From the North to the South!

So much going on, so little time to blog. Here are the main events that have occurred over the past few weeks:

#1 Neighborhood Shabbaton to the north 

#2 Eldest child's birthday
#3 Trip to Eilat

We begin with the trip up north. As you may remember, my awesome neighborhood takes trips together. I mean, not the entire neighborhood, but about ten families. In the fall, we all went to the Ein Gedi area, and a few weeks ago, we all went up north, to a place called Achziv. It is about two hours away, so we did a few stops on the way up (to Israelis, two hours is like a long road trip) We stopped to see an old cemetery which now is smack in the middle of a town. And then we went to a park  for a picnic and a short tiyul. 

So when you picnic in Israel, you can't just bring some lame sandwiches. We are Jews and we are serious about food.  You need to bring some salads, perhaps some home baked goods, etc.... Slowly We are fitting  in and managing. And our neighbors are there if we forget something. (Which is always, so they share their treats with us.)

Next stop on the way north is to a place called the Rainbow Cave. No idea what this is, but why not? Well, it's a lovely little tiyul, on a nice path that takes you to a totally insane looking cave.  You can just gaze at the cave, like our group did, or, you can rapell through the opening in the rainbow cave. This is where I saw the coolest (aka, guy with no fear) looking guy ever. Sure, just hanging out here in the edge if the cliff, waiting to rapell. No biggie!

After the tiyul, we head to the Field School at Achziv. A field school is similar to a youth hostel, but they also run programs about the nature in the area and work to care for what is in nature. Also, they have very affordable accommodations. We had a lovely time there. We go to go to the beach before shabbat, relax in the porch chairs and just have an enjoyable shabbat that didn't include cooking or cleaning. 

Skip ahead to eldest child's birthday.  His friends planned a surprise party in our house. Without embarrassing him too much  let me just say this:

His adjustment to Israel has been the biggest surprise in our aliyah journey. He has always been a friendly guy, but he has really blossomed here in Israel. He might not know how to turn off his bedroom light or know where his hamper is located, but he knows how to meet people.  He makes friends with everyone and he started speaking Hebrew the moment we landed. And this surprise party was a testament to how he has made a whole new group of friends here.  They were seriously adorable setting up the food, blowing up balloons, dancing and doing a quiz game about the birthday boy. I was definitely kvelling, in between bringing out more and more food. It's hard to feed a group of teenage boys. They are vacuum cleaners! 

And finally, skipping ahead again to our trip to Eilat. Yes, we went to Eilat, all the way in the south of Israel. Modiin has a fabulous absorption department, and they arrange subsidized trips for any new olim, within the first ten years in Israel.  So, when I heard they were headed to Eilat, I rallied some friends and we signed up. I shall explain the short  version, because you're likely bored by now. 

#1 Bus rides are endless 

#2 Eilat is really far 

#3 The road to Eilat is scary, so I'm just glad we weren't the drivers 

#4 Timna Park near Eilat is a must see 

#5 The desert is really big and hot 

#6 Eilat is the only place where you can see four countries at once 

#7 Israeli hotel breakfast is not normal 

#8 Drinks have hilarious names (I might have had one called 'Pornitini Star' 

Thus ends my tale of traveling from the north to the south. I highly recommend that you come to Israel and stay in some of the hotels and then invite me for breakfast. 

And a final hilarious moment. In between the chaos, we went to IKEA to get some better storage furniture for the kids' rooms. Now remember, most Israelis have very small cars. I captured this moment while waiting for the hubby to pull our  AR around. Picture watching this, while other Israelis are helping load it into the car, saying, 'no problem, don't worry.'  I was worried. Lol. 

P. S. , this isn't my car. 

All of the Yom ha.....s

Let me begin by saying that no one does a tekes (ceremony) like Israelis. They really know how to pull these programs together. From school programs to holidays they know what is going on. And for Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day), Yom HaZikaron (Memorial Day) and Yom HaAtzmaut (Independence Day) they really know how to make you feel all of the feels.

Yom HaShoah :
I have a lot of mixed feelings about this day. Growing up, I spent many years of Hebrew school hearing survivors speak to us. I watched many many many (too many for a kid) movies about the holocaust. And then I've spent the past number of  years trying not to watch any movies or read any more holocaust books. It was just too much. But then a few years back, my kids started asking questions and so we had to start discussing it with them. And some of my kids had to do family interviews for various projects and they got to ask questions to the Great Aunt Lillian, who was our only link to that era in Europe.

Back to the present. Here in Israel, the while country celebrates together and mourns together. In the schools, there are programs for every event. So for Yom HaShoah, the kids all had various school programs to learn and to remember. And we had our first Yom HaShoah siren. In case you aren't familiar with it, it is a siren that rings out throughout the entire country. It is for a moment of silence for all of those that have passed away. In this case, in memory of those who perished in the Holocaust.  I was at ulpan where they had a ceremony.

