A few days ago, I was in the playground with the kids and was stung by a bee on the bottom of my leg. I tried to play it down for the kids' sake (they are deathly afraid of bees) but wow- did it hurt!
Well, it gets better because last night, the red sting began to expand and by morning was pretty painful to walk on my foot. It felt better as the morning progressed, so I was able to take the girls to meet Rich and Ami in the post office in the mall in order to sign some paperwork to register for a Kupah (health plan). Then had to take THAT paperwork to the actual Kupah building where of course they told us that only 'Simi' could officially approve of our registration. Did you guess it? Simi wasn't there today.
So headed home but couldn't find the right bus stop, so we schlepped our packages (and kids who were unwilling to walk) about a 25 minute walk to the next stop.
By the time we got home, my leg was a sorry sight and nearly impossible to stand on. So back I went (limped) on that bus to the Kupah building to see the doctor who luckily we know and who Rich called to let him know I was coming.
Got a prescription (and an offer of a ride home from the doc) but ran into a big snag...we weren't covered for the prescription yet because we had only signed up for the plan a few hours earlier. Oh- and did I mention that I forgot my wallet? Here's the "only in Israel part"....The saga ended with the Kupah administrator, the pharmacist, and the doctor trying to come up with a way to get me the meds (which I needed to start immediately, it turns out, because it turned out to be cellulitis). Sof-sof, as they say, thanks to the doctor, all is well and I sit here with my meds and my foot propped up on some pillows...and a direct order from the doctor not to make dinner or run after the kids. Life's good...although more so for me than Rich, at the moment :)
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Our new home, by way of tonight's happenings
For those brave few of you that are reading this blog, we should say thanks in advance for caring so much about the "Family" to check this out. If you're reading this therefore I would assume you might want to know a little bit about our new home in Maale Adumim, so I thought that I might share a story or 2 from tonight.
As you may or may not know Maale Adumim is a fairly large community - last I heard is that about 30,000 people were living here, and there are plans for much more expansion. Maale Adumim, as far as we can tell, has a lot going for it - besides liking the hot and dry weather, there does seem to be a nice "vibe" here among the people that I get walking around. perhaps I am seeing this through the rose-tinted glasses of a new immigrant, but I would stand by my comment as the truth. Lots of "amenities" here in MA - restaurants, malls, a really nice Matnas (like an American JCC), and apparently even a bowling alley, for those that are into that sort of thing.
We live in a tiny dead-end corner of Maale Adumim, in the neighborhood of Mitzpe Nevo. Not sure exactly how it got that name, but in theory it might overlook Har Nevo, the burial place of Moshe/Moses, which is in the area across the Jordan River, in Occupied Jordan. As we published previously, the views here are out of this world, both towards the Eastern part of Jerusalem, as well as towards the Dead Sea and the mountains on the Jordan's other side.
The neighborhood is a "religious" neighborhood, which is probably a bit more complicated that it may sound. I don't really see anything monolithic about the people here - could get into a very semantic discussion about what "religious" means, but there really are all types here. I hope that religious does not mean that you have to have a sign announcing that at the beginning of your neighborhood, as we do have one of them, and I am very much not a big fan of it.....
Putting the kids to bed tonight, heard a lot of hub-bub on a loudspeaker - Elana asked me to look into it, and there was a guy indeed in a reflective jacket with the words saying "Chomesh First" in Hebrew, asking for food - for people that are going to be ascending to the Israeli-destroyed Jewish community, I think tomorrow. For our part, I gave him all the tuna and chick peas that we had in the house (not much, but...), which I am afraid may betray my political sympathies. What struck me was his "look" - black velvet kippa, LONG peot.....not what I would have imagined to be an activist look, but, all the best to him. I imagine that we were not the only people giving them food......Mitzpe Nevo, for its part, does have a little bit of the feeling of a "settlement" on the edge of a city. Judging by the bumper stickers and posters around town, that certainly is the feeling that I get. Maale Adumim for its part, is something of a settlement - but again, that would get me bogged way down in a settlement is, and I just do not want to get into it - it is a very boring discussion.
