Update # 9

Hi everyone,

It doesn't seem that long since the last update, but almost a month has passed. Amazingly, we have been in Israel now for almost nine months. It seems like a lot longer. I am continuing to adjust to my new work environment. It is going slowly, but I'm sure that sooner or later I will adjust. The thrill of taking the train every day has worn off, and the 1 and half hour commute each way is starting to annoy me. On the plus side, in a few months I will be changing my work schedule to Monday through Friday for at least a few months, so I am looking forward to that. Caryn is taking a hiatus from Ulpan for a little while. She has also been sick the last three weeks, but is on antibiotics now and hopefully will be better soon. I forgot to mention in my last update that we got our permanent car, which is a 7 seater call Citroen. It takes some getting used to, but it's a nice car or Minivan or SUV. Not really sure what it is. IN any case, we can all drive together now, so that is nice.

Caryn and I met with Ilan's teachers last week and got a good report. While he was initially very resistant to learning Hebrew, he is a lot more motivated now, and making good progress. He is starting to read in Hebrew and doing pretty well. He has also entered into a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Phase, so our lives have been revolving around that. Gali has followed Ilan, and is also enjoying the Turtles, and even Tiki sings the theme song continually, which I have to admit is catchy. Besides that, Gali is also doing well, although we never hear her speak Hebrew, but she has a few friends who only speak Hebrew, and she can communicate just fine. Tiki is very cute and very engaging, which can be a lot of fun and also be very tiring, as she is like the Energizer Bunny. She is also generally the last of our children to fall asleep and often pays us several visits in the middle of the night (unless I am too tired, then she just pays us one visit and ends up staying). Eitan had Strep throat a few weeks ago, and after having a runny nose for two months, was like a new baby after taking antibiotics for a couple of days. He stopped being clingy, and was happy and playful most of the time. He also continues to be a good eater, eating everything in sight. We think he might have been a dog in a previous life, as he likes to fetch, eat food off of the floor, and chew on socks. Unfortunately, he is not housebroken.

Caryn and I spent the last Shabbat in April in Modiin. We had a really nice time, and we davened in a small minyan (prayer quorum), that was housed inside a school. It was a very kid friendly environment, which we really liked. On the down side, it is not financially feasible for us to by anything in Modiin at this time, so it does not appear we will be moving there this summer. Ilan has also expressed some reservations about moving out of Beit Shemesh, so we will likely stay in Beit Shemesh, although we may decide to move within Beit Shemesh.

On Saturday night,May 1st, we celebrated our first Lag Ba'omer in Israel. This was quite an experience, as this does not really exist as a holiday for the most part in the states. I still had to work on Sunday, but the kids were off from school, so it definitely was not a holiday for Caryn. Anyway, from the second night of Passover, we count every night for seven weeks, until he holiday of Shavuot (Pentecost). On the 33rd day, there is a mini holiday, as our tradition recalls that a plague that had killed 24,000 students of Rabbi Akiva ended on that day. I won't get into the historical aspects of this, but suffice it to say, there is more to the story than that. In any case, this holidays is the pyromaniac's dream. Everywhere throughout the country, people are lighting bonfires. Some of them are actually quite large, and they are all over the place. In a mile radius from our house, I would say we saw about 40-50 separate bonfires. The whole city smelled like smoke. I'm not really sure why we light bonfires, and I would not let my kids participate, only watch, as it seems really dangerous, as some of these fires are 10 feet or more high. From nearby by Ramat Beit Shemesh, where the Charedim (Ultra-Orthodox) live, you could say an orange glow emanating from the area. While it was cool to see, it was also a little disturbing as the smell of the air reminded me of NY after 9/11.

Besides that, we celebrated our niece, Amalya's birthday. Actually, her family celebrated and we crashed the party, but they didn't seem to mind. Since we missed so many of our nieces and nephews birthdays over the years, we try to wish them happy birthday in person. Amalya was effusive with her praise for every present, and I remarked how she was the anti Uncle David (family joke). Amalya's birthday coincided with Yom Yerushalayim, were we celebrate the liberation and reunification of Jerusalem that occurred in 1967. I have to say that the country seems very confused over the day, with most of the non-religious outside of Jerusalem not celebrating. Apparently in 1998, the Knesset (Israeli Parliament) made it a nation holiday, yet if that's the case, I can't really figure out why I had to go to work, along with everyone else. To be it's not really a holiday if you have to work. Overall, I was a little disappointed with it, as the day passed very quietly. I will definitely need to take off one year and be in Jerusalem for the holiday. Speaking of holidays, Shavuot starts in 5 hours, so I need to wrap this up. I got to work half a day today, which is still exciting, and tomorrow I am off. I hope every one is well, and if you are Jewish, have a Chag Sameach.

Kol Tuv,
Zumi