The lift has arrived

I'm climbing out of a mass of boxes and luggage to give an update about our lift arriving.

The lift came right on time on Monday and Rich and I were there to meet it at the new apt. Rich went down to greet the movers and was immediately accosted about the amount of stairs - they told him it would be an extra 150 shek. We were asked to give the moving company an exact count of the steps the day before, so these guys were obviously ripping us off. Rich told them absolutely no extra money and they went around the truck slamming things and cursing to one another.

After a few minutes of this, Rich attempted to start things over on a good note, introducing himself to one worker and asking his name. One of the other guys had walked away when he saw Rich approaching, but when he saw Rich and the first guy shake hands, he stormed over and said something along the lines of "You think there's something wrong with me? Why are you talking to him? Why don't you ask my name?"
Morale was not too high at this point.

They came up to the apt. with some stuff and were immediately unhappy with the hinge on top of the door (the door can't open all the way with it on), telling Rich to take it off. Another argument ensued because it wasn't our responsibility to do so (we knew they wouldn't want to put it back in the end). The original nasty guy was the star of the show, ending every string of arguments or insults with "Ken, Ba'al Ha'bus?!" ("Yes, 'Man of the house'?!"...doesn't translate well, but it's the closest I could come up with:)

Nasty Guy was completely agitated, slamming our boxes around.
Rich was awesome at that point. He stood in front of the guy and started bawling him out (in Hebrew!) about how it was "Lo Na'im" (not nice) to be acting the way he was and he needed to stop with his "Shtu'yot" (ridiculousness) and do his job. We are the consumers and he is the employee. He asked him if he'd like us to call his boss to confirm what his duty as a mover was and Nasty guy shouted "BevakaSHA, Ba'al Ha' bus!" ("Please, Man of the House")
So we did (call his boss) and told him how these workers were inexcusable and completely out of line and how we hope we don't have to call the shipping company in the U.S. to tell them that they might lose customers with workers like these here Israel. He was actually very apologetic and less than 2 minutes after we hung up, we hear Nasty Guy yelling into his cell phone outside "It's not my job to take that thing off the door!" Then it was really quiet for about 5 minutes and then in comes Nasty Guy who has metamorphosed into "Reformed Nasty Guy" and he was pleasant as pie the rest of the day!

Well, needless to say, Rich didn't get his medical licence stuff done that morning. He stayed with me as per my frantic request once I saw who I was dealing with. Had he gone, I'm sure he would have come back to find Nasty Guy feasting on my carcass :)

They were gone by 1:30...and (despite the attitudes in the beginning) we were pretty impressed with their speed and strength. They would strap a whole bunch of boxes or appliances to their backs and haul themselves up all those stairs and then run back down for more stuff without a rest. They took only one break for pizza which we supplied and the rest of the time, they were moving. A bit different than in the States where it was "siesta" time every half hour or so during our move.

So now we're trying to dig ourselves out of the mess so that we can actually move in. I spent the morning today getting the kids' rooms set up and getting out a bunch of their toys so that they can occupy themselves when we're unpacking this afternoon when they get home from gan. We were aiming to be fully moved in by today, but we were stalled by some things needing to be repaired in the new apt. Tomorrow will be the day, G-d willing.

The apt turned out to be pretty huge- I'm pretty excited about all the room we have to work with. We have one entire bedroom designated as our "box storing room", another room for the computer and for guests, another as a playroom, one room for Amitai and one for the girls and one for us!

So here's an open invitation to all: Come spend some time in our Bed and Breakfast! Once you get up all those steps, you won't be disappointed!

A "dirty" joke about a cleaning agent called "Colon"

It cleans from the inside out.

I wanted to say a lot more about this but was forbidden by my wife who notoriously is correct in telling me when to keep my mouth shut.

I will obey.

A haiku for our "sponga"

Will it clean the floor?
Sponga?? - Push it all around.
Not so(!) hygienic.

(sponga - an explanation)

Shana Tova

Shana Tova to everyone! We're sorry we didn't have a chance wish everyone a "Happy New Year" before the chag, but things became pretty busy toward the beginning of the three day Yom Tov. We accepted invitations out for the first two days and the first night. We thought it would be too much for the kids to be out late the other nights, so we declined a few invites for those meals. That meant we had to cater 3 meals on our own- a little bit daunting, considering most meals we've made so far consisted of either pasta, eggs, tuna, hummus and pita, rice, or tivol. Well, let me tell you...the meals we made ended up being not much different! Thank goodness for the meals we had out which more than made up for our pathetic ones at home! We had great times at all the meals and learned something important too: We'd better be prepared with all the "simanim" for next year's Rosh Hashana...people here take it seriously!

