Productive Week

We got the car (Mazda 6) silver color, hurray! We also bough two satellite dishes and got them installed. It was a great deal we get all kind of Arabic, Hebrew, English, and Persian channels. Personally I am loving the Arabic music. The first couple of days I managed to point out only the Arabic channels and the kids thought that is all they have. They were so happy to have TV that they did not complain much and watched the cartoons in Arabic, and were amazed to find that all their favorite cartoon characters spoke Arabic. A few days later they discovered that we have channels in English. So, the negotiation started finally we agreed that for each Arabic show they can watch a show in English.

Nadia is readying Harry Potter 4 and she is almost done. That girl can read all day if I let her. Yasmeen is getting into the Game Boy but she does not play more than 45 minutes before she gets tired. She really loves to go outside and play. Cats and dogs are everywhere here and the girls love that.

Yesterday was a major Jewish holiday, Yom Kippur. So from sunset on Sunday night until sunset Monday people don’t drive. We went out walking on Sunday night and the streets where full of kids, youth and adults driving there bicycles in the middle of the street, kids with their roller skates and scooters. We live in a mostly Jewish area so driving for that day was out of the questions. We had a great time in the evening discovering more of the area we live and found another park that is close to us. Monday morning Naim went to work but the kids and I were off from school. So we walked for about one hour to go the Shrine of the Bab. We go to the Shrine about once a week but we walk around and in the gardens almost every day. We said our prayers and continued our walk for another hour to the bottom of the terraces to meet a Baha’i family. They are from the Philippines and they have been like a second family for the kids. Their house is a minute from the school. We spend a few hours there and by then it was sunset, so they drove us back home. My legs are so sore I can hardly walk. I am not sure where the kids get all this energy, but they seem to really enjoy it.

Today they finished school at 1 pm. I drove to pick them up for the first time with the new car. Driving can be a nightmare here, but I am getting used to it. The kids school is at the bottom of the terraces at Abbas Street for those of you who know the area. It is in area which is predominantly Arab.

After school I asked the kids if they where up to getting lost? They both did not seem to mind, so we drove down to an area called Wadi which is like a marketplace and shopping area of town. Bad area if you are trying to diet all the good food I like but I am walking enough to make up for it. We finally found a place to park and walked around. We managed to follow our sense of smell to find a falafel place where I got a sandwich. Then we found a bakery and got the kids a Manosha (bread with Arabic spices) and walked around eating. While walking we realized it was Ramadan (fasting period for the Muslims) as we saw the banners up in the area. So, we went to the side and finished eating and continue our walk. After that we bought some fruits and vegetables (the fruits are so fresh and smells so goooooood) and somehow found our way home.

The girls seem to compare a lot of the things here to things back home and make sure to point out when things can’t be as good as back home. They still miss everyone a lot, we all do.

Haifa is truly an amazing city. The cultural diversity in this little community is just unbelievable. Jewish from all different background, Muslims Arabs, Christian Arabs, and Baha’is live together with such a harmony in this town compared to many other places in the world.

Finally, for those of you who said that they wanted to come and visit, we got the car, ALMOST all the boxes are open and found a place in the house, and we know how to find our home when we get lost driving, so, we are ready for you. Just let us know when you are coming!

I better go get some sleep. We got a full day of “I am not sure what” but I am sure it will be full of excitement. :)

Good night.