More learning...

Mira (and Amalya for that matter) loves to hang out with a group of girls at school who all speak English fluently (the picture is with other English-speakers: Livvy and Ada Moses, at a playground, providing you with proof that finding English-speakers is much easier than it looks! Mira wants to get to know the other, Hebrew-speaking kids, but she's worried about her skill in making friends b'ivrit. She decided to talk to a teacher about setting up a conversational Hebrew class for her and anyone else who wants it (that's how classes are formed here, for better and for worse). Mira's first challenge was figuring out who the teachers are. When everyone is always together, around, and dressing casually, it can be hard to tell! Not a teacher.

Elan is just happy having pizza, felafel, and other junk food, as well as playing soccer, basketball, and hopefully flag football. His other chug is lobbying for the pleasure of viewing the entire NFL season via the internet (an expense I cannot justify...Dad may be the weak link in our resistance).

Amalya took a trial dance class, but said she didn't want to do it. She is frustrated that she doesn't understand so much of what the teacher says. After the class, I called her on it. She, trying to distract me, asked for gum. I bribed her..."I'll give you gum after every dance class if you go and have fun in Hebrew." She smiled big and said, "Okay!" What a sucker! I'm not sure if I mean me or her.

My favorite education philosophy book used to be "Punished by Rewards"by Alfie Kohn. I guess I'll have to buy a copy of "Rewards are the way to get things done, even if it means buying ice cream everyday at the makolet." She's also doing art. Everything is at the community center right down the street, so it makes getting there easier!


Also, the kids started walking to and from school by themselves. It is a little nerve-racking watching them go off on a 20 minute walk, where they have to cross two busy, busy streets. I took the edge off last week by going to Machaneh Yehudah as the country is overtaken by 3-day chag preparation craziness. I think I learned a few new curses that morning!

Ayzeh Kef?!

Amalya is picking up Hebrew slowly but surely! Last night when I asked if she wanted to help sweep, she answered with, "Ayzeh kef!" This translates roughly to an expression of satisfaction: "what fun!" She then started to help me sweep, and kept saying the phrase, over, and over again! After about 4 minutes, she asked me what it meant.

I gave her my translation, and then she kept sweeping, using the expression as a question. "Ima, ayzeh kef?"

Yes, I kept answering sweeping is fun!!!! Over and over again like some brainwashing ulpan...is this fun?! Yes it is! Keep sweeping!!! And then do the dishes and fold the laundry (she's actually very good at this one). Make sure you make the beds and take out the trash...mommy needs to experience the zen of a good martini. Ommmmmmartini's are so good.

Her other favorite phrase is "Maftechot, bevakashah!" this is the required password for getting the keys to the building after crossing the street and letting us all into the apartment. Big thrills for her!

Also, the loose tooth came out! She needs to write the Tooth Fairy...maybe in Hebrew!

I love hearing her speak Hebrew...

Ayzeh kef!

How was your holiday?

We are so blessed!

We had a lovely Rosh Hashanah, and survived the three-day chag happily! Any unhappiness was brought on by my neglect of varying blood-sugar levels. Truly, the only thing missing was Loren. We heard he did a great job at Emory, but we missed him here!
We had dinner with the family of my friend Shoshana (a Ramah Wisconsin cohort that we had to Darom for a summer!). She has 4 siblings, and they all have a ton of kids, so ours blended in with the craziness quite nicely. Every contributor to the meal was a wonderful cook (the kids are trying all kinds of new foods happily…that is definitely worth the plane trip). Elan insisted that I get Shoshana’s mother’s recipe for red current and blueberry ice cream (pareve no less!). I’ve been experimenting with different flours for challot, and I fortunately made a few good ones for sharing this chag. They got a round one stuffed with dried apricots, honey and cardamom. I found out that they are all experienced bread makers as well, so I’m glad my experiments were successful! No pressure, baking in a strange oven with unknown flour. The happy bonus was when Mira recognized one of the cousins from her art class! This whole country is one tiny kibbutz, I tell ya!
We ate lunch with another family and then went to a park. We were having a great time until it was time to walk home. The variety of complaints included: blisters, too cold, too thirsty, too tired to walk, too hungry, and no wine for me. Once everyone was fed and watered (and wined), happiness returned.
For second day lunch, we were invited to the house of acquaintances from college and camp. They were so generous about including us! The kids get a kick out of explaining the philosophy of the Democratic School they attend, and they now know they like to eat empanadas! The family lent Mira a two wheeled contraption meant for the circus (think the front axle of a car with pedals) to take home. She is getting really good! She likes to take it everywhere and will show off on the sidewalk near cafes. She always gets applause because Israelis appreciate talent!

