Tuesday, December 14, 2004
It's 2:30 a.m. and we're getting ready to wait for our taxi that will take us to the airport. Our last week has been a mixture of things. Isaac's last day of gan (preschool) was Friday. We brought in a thank-you cake and a card for the teachers and the other yeledim (children). After that we drove over to the part of town where Robin's brother and sister live to visit for a while before the beginning of Shabbat. I thought it might be a treat to play some Chanukah songs for them so I brought along my saxophone.
On Saturday I played for about a half hour at the nursing home where my father-in-law is staying temporarily. The residents seemed to enjoy the mixture of classical music, Chanukah songs, and a few Yiddush songs. My father-in-law was certainly glad that I was able to play for his friends there. After lunch I walked over to a section of the city called The German Colony to meet with Betty Klein, the folk singer we had met the week before. It was a very pleasant walk past all sorts of buildings old and new. The stores were all closed for Shabbat, but it was interesting just to window shop. Betty was a wealth of knowledge about Jewish, Yiddish, Israeli, and Ladino folk music. She gave me two more cassettes and told me about all sorts of pieces, composers, and performers. I wish I had met her at the beginning of our trip so I could have learned about some performances. Oh well, maybe next time.
Sunday was a day for more visiting and letting Isaac have some fun at one of the malls. There was an area for children to bounce around on those air-filled things (a.k.a., bouncy houses) that have become a staple at birthday parties in the States. I also did a little shopping at the local Home Center and walked around the mall a bit.
Monday was our last day in Jerusalem and my mother-in-law had some visitors over for lunch. So, while they visited, Robin and I packed up our things and tried to get my in-laws' apartment back to its pre-Sylvern setting. Betty Klein stopped over to give me some music she had photocopied of some of the pieces we had discussed before. After that we made one more trip to Ramot Alon to say goodbye to my wife's sister and brother and their families and then headed back to finish packing and to try to get some rest before our taxi arrived.
It's hard to believe that six weeks has come and gone. It has certainly been an educational and very enjoyable trip for me. I was able to accomplish everything I set out to accomplish and I am grateful for that. I hope the pieces that are created as a result of this trip will be source of pride for myself and my family.
Goodbye from Israel.
On Saturday I played for about a half hour at the nursing home where my father-in-law is staying temporarily. The residents seemed to enjoy the mixture of classical music, Chanukah songs, and a few Yiddush songs. My father-in-law was certainly glad that I was able to play for his friends there. After lunch I walked over to a section of the city called The German Colony to meet with Betty Klein, the folk singer we had met the week before. It was a very pleasant walk past all sorts of buildings old and new. The stores were all closed for Shabbat, but it was interesting just to window shop. Betty was a wealth of knowledge about Jewish, Yiddish, Israeli, and Ladino folk music. She gave me two more cassettes and told me about all sorts of pieces, composers, and performers. I wish I had met her at the beginning of our trip so I could have learned about some performances. Oh well, maybe next time.
Sunday was a day for more visiting and letting Isaac have some fun at one of the malls. There was an area for children to bounce around on those air-filled things (a.k.a., bouncy houses) that have become a staple at birthday parties in the States. I also did a little shopping at the local Home Center and walked around the mall a bit.
Monday was our last day in Jerusalem and my mother-in-law had some visitors over for lunch. So, while they visited, Robin and I packed up our things and tried to get my in-laws' apartment back to its pre-Sylvern setting. Betty Klein stopped over to give me some music she had photocopied of some of the pieces we had discussed before. After that we made one more trip to Ramot Alon to say goodbye to my wife's sister and brother and their families and then headed back to finish packing and to try to get some rest before our taxi arrived.
It's hard to believe that six weeks has come and gone. It has certainly been an educational and very enjoyable trip for me. I was able to accomplish everything I set out to accomplish and I am grateful for that. I hope the pieces that are created as a result of this trip will be source of pride for myself and my family.
Goodbye from Israel.
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