I think everyone had a great time, everyone had their fill of the many kosher restaurants, everyone enjoyed the sunshine, and everyone got to do a bit of touring. Here are some highlights:
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| But first, here we are embarrassing our children at a netball game |
I somehow agreed to be the driver to take family up north to see Caesaria. I am not the biggest fan of driving, especially if I have never been there. But in the end, we found it (I mean, it hasn't moved in a long time) and had a nice little time touring around. Then I took everyone (well they took me technically) to the only restaurant in the area that I know, which happens to be a great winery.
I will not rehash the trip here because if you know me in real life then you have probably seen the slew of pictures all of my family members have posted. And I have to get organized and post them as well. I will post a few highlight photos here for you.
Suffice it to say, my little guy did a great job. We had Bar Mitzvah #1 at the Kotel (Western Wall) and he did an amazing job. Plus, he is so adorable. Then we all walked from there to a restaurant in Mamilla for brunch. I had told everyone that it was an easy walk because I had planned to walk us through the Arab Shuk. But then I asked my friend/tour guide to lead us and he said he always goes through the Jewish Quarter. So I said sure, why not. Cue a few people being bitter at me because it is physically a harder walk. But no worries, everyone made it and was rewarded with a delicious brunch. Thanks to those who came and of course for my friends (these are the ones who live down the street and are the reason we chose this awesome neighborhood) who went to the Kotel early to make sure we got a table and a Torah. As it turns out, if you come before 9am in a random month, it is no issue to secure a table. There were tons.
Then we moved on to Bar Mitzvah #2, on Shabbat. While I love discussing the amazing weather in Israel, it also does rain thankfully. And this is the rainy season. And well, it decided to mostly rain the day of his Bar Mitzvah. So we spent the week prior back and forth with the caterer about renting a tent, speaking to the president or whatnot of our shul, etc.... I guess I should mention that this is Israel. Our shul (synagogue) has a sanctuary and that is it. If you want to host a kiddush or as party it is outside on their big patio. If it rains, well you are sort of out of luck.
In the end, the cost of renting a tent was going to be more than the food, so we decided to hope for the best. Thankfully it worked out. It rained early in the morning, while everyone was walking to the shul, but by the time kiddush rolled around we had some sun and zero rain. Our son's vision of a full meat kiddush at 10:30am worked out. Why yes, it obviously makes sense to have meatballs, cholent, wraps and such at 10:30am, especially if you are a 13 year old boy. My neighbors made the tables fancy with candy and decorations and it was just really nice.
So you get the idea. The Bar Mitzvah was a success. He did a great job, lots of people braved walking in the rain and there was plenty of food!
I could give a whole summary of what everyone did for the time they were here but by now most have posted it on Facebook so you can read about it there. To sum up: everyone ate lots of delicious kosher food, explored some sights for the first time or the tenth time, enjoyed the good weather we had here for most of the time, and spent a lot of time discovering the joys of parking your car in Israel.
Oh wait, one more highlight. When my sister and I did a gap year in Israel (Go NATIV!) we spent half of the year on a kibbutz called Kibbutz Sa'ad. My parents had never visited the kibbutz, so I arranged for us to go down there on one fo the days. It was my parents, my brother and sister, and the six of us. I guess it is a good thing that the internet did not really exist back then because apparently my parents were quite unaware of how close kibbutz Sa'ad is to Gaza. Now they know. We had a nice tour of the kibbutz, visited the cows, visited the new carrot sorting factory (biggest in the Middle East!) and had a nice time visiting with my kibbutz mom at her house (with teas and cakes of course). I think everyone enjoyed the visit.
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| Kibbutz Grandparents in the top picture |
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| Kibbutz Parents in the bottom picture |
Now onto other new tidbits about our life.
WORK
I was booked to attend a course at work for one day. It was a neonatal resuscitation class and I stressed about it for the two weeks leading up to it. I was handed a big Hebrew book and told to read it and then take the online test, before the course. Luckily, I also own the English version of this book so I studied them together. I managed to pass the online exam (On the 2nd try, after they told me that I can pause the clock to give me more time to read the questions, phew!) and even the class was much less stressful than I had imagined. I understood what they were saying, my group was friendly and in the end I stressed over nothing. And the best part - someone in my group also lives in Modi'in and I got a ride home, instead of waiting for the work van. So that was great and we got to chat which was nice, since people are fairly silent on the work van, unless they have been working together for ten years. I am the newbie. Winning!!
DOG
My dog got some new clothing because apparently I am that person. She enjoyed a nice vacation at the dog sitter AKA she was totally spoiled with long walks, too much playtime and affection. She was happy to see us but I wonder if she misses them and the fact that she gets to sleep in their beds. Sorry dog, you get the dog bed and kennel.
MORE WORK
More English/Hebrew work confusion. Because apparently the Hebrew word for staples (like surgical staples, but maybe for all staples) is clipsim קליפסים. Yes, it is clips, which is already plural, and then made into the Hebrew plural. That was interesting and confusing for me to figure out at work. Don't even get me started on the word for brownie.
ARMY STUFF
We attended a meeting for olim parents about the army/pre-army programs. Because we are absolutely clueless about how the army works, what the jobs are (when they tell you think about what you want) what we need, etc... So this was really helpful, especially since our eldest will have his first call up in the spring. Eek! But at least now we have some good information and we can start to think about the future. There are all of these pre-army programs, year of study, year of volunteering, etc... I definitely need to ask all of my neighbors the details so we can figure out where to focus. I mean, if I ever see my neighbors because I keep working on Shabbat or it keeps raining. How can we hold the street meeting in the rain?
IN CONCLUSION
Okay, to sum up (because I already have spent way too long staring at the computer and not writing much).
#1-Bar Mitzvah - succcess
#2-Parent teacher conferences - let us say that one teacher was (only?) running one hour behind schedule (I won't even write about that, let's just say that I came, I waited, I showed my pretty face, I tried not to be annoyed at the mother before me who took 30+ minutes even though the slots are 10 minutes long) I mean, it's not like I am going to yell at someone, whether it be Hebrew or English.
#3-Hebrew confusion at work - always
#4-Hebrew course at work - success
#5-Army lecture for Olim - attended, good info, need to figure stuff out
What do we have ahead of us?
As of Sunday, I begin my training for the higher acuity NICU at the hospital. We have two floors of the NICU and I currently work on the step-down unit (that is where everyone starts) and then we eventually train for the higher level and then rotate through both. I told my boss about a month or so ago that I was not ready because I was worried about the language and it is a more intense environment, etc... She said, don't worry, you have some time. So I was like, phew. Until a week ago when she approached me and said that I was ready and what did I think? Well, it is hard to disagree with the boss. I did request a reminder to those training me that they need to be a bit more patient because of the language. Thankfully my boss has so far placed me with patient nurses. I mean, I can see them on the schedule for week one. I am hoping they will be patient with me.
So, to sum up my summary. I am excited to start the training, but very nervous. It is six weeks where I am working with other nurses and then I am on my own (I mean, it's not like they disappear but you know what I mean). I am hoping that my fears are unfounded. I love learning so I am excited for that aspect. I also agreed to take on one extra shift per week during training so that I can learn more, so I guess my next blog is in 7 weeks or so?
For now, Shabbat Shalom, enjoy the food pics!