For Friday night, I invited a small horde over for experimental dinner, pre-cooked and warmed on the plata (a big, shomer-shabbat warming plate). I told the guests they were all eligible for a do-over dinner in case of disaster. The guests were former Darom staff, one Marietta gent here for the year and friends of guests. It was fantastic to be able to include even more guests (friends of invitees) and still have room for another who came to shul and needed a place to go. So, apparently, we can fit 15 people in our apartment for dinner! And I do know how to work the timer on the plata! And the kids are great hosts! And the whole world won’t end if I use paper plates for Shabbat dinner!
Dinner ended so late, the kids and I slept late and just wandered over to our lunch invite well-rested.
This was another really nice time. Our hosts thoughtfully invited a large group of their friends for us to meet, and at the same time, set the tone for Shabbat in a lovely way. Everyone (adult and child) was invited to share interesting questions and ideas about Shabbat Shuvah, the akedah, and life in Israel in general. I was almost smart enough to follow the discussion of shmitta. It is a shmitta year here in Israel, a shabbaton for the fruits and vegetables grown in the land. How appropriate that just at the time when Loren needed a shabbaton, we are in sync with agricultural life in Israel. We stayed talking (the kids played together and were laughing and singing all afternoon) until Shabbat was almost over (the kids ate dinner too!).

You might think all we did was eat! Doesn’t it feel like that for you? Davening at Shira Chadasha was exceptional. You can sing as loud as you want or sit quietly and listen. There are powerful waves of prayer. You can tell people enjoy praying together as a community. It is wonderful to be a part of it.

Our new fruits tried this year:
Passionfruit (not a hit), pomegranate (always a hit), dragonfruit ("subtly good" says Elan), lychee ("like eating a slimy eyeball" reports Elan. Do eyeballs come in a non-slimy version, my son?), persimmon ("love it" says Mira), kobi ("vague shampoo taste" but Mira and I liked it), starfruit (Amalya's favorite).

One sadness, my friend Tova’s grandfather died in the late afternoon right before the start of the holiday. They needed to hold the burial until Sunday…so hard to wait. From what I know of this special man of 94 years, he was a loving husband and father, married for over 60 years, and loved well by his family.

Thank you so much to all those who celebrated with us this Rosh Hashanah. Thank you also to everyone who writes me to tell me about the exciting adventures of their lives! You are helping us stay connected and feel a little less lonely!

It was a wonderful beginning to the New Year! Gamar Tov u'Chatimah Tovah! (may I learn to type in Hebrew in the coming year)

Searching for Yoga

So, yoga like I had in Atlanta is a little hard to find! The picture is of my favorite teacher, Gina, in Atlanta...if you ever want a fantastic yoga experience...check her out! She teaches all over Atlanta: http://www.yoga5.com/! I am missing my regular schedule. I have had good discussions with a few teachers here regarding the practice of yoga in the states vs. practice here in Jerusalem (Tel Aviv is, I think, another story). Basically, the people who come to yoga in Jerusalem want just a moment to relax, breathe and stretch. I do too, I just want to sweat and go upside-down, balance on my hands, and twist while I do it! Classes just move at a slower pace. Maybe that is what I'm meant to do while I'm here! I'm definitely rebelling against that suggestion. So far, I've tried:
kundalini, not for meme.
sivananda: okay, so it was hard to get it together when the instructor speaks only in Hebrew! I need ulpan just for yoga. Also, he wants the students to practice with eyes closed for much of the time...I need a few visual clues when I don't know what body parts he's talking about!! Also, I've been taught to hold a soft gaze, and that eyes closed suggests savasana (the final resting pose. There is much more pranayama than I'm used to. Again, this is just another philosophy of yoga that is just peachy, but doesn't speak to me like anusara yoga. He does make you tea after class, which is lovely! Everyone sits around, drinks mint tea, teaches me Hebrew in the form of opinionated local politics. The added benefit of these classes is that the studio is about 3 blocks away. I'll definitely return, and take what I can from this practice.

