Shabbat Shalom

It is sunny and about 63 degrees out and everyone is having a Shabbat afternoon nap. We spent the morning wandering around a flea market -- a Saturday morning activity for some subset of Haifa. Mika agreed to wear a tutu in honor of Purim, over her cargo pants, and she meandered through the crowd, looking at the piles of pots and pans and rugs and toys. Her mother was the only one of us who was actually shopping, although Jon did spend a fair amount of time looking at tools and boxes of sockets. After we had wandered around for a while, we went to a little cafe right next to the shuk, with outdoor tables and a very limited menu. Perfect -- pickled vegetables, Israeli salad, pita, hummus and cheeps (French fries). 

Juxtaposition of architecture.

Musicians are of particular interest, especially to mother and daughter.

Last night we had Shabbat dinner with Yael's parents, as is their family tradition. This time we thought ahead a little bit and I said that Jon and I would like to cook something for dinner. There is a lot of variety in what this little family is willing to eat (from vegetarian Benjamin to completely unpredictable Gadi who mostly likes meat and potatoes) but dinner ended up being a very nice combination of salads and cooked vegetables and salmon and knishes. We all ate happily, and the girls provided plenty of entertainment. It is a rare moment to have four grandparents all at the same time, at a regular family event and not something momentous. No one dressed up, Hedy sat on the floor with Mika and played a memory game, Liana offered many sweet smiles to Gadi, we had homemade hamantaschen and fruit salad for dessert, and we talked about the future of the building they live in. It will be torn down and remodeled with many new apartments added, starting sometime in the next year. They need to figure out where to move after about 40 years in this space. 

Yesterday morning Jon and I walked to the supermarket which is about 5 minutes away. This neighborhood on the top of the hill is within walking distance of lots of shopping and restaurants and other destinations. Gadi says it is the nicest part of Haifa. Haifa is a hilly city with lots of greenery and there are stunning views of the sea -- we are way up at the top where the wealthy people live, it seems. Anyway, the supermarket would satisfy most of our needs if we lived here and the produce was top quality. Fresh and shiny and beautiful. Benjamin says he usually shops at the smaller establishment right next door (same building, same awning, one shared wall) because it is locally owned and has just about everything they need. They barely eat any bread or noodles, mostly just fruits and vegetables and whole grains. I am not a shopper, but I appreciated the diversity in the supermarket, and that it was relatively small compared to home. Being able to walk anywhere is a delight.

Completely familiar, and utterly foreign.

Jon wasn't feeling great yesterday so he stayed home to rest while I went with Benjamin to pick up Mika from gan at noon. Her school has a nice airy feeling, with places to play that are outside and classroom space that has lots of light. It was Purim so the kids were all in costumes -- firemen and pilots and animals. Mika was part of a four-doll set: Yael had made a full set of Russian nesting doll costumes for the family. Mika steadfastly refused to have red dots painted on her cheeks.

At least there will be one plumber in the family.

After gan we went down the mountain to meet up with Yael and Liana at Robin Food, where Benjamin used to volunteer when it was a restaurant. Their friend Shai started this business as a response to food waste -- he re-purposes surplus food and feeds people who need access to good food. Now he doesn't run a restaurant, he has a catering business and makes pickles and other preserves. The sign says, "Save Food -- Eat Well -- Pay as You Feel!" On Fridays he serves lunch on his tiny outdoor sliver of sidewalk. I told Benjamin that might have been my peak Israel experience, sitting at one of those scrappy, self-made businesses that characterize Israel, with people in costume for Purim, eating good vegan food outdoors in a fairly run down industrial part of town. Israel is so scruffy and yet so purpose-driven. No time for pretense. Benjamin calls it a First World Country on a budget. A bus load of tourists arrived for lunch -- Americans from a group called Adamah, here to work for a few hours at a kibbutz, visit people and places who are doing good work in sustainability. One of the visitors focused on Benjamin and family and asked lots of questions about their work, how they earn a living, what it's like to be here. But they picked a family that is probably not all that typical, since they enjoy a lot of privilege through family subsidies and Benjamin's income comes from the States. On the other hand, Benjamin is happy to talk politics and current events and his English is impeccable so it is possible they picked a good conversationalist. And the four of them were just so cute in their matching attire.

Naptimes use up much of the afternoon. We are not working hard to get out of the toddler/baby bubble. In fact, we are not working at all to do anything that they are not already doing. Tonight we will go to temple, which they are excited about because it will be their first time as full members. And Yael loves Purim.

... Update:  we went to temple and it was a two hour service with lots of singing and no English and it seems like they read the entire Megillah, word for word, breaking it up with various announcements and a sort of a Purim Schpiel that was a line-up of readers who read in about ten different languages, including Chinese and French and Yiddish and I wasn't paying enough attention early enough to figure out what was going on. I used my time looking around at the congregation and the costumes, holding Mika or Liana from time to time, practicing my Hebrew by trying to read along on the screen but they read like the wind. I am sure no one had to practice to get up there and read very long stretches of Hebrew, but there was a big parade of readers who got applause after their speedy and dramatic performances. Everyone admired Liana who looked like a doll. Mika was in a bit of a mood because no one would let her eat as much hamantaschen as she wanted, plus it was really long. 

We have to travel in two cars since there are six of us, so the parking is twice as arduous everywhere we go. Liana really doesn't like being in the car so there is a lot of crying when you are in the car with her. Mika is mellow and just zones out with her pacifier in her mouth.  

I got to put Mika to bed all the way tonight, and we talked about the airplane that Papa and I are leaving on tomorrow. She is prosaic about these transitions. I said she was going to come and visit us sometime and she said, "on a different airplane."  She was asleep before I started the second song. It was a long day.