Ahmadinjad Protest in NYC

Along with approximately 140 other Canadian students, I went to New York City to protest the Iranian President - Mahmoud Ahmadinjad's presence at the UN. We left at 10PM on Saturday and returned at 130AM on Tuesday. A trip of about 50 hours, in which 20 of those were spent on the bus. We arrived in NYC at 830AM and we still had the entire day ahead of us. Before we went for brunch and programming I went for a quick tour of Times Square with my sister, as our hotel was right around the corner.

The morning was spent doing some advocacy training and learning about Ahmadinejad and his threat to the world. At 4PM we got back to the hotel and we had the rest of the evening of. For the evening I hung out with my assigned hotel roommate and neighbours. With only the evening available to enjoy New York, we had to make the most of our limited time. We walked around Times Square, past the Empire State Building, and then to dinner at the 2nd Ave. Deli. We ended up sharing a deli platter which was said to serve 3-4 people. LIARS! - there must have been enough food to feed 6-8 people. The platter included pastrami, salami, corned beaf, roast beef, chopped liver, egg salad, tongue, and turkey. Despite the abundance of delicious food, I was determined not to leave any uneaten; Against all odds, I succeeded in my quest to finish the dinner - but barely. After the dinner, bought tickets in Times Square for a comedy show, where we were told Dave Atell, and 2 other known comics were going to be performing - LIARS!!! We got there and found out it was ladies night, and there would only be female comics, and that the people that were advertised to us had performed the previous week. They comped us one drink and since we were already there, we decided to stay. Only one of the comics was funny and on the whole the entire show sucked. After the show it was almost 11 oclock, and we started walking around the area thinking of something to do, as it was still to early to call it a night. We ended up taking a cab to the Manhattan side of the Brooklyn Bridge, and we walked the bridge to Brooklyn. This took a considerable amount of time, as we stopped to take pictures approximately every 25 feet, not to mention the bridge was long! We ended up subwaying back to our hotel in Times Square at about 1AM.

Amy and I at Times Square

Elana, Me, Dan, Hailey on the Brooklyn Bridge

After heading to bed at 130, we were woken up at 730 in order to get ready for our day. Before we went to the rally, we went to hear from a number of speakers who represented organziations who helped to fund the trip. We then headed out to the rally, where there were over 2000 people there. There was a fairly extensive list of speakers at the rally, however, neither Sarah Palin or Hillary Clinton showed up due to Clinton's stubbornness. The list of speakers included Irwin Cotler, Natan Sharansky, Elie Weisel and Speaker of the Knesset Dalia Itzik. The reason for the protest was to show the world that Ahmadinejad's genociadal statements cannot be tolerated, and that he should be denied a platform to spread his hate speach. After the rally, we walked back to the hotel where we boarded our busses and headed back home. It seemed as though the trip was over before it started.

Elana, Hailey and Me at the rally

Chicago boat tour

There was some AEPi convention stuff going on today, however I decided to skip out on it again - didn't really miss much. Instead I went on an architectural boat tour of the city. I took the city bus downtown, and just as i stepped off the bus it started to rain. Just my luck, as I figured I would be soaked while on the boat tour, and end up with crappy pictures. I had to pre-order my ticket, so I was going on the tour rain or shine without an umbrella or raincoat. Luckily 15 minutes before the tour started, the rain stopped, and the sky was blue as could be. The tour was an hour long and awesome - the tour guide talked non-stop, and there was a lot of interesting information, but there was too much info to absorb any of it.

Chicago from the riverCrazy mirror bean

After the tour, I got back to the hotel and got ready for the banquet. After 3 hours of dinner and speaches I got bored to tears and left to party. The speaches ended up continuing for another 2 hours. We partied late into the night, fell asleep for about an hour before we had to get on the bus at 6AM to come back to Toronto.

Me, Craig, Matt, and Josh before the banquet

Take me out to the ballgame

Another early morning full of AEPi stuff, and now skipping ahead to after lunch... Instead of going back to the AEPi stuff, which I had done last year, I went out and about around town in the daylight. This time we walked around the same areas of the city, however in the daylight it was completely different. We managed to get back to the Chicago Theater and get a picture in the daylight.

Joel, Jon, Jon, and me at the Chicago Theater

We got back to the hotel in order to get ready for our early dinner before we went to the Chicago White Sox vs. Boston Red Sox game. This was an ideal 5-star hotel pre-baseball game meal: burgers, dogs, giant pretzels, peanuts and Cracker Jacks! The game was a lot of fun. The White Sox won 4-3, and the game became close when Boston hit a 3 run homerun in the 7th.

