At the end of 4th week.

In the 7th grade we have been talking about bar and bat mitzva recently. We have discussed the question of adulthood from different perspectives. What makes one an adult to start with? Šimon, one of my students, suggested that the more difficult situations you have been through the more of an adult you are. In that sence, he claimed, some children are adult already at the age of 12 - those that have been through deathts of their parents, hardships of child labor or pains of torture. Some, on the other hand, he claimed, live an easy care free life and never really grow up. Most other students did not agree with Šimon and suggested other deffinitions for being adult. I tend not to agree with him either, but I think it is an interesting thought when we look at it from its other end - what do hard moments of our life do with us? How do they change us? Recently, I have started to do two jobs in which I have to communicate with many people; all of these people have certain ideas about how I should do my job and I am there to try to merge my ideas with theirs, to answer their demands. It is never easy to work in an environment when you have to answer a demands of so many different individauls. It is even less easy if you are new to the field or job. Recently, looking back at my first month of teaching and the 3 months of community work, I realized how many mistakes I have made. I must admit it is not easy to make mistakes even if you know they are unavoidable and a neccessary part of the proccess. Naturally, I wouldn´t compare the problems I encounter in my jobs to any of the hardships Šimon mentioned in our discussion. I concider myself a very lucky and fortunate human being, but my mistakes do make my feel low. Especially when I am tired and go to bed exhausted at 1am at the end of a long day I realize how much all the recent successes and failures change my life and the way I see myself. I wander if they make me more adult. They certainly make me feel very different and I can only hope this all will eventually be for the better.

Gmar chatima tovah to all (may you be sealed for good life next year.)

Day 13. Work in progress. How many apples can you eat?

Hi. Just a short note again. We are almost at the end of the third week. I have already encountered first little troubles (thankfully only in the administration stuff, not with the kids), but I still remain very happy in my job. There are many moments that are hard, there are many more that are very satisfying. Today, we had a Rosh ha-shana workshop with the first graders and their parents. It came out really well. We sang to the parents what we have learnt and showed them all kinds of skills and knowledge we have aquired within the first couple of days. It was lovely to see the parents interact with the kids during the workshop when they completed different tasks together. In the picture, we are making round chalot in the "science center." I introduced the children to our family custom of adding "legs" to the chala - as many legs as there are people around the table. It was a lot of fun!

As the week is coming to end, I am happy we will celebrate Rosh ha-shana soon. I am teaching 8 classes - there is a limit to the number of apples you can eat.
Shana tova u-metuka to all:-)

After the first week. Day six.

Today is Monday, the first day of my second week. I am very tired, obviously:-) I sleep very little, hardly tidy up, cook only very simple food as I spend most of my time getting ready for my classes. Everything else is great, much much better than Ï expecetd it to be. The kids are great, I like teaching, I find sharing Judaism with the kids very meaningful, I enjoy working wïth children despite all the obvious hardships that come with it.

To my great regret, there are many things that I shall not be able to share with you on the web as they often deal with private life of my students. Let me just say that it is truly fascinating to see the kids talk, think and react in the lessons. At the same time it is frustrating to see how much home baggage (home violence, parents with adictions and the like) some of them carry from home even at this very early age.

Anyway. I know this is not a very cheerful post. To cut the long story short - I am very happy and...very tired. And - actually, I am a teacher. For real.

The time has come. Day Zero.

Yes, the time has come. After a month of getting ready in an empty school, tomorrow I shall come to a building swarming with children. Tomorrow is the first school day. I am ready - I removed my mustache, filled in the class register for the 7th grade where I am the class teacher, put up several notice boards, learnt to chant "Mode ani lefanecha" according to the Chabad nusach (way of chanting) the 1st graders are used to so that I can start to lead the morning prayers for the smallest children, I wrote the initial class teacher letter to the parents of "my" kids, made plans for having them over in my Succah, baked welcome ginger chamsas for the first graders, talked to their parents and assured them we would do our best to make the kids smart educated Jews, ordered my English games portfolio and last but not least, calmed down, stopped feeling nautious in the morning and started to await what is ahead with hopes and enthusiasm.

These are exciting times. Aleš left back for Jerusalem on Thursday (to my great grief), Clary is starting her studies at the Yeshiva tomorrow, Michelle is getting married today, my brother is back at school sitting for his exams. September is always a hectic time full of changes. 21 years ago, I went to the 1st grade as a small girl with a huge school bag ready to learn all there was to learn. I have studied ever since, three qarters of my life so far. Now it seems the time has come for me to stand on the other end of the classroom. We shall see how it goes.