Catching up before the chaos!

The time is just getting away from me. Not enough 'sofa sitting time' for me to write this blog.

Before I begin, how fun are these? I love the little surprises that pop up here. I mean, I don't like that I saw an entire case of sheep heads at the market last week. Ick. But these are fun.

The kids went back to school. And I was so excited because, finally, freedom! And for anyone who thinks I'm just another parent who can't wait to pawn her kids off, remember that I homeschooled my kids for two years and spent five years as a stay at home mother.  But back to the present. I couldn't wait to pawn my kids off. Everyone was hot and bored at home. Mostly because I was furiously trying to get them ready for school and study for my exam.

Finally, they went back, and instead of calm, chaos began. First, everyone needs books and supplies and shirts, and who knows what else for school. And I don't understand half of the instructions. I just told my kids to take pictures of their friends supplies and we will go on that.

And then my exam day arrives. No idea how I did. But the whole process was an experience. About two thousand potential nurses were there to take the exam. Nerve wracking. Especially because there were so many languages going on.. Hebrew, English, French, Arabic and Russian were the main ones that I heard. So now we wait. I would share a picture, but right after I snapped it,  someone else got yelled at for taking a picture. So I'll keep it to myself.

My big plan after my exam was basically to lie on my sofa for a few months and watch Netflix. But being the school nerd that I am, I decided to go back to ulpan. This time level gimmel /daled. I basically talk a good game of wanting to relax, but when it comes down to it, I'm a major school nerd. So anyway, I'm back in ulpan while I wait for my exam results. Thankfully, so far, this ulpan has been really good. I've became a major dork about grammar, because it finally all makes sense. Did I mention that ulpan bestie and I are back together?

What else is going in here? Oh yes, chugim, aka after school activities, aka, omg why are there so many choices. Let's just say that I haven't exactly been economical about it yet. I am letting them try whatever they want and then we will adjust after the chagim. Nothing happens anyway until October here. So the new things we are trying; judo, guitar, electronics, running, netball, flag football. And the old things ; taekwondo, special taekwondo in Jerusalem, and guitar. So lots going on.

Holidays are coming! So the cooking has begun. In the USA, we always had two refrigerators and freezers. Here, I have one and it is somewhat smaller than the USA. Yet, we are still feeding the same number of people.  I'll keep reminding myself that I am living in the land of miracles. The space will get bigger magically. Meanwhile I'll just be happy that I can afford to have this problem. We don't have family in Israel, although in the USA we also didn't do most chagim with our family. Luckily we have made some good friends and we will all be sharing the holidays together.

Victories of the Week!
#1 preteen dress shopping =success
#2 cranberry vodka, ordered
#3 pet shop owner and I had a good Hebrew conversation where he didn't switch to English at all
#4 insurance agent and I had a lovely Hebrew conversation as well. He is also an immigrant, except he came here the year I was born. I didn't share that info with him. Don't want him to feel old.
#5 finally, I feel like I can shop in Hebrew without making a total fool of myself
#6 except the butcher. I can't handle the butcher
#7 saw a show at the cultural center
#8 baked challah twice. Okay, that isn't exactly relevant to Israel, I just wanted you to know.

Funny moments of the week
#1 watching my son and husband move a bed. (child got too tall for his bed, so he now gets the giant guest bed) Pivot!
#2 me parking my  car in my garage every single day. I just can't.

Back to School Night 2.0 x 4
Perhaps you recall my back to school night post from last year. I was so nervous because I barely understood a word. And I was so nervous for the part where parents ask questions. I have four kids and I've been to many many of these meetings. They are all similar. Parents ask about homework  and the curriculum, etc... Well, not in Israel. Last year they asked only about the microwaves and the lockers.

Anyway, this year we had all four kids back to school nights on the same night. It was quite the adventure.  First we head to the sixth grade. He has the same teacher and the same kids in his class as last year. I understood most of what was said, aside from the things I can't understand because I didn't grow up here. Basically, the boys shouldn't act like gangsters, just because they are the oldest in the school. They start crossing guard duty next week I think. I figured I would email his teacher with questions. I always have questions. Oh, we handed over 100 shekel to the PTA, etc... The usual. That I understood!

Then we race to the girls' high school. With twins, we've been running a man to man defense for many years. So we split up and each arrived late to the classrooms. Let's just say that man to man defense works so much better now than it did when they were infants.  Those stories must be told in person though, for full effect. Anyway, we sit through those meetings. We have to go around and introduce ourselves. And guess who had to go first, in a class full of Israeli parents. That's right, yours truly! Thankfully, after my zillion hours of courses, I managed not to panic and I even remembered my name and the name of which child I was there for.  Eventually I hope to meet the teacher of my other daughter. But we had to leave early to catch the very end of my eldest child's back to school night.

