Although Abby did write a post acknowledging my existence, she failed to mention what I'm doing here. What am I doing here? Well, thanks for asking! My one-week stay in Israel came at the end of a 6-week trip throughout Europe on what some would call a "roots trip." My grandparents were all Holocaust survivors from Poland, and I spent my time first visiting their hometowns, then researching their families in various archives in Warsaw, then exploring their post-war choices and lives. The trip took me through Ukraine, Poland, Austria, and the Czech Republic, and along the way I got to see my grandparents' houses, met people who knew them before the war, and in Israel, met lost cousins of my grandfather who knew more about him than I did. It's been a whirlwind trip, and I can go on and on about it...oh wait...I did! You can visit my blog (with a guest post from Abby tonight) at esilberman.blogspot.com.
Anyway, since I've been in Israel, when I wasn't meeting long lost cousins I've been relaxing--something I didn't have much time for in Europe! For those of you who don't know, Abby and I have known each other since high school--even though we attended different schools, we had a lot of mutual friends, and both were participants in the Write On For Israel program. Now we both go to Princeton! But you probably knew that part. Hanging out with Abby in Israel has been fun, especially after a trip where the average age of people with whom I talked was probably 60. Here are some highlights:
-I call Abby the other night, but instead of using my cell-phone (which has a British number), I use the phone from the apartment where I'm staying. Typical Abby is to see an Israeli number calling her and answer (in a deep, Israeli-accented voice), "Alo?"
-Abby takes pictures. Of everything. We hung out this past Saturday, and after Shabbat was over, I played piano in her apartment. For one of the many creepy pictures she took then, see her most recent blog post.
-Abby and her roommate, Leah, made cookies one night. When I visited, Abby offered me these cookies out of a metal tin, and after I ate one, asked me where I thought she found the tin. A thrift store was the first thing that came to mind. "No, it was on top of somebody's recycling." Typical...
Okay, that's enough from me. I would write more but I'll refrain. Just ask Abby about her naked dinner at the "blind" restaurant. I don't think she mentioned that part of it in her post...
***ABBY'S NOTE: Ricky, that last line is NOT appropriate!
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