Inaugural Post!

So, this is the inaugural post of this blog. I know it's a total cliche, and it is actually not intended for public discourse - I just want to communicate to whoever OPTS IN to see what my family is up to.

So . . . today we discovered what the first day of school looks like in Israel. First of all, there is no welcoming committee telling you where your classroom is. And the classrooms kinda change from year to year, so you wander around for a while. But there ARE bands (4 piece in one school, and a bongo circle in another!) welcoming the students. Makes for a very festive first day.

In other excitement, I got to attend a former student's son's brit milah this morning, and met a woman who used to be the Bat Sherut at Shalhevet. Very fun when worlds collide. I love how well-attended the brit was, because "I had a brit milah this morning" is a very accepted excuse for coming late til school.

More later - off to go to the bank before it closes for midday siesta.  Enjoy the first day of school pics and a few others from our week here so far. Notice many are water based - Teddy Park (amazing water jets shooting in crazy pattern), beach (Palmachim) and, of course, sponga. My kids have done more chores in a week than they probably have in the past year!

Nili couldn't be happier to be in "Gan SHALHEVET!!"

Departure!

Traditional first day Israeli photo op