So there seems to be a 9pm Maariv/evening prayer service in between 2 buildings here in the neighborhood. Very much in the "open air" - it is downright stormy around here n the late afternoon - I am no expert at estimating wind speed, but it is something that a sailor would be very excited to be a part of. For that reason maybe, there seems to be a lot of trash floating around the neighborhood - pretty much anything that is not nailed down will go flying away, and a lot of plastic bags seem to be making a run for it.......it was windy enough last night that a chuck of foam, the size of a 3 year old kid, got wrapped around an unsuspecting person while praying the amida - by that I mean not moving his legs - so that he had to go on for a good bit with this large chunk of foam wrapped around him
So in my experience of 2 nights going to it, there seems to be a nice diversity of ages there - little kids to those "more senior". Tonight's special moment came when we had just started davening and a car pulled up to join us - just put on the flashers, engine running, and came over. Interesting thing is that the guy was not looking, well, too "religious", for however little that is worth. Seemed to me that he gave his friend a huge bearhug, who was not only davening, but apparently saying "Shema", which is not when bearhugging somebody is expected to happen (I am recalling a midrash of something of an opposite example during the reunion of Yosef and Yaacov). I say this not at all to be critical of this driver-turned-davener, but rather to give him all the more credit, as it seemed to me that he would not have ordinarily be praying with a minyan. He was not wearing a kippa - so one of the people in the minyan gave him his own kippa off of his own head. Somebody passed him a siddur (that they had in all likelihood brought to use for themselves), and there he was, davening like the rest of us. It all seemed pretty seamless......
Hate to sound like an intoxicated "only in Israel" story, but perhaps it is an only in Israel type thing. I certainly got a good feeling from the event.
Anyhow, I will hope to share more stories as they happem......
As you may or may not know Maale Adumim is a fairly large community - last I heard is that about 30,000 people were living here, and there are plans for much more expansion. Maale Adumim, as far as we can tell, has a lot going for it - besides liking the hot and dry weather, there does seem to be a nice "vibe" here among the people that I get walking around. perhaps I am seeing this through the rose-tinted glasses of a new immigrant, but I would stand by my comment as the truth. Lots of "amenities" here in MA - restaurants, malls, a really nice Matnas (like an American JCC), and apparently even a bowling alley, for those that are into that sort of thing.
We live in a tiny dead-end corner of Maale Adumim, in the neighborhood of Mitzpe Nevo. Not sure exactly how it got that name, but in theory it might overlook Har Nevo, the burial place of Moshe/Moses, which is in the area across the Jordan River, in Occupied Jordan. As we published previously, the views here are out of this world, both towards the Eastern part of Jerusalem, as well as towards the Dead Sea and the mountains on the Jordan's other side.
The neighborhood is a "religious" neighborhood, which is probably a bit more complicated that it may sound. I don't really see anything monolithic about the people here - could get into a very semantic discussion about what "religious" means, but there really are all types here. I hope that religious does not mean that you have to have a sign announcing that at the beginning of your neighborhood, as we do have one of them, and I am very much not a big fan of it.....
Putting the kids to bed tonight, heard a lot of hub-bub on a loudspeaker - Elana asked me to look into it, and there was a guy indeed in a reflective jacket with the words saying "Chomesh First" in Hebrew, asking for food - for people that are going to be ascending to the Israeli-destroyed Jewish community, I think tomorrow. For our part, I gave him all the tuna and chick peas that we had in the house (not much, but...), which I am afraid may betray my political sympathies. What struck me was his "look" - black velvet kippa, LONG peot.....not what I would have imagined to be an activist look, but, all the best to him. I imagine that we were not the only people giving them food......Mitzpe Nevo, for its part, does have a little bit of the feeling of a "settlement" on the edge of a city. Judging by the bumper stickers and posters around town, that certainly is the feeling that I get. Maale Adumim for its part, is something of a settlement - but again, that would get me bogged way down in a settlement is, and I just do not want to get into it - it is a very boring discussion.
So there seems to be a 9pm Maariv/evening prayer service in between 2 buildings here in the neighborhood. Very much in the "open air" - it is downright stormy around here n the late afternoon - I am no expert at estimating wind speed, but it is something that a sailor would be very excited to be a part of. For that reason maybe, there seems to be a lot of trash floating around the neighborhood - pretty much anything that is not nailed down will go flying away, and a lot of plastic bags seem to be making a run for it.......it was windy enough last night that a chuck of foam, the size of a 3 year old kid, got wrapped around an unsuspecting person while praying the amida - by that I mean not moving his legs - so that he had to go on for a good bit with this large chunk of foam wrapped around him
So in my experience of 2 nights going to it, there seems to be a nice diversity of ages there - little kids to those "more senior". Tonight's special moment came when we had just started davening and a car pulled up to join us - just put on the flashers, engine running, and came over. Interesting thing is that the guy was not looking, well, too "religious", for however little that is worth. Seemed to me that he gave his friend a huge bearhug, who was not only davening, but apparently saying "Shema", which is not when bearhugging somebody is expected to happen (I am recalling a midrash of something of an opposite example during the reunion of Yosef and Yaacov). I say this not at all to be critical of this driver-turned-davener, but rather to give him all the more credit, as it seemed to me that he would not have ordinarily be praying with a minyan. He was not wearing a kippa - so one of the people in the minyan gave him his own kippa off of his own head. Somebody passed him a siddur (that they had in all likelihood brought to use for themselves), and there he was, davening like the rest of us. It all seemed pretty seamless......
