First Day of School and Ikea

Today was my first day at Gretz Elementary. When I arrived there were sixth-grade girls on crosswalk duty. They had long stick which they used to block the road so people could cross. When no one was crossing, the sticks blocked the crosswalk. They never had to move at all. School was buzzing. I said hi to the secretary and went to the teachers' room where I found the other English teachers. We went up to the English room and I arranged books by level.

There was a ceremony out in the courtyard to welcome the first graders. They marched around as a group. Then, sixth grade had prepared skits and dances for the younger students. Some students sung, others read things and teachers made speeches welcoming everyone back.

After the ceremony I finished organizing the books. Then I was asked to print some things, so I went to the computer lab. The computer woman doesn't really speak English, but she was able to set me up on a machine. Now, I'm really computer-savvy, but Microsoft Word in Hebrew is quite a challenge. I finally manage to put together the word art Limor wanted. Then I had to print some clip art for Sahar. I managed to find some pictures in the clip art catalogue. I had to go through it clicking on every tab, but I did it. I needed more, so I tried to use the internet, which sort-of worked. Google kept getting confused and wanting to go to Hebrew; it also stopped working several times. Even with these problems, I still managed to get the images, format them and prepare them to print.

Even though I was the only person in the room, stuff was spewing out of the printer like crazy. Some of it was in Hebrew, but there were also French worksheets about the Holocaust. Even so, the computer I was using had not been hooked up to the printer, meaning I couldn't get my stuff. The computer woman tried to save it to a network and pull it up on her computer, but that wasn't working either. I might try again on Thursday if it's super important to Sahar and Limor, otherwise, I'm staying away from those computers.

There was a mid-morning break. Everyone went to the teachers' room where teachers and parents had prepared tons of baked goods and snacks. I couldn't eat any of it, of course. Limor and Tzipi, the principal, wanted me to eat stuff, but I told them I was allergic to wheat. Tzipi introduced me to everyone, so at least all the other teachers know who I am. One teacher had asked earlier if I was a student who had somehow snuck into the room.

After the break, Limor and I went around to the classes so I could introduce myself and try to figure out who the native speakers were. Many kids were confused by the concept because some of their Israeli parents speak English to them at home. She is only going to let kids who were born abroad or whose parents are American, English, South African, etc. be in my class. The school day ended early and I went home for lunch.

This morning, I was worried about what to wear for the first day. I tried on several options before deciding on a denim skirt and teal shirt. When I got to school, Limor was wearing denim walking shorts with a bright plaid button down v-neck sleeveless shirt. I'm no longer going to worry about what I wear.

This afternoon Lindsay and I went to Ikea. We walked to the sheruit (a shared taxi that runs on a fixed route) and got off around the corner from Ikea - on the side of the highway. We walked around for a bit figuring out what we wanted to buy. I got a night table, lamp and blanket; Lindsay bought a bed. The sheruit back doesn't stop near Ikea. We were waiting for a bus when an Isareli told us his friend advised him to go to the other side of the highway to catch the sheruit. I was carrying my night table and a bag of stuff; he had a plant. Lindsay took the table from me and we crossed a bridge. The sheruits some times make stops on the highway, so we directed us down the on-ramp, but there was no stop down there. Instead we walked along side the highway underneath the over pass we had just crossed. We saw our sheruit enter at the other on-ramp, so we walked up that one. The sheruit couldn't stop on the ramp, so we had to walk all the way up it until we got to a place that was wider. We finally got on and rode back to Tel Aviv. It was a surreal experience - cars were honking at us from all sides.

Tonight I cleaned my closet and drawers before putting my clothes away. I built my night table and put my room together. I wanted to wash my sleeping bag, but when I loaded it (and soap) into the machine I couldn't figure out how to get the door shut. The spring is broken, so you have to use a screwdriver as a lever to close and open the door. I was proud of myself for figuring that out, but even more proud that I remembered to turn on the hot water before I showered! Now, I'm all moved in: I still need some more things, but I'm home. My roommate isn't here and won't be for nearly three weeks. It's somewhat strange living alone knowing that he's coming back. I can't move things around too much, but I've begun buying kitchen stuff and I'm certainly using the apartment as I please.