Luckily, the next school is next door to the one we had been at. So we hustle over there, and slip quietly into the classroom. Or not quietly, because as we walk in, the teacher says, whoever is last, has to sit next to the teacher. (my son had the same main teacher last year so we know him) I spy an empty chair on the other side of the room. So I make a beeline for that, while pointing to my husband and saying, he is last! So, hubby had to sit in the dunce chair. He said it didn't bother him at all. Personally, I would have died of embarrassment.  Maybe because I spent a few years in after school care sitting in the 'bad chair.' Or because my 7th grade science teacher used to punish kids by drawing a circle on the board and you had to go and stand there with your nose in it.  I'm not traumatized. Really. Some things never change.

Anyway, no one asked about lockers or microwaves or really much of anything. Some complaints about the high school schedule, but overall, a busy but easy night. And the good news is, now we are done. At least until mother daughter night next week, where I get to slice myself in half. Oh, and of course we forked over some more cash for whatever.

Only in Israel!!

And for the only in Israel moments. My youngest child's class went to a program at the big park in our town, on Friday morning. And by morning, I mean 5:30am, with his entire class and his teacher. And tonight, my girls class is headed to the same park from 8:30pm-midnight. You know, just the usual! I think next week or the week after my eldest is headed somewhere until about 3am. I'm waiting for the permission slip for that to come home.

Always something going on here.

Can't wait to update everyone after the first set of chagim. I'm planning a blog showing some of the similarities and differences between my life in NJ and my life in Israel. Stay tuned. 

Until then: שנה טובה! 

School Days 2.0

And just like that, the summer is over (YAY!!!!!!)  I mean, I like the summer.  And I am lucky enough to still be able to stay home (read, I am not licensed to be a nurse in this country yet, therefore I stay home).  And we had a fun summer, but the last three weeks at home were soooo long and dragging.

I must mention this even though it's probably out of order. My girls get a whatsapp a few days ago that their scout group is going to the airport to greet a group of new olim just arriving. So I send them off with their group, on a train to the airport. On the one hand, it's pretty ironic that they are greeting new immigrants. I mean, we have only been here for one year. But on the other hand, look how integrated they have become. They are already welcoming newer people! If your kids aren't involved in activities yet, sign them up!

I spent the week before school entertaining a parade of service people here. We had the alarm company come. Then the installer for the alarm company. The mechanic (amazing pick up and drop off service). Online grocery delivery twice. Oh, and we adopted two guinea pigs. Busy busy. But I'll focus on the alarm company, because they gave me the biggest laugh (aka, actually they were laughing at me).

The alarm company installer comes to the house. I'm already nervous because, hello, I'm going to have to speak Hebrew to him and I barely know words for alarm stuff in English. He arrives and we get off to a great start, because as I'm searching for words and he is trying to help, he tells me that his English is terrible, and then uses one of my favorite Hebrew phrases, chaval al hazman (חבל על הזמן ) which is basically like, oh wow, I can't even believe ( how bad my English is.) Point being, my Hebrew was better than his English. Score one for me!

He goes into my basement/entrance floor, and sees that we have an animal cage. He asks me what is in it. And I totally blank on the word for guinea pig. So I say it in English but that didn't help him. So I said the literal translation in Hebrew. Which is basically a sea fish. Then I suddenly remember the word for it. Except it's too late. He is already dying of laughter, chuckling to himself. Then he tells me that the phrase I used is akin to calling a butterfly, literally a fly and butter. So we both get a laugh.

But let's focus. He spoke to me the whole time in Hebrew because apparently my Hebrew is better than his English, sea pigs aside. And to top it off, we had a conversation about aliyah, etc... because this is Israel, so we all talk. During this conversation, I got to drop the info regarding school tuitions in America, which is one of my favorite things to tell Israelis. The look on their faces. חבל על הזמן!

Then, that evening, the main alarm guy comes to discuss things. His English is quite good so we are speaking to him in a mix of English and Hebrew.  He was all excited and surprised to hear that we have been here for only one year so far. At some point he just stops and says, I just love your accent (meaning, my American accent) and then he proceeds to say, חבל על הזמן!  What he meant was, your American accent is funny and amuses me.  So it was really a good day for me with Hebrew. A bit ironic, since he had quite a thick Yemenite accent :-)

SCHOOL

My boys both went back to their respective schools on Friday, even though Friday is a short day of school here. My little guy's class was in charge of the opening school program. They had been going to school all week for a few hours each day to prepare.

