Hi everyone, Leora here. Mummy and I made a deal that if I write a blog post, she’ll finish packing up all my things- why not? I’m going to try and inform you of our latest adventures, which include a trip to Hershey, the Israel Day Parade, and a visit to the Amish, not to mention Grandma popping in from England.
On Thursday evening a couple of weeks ago, we heard a knock on the door, and Tzofia rushed to answer it. To our (the children’s) shock, in walked Grandma. It’s not every day that someone who you thought to be in England turns up on your doorstep. We decided to let her stay because it was the right thing to do. (And she had brought lots of chocolate.) We hosted Grandma for ten days, and had a lot of fun with her. Eitan and I were taken to Madame Tussauds, and had a blast taking pictures with Dwayne Johnson, Oprah Winfrey, and Jennifer Aniston. Grandma took Maya and Tzofia out for a fun day pottery painting. Grandma also came to school with us one day to teach Tzofia’s class about England, and afterwards got a tour of our Middle School building. (Grandma, once again, I apologize for my crazy friends.) Thanks for coming Grandma! (And for the chocolate!) We had such a great time.
Back in May, over Memorial day weekend, we drove to Hershey, Pennsylvania with some family friends. On the Sunday, we drove to Hershey Chocolate World, (the factory, not the theme park,) and spent the day eating chocolate, seeing chocolate being made, making chocolate, spending money on chocolate, and wondering where the Oompa Loompas were. After that tooth-rotting day, we retired back to our hotel, involving a race between the two families for a parking spot and a hot dinner provided by the mothers. On Monday we drove into the Amish area of Pennsylvania, and learned how privileged we are to have not been born Amish. Driving through, we saw lots of children working in the fields, making us realize that our chores aren’t as arduous as we thought - what’s unloading a dishwasher compared to milking a cow? I have no idea how they manage without computers, televisions, and iPads. It seems crazy. Mummy seemed to like the idea of it though, which is probably why I’m typing this with one hand, while darning my father’s socks with the other.
A few weeks ago, when Grandma was still here, Eitan, Maya and I marched in the Israel Day Parade with the school. Coming from Ra’anana, where local schools march along Ahuza with tambourines and pom poms, this was quite the upgrade. The parade takes place along twenty blocks of 5th Ave, with over 30,000 people participating, 17 marching bands, and one million spectators. It was a great experience, and what better way to spend your Sunday than by marching for a few hours in the heat with your friends.
The last few days have been a whirlwind of packing and tearful goodbyes. Even though we only spent a year here, it felt like a lifetime- in a good way. Leaving places is always sad, and I’m going to miss it here. How am I going to survive without my Dunkin Donuts? I’m so happy that I had the chance to meet all these amazing people, but I’m still looking forward to being back in Israel with everyone I’ve missed this year- we’ve got a lot of catching up to do!
We’re really going to miss lots of things here, such as (in no particular order): our lovely American friends, the yellow school buses, the deer in the garden, the greenery of Teaneck, the amazing autumn leaves, school lunches, the pretty spring blossom, the snow (and snow days), weekly sleepover opportunities due to no school on Sundays, no school on Sundays, bunnies and chipmunks running around the front gardens, having an exotic accent, the log fire, the George Washington Bridge (Upper Level), Bumbleberry frozen yoghurt, extreme weather, the perfect yummy pineapples, school in English, Target, Snapple and Gatorade, Butterflake white ring cake, the excess food, our lovely house, the amazing school building (with CARPET!!!), iPads, smartboards and Macs in school, Daddy going crazy in Costco, Sundays in New York and Amazon shipping directly to our house. xxxxx
