Frammer Disney

Our first day at Disneyland was a very exciting one.  We woke up to Boaz's alarm for 6:30am.  We had Crispix for breakfast.  After breakfast we set out on our 8 minute walk to Disneyland/California Adventure Park.  When we got to  Disneyland/California Adventure Park, Uncle Boaz got our tickets, and we went to wait in line to get in to the park.  When the gates opened our tickets were scanned and we were let into the park. 

We started to make our way to Fantasyland and went to Peter Pan's Flight, it was one of  the highlights of my trip. Next we went to Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. It was one of the funnest rides. There were some scary parts, but they were only scary because it seemed as if stuff was falling on you and when it seemed like you were going to crash into a train. Then we went on Pinocchio's Adventure, it was a bit scary but in the fun way of being scared.  After that we went on Snow White's Scarey Adventure, it was one of the scariest rides we went on. My eyes were closed for almost all of it!  Then we went to Alice in Wonderland, it was sensational! I really liked that ride. Next we went on Pirates of the Caribbean, it was really fun. There were two drops, but they were very small so you barely felt them. Then we went on Indiana Jones, it makes me sick just thinking about the ride. I screamed and cried so hard my throat was really sore afterwards. It was terrible! I hated that ride! I loved the Haunted Mansion, it was one of my favorite rides. The start was really fun when you went in an elevator and the pictures started to grow. 

Then we got a Fast Pass for Star Tours. After that we went on Buzz Lightyear's Astroblasters. It was a very fun ride. You had to shoot little targets with your blaster gun. Then it was time to use our Fast Pass. Star Tours was a 4D movie. It was super-duper fun! A 4D movie is a movie where your chair moves according to the movements on the screen. Then we went on a ride that is a favorite for many people, Small World. It was a very calming ride, and I really enjoyed it.  Then we saw a play called Mickey's Magical Map. It was one of the coolest plays I've seen. It combines live action with animation. One of the coolest parts was when Mickey got sucked into the screen. 

Next was Jedi Training Academy where kids got picked to train to be a padawan. My brother and I were the last ones picked. We had a really fun time doing it. At the end of the training, Darth Maul and Darth Vader came out, and we had to battle them. Ezra fought Darth Vader, and I fought Darth Maul. Before we sent away Darth Vader, he asked if anyone wanted to join him on the Dark Side, and I thought to myself "Yes! Me!"

Then we went to find a spot to have lunch. We wanted to have lunch in a quiet place, so we decided on Tom Sawyer's Island. We had to take a small boat to get there. For lunch we had cream cheese bagels. After we finished lunch we went to the Enchanted Tiki Room. It was very exciting with all of the animatronic birds clicking and singing. The man who ran the ride said that there was a giant room of technology below where we were sitting, but it only had as much memory as an iPhone. After that we went on the Jungle Cruise. It was really fun. It was also our longest wait in line - 25 minutes. There were elephants in the water that were supposed to be bathing, but since they weren't working our guide said that they were playing freeze tag.

We went back to our hotel room and took an hour-long nap. Afterwards we went to the water park at the hotel called The Pirates Cove. One of the coolest things about it was a giant bucket that would fill with water and then when the bucket was full a bell rang and the bucket dumped out on whoever was standing under it. Then we back to our hotel room, took a shower and ate dinner so we could get back to Disneyland in time for the fireworks.

Back at Disneyland, Boaz said that we should go on Splash Mountain. When you think about Splash Mountain, think about a 55 foot drop in a log. It made my stomach do back flips. Before we did that, we got a Fast Pass for Autopia. Then we went to a place where a guy named Bob told us a story. The story was Peter Pan, and the room was special because you got to see part of the movie on a screen. There was also a cannon you could fire, that made a "hole" in the wall. When we started to leave, Bob gave us a Fast Pass that we could use on nearly any ride. We used it for Splash Mountain. That ride tells the story of Song of the South. As I said, it made my stomach do back flips. After Splash Mountain, to calm our tummies down, we went on Small World again. When we exited the ride, the fireworks had started and we had an excellent view. The fireworks display was 15 minutes long. It was one of the coolest ones I've ever seen. 

Then we went back to our hotel room. Boaz put on Cat Parade, and went to the hotel store to get milk for our cereal in the morning. When he got back, we went to sleep. That was the end of our first day at Disneyland. And it was only going to get better.

Signing off,
Gavriel

Gavriel in America

This day, the 28th of July 2013, was the day I would start one of the most exciting things of my life. I had a regular day until noon, then we went to pick up Boaz and go to the airport. One of the best things was that we didn't have any luggage to check-in, so that made everything take a shorter amount of time.

