Culture Shock

Monday August 29, 2011

We really accomplished so much, but I wanted to talk a little bit about the conversations we had as well.  We really got a chance to speak a lot just the three of us.  Brian was in Israel years ago when he was a young kid with his family.  Basically Israel is a completely new experience in a new country for him.  I don't know if I could take on the adventure he has.  I think it is very impressive that he has made this choice.  I have always said it would be more of a personal challenge for me to move from New York to California, then for me to move from New York to Israel.  Some people find this to be shocking, but I believe it is the truth.

I have the language, whether I chose to use it constantly or not is a different story.  I have no issues traveling alone in Israel.  Also, I have a lot of family and friends, that I do not feel as if I am in a foreign country, I feel at home.

We spent the day teaching Brian some fun words in Hebrew.  One of the first words was, "chofer", in English a digger...which we don't say.  It was the first term to describe Lior, someone who likes to talk a lot.  Let me clarify that it was not in a negative manner, but in a friendly and endearing one.  I am just as much a "choferet" as he is a "chofer".  I like to dig while I write these blog posts, much more detail than necessary.  We also taught him "humus,tehina, salat, vchips" the quick standard extras to add in shwarma, shipudim, or falafel.  We also reviewed the word Yalah, very important when we need to move quickly.

We are also making a list of foods that Brian will taste throughout the year.