This week in Jerusalem!

This past shabbat was really nice. We had dinner at the Garr's, and Greta, a Darom staff member here for the year came too. In the morning, we walked about 40 minutes in the heat to help our friends, the Keren's, celebrate their youngest son's bar mitzvah. We walked through gan ha pamon and only had to stop 487 times to discuss our family policy on non-violence/torture,as well as how everyone can have a chance to walk next to Mommy, and it doesn't matter which hand you are holding.The walk really wasn't that bad, and there were many friends there for everyone. Lunch was pretty fancy-shmancy for Israel. There was a ton of food, and after we walked back with several families to our part of town. We were hoping to snag an invitation to hang out with the Schorsch/Moses family because they live about half-way home. We were in luck! We stayed there, enjoying the air-conditioning, and comparing with the kids whose got the crazier parents. I'm not sure who won, but we had a nice time. At a certain point, we ventured out to a play ground halfway between our apartments, as it had cooled off a little. We stayed there until all of the sudden, Shabbat was over! The kids get along really well, and Elan and Nathanial (their 11-year old) negotiated use of the one (!) basketball hoop with some little kids in Hebrew. Elan started off REALLY annoyed, but then was happy that he stuck it out. We debriefed at bed time, and he told me that even though he would be really annoyed with us in the moment, he needs to be pushed to work it out for himself (at the time, he was furious that I wouldn't take them backto gan ha pamon, which is 20 minutes in the opposite direction, where there are more basketball courts). Mira was of course tired and sick the instant we decided to head home. She spent too much quality time on the roundabout and was feeling like she wanted to throw up. And order pizza after Shabbat. No way! We came home and ate a little dinner, and the kids were asleep by 9:30. I had a night with little sleep, so it was slow going in the morning. The kids were happy to be lazy! The girls are addicted to a website (courtesy of Greta) called: www.cuteoverload.com . With that and Webkinz, what more do you need in life? Elan is busy re-reading all the Harry Potter books. I went to the grocery store (fortunately just down the block) by myself after a quick family meeting where we discussed what can and cannot happen when Elan is babysitting. My new adventure at the store was returning bottles for the deposit. I only called Tova twice to get the right Hebrew word for it (pikadon!). Even with her wonderful prep...I did it wrong. Or maybe it always takes the security guard, the woman at the service desk, a cashier and two customers to return empty water bottles! I just keep repeating to everyone...Ani lomedet aich la'asot et-zeh, v'ani rotzah la'avod al ha ivrit sheli (I'm learning how to do this, and I actually want to work on my Hebrew!). Most people are happy to help. I've found Tova, cab drivers and small children to be the most willing to teach me new words, correcting me gently! Of course, my sickness of trying to buy just a few things, but then shopping for our pantry needs as if we were never going to the grocery store again was in full force. The granny cart was heavy, and I still had two bags to carry. You can get a delivery service (I even know the word for it...mishlochim!), but then you have to wait for them to come. I'd much rather shlep it down the block myself. Until I get to the stairs...A stranger kindly helped me shlep it down the stairs by our apartment building, and when I returned home, all was well with the kids. The kids wanted to order pizza in for lunch. Usually, I make them walk to get junk food. This time, the challenge was...they had to call and order it in Hebrew if they wanted it bad enough! Elan volunteered to try calling Pizza Hut. After a few attempts (the first part of the call is automated, and I myself had to listen to the instructions a few times...and call Tova--we owe her big time! Did I mention she has a full-time job in addition to helping us acclimate?!), Elan got through the whole order which included the use of a coupon, and telling the person taking the order, (in Hebrew!) that he did not want to talk in English (she kindly offered) because his mother was making him do it in Hebrew. This is a proud moment for the development of his manhood, I'm sure! Unfortunately, after getting through the whole order, she found out we wanted mishlochim, and told Elan that he had the wrong Pizza Hut. Apparently she gave him the right number, but he didn't write it down, and really didn't want to call back. SO! Who still wants pizza? The kids also like Sababa Pizza, and Elan told Mira that it was her turn to try. She was really nervous, but the greater need for pizza won out. We rehearsed her lines, the address, etc, and she froze on the phone!!! She hung in there, but was thrown that he wanted the address first, not what kind of pizza we wanted (Mommy, he's asking things differently than you said he would!!!!! Insert terrified breathing here). After a minute or two more (she really did hang in there), she hung up the phone. I'm sure Sababa pizza gets that all the time.She was really upset, and we tried to calm her down before we called the paramedics...after describing how horrific her experience was, she finally let us know that he had actually been speaking to her in English. She was so flustered, she couldn't even tell us what he had asked. This was NOT funny! And we were NOT to laugh! And we really, really, tried not to. Still in need of bread, cheese and sauce in a delicious combination, Elan tried to convince me that it was my turn to order. I didn't want the pizza, and I already know how to order it, thank you! But he already did it once, and it didn't work! Well, I guess that does it for the year. How could he possibly be asked to try speaking Hebrew ever again?! He could be asked to try again if the boy wants pizza. And he did. He was willing to call back Sababa pizza and order it. With SUCCESS!!! After hanging up the phone, he gave himself some victorious basketball commentary, and announced that pizza was on the way!!! They said it was delish. Our big, big (not-so-big) plan for the afternoon was to go play in a fountain and play at a bigger park with basketball hoops. I said sure, as long as we insert a bit of culture at the Menachem Begin Heritage Center. The museum of childrens' dreams!!! The kids were up for it, knowing that we left the apartment at 3:30, and some museums close at 4 or 5! We walked (of course!! They are getting better and better about it!) with our requisite 39856 bottles of water to the park where we found the fountain turned off. Bummer! And the Begin center was only open for a few more minutes. Bummer! (Yeah, right.)

