Lizrael Update

Lizrael Update: babbling about the expat life since 2004

  • Mediation memories.

    So today, at the real estate contract-signing (and last-minute negotiation) in a law office in Tel Aviv, my memories of my Masters degree education were revived. Two years after finishing my course in Conflict Management and Negotiation at Bar Ilan University, I found myself on one side of a glossy wood table, glass pitcher of water…

  • Contracted to real estate limbo (or, Tzur Hadassah homeowner!)

    As of a two-hour meeting in the Bursa district of Tel Aviv today, we are now contracted to become the owners of our Tzur Hadassah apartment! That’s a convoluted way of saying something even more convoluted: We’ve signed and are waiting for the banks to finish their end of the deal before I can comfortably…

  • Fadichot leaking all over the place.

    Every other week or so when I pick up Koala from his gan, his ganenet passes me the pants I dressed him in that day and I look down and see him wearing the poofy red replacement pants we keep there. Always with the same explanation: “He leaked again so we changed him…” I guess…

  • Immigrant parenting fail.

    Ok, maybe I don’t exactly fail yet. But I’m headed in that direction. I attended an event tonight for the ‘gan mothers’ for which I had to push myself to go, and, not surprisingly, a room full of women + socializing + not knowing anyone + doing it in Hebrew is a mess of a…

  • Coupon, coupon, coupon, banana.

    One of these things, is not like the other. One of these things, just doesn’t belong. Can you guess which thing is not like the other? By the end of this song…

  • Quote of the day, from my OB-GYN.

    “And there I am, in the middle of this emergency evacuation, surrounded by old people – really old people, in their 80s and 90s – I’m the only doctor… And I’m thinking to myself, ‘I see naked women all the time. It’s been years since I’ve seen a naked man… If I didn’t have a…

  • I have a son, II.

    Koala and I, flipping through a picture book of animals. I call out the animals by name, Koala repeats. “Penguin.” “Ffing.” “Monkey.” “Mmnkey.” “Bear.” “Beh.” “Chicken.” Koala leans down to the page in mock gobbling, and says, “Ummm!”

  • I have a son.

    After bringing Koala into bed with us this morning, the huz and I rolled back over and began dozing off. Koala leaned over to me, and whispered softly in my ear: “Mama?” I mumbled back, “Yeah?” And Koala burped in my ear.

  • Ma’ase B’chamisha Googlim: Google’s logo for Miriam Rut.

    Google Israel has a cutie logo today in honor of Miriam Rut‘s birthday (1910-2005). Mi zot? Aside from an educator and gannenet, she is known as the author of tons of Israeli classic children’s books, including  תירס חם, the more recent hit יובל המבלבל, and the ever-classic מעשה בחמישה בלונים, depicted in the logo: The logo…

  • Bo, mama.

    I  may correct your Hebrew now, but sometime in the future – possibly the near future – you will be correcting mine.

  • Tzur Hadassah update: It’s not *all* Pleasantville.

    I get a lot of email from people looking to move to Tzur Hadassah, our 1,000 family size yishuv in the Jerusalem hills. I tend to paint a rosy picture here, and get more honest in the emails, but I think I’m going to be honest here and allow myself to complain a little bit.…

  • How can I not eat this?

    I love coming home from work and unwinding with Koala for a few minutes. Or half an hour. Or hour. However it ends up any particular day. Today we played with trains. Unfortunately, Koala has a parent with a short attention span, which I suppose might be a genetic misfortune. So after the train was…

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