Last post for a while

So, some things have recently happened that have opened my eyes.  I'd rather not say those things, so all I'll say is is that it could have been really bad for me physically, and thank G-d it wasn't.  But, I've realized: why are we here?  What is man's purpose on this earth?  We're not here to do whatever we want, to make "social ladders", and then climb them, but we're here for a reason: to do G-d's will.  After some much-needed reflecting, and the bad memories of a certain roommate busting me with movies on my iPod, I have come to a decision: I am giving up wifi.  I find that I'm beginning to lose people's trust, and more importantly, my own trust.  Anyone who knows me well will know how monumental of a choice this is for me personally, but I'm only doing what I feel needs to be done.  But, because of this choice, I will no longer be able to blog from school, and will iy"h continue from home.  Farewell, and thanks for reading.

Postscript: I just want to say thank you to everyone who helped me through these past few hours, starting with my parents. You guys are the light to my dark room.  I love you so much.  Next are the Ben-Lapids, who I'm staying with while my hosts are out of town.  Thank you for understanding when we accidentally set off the alarm trying to get in.  After them is Mendel Andrusier, who talked me through everything.  And, last but not least, everyone else who told me how stupid what I was thinking of doing was.  You guys have all helped me tremendously, and to all the unmentioned people (you know who you are-but I don't) I'm sorry for not mentioning you, but I can't really remember who else helped me.  Again, farewell, and thanks for reading.

The Final Countdown (part 3)

The next story is one that has a long history behind it, and I really don't want to get too deep into it.  So, all I'll say is that my roommate and I have had a pretty rocky year.  So, he ended up getting kicked out of our host's home, and I have a room all to myself!  But that was supposed to be an entire post...  I guess I can try to fit another story in here...

Ooh, there is the time I lent my friend my copy of The Hunger Games...  So, basically, I lent my friend my copy of The Hunger Games to read, and he didn't really end up doing that.  He had it over the ski trip, and apparently, his host had gone into the rooms over the trip, and cleaned the rooms of any food that they didn't approve of.  During cleaning, my copy of the book was found. Needless to say, it got taken away, and I thought I wouldn't get it back at all. Well, now I know to never underestimate the power of begging.  I didn't really beg as much as I asked, but regardless, I did make a request to have it given back.  I got it back, and took it home, where it is now.

The Final Countdown (part 2)

So...  The story about Nesanel cutting his leg open...  

We were walking home from school a bit later than normal because of a farbrengen (Hasidic mini-party).  Nesanel liked to do parkour, which is also known as free-running- it involves using everything around a person as a kind-of obstacle course, and just jump off of things.  On the way home, Nesanel was doing a somersault on the lawn of an apartment building, while I was on the phone with my mother.  All of a sudden, Nesanel stands up and starts limping back to the school.  He said something along the lines of "I cut myself, it hurts so bad, owowowow."  I ran ahead of him,  throwing my backpack down on the ground.  I ran into the building, and yelled "Nesanel tripped and cut his leg or something, and it looks really bad."  He hobbled in, howling in pain, and I was debating wether I (or someone) should call 911, because at first it didn't look all that bad.  Then he sat on the floor.

Once he sat on the floor, we could all see ("we" being myself and a rabbi or two) that it was all that bad.  On our way in, Nesanel and I nearly ran a woman who was holding flowers over.  She started getting really mad at us, and I just yelled "Can't you see he's bleeding!" at her, and she just took one look, and immediately took over.  She was there to help set up for the principal's son's bar mitzvah, and when she yelled for someone to get a tablecloth and they went to get one of the colored ones to be used for the party, she yelled "Not those!!!"  So, someone got a plain, white tablecloth, and we elevated his leg under the tablecloth.  Someone had called the paramedics, and I was instructed to go direct them where to go.  As I was doing so, I was trying to call our host family, but no one was answering.  Needless to say, I left multiple messages.  

Eventually, he got taken to the hospital, and I was left standing outside with a group of people.  One of them looked at me, almost hyperventilating, and asked if I wanted a hug.  I didn't.  He said "No, I think you need a hug", and then began hugging me.  Well, this set off a chain reaction of multiple people dog-piling me and trying to hug me.  They finally got off of me, right as the firemen finished giving my friend a ride in the fire truck. (Another story for another time.). I told him what had just occurred, and guess what he did?  He hugged me.  It began all over again... 