The Chicago skyline from the baseball stadium

Sightseeing and Second City

This morning started off early, after a long night of partying. This morning started off hectic as I found out I had another interview with RIM this afternoon. In between the speakers all morning I was trying to track someone down in order to let them know that I can't make the interivew! We sat down for a nice banquet style lunch and awards. After lunch I ran back to the room to try and track down someone from RIM. Luckily I was able to finally get in contact with the interviewer. I had the interview on the spot and it went well (I found out the next day that I got the job!). It was perfect timing as right after the interview ended, I headed back to hear from the next speaker who was Jerry Reinsdorf - Owner of Chicago Bulls and White Sox, who is an AEPi Alumni. He talked to us about his experiences in AEPi and left plenty of time for Q and A.

There were a few more sessions in the afternoon before we all boarded buses to the famous comedy club Second City, where many Saturday Night Live stars start their career. We had the entire show booked out for AEPi, and it was non-stop laughter. After the show some of us decided to walk around downtown Chicago and see the city. We did some wandering with the hopes of eventually finding the famous Chicago Theater. Without luck, and the night getting late we decided to head back to the hotel. We hopped on a subway, and long story short we got lost and just decided to get off the subway and take a cab. Due to dumb luck, when we turned the corner after getting off the subway we were right at the Chicago Theater! The light weren't on, so we had to make a point in coming back tomorrow. We hopped in a cab and headed back to the hotel where we again partied the night away.

The city skyline at night

Chicago - The Windy City

AEPi convention #2!!! This time in Chicago. During this trip, I was scheduled to be writing 3 final exams. Luckily, I was able to reschedule them; I wrote two yesterday, and one the day before. It has been a very stressful past few days, but I'm happy its over with and that I'm heading to convention. Unfortunately once I get back I still have one last exam to write.

The day started out early, as we left for Chicago at 730AM, and left on our 10 hour bus ride. We rented a greyhound bus for 25 of us from different AEPi chapters in the area. The bus ride was long and the scenery was extremely boring. We stopped for lunch at a Burger King in the states, and one of us tried to apply for a job. Additionally, I had a job interview with RIM while on the bus.

We eventaully arrived at the hotel, and checked all out stuff into the hotel. We went out for dinner to a famous deep dish pizza place, where the food was amazing. After dinner we headed back to the hotel, where we heard some speaches and then began our first night of partying.

The Canadian Delegation

Canada Day Long Weekend

I had a five day long weekend for Canada Day, so I decided to spend it in Ottawa. I got a ride into Ottawa at about 8PM where I met up with Joel, who I stayed with for two nights. The first evening was pretty low key – we went to a pool hall then hung out at Joel’s house. On Saturday, the first full day, we managed to accomplish nothing. We watched a terrible movie – There Will Be Blood. The only good thing about the movie was that it killed a lot of time. In the evening, the Supreme Master (Gary) and Executive Director (Andy) of AEPi were in town for a conference, so they took the Ottawa AEPi chapter out for dinner – I tagged along. After the dinner, Gary and Andy had to go back to the conference, but we were going to meet up with them again at the Casino in Hull, Quebec which is just outside Ottawa. Until then we went over to someone’s apartment then out for a few beers. We made it to the casino and had a good time, except for me losing money.

Sunday morning Joel had to leave at 830 to drive to Toronto for a wedding, so he drove me to Jason’s house where I spent the next day. We went downtown to a bar to watch the Germany vs Spain Euro Cup Finals. Spain won 1-0 and the game was really entertaining. In the evening we went to go see a movie. Once at the theatre, we decided to rent a movie because the movie was sold out. It took 6 of us 45 minutes to come to a consensus on a movie. We saw Into the Wild, which was another long disappointing movie.

Monday morning I woke up, and began to watch another movie; this one was actually great. I watched Catch 22, but the only problem was that I had to leave with less than 5 minutes left!!! I walked around downtown Ottawa for the afternoon before I had to meet Darryl at the train station. It had poured the previous 2 days, so to my disbelief, it started to rain again! I went into the parliament building and decided to go up the peace tower (200 meters) to get a good view of Ottawa. The long lineup killed an hour, and I managed to stay dry. Not even 10 minutes after I got back outside it began to pour. Without an umbrella or raincoat I stood under a tree for half an hour – thank goodness no lighting. The rain was coming down so hard that if I ran to a building it would have been soaked to the bone, so the tree was my only option. For dinner, Darryl took me to the best burger place in the world – The Works. I had a burger topped with Montreal smoked meat, sauerkraut and an onion ring – AMAZING!!! After that we took it easy for the evening because Canada Day was going to be a long day. We downloaded You Don’t Mess With The Zohan, which was absolutely hysterical.

Tuesday was Canada Day – the 141^st. We went to a BBQ at one of Darryl’s friend’s for the afternoon. In the evening we went downtown, first to a bar then to catch the fireworks, which were great. After the show we met back up with Darryl’s friends at a bar. I had to catch the 6AM train from Ottawa in order to make it back to Waterloo in time for my afternoon class at 430, so I decided to stay awake all night. On the way home, I only managed to get 3 hours of intermittent sleep. Oh well, all around a great weekend despite the lack of sleep.

