Adjusting to Israel

So, I know some of you are curious and I have a need to express myself, so thus, a blog entry is necessary!

Without pictures...sorry. 

It's a whole different thing to visit Israel without a hotel, tour guide,or a family home to go to immediately.  And add 2 kids to the mix.  It's definitely more challenging and overwhelming.

My kids did great on the flight over...or rather, as good as one could expect.  Sadly, they didn't serve dinner until late and so then they went to "bed" late, and then woke up at like the equivalent of 2 am (or at least Sivan did).  Matan woke up close to landing and got upset that the plane was going "down" and not "up".  So we lied and said, yes it's going up...he was about to get hysterical (truth be told, if the plane was actually going up, I would have been hysterical).  Every sound I heard (Ima!! and crying) woke me up, becaues I thought it was my own children crying and screaming.  I also think breakfast should be served at landing...not  3 hours before (at 2 am in the morning America time).  

The airport was horrendous--we stayed in the passport line for an hour, and I started to feel really awful during that time--it was just very overwhelming and even though my dad and mother in law were with me, I feel/felt a lot of pressure to make sure everything worked out.  I still do! But all changes are hard in the beginning and given that this isn't a tour and hotel etc., it's a big change for us all!

We got to our Modiin apartment and it's very nice.  Modiin, as Rhona describes it, is like the Kansas of America.  We probably are the first tourists here (who aren't visiting family).   It's an idyllic city with tons of parks.  I've never seen so many playgrounds.  But totally not touristy.  The expectation is you speak Hebrew here, unlike Jerusalem, which I'm now realizing is much more of an international city.

Friday morning, I got a car, which makes me feel much more free.  But the stop signs here are not like in the US and frankly, easy to ignore.  So, I put Sivan in charge of telling me when there's a stop sign. :)

The kids sleeping is a bit disjointed...and I'm hoping to get everyone on schedule starting tomorrow.  This leads Sivan to start screaming and crying at night about how homesick she is but during the day, she seems fine.

So, Friday afternoon, we got ready for shabbat, and went at 6 pm to this park near Shir's house.  Shir is a friend from Camp Ramah (we both worked there in 2002) and her and Yakir have been an incredible help.  I could never have managed the last 2 days without them.

At the park, they had a shabbat "service" outdoors.  Since it was before shabbat, they had instruments and singing--beautiful zionist songs that were awesome and inspiring. tons of young poeple with many many kids running all over the playground.  It was one of those ideal moments that after a really hellish time of travelling and not sleeping makes you go "yes, THIS is why I love Israel".  it was really great.

Then we had a wonderful dinner at shir and yakir's who absolutely insisted that we stay the night.  And so a restless night with our kids but followed with a great lunch (what amazing chefs they were!).  And then at 5:30 pm we walked home (less than 2 miles).  We really got a feel for Modiin in that walk, and were stunned at the playgrounds.  Shabbat here is just so wonderful and beautiful.  Even if I can't work my laundry machine, and can't get used to the heat, one thing I can say is that Jewish life here is fabulous.

To those of you that don't have young kids, you might wonder why I keep talking about the playgrounds.  If you have young kids, you completely understand the importance and value of playgrounds.  Kids were playing at each one--tons of them.  And really cool ones too--very exciting things for Sivan (not "babyish" as she would say).

So, how are we doing?  Rhona is rhona--stable, calm, and just going along with things.  I am me--nervous, tired, and cranky when my kids don't sleep, but really happy to be forced to immerse myself in Hebrew, and thinking that I picked a really good place for the kids.  Matan is easygoing, seems to have adjusted well to living here already, and just relatively good natured, unless you touch his "booboo" on his knee.  Sivan is Sivan--intense, loving or hating everything and that can change in a second.  She is really anti-speaking Hebrew and sadly has forgotten so much of what she once knew.  But I'm hoping she now sees the necessity of trying to pick up some of it, and I'm hoping that camp (starting july 1) will go okay for her and that she'll adjust.  She wants to play with the kids around her...so I think things will work out for her.  She just needs to sleep.  If Sivan doesn't sleep she becomes miss pessimist.  (hmm, who does that sound like?  oh yeah, me!).

I turned 33 today which of course is a big birthday.  33 rounds to 35.  And 35 rounds to 40. Yeah, I really don't like 33.

Matan turned 2 yesterday.

Laila tov.