Culture, sinus clearing, clothes, and the Cup

The cosmopolitinization of Ian took a huge step forward last night at the Jerusalem Jazz Festival. The event, which ended tonight, brought in internationally recognized musicians, including Morris, who is considered by some to be the world's best trumpet player.


Wait a second, Ian. You don't like jazz. Do you?

I have never really experienced jazz before last night. And to tell you the truth, I enjoyed it.

The concert was at the Yellow Submarine in the industrial area known as Talpiyot. The group that I saw was the British-born, Paris-based Damon Brown.

Although I am musically challenged (before yesterday, I had no clue what a flugelhorn was), I got into his show. I like how every jazz song has a personal story behind it. Some of his songs were about a meeting with a landlord, back pain, jousting, or his sister. Altough I might not associate the song with medeival sports or the landlord-tenant relationship, I like the stories, the song titles, and how each song affects each person differently.


After Damon Brown played, there was a jam session that went on for a few hours. Some local artists played, as did some of the groups from the festival, including Morris.

I went to the show with Ari and an Israeli friend of mine.

(If you were in History 383 or 384, you would understand this comment. If not, skip this next paragraph)

Even the Jews of Bordeaux would be proud of my acculturation. Am I making the transition from an Alsace-Lorrain Jew to a Bordeaux Jew? We'll see?

This afternoon I ate lunch at a deli on Helena Ha-malka, next door to the SPNI offices. I ordered a corned beef sandwich. It was delicious. Wait a second, Ian. There has to be more to this story. Why are you just telling us about your sandwich?


Oh, yeah. The deli has been around since 1795. Originally from Basle, Switzerland, the Hess family opened up a restaurant in Jerusalem around the turn of the century. I don't know how many businesses I have dealt with that are over 200 years old. How many countries that are around today existed when this deli opened? I think they are in the eighth generation of Hesses to work at Hess the Sausage King's.

I didn't expect my sandwich to have horseradish in it. My inability to consume large amounts of horseradish without sweating profusely relegates it to a once-a-year food. Well, make it twice this year. There probably wasn't any more that a shtikel in my sandwich, but it cleared up my sinuses all right.

In preparation for my internship, which starts in two weeks, I went to the mall today for the first time to "enhance my wardrobe." I bought two polo shirts for 99 shekels (less than $11/ shirt): an orange one and a blue one. For some, that might be a modest day of shopping. For me, this is monumental.

Later in the day, I went to a pub to watch the U.S. soccer match. After the refs handed the game over to Ghana, I was actually upset. But, on a positive note, the U.S. soccer fan in me can go back into hibernation for four years until the next World Cup.

I would like to welcome my friend Ari Mendelson to Israel. He arrived today and is maintaining a blog of his trip as well. To clarify which Ari I am talking about in my blog, I will refer to this one as Mendel in the blogosphere.