9/29 to 10/1 | Family Time

One of the greatest aspects of studying abroad in Israel is that I have family here.  There is no other country in the world where I could spend time with relatives.  Even greater is that this is not family that I see often; in fact, as I mentioned in a previous post, I only met them for the first time last summer.  It is my hope that this trip will strengthen the relationship between the American and Israeli sides of the family.  To do this, not only is it important for them to get to know me, but all of my family, too.  This includes my mother, father, and sister as well as aunts, uncles, cousins, and, of course, my grandma Betty.  To facilitate this, I set up a few Skype calls so that we could video chat with everyone back home.  Here are some videos and images from our exchanges:

This was our first Skype call with my aunt Marlene.

A Skype call with my family: my mother Linda, my sister Julia, and my father David.

The last Skype call with my grandma Betty, Chana's sister.  Zahava, my mother's cousin, is holding the laptop.  The funniest moment happened when Israel said to Chana, "Your sister looks very beautiful," to which Chana responded, in Yiddish, "Everyone said I was prettier than her."

Israel playing the song "My Yiddishe Mama" on the violin for my grandmother.

On Friday night, after we had finished with the Skype calls, Israel's musical trio came over to practice.  Before they started playing, we sat around for cake and coffee.  The pianist of the group spoke fluent English, while the cellist spoke only Hebrew and Russian.  This provided me a unique opportunity to practice my Hebrew.  After we were done discussing my studies at American University, my various internships, and my time here in Israel, the music began.  I was absolutely blown away by the talent of Israel and his partners.  They played the most heavenly classical music; it was a joy to be the only member of the audience.

A concert all to myself!

A short clip of what was over an hour long performance.

Friday was also spent with a member of Zahava's family from her father's side.  A distant relative of hers, named Meira, just made aliyah so Zahava invited her over for lunch.  I went with Israel to pick up Meira and her Israeli boyfriend Gidi.  We had a very pleasant lunch in which we discussed everything from politics to the aliyah process.  It was very interesting to hear the thoughts of a new immigrant, or ohleh chadash in Hebrew.

We passed the Azrieli Center on the way to pick up Meira and Gidi.  The Azrieli Center consists of three skyscrapers shaped like a circle, square, and triangle.  They are distinctive on the Tel Aviv skyline.

Sky, the family dog, also joined us for lunch.

This evening, I will be heading back to Jerusalem.  Classes start tomorrow, so I need to be back on Mount Scopus to get everything together.  It is also my birthday tomorrow!