Monday, February 11, 2008

DON'T FORGET....

...your passport.

Sunday, February 10, 2008

Are you packed yet?

The weather forecast for Jerusalem

Wednesday 45/38, 60% chance of rain
Thursday 46/38 60% chance of showers
Friday 48/38 cloudy, 20% chance of showers
Saturday 50/36 partly cloudy, 10% chance of showers
Sunday 54/36 sunny, 10% chance of showers

Woo hoo!

I bought some of these compression bags at Erehwon (but you can get them at REI, Target, or probably also Uncle Dan's). I think they'll make it easier to fit everything into my bags!

I picked up some very light slippers at Target for about 5 bucks for the plane.

I really like those face-wash wipes for travelling, a nice way to wash your face on the plane.

Some interesting travel packing ideas: duct tape, mailing tube for posters, bubble wrap to carry stuff home in (although as I said, ship not shlep), extra ziptop baggies (all sizes, i ♥ the 2-gallon ones for all my toiletries)...what are some of your best travel tips?

See you at the airport!

Saturday, February 9, 2008

Greening in Israel

Just as we are all getting together to use reusable shopping bags, so too is the trend starting to catch on in Israel...

Check out this article about Machane Yehuda market, where we'll be on Friday! And more here on plastic bags in Israel.

(above articles are from the Green Prophet, a great blog about environmental issues in Israel.)

and this one from the Jerusalem Post.

Let's see how many "green" things we can spot while we're in Israel...

Monday, February 4, 2008

Ethiopian Children Need School Supplies

Here is the list of items as we discussed, that Ethiopian schoolchildren are in need of supplies. 45% of Ethiopian-Israeli children lack the basic school supplies essential to learning: books, pencils and other necessities. Israeli schools don't supply them and Ethiopian families can't afford them!

NACOEJ (North American Conference on Ethiopian Jewry) collects the school supplies and distributes them in Israel.

The List:
(New and unopened packages...)
• Markers
• Construction Paper
• Calculators
• Post-it Notes
• Crayons
• Pencil Sharpeners
• Safety Scissors
• School Bags (Backpacks)
• Scotch Tape
• Metric Rulers
• Glue Sticks
• Erasers
• Pencil Pouches
• Geometry Sets
• Jump Ropes
• Deflated Balls
• Small Black Dolls
• Checker Sets (not Chinese checkers)

Do NOT send:
• Binders
• Notebooks
• Loose paper
• Pads of paper
• Clothing
• Chalk
• Thumbtacks
• Non-educational toys
• Games requiring English
• Paperclips
• Food of any kind

Feel free to bring as much or as little as you'd like. I recommend packing some extra garbage or plastic shopping bags to transfer the items into after we arrive in Israel. Joanne will arrange for pickup of the items.

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

It Snowed in Jerusalem!

Check out these great pics!

A maybe once a year event, if that.

Pretty!

Monday, January 28, 2008

Have People Given You Cash?

When people hear that you're going to Israel, do they hand you a dollar (or more)? Wonder why they are doing this?

Jewish tradition teaches that giving tzedakah before a trip (both by the traveler
himself and also the well-wishers) will help to insure safe passage. In addition, our tradition also teaches that travelers to Israel should not travel empty handed, but should take with them tzedakah to dispense once in Eretz Yisrael, so it is customary to hand travelers to Israel small bills to carry with them. Not only is this a mitzvah, but it is also said to insure safe passage, because Judaism teaches that one traveling to give tzedakah is on a mission for God, and therefore will be protected along the way.