I recently came back from the opportunity of a life time. A 2 week subsidized and organized trip, with 45 people, to Europe and Israel, to see, learn, and experience what it means to be Jewish. The trip was generosily sponsored by a Gateways branch called Russian American Jewish Experience.

To say that this trip was life changing is an understatement, because it went far beyond that and left me touched, moved, and inspired, not just in my mind, but also in my soul.

The trip went through Budapest, Vienna, and Israel, and viewed both the historial Jewish locations, as well as the ancient biblical ones. This included, but was not limited to ancient synanogues, memorials, grave sites and other places of consequences such as the place where Eichman sat as he ordered the execution of 600,000 Jews in the holocaust. We even had a 45 minute Q&A with one of Israel’s heros Natan Sharansky.

The Rabbis on the trip, Rabbi Reuven Ibragimov and Rabbi Jonathan Shippel, were very knowledgable, clear, and enthusiastic whenever I approached them about questions of Judaism and questions of life. On this trip, more than ever, an underlying theme that I have been thinking about appeared over and over.

The State of Personal Development

Over the years I have read hundreds of books and articles on personal development. I do not say this to boast my accomplishments, but to show that I think from a place of diverse sources. Despite my reading, the more I learn, the more I realize I don’t know, which is fine all the same. One thing that seemed true is that most ideas seemed to be a diluted, rephrased, or otherwise rehashed copy of something that came before it.

While I was born Jewish, I was born in the Soviet Union which did not alot me a chance for a Jewish education when I was young. Due to this fact I grew up secular, except for some traditional holidays such as Hanukkah. Like a magnet, in recent years, I’ve been attracted, and curious about learning where I came from and what is this Judaism that I’ve been labeled as.

I read a little bit, talked to a few people, consulted some rabbis, and one underlying theme appeared to me. This is the same theme that I mentioned I saw again during my trip to Israel. Most, if not all, personal development stems from Judaism. Judaism being the most ancient civilization alive today, is a civilization that brought with it ancient wisdom which has shaped the modern world and has given it mussar (character development), and morals as we know them. I learned that part of why Hitler wanted to eliminate Jews is because they made the world conscious of their souls, which meant they couldn’t act like animals without conscience.

Practical Applications

Just to be clear, this wasn’t an article to say “Hey, I’m Jewish, I’m better than you, and I was born with ancient wisdom.” That’s not the case at all. I firmly believe myself to be an equal with every human being. This isn’t a “Hey, you should look into becoming Jewish.” In fact, I would advise against it, because it’s a much more difficult life as an observant Jew.

The point of this is to tell you I’ve had an awesome trip, I’m back, and I did in fact learn some tremendous things I will be sharing with you in the future. On the other hand, I wouldn’t discourage you from looking at Jewish self-improvement books by ArtScroll or Feldheim publisher.

If you’ve had a trip that touched, move, and inspired you, or perhaps taught you a huge life lesson, please share it in the comments below.

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While there, I did some camera work for Tynan and Todd, so you can see Panama from the perspective of me, the camera guy.

Click here to view the embedded video.

You can also check out my write up of Panama if you missed it last week. As you can see I added the traveling category to this blog. That is because I’m planning on doing a decent amount of traveling. Every chance I get really. This is the perfect place to document what I learn along the way.

This Wednesday I got the opportunity to write a guest post for Liz Strauss over at successful-blog. It’s titled How To Win At Blogging and Keep It Real.

Attention: Don’t forget to download my free ebook, How to Get a Girlfriend!!

This coincides perfectly with what Tim Ferris was talking about last week, when he offered a challenge to create a 48 hour mini-retirement in order to see what one would do with free time. The point is that if you can’t be creative enough to have an awesome time now, than you’ll be bored and depressed once you reach retirement. What’s the point of creating a four hour work week, making more money, and opening up free time, if you can’t use that free time to have exciting adventures?

Panama – Alex Shalman Style

Personal development does not cease when one does a mini-retirement. I read books, I exercised doing crossfit, and created awesome content for your reading pleasure. What does cease is doing the same ol’ thing in the same ol’ setting. One thing this weekend did for me is made me realize that if my resources were unlimited, I would not be bored or depressed. With unlimited resources, or enough resources, or the amount of resources I have now, my life is awesome and full of adventures, and it’s going to be that way always.

