Kach!

I went shopping last Friday. I prefer going to the local green grocery and tiny market (Makolet), yet for some strange reason I found myself in Super Center. Yuck. I think it was because I needed to buy cereal and something in the back of my head (my autopilot) said, "Cereal -- large grocery store!"Its not that you cannot get cereal in the Makolet, but a few weeks back I bought some Cherrios at the Makolet and they tasted stale. Chief investigator Dena eventually solved the mystery by looking at the expiration date on the box.... October 2006. She theorized that Moty at the Makolet bought the box of Cherrios for his American clientelle (Dena & Jason). Once we left town in July 2006, there was nobody else interested in buying. That is, until we showed up 12 months later.

But back to the main story line. I wandered around Super Center picking out cukes, tomatos, lettuce (for the salad on shabbas), and lots of fruit (for the fruit salad we were to bring to the Mirchin's). I picked up some Challah, cereal, and whatever else I could think of. I carefully picked the shortest line, but because of Murphy (who I did not know was also to be found in Israel), it happened to be the slowest moving one. Yes, it wasn't long be before it was the longest line. Well after finally passing all my produce over the scale, and scanning the cereal, I started bagging everything. The woman behind me then notices a tomato on the floor, and points it out to me. I look at it, but I know it isn't mine. I pay careful attention when I pick my tomatoes, even if i have no intention of eating them. I pick it up anyway, because I figure it shouldn't be on the ground, "Zeh lo sheli (It's not mine)," and I place it on the convey of the cashier in the next lane over since that lane is closed. The woman looks at me and says, "Kach (take it)". "Zeh lo sheli". Well, this is Israel, right? Next thing you know my cashier, returns my credit card and says, "Kach". Not to be out done, the customer in the next lane over starts in with "Kach!". What am I going to do? The whole super market was about to riot. I picked up the tomato and put into my bag. "Shabbat Shalom".

As if that we're not enough, just yesterday, Dani is making himself lunch and he picks up the tomato. "This one looks a little funny?" "Yeah... I know, it's not really ours. I never would have picked it such an ugly tomato but I had no choice."

All For the Children

As they say, "You are as happy as your children." Well, then, we are very happy. Margalit and Miriam are definitely back in the routine. Yes, only a week out of their own schools, they are back at school. They both met friends before school started and walked with them to their old schools (still in session until June 30th). Miriam was allowed to sit next to her best friend, Ayelet, and when I went in to "peak" she looked as if she had never left. Indeed, she came home with a story that she had just written (many pages long and in Hebrew, of course). And then, there was the toy she got from one of her classmate's school birthday parties, and of course, the popsicle. Life is good.

Margalit also enjoyed today. Following the talmudic injunction to teach your children to swim, the girls' school has swimming classes for fifth graders. For the last week or two, Margalit's classmates have been taking a bus after first period to go swimming for an hour at the local pool. Well, Margalit joined today and of course enjoyed. The highlight of the day though was the after school end-of-the-year- party that included some crazy water fights. In short, both girls are planning to go back tomorrow and catch the very end of their Israeli schools.

Dani is also doing great. He was greeted coincidently at the airport by two of his friends (who were their picking up someone else from the airport). Fortunately, they showed great enthusiasm to see him. After crashing at our lace in Raanana for the first night, he has been off all day at his friend Yoyo's house. Indeed, he is even sleeping their tonight. We are certainly happy. We had been feeling quite guilty about taking him away from his good life in America. Nice to think that he can have a good life here too.

Ronit is on a slower trajectory of adjustment. She slept until after 11 am and spend most of the day with the adults doing boring things like getting phones and picking up children. She did, however, go off and see her friend Jenny for an hour. She seems excited about that. Tomorrow plans to be a full afternoon playdate and we are all looking forward. We are curious how much English she will speak. True to Ronit fashion, she seems to be very stubborn about to whom she will speak Hebrew. And, you know, Jenny knows Hebrew as well. I guess only time will tell.

Well, I'm falling asleep. Jet leg is kicking in.

Dena

40 years in the dessert

I too have my story about getting to the promised land. It's not quite the same as the classic one as taught in hebrew school, and baruch hashem (thank god), it is not quite as long. Just the same, it was no easy journey.

