5-24-09
Wake up pretty late, around 3pm. I haven't gotten a lot of sleep in the past few days. Ross and I go to the grocery store with the intent of buying a roll each, but instead we return with a full stock of food: this is the danger of going shopping hungry! Zohar comes home! Tells us the story of how he was arrested in Jordan! He was biking in Jordan, went to sleep on the side of the road, and apparently, it was army territory, so he awoke the next morning to a soldier with a gun! They bussed him around from base to base the whole day, I guess trying to figure out what to do with him. At one comedic point, all the soldiers on this one base were trying to ride his bike. At another point, he's in a big shot commander's office with nice couches and floor, and one soldier comes in with a dripping bag of fruit and vegetables taken from zo's bag and asks, "Can we throw away?" ha! what an experience. At the end of the day, they get him a taxi back to the Israeli border. Boy. Only zohar. Gertz comes soon after. We go outside to chill, but it's chilly so we run back in. Gertz makes a delicious tuna/pasta/mushroom soup mix that we eat for dinner - Gertz is really a good guy. Sometime soon after (around 8pm), I realize today's date: the 24th. "Hey Abba, don't we leave on the 25th???" Oops. We are leaving tomorrow at 8am! I also realize that we were gonna have our dinner tomorrow night. Quickly, I call a taxi to get us to the airport (they will be here at 3:45am) and call Ilana. She says she can come out later tonight. sweet. Quickly, the 5 of us (Me abba ross zo gertz) march down to the kotel, cause abba shouldn't leave without seeing the kotel. Abba does maariv, says it's hard to get exciting over an outer retaining wall. Ross and Zo walk back, and Gertz Abba and I take the bus back. We get off not exactly where we should, but make it back to the flat nonetheless. Back at the flat, it's time for gertz to go home and Ilana just showed up and is waiting downstairs. Gertz and I walk down, I hug Gertz goodbye: He really added to my Israel experience. Ilana and I wait downstairs and talk while waiting for Ross and Zo to come down. Ilana also really added to my Israel experience, we really had a wonderful time. Soon Ross and Zo are down, and we walk over to the bar with good music but no dance floor. Uri is there! with a friend. We make a table of six, Ross and zo split a margarita. Uri gets pretty drunk :) Friend leaves, and we all go back to the flat. Zo makes tea, Abba and I think we're totally packed, but I don't realize that I will forget my tent! I hug Ross and Zo goodbye (Ross: do we really need to hug? I'm gonna be living with you this summer!) Uri and Ilana come down with us. Hug Uri goodbye, then he runs off to pee. He's funny drunk and I think he's gonna have a lot of fun at this camp in Texas this summer. I know there's only a 50% chance I'll ever see Uri or Ilana again. How am I supposed to deal with meeting people like this?? Kiss Ilana goodbye, and the two of them go home. Abba and I get on our cab. Goodbye Jerusalem.
5-23-09
Wake up around 6am because the sun has risen about an inch, and it's unbearably hot! I can't be under the sleeping bag any longer, and soon it's too hot to simply be out in the sun. I jump in the water to cool down. Ross and Ilana and I walk over to another spring, but it would be crazy to swim in a hotspring right now. We pack up camp. Ilana and Gershon walk back to their cars, while Uri, Ross and I take the more direct route straight up to the road. Gershon and Ilana take a while coming by, and we soon learn why: Their cars were broken into last night! Gershon got his GPS stolen too. There is too much hate in this country. Ilana is upset that they just bashed her windows and didn't take anything. I give Gershon a hug. He is bummed and goes home. (update: They both got insurance to cover the damages. Newer update: Ilana got her car even more busted, rear ended and then rear ending, a few days later). Uri, Ilana, Ross and I (the classic four now) go to the spring with the big boulder and the snakes. Swim a bit, eat fruit. We make Ilana and Uri try PB&Js, and the PB&J and oreos. I think they think they're pretty gross! Oh well, you can't argue about taste. On our way back to the car, I invite them to dinner at our place on Monday night, because at the time I thought Abba and I are leaving Tuesday morning! I have yet to realize that our flight is early Monday morning! oh well. more about this later. Fall asleep on the car ride home. Keren invites me and Ross to Sushi night at her friend Tamar's house. It's us and a bunch of Israeli girls who I don't know, but soon I recognize Karen, and Noga. We smoke really powerful nargilla outside, and have great Sushi, which is gone in a matter of minutes. Ross is too spacey to realize we're eating it, and doesn't get any! A lot of people leave (we had about 15) and soon it is a group of about 7, with one Israeli guy who is really nice to us. In fact, every one is really nice to us, and we stay on hebrew basically the entire time, which is great. I get a lot of practice, but I think I only understand about a third to a half of what is being said. Don't ask me to remember any of it now. Great night. Karen takes us home.
