Author: adenatova

After our trip to Mitzpe Ramon, we returned to Jerusalem (Dec. 27). Cousin Noam took Millie to see Mary Poppins Returns and for dinner we all got together for take-out from Japan Japan (Paul, Laura, Noam, Ziv, Kayli, Amalya, and us).

Thursday (Dec. 28) was cold, windy, and rainy. It was a big day for us–I returned the rental car. Given our track record with the car and rental company I was anxious about returning it, so I asked Ziv to come with. We met at the rental place and he did most of the talking. To my surprise and relief, there were no issues (well, they were going to charge us to clean the inside of the car since there was a lot of sand in it, but Ziv essentially said, “Um, no you are not.”). Wow, what a sense of freedom to return that car. It was a necessary evil–we did use it, and it was helpful to have it, but it was also quite stressful and I was glad to be rid of that stress. It was back to busses and cabs for us.

Anyway… we walked to “Dinosaur Park,” the nearby mini shopping area with a playground. It wasn’t too rainy when we started out but by the time I finished at the co-op shop market the rain was definitely picking up. Millie was hungry and the falafel joint just opened so we stopped for a mid- morning bite (she got a half portion and Aviva got a bag of falafel balls).

By mid-afternoon we needed to get out again and decided to go to the Hadar Mall to get the girls some boots and just poke around. It was a successful mission, but the weather only got worse. We walked to the bus stop in the rain and wind and cold. Then waited for what felt like forever for a bus that was not coming. Finally, I flagged a cab and we jumped in. It was warm. We were all much happier.

The next day (Dec. 29) we decided to do some shopping on Ben Yehuda St. It was ok–but shopping with kids does not really work. That evening we went to Judy Brown’s house for shabbat dinner. Judy is a life-long family friend and one of the kindest people I know. Her husband Trevor is just as kind and we really loved getting to see them again. At the end of the evening I asked Judy if she might be willing to watch Millie and Aviva on Sunday so we could really do some shopping… and she said yes!

Shabbat was a lazy day at Paul and Laura’s, then at night we went to my cousin Naama’s house to say goodbye. We also got to see my cousin Zehavit (Naama’s daughter) and her dog Uma one more time, which was a bonus!

Sunday rolled around and true to her word, Judy was ready to hang with the Millie and Aviva. We took two buses to get to her house in the French Hill neighborhood, and dropped off the girls. (Trevor, who was heading out), waited until we arrived so he could see Millie and Aviva again!)

We decided to go back to Ben Yehuda and took the lightrail!

Bev and I ate at Shalom Falafel on Hillel Street and it was so good. As we shopped, we ran into friends from Champaign (the Avgars, who now live in Ithaca)! It was the first time this whole trip that we ran into someone we know–it was bound to happen! It was really nice to see them.

By early afternoon Bev and I headed back to Judy’s. The girls and Judy were finishing lunch and they had a great time with Judy. We are indebted to her still!

We left Judy’s and headed back to Paul and Laura’s to grab some coats we borrowed from my cousin Noa and then headed out again to Noa’s apartment in Baka to say goodbye and let the girls have one more chance to hand out with Noa’s girls. It was rainy again. We had to take two buses to grab the coats and by that time we were all tired. So I used the Uber-like taxi service, Gett, and we cabbed it. We had a nice visit with Noa and getting to know her and her family was one of the highlights of this trip for me.

Monday (Dec. 31), the rain finally let up. We had a lazy morning and then headed to the Emanuel store in Talpiot. We made it back to the apartment for lunch and then Bev took the girls to the park while I started packing. I also got to spend a little time with my cousin Kayli and her daughter Amalya (Laura stopped by too).

We had a nice dinner at home with Laura (Bev made a killer black lentil salad) and then got everyone ready for bed in Jerusalem, one last time.

Today (Jan. 1) is our last day and it really is hard to believe it. We had a great breakfast at the Grand Cafe on Derech Beit Lechem–Bev’s last shakshuka in Israel. We then walked along the First Station trail (one of our favorite spots), and headed to the Old City to pick a few more gifts.

We then walked back to Emek Refaim Street for some Aldo ice cream and finally headed back to the apartment to rest and finish packing.

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And that is where we are now. We said goodbye to our cousin Noam and will say our last goodbyes soon to Kayli, Ziv, Amalya and Laura (we said goodbye to Paul this morning).

Yesterday’s weather was a pretty good reflection of the day’s events. It started out rainy but by the time we left to take the girls to school, it was sunny and bright. Around two it poured but it was sunny out so you could see the huge rain drops really well. And then the rain stopped, and it was clear again.

Yesterday was the last day of school/gan. Both girls had farewell parties which were bittersweet. In Millie’s class, she brought in some treats and small gifts for her classmates and teacher. They made her an album with each classmate writing/drawing a page, and with a photo of each child. They cheered her name in unison (very Israeli) and said a lovely good-bye.

As I walked her to school for the last time in the morning, she said she didn’t want to leave, that she liked the school and her friends and her teacher. I know that it was hard for her, being in a classroom all day where she did not understand a lot of the instruction. But she is Millie and so she found ways to still have a blast, make friends and even learn a few things along the way.

