Chanel 10 News

Last week we were invited by one of Stewart's classmates from Tel Aviv University to go and see where she works.  She just happens to be the anchor woman on the 7 o'clock News (Nana10). Wow!

 

Meet Romy (together with Israeli President Shimon Perez).

Romy was great with the kids, and gracious enough to show us all the ins and outs of TV studio.  We learned a lot about how the news is put together, and all the different roles at the TV station.  Romy researches and writes her own script every night.  I was amazed.  I thought all TV news personalities just read the prompter.  I had no idea just how hands on her job is until now.  Truly impressive.

The kids got a big kick out of sitting at the news desk with her.

I think Lydia may have found her calling.

The studio had fantastic views of Tel Aviv. It was the Israeli version of NYC's Today Show.

Stewart and the kids sat down for some frank discussions on Israeli politics and the climate of stability in the middle east.  The general consensus: no one had a clue. "Balagan!"

Will giggles in the spotlight, while Lydia waits for her chance to grill him on the current state of playground conduct.

What a cutie.  Too bad these pics were taken with a camera phone.

Romi shows us what the design team has picked out for her for tonight's broadcast.

Next, Lydia and Will took turns in the Radio sound booth. The 5-minute live radio broadcast that comes on at the top of every hour was recorded right here while we watched from the next room.

To say that Israelis are addicted to News is an understatement. Most of them read multiple newspapers, listen to radio, check the internet, and of course, watch television. Therefore, Romy is not only well known, but also a respected journalist in Israel, and a keen student of Middle Eastern History. This was a fascinating little family field trip and we're hoping it will inspire the rugrats to dream big (& work hard in school). 

Shalom Y'all,

Stew & E

Now back to you, Romy...

Book Review: "From Beirut to Jerusalem"

In an effort to learn a little bit about our new temporary home, we've been doing some reading. A lot of reading, actually. We'd like to share some book reviews from time-to-time for anyone interested in learning a little more about the Middle East in general, or Israel in particular.

"From Beirut to Jerusalem"  Thomas Friedman

The book itself details Friedman's adventures as a New York Times correspondent in Beirut during the early 80s, and his coverage of Jerusalem through the start of the first Palestinian Intifada in 1987. He's pretty far left, but he can definitely turn a phrase, and I think that he has a keen insight on this land, it's people, and the reasons for the seemingly unending conflict that continues here to today.

When I told my god-father, Doug Waller, that we were moving here for 2 years for cultural immersion, he recommended I read this book by his friend, Tom. He told me, "Look Stew, I know it was written 25 years ago, but trust me, only the names have changes...the story is exactly the same." Doug would know, he covered the Middle East for Time and Newsweek during the 90s. After living here a year, having taken classes on the history of Israel, studied the First and Second Intifada, and talked to lots of Israelis, I think his view is accurate. In terms of the peace process, Israel today is very much like it was back in 88, but with more settlements in the West Bank.

Here's a short sample from Friedman:
"Israel is the most difficult, outlandish experiment in Jewish history--an attempt to build a Jewish nation out of Jews who have never lived together. Yes, they dreamed about living together. Yes, they prayed about living together. But in the real world radical Russian Jews and primitive Moroccan Jews and South African Jews and hot-blooded Argentinean Jews never actually lived together in the same space, let alone in the harsh environment of the Middle East. Taking Jews from so many diverse cultures and moral backgrounds and asking them to form a society that will be the carrier of Jewish history in the modern era is no easy task...The country is still teeming with differences, jealousies, unfulfilled dreams, not to mention people who have to hustle their banker just to get to the end of the month and who were not raised on the writings of Thomas Jefferson. It is also filled with excitement, kinetic energy, and amazing achievement for so young a society."

Well said.

I recommend this book not because I agree with every perspective presented (I don't, by a long shot), but because Friedman gives an insight to many of the competing tensions and pressures at work in this complex little country. Enjoy...

Shalom Y'all,
Stew

Dance Party

This one is mainly for the grandparents, but we have a wee bit of catching up to do.  Lydia had two major performances at the end of June.  Well, major to a six year old at least.  The first was her end of year school performance.  This was performed by her kindergarten class for all of the parents.  The theme for the entire school year was "health."  This translated into lots of lessons on healthy eating (which has a slightly different vantage point from the states) and exercise.  The kids prepared several songs complete with dances to show the parents all they had learned over the course of the year.  Lydia practiced these earnestly at home for weeks before the big day.  It was really quite cute.

Lydia's other big performance was her dance recital.  Lydia took dance classes once a week for an hour with friends from the neighborhood.  We really liked the studio and the laid back and fun approach it provided.  After seeing the 2 hour recital complete with smoke machine, random movie segways, and mediocre dancing  - we might be looking into gymnastics for next year.  Lydia's dance exhibition was pretty much what I expected from her age group, but oh my... the older dancers....wow.  That was another story.

It's always a cultural experience, and this time we had our dear friends, the Keithleys, along for the ride.  Thankfully, they are still our friends, although I am sure Lance is sad to never get those 2 hours of his life back.  Best part of the night?  Watching random old lady dump a tray of Bourekas into her purse after the show - you know, for when you get hungry later.

Shalom Y'all.

Evreet (Hebrew)

**Disclaimer-Those not interested in language acquisition, don't bother. You will likely be bored**

Last week, I finally finished official Hebrew classes. YES!!! This was no small endeavor, people.
I've logged more hours in Hebrew class over 2 years than total flight time in USAF aircraft (small ones, anyway). This all started back in June 2010, when Ej & I had were together in class for 20 hours/week with our marvelous teacher, Hilla. Here she is w/ us & her ever-cool husband, Yaniv. I also played jazz with her teenage son, Itai, who is now on his way to Berkley to become the next Wynton Marsalis!

