We have solidly started out second week of school. There have been some definite ups and downs for everyone.
Here are some highlights:
1. Barak (my nephew) has come back for Shannah Bet at Shaalavim - yay! We saw him last night; yeshiva is eleven minutes from our house.
2. Revital and Nili have started to try out some of their Hebrew sentences at home. Specifically, Nili has discovered לא רוצה (I don't want!), in which she does a masterful job of rolling the "r" sound. #sabra
3. I can now drive to Lehava's school and back without using Waze or google maps.
4. I have discovered that preparing sources before learning them b'chavruta does wonders for my ability to join in.
5. Lehava has made her schedule for the year (you get to choose which classes you go to at the Democratic School). They include, to the best of my memory: Parliament, science, drama, music, digital art, art, Kabbalat Shabbat. Fun for her!!!! She absolutely loves school. Go figure.
6. I have joined a gym! With an outdoor pool! And an indoor pool!!
7. Lehava hung out for 4 hours at the house of a friend . . . who only speaks Hebrew. So curious what they did . . . I think Minecraft was a big part of it. At least it's educational . . . http://www.nytimes.com/2016/
8. When I dropped Revital off this morning, none of her Anglo friends were there yet. But I helped her join a group of Israelis playing with some bizarre phosphorescent goop in which you strategically plop disembodied toy eyeballs that I promised I would purchase for her, too.
9. Noa texted me from her Lashon (Hebrew language class) about how cool the grammar she was learning (ok, maybe "cool" wasn't the word she used) and was super excited to show it to me the minute she walked into the door cuz she knows that *I* know how COOL grammar is!!!
10. Robin Kravetz, who is helping the kids learn all sorts of important things about Israel, is one of the best humans ever. Lehava is almost ready to take the bus herself.
11. I can sit in shul and point out to Noa friends that I have known for half my life and I still sort of identify by which summer I worked with them in HASC/which room they lived in in Brookdale Hall of Stern/which friend they dated. That includes 3 parents in Nili's gan!! I have all 4 of my college roommates living in this country!
12. The kids get chocolate spread sandwiches for Aruchat Eser (full 10 AM meal - to which you MUST bring a sandwich. And no chips. City rules. Legit) every day.
Some challenges:
1. The kids eat chocolate spread sandwiches for aruchat Eser every day.
2. Even the knowledge that a chocolate spread sandwich awaits you doesn't make school dropoff for Gan or 3rd grade easy for a kid who doesn't understand what is going on all the time.
3. Nili can use לא רוצה to great effect.
4. I could use an Aramaic ulpan. Although the crazy helpful women in my program are a close second.
5. Constantly checking Schoology (Shalhevet's "facebook") can engender severe FOMO in teenagers.
6. The waiting list for a membership to the outdoor pool that the kids could use is . . . one year .
7. Lachmaniyot burn very easily in toasters. And they go from pale to burnt in nanoseconds. I know have to stand like a hawk, finger at the ready, while toasting. . . the chocolate spread sandwich bread. In halakhic terms, there can be hesech hadaat. In Ari terms, DON'T DO ANYTHING ELSE!
8. Rush hour traffic starts at . . . 3:30 PM. But when I get home, at least I have this view.
9. The list of supplies and books that you get at the beginning of the school year bears a passing resemblance to what you need. I am preparing for my 8th trip to Tzomet Sefarim, the book store.
10. Even though I can understand most conversational Hebrew very well, the WIFI router manual has me flummoxed. (But Bezek has 24 hour support!)
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