Friday (9/24) was pretty much a laid back day - everything here closes early for Shabbat so Fridays are kind of like Sundays here. It's a weekend. Cousin Josh picked me up around 3 from my apartment, with Yael and Kerem in the car. They had a fun day in downtown Jerusalem (I think they were at the big sukkah) and they had a drawing made of them (caricature) and had some pizza (I got some of the leftovers, yum) and had a fun day! If I didn't have laundry to do, I would have joined them, but laundry is a must after almost 2 weeks and not so much clothing here. Ahhhh, nice smelling clothes again!
We got to the house and started getting things ready for Shabbat. Helen and Paul (Debbie's parents) are spending 2 weeks here including the holiday of Sukkot so it was really nice to see them and catch up over the course of Shabbat. It was very hot out, especially in the middle of the desert, but we fulfilled our many mitzvahs by eating in the sukkah (hut) just outside the house. The schach (branched roof) was decorated by the kids, and the table was set beautifully - white tablecloth, tons of food, and great company. A neighbor of theirs also joined us for dinner; she helps Yael with school! Fortunately she spoke some English, and I spoke some Hebrew, so we understood each other fairly well.
Yael (7 years old) has grown up quite a bit since I last saw her in January. She is in school during the day but also takes English lessons and now dance lessons as well. She told me a bit about her dance class while we were playing with Polly Pockets! What a lucky girl, she has about 15 dolls with lots of outfits, houses, bedrooms, and toys. We played with them before dinner was ready, and Kerem (4 years old) joined us as well! She was quite dirty from walking around in the dirt outside the house earlier. She kept filling a bucket with water and then pouring it on plants and dirt. Her feet were pretty gross! Shai (20 months) kept coming in the room as well, but he was not as interested in Polly Pocket as the girls were. He has also grown so much since the last time I saw him. His hair is long and curly and fantastic (can I get some of that, please?) and he has such a happy disposition. I would make faces with him, at him, and he would just giggle. He's ticklish, which is another way to get him to giggle. He's just a sweet little boy!
So dinner was lovely and dessert was as well. Most of us were happy to turn in early; Debbie even fell asleep on the chair in the living room while Helen and I read our books and also got caught up with each other. I think I was in bed by about 11pm. I slept in Yael's bed; she slept on the big orange "poof" which is like an oversized beanbag. Kerem was in her bed and Shai was in his crib. Somehow, I managed to sleep until about 11am on Saturday, despite waking up a few times to the kids coming in and out of the room and playing games in the house. I picked up my book again (hey, why not, it's Shabbat, a perfect time to just relax and turn some pages) and read quite a few chapters before and after lunch. Lunch was inside today (too hot to be outside) but we did say the kiddush (blessing over the wine) in the sukkah, yay for mitzvah points! Lunch had more protein than I've had in a long time - tofu, hummus, salmon, quinoa salad, it was quite a special treat. We cleaned up, I read some more, even fell asleep for a little bit on the poof. I think we all caught a nap sometime in the afternoon, except for Kerem of course. She played with Polly Pocket for about 3 hours straight - perfectly happy to entertain herself with outfits, dialogue, names, and props. We were all quite impressed. A quick bite after Shabbat was done, and Josh asked friends of theirs to drop me off in Jerusalem so I could get back. I'm learning my way around the city enough that when they dropped me at the Central Bus Station, I knew exactly where to go, right across the street, to wait for the number 18. I took it to Emek Refaim and walked back to the WUJS building.
Everyone had such different Shabbat stories to share, and different experiences. Josh was invited to a Chabad Rabbi's house with many children and many guests. His response to my question about how it went was, "I smell like a Hasid!" with a big smile across his face. Glad he had a good time! Isaac, who also lives in that same apartment, told me that he and some other WUJS people went to Yedidyah, a nearby synagogue, for services, and they ended up being invited to the homes of some synagogue members, for dinner. I guess every week, Shabbat will hold something different for everyone, and we can share our experiences together.
Saturday night was basically the same activity for all: ULPAN HOMEWORK! Although we had gotten our Hebrew assignments on Monday night, we were all SO busy between then and Saturday night, that almost no one had done their work before then. I sat on our patio (outside the kitchen) because the breeze was so nice and cool; I couldn't sit inside and actually focus on anything. I had my computer to play the audio tracks indicated on the pages of the book, and with only a few distractions from Facebook, I got the assignment done in about an hour.
The boys who live next door had some people gathered on their balcony (some smoking hookah, some doing ulpan hw, some eating) so I popped over to see them and hang out for a while. Of course the plan was to say hi for a few and I ended up staying over an hour. Can't seem to get an early night to bed around here!
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