Rich bought a seat at the Carlebach Shul (in the kids' gan) and really liked the davening. I ended up showing up for shofar and then standing around outside in the playground with the kids. It got to be a little much after a while-- I'm looking forward to the day I can actually go inside and daven. Gali and Ami would have been fine playing with the other kids outside, but Hila's still a bit young...and she very much enjoys eating rocks when no one is looking.

Another discovery resulted during the chag:
Sand flies find new residents very tasty.
Apparently, the first year you live here is pretty bad, but after that, some kind of immunity is built up and it gets better. A year is looking pretty long right now...at last count, I have over 40 bites. Rich is also pretty bad and Gali just got a whole bunch yesterday. The other 2 kids don't have a single bite (bli eyin hara!). They're kind of like mosquito bites, but they're bigger and itchier. Poor Gali was up itching with me throughout the night last night. I have yet to see the culprits, but they say they're so tiny they fit through the screens to get you at night.
If anyone out there has any prevention or treatment tips, we're all ears!

Now for the biggest news:
Our lift is scheduled to come tomorrow!
Piece of advice for people planning aliyah: Hire a company that ships directly to Israel. Ours stopped a few times on its way over to pick up more cargo and is arriving weeks after our friends' lift which left only 3 days before ours! But we're (EXTREMELY!) lucky enough to be renting a fully furnished apt (belonging to the Adlers) until our lift arrives and we move into our longer term rental. To tell you the truth, I keep thinking "What could possibly be on that lift besides the Barbies Gali always talks about?" We've managed pretty well so far without all that stuff!

Tomorrow Nefesh B'Nefesh has people come in to their offices to give Medical Licences, so Rich will be gone for the morning. The movers have 2 flights to climb from the street and then 3 more flights in the building to our apt, so I'm hoping he'll be back before any negotiating/arguing takes place which seems to be inevitable with movers.
We'll let you know how it goes!

Funny kids tidbit:
The 2nd day of Rosh Hashana, we were eating at neighbors who have older children. Some of them told their parents that they were going to the park across the street to play soccer. We continued eating and talking until I realized Ami (remember-- he just turned 3 this summer) was no longer at the table. We were shocked to find out that he had tagged along with the rest of the boys and slipped right out of the house without a backward glance! He came back sweaty and dirty and smiling from ear to ear! We couldn't believe how nonchalant he was about it- like he had done it a dozen times before! Apparently he's over the clingy stage and ready to roll.

Family Reunion

(Pic of kids on their favorite ride at the mall)

Rich has discovered some family living here in Israel- in Beer Sheva. Let's see if I can get it right...Rich's great-grandfather and Sheryl's (his cousin from Beer Sheva) great-grandfather were brothers. Sheryl's mom was visiting and came as well as Sheryl's two very sweet daughters, one newly married. We met them in the mall here last night for dinner (which we rudely ate before they actually arrived!)and then they came back to the apartment to shmooze a bit after we put the (extremely wild and over-tired) kids to bed. It was pretty amazing for Rich to hear about his grandparents "back in the day" from Sheryl's mom. Kind of crazy to suddenly meet someone you never knew and have them tell you family stories. Had fun with them and looking forward to spending more time together.
Rich's friend from his yr in Israel at WUJS also stopped by yesterday.
It was a busy day-- just like we like 'em!

And now for the "only-in-Israel-gotta-love-this-incredible country" tid-bit:

The security guards manning the metal detectors at the entrances to the mall don't tend to be over-exuberantly happy...although Hila occasionally manages to wrestle a smile from them. (She's pretty aggressively Israeli in her interactions- if she wants a smile from someone, she's pretty much in-your-face until she gets what she wants :)
Well, her job has become easier this past week. The Chaggim are coming! It's like "Holiday spirit" in Dec in the U.S,-- smiles and excitement all around, people shouting "Shana Tova" from the rooftops. Well, not quite, but you hear it ALL the time. The security guards are all smiley, handing "Shana Tova" cards and lollipops out to the kids. (Yes- the D-ler kids have officially entered a world where junk-food never ends, much to their delight.) The clerk in the store where we bought our fridge and microwave handed us a package of honey and a card before we even sat down to do the paper work. Grocery store check-out people, bus drivers, you name it..."Shana Tova's" all around.
I love how I get punched in the face with these things right when I need it..."Wake up! WE ARE SO LUCKY TO BE HERE!"

Shoes in Ma'aleh Adumim

Just a little dusty 'round here! I clean off everyone's shoes every morning. This is what one day of walking around looks like at the end of the day.

"Boy, Gali"

Friday, on the way home from gan, Gali asked me this:
"How do you say 'boy' in Hebrew?"
"Yeled," I told her.
(Quiet thinking for a few minutes)
"Imma, they call me 'boy' in gan."
"Who calls you 'boy'?"
"The morah's."
"Really? What do they say when they call you 'boy'?
"They say, 'Gali, 'bo-ee'!"
(Bo-ee means 'come'....They had been saying "Gali, come!")
First cute little exchange of many more to come, I'm sure!

