It has been almost three weeks since my last long-form post and so much has happened in the meantime. The girls started school this past Sunday and here’s the obligatory first day photo.
Millie’s school is about fifteen minutes away once you get on the bus and things seem to be going well so far. It is a uniform school and each student has to wear a shirt with the school logo each day, which is kind of awesome (like Hogwarts).
There is a small petting zoo near the main guard station and the school itself has an amazing view of the Mediterranean Sea. School starts at eight and dismisses at two and right now, Millie is going to an afterschool program onsite until four or five. The language barrier means she can’t do all the school exercises and we are considering pulling her out of the afterschool program if we can find someone to teach her Hebrew and math/piano during that time.
Aviva has been going to gan (daycare) and is having separation issues after being out of the daycare environment for a full three months, doing things like this each day.
The teacher (Liora, in the pink shirt) seems to really know what she is doing and relies heavily on music and singing. She avoids speaking to Aviva in English in hopes that it will speed her language acquisition. Hila, who owns the gan, sends her own son there and her husband is often onsite making repairs and improvements. Here are a few photos of Aviva in action at gan without tears (making honeycake, eating honeycake, tumbling).
She seems to cry less when I drop her off in the morning than when Adena does it. We’ll try that for a bit.
I am also happy to report that I finished the five and a half week language immersion course today. I learned a lot, but it still doesn’t feel like quite enough. That’s Ruti in the center.
My plan is to continue using DuoLingo and Rosetta Stone and there is a “support group” for new immigrants at the synagogue we have adopted that meets Friday mornings. I can practice speaking Hebrew there. It takes about half an hour to walk there and we’ve been twice. On the way back last time I noticed flyers like the one shown below on the street bulletin boards.
Apparently the rabbi there (in the middle) is the same person who was arrested several weeks ago for performing weddings that riled the religious powers that be. I found him to be extraordinarily welcoming and personable. He also doles out an insane amount of candy during the service. Sometimes adults get candy too.
We bought a membership at the Madatech science museum and Aviva and I went down there on Monday afternoon. It was great because we essentially had the place to ourselves. Note the lack of people in the photos below.
We also successfully applied for a visa extension on Tuesday and are now allowed to stay in the country until the end of January. Here is a picture of the passport photos we sat for and bought, but did not need in the end.
The clerk was unexpectedly nice and efficient. The extension only cost us 680 shekels (total) and if we want to leave the country and come back, we just need to get a stamp at the Ministry (and pay them another 680 shekels) a day or two before we head out.
We have started watching a few YouTube videos with the girls before bed. The Swedish Chef from the Muppets is in heavy rotation, as well as Schoolhouse Rock. I am excited to begin writing full time next week, after the Rosh Hashanah holiday (campus is basically closed with reduced bus service on Sunday and none on Monday and Tuesday).
About two weeks ago we drove to Jerusalem to visit with baby Amalia, shown here with her grandmother and her two admirers.
She is Kayli and Ziv’s first child and the first grandchild of Uncle Paul and Aunt Laura. It was so nice to be back there and to see everyone. For us, Jerusalem is open and engaging in a way that Haifa is not. At least not yet.
Keeping It Israel 