Everyone shows up in their white shirts and navy blue or gray shorts. Everyone that is, except my son. Oh no. He promises me that they can wear any color shorts that they want. So he wore neon orange. At least he was very very easy to pick out in a group of boys. And he didn't seem to mind at all.

My favorite part of the program was seeing my little guy (not so little anymore), who arrived in Israel one year ago, without much Hebrew, not only participate in the program, but he had some lines he had to say into the microphone. And then, he was high fiving all of the little 1st graders as they walked through the lines of 6th graders. So cute!

Bonus. This year I actually understood a large chunk of what the principal and other speakers were saying. Understanding a group of 11 year old boys is another story however.  We will see how back to school night goes this year. Oh well, there is always next year.

Eldest son was also involved in the opening program of his school. He is part of the school band and apparently he spent most of his first day playing the guitar. I wasn't invited to that ceremony, but his band did make it onto the school Facebook page. So at least I got to see what he was doing.

And finally, on Sunday, my girls went back to school. Even though Sunday is a normal school day here, they had just a half day. What did they do in that half day (you might be asking?) Well, first they met their teachers. My girls both have new homeroom teachers who are also both new to the school. One daughter was pretty excited to come home and tell me that she is taller than her teacher. And my girls aren't exactly tall. Let's just say they inherited their height from me. They played a few games in the classroom and won girly prizes like puff balls and then went outside to the amphitheater for a school wide program.

And this school wide opening program was basically what we call at camp, Yom Foam! The 12th graders had the idea of a foam machine and basically all of the girls were playing in piles of foam. Sounds fun to me. Hopefully they will continue having fun and learn something as the year progresses.

ACTIVITIES
I decided to be extra organized this year, and really plan out the after school activities. During the first week, you can try everything for free to see if you want to join. We went to the town wide activity fair where they have a showcase of so many activities. We saw biking, dog training, judo, wrestling, flamenco, roller skating, capoira, taekwondo, sewing, etc...

My girls decided that they wanted to try flag football and netball. Both happen to take place at the high school down the street (score!) so off they went last night to investigate. After a bunch of frantic phone calls, with them telling me they can't find flag football, and me saying, keep looking and ask around, I finally ask on Facebook. Oops. Football hasn't started yet. My bad. But one girls did stay for netball. She was one of two girls there. Ummmm, okay, maybe we need to rethink the sports. Or she can have private netball lessons.

IT'S THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME...

Today my kids all went for their first full day of school, on the same day. So what did I do? Ditched my studying so I could have coffee with my ladies. Of course, I needed a ride because my car was at the mechanic, having its first, very overdue, tune-up. So my chauffer arrives, we go to the mall and I remember that I need stamps.  I've never gone to the post office alone because it's always crowded and stressful. We walked in today and I was sure it was candid camera. It was empty, yet two tellers were open. Miracles! I considered a selfie but it was too empty to not be so obvious.

We arrive at coffee and after a lengthy discussion of how we'd all like to order a latte and a pastry, we all order the exact same eggs and salad and coffee, like the good socialists we are!! Always fun going out with friends. Especially when they drive you. And you get to stop at the post office and then buy your child a textbook.

Signing off for now, because I have an exam to prepare for. I won't know if I pass or fail for at least a month. So basically I either have one month of Netflix or six months of Netflix ahead of me.

Happy back to school to everyone!

Summer Adventures ... (maybe only part 1)

Sorry to all of my people who have been missing my blog over the summer.  And thank you for not robbing my house.  I have been away (AKA, traveling the world) for the past month.  So I will attempt to fill everyone in on what has been going on with our aliyah adventure.  It might take a several part series, since we are such fascinating people.

I believe that I left off with the kids all headed to Israeli scout (tzofim) camp.  Which led to the hubby and I spending four nights eating out in various locations.  Israeli food tour!  I won't bore you with the details, but suffice it to say, they know how to make some good food here.  And beer.  And I usually don't like beer, but perhaps I am finally coming around.