But let me dial it back to the night before. We attended a city ceremony at a nearby high school.  We chose this one because all of our kids were attending it with their scout groups. I was blown away by how amazing this program was. It was all done by teenagers, 12th graders. They spoke, they sang, they played music. Really just so talented and poised. And serious. Teenagers here,  overall, are just so mature. I realize that they have to be, given that they are all about to he drafted into the army. But it's really incredible to see.

Now let's skip ahead one week. Now we are at Yom HaZikaron, the memorial day for all those who have fallen in the military, in wars, and those who have been killed in  terror attacks. During the night, our kids were attending the main town memorial ceremony with the scouts. So we walked down to the town amphitheater to attend the same ceremony.  Let me just say, wow. Imagine thousands of people (I have no idea how many people, but a lot) all sitting and tons of groups of children sitting on the grass. And yet everyone is silent for the entire program.

This program was again done mostly by teenagers. They spoke and sang and played music.  The Chief Rabbi of Israel (aka, my neighbor) spoke and told a really amazing story. He speaks so well and his Hebrew is very slow and clear. Suddenly I realized, wow, I understood almost everything that he said. The mayor (my bestie) was there, as were many others, to pay their respects to those who paved the way for us to live in safety and freedom.

Now the next day, my ulpan took a trip for Yom HaZikaron. We went on walk a few blocks through Tel Aviv, where I am studying, and we stood outside for the siren. This was my first time experiencing the siren outside during what was a fairly normal and bustling day in the city. When, just like I've always been told, everyone and everything stops while the siren sounds. You really need to see it to believe it.

Siren in Tel Aviv for Yom HaZikaron

Then, we did a tour of Independence Hall, where Ben Gurion declared Israel's statehood 69 years ago. I've been there before but it's always a great tour. And this time it was in Hebrew. Well, it was in Hebrew until there was arguing amongst the ulpan teachers and guide and then it was done half in English. Long story. But our guide was great, and I highly recommend it to everyone.

And off to the final leg of our journey: Yom HaAtzmaut, Israel's Independence Day!  So many choices of what to do and where to go. Luckily, our children are here to guide our choices.  Our eldest child's band was playing at one of the schools, so we headed there to hear him.  And yay for us, because they were playing at a school very close by, because who wants to drive during the chaos of Yom HaAtzmaut??? Not me!!!

So we go, and we wait and wait and wait. There was some confusion as to which band was going on first. During our waiting, we were amused by the hordes of children in full Yom HaAtzmaut gear. Including my own children with bubble machines and gigantic blow up hammers.

And finally, after a school choir, a school band and one of the main entertainers for the night, my child's school band goes on.  I'll have to embarrass him and say that they are just so adorable. They were so cute preparing to go on, with their matching shirts and all. And they were actually great, in my totally unbiased opinion.

Yom HaAtzmaut band video. CLICK ME!

But let's move onto the real miracle. One of the moms of a band mate comes over to me to introduce herself.  And suddenly I hear myself speaking Hebrew to her, no problem. Okay, not exactly no problem, but it was good enough that she understood me and I didn't have a panic that someone was speaking to me. And of course, being Israeli, she wanted to make sure I had somewhere to celebrate Yom HaAtzmaut, or else she was going to invite me. Ahhhhh, Israel.

And the partying didn't end after the concert. No, then we joined our neighbors for a backyard BBQ extravaganza.  Special hamburgers, kebabs, chicken, salads, fries, Israelis know how to throw a BBQ. But not just a BBQ. A BBQ where there is also a quiz show a with all questions from the Torah. Kids and adults alike were jumping to answer, some with more success than others. And the winners walked away with fabulous Yom HaAtzmaut swag.  The party was still going strong after midnight when I finally had to leave. I can't keep up with the Israelis and their partying spirit. I need sleep!

The next day, I had big plans to go to an Air Force base. But to do that, you need to leave your house by 7am. Long story short, no one was awake before 9:30am. So instead, we stayed home, did our own little BBQ and has friends over to roast marshmallows over the fire pit that we finally unpacked.  And I got oddly addicted to watching the real Tanach quiz on television. Those kids are really amazing. And two hailed from Teaneck, the place where we never wanted to live, but always wanted to take advantage of the amenities.

Let me sum it up. Israelis know how to commemorate and celebrate. They take things seriously, because life here isn't like life anywhere else. They seem to really appreciate the sacrifices and struggles of those who helped to build this country and of those who died before their time. And then,  they know how to celebrate. The sheer number of flags is awesome. It seems like on Yom HaAtzmaut, the country is filled with the sound of flapping car flags and the small of campfires from all of the bbqing.