Celine’s Message

Posted by Celine

Hi everyone! Thanks for all the notes that you have sent to help me feel better. During the day, I love it here but when I go to bed I can’t stop thinking about everyone in America. Mom and Dad have let me sleep with them and I do much better. Today we are going to walk over and see the apartment we will be living in for  the rest of our time here. I’m looking forward to that.

When we went to the museum the other day, Lillian wanted to use her leash. I led her around. It was so funny. We played like she was my dog.

The other day, Lida, took us to a mall that looked very American. It was strange because we are in Israel and it looked so familiar. Lida is a friend we have made through mom’s friend, Karen, in Austin. Karen’s family lived in Jerusalem when she was 6 until she was 13. Karen babysat Lida’s son, Dror, who my mom got to meet in Austin while he was visiting the US. Lida was able to meet with our landlord and look at the apartment for us. Isn’t that neat? 

Lida has a very nice accent. I enjoy hearing her talk. She speaks English very well.

When we got to the mall, the police looked in the car to make sure we weren’t gonna do anything bad while in the mall. At the door, they checked our bags and we went through security. It was strange. In the middle of the mall, there was a large area selling dried fruit. The fruit was just sitting there so you could get it yourself. Dad got some cranberries, mango, apricots and kiwi. I didn’t have any.

When we were at the mall, the food court was in 2 sections: Meat and Dairy. This is because the mall is Kosher. Kosher means that you keep the dairy separated from meat. Dairy includes anything not meat but sometimes fish is included. In the apartment we are in right now, we have to be Kosher. We use one set of utensils for meat and another set for dairy. They are in separate drawers and the dishes are in separate cabinets. Even the pots and pans are separate. The dishwasher is only for meat, the toaster is only for dairy but both can go in the refrigerator. Anyway, back to the mall—we ate dinner when we first got there. You will never believe what I had! I ate at Burger King and got chicken and ff with a Sprite. The girl didn’t speak English so the man next to mom helped and used the word “off” for chicken. Lillian also had BK. Mom, Dad and Tally ate at other restaurants. Dad had schwarma which is a big piece of meat on a stick that rotates in the fire. It was put on a large piece of lafa bread with hummus, cucumber, tomatoes, french fries and other stuff. That is a common food you can buy when walking down the street. Mom had fish with potatoes and a salad. Tally had Chinese. Lida then helped us find a few things in the mall. They had a store that looked a lot like Walmart, just smaller and more crowded.

Toilet with button on top and bag of kleenex

What I like in Israel are the markets. I like how they are open and just down the street. I like that we can walk everywhere. I like the funky toilets. The flusher is on top of the tank. Also, when you lock the door, it turns red to let people know you are in there. One toilet had a peddle on the floor to flush it. I like the wildflowers. Mom said she can’t wait till March when they really come out. I also like the big window in the back of our apartment. We can see forever.

Standing by a monument in the park we walked through on the way to the museum. “Shmuel Bar Even, The Struggle, 1972”

Yesterday, I got to talk to my cousins, Copeland and Kaitlyn, and my Aunt Kathleen on Skype. It was cool. We could see them. We talked for about an hour. They kept goofing around. Tally and my dad were putting wigs and things on our heads using some software. It was really funny. I was also acting goofy and doing hand signals like “don’t make me snap my fingers…” and “whatever…" That was a lot of fun.

Shalom you guys!