Nesanel is now fine, but he had to get 32 stitches in his right leg, and is still gaining feeling in his kneecap.  One of the paramedics had told us that the cut was about an inch deep, and about (I think) 7 inches long, and that it had almost hit an artery.  We later went back to look for what had cut him and we found it-a rusty old nail.

The Final Countdown (part 1)

So...  This is it. The final stretch. Those last few game-changing seconds of the Blackhawks game (GO HAWKS!!!). The last lap. And any other last-minute-metaphors that I don't know. This is my last month as a freshman.

Well, I can't really say its gone by slow, but I also can't say it's gone by fast.  So many things have happened that have made this first, crucial year of high school unique to me and probably many other people around me.  For starters, there's the time that one of the people I board with, Nesanel, cut his leg wide open and I saw it happen...  And then there's the time that my roommate got kicked out of my room (and how I now have an entire room to myself).  Oh, and there's also that one time I lent a friend my copy of The Hunger Games and it got taken away...  But, to save all the readers the trouble of having to read one long post about the hundreds of things I neglected to mention before, I'll post each story separately later today.

My latest break had so much happening, it's hard to fit it all into one post, but I'll try.  I flew in on Tuesday morning, at about 9 am.  Straight from there, my father took me to get my haircut, and to visit my Bubbe.  Then we ran some errands, and by the time I got in the door, I had so much pent up energy that I had to run to get changed and get on my bike and just ride.  When I returned, I found a new Wii-U game sitting on my bed, one that I had been asking my father to get for me for a very long time!  I played that for a few hours, and then Skyped with my birth-family for a while (hey guys!) and before I knew it, it was time to get ready for shavuos.  

Over those next two days, I just... Slept.  I think I caught up on those lost hours of sleep caused by not going to sleep until about 12:30 am...  So I slept most of yontif (sorry I wasn't there to daven ma'ariv on Tuesday night, Mr. Weiss!).  Then, on Friday, I had multiple appointments, and then I had arranged for my counselor from camp (GO KAYITZ!!!  KAYITZ 2012 ROCKED!!!), who said he was supposed to leave by 5, but he really left at about 5:45. 

 Over shabbos, I met up with a friend who said he was going to be out of town, but came in to see me (thanks, by the way).  And that was my break!  Stories to follow...

On Mivtzoyim

So, remember how we had Josh, the guy who didn't want to put on tefillin at all? I'm standing in his store right now, and his partner said that he put tefillin on with his dad yesterday! That is making huge progress for him, since he was adamantly opposed to it about one month ago! Anyways, have to go put tefillin on people now! Have a good שבת!

UPDATE: More Mivtzoyim Tales

Okay, so yesterday on Mivtzoyim, we went to Josh's store. Usually, he comes down to the door and says something along the lines of "Sorry guys, not today."
But yesterday, Ari tried to open the door, and it actually opened for us! Then, when we were upstairs, Ari said "You know, it would be nice to put on tefillin one day." And Josh replied, "One day, one day." That's better than what we heard last time, which was "No, I'm not going to put on tefillin. At all." Hope you had a good shabbos!

More Mivtzoyim Tales

Ok, so... How was everyone's Pesach? I forgot to ask in the last post...
Anyways, if you happen to live with me, you'll already know the details of this story, so If I leave anything out, contact me and I'll fix it, iy"h.

The first week back from Purim break, on a Friday, I went on mivtzoyim with the principal's son, who I regularly go with. As we were making our usual rounds, a man named Shraga walked into the store we happened to be in. Shraga is a ba'al teshuva, or someone who came back to Judaism. We go visit his son, Josh, as one of our regulars. He works with his father. Josh usually doesn't want to put tefillin on, so Ari (the principal's son) and I give him a pamphlet, and carry on.
That week, Josh was unavailable at that time, so we were told to come back later. In the next store, we saw Shraga. He said he would let us in to the store, which could only be accessed by someone in the store or someone with a key, which was Shraga. So, we went upstairs and waited. As we were waiting, Ari set up the tefillin, just in case he would want to put on.
To make a very, VERY long story short, we ended up having an hour-long argument about two things: putting on tefillin/why it is a good thing to do, and isle everything that happens is Devine Providence, or chance. Close to the end of the argument, Shraga went into his office to take a phone call. After about five minutes, he called into the main room, where we all were. We heard him say "Josh, listen to this," and then a woman speaking. It was Shraga's sister-in-law, whose brother had had a stroke in January (This was mid- to late-February), and couldn't move his left side. They did a routine surgery to fix this, but after the surgery, he still couldn't move his left arm and left leg. This could be fixed by physical therapy, so he was moved to the physical therapy ward. Over Purim, a few bochurim from the yeshiva came to the hospital, and were going around reading the Megillah and putting tefillin on people. This man was one of those people, and after they took off the tefillin, he could move his let arm again!
The story isn't over yet. Shraga's sister-in-law had NEVER called his office before, and had decided to call "out of the blue". Shraga had never been downtown on a Friday before, and had he not been there, Ari and I would not have been able to see this amazing thing happen right in front of our eyes.
The story doesn't have such a good ending. Josh didn't end up putting on tefillin. But, we're still working on him...