Aviva’s class also had a farewell party and they truly went above and beyond. There is no question that one of the best things we did in Haifa was choose this gan. For her party, Aviva brought Bamba and a gift for her classmates and teachers.

Her teacher did a whole event, where she told a story about a flower and butterfly. The butterfly has to leave an the flower is sad…and in the end, the butterfly comes back. Probably a poor summary, but when her teacher told me about it it was very touching.

She also received beautiful gifts: a canvas photo of her class; a book, photo magnet and gloves from the parent group; a handcrafted owl from one of her teachers; a book and framed photos from her BFF Itamar.

And so we began saying goodbye to Haifa. For myself, I am a bit in denial. Just wishing we could stay just a bit more…

Take 3

We are well into Hanukkah and so the sufganiot tasting continues. On Monday night we tasted a sampling from the Roladin bakery. This is a national chain, known for its over the top creations for the holiday. As an aside – Sunday night was the first night of Hanukkah and we went to a party for Millie’s class. On the way, we saw a very long line out the door of Roladin bakery! Gotta get those sufs.

The four kinds we tasted were pineapple, Oreo cookie, chocolate chocolate, and vanilla with crunchies on top.

Oreo cookie was the first, and everyone gave it a thumbs up.

Next was pineapple, which turned out to be Bev’s favorite but Millie did not like it. I thought that I would not like it all but it was pretty good.

Next was the super chocolate one. Millie squeezed the filling and we all liked that one.

Finally, the vanilla. Aviva did the filling honors. Again, a good donut but no one’s favorite. Overall, much better than the last batch we tried and we would eat them again!

By the way, Aviva’s idea of eating a sufgania is to lick the topping and leave the donut part.

 

Take 4

On Tuesday we headed to the Golan for a little Hanukkah break (Millie is off from school and no doubt we will share more from the trip later). We made sure to grab four sufs from one of our favorite bakeries, Dulce, so that we would have some to sample at the hotel.

We started with the traditional – jelly filling. Not anyone’s favorite but a solid donut. Next was the strawberry cream. We all liked it – and Bev really liked it. Third was the chocolate covered one, which had chocolate filling. The filling was a lot like the chocolate spread they have here, so not anything special (though the chocolate on top was good). Finally, the one that I will call caramel. It was very good and very sweet with a lot of filling. As per usual, Aviva just wanted to taste what was on top and not per usual, Millie did not seem that excited about any of them. (Not too long after she let us know that she was not feeling well.)

I am not sure we can keep this up! Actually, at the hotel we are staying at they have sufganiot every evening at 6 pm, but they are the traditional jelly filled donuts, so no fun in that!

 

 

 

I decided (with some encouragement from Bev) to get my hair cut and colored. I am not too adventurous with my hair, and often go many months without a haircut. But last Friday I stopped into a salon and made the appointment. So this morning, I went into the Avi Bitton salon and first got the color. It was fun to just observe the interactions. The owner, Avi, is very nice and seems to know all of the customers. It looked like one big family, as each new person who came in got a hug from Avi or one of the other employees. When it was time for the cut, I asked if he had any suggestions. He said he had the idea to have the front a bit longer than the back. And before I knew it he was chopping away. At first I panicked – but then I relaxed enough to smile and figured it will grow back eventually.

Anyway, I am getting used it. : )

If we were going to be here longer I would definitely go back.

And just so this post does not have just a photo of me, here are some random, recent photos.

Trial No.1

Sufganiot (donuts, traditionally eaten on Hanukkah) started appearing in bakeries shortly after Sukkot ended (kind of like Halloween candy appearing in stores in August). We’ve held out until now, but the taste testing has begun (at the specific request of Savta).

This first batch comes from the bakery Shemo.

From left to right: “Klik” (the candies on top are crunchy) with chocolate filling that you squeeze in yourself; oreo cookie topping with white chocolate filling; whipped cream filling with chocolate icing; nougat filling with crunchy topping.

Millie and Aviva did the honors of squeezing in the filling of the 2 donuts that came with the injectors, then we divided all four into four pieces so we could each try all of them.

Millie and Adena picked the whipped cream filled one as the best.

Aviva liked the “clik” one and Bev liked the oreo one. The nougat one was good but soooo sweet.

Trial No. 2

This next batch is from a bakery sort of near Millie’s school (and I forgot the name).

The one at the top has mini malt balls on top and had vanilla custard inside. On the bottom, from the left:

chocolate with sprinkles with vanilla custard; chocolate with m&m-type candy and chocolate inside; hazelnut on top and inside.

These were definitely not as good as the ones from Shemo. No one liked the hazelnut one. The chocolate that was on top of the others was very thick, too thick. And the consensus was that the donut itself was also not as good. Still, we had fun tasting.

The next bakery to try is Roladin!

While we still have about 6 weeks before heading home, I find that I am often thinking about what it will be like to not live here anymore.   There are things that I have become accustomed to living in Israel. Some I will miss, some I will not. Here is a working list:

Cars parked on the sidewalk – sometimes partially, sometimes fully.

