Last Day at Gretz

I think the straw that broke the camel's (my) back was that my school wanted me to call parents and explain to them why their son/daughter should not be in my class. The parents, of course, want their children to be in the "special," native English-speakers class rather than the regular English classes. I didn't think it was my place to call parents, but figured I'd wait to tell the program directors when I saw them in Jerusalem on Sunday. I did call one parent and she told me that she would "be very disappointed" if her seven-year-old wasn't in my second-grade English class. I pointed out to her that her daughter could not read or write in English while the other kids in the class were bored and wanted to read Harry-Potter-level books. She didn't seem to think this was a problem.

2nd grade know-it-alls

Today wasn't so terrible at school. The secretary had neglected to make my photocopies by the time I needed them. Apparently she has to have everything approved by the principal who didn't do it yesterday and is the only person with the key to the photocopier (I think this actually means code, but the secretary doesn't really speak English). She did them quickly, just as the class was starting. So that worked out.

I also had second grade for the first time. They're going to be my challenge class. One kid just got back from the states where IwenttoRosaParksElementaryinBerkleyCaliforniait'sinthebayareanearSanFrancisco(pause for air)ofcourseIknowhowtoreadI'vereadalltheHarryPotterseventhoughI'mseven.........blah blah blah blah blah. He has a partner in crime in the same class. It's going to be hell. When they left class they told me it was soooooo boring because they didn't get to write anything. They're in second grade! The problem is that half their group can't read or write and these two can do everything. There is another girl who can read and write because her parents are British. I'm going to have to come up with activities to keep the crazies busy while I bring the other kids up to speed.

Limor's solution is to ditch the slower kids and send them back to regular English classes. She's on a bit of a rampage. I'm not sure I'll have any students left by the end of the week. One of our conversations today went like this:

Limor: Who did you see from alef (1st grade).

Me: A girl named Ohr from alef 2.

Limor: Who is she?

Me: You talked to her parents in the hallway about being in native speakers. The other morning (look at Limor questioningly).

Limor: How does she compare?

Me: Well she's in class with the 2nd grade Belgian girl who went to the English school in France, so Ohr was a bit behind.

Limor: Oh, kick her out of native speakers. Why was she there anyway?

Me: I don't know. You talked to her parents.

Limor: They're Israeli? What did they say?

Me: I don't know. You talked to them the other day.

Limor: But they're not from an English-speaking country. Why is she in native speakers?

Me: I don't know. You talked to her parents and told me to take her.

Limor: Good, get her out of your class.

(The poor little girl is only five years old. She will be pretty confused.)

I also have to kick out a 6th grader, a 3rd grader and a few 2nd graders.

Limor also had me write a letter to the parents of the native speakers. She actually wrote the thing (or tried to) in English, but she's not too good with a computer. So, I polished it and printed it up. Basically it explains that I'm here to teach their kids English, they have to get their kids a binder for my classes and there will eventually be a book to purchase. It also announces my after school English club, for which I'm still not sure what I'm going to do. (The letter says I'll be doing fun and games!)

Yesterday, my principal

wore converse sneakers to school. Seriously. White. Low-tops.

My Day at School

Here's how some of my conversations at school went:

Limor: You need to build your schedule. Talk to the first grade teachers and figure out when you can take their kids out for English. Also, take third grade out from music because it doesn't really matter that much. Okay? Go, do that.

Tzipi (principal): I've finished the master schedule for the school. You and I should sit down with Limor and figure out your schedule. You can't take kids out from music! We should sit down at 12 with Limor.

Limor: Tzipi wants to talk to us? Shouldn't you be in a class now? Have you picked a book?

Me: No, Limor, I haven't even met half the kids yet.

Limor: Well, you need to pick a book. The sooner, the better. But you can't pick a book until after the holidays. But you should pick a book now.

Me: I want to meet the kids first.

Limor: Okay, just pick a book quickly.

later on.....

Tzipi: I think we should start an English club after school.

Me: Okay, that sounds fine. I could play games, show movies and do fun projects. What are your goals for this club?

Tzipi: Goals? I don't know, but you should write a letter to the parents explaining what you are doing.

Me: Umm, okay....(thinking - what????? In what language and I supposed to write this letter - hello?? I don't speak Hebrew).

