Start of the Season

Just a quick note to update life here in Tel Aviv. The weather has been beautiful, the people (fans, even?) have been great, and the nightlife is amazing! As a New Yorker from Manhattan, I've been admittedly biased towards the social scene at home, but Tel Aviv certainly gives it a run for its money in some ways. The sheer number of people out at the Breakfast Club was pretty impressive. I have great, great hope for the future of Israel as a major player on the world stage going forward. So unbelievable to see how in the middle of a desert and in the midst of so many dangerously misguided enemies they've created a little strip of utopia for the international community to enjoy.

Oh, yes - baseball! We had our first practice yesterday. I threw off a mound made of soil, and my cleats kept getting stuck. An inauspicious debut! But once I stopped falling over I threw pretty well, I thought. We don't know who will be getting the opening day start - it's probably going to be between me, Mike Kerfeld, and Rafael Rojano, from Columbia. Looks like we have a pretty solid squad, and I'm definitely thinking we're one of the favorites for the championship this year. The field at Petach Tikva is great! The field at Tel Aviv's Sportek, however, needs work.

Must run - going with a teammate to check out the local town of Ramat Hasharon on our new bicycles we bought yesterday. Shalom!