AEPi Midwest Conclave

Yet another AEPi road trip. This time again to Ohio State University for a regional conclave. This time we rented a coach bus to take 50 of us down there. This was ideal because 1 - I didn't have to drive, and 2 - I was able to relax and watch movies during what turned out to be a 12 hour drive due to the detours to Guelph and Hamilton and the crappy weather. We finally got there at around 10ish. After checking in and finding a place to grab some food it was time to start partying.

The next day was full of standard conclave seminars which I am very accustomed to at this point, having previously attended three conclaves and a convention. After the dinner banquet we started to party - which lasted well into the morning - 5AM to be exact. Partying until 5AM was a must; The need to stay awake was pinnacle as the bus was leaving at 5 to take us back home. This was ideal because we didn't have to pay for an extra night at the hotel, and we needed to get home in time for the super bowl. Once on the bus, everyone passed out, and before we knew it it was 11AM, and time for a rest stop for breakfast. We finally got home - well in time for the superbowl, and it didn't take close to 13 hours!

Banquet dinner: L-R: Jon, Yuval, Cory, Josh, Lee, Victor, Me, Harris

The Last Day

My flight back to Toronto via New York City did not leave until midnight, so I still had the entire day left. I took the train into Tel Aviv University where I walked around the campus and went to the Diaspora Museum to learn about the diaspora Jews - those living outside of Israel. I made it back to Rechovot in time for lunch, and took it easy for the afternoon. I packed my stuff and watched President Bush arrive in Israel, and in Jerusalem. Bush was staying in a hotel in Jerusalem about 200 meters from where I had stayed. It was a good thing that I was nowhere near Jerusalem, as it was pretty hectic and crazy with all the security there.

Beautiful Tel Aviv University campus.

In the evening I met up with a friend of mine, Yuval. I had met him in Waterloo when he came on a campus tour of Canada, meeting Jews at different schools as well as sightseeing. We went out for dinner, then for dessert had a last falafel before he took me to the airport.

Rechovot

I stayed with cousins in the city of Rechovot, which translates to 'the streets'. Rechovot is located half way between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.

Today I went to the Ayalon Museum; Now a museum, this kibbutz (collective community) was secretly making bullets in the 1940s before Israel became an independent country. The bullets were manufactured underneath the bakery and laundromat. The bullets were stockpiled for the resistance fighters in the event that the British left Israel. When Israel declared independence, the British left the land leaving the Israelis to defend themselves with the ammunition manufactured in secret on this kibbutz.

The bullet manufacturing plant below ground. This picture shows approximately half of the plant.

After a tour of the kibbutz, Yithak took me to the Weitzman Institute; Chaim Weitzman, the first Israeli President. I had a tour of his house - now a museum, and also around the university campus founded in his name - Weitzman Institute of Science. In the evening we went to visit some relatvies near Tel Aviv and then I called it a night.

Chaim Weitzman's house

Last Day in Jerusalem

Today's plan was to travel to Rechovot to stay with cousins - Yitzhak and Shoshana. Before I left Jerusalem, there was still some sightseeing to be done. I went back to the Western Wall in the hopes to do the underground tunnel tour, where you go underneath the current ground level to the base of the Western Wall. I get to the ticket counter, and the ticket agent tells me you need to book tickets 3 months in advance!!! I pleaded with him to sell me a ticket, as I was only one person, and it was my last day in Jerusalem. Thankfully he did - for 4PM, which meant I had the entire day to kill before the tour. I walked to the ancient city of David (5 minute walk from the Old City walls). I had just missed the first tour, and I was not able to do the second one because of the conflicting times. Something to do the next time I'm there.

Finally 4PM - the tour starts. What you see of the Western Wall is only 1/3 of the actual wall. When the city was destroyed numerous times, people began to build on top of it, thus there is constant excavations going on, and things being discovered. The tunnel tour took us all along the Western Wall below ground. An underground portion of the Western Wall. The brick at the height of people's heads is ONE piece - and it didn't even fit in the entire picture. Still about 10-15 feet extra beyond the size of the pic!

At the 'market' area of the time of the first temple. The pillars are indicative of separation between stores.

The tour took us all the way across the old city to the other end of the Muslim quarter. Once back at the existing ground level, guards led the way back to the Western Wall Plaza area, where the tour ended.

After a long day of walking, I had to go back to the hostel to retrieve my luggage, and then I headed off to Rechovot. I had to catch a public city bus to get to the main bus terminal, and then a coach bus to Rechovot - about an hour and a half away from Jerusalem. Amazingly I didn't get lost! Exhausted, I finally arrived, and Yitzhak picked me up from the bus stop.

We got to their house, and food was ready for me! I relaxed for a while had a nice meal, and before heading to bed, we planned out tomorrow's activities.