Wake up around 6am because the sun has risen about an inch, and it's unbearably hot! I can't be under the sleeping bag any longer, and soon it's too hot to simply be out in the sun. I jump in the water to cool down. Ross and Ilana and I walk over to another spring, but it would be crazy to swim in a hotspring right now. We pack up camp. Ilana and Gershon walk back to their cars, while Uri, Ross and I take the more direct route straight up to the road. Gershon and Ilana take a while coming by, and we soon learn why: Their cars were broken into last night! Gershon got his GPS stolen too. There is too much hate in this country. Ilana is upset that they just bashed her windows and didn't take anything. I give Gershon a hug. He is bummed and goes home. (update: They both got insurance to cover the damages. Newer update: Ilana got her car even more busted, rear ended and then rear ending, a few days later). Uri, Ilana, Ross and I (the classic four now) go to the spring with the big boulder and the snakes. Swim a bit, eat fruit. We make Ilana and Uri try PB&Js, and the PB&J and oreos. I think they think they're pretty gross! Oh well, you can't argue about taste. On our way back to the car, I invite them to dinner at our place on Monday night, because at the time I thought Abba and I are leaving Tuesday morning! I have yet to realize that our flight is early Monday morning! oh well. more about this later. Fall asleep on the car ride home. Keren invites me and Ross to Sushi night at her friend Tamar's house. It's us and a bunch of Israeli girls who I don't know, but soon I recognize Karen, and Noga. We smoke really powerful nargilla outside, and have great Sushi, which is gone in a matter of minutes. Ross is too spacey to realize we're eating it, and doesn't get any! A lot of people leave (we had about 15) and soon it is a group of about 7, with one Israeli guy who is really nice to us. In fact, every one is really nice to us, and we stay on hebrew basically the entire time, which is great. I get a lot of practice, but I think I only understand about a third to a half of what is being said. Don't ask me to remember any of it now. Great night. Karen takes us home.
5-22-09
To the shuk with ross to get food: tonight we are going camping with Ilana and Uri and friend. Buy fruit and vegetables, and PB&J, and oreos. I get stuff at the grocery store, while Ross gets and SAT book: he's taking it the day or the day after he returns to the states. Fail to meet up at our meeting place, oh well, so we both meet back at the house. Noam swings by and the three of us hang in the park a bit. Soon Ilana and Uri come by and we're off to the dead sea! Yam HaMalach! For some reason it has yet to click with me that this is the sea with all the salt (despite the names dead sea, and yam hamalach). On the way we find out about a sorta hippie party/maybe a rave? It looks cool but it's 200 shekel! The "guard" is some young dude with a beard. To the dead sea: Park on the side of the road at the top of steep slopes going down to the sea. Classic: no one knows exactly where we are going. We walk for about 20 minutes, with a snack break, until finally we meet up with Gershon, and shortly after, find a suitable site. Gershon is quiet (I think) and calm, bearded, our age but looks older, in the airforce, and he seems huggable. Make a campfire and delicious soup. Play guitar a little, "swim" or just float. Great temperature. Ilana and I go on a walk to a hotspring; discover something new. Back at the campfire, smoke Hookah with the guys (Ross is already asleep), and it's late. Sleep beside Ilana, comfortable.
