Here's a follow-up to an earlier post:
This is what it's like to take the bus in the morning here:
1) Wait by the bus stop
2) Bus drives by and is so crowded that the driver refuses to stop despite frantic waving from people at the bus stop
3) Begin calculating how late children will be for school and if a note will be necessary. If so, try to find scrap of paper for note and consider wording. Will Google Translate be necessary? Allow neighbor whose Hebrew is much better than yours to write note for both kids using your shoulder as a table.
3) Next bus comes and is similarly crowded, but driver yields to frantic waving and stops. Briefly. Very briefly. If you are not on within about three seconds, tough for you and the driver is gone (note: you may be waiting at the stop and waiting patiently in line to get on the bus. That is probably your mistake--savlanut is not to be used when waiting for the bus. You can be patient once *on* the bus, but not before.
4) Go in back doors of bus because there is no way to get in the front doors.
5) If driver drives off with the front doors open because the bus is so crowded he can't close the doors, be very thankful that you are not the last one on the bus, and hope even more that no small children (who are riding the bus alone) are in the stairwell (note: in their defense, I have never seen a driver go all the way to the next stop with the doors open. I think there's something about seeing the doors open while the bus is going that makes everyone on the bus squish in closer so that the people on the stairs can move out of danger)
6) Once the crowd empties out, get out of the back door at the stop *near* where you are going and immediately go in the front door so you can pay before your stop
7) Inevitably, find out the hard way that the bus does not go left on the street you want and instead makes a right turn and goes at least 1/4 mile before getting to its first stop
6) get off and walk to where you need to be, commenting on what great shape the family is getting in
7) next time, take the "#11" (slang for walking. I love the expression)
Friday, September 11, 2015
Party at Ulpan
Woohoo! Par-ty!!!! Well, since it was a party at ulpan and resembled (more than a bit) a school's kindergarten show, we won't get too carried away. But it was very sweet.
We stood by class in front of a blackboard fancied up to say "The Ulpan Wishes You a Good New Year" and said our prepared lines. Our teacher had been very amusing that morning saying over and over "od paam od paam!" (again, again) as we rehearsed. My class "sang" a Rosh Hashanah song (I use quotes because there are religious issues over women singing in public in front of men. So the 12 of us who are observant women lip-synced and the three men and three secular Russian women belted it out. Nice that my class is somewhat diverse!). I am glad that I finally learned the words to the song "L'Shana Habaa" (Next Year). I had always understood the second paragraph ("how good it will be next: next year, next year") and was always totally stymied by the first--something about a mirpeset (balcony)? That didn't make sense.....Mirfleset (monster)? That made even less sense! Now that I know the translation, I still don't think it makes a ton of sense, but I do know it's correct :). So "next year, we will sit on the balcony and watch the migrating birds as the children, on holiday from school, pay catch between the house and fields". Yeah.....I could have sat with my dictionary for *hours* and not figured out "migrating birds".
Shalom Shachne's class is the advanced class, so they had two parts in the show, each with one person speaking Hebrew and one translating on the spot. I loved the story told by a woman in his class about feeling a bit overwhelmed as Rosh Hashanah approached and all her family and her husband's family is in the United States and how was she going to make Rosh Hashanah?! (see my future post with similar sentiment) She called her sister who told her, "don't worry, Hashem will make it all work out for you" and, as soon as she hung up the phone, it rang with an invitation for a meal. And then there was an email invitation for another meal. And then another phone call invitation and she "realized that we are all family here".
Shalom Shachne and his class friend gave over a dvar Torah about Rosh Hashanah that several people commented was very interesting (I agree!) and the woman from my class who had just invited us for RH dinner said that he was now elected to give a dvar Torah at the dinner table.
We stood by class in front of a blackboard fancied up to say "The Ulpan Wishes You a Good New Year" and said our prepared lines. Our teacher had been very amusing that morning saying over and over "od paam od paam!" (again, again) as we rehearsed. My class "sang" a Rosh Hashanah song (I use quotes because there are religious issues over women singing in public in front of men. So the 12 of us who are observant women lip-synced and the three men and three secular Russian women belted it out. Nice that my class is somewhat diverse!). I am glad that I finally learned the words to the song "L'Shana Habaa" (Next Year). I had always understood the second paragraph ("how good it will be next: next year, next year") and was always totally stymied by the first--something about a mirpeset (balcony)? That didn't make sense.....Mirfleset (monster)? That made even less sense! Now that I know the translation, I still don't think it makes a ton of sense, but I do know it's correct :). So "next year, we will sit on the balcony and watch the migrating birds as the children, on holiday from school, pay catch between the house and fields". Yeah.....I could have sat with my dictionary for *hours* and not figured out "migrating birds".
