The First Bite of Matza

This week is Passover and in Israel it is very different. First of all, there is only one day of Chag. There is only one seder and all that day, all the shops and restaurants are closed. All the markets are closed. The shuk is closed. We went to the shuk and we could run up and down the streets where it was usually packed full. Another change is that our seder went until two in the morning! We stayed up all night discussing Magid and telling stories and answering questions. I was falling asleep by Tzafun. Also, a lot of restaurants go kosher for Pesach and you can order matza instead of bread. Another thing is that, walking down the street, you can just say "Chag Samach" to anyone. It is a very different experience to be in Israel for Pesach, but it is fun all the same.

The President of the USA

Wednesday through Friday, our president, Barack Obama has been in Israel. He was here to try and make peace between Israel and all the countries around it, which are Israel's enemy. He went to many different places to do many different things. He met with Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Peres. He talked to a lot of people, but we got an experience of a life time. We happen to wriggle out a way to get tickets to see the President's speech at the Jerusalem Convention Center. We were in row ten and could see the President like he was right in front of us. It was amazing. We were treated like VIP's and got all the service of the press, which is the newspaper. It was really cool! I don't think we will ever get an experience like this again because it was so amazing and hard to get, but who knows, maybe one day, we'll see the President of the USA again.

Amirim

Over the past three days, our family went on a tiyul (which means "trip" in Hebrew) to a great place near Tzfat called Amirim. Amirim is a moshav, which is like a kibbutz, but sort of different. We lived in a small cabin, only two rooms, and it was actually not that bad. There were restaurants that we went to to eat, hiking trails to do during the day, and it was fun just to climb trees in the front yard. It was very beautiful there. The first day was the relaxing day. We walked around the area and looked out over the Kinneret and Galilee. We didn't swim in the Kinneret because it was pretty cold there. We saw the gardens around the moshav and had a nice, easy day. The next day we went to a beautiful hike in a park called Nahal Amud, and it was really fun. We saw an ancient building and a running river. We hiked down several mountains and climbed many trails. It was really fun! We could see the stars very well in Amirim since there were no lights, and it was quiet because there was no noise of traffic and construction like in Jerusalem. It was a great experience, and I hope we'll go back there while we're here.

Hiking in Nahal Amud

Math on Mondays?

In Israel, we have to go to ulpan, like I have said before. In this case, we do not have English, social studies, or math. So, we have found our own ways to learn these subjects.

For English, we have our mom teaching us writing and we both read a lot every day. We have been learning chunk paragraphs, hoping to keep up with our class back at Weizmann. We have recently decided to create a blog, where we write stories about what's happening here.

There's not much to say about what we're learning in social studies because we basically are in history. We don't learn that much social studies here since where we are is a historical place.

Math was a little trickier. At first, we didn't know what to do about math. Then, we decided to get a math tutor. Not to help us with math, to keep us fresh will all the basic math skills. We interviewed two math tutors and decided on one. She is a very nice woman and is really helpful.

We have math twice a week, on Tuesday and Thursday, after ulpan. We use the computer a lot to do our work. We use Kahn Academy and another program for math. It's very helpful and we are keeping up in math.

I think it's good that we didn't let our school subjects slip away from us instead of just going to ulpan to learn Hebrew. I think we made a good choice on this math tutor and when we get back, we'll be caught up with math.

Weird Sunday

 In Israel, Sunday is Monday. People go to work and school on Sunday. It's a regular work day. I don't really like this because when I wake up in the morning, there are loud drilling noises from the construction site next door. Are you planning to go on a nice, relaxing ride? Think again. You'll have to deal with the traffic. There are no kids shows on TV because all the kids are in school. Israel is on a Jewish calendar. "Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is Shabbat for the LORD your God; you shall not do any work." (Exodus) This is the special thing about Israel. It follows a Jewish calendar. Fun Fact: Friday is really a half day because half of the day, you are working. And the other half of the day, you are getting ready for Shabbat. It is very interesting because it's different.

Around the Neighborhood

Our neighborhood is large. There's so many things to see around it. There's office buildings and gardens and restaurants and cafes and so many other things.

Our apartment is smack in the center of Jerusalem. We can walk everywhere. We can walk to the shuk and the old city. It's very loud and noisy, but that's city life. Right next to us, there's a street called Azza, and that's where all the action happens. There's several different restaurants and cafes. There's an ice cream place and a bakery and a supermarket. Then, ten minutes from us there's Ben Yehuda street, and that's the touristy street. All the really cool shops and restaurants are there. Then, there's the old city, which is a fifteen minute walk. It's always really busy there. There are big malls all over town, and there are many different people walking around.

Now, that's all the city life, but there is some country living here. Not far from our apartment there's a small farm where there are goats, chickens, roosters, and ducks. It was a really fun place to hang out. There are beautiful gardens everywhere with almond trees that are blooming, flowers of all sorts, beautiful green grass, and fountains with clear water. There are birds of all kinds here, and there's even a little forest where we like to play. It seems like Jerusalem is a huge city where it's never quiet, but just ten minutes out of the city, there's a beautiful wild life waiting to be noticed.

So, that's all around our neighborhood, and I really like it. We live so close to all that we need. It's fun to walk and see all the different people and places. It's fun to go around different parts of Jerusalem. It's really interesting here, and I like it.

Cat City

Fun fact: there are 2 million wild, feral cats in Jerusalem. The cats were brought in the middle of WWI and WWII by the British to control all the rats. But now there are too many cats. There are two reasons that the Jerusalem cats are a problem. First, they eat all the garbage and make a big mess. Second, when you are trying to sleep at night, they yowl and keep you up. But, it's fun to look at all of them on the street. They are either in a garbage can, walking down the street, or just sitting on a wall looking at you. Last week, we were watching a marathon and there was a cat sitting on the sideline watching too. Even though the cats are a problem for the city, I'm glad they are here!!

Up with Ulpan

This week, Noah and I started ulpan. Ulpan is a school for kids who move here or who are visiting and want to learn Hebrew. It's really fun. Since we went to Weizmann Day School, we know what's going on and can follow everything. Thank you so much Weizmann! Anyway, ulpan is right by our apartment. Since we started, we've been walking. Now, we can walk by ourselves. In the ulpan, kids speak many different languages. There's French, Spanish, Russian, Chinese, Italian, English, and we are all learning Hebrew. Most of the kids speak English, French, or Russian. It's interesting to hear all of them. The ulpan only lasts for a couple of hours, so it's not exactly like a school. Ulpan is a great place to learn Hebrew and maybe when we come home, we'll be speaking like Israelis. Yalla, bye!

Ein Gedi

If you want to do something really fun, you should go to Ein Gedi. Ein Gedi is a nature reserve in Israel next to the Dead Sea. It is in the middle of the desert, high in the mountains, but inside it is an oasis. There are many waterfalls, streams, plants, trees, and tons of animals. We went on a great hike and saw many things. One great thing that we saw was David's waterfall. It is the biggest waterfall in Wadi David. We played in the water and enjoyed the beautiful scenery. We also hiked to the ancient synagogue. It is a very small original excavated synagogue from the 6th century. We saw remains of old houses, a street, and a mikveh. The floor of the synagogue was mosaic. It had inscriptions. Ein Gedi is an amazing place, and maybe some day you'll have the chance to see it, too.

Playing in David's Waterfall

Ancient mikveh and houses

Looking up at David's Waterfall

Ancient Synagogue