a tomato sauce which is usually served mixed with eggs for breakfast. I have had it come with my eggs fried over easy and also scrambled. Either way it is wonderfully delicious, and I think I am quite obsessed with this dish. This dish is usually served with a small side Israeli salad.

Israeli salad (I don’t know if this is the official name) essentially this is chopped cucumbers, tomatoes, and usually red onions (sometimes lettuce and other greens); then tossed together with olive oil and lemons. This is such a fresh and healthy salad that leaves you feeling satisfied but not overly full. There are usually great portion sizes with most food ordered in Israel.

Falafel, here they are so delicious especially with their complimenting toppings. Falafels are fried chick pea balls that are put into a sandwich, wrap, which usually is pita bread. The toppings include hummus, tahini, tomatoes and cucumbers, hot sauce and other sauces. You can get these relatively cheap in small street stands and they are so good and so filling. Probably not the most healthy dish, but its ok to treat yourself.

Shawurma or as some of you may know as Gyros (the greek term) or doner kebab (turkish). It is the rotating meat on the spit that they shave off and put into a pita wrap or a sandwich. This is also great with the hummus, tahini-based sauces, tomatoes, cucumbers, and hot sauce. Sometimes they will put chips (fried potatoes) in it as well. Another cheap and easy to get on the street in the markets.

This is just the beginning of my journey into the wonderful foods of Israel and I cannot wait to discover more excellent foods.

A beautiful and fresh Israeli Salad. #israel #healthylunch #sogood #israelisalad #cafecafe

#israelisalad #healthylunch #israel #cafecafe #sogood

"I love Iron Dome," I this is great in so many ways #irondome #israel

#israel #irondome

Mediterranean Sea pictures from last week!

The Mediterranean Sea...

…so angry, so beautiful, so refreshing. The past week I have had the opportunity to experience all of these characteristics of the Mediterranean Sea.

In the beginning of the week the Med Sea looked so calm, pristine, and beautiful. Everyone was on the tayelet, running, walking and enjoying the beautiful weather. Around Tuesday the tides changed and so did the seas’ demeanor. The Israel Coast was hit with one of the biggest storms in the past 10 years.

As one of my coworker described, “the sea looks angry,” the surf was intense. We experienced high winds which picked up the sand and dust and blew it all over the city. It wasn’t quite a Haboob (an Arabic term for a dust/sand storm), because we also had rain, hail, and moisture. On Thursday and Friday I decided to venture out along the promenade for a longer run. This was where I got to see close up how very angry the sea was. I ran south of Tel Aviv to the Old Jaffa area, where the sea crashes into the Sea Wall. On Thursday the storm caused the water to crash over the sea wall on to not only the walkway, but also into the street. At one point I almost got an unexpected shower, but my quick reaction time allowed me to get out of the way. Me 1 the Mediterranean 0. These conditions lasted until Saturday morning.

On Saturday morning I decided to take the Mediterranean head on and get my surfing on. It has been about 7 years since I was last on a surfboard, so I knew it was going to be a rough refresher lesson. I took a lesson with a local surf school located right on the beach. It was a great lesson, and learned that I need to get more flexibility in my hips, because my popup was lacking. Hip flexibility has been the story of my life. After my hour lesson I stayed to practice for an extra hour and a half. I did get up serval times which was great, but I think I got thrashed by the surf 100 more times than I actually stood up. Mediterranean 100, Me we will say 10. Even though I had my sinus completely cleared out by the sea it was such a refreshing experience to spend 2.5 hours in the water.

I just recently ordered a wetsuit from the UK, which I hope will make it here in 10 days so I can get back out there and master another board sport. I need to get my outdoor sporting fix while I am here for 6 months. I am looking forward to more amazing experiences in the Mediterranean Sea.

Presentation of the Tepper Trophy!

Ashkelon Flying Monkeys win the Tepper Trophy.

Let the Lax Games Begin...

…the U-19 “Tepper Trophy” Challenge took place at Voldenberg Field in Ashkelon last night. It was a battle between two of Israel Lacrosse U-19 Boys clubs Netanya LC and Ashkelon LC, who each brought their two best teams to the Challenge. The teams who were represented included the Netanya Diamonds, Ashkelon Snakes, Netanya Cowboys and the Ashkelon Monkeys. In the end, after an exciting four games the Ashkelon Flying Monkeys outlasted the Netanya Diamonds in a riveting battle to the finish. It was a great night for Israel Lacrosse, it was a success in all aspects. The tournament style “Tepper Trophy” Challenge, kept the cheering fans entertained throughout the whole event while rooting for their respectable clubs.

As a lacrosse fan from the States I was impressed, entertained, and excited to be a part of such a great organization that is bringing a rich culture and sport to such a beautiful country. The competition was what impressed me the most, these teams played for their cities in what I would describe as an epic battle.

All week long while being in the Tel Aviv Lacrosse embassy I had heard the trash talking amongst, how I can only describe as, the “super pumped” coaches. The Netanya club’s coaches were excited to prove that even though only starting to play lacrosse about 5 months ago they weren’t to be taken lightly. While Ashkelon club’s coaches were amped to show off their talent who have been avidly “laxing” for about 1 and 1/2 years. Our office in Tel Aviv was split; one half thinking Ashkelon may thrash Netanya while the other half thought Netanya was going to rise to the occasion and pull out some “W’s”. Personally I was rooting for the perceived underdogs, Netanyas’ Cowboys and Diamonds. It ended up being an equal match between the two clubs. Netanya, between their two teams finished with 2 wins, while Ashkelon’s club brought home the “Tepper Trophy” with their 2 wins.

The great thing about the whole event was the passion for the sport shown by the players, coaches, and fans. The players battled for everything from the 50/50 and ground balls to the turf wars on both offense and defense. Defensively each team made it challenging for the oppositions forwards to get shots off, while offensively all of the teams were taking some amazing outside “rippers”. These players continued their passion for their home cities while constantly cheering for their brother club teams when they weren’t on the pitch. The coaches were just as passionate, while building up their players before they hit the field, celebrating great plays and cheering loudest. As for the fans, some didn’t know quite what was going on, but they were just as excited and impressed with this new and fascinating sport.

All and all it was a great night and I can’t wait to be a part of more of these exciting Israel Lacrosse events. The whole lacrosse community here is excited to continue to grow and develop into a country wide sport.

#israellax #lacrosse #growingthesport #grassroots

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