The kids demonstrated their whale-spouting talents for fun...

We decide to walk back home, stopping for an ice-cream appetizer. Amalya has the hardest time choosing, and has not found the ice cream bar of her dreams. I told her we'll search to the ends of the Israeli borders to try and find her flava-fave. We sat on a bench and ate, and Elan tried to convince me to take a cab to Burgers Bar for dinner. Did I mention it was across the street? I stuck to my one meal out/ordered in a day, and we headed home. But wait...there's another grocery store! One we haven't been in! And we need, I mean really need more shoko b'sakit (chocolate milk in a bag that kids here bite off a corner of and then suck down like little chocolate milk vampires).

Shoko b'sakit on the couch!

And Elan volunteered to carry them home. Done! I also got a few other things that the other store didn't have. On the way home, we discussed our family policy on whining. To be brief, it just does not get you what you want. I decide, in the spirit of learning a new language, that they were welcome to whine all they wanted. It just has to be in Hebrew. We laughed and joked the whole way home (uphill, even!). Amalya listened to her favorite podcast, Storynory, while I got dinner ready. While I thought it would be a good idea (you now know that whatever comes next was not a good idea), I bought some veggie hot dogs for the kids to try. And I tried to pass them off as real meat hot dogs. A vegetarian mother can dream can't she? Mira thought they were gross right away, but Amalya told her they just needed some ketchup. Elan came in and I told him to try them. "But I wanted the leftover pizza...I'll be flayshic!" There was a pause... and then a look of disgust mixed with realization plus a touch of betrayal as Mira put it all together. "These are VEGGIE?!!!" Amalya pipes up, "These are DISGUSTING!!" "What happened to dipping them in ketchup? How about some barbeque sauce?!" "Forget it."

Oh well, maybe they won't know the difference in the "chicken" nuggets. I'll keep you posted.

Onto Monday! (I'm trying to write adventure down everyday...hence the length. Feel free to read or let me know that you're busy breezing through War & Peace, so you don't have time for endless e-mail chatter!)We woke up with a plan...to go to the Science Museum! We took a cab, and I have to say, I still wonder if they are going the scenic route with the Jerusalem newbies. When we got there, we waited in line with the rest of Jerusalem's families. These are the last few days of school vacay, so these places are hopping! We stayed for about 6 hours...there were endless activities!

We watched two different science shows, and I did my best to translate them for Amalya. The coolest trick was putting a blown up balloon into dry ice, watching it crumple up as the Oxygen froze and shrank (?not sure if that is exactly what scientifically happened?), and the reinflate when it warmed up. I tried to get the kids to volunteer for some of the experiments, but strangely enough, they didn't want to try sitting on a bed of nails!!

This unfortunate reminder of our sandbox duties last Friday...
They had musical instruments out in the garden!
The infinite room.
It's all a matter of perspective!

