Sitting at dinner tonight with Gilad Shalit was more moving than I had ever anticipated.
I knew that working with the BJ community would bring my way fantastic opportunities, just from having met the people I am working with. When dinner with Gilad Shalit was put on my schedule I was laissez faire, it's not about him I said to myself, he just stumbled into a situation, no big deal.
Now that all is done and dusted, tonight, sitting across the table from him, with friends from his unit around the room, during dinner, was a special thing.
Being a mother, I had to hug my kids a little tighter,
Being inquisitive made me question how in the world did he survive, and does he appreciate his food more today than before
And i dumbed the cynic in me when we sang together ״להיות עם חופשי בארצנו״ . Here is a man who truly knows what it means to free.
Shabbat Shalom xxx
Friday, 19 October 2012
Sunday, 7 October 2012
Zoom in, Zoom out
Saturday a couple of weeks ago we went to visit a real gem in New York, the High Line park.
The High Line is an old elevated railway which was abandoned for many years and eventually, and extremely skillfully converted into a beautiful park.
One walks along the old train line, which has been decked, dotted with benches, works of art and planted up on either side, and one feels great.
You are very much in the city, you are surrounded by buildings, and yet it is all very serene and calm, very different to how you feel walking along an average NewYork street. It's almost as if you are invisible to the city, you see it but it can't touch you. You are there, but separate from it. It's a liminal space, a time out of time, a space out of place.
Living in this new city as I have written before, is constent work. In order to contain it and make sense of it, we are constantly zooming in & zooming out, moving from micro to macro and vice versa, existential questions (what the f@#%¥k are we doing here), alongside daily minutia (what lunch should I send with the kids to school). I believe that it's these transitions that allow us to enjoy our experience. Looking from the outside, and at the same time live the daily life from the inside. There was something about the walk along the Highline which made me feel this much more.
Here are some pictures from the day.
The High Line is an old elevated railway which was abandoned for many years and eventually, and extremely skillfully converted into a beautiful park.
One walks along the old train line, which has been decked, dotted with benches, works of art and planted up on either side, and one feels great.
You are very much in the city, you are surrounded by buildings, and yet it is all very serene and calm, very different to how you feel walking along an average NewYork street. It's almost as if you are invisible to the city, you see it but it can't touch you. You are there, but separate from it. It's a liminal space, a time out of time, a space out of place.
Living in this new city as I have written before, is constent work. In order to contain it and make sense of it, we are constantly zooming in & zooming out, moving from micro to macro and vice versa, existential questions (what the f@#%¥k are we doing here), alongside daily minutia (what lunch should I send with the kids to school). I believe that it's these transitions that allow us to enjoy our experience. Looking from the outside, and at the same time live the daily life from the inside. There was something about the walk along the Highline which made me feel this much more.
Here are some pictures from the day.
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| View from the Highline onto 14th street, walking abvoe the city |
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The kids, note the road below  |
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| Crazy windows |
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| Zoom in |
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| Walking above the city |
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| Zoom in |
And then we ran into a really interesting character. David is an artist who was very active in making posters for the occupy wallstreet campaign. He sits in his box while promting thinking outside the box, and invites anyone who walks buy to paint an iTOMB, which is a small piece of cardboard 3' x 3'. The kids had a great time and if you look on his blog he has a slideshow of all the iTOMBS painted with the name of painter and Date they were painted. Lookout for Nomi & Tomers from Sep. 22nd.
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| Zoom in |
Art along the way
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| Zoom in |
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| Zoom in |
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| One of the deckchairs along the Highline |
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| Kids getting "run over" by deckchair "rail car" on the track |
The day ended with fooling around at FAO Schwartz
Thursday, 13 September 2012
A sense of achievement
There is something challenging about moving country, all familiar surroundings are lost. Almost like a newborn taking everything in with wide eyes and dribbly mouth, along with passion, excitement and apprehension all at the same time, so we take is our new surroundings. Same as a newborn there is a wealth of information to take in at any given time, and so much processing to be done. I think to a certain degree this is the appeal of the move. There is something energising and exciting that comes with every new day. Making plans you have never made before, seeing sights you have never seen, commuting on new types of transport, and adjusting to new yellow cheese. (Even though we never did adjust to the Israeli stuff, we were geographically close enough to London to have a steady supply of Cathedral Cheddar). Every plan drawn out that succeeds provides the planner with a sense of achievement even if it is just getting milk or frying Schnitzels.
Two weeks ago, Labor day weekend we had planned to go to Governors Island. The plan was drawn out, a picnic purchased, and off we went.
We then rented bikes -
We had a great sense of achievement, not to mention a truly lovely day.
