ALEX'S ARRIVAL & YOM KIPPUR

Dad's here!

The kids back from school bathing in their Dad's attention

Our local fish monger preparing our salmon

Alex arrived late on Monday night.  It was so wonderful to see him and to enjoy the look of excitement on his face.  It was a beautiful reunion in the morning as the kids embraced their Dad.  They had so much to tell him ..... in fact, they had far more to tell than what they'd been telling me.

The children start school at 8am so Alex and I dropped them off and I took him to my favourite little pastisserie for croissants and coffee. It was heaven to be on our own and to just explore.  I can tell that it's going to take a while before Alex embraces my meandering :)

We were on a mission to get all of our supplies before 12 noon when everything closes in preparation for Yom Kippur.  I could hardly walk after my adventures from the day before (it's embarrassing how sore my body is from the increase in exercise) so we finally took the bikes out, which was a pleasant relief to walking in the heat.

We picked the kids up from school at 12 and they were full of stories.  It's such a huge cultural change for them.  They're friends are from all over the world with a number of locals who are either Israeli's or Arabs.  Brigid is in year 10 here, Marcus in year 9, Conor in year 7 and Dario in year 5.  They're not finding the work too challenging, except for the Hebrew and Arabic lessons :)  I've started learning Hebrew as I can't bear not being able to read the food packaging.  Conor is going to help me with it.  They all find the writing from right to left for Hebrew a challenge.  All of their exercise books and folders are the opposite way around, which they find amusing.  They're all enjoying being in a co-ed school and all seem to have made at least a couple of friends, with Marcus already having his own little group.

I'm the biggest fan of Yom Kippur.  I realise that to many in the modern world a day of enforced quiet, fasting and reflection may be seen as antiquated but personally I welcome it and embrace it.  As mentioned, Yom Kippur, is the holiest of days in the Jewish calendar. It is the last of ten days of penitence that begins with Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year).  Yom Kippur is a day of  atonement and for nearly 26 hours from Tuesday evening, sundown, to sundown last night, the Jews abstain from food and drink and many other practices, such as not wearing leather footwear.  EVERYTHING shuts down, including the airport.  We went to try and hire a bike yesterday and the machine was closed because no electrical goods can be used.  Not a single shop is open.  The hotels have very limited staff and just put food out for foreigners.

There is usually a lot of buzz around where we live with people walking up and down our lane all day but yesterday it was dead quiet.  We had the occassional Jewish couple, dressed in white to signify purity, walking to the Synagogue but it was as though the dogs and cats even observed Yom Kippur.  I for one greatly appreciated the opportunity to just stop.  My body collapsed for the first half of the day, which was much needed. The kids just read all morning or played games together. When you turn the TV on it has this message:

Because there are no cars allowed on the roads, many of the children and some adults, ride their bikes on the highways and roads.  Our Scottish neighbour took his two children, aged 13 and 10, on a train to Jerusalem on the eve of Yom Kippur and rode from Jerusalem back to Jaffa - 82kms!!!  Brave.

Alex and I rode our bikes into Tel Aviv, encountering many groups of children along the way.  It was a great way to  get a feel for the city without any cars to worry about.  We then called the children and got them to meet us down at the beach in Tel Aviv where we all went swimming.

Riding through Tel Aviv on Yom Kippur with a crowd of kids in front of me.

Riding down a main street into Tel Aviv 

Kids linking arms in the sea together - wish they were like this out of the water :) 

For dinner I prepared a traditional Jewish chicken soup with homemade stock.  Was delicious.  We then all played backgammon.  Alex is a master of the game so it's the kids' ambition to beat him.  It's so wonderful to have the time to just stop and play with the kids.  My ping pong skills are dramatically improving.