We're 25% Done

It's hard to believe that we've already been in Israel for 5 weeks.  The time really has flown by and has left me wondering, "What have we spent our time doing?"  It's time for a summary post.

School
All three girls spend most of their time in school.  Helen is at an American International School in Even Yehudah (about 15 minutes north of Ra'anana).  She seems to be enjoying it and we know that she's doing well and learning some new things.  Not necessarily subjects but how to read deeper and think differently.  That's good and hopefully will pay off more later.

Alice and Gabi are at a local public school called Ziv School.  As a public school, classes are conducted in Hebrew.  Which is a problem for two girls who don't speak Hebrew.  Funny thing is, there are other new immigrants to Ra'anana who are in the same boat and a few are in their class.  So they have become friends.  And it's amazing what they are learning.  They're picking up some Hebrew, they're still doing math (but in Hebrew), and they're running around like 4th grade kids should.

Work
Jan told you about her work in a recent post.  Much of my work is the same -- answering emails, finalizing my trip to Boston (I leave tomorrow morning!), and working on projects.  What's different is trying to work at times when the office is open in Oberlin -- that's a major challenge.  I tend to have some virtual meetings during and after dinner but it's a small price to pay.

Play
We have gotten out and explored a bit.  The first adventure was our trip to Tzfat.  I don't know too much about Tzfat other than it was a hotbed of Jewish mysticism in the 16th century.  There are remnants of that, particularly the cemetery where some of the great Jewish mystics are buried.  But it's a hotbed of tourism -- we did some shopping and helped the local economy.  We also ate an interesting lunch at Lahuhe Original, a Yemenite restaurant.  They serve one thing - lachuch.  It's like a puffy, thick crepe filled with 3 kinds of cheese, za'atar, harif (if you like it hot), and olives).  Silly tourists that we are, we bought one for each of us when we probably could have shared 3.  But on the whole, they went down well.

We've been to the beach a couple of times, most recently last Friday.  As celebration for finishing their first week of school Jan took Gabi and Alice to the Herzliyah beach by bus.  Helen and I joined later and we all went to a kabbalat Shabbat (welcoming Shabbat) potluck, having been invited by a friend of an Oberlin friend.  TONS of food, good company, and an amazing sunset.

And, of course, the girls dug in the sand a bit.

And the last highlight was our 18th Anniversary.  We haven't gone out for a fancy celebratory anniversary dinner in a few years so why should this year be any different?  We went to Sarona Market in Tel Aviv and explored.  We discovered a love of halvah, sampled some pizza, had a beer, and drooled over the confections.

What will the remaining 75% of the trip be like?  We have no clue.  We will be exploring Jerusalem, Caesaria, Nazareth, and Tiberias with family in mid-October.  We hope to go to the Ramon Crater at some point.  And we expect to go to the Dead Sea and maybe Masada as well.  But we're taking things day by day, getting our work done, and enjoying what life has given us for this semester.