Another great option is the occasional class from a former student at Pardes.
She teaches in English and has a style I like. I'm trying to help her find more students for a morning class (I'm even willing to move furniture and hold the class in our apartment...yes, I'm desperate.
Apparently, most people here work! Unlike freeloaders like myself, they actually spend time on a payroll, or learning somewhere. I could practice in a variety of classes before the kids go to school, and when they get home. For some reason, they require my presence, and for others, I love to see them with their eyes open, so I'm not scheduling too many of those classes.

My next experiment was at a yoga center that is one bus ride (with a 15 minute walk on either side) away. This is a dedicated yoga studio with great energy. The teacher is very helpful (you want to learn Hebrew? Great! I’ll never speak to you in English again! Thanks!?) The class I tried was good, again, just not what I’m used to. They do have an advanced class (three hours!!!) that sounds interesting, and meets during school hours (hooray, no neglecting the kids for my own benefit!). Here’s the deal: they want a year long commitment. What? We just met! We hardly know each other! Can’t we just be friends? I’m going to go for it. Hopefully, I’ll get what I need yogically, meet some interesting people, and maybe even find a ride home!
There are some nice classes at another community center not to far away (they do require the presence of another parental unit for child development activities i.e.: bed time).
The other development that might have to come out of this is the creation of a more regular home practice for me. I just love going to a class and having someone else tell me what to do. I’m sure if I wanted that at home, Amalya would be more than happy to oblige. Also, the community created by practicing together is somewhat like davening in a minyan (apologies for any sacrilege).

I do recognize the need to quit whining. We are here with every blessing we could have. At Shabbat lunch, a friend spoke about the Jews blessings of scarcity (see? Torah talk at the Shabbat table…my life is full of blessings!). She put the centrality of yitziat mitzrayim in our language of prayer and observance in terms of how it blesses us as a people. We celebrate our freedom with bread made from almost nothing! That is our feast! By working with the land and our people, by making do with what we have…we have great ownership over what we learn, do and celebrate. That is our gift from God. This is my interpretation of her much more eloquent words. So I, selfishly, take them to mean what I need to hear in my own life. So I don’t have the plentiful yoga I had in Atlanta, where I could go any day to any number of classes (think Jews complaining about leaving Egypt). Was it really so great? I had a million other obligations (that I gladly took on), and here I have the freedom to learn, sit and think, and breathe. All right, I’ll do it, and hopefully, then I’ll understand.

Mira's Prayer

At bedtime, Mira likes one of us to snuggle her. She usually says a prayer privately after singing the shema. Tonight she wanted to share it out loud. This is tonight's prayer, from what I can remember:

"Baruch ata adonai eloheinu melech ha-olam, please, please send a team of special angels to watch over me and keep me safe and from having bad dreams. Please, please, please, please, please, please do this for my family and all my friends. Please do this for everyone in the whole world, except for bad mean people who do evil things; wait, a minute, that's not nice. Please, God, watch over their hearts and help them find kindness. Thank you so, so, so, so, so, so much. Baruch ata adonai eloheinu melech ha-olam, shomei-ah tefilah."

Amen to that, my sweetheart! I'll take your blessings anyday or night.

Our last moments of freedom...

For our last afternoon of freedom, we went to the Israel museum...by bus. Getting to the bus was almost as much fun as the museum. Almost. If by almost, you understand that it was an afternoon of traveling torture. While I was excited that the museum was free for kids on Tuesday, I didn't notice that it was only open after 4pm.
Great. My big idea included figuring out a bus route that would, someday, take me to a great sounding yoga studio. Since, in all of Israel, a bus map is harder to find than an Israeli with only one opinion about politics, I needed a dry run to this unfamiliar area. We walked 15 minutes to the end of Emek Refaim to catch the 24. Sounds simple...if you know which end to go to. Which we didn't. So we walked all the way to the other end. And waited. For a while. Then, the bus came! The nicest bus driver ever (of the 24) gestured to the other side of the street where we should have been waiting. (We did have a 50/50 chance of picking the correct side to wait on...I don't do well in Vegas either.)
So, we crossed over and got to wait some more! And more! And a little bit more!

It only takes 7 minutes on the 24 to get to the Israel museum (and get close to yoga...hooray!). 7 minutes plus 15 minutes to walk, and another 10 minutes of corrective walking, plus 26 minutes of waiting. Not too shabby!
Don't worry, I bribed the kids with a snack at the museum. We went to the kids' section, created art in the recycling room, and ran around the sculptures. Mira and Amalya picked out posters for their room. Elan is choosing to decorate in the late-NFL period, with a modest showing of post-modernist NBA. We met Loren (who explored Hebrew U. campus and the Jewish Agency all day...the guy's got to get to work sometime!) for dinner after he walked up many hills to the Central Bus Station in search of my heart's desire. He did make the Egged workers' day by asking for something that hasn't been printed for years. My hero! No bus map, but a good walk!