Crossfit: Hardcore only please

It’s a shame that I had to go to Panama before I tried crossfit for the first time. However, if crossfit was the only thing I got out of this trip (which by far it wasn’t) than this trip was definitely worth it’s money. The exercising provided by crossfit are unique, fun, and varied… everything that a gym work out is not. In fact, crossfit is responsible for producing word class athletes and training certain military personnel.

A while back Tynan and Todd posted a video of themselves doing crossfit in the airport. While at the carnival, two Panamanian Goliath looking guys (they were JACKED) picked Tynan and Todd out of the crowd. It turns out they had read Life Nomadic, had seen that video, and were dedicated crossfit enthusiasts themselves. If crossfit gives you a body like these guys have, than I’m signed up and ready to go no questions asked.

Discipline: Unquestionable

In my on going efforts of Life Design Experiments my February challenge to myself was to wake up 6am and write from 6am – 8am. I wasn’t about to wussy out and let something like airplane flights, leaving the country, and being out late stop me from achieving my monthly goals.

The morning I left for this trip, I was very tired from being up most of the night. I boarded the airplane, which took off into the air at exactly 6am. I took out my moleskin and began to write for an hour, until 7, at which point I took out my laptop and finished the article.

Another night we were coming back in the wee hours of the night from the carnival in Las Tablas. I was armed with pretzels, nutella, and had already ingested a can of volatile ciclon, an energy drink that makes red bull look like a pink poodle. We finally pulled over to the side of the road so that we could make it home in one piece. Sure enough, at 6am I awoke, grabbed my trusty moleskin, and sat out on a log, to write, and watch the sun rise. This moment of writing was so majestic, and if it was the only thing I had gotten out of this trip (which by far it wasn’t) than this trip was definitely worth it’s time.

The Carnival: Transistmica

The first time we stepped out of the apartment, it became very apparent to me that I was walking around with a local celebrity. Todd is a carbon copy of Pibe Valderrama, who happens to be the national Soccer champ here in Panama. Imagine walking around with David Beckham around your local mall… this was just as cool. The locals cheered at us from all directions, at all times, at all locations “Pibe! Pibe! Pibe!”

The line to enter this carnival was exceptionally long. I estimate the there were tens of thousands of people in attendance. The carnival spanned several streets, and a 4 lane highway, on which a Reggaeton concert was held. Apparently there is no drinking or smoking age in Panama, or at least it was not strictly enforced, as youngins were walking around with cigarettes and beer cans. Lucky for us, they has a special line for touristas, and we got inside within a matter of minutes. My friend’s from New York/Jersey would find it highly unlikely that bouncers at a NYC club would stop what they are doing, and ask all the foreigners to come to the front of the line. This wouldn’t happen in NYC, but Panamanians are great!

The carnival itself was full of life, dancing, and cheering. The sides of the 4 lane highway were full of street vendors, selling food, trinkets, and confetti. Confetti? Yes, confetti and some sort of spray foam that people had no reservation about launching at anyone that came into range. It was perfectly acceptable behavior to run up to somebody and spray them in the eyes… I think Tynan might have to wear an eye patch after this trip.

The Beach: La Playa Rampio

We got to the beach about an hour before sundown and proceeded by taking a few snapshots and video footage. The coast was clean, the waters clean, and the docked boats colorful. A serene coast that complemented the green terrain, speckled with small huts.

An opportunity to run on the beach, by the crashing waves, had presented itself. Being something I’ve always wanted to do, but had never attempted, I went for a jog and realized my dream. We ran until it got dark, and then Tynan and I headed back towards the car as Todd kept running.

To our unpleasant surprise we discovered that as soon as the sun sets, the beach becomes completely infested with creepy crawly crabs. This was seriously something like Indiana Jones meets Pitch Black. Tynan and I found a huge fall tree, and climbed way on top of it. I sent a spit ball flying a few feet ahead, just to see it swarmed by the slithery creatures of the night. They were onto my scent.

At this point we were sure that Todd was eaten by these nocturnal monsters, but to our dissapointment… I mean relief, he returned. We were happy to learn that the crabs were very much afraid of Todd, which gave us an opportunity to get back to the car and continue our adventure towards the carnival in Las Tablas.