Once we had passed through security, we started looking in the stores in the airport. Boaz got an ice coffee at Starbucks, and Ezra and I shared a little sample of one of Starbuck's newest drinks, Frappaccino Oreo Crumble. It was really yummy because it was cold and it tasted like coffee ice cream with Oreo bits in it.

Then it was time to board the plane to California. We got on the plane and waited around 15 minutes until we were ready to take off. During those 15 minutes we were discussing how much fun we would have. The flight was almost three hours. When we got to LAX, Boaz's friend Scott, picked us up. We all went to The Milky Way restaurant which is owned by Steven Spielberg's mom. At the restaurant we started off with tempura vegetables with soy sauce. I tried broccoli for the first time. For the main dish, I had cannelloni, it was delicious. Scott and Ezra had fish and chips, and Boaz had trout almondine.

Before we had dessert, we ordered a cab using a new app that Boaz got, called Uber. It gives you the name of your driver, the car he is driving and how highly he is rated. First the app said we would be getting someone named John, he would be driving a Lincoln Town Car, and his rating was 9.8. Then, all of a sudden, while we were in the middle of our dessert, which was a Dreamy Cheesecake and Chocolate Mousse Pie, it said we would be getting Dennis and not John. Then Dennis called to tell Boaz he would be coming in 20 minutes.

Mrs. Spielberg came to ask us how we liked the dessert. She asked me how I liked the cheesecake. I said that on a scale of 1-10, the cheesecake was an infinity. She said that I had made her day! Then it was time for us to go. We got our bags from Scott's car, said good-bye to Scott, and hopped into Dennis' car.

Dennis took us to our hotel, the Howard Johnson in Anaheim. It was a five minute was from Disneyland/California Adventure. We went to check in, and then Boaz got side tracked and started talking to the hotel check-in person. After they finished talking, Boaz got our room key and we went to our hotel room. We had a view of a fountain outside the window that lit up at night. After we were ready for bed, Boaz went out to the store to buy milk and cream cheese for the next day. When he got back, he played a song called Cat Parade. We listened to it every night before bed while we were in California.

Signing off,

Gavriel

Gavriel in America

Here are some of the other things we did before Disneyland:

• We went to the zoo with friends
• We went hiking in Silver Falls with the same friends
• I had a playdate 
• I went to the arcade with Ezra and Saba
• We bought shoes and clothing
• Lots of grocery shopping
• I went to the swimming pool with my friend
• I had a sleep over with Ezra at Boaz's apartment
• We went to some parks

That really sums up what I did.

Stay tuned if you want to know what happened in Disneyland.

Signing off,

Gavriel

Gavriel in America

My first day in Portland, Oregon was a day to remember.  The first thing I did that day that was exciting was going berry picking with my Savta, Ima, and brother Ezra.  We went to pick blueberries early in the morning and picked 10lb in less then 45 minutes.  Then, since the date was 7/11/13 which meant free Slurpee day, we just had to go to 7eleven to get a Slurpee.  Ezra and I both had a Slurpee that was half cherry half coke.  it was really good. While we were drinking our Slurpee on the ride home, we were thinking how in less than three weeks, Ezra and I would go to Disneyland! We knew we would have three of the most exciting days of our lives. We knew the time between now and then would pass like a rocket. If you want to hear what happened in the three weeks from blueberry picking to Disneyland, stay tuned for another epic post of Gavriel in America.

Signing off,

Gavriel

Gavriel in Israel

Where we last left off I was about to get in the taxi cab.  So we took our 3 duffel bags down to the cab and said good bye to my Abba.  We got into the cab and were off to the Airport in Tel-Aviv.  The cab driver was playing some pretty bad music so I made up a stupid dance to go along to the bad music.  By the time the bad song was over we were almost at the Airport. When we got to the airport, we checked in our bags and went through security. Then, since it was 4:30am, Ima bought me and Ezra breakfast. My brother and I both had a croissant and hot cocoa, it was really good. Then we went to our gate, but we noticed that we still had an hour until boarding, so we waited and watched a fountain for a few minutes and then we went to our gate.

Now we are going to fast forward until we are on the plane. On the plane, we buckled in to our seat and we saw the security video (which we've seen a million times). Then we were off! On this flight, on the TV screen, they showed the movies Admission and GI Joe. For me, Admission was pretty boring, but the GI Joe movie was awesome! There were explosions and ninjas fighting on zip lines on a cliff. It was totally wicked! Then the plane landed in Madrid.

