I haven’t blogged in a while, so I’m going to talk about my big trip to Israel, Vienna, and Berlin. This trip changed my life, in so many ways. I believe it is imperative that more American’s see the world. There’s so much great “stuff” out there to be seen. We really do live in a bubble. Check out my Flickr Collection for Summer ‘08.

Israel

Dome of the Rock (Click to Enlarge)

I spent about 3 weeks in Israel, traveling all over the country; Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa, Amirim, Ein Gedi, and back to Jerusalem. I was in Israel for my cousin’s wedding (his wife is Israeli.) He made the entire trip possible (plus it was great having the entire family in the Holy land.) Being in Israel was a life changing experience for me. I’ve been raised Jewish, Reform Judiasm, but being in Israel, surrounded by so many other Jews, and passionate people in general, made me want to be more religious. We’ll see.

Police in Jerusalem (Click to Enlarge)

I never felt unsafe in Israel. I got used to having my bag searched each time I entered a resteraunt, and I got used to the constant military/police presence in the country. But I always felt safe. Israel wasn’t like a “police state” either, people appeared to be free.

Justin and Galit (Click to Enlarge)

My cousin’s wedding was unbelievable. The energy at an Israeli wedding is unbelievable; they just kept going and going. This was the first wedding where I took photos semi-professionally; in other words, I wasn’t the official photographer, just doing it on my own. I’ve uploaded a few photos, but I plan on assembling a more professional slideshow in the near future. Taking photos for a wedding is fun, but stressful.

Sunrise at Masada (Click to Enlarge)

Traveling through out Israel is easy, since it’s such a small country. I’d say my favorite part of Israel was the north, the city of Safed, in particular – it had the piousness of Jerusalem, but isolated in the mountains. Swimming in the Dead Sea was “fun,” but nothing beats watching sunrise atop Masada. Ein Gedi was beautiful, I _think_ I saw a Gazelle in the national park there, but I’m not quite sure. If you go to the Dead Sea, stop by and see the botanical gardens at the Ein Gedi Kibbutz, it’s phenomenal.

The Arab Markets (Click to Enlarge)

I miss Israel, Jerusalem in particular – wandering through the Arab Markets in the Muslim Quarter, bargaining with shop keepers, and stuffing a note in the Western Wall. In Jerusalem, one could see three religious living so close together, yet the difference between the Christian, Jewish, and Muslim quarters is so great. I’ll be going back to Israel, hopefully sooner than later.

A Gazelle…I think (Click to Enlarge)

Vienna

Graffiti in Vienna (Click to Enlarge)

I went to Vienna with my mom, mostly to search through records, to learn more about her side of the family, 17 members of which were murdered during the Holocaust. So, as you can imagine, the trip wasn’t really for “pleasure.” Vienna’s a nice city, pleasant and livable. It works – the subways, buses, trams, and it’s safe. Check out my mom’s website for more about her project in Vienna. There was amazing Graffiti in Vienna, best graffiti I’ve ever seen. Lots of photos on Flickr.

Berlin

A Holocaust Memorial (Click to Enlarge)

Berlin was nice, but tiring. Constantly being surrounded by memories of the Holocaust was tough, as there were memorials and museums everywhere. The city hasn’t forgotten. It’s a good place to visit, and has lots of history.

Overall

I had a good trip, if you have specific questions regarding my trip, don’t hesitate to email me.

Tomorrow afternoon, Monday, June 9th, I’ll be taking a big trip overseas: I will be in Israel for 2.5 weeks, Vienna for a week, and Berlin for a few days. I’m going to be busy; my cousin is getting married in Israel, and I’ll be meeting with a lot of people in Vienna. I will take lots of photos, most of which will be uploaded to Flickr, (I may set up a separate gallery on my website), and I’ll (try) be active on Twitter – when I have Internet access I’ll be online.

My Agenda

In Israel, I will be at my cousin’s wedding – almost the whole family is coming – and I will be touring the country (Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Golan Heights, etc).

I’m visiting Vienna with my mom, Karen Frostig (check out her new website!), to meet with various people about the Holocaust and Holocaust Education. My mom is a Jewish artist, activist, and author.

In Berlin, I’m just visiting, you know, for fun.

Do you have any recommendations? Places to visit? Good food? Free WiFi? Let me know: kabren@kabrenlevinson.com.

It’s been a while since I’ve posted here. A lot has been going on, so here’s an update.

Right now I’m on vacation in Hawai’i, on the island of Oahu. I have a long family history in Hawai’i – my dad was born here, I have a lot of cousins living here, etc. If you would like to see some photos from the trip, there are a few on Flickr. I love visiting Hawaii so regularly, it’s not something many people are able do. I’ve seen at least 1 rainbow every day here. (There’s one right now, in fact). There’s only one problem; on Christmas eve and day, restaurants charge an outrageous amount for meals. We usually end up wandering the streets of Waikiki in search of some food. (We’re not Christian, if you haven’t figured that out already). The weather here is also unbelievable; it can be raining in one spot, and five feet away it can be dry. I haven’t yet been to the other side of the island on this trip, but I’m going tonight. I love it here.

Exciting things are happening for me at school. I’ve got my Capstone Project, a final senior project, and an amazing opportunity to create a series of student-taught courses about technology. For my capstone, I’m writing several (four or five) chapters to a book about the Internet. Sound familiar? I wrote a 10 page paper about the Internet last year entitled “Tubes”, available here in PDF format. I’m a bit behind, I’ve had a lot of work to do, especially with college work and all that. It’s a topic I know and am passionate about. The student-taught courses goes along with a whole new wave of technology “stuff” at my school – perhaps committees, classes, labs, studios, etc. I’ve been asked to really lead and create what this means. Over the next 5-6 weeks, these ideas will be more concrete.

One last thing, I will be on the local radio show Think Tech Hawaii tomorrow, Wednesday, at 5PM Pacific. The show broadcasts on Hawaii Public Radio. Jay Fidell, a family friend, hosts the show and invited me on. The show will be available as a podcast too.

A lot happening. Just an update. I will be creating a new podcast probably Thursday, so stay tuned.

Merry Christmas!

-Kabren