Time sure flies!

  Jerusalem, Israel
Saturday, March 1, 2008

January

Evette & I had a rough couple of weeks this month. On New Year's Eve Evette was flossing her teeth & one of her teeth broke. Luckily, she was not in pain. She went the next day to the dental clinic & they told her since she was not in pain, she had to wait until the 16th for an appointment. They did send her for x-rays though. So, she made her appointment & hoped to remain pain free.

Over the next few days, we start to get nervous about this dental clinic. A few teachers at her school recommended Dr. Greenspan. They said he was the best around. We both have friends who have had nightmarish dental experiences & decide it was worth paying more money to get proper care. They were very nice on the phone & made an appointment for the 13th. Dr. G was really nice. Evette needed a root canal & a crown. He scheduled the root canal for the 18th.

Meanwhile, in the midst of all this, my asthma is really acting up. It continues to get worse each day until on the 15th; I'm really coughing to the point of almost passing out & gasping for air. My inhaler is not working, so we decide it's time to go to the doctor. When we arrived in Jerusalem, I got health insurance for students for $1/day. We called Evette's doctor, but he said with my insurance that I could only go to the ER. So, we called a taxi & off we went. I must say, it was not a great experience. They took chest x-rays because they thought it was pneumonia. The doctor prescribed an antibiotic & cough syrup.

I was progressively getting worse, so on the 17th we went back to the ER. The doctor would barely let me speak. He said I need to just keep taking the meds & be patient. He added an antihistamine to my meds. So, now I'm home in bed & Evette leaves for school. She calls me later, hysterically crying that she is in excruciating pain from her tooth. She got an emergency dental appointment & was on her way to pick me up in a taxi to go with her. I had only a few minutes to get dressed & ready, so I threw on sweats, grabbed the dog & dragged him into the front room (where we keep him when we go out) & ran out the door.

Later, when we arrive home, I'm in bad shape, as I should be in bed. We walk in the door & see that the door to the back room is opened & Rascal is hiding in a corner. Here's what we think happened...first off, I left my laptop on the bed, open & turned on. I did not think this was a problem since I shut the door between the rooms. We think something spooked him, (he is afraid of loud noises) & he pounced on the door which was probably not latched tightly. He saw my laptop on the bed & said to himself:

"Oh good! My mommies communicate with people on this thing. I will try to call my mommies on here. Help! Help! Mommies come home! Hey, why isn't anyone answering me? Where are my mommies? Hey, why are these little black pieces flying all over the place? This does not happen when mommies do this. Uh-oh!!!! I think I'm in big trouble! What should I do? I know! I'll hide & look scared & roll over to show my belly...yeah, they really like that & they tell me how cute I am!"

So, needless to say, I wanted to kill him (in a non-violent way, of course). My laptop is my lifeline here, emails, writing, etc... I was beside myself. I think I stayed really mad at him for days, which was very difficult because he is too, too cute. Ok, so I'm a softyJ Eventually, I bought an external keyboard which is a real pain because it does not fit in my backpack.
So remember, I'm really sick & getting worse. We finally decide to go to a private doctor no matter how it costs. Our friend Reba recommended someone. When I went & brought the x-rays & medical records, she said the meds the ER put me on were dangerous for someone with asthma. She said I had a bad lung infection. She changed all my meds & within 2-3 days I was much better. I was sick for over 2 weeks.

Tu b'shvat January 22, 2008

On January 22nd, we joined the Conservative Yeshiva on an evening trip to Netanya. A synagogue there invited us to a Tu b'shvat Seder. The 15th day of the month of Shvat marks the beginning of the "new year" for trees.
Tu B'Shvat is the New Year for the purpose of calculating the age of trees. The Torah states that fruit from trees which were grown in the land of Israel may not be eaten during the first three years; the fourth year's fruit is for G-d, and after that, the fruit can be eaten. Each tree is considered to have aged one year as of Tu B'Shvat, no matter when in the year it was planted.

It is customary to plant trees and partake of the fruits of the land of Israel to mark the occasion. According to Wikipedia; in the 16th century, the Kabbalists compiled a Tu B'Shvat "Seder," somewhat similar to the Seder for Passover. Like on Pesach, the Tu B'Shvat Seder includes four cups of wine, four questions, specific foods and story-telling. Over time, different communities have added their own customs and the Tu B'Shvat Seder have developed into a unique expression of appreciating the land. It involves enjoying the fruits of the tree, particularly those native to the Land of Israel, and discusses philosophical and Kabalistic concepts associated with the day. Among other things, the Seder is a great way to appreciate the bounty that we so often take for granted, and to develop a good and generous eye for the world around us.