To the shuk with ross to get food: tonight we are going camping with Ilana and Uri and friend. Buy fruit and vegetables, and PB&J, and oreos. I get stuff at the grocery store, while Ross gets and SAT book: he's taking it the day or the day after he returns to the states. Fail to meet up at our meeting place, oh well, so we both meet back at the house. Noam swings by and the three of us hang in the park a bit. Soon Ilana and Uri come by and we're off to the dead sea! Yam HaMalach! For some reason it has yet to click with me that this is the sea with all the salt (despite the names dead sea, and yam hamalach). On the way we find out about a sorta hippie party/maybe a rave? It looks cool but it's 200 shekel! The "guard" is some young dude with a beard. To the dead sea: Park on the side of the road at the top of steep slopes going down to the sea. Classic: no one knows exactly where we are going. We walk for about 20 minutes, with a snack break, until finally we meet up with Gershon, and shortly after, find a suitable site. Gershon is quiet (I think) and calm, bearded, our age but looks older, in the airforce, and he seems huggable. Make a campfire and delicious soup. Play guitar a little, "swim" or just float. Great temperature. Ilana and I go on a walk to a hotspring; discover something new. Back at the campfire, smoke Hookah with the guys (Ross is already asleep), and it's late. Sleep beside Ilana, comfortable.
5- 20 and 21 -09
Take a taxi to Hezekiah's tunnel with Ross and Abba, and take the trek through the tunnel. It's long: I can't believe people carved this out with primitive tools! We hear the voice of a spirit from Peoria, but he is gone when we exit the tunnel. Meet Eleff at the end, and he nearly pees himself on the ride home: We take a "cab" which is just some Arab guy's car. The driver doesn't speak and he takes a short cut and one point. The entire time, Eleff is sure we are dead. We make it home safe, and he even gives us 10 shekel back, saying we paid him to much. This was a good experience for Eleff to have, I think. He leaves for his flight home. A big thing happens today: Abba finds HaShamen. Finally, he has given up on caring for his stomach, and he asks Ross, "What is the best shwarma place in Jerusalem?" Ross recommends HaShamen, and abba and I trek over there to pick up three orders of shwarma, and three goldstar beers. Dinner: Abba absolutely loves it, you can tell in every bite. Abba says he also saw a Newman-type character at the restaurant lovingly and guiltily eating his shwarma. Big crisis: we forgot to put the beers in the freezer! If only they were icecold! After a near spiritual dinner, Ross and I meet up with Gertz to check out the concert in the park behind our house. We are interested in tickets, and we get conflicting reports: some people tell us they will be available later, some tell us they are all sold out, some say just the pre-orders are sold out. A big balagan. Classic Israel. We hear Macy Gray practicing (awesome!) and back to the flat with no more knowledge about what was going on than when we left! Noam and his friend Chud (nickname, but boy, what a nick name) come by. Take a hookah outside and hang out for a bit. Over to the concert, we all try to by tickets, some using zohar's ID as a student pass. Depending on the vendor and our student status, we all get tickets at different prices, but at least we all get tickets. See Uri! briefly. They won't let us bring the arak in, so we go back to the park, and the guys finish the arak. Walk in to the concert with Ross and meet up with Ilana! also find Gertz and Noam. We dance a lot, chill in the back some, and keep buying beer. I dance a lot with Ilana, I think/hope something's happening. Idan Reichel is cool, then a woman who starts badly but ends funky. Macy Gray: Black, american band. Profane, probably on drugs. "...and now you've spent all this time and money on dinner, when you coulda just spent the whole time fuckin!" I'm not sure much of the audience can understand her Ebonics, which is kinda funny. Back us singers are great too, though some people don't realize that it's standard for background singer's of this kinda band (or gospel music) to be VERY large black women. Great show, highlight of the evening. Break from 2-4, we go up to the flat to get water, then we all go to another party-type scene a few blocks away. Noam and I get two shekel for beer deposits! See Uri again, but just for a second. He's with a lot of GFs. Run into the NaNachman crew. There are blasting loud dance music, and we dance with them for a second. Back to the concert, and sit for a bit through a cool horn band. Ilana is basically asleep on my lap, this poor girl has to teach class tomorrow. We all get up for the next band, which isn't very good. It is the imitation of rock, all the components are there, without actually being good at all. We go to the far end of the park, and kinda sleep for a bit. Noam suggests we go up to the roof to watch the sun rise, but the roof is locked. Grab hookah and sit outside in the park. Uri come over! We go get breakfast/coffee at a cafe downtown. When Ilana leaves she takes me to the store she used to work in which is a great art supplies / toy store. Say goodbye to her. Walk with the guys back to the flat. Noam and I hang out outside for a while. I get a very long lecture about Israeli politics. See abba, who is going out to buy water (he doesn't trust Israeli water anymore) and find a tour bus around the city. Back upstairs to sleep in the flat. Noam and Chud leave to see friends. Ross and I try to sleep a while. Today is Yom Yerushalaim, and there's a huge party/parade outside our apartment. This crowd is very different from last night. Lots of white and blue clothes and people in kippot, people wearing Israeli flags. Scarily nationalistic. Ross, Gertz and I sit in the park next door and watch all the going ons, Gertz and Noam go on the march though east Jerusalem. Gertz comes back by the aggression of the marchers, and Noam comes back annoyed that he has to feel uncomfortable in "our land". Still, Gertz couldn't help but to buy a t-shirt! It has a picture of two Jews with a pulley taking off the Dome of the Rock, and the caption is "Sometimes you have to take off your Kippah". Gertz Ross and I meer up with Karen and Yael, hang out in the park, then go out to a bar. They play good music, but I'm tired and there's no dancing, so I go home early. Luckily, I meet Noam and Chud right outside, and they have the key to get in! Home, sleep.