Shalom Shachne's class is the advanced class, so they had two parts in the show, each with one person speaking Hebrew and one translating on the spot. I loved the story told by a woman in his class about feeling a bit overwhelmed as Rosh Hashanah approached and all her family and her husband's family is in the United States and how was she going to make Rosh Hashanah?! (see my future post with similar sentiment) She called her sister who told her, "don't worry, Hashem will make it all work out for you" and, as soon as she hung up the phone, it rang with an invitation for a meal. And then there was an email invitation for another meal. And then another phone call invitation and she "realized that we are all family here".
Shalom Shachne and his class friend gave over a dvar Torah about Rosh Hashanah that several people commented was very interesting (I agree!) and the woman from my class who had just invited us for RH dinner said that he was now elected to give a dvar Torah at the dinner table.
 |
| Taken especially for Chellie: here is a picture of your baby at his show |
Wednesday, September 9, 2015
Dust Storms and Chamsins and Ulpan: oh my!
Since yesterday, much of the Middle East has been enveloped in a very large dust storm, the worst in Israel in 15 years, according to the Jerusalem Post. In the morning, the kids looked out the window and said, "it's going to rain today". I chuckled and told them that it was unlikely to the point of impossible for it to rain in Israel in September. Then I looked out the window and said, "but it sure does LOOK like it's going to rain...." Turns out it was just tons of dust coming over the hill next to us and heading our way. The whole area looks like Los Angeles in the midst of very bad 1980s smog.....or like it's a very foggy day......or like Lawrence of Arabia is going to come galloping over the hills of "Rama Gimel" and ride through town.....
We had no idea that this type of weather was coming since we don't listen to the news or get the paper here (and when I looked at the front page of the Jerusalem Post in the grocery store yesterday, I realized how glad I was to be out of the loop). We just went on our merry way walking to school yesterday morning, although we all noted how extremely hot the weather was (that's the chamsin part of this: we're in the midst of a heatwave as well as a big dust storm. I'd say "when it rains, it pours", but, clearly, that is not the right analogy....). I thought maybe it was hazy because it was so hot. It wasn't until our teacher walked into ulpan and we spent the better part of an hour discussing the weather that I really understood what was going on.
It really isn't that bad out. From our house, it looks very cloudy and dirty but, walking around in it, it really is okay. There are many kids at the park and riding bikes around and, while I'm sure some people are curtailing their activities, most people seem to just be living life as usual (if with a few more showers per day!). Perhaps our area just got less dust than areas that had people go to the hospital.
Here's hoping the dust storm as well as the heat wave will be over soon!
We had no idea that this type of weather was coming since we don't listen to the news or get the paper here (and when I looked at the front page of the Jerusalem Post in the grocery store yesterday, I realized how glad I was to be out of the loop). We just went on our merry way walking to school yesterday morning, although we all noted how extremely hot the weather was (that's the chamsin part of this: we're in the midst of a heatwave as well as a big dust storm. I'd say "when it rains, it pours", but, clearly, that is not the right analogy....). I thought maybe it was hazy because it was so hot. It wasn't until our teacher walked into ulpan and we spent the better part of an hour discussing the weather that I really understood what was going on.
 |
| photo from NASA. Here's an interesting link to a National Geographic story about why this dust storm is happening. |
Here's hoping the dust storm as well as the heat wave will be over soon!
Tuesday, September 8, 2015
Getting Good With the Cardboard
Cardboard is my new favorite building material: here are our bookshelves
We have a bunch of them--all a set (good thing the recycling bin outside the shoe store was full of matching green boxes, because I'd hate my fancy book cases to not match....)
I also made a utensil holder from a 2 liter water bottle
We have a bunch of them--all a set (good thing the recycling bin outside the shoe store was full of matching green boxes, because I'd hate my fancy book cases to not match....)