Getting toothpicks and a wet wipe after any meal in a restaurant.

Blue, blue skies

A cafe on every corner [no photos, just take my word for it]

The local bakery and local fruit store

Flowers. Everywhere.

Not having Amazon. Which means brick and mortar bookstores, malls that people go to, hardware stores, toy stores, etc….

The selection of juices/juice drink in the supermarket. Sure, I stick with grapefruit and mint-lemonade, but I appreciate the options.

Always being on the lookout for dog poop on the sidewalk. (I will refrain from using a photo here.) On the flip side, lots of dog poop means lots of dogs and we have really enjoyed seeing so many dogs around (shout out to Eddie, we miss you bud).

Cats. Everywhere. Bev already has blogged about the cats.

The ice cube tray in out refrigerator. It makes sense. You fill the trays and there is bin underneath where the trays are. When the ice is ready, you turn the trays with a lever and the ice falls into the bin. Easy. We have not missed having an ice dispenser on the fridge door.

I will leave this post with one more photo (definitely going to miss being so close to the beach):

*bonus: blog title is an Avett Brothers song that I cannot stop listening to.

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.

 

 

I have found that rarely am I at my computer when I have something to blog about. In fact, I seem to compose the best posts while walking home from dropping off Millie each morning…which I then forget about by the time I am able to sit and write. So instead, I am going to share few short thoughts that will probably end up being a mishmash of things.

School/Gan

Both girls are doing well. Millie is always happy to go to her school and has many different subjects including technology, animals, math, Torah, and more. Technically there is also Hebrew language but she doesn’t know enough Hebrew to follow so she reads or draws or works on her Hebrew book that we ordered for her and which has English instructions. It is what it is. Aviva loves gan. She sings songs, has art, and often has a special activity. She also has a best friend, Itamar. Her teachers tell me everyday how they are inseparable. We often get photos via the WhatsApp group and if Aviva is in a picture, you can usually see Itamar right next to her!

Here are a few recent photos of the girls.

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Worse than Comcast?

On Wednesday, our internet went down. This is bad. I need it to do my work. Bev wrote in his recent blog how we made the most of the day so I will not repeat it. What I will add is that we got reconnected by Thursday afternoon thanks to our landlord’s son-in-law (Chen), who apparently is in the high tech field. Which meant that we did not need to deal with Partner, the internet provider, directly. In the end, Chen fixed it himself. From the start he did not hide his low opinion of the company’s ability to bring of any help. Apparently, cable/internet customer service is non existent no matter where you are! I am indebted to Chen.

Hmmm. This is going to be even shorter than I thought. Well, here are a few more photos. From the top: Aviva at gan, B’hai garden from downtown, our Carmelit stop -now with signage, Aviva and Itamar at the park, Millie enjoying lunch at Cafe Greg.

This time of year in the Jewish calendar is one of reflection. The focus is on spiritual reflection but I find that I do more personal reflection. And as I walk the hills of Haifa I think a lot about being here: the ups and downs of the past 3 months and what the next 3 will hold.

Lately, before I get Aviva from gan, I take a few minutes to sit in this spot (which is basically across the way from her gan) and appreciate the view of the water, the boats, the sky that always seems to be blue and the fact that we are here.  I know that I have shared the hard times we have had but I am glad we are in Israel. And even though we are only half way through our adventure, I already feel a tightness inside knowing that we will be leaving and I will no longer get to sit in this spot or walk the streets that were once so foreign but are now familiar and comfortable. I want to make the most of the next 3 months – and internalize as much as I can so that when I am back in Champaign I can close my eyes and be transported back to Haifa, even for a moment.

A little catch up

School for Millie and Aviva seems to be going well. Aviva is adjusting better to gan and she is doing some great activities. Her teachers are very kind and they tell us she is starting to say some things in Hebrew. Last Friday she was the Shabbat Queen (“She’s your shabbat queen to be…..” – comment if you get that reference!), and she has been learning about Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. She is also very excited for her gan sukkah that they are decorating. Here are some photos from her gan (we get pictures nearly everyday of the kids, via the WhatsApp group).

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Millie likes her school and I think she enjoys all of the different subjects and activities. She is in the after school program, which for now she is either on a computer or running around outside. But starting October they have specific activities that the kids signed up for. There was a big fair at school last Friday for signing up, and it was quite the event with music, snacks, face painting. Millie chose fencing and learning about life in the sea as her two activities.  She also had a beautiful Rosh Hashana celebration.

Speaking of Rosh Hashana, we spent the first day with my relatives in a neighborhood called Kirkur, about 45 minutes  from Haifa. It was great. I met a few cousins for the first time, got to talk to Michal (who is my mom’s first cousin) about her mom who came to Israel in 1934.

Now, it is just about time for Yom Kippur, (the day of atonement). It is quiet. Tomorrow, we have been told, that because there will be virtually no cars on the road, that kids play/people walk in the street (there is no school and most things are closed). I will walk to a synagogue about 35 minutes away, but I think I will still stick to the sidewalks.