Take a taxi to Hezekiah's tunnel with Ross and Abba, and take the trek through the tunnel. It's long: I can't believe people carved this out with primitive tools! We hear the voice of a spirit from Peoria, but he is gone when we exit the tunnel. Meet Eleff at the end, and he nearly pees himself on the ride home: We take a "cab" which is just some Arab guy's car. The driver doesn't speak and he takes a short cut and one point. The entire time, Eleff is sure we are dead. We make it home safe, and he even gives us 10 shekel back, saying we paid him to much. This was a good experience for Eleff to have, I think. He leaves for his flight home. A big thing happens today: Abba finds HaShamen. Finally, he has given up on caring for his stomach, and he asks Ross, "What is the best shwarma place in Jerusalem?" Ross recommends HaShamen, and abba and I trek over there to pick up three orders of shwarma, and three goldstar beers. Dinner: Abba absolutely loves it, you can tell in every bite. Abba says he also saw a Newman-type character at the restaurant lovingly and guiltily eating his shwarma. Big crisis: we forgot to put the beers in the freezer! If only they were icecold! After a near spiritual dinner, Ross and I meet up with Gertz to check out the concert in the park behind our house. We are interested in tickets, and we get conflicting reports: some people tell us they will be available later, some tell us they are all sold out, some say just the pre-orders are sold out. A big balagan. Classic Israel. We hear Macy Gray practicing (awesome!) and back to the flat with no more knowledge about what was going on than when we left! Noam and his friend Chud (nickname, but boy, what a nick name) come by. Take a hookah outside and hang out for a bit. Over to the concert, we all try to by tickets, some using zohar's ID as a student pass. Depending on the vendor and our student status, we all get tickets at different prices, but at least we all get tickets. See Uri! briefly. They won't let us bring the arak in, so we go back to the park, and the guys finish the arak. Walk in to the concert with Ross and meet up with Ilana! also find Gertz and Noam. We dance a lot, chill in the back some, and keep buying beer. I dance a lot with Ilana, I think/hope something's happening. Idan Reichel is cool, then a woman who starts badly but ends funky. Macy Gray: Black, american band. Profane, probably on drugs. "...and now you've spent all this time and money on dinner, when you coulda just spent the whole time fuckin!" I'm not sure much of the audience can understand her Ebonics, which is kinda funny. Back us singers are great too, though some people don't realize that it's standard for background singer's of this kinda band (or gospel music) to be VERY large black women. Great show, highlight of the evening. Break from 2-4, we go up to the flat to get water, then we all go to another party-type scene a few blocks away. Noam and I get two shekel for beer deposits! See Uri again, but just for a second. He's with a lot of GFs. Run into the NaNachman crew. There are blasting loud dance music, and we dance with them for a second. Back to the concert, and sit for a bit through a cool horn band. Ilana is basically asleep on my lap, this poor girl has to teach class tomorrow. We all get up for the next band, which isn't very good. It is the imitation of rock, all the components are there, without actually being good at all. We go to the far end of the park, and kinda sleep for a bit. Noam suggests we go up to the roof to watch the sun rise, but the roof is locked. Grab hookah and sit outside in the park. Uri come over! We go get breakfast/coffee at a cafe downtown. When Ilana leaves she takes me to the store she used to work in which is a great art supplies / toy store. Say goodbye to her. Walk with the guys back to the flat. Noam and I hang out outside for a while. I get a very long lecture about Israeli politics. See abba, who is going out to buy water (he doesn't trust Israeli water anymore) and find a tour bus around the city. Back upstairs to sleep in the flat. Noam and Chud leave to see friends. Ross and I try to sleep a while. Today is Yom Yerushalaim, and there's a huge party/parade outside our apartment. This crowd is very different from last night. Lots of white and blue clothes and people in kippot, people wearing Israeli flags. Scarily nationalistic. Ross, Gertz and I sit in the park next door and watch all the going ons, Gertz and Noam go on the march though east Jerusalem. Gertz comes back by the aggression of the marchers, and Noam comes back annoyed that he has to feel uncomfortable in "our land". Still, Gertz couldn't help but to buy a t-shirt! It has a picture of two Jews with a pulley taking off the Dome of the Rock, and the caption is "Sometimes you have to take off your Kippah". Gertz Ross and I meer up with Karen and Yael, hang out in the park, then go out to a bar. They play good music, but I'm tired and there's no dancing, so I go home early. Luckily, I meet Noam and Chud right outside, and they have the key to get in! Home, sleep.
