Naively, before we moved to the US, I thought I was well prepared for a major change of atmosphere. After all, I have done it before and survived. Mind you, I was much younger back then, and there was less to risk. Still, it wasn’t easy.

The first year in the UK was tough. I was 22, ending a couple of years of traveling, and thinking that I can take on the world! During the first few months I was floating in Euphoria – exciting new people, new sounds and new flavours! Everything was going great! Then came the disillusionment, a stab in the back by someone I thought to be a friend that led to a grave disappointment and depression. It took a whole year for acceptance to sink in, and only then I finally started to enjoy my new life.

That was the reason I thought I was ready to go through it again. I knew it wasn’t going to be easy, and I thought I knew what to expect. Now I realize, that I was not entirely wrong, just very late. Last time the downfall was the result of realization that not everything and everyone around me was wonderful. It was a culture shock that came when the novelty expired and reality unraveled. A process that has two steps so far in my current relocation.

The first step lasted nine months, in which I was studying hard, surrounded by other (mostly) international students who were going through a similar experience. I think that during that time I learned more about the culture of India than that of the USA. The second step started a couple of weeks ago, when I began my internship. Now I am finally learning about the real local culture, and I must admit that I am not liking it at all. Culture shock is hitting hard once again.

Ever since we moved to Cincinnati, we have been trying to do everything to help us feel at home away from home. Our greatest effort was in the obvious direction – food. Nothing feels like home more than the scents and flavours one is used to. The lack of kitchen space in which to place a blander and make our own hummus forced us to look outside – and that was easier than expected!

As it turns out, hummus is the latest fashion. Just like in Tel Aviv, where we had the Year of the Passion Fruit, followed by the Year of Quinoa, this is Cincinnati’s Year of Hummus! However, they didn’t quite get it right. Hummus is served in the trendiest cafés and bars in the form of a round spoonful over a piece of lettuce, with a side of dried pieces of pitta bread, or worse, in a sandwich, accompanied by cheese and avocado! NNNNOOOO! They just don’t get it! They do not understand that hummus is the food of the people! A plateful must be served along with a basket of fresh and soft pitta bread, and preferably a few balls of falafel and an Israeli salad!

Today we realized that it is not the locals’ fault they don’t know about hummus, it’s ours as representatives of the Israelis in the area. Well, not us personally, we didn’t have the chance, but those who have been here for a long time and did a very bad job of it. I must admit expectations were high. As we set our way to Kinneret Cafe we discussed the smell of hummus and looked forward to the softness of the pitta, and of course, the disappointment was just as great. We ordered a falafel plate in which the falafel had the consistency of something that was recently taken out of a microwave and the hummus was horribly spiced. Bread was not provided until we asked for it – and then we got a single little pitta bread that was supposed to be enough for both of us. As we left the place we noted that we need something else to get that horrible flavour out of our mouths.

Our conclusion is that the Russians are doing a much better job. Next time we feel like hummus we will go back to Mirage!

Outside In, originally uploaded by Deviant Brainwave.

This picture was taken indoors, at the Grand Canal Shoppes (what is it with the Olde English spelling?!) at the Venetian. It seems that the trendiest thing in Vegas these days is to bring the outdoors in, to give a feeling of outside daylight comfort at any time of the day. The old no-clocks and tinted windows are just not enough anymore. I will probably post more photos in the next few days, including the indoors of Paris, New York, and other world cities.

Usually I have a very low tolerance for tackiness, but I went to Las Vegas with a decision to keep an open mind and enjoy the kitsch. I must admit I appreciated the craftsmanship that was required to rebuild the world, and in some places it was even done quite well. I even managed to enjoy the exploding fountains of the Bellagio, though I must admit that I am happy that we chose to stay in the more plain and moderately priced Stratosphere.