Fast forward to the end of scout camp.  The kids came home on different days, but the last one to arrive home arrived home around 3pm on a Friday afternoon.  Said child was leaving for America approximately 36 hours later!  In case you were wondering, this was not my genius plan.  In the end though, it all worked out.  That is right.  The boys flew to NY by themselves (under the watchful eye of Claudio Epstein ( I heart his name), El Al flight attendant in charge of them).  I was so worried that someone would be sick, or something weird would happen.  But then I had to remind myself that my kids are not babies.  I was sending a teen (who is close to 6' tall) and a tween on the plane.  They have flown before, and they are on an El Al flight.  A plane load of Jews will not let them starve!

The boys arrived in NY in good condition, and were met  by my inlaws and driven for some food and then to friends in NJ who would then take them to American Boy Scout Camp.  Apparently they arrived safely at camp, since I heard nothing until  a few days later when elder child called from someone's phone (no phones allowed at camp) to ask where we packed something. Ha!  I said, oh good, you are alive!

The week of camp ended, and younger child went back to spend the week with his NY grandparents.  Elder child continued on to the Boy Scout Jamboree in West Virginia.  By the end of this summer, he had spent five weeks in a row sleeping outdoors.  Both boys had a great time at their various activities, grandparents, etc...  Everyone returned in one piece, despite the insane adventure activities that hubby approved for elder child.  This is why he called my husband for permission and did not call me.  I would have freaked out.

While the boys were at camp in the USA, the adults and the girls had a London adventure. Well, the hubby was working in London, but the girls tagged along because we had never been there before. We did a bit of a whirlwind tour. Tower of London, London Bridge, British Museum, St James Park (that was accidental while searching for a bathroom), Buckingham Palace x2 because the first time there weren't any guys with the fur hats, Hop on Hop off bus where we ran into friends, and lots of rides on the tube. Ps London, why is your public transportation so expensive???   We had a lot of fun.

After London, we headed to NYC to begin our American adventure. We landed in NYC, saw hubby's family, picked up our youngest child and headed down to Pennsylvania. Here is a summary of our American adventure.

Rented a minivan
Saw lots of family
Ate too much food
Returned minivan
Went to NYC for an adult getaway
Rented another minivan
Had fun vacationing with and without family
Did some shopping
Ate some more food
Bought 12 pairs of sneakers in an hour
Visited our landsmen in NJ
Ate too much food in NJ
Returned a minivan
Saw more family and friends
Did some shopping
Rented another minivan from the shadiest rental place
Family road trip to Niagara Falls
Almost every bathroom along the way was out of service
Used a port-a-potty at a house under construction
Stopped at my favorite Starbucks in Pennsylvania (their bathroom worked)
Drove all the way from PA to Niagara without paying one toll
Only 7 cars in the border lineup
Discovered our phones don't work in Canada
Ate expensive kosher pizza at Niagara
Had to drive without waze (no cell service)
Did the fun tourist stuff in Niagara
Saw a baseball game
Ate some more food
Back to the airport
Our luggage made weight!
Got delayed, were in Heathrow for way too long
Two weeks later, finally recovered from jetlag
So happy to be home!  Literally and Figuratively

Too many great pics to share!  Here are a few:

So I guess that is not much of an aliyah update.  My next blog will do just that.  We are here for just over a year now and haven't looked back.  Yes, it was fun shopping in Target.  And yes, I felt like an accomplish and intelligent human in America because I was able to communicate properly in English.  I am back now to trying to sort my brain into Hebrew and English.  Hopefully it starts to come back soon.  You guys know that I am already searching for a new Hebrew Ulpan.  I just cannot stay away!  PS-I bought a new latte machine in Duty Free in Israel.  Prepare yourself for coffee pics while I play with my new toy.

Looks like we made it

Well, as I sit here on my sofa, blogging away, I can't believe that I am here. Today (okay, well, two days ago because I got distracted) marks the final day of the  school year for my youngest child. My three older kids have been done and bored for a week and a half. So that's it. We made it. We survived the first school year in Israel.  Everyone told us that the first year of aliyah is the hardest, and we just have to hang in for the first year and then it gets easier. Well, if this was the hardest year, then we say, Bring It On!

But first, we share a photo. Because here in Israel, you never know what you might see. After a few hours in Jerusalem visiting cousins who are here on a trip, we put waze on, to get us home. And what street do we need to turn on? Schneur Zalman, aka my father's Hebrew name, that he is slightly obsessed with! This one is for you dad!

My sister in law suggested that I write a blog looking back on the year, so here we go.

Friends :
You might remember that when we made aliyah, we knew exactly one family in this city. So we moved as close to them as we could. Little did we know that we were moving to the best block in town!