Hilla got us started from scratch, and had a real knack for finding ways to motivate us [me]. Seriously, y'all, 4 hours a day for 11 months, sitting in a small room and listening to me butcher her native language... I don't know how she did it. I wouldn't even want to be around myself for that long.

Once we arrived in Israel, I continued through 3 semesters of formal Hebrew classes (called Ulpan) through Tel Aviv University. I studied with a variety of different students from all over the place (Argentina, Belgium, Russia, Canada, even China). Most of them were getting master's degrees, or trying to become Israeli citizens. This was Hebrew taught in Hebrew, and the first week I had doubts that I was going to cut it. Why, you ask? Well...here's a bit about what I've been learning:
-Hebrew is hard (this is true of any foreign language)
-It reads from right to left
-It uses an entirely different alphabet, which looks strangely similar to 'Wing-dings'
-Hebrew has some sounds that we don't make in English; sounds that require lots of phlegm-hocking
-There are some letters that Israelis can't even pronounce themselves
-You can conjugate nouns (this was shocking to me)

Did I mention that this was hard? Thankfully, I've had tons of help along the way...

                            

Here are some of my friends from Ulpan, hanging out at the park after our final exam. These guys were great, and a tremendous help. Dalia, our teacher in the light blue shirt, actually wrote the book we used. She could probably explain nuclear physics to a 3-year-old.

This is Yuppi. She owns and manages Will's Gan, and she graciously helped me translate a 22-page Seminar paper for my class on Tunisia & Libya in the Arab Spring. She's an excellent teacher and a stickler for pronunciation. She's currently helping me to learn some liturgy in Hebrew for our church for later this month.

All-in-all, I am relieved that I passed my degree-requirement language classes, which allow me to get a Masters at TAU. It's been a long road. Reading opinion pieces and art criticism in a foreign language is a challenge, but it is rewarding. On the flip side of the coin, despite my efforts, I still think that any 3rd-grade Israeli kid can speak better than me. That can be frustrating. 3/3 on the DLPT is really just a learners permit, in my opinion. The constant gap between what I want to say and what I can say is always looming, but I struggle on. I try to read Ha'aretz, and speak whenever I can. I read Lydia & Will bedtime stories in Hebrew, and by now they are correcting me, so that's progress (I think). I'm also starting to delve into Biblical Hebrew as well. The ability to read the Bible in it's original language is probably the most valuable skill I will take away from this whole experience. 


So here's to all my Olmsted brethren, and to anyone learning a new language. Keep at it!
It's hard work, but the juice is definitely worth the squeeze.


Shalom Y'all,
Stew

For anyone interested in witty, thoughtful writing in Hebrew, check out Hilla's blog here.
Other tidbits of Hebrew Trivia (for the really curious):

• Only about 8 million people speak modern Hebrew today, most of whom live in Israel.
• The Old Testament was written in ancient Hebrew, which today reads a little like Shakespearian English (Try using Biblical Hebrew in a Tel Aviv restaurant, and you'll get laughed at)
• Hebrew was actually a dead language (only taught in Biblical scholarship) until the late 1800s
• Modern Hebrew has very few swear-words, so Israelis generally borrow those from Arabic 

The Miseducation of Lydia & Will

This is what happens when your 3 year old learns how to write his name in English and Hebrew at the same time....learned dyslexia.  Who now thinks that writing from left to right and right to left are interchangeable? My son.

And this is what happens when my American, non-Jewish 6 year old daughter is instructed to complete an art project of the Wailing Wall at school....she turns it into a castle with a princess.

Where is that Hebrew Schools for Dummies manual when you need it?!!!

When we moved to Israel, we knew we had to address the school question with our kids: where to send them.  Our options: the uber pricey (but free to us) American International School an hour bus ride away, a local Hebrew school (you know, where they don't speak any English), or homeschool.  After much thought and deliberation we opted to try the local Hebrew schools, while preparing to homeschool Lydia her American kindergarten curriculum on the side.  Our rationale: they could learn a second language (nothing works like immersion!), they could make friends in the neighborhood by going to local schools, and we as a family would really get an inside look at Israeli culture by being part of the local school system.  The fears: it would be too overwhelming and they would fall behind in the American school system.  Overall, we are happy with our decision, and our kids are both now completely fluent in Hebrew.

There was, of course, a long and treacherous learning curve and transition period involving many a tearful morning where we asked ourselves, "are we doing the right thing?!" It has been a day-by-day decision, and it hasn't been without its bumps in the road.....like all the viruses we were plagued with for 8 months straight.  Like Lydia's teacher speaking less English than I speak Hebrew.  This makes for some very interesting convos.  Basically, we were always 2 steps behind whatever was going on.  Late books, missed assignments, & being at the wrong place at the wrong time became our standard.  It is quite humbling.  There was also the time when Lydia was punched in the face twice by a boy classmate for accidentally using the female tense instead of the male tense in the question she asked him.  He thought she was calling him a girl.  So he punched her. In the face. Twice.
Yep, that was nearly the last straw.
But we persevered.

And now here we are - school is out for summer .  We have officially made it through the first year.
I am completely in awe of our kids.  Their parents pretty much conducted a twisted science experiment on them by throwing them into schools with a completely foreign language, foreign religion, and foreign culture.  Now, having reached the other side, I can honestly say that I think they are better off for it.  We all are.  This experience has pushed and challenged all of us.  But man, it was worth it.  They now have the gift of a world view; their eyes have been opened to the world around them.
 And I am grateful.

Does this mean I would keep them in Israeli schools indefinitely if given the choice? Absolutely not, but that's another post for another time...

Now, it's time to brush off those English skills and hit the beach.
Chant with me.....SCHOOL'S...OUT....FOR..SUMMER!

Shalom Y'all,
E