Okay. So it has been a while (one week but okay) since my last blog . I'm sure you've all been waiting to hear about our next adventures. Fear not, for there have been adventures.
Last time I did an update, I highlighted the boys . So this time here is a bit of a girls update. Both girls have joined the school band. One plays the bass and one plays the drums. And yes, one did ask me if we could bring the drum set to and from school. Ummm that would he a no. But we did compromise on a snare drum for performances .
One girl also decided to join the sparring team for Taekwondo . Which means she now travels to Jerusalem every week to practice with them. We have a little carpool to Jerusalem with the coach bringing them back here. Let's see how this new element goes.
Basically , since we made aliyah, the kids have been trying to do as many activities as possible so that I never have a quiet night. I'm pretty sure it's an elaborate plot to make me forget the glory days when they all went to bed at 7pm. I mean, okay, back then I always had at least three in diapers and a stroller that needed its own zip code. But at least they went to bed early and I had some alone time.
Oh yeah. And one had this assignment to bring in something that has to do with someone's name in her class. She picked a person whose name means dew. Well, apparently they don't sell mountain dew around here . So plan B, after asking other people, it turns out the name also means curls . So curly bisli and curly lollipop win out. Yay for projects that are hard enough in English, let alone in Hebrew . But at least she was able to walk to the store without me and take care of it.
So there girls. I do care about you and I wrote about you. Sorry that you're both middle children !
Now, you're probably wondering why you haven't heard more about my awesome neighborhood . That's because I was saving up for a big update. This past shabbat , we went on a shabbaton . That's right. We all went away together for shabbat. Okay, not all of us, but a group of us went away together. Someone who wasn't me did all of the planning and I just got to go. I'll be playing that new Olah card for a while.
Anyway, Friday we drove down to Ein Gedi. Most of the people went on this long and hard and hot hike. That was group #1 and that included my husband and children. I, however , went with group #2. Group #2 had a lovely tiyul at Nahal David, aka what people refer to as Ein Gedi. We had a nice walk in the warm weather, saw the water falls, and then we had a lovely and very informative class given by one of my neighbors .
You know, we just plopped down on a rock and opened up our Tanach (Bible) and read and translated a story we that happened very close to the spot where we were sitting. Even though that's not my first time doing that, it's amazing every single time.
Okay so after our mini tiyul , we headed out to lunch. Because , well, it was a vacation ! I met some nice people who I didn't know before and one of them treated us to lunch . Thanks group #2!
Then the whole group reconvened at the field school for shabbat . The short story is that we had a really great time. The kids all played with each other . Some of them actually spoke to some other kids who they don't really know. The kids ate plenty of candy, ran around , and basically had a blast.
The adults also spent time hanging out. Jon and I lost pretty terribly at a trivia game. I mean, the questions were all in Hebrew . So by the time we understood you question, someone had already answered it. Maybe next year we can get a few more correct . However , I did get to be the one who translated a word into Hebrew that some other English speakers didn't know. Thank you story about Petach Tikvah that included the Hebrew word for swamp. You made me sound super smart .
Okay, who is ready for an ulpan update. Or not really an ulpan update, but rather a successful outing based on what I've learned in ulpan update .
Yesterday , I went to lunch with my ulpan bestie . My youngest child who normally finishes school before 1pm , has a club on Mondays . So it's my day where I have some time to myself. Anyway, we have a lovely lunch where we order half in Hebrew , half in English and half in hebraicized English . פייש אנד צ'יפס was on the menu.
Anyway, then we decide to peruse the stores in the shopping center because I don't even know what's there. After a few stops , we go into a judaica store to buy a few things. Long story short , the owner is totally my new bestie . Why you may ask? ? ? Because first, he didn't make fun of my Hebrew or switch to English . And next. Because he asked us how many years we've been in Israel . And we laughed and said, years? ? ? ? We've been here only just 3 months. Well , if he were from the southern states, he would have likely uttered my favorite phrase of, "well, butter my buns and call me a biscuit . " Or in Hebrew I guess my 2nd favorite Hebrew phrase , " אני בשוק ! "
He said he was very impressed with our Hebrew. So of course we had to tell him about our teacher, and how she has taught us (almost) everything we know. Then he goes on to tell us that he sees Americans who are here for users and barely speak Hebrew . Exactly. He has totally nailed one of my aliyah fears. Must overcome fear by speaking Hebrew to random people and being super nerd in ulpan.
So there you go. Ulpan is working. Yesterday was the first day where I felt brave enough to really speak Hebrew . Then I took my newfound bravery to the hardware store and tried my luck there . But since I didn't know the word in English for what I was searching for, let alone the word in Hebrew , that was mostly a comedy scene . But whatever . Whenever I feel down about my Hebrew , I'm totally going back to see my new bestie in the judaica store.
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