After dinner, we toasted each other with gelato, "To a great new year!"
It should be delicious.

Surreal world, school edition!

What a great first day of school (second day was great too)! I think everyone felt a little strange going to school for the first day. Elan and Mira have been torturing us with promises of Hebrew-usage refusal and closed minds; they have a future in the CIA. We are definitely trying something new educationally speaking. The Democratic School is a different way to go than the Solomon Schechter route they are used to. For more information about what I like to call, "Kooky school," you can check out the US counterpart at http://www.sudval.org/. Loren is definitely outside his comfort zone with "child-led learning," but the kids love it so far.

Elan got into a game with guys his age right away, and didn't even want to take the tour with his sisters. He admits to opening his Algebra book from home too! Mira called us during the first day...no tears thought! She was invited to a friend's house and wanted permission to go! Happiness! Amalya, as she gets used to the new school, is hanging out with Mira and her friends a lot. I know as soon as she gets her bearings, she will make more friends closer to her age. Mira also got invited to a sleepover next Tuesday night for her new friend Gavriella's birthday (no school on Wednesday...Happy New Year!).

Here are the kids in front of their school! Loren and I went out to lunch on their first day to celebrate. As soon as we finished, we walked along, passed another cafe, saw friends and had a cup of coffee with them! Rough life, truly.

We are having our first Shabbat guest tonight. It's pay-back time!! Tova and anyone else who might need a spot from shul will be at our Shabbat table. We are going to friends' tomorrow for lunch and meeting more people for Seudah Shlishit in the park later on.

The whole country is getting ready for Rosh Hashanah. The Israeli's are beside themselves over the three-day chag. It so rarely happens here! Every grocery store is handing out samples of everything, including wine! Just what I need when shopping with my kids, as I explained to the wine seller (It was my first successful joke in Hebrew! Not the funniest, but in Hebrew none the less).

We hope you have a great Shabbat, and will get to see people you love on Rosh Hashanah!

Shabbat Shalom,

Becca and family

Extra-curriculars attempted!

On Sunday afternoon (which I kept thinking was Monday all day), each kid tried a chug. Gymnastics for the girls and Basketball for Elan. Of course, we needed to stop for ice cream first. (Amalya is smiling big for the ice cream which has chocolate in the bottom of the cone, as well as to show her 2nd loose tooth!! She is hoping to lose it on the first day of school...I guess it makes a cool first impression). As we walked down the hill, we could see across a valley to other parts of Jerusalem. Amalya said, "I can see so many parts of the land. Ever since we were on the plane, I've been seeing everything in Jerusalem. It's good."



Back up the day slightly, and we were shopping for school supplies and groceries. The thrill for me was when we were running out of time to get home (groceries coming by mishloach), and we were going to take a cab home to save time. Elan noticed how close we were to home (a little less than a mile), and said, "Why don't we just walk? It'll be just as fast." I swear you could hear the orchestra swell with inspirational music as I enjoyed this moment of family transformation (from suburb-living family to city-living family). Even Amalya was game for it. Did I mention that mentsch of a boy helped carry the school supplies as well?


So, Amalya's art teacher didn't show up...we'll try again next week. Mira tried soccer with her friend, Livvy (a feisty girl who took on those Israeli boys with gusto!), but it was not for her.
Too competitive, too many boys, and gymnastics was more fun (although it was also just her and 3 boys...hmmm.).
Elan tried basketball at the matnass (JCC close to our house) as well as the league at the YMCA. The YMCA crew was very hard core. Word on the street is that the coach makes the kids cry, but they love it. Sniff, sniff, I smell future therapy bills! Fortunately for logistical purposes, Elan enjoyed the league (more intramural in nature) closer to home. He's hooking up with another friend there. Elan also tried soccer, because we were there at the right time, there was a friend doing it, and there was ice cream involved. There is a possibility of American football as well; we're going to an open house next week. Imagine coming all the way to Israel so Elan can play football on a shomer shabbat team. We'll try to work it out. Jewish mothers let their kids play tackle football right?! I've already started to worry. Ceramics and art (for Mira) are the only chuggim left to try. I couldn't talk her into trying the yoga chug. She's says I'm obsessed enough with yoga for the both of us. Probably right!



