I've now been in Israel for 3 days and have to say I really do love this country. Of course it's nice to finally be able to read and speak the local language of one of the places I am visiting, but it is also comforting to be with friends and family who happen to be as nerdy as I am.
But let's backtrack. I took a VERY early morning flight from Vienna to Munich and transferred to the flight to Tel Aviv fairly easily. The flight from Munich->Tel Aviv was REALLY nice. Lufthansa does a very good job for their customers. Free coffee/tea/hot chocolate around the terminals and an amazing video entertainment system on the plane that is TURNED ON the moment you get on board. Love it.
Once in Israel I visited my friends from Habonim Dror, my Jewish youth movement, and had a great time with them in Netanya. They have a very cute house with tons of people coming through all the time. For dinner on Sunday and Monday there were NINE people. Great conversation ensued. In fact, after dinner on Monday we had a guest speaker, Itamar Landau (another friend from Habonim) lead us in a little learning session on the restrictions of Shabbat and where they are derived from in the Torah and Talmud. Very interesting stuff.
Yesterday I woke up early and spent the day traveling to my family in Kfar Saba, where I then embarked on my grant-writing marathon. As I mentioned in an earlier blog post, I am trying to get Google Chromebooks into my classroom this year. In order to do so, I need funding. I am working on this grant application for general purposes and would appreciate any input on how and where to look for money. I just need $5000 to get this ball rolling and then my students will have complete Internet access in my classroom.
Today I had a great time at the beach with another friend from Philly who happens to be here for a wedding (shoutout to Jonathan Korman). We spent a couple hours along the water and then followed around Lisa Rothstein (another Philly native) who is leading a JCC Maccabi ArtsFest group. Overall a fun and full day.
I look forward to a bit more relaxation over the next few days as I return on August 10th. I imagine I'll make one or two more entries here and then return to my more educational/pedagogical focus after.
But let's backtrack. I took a VERY early morning flight from Vienna to Munich and transferred to the flight to Tel Aviv fairly easily. The flight from Munich->Tel Aviv was REALLY nice. Lufthansa does a very good job for their customers. Free coffee/tea/hot chocolate around the terminals and an amazing video entertainment system on the plane that is TURNED ON the moment you get on board. Love it.
Once in Israel I visited my friends from Habonim Dror, my Jewish youth movement, and had a great time with them in Netanya. They have a very cute house with tons of people coming through all the time. For dinner on Sunday and Monday there were NINE people. Great conversation ensued. In fact, after dinner on Monday we had a guest speaker, Itamar Landau (another friend from Habonim) lead us in a little learning session on the restrictions of Shabbat and where they are derived from in the Torah and Talmud. Very interesting stuff.
Yesterday I woke up early and spent the day traveling to my family in Kfar Saba, where I then embarked on my grant-writing marathon. As I mentioned in an earlier blog post, I am trying to get Google Chromebooks into my classroom this year. In order to do so, I need funding. I am working on this grant application for general purposes and would appreciate any input on how and where to look for money. I just need $5000 to get this ball rolling and then my students will have complete Internet access in my classroom.
Today I had a great time at the beach with another friend from Philly who happens to be here for a wedding (shoutout to Jonathan Korman). We spent a couple hours along the water and then followed around Lisa Rothstein (another Philly native) who is leading a JCC Maccabi ArtsFest group. Overall a fun and full day.
I look forward to a bit more relaxation over the next few days as I return on August 10th. I imagine I'll make one or two more entries here and then return to my more educational/pedagogical focus after.
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