So far, we have had a weekly shabbat gathering, every shabbat afternoon, right outside of our house. We have gone away for shabbat twice with the group. We have attended numerous communal shabbat meals in one person's garden. We have been invited to too many people's homes for shabbat meals, that I can't even keep track. It will take me most of next year to reciprocate. We have had our questions answered, listened to more Hebrew than ever before, and then asked more questions (and they tell me that I don't ask enough questions).  And just the feeling of community that we have, is something that we did not expect. And yes  this is in addition to the one family that we knew, and who we see fairly often. Still working on that.

Then there are all of the friends I made in my first ulpan.  I bug them through WhatsApp, we meet for coffee or food when we can, and help each other out. For example, they are the ones who will pick two of my kids up from the airport when I can't. A real friend does the airport run!

Hebrew :
We arrived here and the only confident Hebrew speaker was the hubby. He is one of those super annoying people who remembers stuff from twenty years ago, but can't remember what he ate for breakfast. (love you)!, and it was probably three types of cereal)  But in this case, it worked out. He was the main navigator around Israel.

Now here we are at the end of the school year and everyone can speak Hebrew. Some are more confident than others (eldest child) some prefer to listen rather than to speak (me), some have really awesome accents (not me), and some have made their first Hebrew phone call (also me!!!) I mean, the first Hebrew phone call that I initiated. I've had conversation with the supermarket before and let's just say it didn't end well. Unless you consider three kilos of red peppers and no eggs, ending well.

My next goal is to work on speaking Hebrew. I always worry about making mistakes and it stops me from trying. I know that I need to get over that. Slowly I'm working on it. But my reading and writing and grammar are light years away from where they were last summer. Just a few days left of my current medical Hebrew course.

School :
We arrived here last summer  a few weeks before school began. We attended several meetings, and while I got the gist of the Hebrew, I really didn't understand what the teachers were saying. I did a lot of nodding, and they tried to use really easy words. I didn't ask many questions.

Fast forward to the end of the year. I attended three meetings for the kids, all in Hebrew. Missed some words here and there, but overall I felt fairly confident.  I even asked them questions, inserting a few English words here and there when necessary. And I've sent many a Hebrew text to teachers.  I feel fairly accomplished and I'm hoping that it will only improve during the coming school years.

Oh wait. Maybe you were actually interested in how the kids are doing in school. Silly me. We think that the year was a major success. Many people told us that the first year is a wash. That they will basically fail and they will restart the following year. Well, don't let those people scare you.  Sure,  it's hard. We came here with three high school kids and an upper elementary child. They all did so much better than we expected.  Most importantly, they are all happy. They all speak Hebrew. They all made friends.   And they all get themselves to and from school! I definitely call that a success. But kids, if you're reading this, we expect you to do even better next year! Last day of school pics below.

And finally, a list of what perplexed me last year and how or if I've improved. And some new things

#1 How to get out of the mall parking lot. I have it figured out, but I still say a prayer every single time.
#2 I can order coffee like no ones business!
#3 I rarely convert shekels to dollars in my head. I just know how much I usually pay for stuff
#4 Was semi successful while clothes shopping with one teenage girl. That's a miracle in any country.
#5 I've had Israeli breakfasts at many locations. The fun hasn't worn off.
#6 Remember when I went to the train station for the first time and I had no idea why the security guard was asking me to do? Well, after a few weeks of avoiding him, I'm happy to say that I went in his line again, with success!
#6 Baseball has ended. Goodbye American sport that ate up every single Friday! We had fun, but we're moving on.
#7 And finally, this didn't perplex me, but it is my new discovery of the month. The word for silverware /flatware is a combination of the first letters from knife, spoon and fork. Mind blowing!!!


Really end of the year stuff :
You are all probably familiar with my eldest and his love of the electric guitar and Rock. We found him this great guitar teacher here and last week was the end of the year concert. One of my child's favorite songs is Crazy Train. So below, you can hear him in all of his glory!!

School has ended. 3/4 kids are at Israeli scout camp. #4 goes tomorrow.

You might remember that it's basically a law that on any field trip in Israel, you must pack several things.
Hat
3 liters of water
Closed shoes
Snacks

What would happen if we didn't pack said snacks. I'll tell you. Your kids wouldn't fit in, and possibly they would have a hard time finding someone to marry one day. So go to the store, buy a bunch of junk food that you'd never normally serve your kids, and just fit in!!! Then take a picture of it so you can stare in horror! And check it out. Kosher doritos and skittles!

