FOOD
Let us begin with food, because why not? In case you were wondering, Israel is neither lacking food, nor is it lacking kosher food, nor kosher restaurants. I could go on and on, but I will cut to the chase. It is dangerous here in Israel. I mean, every type of kosher food and it is all so nearby! Be aware before you move here, you will need to be trained to be on the lookout for suspicious restaurants and neighbors trying to feed you! Also, our mall has a new restaurant in the food court (which by the way, has all kosher restaurants in the food court). Anyway this new restaurant is a Mexican food place. I have heard it is pretty decent. But I also heard that they make margaritas, a drink that is oddly hard to find in Israel. Well, one day last week I was at the mall with my kids shopping for shoes and we decided to get dinner from a sandwich place at the mall. On my way out I spied the Mexican restaurant, and in a moment of boldness I walk up and only order a margarita. After being asked for ID because I obviously look to be under age 18, I get my delicious frozen margarita. Ole!
DATE NIGHT (aka more food)
We have been trying to go out with friends of ours for a while. But between my work schedule and her husband's travel schedule it has not worked out. But finally, a date was agreed upon and we decided to head to this totally awesome restaurant which is close by. You might remember it from my reports on the Summer 2017 restaurant crawl, AKA what we do when our kids go to tzofim camp. This restaurant is basically a giant all you can eat BBQ. Literally they have barbecues set up behind the restaurant and they cook whatever they have decided to purchase or prepare that day. It is at least 5+ salads and 10+ types of meat. Did I mention the beverages? They brew their own beers and serve two types of wine and of course, sodas and such. Now this place is not cheap, but it is all inclusive, so don't feel badly about ordering a drink (oh, is that something only I feel guilty about?) (You'll basically never see me order a drink or allow my kids to order a drink. I am weird like that)
Perhaps I should mention what this restaurant looks like. When we went in 2017, it was basically a giant covered patio. Now it has walls but still retains its outdoors rustic look. Its also just sort of plopped into the middle of a little town/village. You drive in, pass a few houses and then park wherever. But when you walk into the place, you get a nice surprise that this little gem actually has probably the best service I have received in a restaurant in Israel. So don't be turned off that it's a bit rustic.
Anyway, we arrive a bit late because life with four teens can be unpredictable. Our friends had already become besties with the owners/managers of the restaurant. And the food had already started arriving. I honestly have no idea what we ate, except that it was everything. Like, we ate all of the things. I definitely had liver, heart of something, lots of interesting kebabas, ribs, sausages, other types of steak things, chickens, etc.. The atmosphere is super fun and even though we are all old people (just ask our collective 8 kids) we managed to keep having fun and hanging out until they actually closed the entire restaurant around us. So, if you are in Israel, like meat and beer and want to try a fun place,head to BishiQ HaMivshala. And no, they did not pay me. I actually paid them.
SCHOOL FOOD
Now onto a different type of food (I mean, lets be honest, this is a country where everyone wants to feed you) SCHOOL FOOD.
As you may or may not know, the entire country of Israel is basically run by WhatsApp groups (joking, sort of) There is a WhatsApp group for everything. I am in one for 3/4 of my kids classes. Thankfully to of those kids groups are just for the teachers to send class messages and the parents cannot type anything. Then comes my 4th child. I am in a group for his class and a group for his grade. And in a group for a special school program he does. Because apparently I need to know everything. The main topics of discussion are food. Like, why don't we have a meal plan? Then once the meal plan began, so did the complaints. Why are we all surprised that during the first few days of a school lunch program, there is chaos??? My kids have been to school before. Every new thing usually begins with chaos.
Maybe I am heartless because I did not sign up y kids for this meal plan because I know
#1 they would still need to pack food for the 10:00 snack
#2 the food usually isn't great
#3 it's expensive
#4 I do not need one more form to stay on top of
So I was so surprised when I began getting the frantic WhatsApp messages
#1 there was chaos
#2 there was not enough food
#3 the food was not good
#4 what can we do?
I texted a friend who has lived her for about fifteen years, to ask if I am too laid back or what the heck? She said, oh Israelis and food, they get a little crazy.
Fast forward to the class trip last week. The boys (this is 7th grade) went away for two days, AKA one night. The instructions on the permission slip said they needed to pack breakfast and lunch for the first day. My son also came home with instructions for what he was assigned to bring for the dinner BBQ (sliced onion, lettuce and a can of pickles in case you were wondering). Well, apparently some of the parents were convinced that after breakfast and lunch the first day, no one would eat again for the next day. The WhatsApp messages began, with tons of questions about food, where they would sleep, what if it rained, etc... I am like, ummmm, the school will provide food guys. (Okay this was in my head, I usually do not jump into the WhatsApp unless necessary) I text my same friend again to ask, what in the world? Is everyone in his class a first born? A I too chill because he is my 4th? Am I too chill because I don't understand the messages? Or am I too trusting? Nah. I trust his teacher and his school to return him back to me alive, smelly and dirty. And that is basically what happened. He came back dirty, smelly and with a huge smile. So let us all calm down and not worry so much that our kids will starve. Because let's face it. Half of those kids (at least) had their phones. If they were hungry they would call and in a flash, some Jewish mother/father would be drive go Jerusalem with Schnitzel for 30 kids.