Backwards dinner with ice cream at a small playground! Mira and I played on the seesaw together as well. The kids like to spin on these until they are sick!

After...we went back to our neighborhood where the was a chug fair (make sure you cough up some phlegm when you say chug...you'll sound so Israeli!). Basically, the neighborhood "JCC" has all these after-school activities to choose from and all the teachers are there to sell you on how your child's life will not be complete without tae kwon do, judo, art, choir, drumming, ballet, cooking, and gymnastics. They had older kids showing off, with dinner included!

Unfortunately, chicken doesn't do it for me, and Elan meat craving was of a shawarma variety, so we said goodbye to the people we saw from our past (the Ramah/JTS mafia arms reach wide! In fact, one person recognized the kids' camp t-shirts and asked if we were related to Loren! Indeed we are, sir! Indeed we are!), and we headed towards home where there was an untried felafel stand that...unfortunately doesn't sell shawarma. Blood-thirsty boy vs. Tired Sister who teamed up with Cranky Sister. Who will reign supreme?!!! Elan voted for a 20 minute walk for basar, and the girls cried for home. I'm trying very hard to teach the kids how to be flexible and create consensus. It takes forever, and the learning opportunities come at the most incovenient times (don't they always?), but they are getting better at it. We decided on a compromise. I would get felafel (this stand is now my favorite...he gave us taste testers. We are easily swayed by delicious taste testers. This "favorite" status is later confirmed by Tova...it's her favorite too!), we would go home and order Elan a hamburger from Burgers Bar, and the girls would get to go to bed. Mira did offer to eat a hamburger in solidarity. Thanks, but no thanks. We have a one dinner per person policy! We did add wings for tomorrow nights dinner when...Loren will be home!!!!! He is shlepping so much more stuff from home! Hooray! And 94% fat free microwave popcorn. And a swiffer. I've given up on Sponga. It is out of my league! And what else?! The girls' bunk bed will be delivered tomorrow along with a bookcase. Hooray! I'm sure that, even more than wings for dinner, Loren will be excited by the prospect of helping me put everything together. If we, plus Tova, and some power tools can't put it together, we'll call for reinforcements...Jason Cathcart, Brother-in-Law Extraodinaire: how soon can you be here?! We end the day well fed, and another Shabbat lunch invitation, as well as two invitations for Rosh Hashanah...Good day, no?

I thought Tuesday was going to be boring. All we had planned was getting out for breakfast, waiting for the Ikea delivery (bunkbeds and bookcase!!), and waiting for Loren to come home in the evening. Okay, and a trip to the vegetable/fruit stand, plus a little (3 hours) computer time figuring out just how one blogs. How very wrong I was. Tova told me Ikea wanted, in her opinion, too much money to put together the bed & bookcase. We would do it!!! We would?! This is just the kind of activity that puts Loren over the edge. What better to do after getting off a transatlantic flight?

Accomplished: Bed and bookcase complete (before Loren got here!) Isn't it great when everyone wants to help?!
This is the amazing Tova!!!

Amalya gets to try sleeping on the top bunk!!

Well-deserved rest for the weary.

Blogging started...including pictures!!

Elan and Mira shopped for dinner on their own!! We were in the middle of bed-building craziness, when I realized I would not have enough for everyone (the rule of thumb in bed-building is: feed your helpful friend). I sent Elan and Mira across the street with money and my cell phone to get some rotisserie chicken. There was none! Awesome! They chatted with the proprietor (in English, drat!) about the other options, and after rejecting stuffed cabbage and meatloaf, they chose chicken shnitzel. They were awesome!

And last, but not least...we all got to hug and kiss Loren!! And unpack more stuff.

Wednesday...I got to go to my first yoga class! There is a kundalini teacher about a 15 minute walk a way, and I went to try one of her classes. I don't usually practice this form, as it is less physical (at least the way we practiced) and more using breath and chakra cleansing. It can lead to "they" say, a kundalini rising... Here is how to recognize it if it ever happens to you: www.elcollie.com/st/symptoms.html. Please keep me updated on your chakra status! It was interesting, but I need to sweat a little. There will be more classes to try all around Jerusalem (not to mention Tel Aviv!).