Driving to the airport

So...  Pesach was a fun break, probably the most fun one yet!  We got a new Wii U game console, and while my parents were cleaning one of the closets they found a cookbook from my great-grandmother from 1934!!!  And, I actually got to shul on time for two days in a row! That's a major accomplishment for me.
So, right now I'm on my mothers iPhone as she's taking me to the airport. I really don't want to go home, because of how much fun this break was.  I can't believe how fast it went by!  It was a lot of fun seeing everyone, and I will miss seeing everyone again!  I won't be home until Shavuot, though... Alright, I'll try to write when I get the chance!

I'm Comin' Home...

Hey, everyone! Sorry that I haven't posted in a while, as I haven't had wifi. But anyways, tonight is the night before I leave for home!!! I really can't wait to fly, and put tefillin on... On the ... Plane... In public... Oh no. I heard a story over the break about certain people who spend too much time out in the sun, freaking out about these two kids putting on tefillin on the plane... Sorry that I'm not going into detail tonight, I'm really tired, and just want to sleep... But, iy"h, I will return over pesach, with tales of excitement and wonder! Or, just tales of a yeshiva school boarder...

So...

Rememer how I was saying in one of the early posts about the stupid principal? The English one? So, let's have storytime! Today's story is called "The Idotic Principal Who Shouldn't Have Graduated Kindergarten".
Our schedule is a bit weird. We have a different schedule on Mondays and Wednsdays than we do on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The day this story takes place on is a Thursday, where we have Language Arts first. I thought we would have science, gym, and then Civics, which on Tuedsays and Thursdays is normally in the homeroom-type-room. So, after science, I left my bag in homeroom. I came back down with only a minute to spare and... We weren't in that room. We were in the ninth grade classroom, and I had to get my stuff.
The class going on in the homeroom was language arts, and if you forget something in the room that that teacher is teaching in, she won't let you get it until she is done teaching. So I couldnt get my stuff. So, I went to the principal and told her that the teacher wasn't letting me get my things.
She told me I could get my things after the weekend.  AFTER the weekend.  Thank G-d, someone got my stuff for me.  Yeah, I look down on her a bit-and not just literally; she's really short.
So, I'm flying out to Pittsburgh today, and I won't be back until late March.  Thanks again for reading, and I'll try to post at a friend's house, or when I have wifi.

After skiing...

... Ow. That's honestly all I can muster up after yesterday... just ow. Now, I know that I said wifi is limited here, but the Greenbergs are being confusing about being out of town because their daughter had a baby. So I'm staying at a friend's house for שבת. Oh, that reminds me of another story...

So, its maybe the first/second break, and my roommate is going home by bus. So, he has his parents ask Rabbi Greenberg if he can drive said roommate to the bus stop downtown. Now, he doesn't like driving in the dark. So, my roommate- lets call him, oh, Reuven, his parents double, and even TRIPLE checked with Rabbi Greenberg to see if he can drive Reuven, being that his bus was at 6:30 A.M. He said "Yes, of course I can drive Reuven at 6:00 in the morning!"
The night before he is supposed to leave, Rabbi Greenberg tells Reuven "Oh, I just realized that is actually IS going to be too dark tomorrow morning, so I can't take you. Sorry!"

So, I have to be at shul for Mincha in 7 minutes, so I have to run. I'll try to post tomorrow! Good שבת!