As I finish up this blog, the last one before official summer vacation (okay, so I'm a bit late) I'd like to just express how thankful I am. Thankful that we made it to Israel after a short 14 year delay. Thankful that our kids are integrating. Thankful for our awesome neighborhood and new friends. Thankful that one of us (not me) is employed. I am just thankful everyday that I get to live here. I'm even thankful when I'm complaining about my commute.

School is more than just exams

Every good blog post should begin with yet another photo of an Israeli breakfast. The one below is from the day last week when I ditched class to spend the morning with my girls. Worth every second!

The school year is winding down here and wow what a whirlwind. While my peeps back in the Motherland are struggling with their kids final exams, we here in Israel (Okay, maybe not the collective we, but we as in me) are handing out money left and right for class parties, sending snacks to school (AKA, my kids raid my cabinet daily) and attending school events.

It all started last week. My girls' school has been in a frenzy preparing for their first Evening of the Arts. This meant lots of practicing during the school day for my girls and every girl in the middle school. And frantic texts from my girls. "Mom, I need a white skirt, please get me one" (two  because you know, twins) Followed by me stopping at store on my way home, only to find that the store has a daily siesta which coincides with the time I'm actually driving. Well, it was fate because the next text was. "Mom, don't buy a white skirt. We are all wearing all black for the show." Ummm, okay. We don't have that either. So this precipitated me handing the girls more money to buy black shirts.

So finally, the big day arrives. I make several trips back and forth to the school because my girls are playing instruments, so we need to lug a bass guitar and a snare drum. (they did have to take those on the city bus when I was in class!) I drop them off for the final time of the day.

And then I take child #4 to baseball. Because who doesn't like a random weeknight baseball game? Watch baseball for a while, them head over to the school when the game ends.  (picture is from sunset at the field)

The Evening of Arts was really nice and surprisingly professional. We saw some skits, and especially enjoyed the ones poking fun at Americans who come to Israel for the year. (all in good fun) we saw some dances, songs and finally our girls and their band went on last. We had one sleeping child wearing a baseball uniform, two very happy girls and me, who then even survived speaking with two teachers who really just speak so quickly. By survived, I mean, they said a lot of stuff. I understood a fraction, due to the speed, the music blaring in the background, and the five hundred other people around. I did a lot of nodding and smiling and asking my  girls to fill me in on what I missed. So yay, that craziness was over.

Skip to two days later. I again give ride after ride to my eldest child. His school has their sixth annual Evening of the Arts. The other kids didn't know if they wanted to come or not. So I pulled a genius parenting move out of my bag of tricks. I just said, "guys, you don't have to come. But FYI, I am having dinner in the mall food court before the show, so anyone who comes is welcome to have dinner there."  Well, wouldn't you know it, the who family showed up! Also, the entire mall food court is kosher.

Moving along. The boy's show was also really well done. They did skits (which had the same themes as the skits from the girls'school, complete with "American tourists" showing up in the skit.) The skits were really well done and very funny. My Hebrew is ready for a few jokes, so that was exciting. And of course, la piece de resistance (French inspired by my many French ulpan friends) my kid and his school band. They are just so cute. I know that a bunch of fifteen year olds don't want to hear that, but they just are. They are also really good and have improved so much since the fall. I also just love his band because it has really helped him to adjust to life in Israel and it has given him a group of peers with similar interests.

We missed the beginning of the girls' school show because we were at baseball and they told me that they were going on last. So I missed the opening remarks about the evening. But at the boys school, we heard everything. We didn't understand everything, but we heard it. And I know that I've said this before, but it's worth repeating. The principal again mentioned how important the arts are, and that school is not just study study study. There is more to life than just passing your exams. You need art in your life.

We were told when we made aliyah, that the schools in Israel are really interested in developing the whole child and not just academically. They want you to be well rounded. And we have really found that to be true. There is so much going on in school, and you can really find your place and shine in the things that you love.

And now, to wrap this up, I shall give you a short run down of what else has been  going on.

#1 My ulpan is seriously never ending
#2 More baseball. We won and then we lost
#3 Unfortunately, that wasn't the end of the season
#4 Never fear, my neighborhood is still doing communal fun
#5 Communal fun=dessert and ice cream parties in the same week
#6 Now we are planning a trip abroad together (by we, I mean they)
#7 My fifth grader went on a field trip that started after school and ended at midnight
#8 He still had school the next day
#9 Oh yeah, field trips are included in the cost of school
#10 I'm not paying $75,000 in tuition
#11 Went shopping with a friend for teacher gifts. She said, we will ask for a volume discount. The American in me said no way. The Israeli sales clerk preempted us and gave me half off! #winning