we spent the weekend at one of Yehi's cousins bar-miztvahs in Ashqelon. It was an interesting experience, and very different from the American conservative bar/bat mitzvahs I grew up with. We went Friday night, and stayed in a small hotel with about 200+ people of Yehi's family. Friday night we had services and a big dinner. Saturday there were services, a big lunch, lots of hanging out with family and the third meal... then we all went home. There was no big party, no dancing, no speech by the bar-mitzvah boy (actually, I think he tried at one point, but no one could hear him over everyone else.).

Sometimes I forget that I am living a world away from my own family, but nothing makes it strike home like hanging out with Yehi's family. For some reason, especially being at the sea in Ashqelon, it strikes me just how far away I really am. Maybe its because I know my family is 'out there' far across the water. Maybe its because I look at Maya and realize that she has no idea what we have done, and the choices that we will have to make as far as visiting family and who she will grow up with. I love that she has cousins her age to play with, and masses of aunts and uncles who will take care of her.... but I HATE that my parents cannot see her learning to roll over, to talk, to sit up.

these are the choices we made. Maybe they will change, but for now we are going day to day. Our daily schedule hasnt changed much, maybe because Maya is so young, which is somewhat of a blessing. I can hold on to the similarities and work my way into the israeli system step by step.

On that note, ulpan starts today... we will see where they put me... heres to hoping a bet class opens up!

days go by

today was our farewell party. it was so great to see everyone who came. for most of them, it was also a chance to see Maya for the first time. its been hard these last couple days, knowing that we are packing up and leaving. it still doesnt seem real in a lot of ways, and I'm sure it wont for even a couple weeks after we arrive.

i keep thinking how lucky we are. both yehi and I have a family that loves us. and even though they span the globe, we live in an age where we can communicate daily, see each other live, and travel to see each other within a 24 hour span. while that seems like a REALLY long trip (and it is), it is still such a blessing. when my great-grandmother left Poland, her main wish was to get to israel... she ended up in the USA and loved it, but for her to visit israel would have been a major undertaking. boats, planes, snail mail... all of which i love, but nothing beats skype. i am thankful that we can do this without loosing touch with my family. it will still be hard, there is no question about that.

we are almost finished packing... we leave tmw, and have a 24 hour trip with a 3 month old. im not terribly excited... especially with my lovely fear of flying. if anyone wants to meet us in NY email me, we can say goodbye! ill post at least once more before i leave...

three weeks and counting

back in January I had contacted some english speaking schools in Israel, just to see what the job situation was like. last week i got an email from one of them asking for a LATIN teacher come january! Not what I wanted to be teaching (I would love to get back to history), but it would be a foot in the door. its only part time, which could be good also. the downside is that it is a pretty far commute from KG, but it is on the train line. anyways, they want me to call them when i land, and set up a meeting. not too bad! even if it doesnt work out, its nice to know that there are opportunities out there.

in other news... three weeks until the move. we have one suitcase packed, only a couple more to go. its hard to believe ints actually getting closer. my parents left to meet my brother in europe today, and it was hard to see them go. we will get to see them before we go, but it was hard knowing that we only have a couple days left. of everything, leaving my family is by FAR the hardest part of moving internationally. if only our families werent on exact opposite parts of the world... at least in this day and age it is easier to stay in contact. still, its not the same as seeing the baby grow up in front of your eyes.

so, three weeks left, just wrapping everything up as best as possible... and hoping that everyting goes as smoothly as possible between now and then.

apartments and other thoughts

well, first off, Maya has her American passport! That means we are totally ready to travel. All the forms are turned in to NBN, and we seem to be mostly set. Now its just a matter of cleaning and packing and getting the last minute stuff organized... but with a month to go I dont feel so bad.

It also appears that we have a place to rent when we land. This was one thing I was really worried about. it was important to me to be able to have our own place to crash, and to begin to set up, when we arrived. i know that mentally, being able to organize and set up a house will help me get through those first couple days. its a matter of being able to call a place your own. with the baby also, it will be good to start getting her used to new place from day 1.

im not assuming this will be easy in any way. the hardest thing by far is leaving my family. when Yehi and I got married we knew that we would have to choose countries to be near family... and that either way one side would be hurt. We thought we would be staying in the US longer, but the general circumstances led us to decide that now was a better time to move. Part of me is so excited about this move... I have always wanted to live abroad and experience other cultures, and I am so thankful to be able to do that.

On the other hand... we have a new daughter. I want her to get the kind of education and childhood that BOTH israel and america have to offer. i want my parents, my sibling, my grandparents to be able to see her grow and change. it is obviously much easier now, with programs like skype, than it was 100, 50 or even 10 years ago... but its still not the same. I dont have a solution to the problem, but I know there will be a lot of traveling back and forth. I dont know if its really any different from living on opposite coasts of the US (just a longer plane flight), but since both yehi and I grew up right near our whole family, it will be hard. any thoughts would be appriciated.