Holiday is good, but sometimes being back home is even better. In continuation of my previous post, I don’t think I fit into any of the groups mentioned, and neither does E. We were observers in Vegas, which may be considered a separate group all together. We were overwhelmed and disoriented by the overbearing colours, lights and noises, and although we eventually got used to them, we were happy to go back to the peace of home and the comfort of our own bed. As much as I did enjoy the experience, I think that keeping it as a “once in a lifetime” one will be good enough for me.

I can’t really sit down by a pool and just soak the sun. It bores the hell out of me. So, instead, I make little notes of people-spotting observations.

From what I see, there are three main groups of people visiting Las Vegas, and maybe a couple of sub-groups that fall in-between. The first group is The Beautiful People. Oh, so many songs were written about them… They walk out of their hotels in the evening, the men in slick trousers and well-ironed shirts, and the women in shiny little dresses and matching delicate high heel sandals, all made-up and coiffed, on their way to the trendiest monosyllabic nightclub where they will see and be seen.

The second group is the Elderly Thrill Seekers (to be read with a hint of sarcasm). Their evenings will often pass in front of a glitzy mind-numbing slot machine, constantly hitting the same button, while a cigarette is idly dangling from the corner of their mouths.

The third group are the Family People. What the hell were they thinking?! Exposing their children to the debauchery of the Sin City?! What good is a fun ride or a show of erupting fountains if you need to walk through a casino hall just to get out of your room?

All these groups meet during the day right here, at the hotel’s pool. The Beautiful People holding a colourful frozen drink and showing off their perfect bodies in a minimal bikini. The Elderly Thrill Seekers with the fat of their bodies overflowing over their speedos, causing a communal gag reflex. And finally, the Families, running around, their noises overpowered by the loud dance music and their parents running after them with a camera ready at all times.

And where do we fall in? that’s a another story.

Since we started our academic career here, in Cincinnati, there have been several things that were neglected to a frequency of once a quarter. Here is a partial list of things only get done in between terms (not in any particular order):

1. Catch up on sleep
2. Party
3. Travel
4. Clean the flat (yach, I know…)
5. Shop for anything beyond the bare necessities (enter Jungle Book music)
6. Decaffeinate

I am happy to announce that the spring quarter is finally over and we are starting to catch up! We’ve already slept quite a bit this weekend, took a day out for shopping, partied with some of our Indian friends from school (too much low quality American beer!), we are now on a break from the day’s cleaning and tomorrow evening we’ll be on our way to Vegas! Yes, your read it right, we are going to have some good time! I must admit that my decaffeinating has not been very successful, though (she typed while sipping the last drops of her Mocha Frappuccino®).

A couple of months ago, just when I was about to give up on seeing any live acts in the area, I got an email from the Gomez mailing list, letting me know that there is still hope. Yes, as summer is upon us, some interesting bands are finally arriving to the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky area, and Gomez was the first and very welcome sparrow. Maybe there is a little bit of culture in Cincinnati after all.

It was also a good opportunity to rediscover Gomez. For some reason Gomez have taken the back seat of my playlists in recent years. You know how it is, when you really like a band or an album and you listen to it constantly, until you get tired of it. Then, that album is slowly forgotten only to be found years later among waves of nostalgia and musical pleasure. The past few weeks were filled with such sentiments, building up to the gig.

First thing first, a few words must be said about the venue. The Madison Theater in Covington, KY, is a charming little place, a nice, clean and smoke-free with sitting areas in addition to the traditional standing mosh pit. I was pleased by the ease in which I found a parking place, the calm of the queue to get in, and the fact that I managed to find a sitting place from which I could see the entire show undisturbed by tall people and without hurting my feet. For a short person, this means a lot!

Sitting down did not stop me from totally immersing myself in the music, tapping my feet, clapping and moving to the rhythm. I probably looked ridiculous, but I don’t care. I enjoyed the good mix of good old songs and new ones from their latest album, A New Tide. Actually, the mix was such that it created long set-up times between songs, in which band members had to change their position on the stage, change instruments and get ready. No doubt, Gomez are well equipped – not only with different guitars that are suitable for different songs (unfortunately, the subtle differences escape me), but also with additional unexpected tools such as an alarm clock, laptops and even iPhones. The latter were used on one of the songs from the new album, and I must admit I cannot remember which song it was, but it was definitely a good way to thrill a geek like me. Other highlights included an amazing performance of Tijuana Lady and a not so perfect, but very funny rendition of Ruff Stuff, still one of my favourite Gomez songs.