The Carnival: Las Tablas

This carnival is considered one of the best in the land… seriously the second best in the world. I have never been at a party so large, with such elaborate display of community and participation. You do not watch the carnival at Las Tablas, you participate in it.

There are two major streets in Las Tablas, that have an on going competition (think Romeo and Juliet) amongst each other. During this time of the year, they gather forces, and compete in a good ol’ fashion Carnival. Upon our arrival, at 7:30pm, the streets were already full of life. A man wielding a flag led the parade, which involved dozens of citizens, and band members. After some cajoling, I had talked Tynan into taking the flag and leading the parade. It looked like he was leading the Panamanian revolution.

Each street had taken elaborate measures to find the most beautiful girls in their town, and vote upon who would be the carnival’s queen of the year. Each queen was hoisted upon her own float, which was tremendous in size, and made out of gold. These floats were followed by others, which were followed by even more.

We were fortunate enough to score some seats in a DJ booth right above all this action. We had a clear view of all the festivities. At certain intervals, the locals would clear one side of the street, and throw down what I could only describe as a World War III artillery of fireworks. The ground shock, our ears popped, and the sky lit up. We were so close that pieces of the fireworks fell out of the sky and landed on top of our heads. I guess safety isn’t an issue in Panama. I like that, it reminds me of when I was a kid, living in Brooklyn, NY, lighting fireworks on the bay.

At 2:00am, when we called it a night, the streets were just as full as ever. The locals were not showing any signs of fatigue. The pandemonium that the Panamanias had created in their little village was unparalleled by anything I had ever seen. There were tens of thousands of people, mostly locals, and other Panamanians that had flown in from all over the world. I was led to believe that the three of us were the only white people there, which made it that much cooler, knowing that we were in uncharted territory.

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After reading about all the fun Tynan and Todd were having with their Life Nomadic project, I decided to see what it was like for myself. The idea was brought up, and the plan was concrete all within a couple of minutes. I’m not that difficult to convince, and a fun adventure is not something I’m quick to pass up.

During the trip I made up for some lost sleep, wrote blog articles from 6am – 8am (more on this later), and read about Kabbalah (it’s interesting).

As the airplane was descending to Panama city, I was struck by the beauty of the plush greens that constituted the landscape. A big difference between Newark airport, one that made me realize I wasn’t home anymore (and that’s awesome!). I also noticed the canal on my way down, and it’s something I’ll try to see during my weekend mini-retirement here.

Right out of the airport the locals were very friendly. The cab driver told me all about the carnivals that are going on here right now. They’re known to be the second largest in the world, and I’m definitely going to see them before I leave. Unfortunately this wasn’t on this year’s bucket list, which just means there are other really interesting things I’m planning to do.

As soon as I arrived at the apartment we went to eat a La Mireya’s vegan restaurant. The food was delicious, and the service was out of this world. The owner’s (a Chinese couple), were very friendly as well. One of the workers went out of his way to open doors for us, and came by to take away each plate as we finished it. The full meal came out to $4.40 which was very cheap for the amount of food I got. I didn’t take pictures at the restaurant, but I will next time.

When we got back to the apartment, we set up my wireless internet, and decided to throw some balloons off the 13th story window. The 36″ balloons, when filled, contained at least 20lbs of water (don’t quote me on that). Note that no humans were hurt in the throwing of these balloons.

The rest of the evening sounds like it’s going to be really fun as well. First the guys are making me do intense Cross Fit exercises with them. If you don’t know what that is, you can learn more about it at www.crossfit.com. Since all Tynan and Todd eat is vegan food, tonight’s dinner will be at the infamous Casa Vegetariana.

One of my favorite activities back home is Karaoke. This past November I rented out a private room at Tinga Tinga Karaoke in New York City with some of my friends. We’ve also done a few weekend nights at Japas Karaoke & Bar. That’s why tonight’s trip to the world renowned Star Light Karaoke & Lounge is going to be right up my ally.

What exactly was the point of this trip? Spontaneous, adventure, learning experience that took me out of my comfort zone and allowed me to experience new things. More to come on this soon.

Attention: Don’t forget to download my free ebook, How to Get a Girlfriend!!