Another great sense of achievement was moving into our own apartment and receiving our shipment. In very intense unfamiliar surroundings, familiar stuff goes a long way.
The apartment is partly furnished, but we needed a few bits, including a dining table.
New York is a city in constant motion as are her inhabitants. ie. lots of good quality second hand stuff being sold all the time.
Jona found us a lovely dining table, bought it, and was then faced with the challenge of how to get it home. Jona made a plan, and followed it step by step.
Step 1. Secure a zipcar car
Step 2. Get to the car with Poppy and car seat
Step 3. Deciding who will drive
Step 4. picking up the table
Step 5. Placing the table
Step 6. Dinner
A sense of achievement is great when you make a plan, and it works so well that you have some spare time for a little cherry on top. (or not, depending on what grabs your fancy)
So now we are a little more settled. We are achieving daily. Each of us in our own space, and together as we process and make sense of this city, of this adventure.
And now sitting here in my New York flat, with a very New Yorkish view out my window, I can't help but feel like Carrie Bradshaw, without the shoe collection...
Two weeks ago, Labor day weekend we had planned to go to Governors Island. The plan was drawn out, a picnic purchased, and off we went.
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| Nomi & Tomer as prisoners |
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| Apparently prisoners salute & wash hands |
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| Ha Ha, just an image of a cell. Not real prisoners |
We then rented bikes -
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| Jona & a very happy Tomer |
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| A very very happy Nomi |
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| Me & the always happy Poppy |
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| The Governor has great swings! |
Another great sense of achievement was moving into our own apartment and receiving our shipment. In very intense unfamiliar surroundings, familiar stuff goes a long way.
The apartment is partly furnished, but we needed a few bits, including a dining table.
New York is a city in constant motion as are her inhabitants. ie. lots of good quality second hand stuff being sold all the time.
Jona found us a lovely dining table, bought it, and was then faced with the challenge of how to get it home. Jona made a plan, and followed it step by step.
Step 1. Secure a zipcar car
Step 2. Get to the car with Poppy and car seat
Step 4. picking up the table
A sense of achievement is great when you make a plan, and it works so well that you have some spare time for a little cherry on top. (or not, depending on what grabs your fancy)
So now we are a little more settled. We are achieving daily. Each of us in our own space, and together as we process and make sense of this city, of this adventure.
And now sitting here in my New York flat, with a very New Yorkish view out my window, I can't help but feel like Carrie Bradshaw, without the shoe collection...
Saturday, 1 September 2012
Further afield
The definition for further afield,
according the online dictionary I found is - "in places or areas
other than the nearest or most obvious one".
A definition that can't be truer, or closer afield, to where we
presently are.
Over the last two and a half weeks we have found ourselves feeling
further afield, and travelling further afield on more than one occasion.
Last weekend, after 10 days in the city we felt we needed to sit
behind the wheel, literally and metaphorically. We rented a car and headed for
the Hudson valley. Every successful outing should have the appropriate food,
and where better to stock up then the Warwick farmers market.
Stocked up with bread, pickles, cheese, pesto nick named baddhapesto,
olives, and fresh apple turnovers (kind of apple pie), we headed for a Wawayanda state park.
There we found a lovely lake (managed to dodge the noisy beach and
keep driving before the kids spotted it), a forest, shade and grass.
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| Real sense of ol'times in Warwick...(note the Est.) |
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| We need either a bigger picnic blanket, or less people... |
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Another place we ventured further then we initially imagined was to the
15th floor of the hotel. After years of hoping for upgrades (to 1st
class, to a better phone, better car) we were given an even better hotel room due
to the mouse problem in our previous room. We now have a much bigger room, a
lovely balcony, and an amazing view of the Empire State Building. And all we are waiting to do is move out, for the holiday to end, and for real life to start. But for now -
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| View of the East River from our balcony |
Thursday we ventured further afield to to Staten Island on the ferry to see the Statue
of Liberty
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| Find the children... |
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| On the Ferry |
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| Lady Liberty |
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| With Manhattan behind us |
And on Saturday, further afield and a 25 minute train ride away, we're in another world. The NYC Botanical Gardens to where we now are the proud owners of a family membership.
Seems like for the people of New York, same as for the people of Chelm, reflection pools are a big thing...
On to the children's adventure garden
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| Something for everyone |
Further afield is the apartment we think we might have finalised, not further in distance, more like in budget...
Further afield is how I felt looking for school supplies for the kids in Manhattan this week, and
in general, New York City is yet to feel the obvious place for us to be.
It's Labor day weekend, the Empire State has had red white & blue lights on since Friday, work for me starts properly on Tuesday, School on Wednesday and hopefully will be having our next Shabbat Dinner with our own home made Challa, in our new home.
More to follow
xxx
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