All in all, it was a pretty good day. I have a schedule. It involves me teaching 5th grade and running the English club for first and second grade at the same time, which probably won't work, but we'll deal with that later.

Yogurt in Tel Aviv

Frozen Yogurt here is amazing. I went to a place on Ben Yehuda and Gordon. The shop actually had swings hanging from the ceiling for customers to sit in. The yogurt was natural flavor - like that of 40 Carrots - although, Joe, I swear this was better. You could then add nearly as many toppings as your heart desired. The limit is basically the cup - once it's full, it's full. After that you can add sauces: whiskey, hazelnut, rose petal, honey, honey/date, maple syrup, and a few berry flavors.

To mine I added: craisins, raisins, coconut, cantaloupe, banana, honey and maple syrup. Sam got a totally different assortment of fruits, nuts, granola and sauces.

We both agreed we'll definitely be going back.

First Shabbat in the New Apartment

Fridays are insane here in Tel Aviv. 1/2 the city has the day off from work and the other half is working in the shops and restaurants that are open until Shabbat begins, which has been around 6:30 the past few weeks.

Yesterday, I went to the big market to buy some fruits and veggies for the week and stuff to prepare dinner for Lindsay and I. We had invited other people, but they were going to family things. I made roasted potatoes and sweet potatoes as well as my version of Cafenetto's Arabic Salad (tomato, cucumber, lemon, mint, coriander, and parsley).

First, I went to Dizzengoff to buy a pan for the veggies and other items. I was on the hunt for xanthum gum because I'm going to attempt to make wheat free challah. I went to the huge grocery store there. The lines were insane. I only had two items, but there were easily 30 people on the express lines. I went to a regular line and got behind a woman who had already started checking out. She was having her stuff delivered, so the checkout woman had to bag and box it all according to refrigeration needs. The shopper, who was a little older, was completely useless and just stood there watching. No one helped bag and the woman behind me was complaining about how useless the rest of the staff was. It took nearly 15 minutes to ring up the 1000 shekels ($250US) grocery order. I wasn't so angered by that because I was amazed at how much stuff this woman was buying.

Next I went to the outdoor market where I bought fruits and veggies for the week. I also got tons of fresh herbs and a 5 kilo bag of rice!

Our dinner was delicious, but I think next week I'll try to make the challah. Instead of xanthum gum, I think I can use gelatin. Alternatively, I might be able to order the gum online. I've already found the flours I need. Those are available around the corner at the Natural Market. I go there everyday and drive the women nuts. I ask questions and most of the time they tell me they don't speak English. So, instead I have them read soy yogurt labels to ensure they're wheat-free. I was able to communicate tapioca starch - it's the same word in Hebrew! Next time I'm going in there with a better prepared list (in Hebrew) because they don't get good wifi and I can't translate while in the store.

Tufts.... intimidating boys all over the world

I've got to blog about this because it finally happened.

I was out at a bar/club in Tel Aviv. It was located in the namal, which means port. Basically Tel Aviv used to use this port, but then another - bigger - one was built and this one was turned into restaurants, shops and nightlife. Everything faces the water and I was with some friends at an outdoor bar. The place was crawling with Americans which was really annoying. Anyway, Tel Aviv University runs an English-language medical school which draws on the Jewish I-want-to-go-to-med-school-and-still-have-a-social-life crowd. I base this on the now-many sleezy guys I met from this program. I haven't actually met or heard of any girls in the program. So, at the bar some guys were talking to us. One was actually chatting with my friend Lindsay. His friend came up to us and asked us where we were from, what we were doing in TA, etc. He was from Boston - Brookline. I said I knew the area because I went to school up there. He asked me where. When I told him I had gone to Tufts, he stopped and stared. "Wow. Tufts. Wow. So you're really smart then," was all he could manage. Then he told me how his sister was trying to get in, but it was really hard.

He walked away, went and got a friend, brought him back and told him how I went to Tufts. The friend stared at me for a bit before they started talking to my friend Stacey. They never asked what school she went to, nor did they share where they did their undergrad.

Please, everyone out there: check where your doctors went to school. If it was TAU, find a new guy. No one should be that shocked about a person going to Tufts. Yes, it's a good school, but in med-school, shouldn't you have people who come from places like Tufts?