Loren is not sure what time zone he is in, so we took our time getting out of the house. We walked for felafel and shawarma (more taste testers...fried chickpea mush and roasted meat shaved off a stick...we are so easy to please!). There was a take out place next door that had all the cool cheese we never get to try...but these were kosher! We decided to come back and get some good stuff for dinner on the way home from "Playing in the park" Take 2! The last time we went to Gan ha Pamon, we were really disappointed to find the fountain turned off. This time however...
The fountain was turned off, for a change!!! How bummed were we? We sat on a bench for a while in our bummed out status while Loren looked for a sign which maybe would lead to clues about the Israeli fountain experience. He also asked me about a switch that we could turn on. This is because many, many public spaces, especially in Israel, allow visitors to control how it functions...

Thanks to our dutifull laziness...we waited just long enough for a gift from Hashem...in the form of the nearest maintenance man who turned it on!! Fun ensued! On the way home, we did indeed stop at the take-out place and met our new BF, Adam who not only sold us delicious fresh pasta, cheese, olives, and some more stuff, but he also let us try a ton of food, gave cookies to the kids, had Mira and Amalya working behind the counter (hello, Israeli health code!). He also sent us home with an extra box of cookies, because no one should have to eat dinner without dessert. It's just not right. Dinner was awsome!

That night, since everyone took an afternoon nap, we went to the David Citadel Sound and Light show. They have enormous sculptures that, during the day, look very cool. At night, they are lit up in a groovy fashion, and play music by themselves.


We met Scott, Rebecca and their kids there (that is their 11 year-old, Ada with Mira & Amalya). I wish picture-taking abilities were slightly more developed! I'm sure I'll figure it out before the year is up.



Thursday will be buying a few more things for the apartment (we currently have 4 meat forks...awesome!), another yoga class (supremely awesome), visiting another chug fair, and getting our high holiday seats at Shira Chadasha. I also got some information about theater performance in Jerusalem (especially for English speakers...that's me). Once we get into the swing of things, I can see what is out there for me!


Thursday was hot, of course. We went to Machaneh Yehuda to get fruits and veggies for shabbat and beyond (the girls, see left, have learned to bring snacks along on any outing that would make an Israeli proud; Amalya is eating a cucumber in front of the lavendar bushes right outside our apartment). We can also now cook soup! The biggest pot in the apartment wouldn't make enough for our family, so I had to get one. Since this new one is still smaller than the one at home, I can't randomly throw in ingredients in the amounts that I know will work. The kids said it smelled good, so we'll see if that translates to tasteing good. I'll do the same experiements on challah and matzah balls on Friday. I'm sure that following a recipe would work... but who needs to follow a recipe for something you've made a thousand or more times?* Our biggest problem with shopping at machaneh yehudah (besides the fact that I keep forgetting to take pictures!), is getting all the stuff home. We saw a line of 8 cabs going in the other direction (I was too busy laughing and couldn't get the camera out fast enough), but none going in our direction.

We had to wait quite a while! The chug fair was smaller, and geared more toward younger children, but there may be a dance class for Mira. I have to sort through all the possibilities and coordinate the schedules to see what they will do. We officially joined Shirah Chadasha, and got places for the High Holidays. We met some very nice people, one of which wanted to offer me a teaching gig for her students (not that I define nice as someone with a job offer!). The congregation believes in singing as many of the tefilot together, and the davening is overwhelmingly wonderful. Please join us there when you come to visit!! We also signed up to help with a kiddush, and every family takes a shabbat to provide a meal for guests without plans. We're good to go for January! I also volunteered to help cook meals for the chessed committee. No better way to learn celsius than trial by fire...

Today is Friday!! The Loren and the kids will go to the new building of school and help unload things. I'm going to a yoga class, and then meeting them there. I'm trying out as many teachers and classes as possible to see what will work best for me! I will write about it in a separate post. This one is a beast, and I'm trying to think about how much and how often to post a new update, maybe doing so by subject so that people could read what they're interested in...not sure!

At this point, I would love to invite you to share, also in nauseating detail what you all are doing?! We miss you, and would love to hear about everything: carpool, food, spiritual angst, tourist activities...anything! Please keep us up to date on your lives also! Did I mention we miss you?!

We hope you have a fantastic Shabbat! Please take time for a rest, you deserve it!

With love, Becca and family

*famous last words