My commute to "work" and slichot

While it is very challenging, it is hard to call ulpan "work", yet that is my full time job at this time. I am in class from 8:30 to 1-ish, and it is true that one should really budget 1 hour for every hour in class....

So about my commute. I, like many others that live here, travel to Jerusalem essentially every day. The route we take is around the arab neighborhoods of the city, through a tunnel, and one pops out not far from the Hebrew University. For those that are in the know, from Mt. Scopus, one has an incredible view of Har HaBayit, a.k.a. the Temple Mount (hence the name "Scopus", I believe).

Every day on the bus, in both directions, I get to gaze at the area of what once was, and what will be, the Temple (with a huge capital "T"). Only one problem - it is not there. Nope. Big Problem.

You see, the space where the Temple was and will be is currently Occupied by the Dome of the Rock.

Suffice it to say, I have very conflicting emotions on my daily commute, looking out my bus window. On the one hand, I get to look at, in the physical sense, is the Capitol of Judaism. No "3rd" or 17th" or "35th" holiest site we are talk about - this is IT. Numero uno, the first, the last, G-d's physical, huge "kaveyachol"/as it were, home amongst humanity.

But...........there is something so painful about looking at it. To me, the sense of unfinished business it overwhelming. One of greatest and most comforting things about our Torah is that not only do we know how it all begain, "B'reishit" as it were - but we also know how it all ends. The only mystery (and it is a big one) is how we will get there. What the exact process will be.

So I gaze at Har HaBayit and get smacked in the face by the knowledge that as happy and tranquil as things "seem to be", what we are living, the every day experience that we call "normal life", is simply a blip on the screen towards something much different. I am concerned by the thought of what events may transpire between our status quo and the end game. We are always afraid more of the "unknown" danger (the mystery of the process) than we are by the familiar danger of what we live every day. Just plain old human nature to feel this way.

............so we now have slichot, the period of introspection leading up to our yomim noraim, "terrible days" as it would be incorrectly translated. How does this connect to my daily commute?

The freedom, if not the obligation, to "do tshuva", to better oneself, is there for the taking every day of our lives. These days, we have an extra special opportunity to look at ourselves in the mirror and try to make those adjustments, realignments, that are required. This model works very well - for individuals. But what of "tshuva" for a People? A Nation even?

I am reminded that (I think) it was a piece from Rabbi Tzvi Hirsch Weinreb that worked on this thought - slichot, tshuva, realignment, is of course an individual "thing" - but that is not to the exclusion of the tshuva that is required for People. As above, we know where we are going - just not sure how we will get there. I think that I know (not by any means do I take credit for doing this correctly as a person, it should be noted) what an individual is to do. But how will we, as a People, every one of us as a collective, upright ourselves?

Someday, I know the commute will be a very different experience. Just wish I knew what it will take, from myself and family, and perhaps more perplexing, from all of us.

Ulpan Rhapsody

The correct reaction to this picture is -

a) Holy 2-ring binder, Batman!!!!

b) You REALLY bit off more than you can chew this time, Rich.

c) Uri Avineri's article while "cute" in its construction, is misguided, offensive, and sadly typical of what you would expect from the 'Branja'.
I am certianly open to any other suggestions.......

Quick piece of advice

When Rich and I were in the beginning/ middle stages of planning for our aliyah, we would ask one question to anyone we came across who had already made the move:
"What are you glad you did and what do you wish you had done before moving to Israel?"
I feel like I can already answer this question, being the 2 week vetern olah, that I am. Here it is: BRING AS MUCH STUFF AS YOU CAN.
I don't mean pack up everything in your house, because I'm definitely glad we unloaded a lot of unnessesary stuff before we moved. I mean, buy as much furniture, appliances, household items, clothes, personal items as you can possibly manage to fit onto your lift. Why? Because unless you
1. Have a car
2. Don't have kids you have to drag along with you
3. Don't have a job or Ulpan for a few weeks
4. Have a local Israeli to tell you how to not get ripped off
....it is simply too hard and stressful to have to deal with if you can avoid it. Prices are comprable if not better in the States (especially because you already know where to go to get the best deals). Buying something as simple as nail polish remover turns into an entire afternoon tiyul...I know because I led that tiyul two days ago. Stores here are tend to throw lot's of random items together into one space and you have to be extemely lucky in the beginnig to know which store has what. Like the apliance/electronic/hardware store that carries 25 varieties of kum-kum's but when asked where the alarm clocks are, the clerk gives you an irritated look and digs up a dusty one from some bottom shelf behind the counter that has definitely seen better days (like back in 1985 when it was put on that bottom shelf).
Anyway, as I fall on my face in exhaustion from taking a couple of buses to get to Talpiot with poor Hila, a stroller, and a whole bunch of stuff in order to look at a couple of fridges, let me leave you with this:
Take as much as you can with you so that you can take more time here to appreciate what a wonderous move you've just made.

