When you see me in Jeru, you know everything Black and Yellow, Black and Yellow

Shavua tov ya'll.  Another week in the books.  It's amazing how quickly this trip is going by.  This week has been one of productivity.  Last Sunday, I returned to Cafe Hillel on Jaffa St. to work with my partner on our presentation.  Again, we spent Monday together, making sure that our hour-long presentation would be, well, presentable.  After giving it on Tuesday (and rocking it!), I felt a load off of my shoulders.  But because I am really terrible at doing nothing, I took on several other projects: a scholarship essay on the fairness of a market-based economic system, and a work of fiction.  Both are still works in process, but we'll see where they lead.

The weather here has been really, really, really horrific. For the past week, the sun has been ever-elusive, while rain and cold have been quite vengeful.  It has been "raining cats", but not dogs, as stray cats flee in flocks to the inside of the dorms to evade the torrential downpour.

On Friday, the precipitation changed from really cold water to frozen water.  It snowed!  Although there is many a Big Ten representative on this program, there is also a fair share of California kids who do not have the fortune/misfortune of annual snow.  Needless to say, they were quite enthused to see the white fall from the sky and stick to the ground.  Actually, I thought it pretty cool as well.  One does not readily think of snow when March in Jerusalem becomes the topic of conversation.  But things that are unusual can be quite fun, and Friday's snow definitely fell into both categories.  People made snowmen and threw snowballs at each other, acting as innocent and carefree as third-graders on winter break.

Friday night, I returned to my friend Yossi's house with my usual Shabbat crew (Steven, Adam, Robyn, Rachel, and Leah), and my roommate Roee as well.  Again, we were showed amazing hospitality and engaged in stimulating conversation.  I was uber-productive, or at least tried to be on Saturday, nailing down some reading and writing.

The highlight of the week was most definitely Saturday night, when eight of us or so trekked to Teddy Stadium for the Jerusalem Beitar soccer game against Kiryat Shmonah.  In the cold and drizzle, we cabbed across town to view the world's most (and America's least) popular sport.  Having never attended a sporting event in Israel before, I was curious and excited.  When we arrived at our destination, the rain picked up even more.  Attendence was quite lackluster, maybe because the weather was particularly uninviting, and maybe because Jerusalem's team is supposed to be pretty mediocre.  Probably a little of both.

The stadium was certainly unique.  The stands are illustrated by asymmetrical patterns depicting various shapes outlined by a conspicuously clashing color scheme.  The lights were bright, and war cries in the form of drum beats could be heard from both sides of the arena.  As HaTikvah sounded on the loudspeakers, I revved up my energy, and transformed into an obnoxious fan for a game in which I know little about and a team in which I couldn't identify one member.  I had so much fun!

As the ninety minute regulation time wound down to zero, both teams were still held scoreless.  That is until one of the refs blew a call (in our favor!) giving Jerusalem a penalty kick.  In truth, I think he just wanted to get the hell out of there and warm up.  Fans left their seats as their team was on the verge of capitilizing on an error, and as the player booted the ball towards the net, the ball glided past the goalie and went in for the score, giving Jerusalem Beitar the victory.  Goooooooolllllllllll!!!!!!!!!  Black and Yellow jerseys raced around the field in frenzied excitement and I high-fived everyone I saw.  It was a great end to a thrilling night.

Until next week,

Zac