Hey! Sadly, I am not... But you you want some suggestions on stuff to do, beyond the Taglit propaganda tour, let me know :)

Apart from that, I have a lot of friends in Tel Aviv, Haifa, and Jerusalem if you are up for party or meeting some burners!

Damn those poppy catchy beats in the norwegian song

I haven't followed the Israeli selection that well but one of my favorite artists is competing and from what I heard she is rocking it.

Her version of Karma Police is probably the best I have heard :D (filmed in old Jaffa)

After watching the Palestine Unerground Boiler Rool Documentary I was shocked the I only knew the israeli/palestinian part of the story (and music). I went deep into the featured artists from Ramallah and found some interesting and lovely gems!

This one is by Makimakkuk and its beautiful

There are also some interesting hip hop artists and beat makers. This guy, Al Nather, did a great job with this beat!

galen I will be in Freiburg on the 19th with some friends. Wanna join?

This is probably the most odd I ever felt during christmas. I am, mentally and emotionally, in a different place than I usually am during this time of the year.

I am visiting my family in Israel over the holidays. I was looking forward to this break for a long time but I seem to get less rest and more baggage to deal with. After all what happened this year, the pregnancy (and abortion), the breakup, starting therapy, the next heartbreak... I feel more lonely and vulnerable than I ever did, constantly on watch for a partner to go through this with, fully knowing that no band-aid will heal my wound. Knowing that I need to be fully content with myself, and not be reliant on someone else. It is hard though and I have no clue how I can stop myself from going into that cycle of thoughts.

I have about 10 months to finish my experiments for my thesis and then another 3-4 to write and hand it in. It feels weird that in about 1.5 years, my PhD will be over and my 12 years of being a student, officially over. What comes next? I wanted to travel a bit. Visit Japan, Argentina, and maybe get to Burning Man.

That reminds me, what are your "must do" things in the states? I love climbing, hicking, and good dance parties.

With all honesty, I am going to meet the girl I fell for a few months ago tomorrow morning and my brain is freaking out. I am scared of the feelings. Scared of the next reminder that, this relationship too, has no future and I will be trucking alone again.

I have to admit that I fell for it. Hardcore confirmation bias, looking for things that give me a positive result and not even one "No".

I felt ashamed. Being a scientist and knowing that I should not go this way. A nice reminder to what I am supposed to be doing instead of what I am currently doing.

It made me question our weekly discussion in the lab and how much we are plagued by confirmation bias. It doesn't help to have a PI that is a wishful thinker who knits stories like a professional. He is very successful though so I guess that is how the game works nowadays?

Hey bfx, it is sad to see you go, but I am sure you have your reasons.

For what it is worth, I always felt we had some synchronized lives here an there. Reading your posts on Pubski, the struggles you went through, the ways you dealt with them or the hobbies you chose to pursue (which somehow are the same as mine!). Maybe because we are in a similar age group and that is just normal but it always made it easy for me to relate to you and your situation.

I wish you all the best on what is coming next. If you ever happen to head to Europe or Israel, let me know :)

205$ to take a test. Wow...

Every time I read an article like that, I think one thing "the US is a fucked up country".

I studied for 6.5 years, got a federal loan called Bafög in which I get paid between 400-700 euros per month, an amount that is dependent on the income of my parents and the price of living in the city I am studying at. When my studies are over, I am give 5 years of time where I do not have to pay anything back, yet. Then I am given options to pay back a maximum of 10k euros. No matter how much I got, 10k is the maximum. In my case I got 15k euros in that time and had to pay back 10k. I opted to back it back all at once (savings and some help from my parents). And now I am debt free.

In parallel, students in the US are fucked. Is there even a way to come out of uni debt free? Or finish paying this back before you die? I read somewhere that if I have 10 dollars in my pocked and am debt free, I am better off than 15% of americans (link).

That is somehow fucked up. It feels like your economy, government and everything in that country is playing against the people instead of helping them out.

What I always wonder is. Why do people think that this is fine the way it is? Who wakes up in the morning and thinks "wow, I love how this country is treating me".

Love it! Reminded me something The National would sing!

Sounds interesting. How do I get a bottle to Europe to gift a friend? He is running a whiskey club for the past 5 years and I want him to blind taste this...

I also wonder how the whisky community is dealing with something like this. Are they against it because it defies the tradition? Or do they welcome it because the taste and quality is what counts?

I doubt there is a recording of it... I can check