Closing Post

So the time comes and I am at the end of my dad's six month sabbatical.  Actually, I've finished!  I'm writing this last post from my own kitchen table.  I've already seen some of my friends, and I hope you will be the next person I get to see!  Everyone is a bit jetlagged, but we're getting used to the time difference.  I hope you will check my blog one more time to see this.  This is my 'closing post', as I like to call it.  I don't think that I will do another blog until I go to Israel again in about another year and a half or so.  We haven't figured that out yet.  See you all soon, and again, this is my last post, for now.

Dialogue in the Dark

Hello again, this is my last post before my closing post.  I went to one more place before I came home.  It was in a city called Cholon, which is right outside Tel Aviv.  There is a museum there and I went to it.  My mom and I went to an exhibit there called Dialogue in the Dark, which is an exhibit showing people how it feels to be blind.  You go into a dark room, seriously, you couldn't see your own hand in front of your face if you tried, and a guide, who is blind, leads you around and "shows" you all these different places, like, a market, a house, a sidwalk of a busy street, a sound room, but everything was in absolute, total darkness!  I have no idea how they do it, but your eyes couldn't adjust to the darkness.  At the end, our guide took us to a cafe and we ate and talked, in total darkness!!  I was scared at the beginning, but I got over it.  I'm glad I did too.  Well, that was my last amazing activity on my dad's sabbatical.

Fire and Friends

Hello again!  Its been some time since I've posted.  That's because we've been busy.  Just recently, I began to suffer from an ear infection and am typing now with a pulsing ear.  Anywho, Larry Zablin, a friend from St. Louis, was here to visit for a while, and while he was here, there was a holiday called Lag B'Omer.  There were bonfires on the street next to ours.  That street is called Reuven.  So, it was a really nice night and my class (and a lot of other classes from my school) had a bonfire, but no one was really staying where they were.  Every one was running around and eating marshmallows and hot dogs and having a wonderful time.  We met our friends the Resnicks there and I also found half my class there.  I hung out with my mom and dad and Larry for most of the time, and also played a little with my other friends.  Here are some pictures.  The bonfires were pretty big!

Huge, right?  There were about nine or ten of them!  It was really cool.  I almost couldn't stand the heat.  I also have some pictures of me with friends at that celebration.  Let me show you:

 First picture:(from left to right) Liana, Maya, Geffen.

Top to bottom:  Coby, Liana, Maya, Jonah, Talia.  (coby's youngest sister)

Good friends, good times.  Unfortunately, shortly after this event, the Resnick family went back to the U.S.A.  We had a pretty good time there.  More blogging soon!

The Park of the Bell

Again, its me, wanting to share another few things with you.  So, on Friday afternoons, my mom goes to a place called Gan Hapaamon (Park of the Bell) for Israeli dancing.  So once, Jonah and I went with her.  There is a huge black-top where the dancers. . .well, dance, and beside that, is a little area where there is 'exercise equipment' made fun.  While my mom danced, Jonah and I played on the equipment.  It was pretty fun.  Here:

It was a pretty fun day!

Desert Animals

This adventure was part of our stay in the desert, down South.  This place is the Hai Bar.  It's a place where there are animals in their natural habitat, but you can watch them as well.  There is a path and you can drive along it and see the animals.  There are ostriches too.  One of them came right up to our car and tapped on the window with its beak.  It was so funny.  I'll show that with some other pictures now.

Well, what do you think?  Funny some of them are.  Well, see you soon.  Have to go take a bath!  Bye!

Hustle And Bustle

Hello everybody!  I've taken another trip, even before Eilat that I haven't told you about.  I took loads of pics on that adventure!  The place we went to isn't that far from our house.  We didn't walk, that would've taken hours, but we did ride the bus.  The place is called Machaneh Yehuda.  It's this huge market, where you can get everything from fresh fruits and vegetables, to jewlery and rugs.  It was a place full of smells and different people.  Jonah and I shared a small bag of sucariot, or candies.  (sucar is sugar so I bet you can make the connection)  We walked through a lot of it and boy was it packed!!!  I could barely keep a firm grip on my mom's hand.  It was very overwhelming.  Here are some pictures so you get the idea.

See what I mean?  It was so amazing, yet so overwhelming.  When I finally got a taste of fresh air, it felt pretty good  even though the smell of the shops was still on us.  More to come!

Desert Fun, Under a Hot Sun

Hi!  I'm REALLY ecxited to tell you about this next trip.  Do you remember, I was going to split this week trip into two.  So, here's the second half.  After our one night in Jerusalem, we packed up again and drove a three hour drive down to a Kibbutz called Kibbutz Lotan.  A Kibbutz is a hamlet sort of thing.  There are small buildings and each building has two rooms and one family shares a room.  There is a pool and a dining hall.  Just like a regular town, except about two times smaller.  So, the day we arrived at Lotan, we swam in the pool and had dinner there.  The next day, we got into our car and drove down to........................... EILAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I was so excited!  We'd been in the desert before, but there was no desert that I'd ever been to that was that hot!  Luckily, we had lots of water and could get more if we wanted.  So, we made our way into the Dolphin Reef and looked around.  There was a beach, restaurants, and souvenir shops.  There were also changing rooms for people who were to go scuba diving.  Near the beach there was a pier.  It was out in the water.  You walked on it and sat down, and, if you wanted to, put your feet in.  There were dolphins everywhere!  Sometimes they would hop out of the water and splash down.  Sometimes only their back fins showed, and they looked like sharks.  Let me show you!

It was amazing.  Sometimes, a dolphin would swim right under my feet!  But it wouldn't touch them.  Experts, who work there of course, fed the dolphins and I got to see it up close!  Here, they look amazing!

Aren't they beautiful?  I stayed on the pier for most of the time we were there.  I also went swimming for a moment.  Here comes some big news...my mom, my mom, went scuba diving!!!!!!!!!  MY mom!  It was so exciting.  She got into this heavy suit and tank, oh, I can't bring myself to explain, you'll just have to look!

When you go scuba diving in Eilat, you're not allowed to touch the dolphins.  You're only allowed to if they come up to you at the pier.  The dolphins will only come up to you in scuba diving if they have a relationship with the guide.  Unfortunately, I was not allowed to go scuba diving.  See, I have asthma, and you're not supposed to go scuba diving if you have asthma.  The moment my mom said that I had a very small amount of asthma, they said asoor,  or not allowed.  I could have gone snorkling, but I didn't.  After lunch, I ventured out of the beach and watched the peacocks and roosters.  Then I saw him.  I saw a male peacock with its feathers stretched out wide.  It was absolutely beautiful!  I watched it until it put its feathers down.  I have to apologize, I didn't have my dad's iphone with me so I didn't get a picture.  I had an amazing time in Eilat!  I want to show you some more pictures before we part.

Wow!  I almost forgot!  Here are some pics of Lotan!

Home Sweet Home?

Hello again!  I figured, since you've never known, (unless you've skyped with me or been here yourself) you would like to get to know my apartment.  It has four bedrooms, mine, Jonah's, my mom and dad's, and a guest room.  My room is probably one of the smallest in the house.  It has one bed, a closet/dresser, a night stand, and small shelves along the wall.  All the bedrooms are similar to that.  Then we have the kitchen, sitting room and dining room.  Like in Needham, all of those things are one room.  Lets see what you think.

 Mom and Dad's room

 dining room and sitting room

kitchen

guest room

my room

Jonah's room

It's been fun in this house.  We've had company here some of the time on Sabbatical.  It's been fun.  It'll be hard to leave.