On My Stay in Chicago and On Coming Home to Israel

My stay here, in Chicago, was an eventful one. Lots of things happened: some positive and some negative, but overall, I enjoyed my stay here. The worst thing to happen was my grandma's passing. My mom is still having a very difficult time adjusting to the new reality of not having her mother by her side. She (grandma) was sick for a very long time, but we all got used to her being there for us whether she was sick or not. It was definitely a very difficult experience.

The best thing that took place while I was here was having an opportunity to see all my friends, especially an old buddy of mine whom we reconnected with after a 3-year hiatus. We spent several days hanging out in a variety of cafes around Chicago and Skokie, doing some studying (I loaned a few books from the library), watching movies, and playing b-ball and tennis. I ran a bit, but not as much as I was running in Israel and definitely not as much as I hoped to run while here.


As a side-note, I'm probably going to move back to blogger unless something drastic happens, and I figure out how to use Wordpress. Honestly speaking, it's been a big hastle for me. I'm pondering watching the presidential debates tonight, but the NY-Detroid game sounds awfully enticing as well. What a decision: presidential debates vs. ALCS!

Job-wise, I'm hoping to start covering Israeli current events and daily life in Israel for "Reklama," a local Russian language newspaper. I'll be placing my articles here as well. I'm also looking into writing for the JPost blog. We'll see how that goes.

I feel a little guilty that I ended up not voting in the American elections. I'm a big Romney fan and hope he gets elected, but I just wasn't able to print up all the documents for the absantee ballot. It was harder than I expected, and I ended up passing on the whole thing altogether. Hopefully, Illinois will eventually become more balanced and my vote will make a difference in future elections.

I've begun thinking that maybe Obama isn't as bad for Israel as I'd thought all along. I doubt that the election results will make a big difference as far as the Arab-Israel conflict. While Obama is a complete imbecil when it comes to foreign policty (note Libya and Egypt), his position vis-a-vis Israel has been relatively even-handed one and while I realize that America is supposed to be our ally, it doesn't really owe us anything.

Finally, today marks the 11th yortzeit of the murder of Rehavaam Ze'evi Ghandi (H"YD). I didn't know him personally, but I do know that he was a tremendous inspiration for thousands of young Israelis, a big-time Zionist, a former Palmach fighter, a reserve duty general, and an advocate of transfering the Palestinian Arabs. I don't agree with this premise anylonger, but you can't take anything away from someone who died al kiddush HaShem, sanctifying the Name. May his memory be a blessing!

With this, I leave Chicago in expectation of great things to come in Israel. Please stay tuned in for more posts...