To prepare for a Tu B'Shvat seder you need lots of fruit, including:

There are seven types of fruit by which the Land of Israel is noted for: Figs, Dates, Pomegranates, Olives, Grapes(or raisins), wheat and barley (in the form of bread, cake or cereal) . Various nuts with the shells (walnuts, almonds, pistachios, coconut), and fruits with peels (oranges, pomegranates, avocado). Other fruits with edible seeds (e.g. blueberries). Other fruits with inedible pits (e.g. peaches, plums). Wine or grape juice, both white and red.

The Seder we attended was at a Conservative synagogue in Netanya. This was a pretty traditional textbook Seder. The wonderful thing about this tradition is that there is so much room for creativity in establishing your own format. Last year, we went to our friend Ben's Seder that he had written himself. It was so lovely and enjoyable. Next year, maybe Evette and I will create our own and invite you.

Tu B'Shvat also signifies the beginning of spring in Israel.

An added note to this event; we met a woman who was a Holocaust survivor from Auschwitz. I couldn't really communicate with her because she did not speak English. Evette spend awhile speaking with her though. In her wallet, she still carries all her original identification cards from that period of her life. I am guessing she was in her eighties.

Eilat: January 25-27

So, through this all, I'm still sick. Although the meds have helped tremendously, I just can't get better. The very cold, rainy weather is certainly not helping. Evette decides she needs to take me away somewhere warm & sunny. We found a cheap hotel in Eilat that allows dogs, rented a car & took off to a warmer climate. I've wanted to go to Eilat, so even though I still felt yucky, I was looking forward to the adventure. Let me start by saying, we are EXTREMELY lucky with Rascal. We were in the car for about 6 hours. He curled up on his blanket & napped. Occasionally, he would sit up & watch the scenery go by. If anyone remembers my dog Rusty, he was a NIGHTMARE in the car. We are truly blessed with Rascal & can't wait for you all to meet him.
Evette drove as I was still lightheaded. We drove very leisurely, stopping along the way to take pictures as there is always cool stuff to see. We stopped along the Dead Sea at the Ahavah factory where they make beauty products with the salts from the sea. It was a good break for Rascal to get out & stretch his little legs. Then we stopped in this resort town to nourish ourselves & look around, etc...

The hotel was in a slightly seedy side of town near the Central bus station. The room was clean, & to me, that is the most important. Besides, we had Rascal to protect us. That, actually, was a joke. When you meet him, you will see what a pachdan (scaredy cat), he is. He would be the first under the bed, although, I'd like to think if we were really in trouble, he would protect us. We ate dinner at a place called Pizza Meter. They sell pizza by the meter. It was pretty good. People who took out pizza, walked away with really long boxes.

The next day, we got up & drove all around exploring. We drove to the beach & let Rascal run around. He LOVES the beach; digging in the sand, running in & out of the water, chasing birds, etc... Suddenly, he was chasing this bird, ran into the water & suddenly the sea bottom dropped and he could not stand. I was ready to jump in to save him, but the little trooper started frantically doggy-paddling & made it back to shore all on his own. So, now Rascal has been swimming in the Mediterranean & the Red Sea.

Then, we got back in the car for more exploring. We drove to the Taba Border; the Egypt/Israel border in Eilat. With the new security issues, cars cannot cross the border, only pedestrians. We did not cross, but we walked up as close as we could get. At first, the guard told me is was illegal to take pictures of any military site; remember, I told you this before. Then, his female supervisor said it was okay.

Then, we took a drive through the Eilat Mountains that border Egypt. All along the way, we saw this & this & this. This, of course, was our favorite. Because of the border issues going on right now, with Palestinians from Gaza trying to cross over into Egypt to buy supplies, there were military stationed throughout the mountain border. Some hidden in bunkers like this, & some in observatories like this.

So, what I have not told you yet is that it was not warm & sunny. It was quite chilly & windy, & on our second night, it rained. We found this really cool Thai restaurant/hotel that they actually transported here from Thailand. We decided to take out a nice dinner since we had Rascal with us. I had to walk through the hotel (no, this is not where we stayed) to get to the restaurant. The restaurant had this nice outside/balcony area where you could sit. We could not figure out why they had nice, cushiony, upholstered chairs outside in the rain. While we were waiting for our food, we asked the manager why they had such chairs when they were getting ruined in the rain. He told us that this was the first time in 13 years that it rained. Gee, I finally get to see Eilat and it rains. Oh well, we still had an awesome time.

