I had a lot of other things that I wanted to post about
before writing this, but I recently had quite possibly one of the most amazing
weeks I’ve had while here and I felt compelled to share it.
SO let’s start off with Suday, February 15. Though schools
are in session on Sundays, we do not teach on those days. Instead, Israel
Experience/ITF provides us with seminars, or trainings, or if we’re really
lucky, A DAY OFF!
On the 15th of Feb, we had an early start to the
day (9 am but come on, that’s early for not having to be in school) and we had
a session with a life-coach. This was supposed to run for 2 hours, but Josh and
I had to slip out a few minutes early because at 11 our little scholars were
set to perform at a choir recital! We really wanted to support them and attend,
and I’m so happy that we did. We also had the opportunity to watch a few other
choirs from around Petah Tikva. The students had no idea Josh and I were going
to be there, especially since we don’t work with them on Sundays, so they were
extremely surprised and happy to see us there. I remember how much it meant to
me when my parents could come to any sort of recital or performance I had when
I was younger, so I was really glad we could do that for them. It’s important
to me that they know Josh and I are here because we care about them and believe
about them.
After the recital, we went home to rest and get ready
because in the evening we had the opportunity to attend OUR FIRST ISRAELI WEDDING!
This is a big deal people. I was SO excited that one of the teachers at school
extended an invite to her wedding. Meital, the bride, is a 3rd grade
teacher who we rarely get to work with, so the invite was extra unexpected.
I knew Israeli weddings are a lot more casual than American
ones (in that people some people even wear jeans to them), so I didn’t want to
risk showing up as if it were prom because I’ve been told that I already scream
“American.” After sending my madricha
(counselor) a selfie of my outfit and getting it approved, I finished getting
ready and just like that Josh and I were out.
It was pouring on the night of the wedding, but one of the
teachers generously offered 4 of us a ride. The second we arrived at the
location, I knew a great night was in store.
Amid the strobe lights and loud music, we noticed many
little h'orderves stations. Josh and I agreed that it would be best to do a
lap before committing to any particular food. It’s nice working with someone
who is on the same page as you.
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| Couscous, Moroccan Stew, and Mini Shwarma |
They say that all that glitter’s ain’t gold – and while I
whole heartedly agree with that, something that glittered AND was gold was a
beautiful little hot dog station. I know, I know, it has been way too long
since I have written about the best hot dogs in Israel. These were really tasty
and a bit spicy but I refuse to add them to the rankings because these were
catered hot dogs and you can’t really go out and get them in Israel. Wouldn’t
want to tease you all.
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| Posing w/ the Hot Dog Stand |
 |
| duh. |
After trying a few different but equally delicious h'orderves, wedding planners cleared the aisle so the groom and stunning bride
could take the stage. Something that I really appreciated is that, in true
Israeli fashion, there were no frills. Only the bride and groom walked down the
aisle and the ceremony began instantaneously. Not that I appreciate it enough
to implement it at my own wedding but let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
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| The Beautiful Bride |
Anyway, after a majority of the audience ignored the
ceremony and chose to drink at the bar, the main hall opened up for dinner and
dancing.
I wasn’t sure whether or not I had stepped back into a South
Beach club or I was actually at a wedding. To sum up the experience in a few
short words: excessive amounts of food, alcohol, and dancing. Two thumbs up.
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| Wedding or Bar-Mitzvah? |
The next day we had the pleasure of hosting a photographer
at our school! Israel Experience, the particular organizer of Israel Teaching
Fellows in Rishon and PTK, wanted to update photos on their website and such so
they chose to follow Josh and I around for a day. They kind of picked a hectic
day to come considering we had an earthquake drill (do they even have earthquakes
in Israel? Still not sure), but it ended up turning out great! Through this I
discovered that all of my students have releases signed so you better believe
you will start seeing their precious little faces all over this blog. Check out
some of my favorite photos from the photographer below.
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| Not From the Photographer but my Favorite of the Day |
I had one more event that I wanted to include in this post
but I think I’ll just save it for the next one -- so you can expect it in about
a month or two. KIDDING KIDDING.