We had a three hour layover in Madrid, and then got on the plane to Dallas. On that plane we had little screens in front of us. I didn't sit next to Ima and Ezra, I sat a row ahead of them between two people that I didn't know. On that plane, I watched the GI Joe movie again, The Croods (twice) and Jack the Giant Slayer, but I fell asleep during that movie because it was really boring. We landed in Dallas, and we had to go through customs. The line was twisting and turning from the room with passport control to very far down the hallway. When we finally got to the passport control, we went to claim our bags and go through another line. That line did not take as long. Then we put our bags back so they could be put onto our place, and went to our gate. My Ima worried that we wouldn't have anything to do during the three hour layover in Dallas, but boy was she wrong! By the time we got to our gate, we had only half an hour until boarding.

We got onto the plane and there was no screen. I slept almost the whole flight. When I woke up, the first thing I saw was the Willamette River and lots of trees. When we landed, we came out of the plane and the first person we saw was our Uncle Boaz! We ran to him and hugged him and kissed him! Then we went to go claim our bags, one of our bags did not arrive, Then we saw our Saba and Savta, they drove two cars. My brother and I went home with Savta, got ready for bed, and waited for our Ima to come home and read to us. That night, I thought to myself, boy we went on a little adventure, but the big adventures are about to begin. Then I fell asleep.

Signing off,

Gavriel

Gavriel in Israel

My summer so far has been really fun but wait till I tell you about what I did on July 9th.
Before July 9th, I was going on hikes, writing blog posts, and hanging out with friends. But after all that on July 9th at 2:00am the adventure really began.
At 2:00am, July 9th, I woke up because in an hour I would be going to the Airport in Tel-Aviv.  My Ima had stayed up all night packing our 3 duffel bags.  My brother got up shortly after me.  The cab was going to pick us up at 2:45am.  Ima, my brother and I were about to get in a cab that would take us to the Airport, but my Abba was not coming because he had to stay and work in Israel while we went to Portland, Oregon.

If you would like to know what happened in the cab on the way to the Airport, what happened on the planes, and the other airports we went to  along the way.

 Then stay tuned for another epic post of "Gavriel's Awesome Blog"

Signing off,

Gavriel

An Action Packed Week

Gavriel in Israel

This week we had something to do every single day: we went out to dinner for Ezra's birthday, we went to a barbeque at my cousins' house in Jerusalem, and many more things.

That's all for now.

Signing off,

Gavriel

City of David

Gavriel in Israel

A week ago, I went to the City of David with my class. First we went to an archeological dig at Emek Tzurim. My group found a bone(!) and lots of glass. After that we went to Ir David. At Ir David we were given a history lesson by our guide. For the most part the history lesson was pretty boring. After the history lesson we went to Hezekiah’s Tunnel. The tunnel is an aqueduct that brought water to the ancient city of Jerusalem. We walked through it, it was super fun. After we finished the tunnel, we had to walk up the steepest hill in the world! When we got to the top we were all super tired. We waited for half an hour and got back on the bus.

That's all for now.

Signing off,

Gavriel

Gavriel in Israel

On Sunday my brother, my Ima and I went to an Olim party. At the party there were lots of bouncy houses. We also made kites. On my kite, I drew a picture of a robot and a blue box. After I made my kite, I went down a hill and flew it a little. It wasn't a very successful flight because there was barely any wind. Then I went to go find my Ima. She was sitting with my friend's mom under a tree. She gave me my coupon for popcorn. I waited a little then got my coupon for a slushy. The slushy and popcorn were very yummy. Then my friend and I went into a bouncy house and ran into the walls and fell down like crazy people. Then a grown-up told us to stop and get it, so we did. Luckily, we didn't get in trouble. Then we went to have dinner at home.
That's all for now.

Signing off,

Gavriel

Gavriel in Israel

Last shabbat I was in Jerusalem with my cousins.  Before shabbat started, my cousin and I made up a story about a man named "John Pistol".  "John Pistol" is an imaginary person who pretty much does every crime possible, and he also loves vodka.  We had to stop because we had to start dinner.  On Saturday morning  my cousin continued to tell me and my brother and my other cousin the story of  "John Pistol".  After we ate breakfast we went to shul.  That day at shul we threw candy in honor of the 60th anniversary of my Saba's bar mitzva. My cousins and I caught at least 44 toffies but we had to hand most of them out.  After shul we went back to my cousins' house and ate a lunch of deli.  Then for dessert my mom made a cake in honor of my brother's birthday.  The cake was very good. After lunch we played Foosball and Uno.  It was lots of fun. Later in the afternoon my cousin's friend came over with his dog. (I love dogs!) We played in the back yard and after that we walked the dog around the block.  We came back and played a game of checkers.  I won! Then we had dinner.  It was almost time for my family to go back to Modiin.  The few hours before we left were spent playing with the cousins. We said havdalah, packed up and went back home.
That's all for now.