On our drive home, we decided to take a different route so we could explore new things. We drove to the small town of Mitzpe Ramon (Ramon Observation Point, in Hebrew). Ramon Crater is the largest one of the three Negev craters. The Ramon Nature Reserve encompassing the crater & the Negev Mountains surrounding it is the largest nature reserve in Israel. The Ramon Crater is 40 kilometers long and 2 to 10 kilometers wide. The crater formation began hundreds of millions years ago when the ocean that covered the Negev began to move north. First, there was a hump-shaped hill. Water & other climatic forces slowly and steadily flattened the curve on top. Much later (only some 5 million years ago), the Arava rift valley was formed and rivers changed their course. As they did so, they carved out the inside of the crater. The crater is 500 m. deep.

There was an indoor museum/guided tour to explain all about the area, but again, Rascal was not allowed. They also had closed the path going down into the crater, because it was exceptionally windy.
So, being in the windy, rainy cold for two days probably was not what the doctor ordered, but it was fun and exciting and we saw lots of really interesting things.

Here's a little history about Eilat as per http://mosaic.lk.net/g-eilat : Caves and prehistoric temples dating back to the Neolithic Age indicate that people lived in the Eilat region at least as long as 10,000 years ago. It may be they who invented the stone plow, and who first used wood as a form of worship (veneration of Ashera, goddess of fertility, and related to successful crops).

In the days of King Solomon, Eilat was the only port available in the Kingdom of Israel. A joint Israelite-Phoenician fleet sailed from Eilat to develop trade links with Africa and India.

During the Hellenistic period the Nabateans used Eilat's Red Sea port for their lucrative spice trade. The Romans annexed the Nabatean kingdom in 106 C.E. and built a new road from Eilat to Damascus, setting up outposts along the route to protect the precious spices.

Under Moslem rule, which began in the seventh century, Eilat was a meeting point for tens of thousands of pilgrims. Their caravans journeyed from Damascus and Cairo to Mecca and joined up in Eilat.
Since then the city has taken on new life. Modern Eilat was founded in 1950, and today the city is internationally famous as a popular resort.


January 30-31 written by Evette

It is a snow day in Jerusalem! Of course, compared to standards of back home, the amount of snow on the ground here is next to nothing - but since it rarely snows, no one is prepared for it and everything shuts down; busses, schools, malls, museums...! Weeee - a snow day!

Unfortunately we didn't get a chance to go to the grocery store, so the cupboard is pretty bare. I did manage to get some milk last night and 9 eggs before I came home. Yes, they do sell eggs in dozen-cartons here, just like in the US. However by the time the bus came I was so cold that I sat the grocery bag down on the seat beside me for a second to take off my wet gloves, and just then the bus stopped short and the bag went flying. So I arrived home with 9 eggs and some goo!

Rascal got me up early this morning, probably sensing that something MARVELOUS had happened overnight. It was the best - watching him discover the snow, the texture, the taste, how he could make it fly up in the air! And we were the first to trek in the snow! It was SO worth going out in the cold for!

I loved watching him be so ecstatic. At first, when we walked out into the street, he looked around and started wagging his tail, and then he looked back at me, as if to say, "Is it OK Mommy?" He pushed his nose down in the snow and snorted, and then pawed at it. When a little bit of snow flicked off in another direction, he started jumping up and down, "rascalating" to and fro, alternating between dashing about and throwing the snow up in the air, all the while snorting and wagging his tail so frantically that I thought it might wag right off his behind! I swear he was thinking - "You're kidding - HERE, at MY house?! It's like having my very own BEACH, right outside my door! Oh, THANK YOU Mommy!"

[He was able to "rascalate" because we got him one of those expand-a-leash things - It's like a plastic handle that houses a lot of ribbon-like webbing, spring loaded, so he can feel like he is free to run around, but we still maintain control. Anyway we hadn't been able to use it until now, because he was too light. When it was on the "run free" setting, the spring used to pull the poor little devil off his feet! But now he is a big lad, well at least bigger than he was, so now he can still stand when the spring is pulling the leash back into the handle.]

Well, that's the weather report from our edge of the planet.

Snow day - wheeeee!!!!!

Hebrew word of the day = bubat sheleg = snowman

There will be another new blog in a few days. YEAH!!!!