I also made a utensil holder from a 2 liter water bottle
Sunday, September 6, 2015
Donating Blood in Israel
Three times a year the Beit Shemesh Blood Drive is held. I signed up to volunteer while we were still in the US. I was assigned to either "take blood pressures or give out drinks and snacks". Fine with me--I can handle either (they said they would provide me with a stethoscope if I ended up taking bp's, since mine is on our lift). This amazing woman who ran it told me she started it in 1998 and has organized 46 blood drives since then! HERO! (And the computer programmer guy who, for many, many years has volunteered to drive people to/from the blood drive [and was so experienced at doing it that, while he was driving me and some others, a call came in and, when he heard the man's name, he asked, "you live on .......street, right?"]--HERO!).
In the end, it was pretty quiet when I was there, so they didn't really need me to volunteer in any way except to give blood. I specifically didn't give blood before we left so that I would be able to donate at the Blood Drive (seemed like a nice way to give back to our new community).
Donating here was really an interesting experience. First off, the entire form was in Hebrew, but, before I panicked, I saw that they had a laminated copy of an English translation. Whew. Then off to pre-donation clearance ("have you ever had Mad Cow disease?"). I had to stop the woman and tell her (in Hebrew, per my ulpan teacher) that I was a new immigrant and I don't know much Hebrew yet and did she speak English? Between her moderate English and my moderate Hebrew (she was better than me!), we got through the whole form. She was so delighted that I was an olah chadashah. It's really sweet how people here really get a kick out of new immigrants (unlike, say, many other places in the world.....). Off to another booth for a finger stick: "Ooh," said the nurse, "13.6! That's GREAT". Me, "Wow! That IS great! Must be because I've eaten so much more meat since we moved here". Her: "NO! It's Israel! It is such a good country--it is good for you! You get blessings being here." Everyone was beyond sweet and showered me with blessings for a good New Year and a good absorption (there it is again!). There were five stations to get through the donation process, and, when each person sent me on her way she told the next one I was a new immigrant. When the person checking me in saw the date on my teudat zehut she did a double-take and said, "You really ARE a new immigrant".
Then I received a booklet with the date stamped inside and they told me I was now eligible for "Blood Insurance". Basically, if a person needs blood in Israel, they are required to find family/friends to donate blood in their name, so the blood supply does not get depleted, and, especially, so the supply is there if soldiers need it. I found the details quite interesting: http://www.shemesh.co.il/bd/BloodDriveAllAboutBloodInsurance.html. By doing a proactive donation, I ensured that my family can receive as much blood as they need (hopefully none!) for the next year. Quite different than getting a t-shirt and a coffee mug like at Children's (always my favorite place to donate), but really a sensible plan.
Fun fact: Magen David Adom in Israel, who staffs the blood drive, is known as "MADA" here. I keep walking by their various ambulances, which all contain the names of donors on the side, and I fully expect that, one day, I will see a name or community I know.
In the end, it was pretty quiet when I was there, so they didn't really need me to volunteer in any way except to give blood. I specifically didn't give blood before we left so that I would be able to donate at the Blood Drive (seemed like a nice way to give back to our new community).
Donating here was really an interesting experience. First off, the entire form was in Hebrew, but, before I panicked, I saw that they had a laminated copy of an English translation. Whew. Then off to pre-donation clearance ("have you ever had Mad Cow disease?"). I had to stop the woman and tell her (in Hebrew, per my ulpan teacher) that I was a new immigrant and I don't know much Hebrew yet and did she speak English? Between her moderate English and my moderate Hebrew (she was better than me!), we got through the whole form. She was so delighted that I was an olah chadashah. It's really sweet how people here really get a kick out of new immigrants (unlike, say, many other places in the world.....). Off to another booth for a finger stick: "Ooh," said the nurse, "13.6! That's GREAT". Me, "Wow! That IS great! Must be because I've eaten so much more meat since we moved here". Her: "NO! It's Israel! It is such a good country--it is good for you! You get blessings being here." Everyone was beyond sweet and showered me with blessings for a good New Year and a good absorption (there it is again!). There were five stations to get through the donation process, and, when each person sent me on her way she told the next one I was a new immigrant. When the person checking me in saw the date on my teudat zehut she did a double-take and said, "You really ARE a new immigrant".