The only thing I was missing during the show was someone to share it with. I constantly thought of how great it would have been if E. did not decide to skip it, and how amazing it would have been if my brother was with me. My brother likes Gomez ever since I played him their albums many many years ago, and he is probably the only person in Israel that have heard of them. I know he would have enjoyed it. Maybe next time…

Balcony, originally uploaded by Deviant Brainwave.

A little family of birds made a home in the little space between our roof and the gutter. The chicks twit happily when their mother comes back with lunch, and it can be quite a noisy but happy affair.

Some may consider such a nest as an inconvenience, but I’m just happy to have a little bit of nature near me. It is the upside of living in the middle of nowhere, and it is one of the things that make my life here bearable.

Snow?! In April?! Mad weather!

Before I moved to the US I considered some of the difficulties I experienced during the early days of my previous relocations. I remember communication as being the major problem I had when I first moved from Israel to the UK. Back in 1996, international phone calls were still expensive and not everyone had constant access to the Internet and related applications. I remember that during the first year my mum used to call me every Friday at the same time, and I had to make sure I was in my room to accept her call. At that time, few of my friends made their first steps into Instant Messaging, and with many of the others connection was lost forever.

My next move was easier. Email and IM were everywhere, and after moving back to Israel, I could still keep in touch with many of my friends in the UK. Eventually, most of those connections also faded away, but this was more due to changing personal directions than technological difficulties.

My contemplations before moving to the US, and my consultation with friends who were in similar positions, brought up the conclusion that these days technology helps solving the issue. There’s email, IM, VoIP and so many other communication technologies that can help me keep in touch. Yet, after my move, I realized that this abundance of technologies only creates a new problem. There are so many channels, that it is impossible to find the one that enables to keep in touch. Every friend has a different preferred channel, and it is difficult to follow. Some prefer Facebook and other Twitter. Although I am registered to both, I find it difficult to use any of them as a personal communication tool.

I currently have accounts on most of the popular IM applications (including MSN, Yahoo!, GTalk, Skype and ICQ), I’m listed on multiple social networking sites (Facebook, Linkedin, last.fm, Flickr and Twitter) and I have multiple email addresses. I try to follow all of them through Digsby (which I highly recommend), but I can’t see the wood for the trees. How can I find my friends and keep in touch? Which one should I follow to maintain personal communications with my friends? This even becomes more difficult as flavours change and my friends move from one channel to another quite frequently.

I am guessing that my friends may experience a similar problem when trying to keep in touch with me. Allow me to suggest technical solution for that: a “Universal Communication Preference Profile” or UCPP. This new protocol will list the types of communications, possibly with values that enable all my friends to know what the best way to contact me would be. Here’s mine:

• Broadcast ideas and opinions and general self-expression – Mode: Blog – Value: Deviant Brainwave
• Photo publishing – Mode: Social Network – Value: Flickr
• Broadcast personal status – Mode: Social Network – Value: Facebook
• Personal immediate communication – Mode: IM – Value: Any (via Digsby)
• Personal non-immediate communication – Mode: Email – Value: you probably have my address. If you don’t have it and want it, please leave a comment.
• Personal voice communication – Mode: VoIP or Phone – Value: Skype or my mobile
• Music listening habits – Mode: Social Network – Value: last.fm

Please help me develop my new standard, and let me know what other preferences should be listed. I would really be happy to see other people’s UCPP pages too – it would make keeping in touch so much easier!

Out My Window, originally uploaded by Deviant Brainwave.

Just another picture of flowers before I get too busy to blog.

I didn’t even have to go too far, as this tree is just outside our balcony. It was the last one to shed its bright red leaves in the autumn, and the first to show a white bloom now.