I will remember how wonderful the weather has been to allow us to enjoy the beach and the sea right out there in front of us in this perfect hotel facing the sea. It’s always with us and in this enviroment of living room/bedroom/etc. we can be inside and feel the outside on the balcony early in the morning and late at night. We were in this very same apartment last January and could really not enjoy the outside on the outside. It was cold and windy and rainy and Tuvia got the flu.

Vacation is still about the weather and this weather has been perfect for us to enjoy the place and the people. I am comfortable here and it’s a good time to be here. Sure, you are always careful and watchful, but things here are calm, until of course, they are not. After 11 years and then some, I can be here, not really communicate in Hebrew and still feel connected to the place. I can see what’s changing and what needs changing. When we are here, there’s always an unspoken commitment to return, when will we return?

Tuvia is watching me write now, wondering when I will finish and get ready for our next adventure. I have about 5 minutes to spend with this post before he becomes really ready to move out. Maybe less. Okay, for now, I have to take a break and get ready to celebrate the birth of a new baby. Now that’s always a wonderful reason to celebrate.

And in the midst of all this heaven there’s that elephant on everyone’s back: the Palestinian question, Gaza, the West Bank, Hamas, Fatah, politics, suicide bombers.  I know my friend Tom, is never excited about my trips here, relieved when I’m back in the US.  I can’t say that I don’t totally think about danger, but then I don’t feel totally safe anywhere.  That doesn’t stop me from coming here anymore than it stops the people who live here from living.  That’s a fear you just can’t hold you back from living.

There’s a real frustration here, among Tuvia’s good friends who share his passion and optimism for Israel.  But this time they all seem exhausted by the politicans and their greed.  The news about Olmert and his corruption has turned many Israelis off to his crediblity.  I do hear positive things about having Barack in the government although no one seems to like his approach to people.  Will there be progress toward a two state solution?  Doesn’t sound like it at this moment.  And what about Zippi Livni, our new Israeli hope?  Those we trust are not too impressed with her.  So for now, while Israel is doing well and it’s quiet here, there’s a wait and see attitude.

For us, it’s home in a few hours and just in time to enjoy fall in New York.

I’m ready.  I can’t wait to get back to a digital story.

Lots has been happening here and home as Kevin and I prepare for our online conference presentation. It’s great that we can both feel good about our contributions. I’ve been thinking about collaboration and for this virtual one. from my position, it’s been without ego. Kevin clearly has more comfort, experience and technical expertise than I do, but somehow even though he takes the lead often, he always respects and encourages my voice and never makes me feel that I have a lesser role. I have been growing, sharing and feeling great about my role in this project. I have one more piece to complete and it will have to wait until I get home to use my better mic, thanks to Kevin’s recommendation to switch to a Blue Snowball. What a difference. I have my mic headset here and it’s just not as good. but my text is ready to go and I feel great about that and the process. I read my piece to Tuvia and he totally stayed interested and understood the project roots better. Virtual collaboration is powerful.  Is it as powerful as the more traditional face-to-face, I don’t know? Maybe.  When Kevin and I Skype or meet in person it has been as warm and connected as our online connection.  I wonder who’s writing about the power of this social networking?

I am grateful for the opportunities I’ve received. One great step since I finished my teaching career. Actually I owe a lot to getting a email flyer about 8 years ago, advertising a weekend writing retreat sponsored by the Hudson Valley Writing Project at Bard. I skipped over the HVWP and saw BARD first and foremost. I had a conflict that summer for the Bard week and the weekend at the very end of school was perfect for my schedule. Joanne Falinsky was running it with a Bard facilitator I was dying to work with. I was there and loved the intimacy of it all. Joanne shared information about the HVWP and I was interested. The following summer I was there, in the SI’99 and the rest, as they say is my history!

Now there’s a good place to identify and to end this post. Tuvia is reading his daily newspapers on the computer provided by the hotel, imagine. But soon I will get the call to move to the next activity. He’s been great about my clicking away on my computer, so it’s time for a shower. I’m off…

Tuvia grabs the news on local TV and I write into the day.  It’s a relaxed routine: beach walks, trips for Tuvia to see old friends, dinners with Ami, Adi and their kids, travel by train to the north, to the south, to Jerusalem.

We are here for almost two weeks. If we hadn’t met 11 years ago I can’t imagine that I would have been here so often.  Sure, I have my own history here, but my year of Israel came and went as a great adventure but it became history.  Eleven years ago we broke the Yom Kippur fast together and that changed everything.  A cup of coffee and a bagel with whitefish salad and Tuvia standing next to me at Rena’s and life has never been the same.

