It’s hard to imagine, but there are only about six and a half weeks left in this adventure. Things have been quiet (in a good way) as we have been lost in our daily routines and weekly rhythm, so we’ve made fewer blog posts. With our time here growing short, planning activities and seeing people has taken on a sense of urgency that wasn’t there before.
A few weekends ago, we met Adena’s cousin Rotem, her husband Yair, and daughter Amit in Caesarea. Unfortunately Rotem’s son had a foot injury and couldn’t join us. The 30 minute drive from Haifa was easy for us and it was even closer for Rotem who lives in Pardes Hana-Karkur.
Caesarea is a modern city with a national park to the south where visitors can wander through ruins, ask holograms of historical figures pre-formulated questions, and enjoy the waterfront. It was built by King Herod as way of attracting investment and currying favor with the Romans—and it worked big time. Imagine the pitch: “Caesarea will be a thriving global city with a world class harbor and shipping facilities. It will offer all the urban amenities you have come to expect—Roman bathhouse, amphitheater, and a hippodrome.” Here is a photo of the kids playing on a sculpture outside what used to be the stables and near where chariot races were held.
Note the large “no climbing” sign in the foreground! The water was really beautiful and we spent a lot of time exploring the ancient harbor.
The kids had a great time and it was good to see Rotem and her family again.
There was one day where Aviva was sick and couldn’t go to gan (daycare). For part of the day I took her down to the playground (the one with the pirate ship from Adena’s post) in this new neighborhood, down the western slope of the mountain. The playground is as extravagant as the apartment buildings with multiple, connected climbing structures, swings, a splash pad, a climbing wall with mega slides, and the aforementioned pirate ship.
We also went down to the Bat Galim neighborhood last weekend. If you’ve been paying attention, this is one of the places I visited on my birthday wanderings back in July, but Adena and the girls had never gone. There is a small beach and swimming area, playground, fishing piers, and a waterfront promenade. Surprisingly, some of the buildings are abandoned and falling down.
The medical school is nearby and you would think that property that close to the water would be put to better use. Maybe there is some unseen environmental contamination that complicates things and makes the area only inhabitable by medical students.
As we were heading out, a DJ set up and starting playing really cool music along the promenade. If it wasn’t dinner time, we would have sat and listened for a while.
This week was punctuated by two exciting developments. First, we noticed drops of water on the floor underneath the skylight by the front door. After some investigation and visits by two repairmen, there is some debate about the cause of the issue. One guy says there is a leak and water is coming in from outside. The other guy says condensation is collecting on the inside of the skylight and falling back down on the floor. It is incredibly damp and chilly in the apartment now (there are space heaters, but no radiators), so our money is on Ahmad—who says there is no leak, only condensation. It is supposed to rain a lot tomorrow, so we will see. Hey, it’s a rental so what’s the worst that could happen?
The other notable thing to report from this week was my disenfranchisement… by my wife.
We dutifully completed and sent in our absentee ballots a month ago, but they came back to us yesterday. As it turns out, registered mail cannot be delivered to a post office box. Although she meant well, by paying 30 shekels per envelope for trackable delivery, Adena ensured that our votes against Rodney Davis would not be counted. Luckily that race wasn’t very close or I’d feel worse about it…
So we are making a flurry of plans for these last six weeks. On the 25th we are touring Tishbi winery while the kids are at school, and when the kids are off for Hannukah we will stay at a kibbutz in the Golan Heights. It is near the Mount Avital Nature Reserve and apparently there is a volcanic crater that you can hike. Thanksgiving is next week and we are planning to just work through it (not an Israeli holiday). It will be hard not spending it with our friends—shout out to the Shargo family! We will be heading back down to Jerusalem for a belated Thanksgiving celebration with Uncle Paul and Aunt Laura at the end of the month.
Millie is definitely ready to go home, mainly because the school situation is tough (language barrier) and the teacher hasn’t made much of an effort to engage her. I am tired of the clothes I brought and my pants don’t fit anymore. But I think the rest of us have gotten pretty comfy here, damp and drippy apartment aside.
Keeping It Israel 