25 Oct 2006 12:36 PM

October 2006

Well, our things finally arrived so now we are once again surrounded by boxes. Feels like old times. We have no room to put anything and Maor's bookcase (kaveret) does not fit up the stairs so it is stuck in the middle of the living room for now. Balagan city. So what else is new?!

We spent out first post-chagim Sunday going to the Lick Observatory ( http://www.ucolick.org/ ) which is at the top of Mt. Hamilton. It was a beautiful drive with views of trees with their leaves changing color (I didn't know they had fall in California) and even a deer. Maor did not feel so great on the drive up and kept saying we're too high up. All attempts to convince her that it was just like going up the road to Bet Rimon failed.

Besides unpacking the next items we have to deal with are getting internet at home and cheap long distance. I am also trying to make plans for Thanksgiving weekend but Arthur may have to travel that Sunday night.

The big thing we are thinking about now is Maor's bat mitzvah, which is at the end of Tevet. Before we came to California we promised that she could have her bat mitzvah in Israel if she wanted and of course she does. Arthur is in denial about the whole thing and is not being very helpful (what a surprise). More details will definitely follow.

Arthur passed his road test and is now the proud recipient of a California driver's license. I just scheduled my road test after passing the written exam. I am nervous about taking the test â?? so many bad habits accumulated but I hope it will be ok.

Life here is very different from Israel, both good and bad.

It is strange to not have your bag or trunk checked every time you go into a store or any building for that matter.

The public libraries are amazing â?? the hours they're open, the materials they stock, including DVDs, books on tape, magazines, computer games, and internet access. I could definitely live in the library.

There are clean bathrooms everywhere you go. Stores, gas stations, supermarkets. Sounds silly, I know, but it's true.

On the other hand, being religious out here is not as easy as in Israel (or Brooklyn for that matter). There are tons of hechsherim but of course not all are acceptable. So you need a rabbinic authority you trust and then you need to ask.

Maorâ??s school, South Peninsula Hebrew Day School ( http://sphds.org/ ) is the less religious of the two Orthodox Jewish day schools and we chose it because it is larger than the other. Mind you, this means that there are 9 kids in Maorâ??s class â?? 4 girls and 5 boys and for some classes (Hebrew) they are split into Hebrew speaking and are with the 7th and 8th graders as well. Girls can wear pants to school and many of the kids are not orthodox. On Sukkot one of the 6th grade parents hosted the class with parents one night and it was very nice. The food was labeled so you could choose whose you eat since not everyone is totally kosher. It is interesting to be asked the question â??how kosher are you?â?? and strange to be on the orthodox end since growing up I was the non-religious kid whose house although kosher probably wasnâ??t acceptable to my religious friends.

The San Jose community is eclectic â?? a lot of baalei tshuva and people from all over the United States and the world. There is one very nice family who the husband is from Scotland and the wife from New Zealand. Yes, understanding them requires superior powers of concentration.

Everyone is very friendly and welcoming but our hearts remain in Israel.

Signing off for now.

Chasida (Fern)

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