Parks and Recreation

One of the things I have always appreciated about living in Champaign-Urbana are the public parks. There are a lot of great parks in C-U. Similarly, one of the first things I appreciated about Jerusalem, and then Haifa, are the parks – or maybe it is more accurate to call them playgrounds – I don’t know, here many playgrounds are called “gan”, which can also mean garden or kindergarten. (Side note: Since gan translates to garden in English, sometimes when referring to the gan teacher, which in Hebrew is ganenent, I have heard some say gardener, which I find cute.)

We have spent a lot of time at playgrounds here because, well, we have two kids. If you can accept that they will not be as clean as you might like, they are really well done. The climbing equipment is great, there is usually shade, there is always a variety of play structures, and there is always at least one within walking distance. And they are all different. One has a fish pond, the other has a life-sized chutes & ladders board and another has a pirate ship. Plus, the girls can spend all afternoon at a park (especially if there is a popsicle stand nearby/on the way, and there often is). I think Leslie Knope would be pleased with the parks here.

So here are some photos of the Wilsons enjoying the playgrounds in Israel.