Hate to sound like an intoxicated "only in Israel" story, but perhaps it is an only in Israel type thing. I certainly got a good feeling from the event.
Anyhow, I will hope to share more stories as they happem......
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Our view from the Window
1st pic: (The left side of our view) You can see part of the east end of Yerushalayim (Jerusalem) in the distance.
2nd pic: (Toward the right of our view) I am not kidding. This is the actual view. Makes the heart take a little leap.
"Where are all the camels?"
Gali desperately wants to see a camel. We're not sure where the idea originated, but we think it's from the cartoon intro to our "Shalom Sesame" videos. Next on the list might be Bonnie Franklin...now THAT would be a rare sighting :)
She and Amitai got a big kick out of seeing a few Arabs riding donkeys yesterday when we were loading the groceries into our rental car.
It's pretty fun showing them around- they find so much here to be exciting...which, in a way, makes it exciting for us all over again too. It's been hard to stop and appreciate being here with all the running around we have to do.
So far, so good, though. We picked up our Teudat Zehut (Israeli Identity) cards, bought a couch set, and set up a bank account so far this week. Also rented a car which made all of those things a heck-of-a-lot easier to do than if we had bused it. It seems crazy that accomplishing those small things would be a big deal, but it is here. Everything seems to be a monumental task for an Oleh.
Saturday, August 25, 2007
Shabbat Checklist
Dressed for shul with slacks and white shirt and sandalim? Check
Laughed at old suit and tie hanging in closet? Check
Took home entirely too many parsha sheets (like ~10) just "cuz" I could? Check
Davening Shabbat AM started at 6:30 AM and took 1.5 hours? Check
Remembered to wear socks with my sandals for duchaning? NO - blew that one......luckily, the gabbai of the shul was kind enough to inform me that they had a minhag in the shul that Kohanim don't have to wear socks - a "kula" I took advantage of in a shaat hadchak....
Got an aliyah with a little "v'shavu banim" action thrown in at the end? Check
Had a ~5 hour lunch? Check
Would have melted if I was walking out in the Maale Adumim sun for much longer? Check
Spit sunflower seed-shells all over the playground in a completely callous manner? Check
A nice start.....
Laughed at old suit and tie hanging in closet? Check
Took home entirely too many parsha sheets (like ~10) just "cuz" I could? Check
Davening Shabbat AM started at 6:30 AM and took 1.5 hours? Check
Remembered to wear socks with my sandals for duchaning? NO - blew that one......luckily, the gabbai of the shul was kind enough to inform me that they had a minhag in the shul that Kohanim don't have to wear socks - a "kula" I took advantage of in a shaat hadchak....
Got an aliyah with a little "v'shavu banim" action thrown in at the end? Check
Had a ~5 hour lunch? Check
Would have melted if I was walking out in the Maale Adumim sun for much longer? Check
Spit sunflower seed-shells all over the playground in a completely callous manner? Check
A nice start.....
Friday, August 24, 2007
Our Fourth Day
It's the fourth day since our arrival in this amazing country this past Tues, Aug 20th. Been busy doing a lot of running around with the kids which is not an easy task in itself, dragging 'em all on and off buses with a double stroller and all our stuff in tow!! We have Gali and Amitai registered for Gan which starts in a week or so. Thank G-d their schools are right next door to one another, so no running from one end of Ma'aleh Adumim to the other every day.
Pretty hot here in the desert, but not unbearable. Compared to Florida when we were there a few weeks ago, this is nothing. Dry heat vs. humidity really does make a huge difference. But make no mistake, we have our share of high temps here too. As Rich said yesterday, water has never tasted so good!
The pics are a few highlights from our first few days...visiting the Kotel...G and A zonked out at the restaurant Village Green, playing in the playgrounds here a whole bunch (check out that view from the playground next to our apt!). Amitai's starting to look mega-Israeli (well, he always did, didn't he?!).
Good being HOME!
It was unreal getting such a huge reception getting off the plane! What an amazing feeling it was to walk through the rows of soldiers who handed Gali and Amitai flags and pinched Hila's cheeks. As soon as we got off the bus, I had 5 offers to push the stoller (until one person didn't take 'no' for an answer and whisked the stroller off!). Beth and David Gordon(formerly from Baltimore) grabbed our bags and carseat and brought us sandwiches and water. So sweet.
There was a welcoming ceremony and the kids enjoyed their first Israeli treats (of many to come)!
Saying Goodbye
It was hard for all of us to say goodbye to our family. We already miss them!
It was such an incredible few weeks, traveling and spending time with everyone. We're so lucky to have had that time with everyone.
The plane ride went pretty much as expected. The kids were pretty well behaved. Probably the highlight for them was watching Shrek 3 about three times...in Hebrew!
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