flatmate night out

It has been a busy last couple of weeks for me. They have been filled with finals (the past two weeks I have had 4), doing things that are fun before you go (eating at favorite restaurants, going out with friends, parties, talks, pictures, etc.) and doing things that are not fun before you go (laundry, packing, getting things sorted in Copenhagen, changing addresses, etc.) but undoubtedly a highlight was the 10/6 Brighton Street Flatmate Night out.

10/6 Brighton Street is inhabited by Mei Wong (the room to my right), Hamutal Meridor (room to my left) and me. In my 7 months here, we have been talking about going out on the town together and never had gotten around to it, until the other day. Just a couple of quick points about the flat dynamics that might make you feel like you know how things run around here a little bit better:

• Mei feeds us (and by us, I mainly mean me....because I am usually quite hungry) a lot
• Hamutal provides the wonderful smell of fresh coffee in the morning
• I provide, what I think is witty banter....which is much of the time met with blank stares
• I like scaring Mei. A lot. I think it is funny
• Mei does not like me scaring her. At all. She thinks it is dumb
• Hamutal is my source for new music and good movies - many of which we see
• I am generally the source of odd smells and inappropriate comments...but they let me slide
• They both take care of me
• They never cease to brighten my day
• I enjoy coming back to my flat because of them
• I will miss them a lot

That said, here are a couple of pictures from our night out and our time together.

mei (left) and hamutal (right)

mei and me having a confusing drink

a pat on the chin from hamutal

a pose for chinese new year

out for a laugh

mei looks pretty and i look like a car thief

me, avishai (hamutal's brother) and hamutal at a jazz club

basketball update

Here is a quick blurb about what is going on in my basketball life. Coming to Edinburgh, I was looking forward to playing different sports -- and I have taken up (term used loosely) squash and football (soccer) since coming. They have been fun, but I also have been playing some basketball.

I joined the University of Edinburgh basketball team upon arrival. I did want to note that basketball is not the main sport played in Scotland. Football, rugby, golf, squash and others usually rule the day with basketball being a distant 5th, 6th, or 7th. That said, I had more anxiety shooting a left-handed layup during tryouts than I had experienced in the last dozen years on the basketball court. I got over the short bout of nervousness and did make the club.

I ended up on the team and we would usually have 1 or 2 times on the court per week (be it a game or practice). We played against other Universities in Scotland such as University of Glasgow, Aberdeen, Stirling, etc. The team was made up of all kinds of nationalities with a few Americans, Canadians, Scots, an Australian, a Greek, and a few others.

Our team went undefeated in our League -- 7-0 -- and we won the Scottish League Championship. Hooray!



team photo











We just recently traveled to Sheffield, England to participate in the British playoffs (we were 1 of 16 teams in Britain to make it this far) and we lost by 6 points for our first defeat of the year. We played quite well and, that said, I would say that the better team won.

My basketball is not quite over yet as I am also participating on the Scottish University National Team. This is a group of 12 players from colleges and universities all over the country that are selected to represent Scotland in a tournament at the beginning of April. There will be a 4 day tournament where the University National team from Scotland will play similar teams from England, Ireland and Wales.

I have heard from people who have played on the team before that it's a good week that is filled with games during the day and camaraderie between all teams in the evening. The words "pints" and "pubs" come up often when speaking of the latter.

This will most likely be one of my last shots at competitive basketball -- and with certainty, it will be my last go in international competition -- so I am trying to savor my time on the court.

I'll leave with a few competition pictures. Until next time.




poking a scot in the chest while on defense











looking for a steal












awkward, awkward stance

diving / falling