Saturday, June 12, 2010

Swirling Thoughts #145 – blink


I left the land of milk and honey for a land flowing with paper goods and electricity.
This toilet paper is so THICK!
This air conditioning is so COLD!

Yaakov Shwekey ringtones fade away, replaced by Lady Gaga.

I secretly long for shuk veggies but indulge in 24 ounce filtered coffees at every opportunity.

I answer questions about our collective experience.
Are the kids happy? (So very happy)
Did you have any unexpected surprises? (Like that I needed special travel documents to leave the country?)
How’s the public transportation? I explain a little about the hitchhiking culture.
How is everyone’s Hebrew. (I boast about Rosie – babbling, thinking, dreaming in Hebrew)
Do I feel safe? (Absolutely)
Some questions seem to be masking a deeper question – will we ever come back?

For the kids, I gather 'crazy bands' animal bracelets – a craze they know nothing about but my nieces assure me they are all the rage in Brooklyn. Their only gift requests were I LOVE NY t-shirts and Dum Dum lollipops (the only thing Israel is missing, according to Barbara).

We talk about how good a car the Hyundai has turned out to be and then I shock everyone by telling them how much the Hyundai goes for in Israel.

Washington traffic makes Jerusalem traffic seem tame but the radio comes in strong the whole time – none of that teetering between Galgalatz and Radio Jordan we get on the road to Efrat.

As I leave the Potomac for the Atlantic for the Mediterranean with bracelets, t-shirts, lollipops and the hugs and tender wishes of family, it occurs to me that the rare and treasured experience this week will be seeing all of my loved ones in one 24 hour period.

1 comment:

  1. We miss you terribly but short time is better then no time!!!!

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