So let me tell you a little bit about Alitalia.... We arrived at Logan Airport in Boston and immediately noticed that my flight was delayed by 30 minutes. That was a bad sign because I only had a 60 minute layover in Rome. The ticketing agent in Boston transfered me to the El Al flight from Rome (30 minutes later) so that there would be a better chance of me making the transfer. She gave me a little white "manifest" which I guess is something similar to, but not quite, a ticket. Dena smartly suggested that if there were any issues that I call Paula in Israel, and she would do likewise. I arrived in Rome at about 9:15AM and raced through the maze of the airport, occasionally hearing bits of Hebrew. I got to gate C20, for the El Al flight, and was told they would not respect the manifest, and that I was not on the flight. I had to go the "transfers" desk. The two other Israeli families who arrived just about simultaneously with me headed to the transfer desk. I thought I might do better by just going to C21 which was my original Alitalia flight from Rome to Tel Aviv, which was also delayed and was in the midst of boarding. I begged and pleaded at the counter, but they insisted that I was already taken off the list for that flight and had to go to the transfer desk.

Of course by the time all 16 of us arrive at the transfer desk and try to get things sorted out, they've finished boarding both the El Al and the Alitalia flight. Now we are really screwed. Finally after 30 minutes of phone calls and keyboard tapping, the agent at the transfer desk gives up and says she cannot help us. We need to go to the ticketing counter. Off we go as a group to find the ticketing counter. We find the "service counter", and that seems like the right place, and we spend 2.5 hours there, yes 2.5 full hours, until all 16 of us have new manifests. They promise us a free lunch, and a stay at the local hotel, until we can catch a 7pm flight from Rome to Athens, and then Athens to Tel Aviv. It should get us to Tel Aviv by 5:00am, instead of the originally scheduled 2pm.

Fast forward to 5pm when we get to the Airport and have to wait until the Olympic Airlines desk is open to check in to the flight to Athens. Surprise. They will not honor our manifest, and send us from the check-in desk to the ticketing counter for Olympic. There we learn that the Olympic flights are already overbooked by about 10 people. We are all on standby, and they'll let us know more in an hour. I'm traveling alone and am pretty calm, but the in the group there are two 3 women traveling with 1, 3 and 4 kids, and one couple with two little kids. Some of the kids are sick, one family is running out of diapers, another has prescription medicine in the checked-in baggage, etc. Some are on the verge of tears. I head over with 2 of the other travelers to the Alitalia desk, while the woman with 4 kids stays at Olympic to beg, plead, cry and try to somehow get onto that flight. We kept getting told that everything is full and that there is no way to get to Tel Aviv. Finally they offer to separate us -- something we had been suggesting all along. When they say they can get four of to Tel Aviv via Milan, we shout"DO IT!" Slowly we all get booked (or rather the 12 that I know about. 4 others were on a 9pm to Athens and so were not yet at the airport). 5 left to go via Olympic, 4 via Milan, and I was booked with two others via Franfurt. Yes, it was going backwards, but the flights were on Luftansa, and I have a better feeling about them than about Atilia. Luckily the Luftansa flight from Rome was delay by 30 minutes, because otherwise there might not have been time to make it. That 30 minute delay turns into an hour+ delay, and I start getting nervous I'll miss the next connection. Luckily those fears were unfounded. I arrive in Franfurt with just enough time to race through the terminal and board the next flight.

While in Franfurt waiting, ran into a Newton Centre Minyan family on their way to Tel Aviv. Small world. Finally arrived in Tel Aviv at 3:30am, waitied for my luggage and it never came. Same thing happened to the other people. Ran into the woman and her 3 kids that came via Milan. No luggage. After filing missing luggage reports, we shared a cab, because she was headed to Herzilya, which is right next to Ra'anana. Turns out she is good friends with Yoyo (Dani's friend)s family.


Dena luckily arrived almost without incident. She made it on time, and so did all the kids. As for luggage, 9 of the 10 pieces arrived. Should I give them an A-? 90%? Somehow they lost Ronit's bag. We are still waiting for it.

More later.