Then I received a booklet with the date stamped inside and they told me I was now eligible for "Blood Insurance". Basically, if a person needs blood in Israel, they are required to find family/friends to donate blood in their name, so the blood supply does not get depleted, and, especially, so the supply is there if soldiers need it. I found the details quite interesting: http://www.shemesh.co.il/bd/BloodDriveAllAboutBloodInsurance.html. By doing a proactive donation, I ensured that my family can receive as much blood as they need (hopefully none!) for the next year. Quite different than getting a t-shirt and a coffee mug like at Children's (always my favorite place to donate), but really a sensible plan.
Fun fact: Magen David Adom in Israel, who staffs the blood drive, is known as "MADA" here. I keep walking by their various ambulances, which all contain the names of donors on the side, and I fully expect that, one day, I will see a name or community I know.
The Library
We are very big library users, so, of course, we were delighted that the library here has a small English language section. The challenge is that the whole system works differently here: we had to pay a yearly membership fee based on how many books we wanted to take out each time. And "50" was not a choice....The most was 10 books out at a time, so I got that (cost about $45 for the year, which is comparable, if not a lot less, than what we pay in library fines back in the US).
I went this morning, as the library is conveniently located in the same community center where we adults take ulpan. It has been veeery quiet this afternoon as the kids read some old favorites as well as a few new things I picked up. Seeing the small number of books (and hearing from someone that her daughter donated the entire collection of "Babysitter's Club" books that are there) made me wish that I had put on our lift at least some of the many, many boxes of books we got rid of. I did consider it before we left, but, not being sure if our stuff would even fit on the lift without taking things to donate, I chose not to do more than think about it.
Maybe next summer when we come back to the US, I'll bring back an empty ToteATon and everyone who has kids' books to donate can give them to me (assuming they are paperback and don't equal more than the 50 lbs I can take in a checked bag)?!
I went this morning, as the library is conveniently located in the same community center where we adults take ulpan. It has been veeery quiet this afternoon as the kids read some old favorites as well as a few new things I picked up. Seeing the small number of books (and hearing from someone that her daughter donated the entire collection of "Babysitter's Club" books that are there) made me wish that I had put on our lift at least some of the many, many boxes of books we got rid of. I did consider it before we left, but, not being sure if our stuff would even fit on the lift without taking things to donate, I chose not to do more than think about it.
Maybe next summer when we come back to the US, I'll bring back an empty ToteATon and everyone who has kids' books to donate can give them to me (assuming they are paperback and don't equal more than the 50 lbs I can take in a checked bag)?!
Let's Review: The Past Few Days
EZG: No real theme here, just miscellany from the past few days:
--Thursday, Ilana tried out an after-school dance class. She LOVED it and I had to smile when I came in at the end and they were dancing to one of the girls' favorite songs: Shaindel Antelis singing "A Sister's Love". She can't wait for this week's class ;)
--On Shabbos we went down the street for Friday night dinner. The P's made aliyah last year from NJ and have older children as well as a 6 y/o and a daughter in 10th grade. When they came last year, she was the only new immigrant in the 9th grade.....Makes me so grateful that there are 4 olim in Penina's class
--Shabbos day we went to our old homeschooling friends, the Werners . Eight of their ten children were home for the weekend, and we got to meet the totally adorable Yirmi, their youngest. It was quite a far walk and we got pretty lost (too bad it was Shabbos and I couldn't take a photo of our shoes *covered* with dust because they live in a part with construction going on. It was funny to see four pairs of black shoes with so much white on them). Nice to reconnect with them and hear the neat paths each of their kids is on.
--Thursday, Ilana tried out an after-school dance class. She LOVED it and I had to smile when I came in at the end and they were dancing to one of the girls' favorite songs: Shaindel Antelis singing "A Sister's Love". She can't wait for this week's class ;)
--On Shabbos we went down the street for Friday night dinner. The P's made aliyah last year from NJ and have older children as well as a 6 y/o and a daughter in 10th grade. When they came last year, she was the only new immigrant in the 9th grade.....Makes me so grateful that there are 4 olim in Penina's class
--Shabbos day we went to our old homeschooling friends, the Werners . Eight of their ten children were home for the weekend, and we got to meet the totally adorable Yirmi, their youngest. It was quite a far walk and we got pretty lost (too bad it was Shabbos and I couldn't take a photo of our shoes *covered* with dust because they live in a part with construction going on. It was funny to see four pairs of black shoes with so much white on them). Nice to reconnect with them and hear the neat paths each of their kids is on.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)