5-19-09
Today's main activity: Walk with abba to the old city, with Hezekiah's tunnel in mind, but get a bit lost. We get to the end of Hezekiah's tunnel. Abba makes friends with the trinket/food vendor at the end, who apparently also used to do digs. Take a taxi home and abba is pooped. Ross and I make great cheese pasta for dinner, and cold cut sandwiches. Drink a lot of Arak and go out with Ross and Eleff to our bar. Meet a couple israeli dudes, young, hippyish who tell us about a protest for palestians on Thursday. We can't really understand the flyer, but it sounds cool. Later we learn that on Yom Yerushalaim a bunch of people meet by the old city and march through east Jersusalem. They have to have soldiers there to make sure violence doesn't break out between the Jews and the palestinians who live there. I guess the protest is protesting this march. Meet about 4 people tonight, and they're all art students of some sort. This is a cool bar.
Today's main activity: Walk with abba to the old city, with Hezekiah's tunnel in mind, but get a bit lost. We get to the end of Hezekiah's tunnel. Abba makes friends with the trinket/food vendor at the end, who apparently also used to do digs. Take a taxi home and abba is pooped. Ross and I make great cheese pasta for dinner, and cold cut sandwiches. Drink a lot of Arak and go out with Ross and Eleff to our bar. Meet a couple israeli dudes, young, hippyish who tell us about a protest for palestians on Thursday. We can't really understand the flyer, but it sounds cool. Later we learn that on Yom Yerushalaim a bunch of people meet by the old city and march through east Jersusalem. They have to have soldiers there to make sure violence doesn't break out between the Jews and the palestinians who live there. I guess the protest is protesting this march. Meet about 4 people tonight, and they're all art students of some sort. This is a cool bar.
5-18-09
Go with Abba to the old city. It's a bit of a walk in the sun and abba is still sick. See a museum which is not that cool. Long walk back with lots of breaks. Ross and I meet Ilana at McDonalds: our classic meeting place. She takes us up to a high peak, which is beautiful, then a crowded spring, where the water is low, and then head over to a pretty cool canyon. We do some moderate hiking and climbing, and Ross and I both have our guitars, strap breaks on my guitar, and front breaks again, but I'll keep, love, and play that thing in any condition: I biked with it to Boston, I had it with me in Iceland, and all of Europe, and Mexico. I couldn't ask for a better travel companion. Maybe he could :) After a few backtracks, (Ilana: I know this place like the back of my hand!) we finally make it to the maayan. There is a group of Israelis already there, plus this one gorgeous columbian BABE. Set up hookah next to them, chill with them and they offer us beers. Take jumps from a large boulder into the maayan. Perfectly cold for the 90 + heat. Until now: we and Ilana have conversed almost solely in hebrew. yes! Hilarious moment: one of the guys from the group finds a snake between the rocks. All the other Israeli guys are standing by the side watching. Ross goes and grabs his camera, and takes a picture of all the Israelis in their underwear, rather than the snake. Pretty funny picture. Ross and I jam a bit, then a guy comes over who is really good at guitar, but he doesn't really care to jam. The sun is setting so we head back to the car. Ilana drops us off at home. Make pasta. Go out and play a 3 on 3 game of basketball. Meet a guy who is half israeli and half american. we talk about poverty, and health care. He is very conservative: of the opinion that if you can't afford health care, that's your problem. Ross and I go back to the flat, and kinda consider going out, but we're exhausted.