At The Lodge

So... Sorry I haven't posted in a while, wifi is kinda limited. But now, we're on the yearly ski trip to the Hidden Valley Lodge, and its awesome. We're going to be skiing all day, and I'm so... Scared. I haven't even been skiing in 4 years!! But anyways, and now... Presenting the first... Actual... Story!! So, its the first night back from winter break, and my roommate gets hungry. Our hosts had just returned from Israel, and were out to dinner because they were so tired from jet lag. So, he calls up Mrs. Greenberg, and asks if he can heat up some of the ravioli in the fridge. She says "Yes, but save some for my husband and I." So, he puts it in the oven to heat it up, and as hes taking out the pan... Half of it spills onto the floor. He eats a bit, and then comes back downstairs and tells me what happened. About a half-hour later, I hear footsteps upstairs. I tell him, and he goes upstairs to explain himself. He comes back down laughing histarically, and tells me this: "I said to her 'I'm soo sorry,' and she says 'It is NOT okay.' I say 'Spilling it accidentally is not ok?' And she replied 'Oh, you spilled it? Oh, that's okay, everyone makes mistakes. I thought you ate it all!"

So, I dont really have any time to write right now, seeig as we have breakfast. So, gotta go!

The Community

The community is one of the things that I like the most.  Its such a small place, that you know everyone, and anyone.  For example, where I stay: the principal lives literally directly behind my boarding house.   And, its easy to get to school from where I stay-it only takes a 5 minute walk.  The local stores are a 10-maximum-minute walk, so its all pretty close together.  Now, that can have its drawbacks.  One of them being, that my hosts, the Greenbergs, are ALWAYS either: a) having 20+ people for shabbos dinner, or b) going to someone else's house where there "happen" to be 20 people.  Another drawback is that because it is such a small community, if you get seen with any "illegal" paraphernalia (iPods, library books, etc., etc.) then you will get caught, and you will get in trouble.  There is also an amazing pizza shop in Pittsburgh, meaning that is gives you amazing indigestion for amazingly long periods of time, that we are not allowed to go to during school-even if we have a free period.  And, when we walk in, if the TV is playing sports, and what I'm about to say (type?) is 100% true, they are required to turn it off (note the italics, bold-ing, and underline).  "By whom?" you ask?  By none other than the principal, who lives-again-literally, around the corner from the store.  I wonder why he banned it? (He said sarcastically)

This will be my last post from home, as I am on my last morning of winter break.  I will try to blog during english class as extra credit (but only when I have no more work to be done), but I only have access to the computers on Thursdays.  I would like to thank everyone for reading this blog and giving me feedback, and if you guys want to give me feedback, but won't be able to see me anytime soon, feel free to comment on the post itself.

To be continued...

About the teachers...

Now, although it seems like I don't like the school, I, in actuality, do.  I just NEED wifi, so I was joking un-named person (yeah, you know who you are.  ooh, that's the first time I've ever had to say that for a reason!)  The teachers are awesome.  Except for the english principal...  As one of my friends would say, she couldn't find her way out of a paper bag.  She's dumb as a cucumber.  I could go on...  But I digress.  The teachers are great at what they do, and I love the classes.  The timing of the classes is a little weird, though...  And guess who set them up?  The english principal - makes sense.  Now, the hebrew principal is a whole 'nother story.  He's a genius, in my opinion, and his father - who teaches at the school - is a genius also, possibly - no, definitely - even more so.  Although, it can get a little weird going to a school where the principal is your Rabbi's wife's brother...

To Be Continued...

First Post and backstory (kinda...)

So...  First post.  Kinda weird, but ok...
So, I'm Jewish (as if you didn't know by the "yeshiva").  Which means I have to go to a private school. Out of state.  I live in Illinois, but reside in Pittsburgh.  Now, there is no dorm at my school, meaning: we have to board at people's houses-whom we don't even know.  Fun.
The people I stay at, lets call them the "Greenbergs", are...  ummm... eccentric.  Rabbi Greenberg is a prison chaplain (who has been arrested for  "free innocent people" marches 8 times), while Mrs. Greenberg is the principal of the girls' school (oh, and did I mention there are two distinct schools-one for girls and one for boys?).  They had 2 or 3 kids, even after living with them for almost 6 months I'm not sure, two of them twins.  We (the other-yes, other-there are 4 of us-boarders and I got their old rooms.  To be continued (probably because its almost 12 am)...