Hila Rules the Roost

Just had to get these last 2 pics in. Gali went to run errands with Rich in the afternoon while Amitai and Hila stayed home with me. We were planning a trip to the playground, but Ami conked out on the couch while I was getting our stuff ready to go. Hila had a ball having all the toys (and attention) to herself. Every once in a while she would go over to sit next to Ami or tug on him or whack him with a toy, but the boy was stone-cold out. She gave up after a while and we played peek-a-boo with Imma's scarf, Hila's absolute favorite play-thing.

First Day of Gan!!

Took the kids to Gan when it opened at 7:30am...yes-- that's 7:30am!
Rich started Ulpan today, so he came with to drop everyone off and then left straight from there to Ulpan. It was cute watching the three of them marching off to school with their backpacks (see pic). We were a little nervous sending newly toilet-trained Amitai to his first day, not speaking Hebrew and not familiar with his surroundings. We sent about 3 changes of clothing in his backpack, along with my cell phone number (we were expecting the worst). All was good, though. He ran to the bathroom as soon as we came home.
They both walked in to their classrooms with very little apparent nervousness. Both sets of teachers immediately made them feel comfortable with their huge welcomes and hugs. Even the guard sitting outside at the entrances was smiling big and greeting everyone enthusiastically. Ami's class size is HUGE, but when I picked him up, every single kid was sitting at the tables quietly eating snacks. Gali's class seems smaller and bit more relaxed (probably because of the small size). Both came out smiling and happy and that was good enough for me.
They were let out at 10...tomorrow will be at 11 and then it will be regular dismissal time. I heard that you send a sandwich and fruit for "aruchat eser" (10 o'clock meal), but because of the early dismissal, I sent a few biscuits and a plum. Would they really need a sandwhich before I picked them up at 10am?? Apparently yes. Every one of the kids in Ami's class had huge meals spread out in front of them from home. On our way home Gali reported that her morah told her that she needed to bring a sandwhich tomorrow. Silly Americans, we are.
Aside from the language, I think both of the kids found their classes familiar, with similar decorations and set-ups as in the States. One huge difference, though: Security. The Gans are in the same building, but each have different entrances from outside. Each entrance has a huge iron gate in front that is open for drop off time and pick-up time, but is locked in between. The armed guard outside holds the key to the locks and he sits in between the gates the whole day. Honestly, it feels pretty good knowing how secure it is. I always felt a little uncomfortable in the States, sending my kids to wide-open schools where anyone could walk right in. I was always seeing people just hanging out, leaning against the building where Gali was in school, or taking shortcuts right through the school's grass, cutting in the middle of gym classes. It freaked me out. It felt good seeing that guard today.
Now we're home, waiting for Abba's return. Kids are itching to play some computer games, so until next time...

2nd Shabbat

We are really liking this place. What an excellent Shabbat!
We were invited out for dinner, lunch, and seuda shlishit (or shaaaaaaluh-shuuudis for you guys back in the U.S. of A).
Had dinner with the neighbors downstairs who also invited their cousins who have the son Amitai who's in Gan with our Amitai. We found out that the Amitai's have the same Hebrew birthday as one another!!! Sent chills down my spine when we realized that...this might sound a little kooky, but I feel like there's a reason we happened to move into the building next to theirs. I wonder if they'll grow to be good friends. We might have to wait a bit for that because the other Amitai speaks only Hebrew!
One of the shuls had a kiddush in honor of all the new olim in Ma'aleh Adumim. The shul is actually located in Ami's Gan. It's nicknamed "The Happy Minyan"--they sing Carlebach nigguns for much of the davening. Rich really liked it (it sounded good from outside in the playground too). The kids had a blast running around outside and made a few friends who "speak English!!!!!", as Gali was excited to find out. People are so friendly and down to earth and most were English speakers (as I was excited to find out :)
Had lunch at another great family. Later, one of the families in the community hosted seuda shlishit, also in honor of the new olim. I've heard that there are about 15 families who made aliyah to MA this summer! Met a whole bunch of people...and again, kids had a blast running around outside.

By the way, thanks so much for all the well-wishes...My foot is almost completely better. It really doesn't hurt anymore. Still has a pretty rainbow of colors, though.

Pics are of the kids on Friday, right before Shabbat, outside the apartment. There are huge winds that start almost every day at around 4pm...notice Gali's ponies blowing in the wind!