And it’s time for that beach walk to usher in the first day without jet lag.

It’s a first for us to be leaving for Israel a few hours after we break the fast, but it worked out best for us to be in Israel during this 2-week period.  The weather will be great, it was terribly cold when we were there in January and the day after we get back I will be racing with lots of upcoming events.

So I am packed now and ready to eat dinner at 4:00 to be in synagogue before sundown.  Kol Nidre, a powerful prayer to usher in Yom Kippur.  Lots of standing, repeated 7 times and the best is having Tuvia at my side.

I do have to write about the HVWP meeting last night.

When we got to Tuvia’s, I waited for daylight before I went on to my place in Nyack to unpack, shower and be home for a few hours before the day really began.  Could I really drive for a hour after a plane flight?  I wasn’t sure, but I did it!  I arrived in Ellenville early, keeping Tuvia updated.  I chatted with my student teachers and my great friend Madlyn.  Everyone cheered me on, but being back in the place I had worked in for 12 years was once again, strange and now there were many more unfamiliar faces.  But that’s what should happen.  My student teachers are great.  Some issues are evident, but it’s all about good communications between ST’s and CT’s and I hope that begins to happen.

It was great being with my parents, my brother and Marla and talking on the local radio with my old buddy, Denis, a blast from my hippied past.  We retired around the same time and he has found his way to talk radio in Eville and that’s been a success for him.  But just on with him for a few minutes and it was familiar territory.

Off to Beacon to meet with student teacher #3.  She’s doing great and I loved watching her teach an inclusion class.  We were able to spend lots of time talking, actually, that was true for all three of the ST’s.  I hope it was helpful for them.

And then a change in plans.  Straight to Tuvia’s for chicken soup and time with him as he continues to rebound slowly from his Israeli cold.  His cough remains and that’s horrible but he keeps assuring me that it’s getting better.  When I spoke to him as I arrived in Eville, I was ready to drive straight back.  But he assured me it wasn’t necessary.  I believed him. I wanted to believe him.

So we are both up at 4:30 am but that’s okay we went to sleep last night at 8:30.  I have the day planned efficiently to prepare for California and see a movie in the afternoon and take off at noon tomorrow.  I’m here for now, in this world.  Tomorrow is for the gray land.

It’s good to be home!

Tuvia is off with Ami, as Ami seals the deal on an expensive plot of land in this old neighborhood of Tel Aviv that has become very hot and expensive over the years, but I understand Ami’s love for the area. I could see myself living here as well, if I could see myself living anywhere in Israel. Tuvia too.

I have no problem selecting unusual pieces for three friends and one for myself but the issue is one of a working credit card line and that slows down the process. The woman in charge, Imi, is freaked out because this line is the business lifeline and the repairman she calls to report the problem is very casual about when he will come to fix it. I try to comfort her that I am around and not desperate to buy and get out. Maybe being more hurried I could have bargained down the price. I never think about that. Oh well.

I am back with a very tired Tuvia who needs to nap and continue to get over his cold. And I am growing restless now for packing and flying home to prepare for the next event of my life.

Tuvia has come to appreciate the notion of dining out rather than eating out and we discovered a great spot right next to our hotel.  It has food and drinks and would make a great spot of a late night drink on the way home.  Something for future trips.  The next one will probably happen in late fall.  Cool to plan the next trip here as this one finishes.  There’s a few more people to see before we leave for the craziness that awaits us back home.

We did get a visitor this morning for breakfast, Tuvia’s niece Ruthie. He is very selective about his family. There are others here that he does not call when he comes. He needs connections to be reciprocal. What was cool about Ruthie’s visit was her interest in how Tuvia and I have maintained our relationship for 10 years. It’s great that our bond is so obvious and as we both shared our observations, I loved hearing Tuvia talk about he’s learned about relationships, the need to talk and share and remain open. Wonderful!

So I am on the computer as the US wakes up. 7 Am there, 2 PM here. I can’t get used to that.

We have two more days here. I have some shopping before I leave and Tuvia has some business to take care with Ami. We have a new baby to see in Adi’s family and a baby gift for yet another. Three new girls in the family arriving within 6 months of one another. How cool is that? Actually, as I think about it, I was one of three girls who arrived in our family within a year and sadly I’m not close with either one of them.

I think this trip is about friends, family and the sea.

Since then, we spend a day during our trips here with Donny. He always picks a great place to eat, tour and talk. Too bad there the weather wasn’t cooperating with us. It was too much for Tuvia…

And back in Tel Aviv the sea continues to show its fury, but wouldn’t you know it, there’s a wind surfer who won’t be stopped.