SCHOOL TRIPS
And that brings me to the next topic. My kids take the coolest school trips. Two weeks ago my eldest went on a five day trip. Last week my girls went on a three day trip and at the same time, my youngest went on a two day trip. I should add that all of these trips are included in the school fees we pay, the school does not request extra money for this. My girls went on a trip to the north, My eldest went on a trip all around Israel and the little guy went to Jerusalem, but not into the Old City. They all came back after having lots of fun, lots of hiking and after eating lots of sandwiches. No one ever called me to tell me they were hungry :-)
FUN ADULT TRIP DAY
And their trips allow for another nice little perk of Israel. I call it, "Hey the kids are all on trips so the adults should take a day off for a fun day." Okay, in reality only 3/4 of the kids were on trips, but the last remaining child at home barely notices me unless he needs food (you know who you are!) and I was not scheduled to work that day. So hubby took a vacation day, we dropped the dog off at the dog sitter and headed up north to a Winery and Restaurant.
Anyway, we get to the winery and check in for our tour. I thought we'd have our own little private tour since it was mid-day on a weekday. Nope, it was us old people and a group of like 10 girls who seemed to be on a bachelorette trip. They were so cute. This place pairs their wines with delicious chocolates. I am still not a wine connoisseur but I do love chocolate. Also, I am not picky about that. All in all, a fun tasting and tour. Then we ate lunch in their restaurant because we had heard lots of good things. Seems like a nice romantic day, right? Well yeah, except after eating we spent like two hours discussing Bar Mitzvah plans and trying to juggle the needs of everyone coming from abroad for the Bar Mitzvah.
In the end, the kids all had great school trips, and the boy returned home dirty and happy and the girls returned home with tons of stories about the trip. No one starved and no one was left out in the rain.
SHOPPING
When my kids were little, they were like, really little. Except my eldest, but even he didn't grow that quickly. Like, my girls would wear the same clothing for over a year, same with shoes. I did not understand what people meant when they said they were always having to buy clothing. Well, the joke is on me guys. I now have two teenage girls who always claim they don't have any clothing. Well, one complains about it and one refuses to wear anything new (you know who you are). And my younger son is prepared for any sudden flooding, His pants will not get wet. Eldest child has plenty of clothing but likes to tell me he needs clothing. Dude, first we handle the kid in flood pants.
Anyway, I woke up one day and decided that today was the day I would take myself shopping. So after texting ten friends to get advice, I headed off to this outlet mall sort of place. It's possible that I have been there before and it is also possible that I still got lost finding it. You'll never know. Anyway, I find success in the second store. Bought myself a dress for my child's bar mitzvah. I even asked if it was on sale, and the owner seemed slightly offended and told me, it just arrived last week, the designer only made five of these, it is very special. But okay, I will give you 10% off. Okay then.
Then last week, after again interviewing friends about where to take my teen girls shopping for the bar mitzvah, we head into Jerusalem. Now, in case you do not know me that well, here are a few facts.
#1 I work in Jerusalem every day
#2 But I try to never drive there, work provides transportation
#3 When I do have to drive, I slightly freak out about parking
#4 So for me to drive my girls to Jerusalem after school was huge
#5 I was desperate to find dresses on the first try
Anyway, after interviewing one friends who seems to know how and where to park everywhere in Jerusalem, I am armed with a plan. We head straight for the parking garage because yeah, I will pay money not to stress over parking. I find a sweet spot (aka, I could back in without much difficulty) and we hike back to the store. And, after many bored faces by my girls, we eventually find dresses. Here is my current secret to having teenage girls and living in Israel. Pay any price if it fits and they like it. Also, the dresses cost less than I had assumed.
I guess soon I need to shop for the bar mitzvah boy.
WORK
Well, continue to really like my job. I still have a lot to learn, but I do feel more confident, usually. Generally until I have to answer the phone. Seriously the phone is my nemesis. There are basically three types of calls.
#1 Parents calling to check on their babies. No problems there, I either am taking care of their baby or I hand the phone to the nurse who is.
#2 People calling but getting the wrong department. Usually no problem until they ask me to connect them elsewhere and I'm like, well that's above my skill level.
#3 People who really need us, like the delivery room calling for us, someone looking for the doctor, some other unit needing our supplies, etc..
Those are the calls that are really hard for me. I have trouble understanding Hebrew on the phone because it is usually so fast because there is some urgency or because people just speak quickly. If anyone else is available I ask them to answer, but often it is me closest to the phone. Hopefully this will improve with time. For now I keep asking people to repeat themselves.
I love the babies so much, even when they spit up on me or it comes from the other end and I need to change uniforms mid shift. I still love them. I love when they smile in their sleep, I love teaching them English (okay, I mean I speak to them in English so I assume it is good for their brains) and I love helping their parents learn how to hold them and care for them. I also love when I occasionally get an English speaking family.
I am starting to learn the names of all of the doctors, and I have mastered most of the names of the nurses. I mean, someone I call a Rahel, Rivka, and when all else fails, I can just yell out Michal because that is the most common name. I have also learned that the plural of Michal is not Michalim or Michalot, it is Michaliot. So there is that! Work comes with grammar lessons. I have even learned how to sort of pronounce my name while causing the last amount of confusion. I cannot say the R like Israelis do and considering my age, that is not likely to happen. But I have learned how to say it so that they usually understand me.
OTHER STUFF
Okay this has already been really long so I will finish up.
I attended a huge challah bake with my girls. It was so fun and so fun to be there with so many of my friends that I have been lucky enough to meet since starting our life over here. And my favorite mayor came to speak so I might have taken a selfie on the sly. Sort of like how I took a selfie with Bibi two years ago.
Our youngest had his first time putting on tefillin and we chose to celebrate it at school. His classmates were adorable, his teacher seems to know how to handle all of those boys and it was just a fun morning.
We voted in our first Israeli election. After some confusion (obviously) we found the correct location and room. At our polling place in NJ, all of the poll workers were well over 70 years old and always seemed suspicious when I would stuff my kid with me into the voting booth. This time, we did not take our kids, but almost everyone else did. And the poll workers were all like 25 year old guys. And outside of the polling place, a mom was stumping for her son. Nice Jewish mother touch!
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