Month: January 2009
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Birthing in Jerusalem hospitals.
As my third trimester quickly approaches, I’ve been getting serious about touring and registering at hospitals, considering alternative birthing options and doing the doula dance. Yep, this is the ‘bureaucratic’ and technical aspect of being pregnant. In the last month we’ve done hospital tours in two popular Jerusalem hospitals: Hadassah Ein Karem and Shaarei Tzedek.…
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Sorry in advance, Jewish baby.
Me: check this out… “As the fetus reacts to sounds, its pulse increases. Your baby will even move in rhythm to music.” we’ll see if it has two left feet like it’s momma Husband: funky Husband: but it is jewish… how good can it really move?
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Underground Israel.
Cute tourist attraction for kids… or even adults who miss going on school field trips. We’ve been there twice now in both formats (which, admittedly, is enough). The stalactite cave at Avshalom Reserve, or Soreq Cave, is located right outside Beit Shemesh. It’s about an hour tour including a slideshow beforehand which will teach you…
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A day for (small-town) democracy.
It’s a day for democracy everywhere, isn’t it? I know what you think I mean, but actually I’m talking about the Matte Yehuda Regional Council and Tzur Hadassah local council elections held today. Who knew that such a little town could make such a big deal out of its leadership? Apparently Tzur Hadassah is the…
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To the pain.
It’s been six months… do you know where your gall bladder is? These days, I’m nostalgic for the time in my life when I didn’t think the gall bladder was a real organ, just a body part for use in a humorous rant. Apparently not. It’s a real organ, like the rest of my organs which…
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Tracking Jerusalem.
The light rail project for Jerusalem has been underway for some time, as anyone who has been through town lately can attest. I rarely go to town anymore; last night was the first time in a while, long enough for me to be shocked by seeing Yaffo street covered in braces: It’s exciting to see an…
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Baby has its uses.
In the last couple days, a blast from the dramatic past and I came into fairly close contact in yet a very distant manner. I realize how frustratingly vague that sounds, and I don’t care much to expand. But what I am interested in is not that I avoided encountering the drama head-on, but what…
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Drama of a dual citizen.
A key element of being a dual citizen is the dual drama. I always get homesick with these bouts of New York City drama: Investigators believe all passengers and crew, more than 150 people, survive a plane crashing into New York’s Hudson River. I prefer NYC drama to the Israel brand these days… Report: Israel,…
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What I like today.
I like that my company is sending gift baskets to two of our employees who are currently serving in the reserves. I like that the card made for them on behalf of the office is signed, “with love, from (the company) family.” I like that there’s this familyness to Israeli companies, Israeli society.
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Today's word: אעזקה
So. That dysfunctional red alert siren (אעזקה) today in Jerusalem. Not cool, siren-maintance man. Not cool. I was sitting in my office and it very s l o w l y dawned on me that I was hearing a siren in the back of my head. I put my head to the window and realized…
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Bladder speaks louder than words.
Today I experienced another pregnancy first: it was the first time I got the special pregnancy treatment from a stranger in a public place. No, not the bus passenger offering me their seat on a crowded bus… Not a fellow pedestrian offering to help me carry my bags… No, it was the best kind of…
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Security in confirmation.
We went over to Shufersal the other night and while walking up to the security guard in front of the store, I finally got what I’ve been waiting to hear: “Miss, are you pregnant? You don’t need to go through the metal detector.” Call me crazy, but until that moment, I just could not believe…