Among other exciting news, we broke our first item in the apartment. Fortunately, an inexpensive wall clock is easy to replace!!! Insert the appropriate Brady Bunch quotation here: ________________. If you're stuck: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndhRcY-uBo0

We now have basketball rule #1! You might notice the time on the clock...9am! This is when I am usually checking my email to see if anyone will tell us what is going on in their lives!!! Get it?!

Amalya got new sunglasses and slippers...she was so excited, she wrote a song and dance. She informed me that this was not the full-length version. Spoiler alert: you might want to be related to Amalya to fully enjoy this performance. Drat...I can't get it to upload. Looks like the video is by special request. You'll have to email me and I'll send it. It is 8 seconds of pure genius.
Here is the current favorite extra-curricular. I gave in to the Club Penguin mania.

Loren and I had our first big date (does that count as an extra-curricular activity?!). We walked down the block to an Italian restaurant. Great foccacia, great wine, and hooray for Reut the babysitter!! It only took 1 glass of wine apiece to relax after three weeks of settling in. The rest of the bottle was just for fun!

Love, Becca

School starts on Wednesday....insert ominous music here

We had a great Shabbat. Our friend Rebecca picked us up before Shabbat so that we could easily transport our contribution to Shabbat dinner (chicken soup with matzah balls and challah: the first attempt in Israel; not too shabby, but not the best!). We davened at Shirah Chadasha and it was amazing. The singing is just wonderful and there were many people we knew. The melodies are lovely, some fast and some slow. You can sing as loud or as quiet as you want and you will always blend in. I imagined what it would be like to be there with family for Elan's Bar Mitzvah. We're not sure where or even exactly when it will be, but if it is with this congregation, we will have a wonderful simcha for sure. The added bonus was the rock-star sighting of Mr. Stan Beiner, the head of our Atlanta school, and the brother of our new head of school! We sent him home with warm regards for all our friends. If he doesn't pass them on, he's in big trouble. We keep tabs on that kind of thing.
The dinner lasted until a quarter to 12! Fortunately, I enforced our nap policy #4 which clearly states: If you need to be on good behavior at another family's home past bedtime, you will sleep in the afternoon. It was that or apple-juice valium. Nap accomplished, we spent dinner laughing, talking and telling embarassing family stories that included glass breakage (and not under-the-chuppah kind, in-a- fancy store/hotel kind where you return their kindness "Oh don't worry, it happens all the time!" with never showing your face there again unless in costume). We are lucky the kids are used to the walk...it only took an easy 2o minutes to get home in the cool Jerusalem night air. Lunch was with another family (Loren and I have both worked with the husband in various camp adventures) who wanted to welcome us to Israel. It is so nice to so warmly welcomed. They were even nice when we broke something...not glass, but we'll be able to replace it tomorrow and have another embarrassing story to tell over another Shabbat dinner.
We were all exhausted, but clearly had to enforce nap policy #7, again, clearly stating: If you went to bed late and are so tired you could puke, you cannot take a nap which would bring about a vicious cycle...you must stay awake. Sometimes this involves torture, but we were lucky to get off with playground distraction.
We read, the kids played and met a young Israeli with the sparkliest personality I've met in a long time. She spoke to Mira and Amalya (she was 7), not really minding if they didn't respond, and was soon working with them to create some concoction out of dirt, water and rosemary leaves. Mira was reluctant to join in. It amazes me that the most gifted friend-maker in our family sometimes feels painfully shy (manifesting in a stomach-ache or a general, "I don't feel good."). I reminded her that the first 18 seconds are the hardest, and what follows is always fun. She took the full 18, and then made friends with happiness.
This evening, in exhaustion's grip, Mira was the first to succumb to tears about the desire to return home. Fear about what is coming this week, and the feeling of permanence that school brings I'm sure will overwhelm us all at some point. We rode it out, and fortunately, she remembers that staying open to what comes really helps, and that sadness doesn't last forever (it lasted a whole 6 minutes tonight). Elan and I also spoke on Friday while were helping out at school. "It feels weird" was the most complex explanation we could come up with, but it seems to fit well enough. Starting school means were here, and not just on vacation. I hope the weirdness balances out with the comfort of routine. They will start on Wednesday! We will try to fit in a few more vacation mode activities before then.