Go with Abba to the old city. It's a bit of a walk in the sun and abba is still sick. See a museum which is not that cool. Long walk back with lots of breaks. Ross and I meet Ilana at McDonalds: our classic meeting place. She takes us up to a high peak, which is beautiful, then a crowded spring, where the water is low, and then head over to a pretty cool canyon. We do some moderate hiking and climbing, and Ross and I both have our guitars, strap breaks on my guitar, and front breaks again, but I'll keep, love, and play that thing in any condition: I biked with it to Boston, I had it with me in Iceland, and all of Europe, and Mexico. I couldn't ask for a better travel companion. Maybe he could :) After a few backtracks, (Ilana: I know this place like the back of my hand!) we finally make it to the maayan. There is a group of Israelis already there, plus this one gorgeous columbian BABE. Set up hookah next to them, chill with them and they offer us beers. Take jumps from a large boulder into the maayan. Perfectly cold for the 90 + heat. Until now: we and Ilana have conversed almost solely in hebrew. yes! Hilarious moment: one of the guys from the group finds a snake between the rocks. All the other Israeli guys are standing by the side watching. Ross goes and grabs his camera, and takes a picture of all the Israelis in their underwear, rather than the snake. Pretty funny picture. Ross and I jam a bit, then a guy comes over who is really good at guitar, but he doesn't really care to jam. The sun is setting so we head back to the car. Ilana drops us off at home. Make pasta. Go out and play a 3 on 3 game of basketball. Meet a guy who is half israeli and half american. we talk about poverty, and health care. He is very conservative: of the opinion that if you can't afford health care, that's your problem. Ross and I go back to the flat, and kinda consider going out, but we're exhausted.
5-17-09
Abba and I go to the bank (successfully withdraw this time!) and then to Ben Yehuda st. because Abba has to buy presents for Mom, Lewie, and Sophie. Mom: a map, Sophie: a Jersey. Sit around for a while cause Abba's feeling sick. Take abba home. Meet up with the guys at a huge bookstore, looks like they were just hanging out here. Gertz, Eleff, and Ross find three copies of Marquez's "Love in the Time of Cholera", so they are starting a book group :) Go and get 25 shekel pizzas. Eleff uses the bathroom, and forgets to give the key back. About 15 minutes later, the owner can't find the key for another customer. He asks us, and we all swear up and down that we don't have it! Finally, after another 5 minutes, Eleff: Oh yeah, here is is! in my pocket! Classic. Go on another excursion to find flashcards for Ross. Zohar is leaving for Jordan tomorrow, so he and I go to the grocery store for food. Back at the apartment, Ross and I make tuna sandwiches. Zohar hates tuna, so we're really anticipating his absence, we have bunches of cans of tuna waiting, ready. Go out, but don't really hang out anywhere. See a guy with a kippah and a backpack who walks just like Eleff.
Abba and I go to the bank (successfully withdraw this time!) and then to Ben Yehuda st. because Abba has to buy presents for Mom, Lewie, and Sophie. Mom: a map, Sophie: a Jersey. Sit around for a while cause Abba's feeling sick. Take abba home. Meet up with the guys at a huge bookstore, looks like they were just hanging out here. Gertz, Eleff, and Ross find three copies of Marquez's "Love in the Time of Cholera", so they are starting a book group :) Go and get 25 shekel pizzas. Eleff uses the bathroom, and forgets to give the key back. About 15 minutes later, the owner can't find the key for another customer. He asks us, and we all swear up and down that we don't have it! Finally, after another 5 minutes, Eleff: Oh yeah, here is is! in my pocket! Classic. Go on another excursion to find flashcards for Ross. Zohar is leaving for Jordan tomorrow, so he and I go to the grocery store for food. Back at the apartment, Ross and I make tuna sandwiches. Zohar hates tuna, so we're really anticipating his absence, we have bunches of cans of tuna waiting, ready. Go out, but don't really hang out anywhere. See a guy with a kippah and a backpack who walks just like Eleff.
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