Signing off,

Gavriel

Gavriel in Israel

Yesterday I went to school as normal and we had a ceremony for Rosh Hodesh.  For each Rosh Hodesh they pick out from the class some of the best kids in general studies and for math.  I got a certificate in both.

Signing off,

Gavriel

Gavriel in Israel

I'm about to summarize the last 2 weeks in a few paragraphs.
Two weeks ago Tuesday was my birthday and for the first time I had many choices of where to go for my special dinner.  I chose to go to a restaurant called "Grill 443". The reason it's called  "Grill 443" is because it's off the side of highway 443.  My brother and I ordered a steak and it was so good.  The steak was like eating a waterfall of tastes.  The steak was not rare but it was also not well done it was right in the middle.  It was one of the best steaks I've ever had!
The next day I had a birthday party.  I wish that I could have invited my friends from America too. For the party we watched The Return of the Jedi, and ate pizza. For the cake part of the party we had chocolate cupcakes without frosting. Here are some pictures from the party.

That was the most exciting thing that happened in the last 2 weeks.  School is almost over, for us here it ends on the 30th of June.
That's all for now.

Signing off,

Gavriel

Gavriel in Israel

Two days ago I went to a friend's birthday party.  He had it at a movie theater. For the birthday party we saw a movie: "The Croods". Before the movie we each got a medium size bowl of popcorn and a cup of soda. I got coke.  The movie was really good, it was the second time I was seeing it. The first time I saw it I was with family but this time I saw it with friends. We (9 kids) were the only ones in the theater. It was really fun.

That night I puked at 1:12 am. It was terrible but I had no fever that night or the next day. After I puked, I read for an hour and a half  and then went back to sleep.  The next day I didn't go to school,  but I still did some math at home all the same.
Well that's all for now.

Signing off,

Gavi

Gavriel in Israel

An Apology and a Catch-Up

Everything I have done in the past few months shall be summarized in a few paragraphs.

To start, I moved out of the ulpan at the end of January and moved into the regular 5th grade class. At first it was a bit overwhelming for my little brain to hear everything in Hebrew. But slowly, everything started to make sense. My class is an all-boy class, there are 38 of us. At recess there are three things that kids in my class do: play soccer, basketball or wander the school. I switch off between basketball and soccer.

There have been lots of holidays, each one has been fun in its own way. On one of the days of chol hamoed Pesach we went to a historic underground bullet factory in Rechovot. We also had a picnic lunch there, and after lunch we played baseball. On Yom Ha'atzmaut, we went to Park Canada and had a barbeque. This was really the first time that I felt that I was part of a big holiday. The park was full of other people doing the same thing: meeting friends and barbequing. One of our friends brought their new baby, she is very cute and I got to hold her for a very long time. It was very fun! On Yom Ha'atzmaut night we went out and saw fireworks. They lit up the sky. It was very pretty.

On Lag b'omer, I went to Bnai Akiva and had a big bonfire with my group. At its highest, the fire was 9 feet tall. We had hotdogs, hamburgers and popsicles. With one of my friends, we found the box of popsicles, and when no one was looking, we took it! There were only three left in the box, my friend gave two of them away and I ate mine.

On Shavuot night I learned with my family: cousins, uncle, aunt, two savtas, a saba, my brother and my parents. We learned about Elihayu Hanavi. The next morning, we woke up at 4:45am even though we went to sleep at 10:45pm. We went to a minyan at the Tayelet. The minyan ended at 7:20am, and afterwards everyone went back to sleep. It was a very long day, but I learned how to play Risk, so it wasn't so bad.

That's about it for now, I'll post soon.

Signing off,

Gavi

Gavriel in Israel

Today was one of the best days of my life!  We went to a place called Beit Guverin.  There you see lots of caves, big ones small ones, long ones and short ones.
In a lot of them there were pigeon roosts.  There was one big one that was probably for a fat one.
In the 2nd cave we went in it was an old cistern and in the middle there was a stone with Polish writing on it.
In the 3rd cave there were only pigeon roosts.
The 4th cave was very boring because it was only an old bathroom.
The 5th one was an olive oil press and it was awesome and you could touch the old things they used to crush the olives.
The 6th cave there was a cave but the way you get in to the cave is so cool.  You enter through an old house and the cave is a cistern and it is awesome.
The 7th cave is the longest cave in the 7 caves.  It has a lot of cisterns, pigeon roosts and lots of other things too.

That is really all for now.

Signing off,

Gavi