Day Two of School

Pentheus and I walked the boys to school and dropped them off with little fanfare. We still haven't seen the CK's teacher, but will make sure to wait until she arrives before leaving him tomorrow morning. Neither boy has complained, cried or indicated that he is unhappy so far, and when I have tried subtly to elicit what they are thinking, everything seems to be ok. As I noted earlier, Pentheus and I have tried to be extra patient with them, and we'll have to see how it goes.

As I think I wrote last week, our next door neighbor has suggested that the WK meet two boys from his class. The WK has had several playdates with Uri already. We've tried to arrange something with the other boy, Rafael, but haven't been successful. Our neighbor thinks Rafael would be a great match for the WK, especially in terms of being interested in sports. Also, Rafael is more outgoing than Uri. Although Rafael's English is very good (for a 5th grader), Rafael's parents don't speak a word of English, which has made it harder for us to connect. I spoke to Rafael's mother this evening, and the plan is for me to pick all three boys (WK, CK and Rafael) up from school tomorrow for a playdate in the park and "arteekeem" (popsicles, in case you have forgotten).

Our neighbor dropped by earlier this evening to say that her daughter (who is also in the same class as WK) came home today and said that Zohar (the boy with whom the WK's teacher has matched the WK) is not a good fit at all. Zohar is a big class clown, and his English is not very good. Her daughter didn't want to get involved and didn't want us to use her name if we talk to the teacher, but she doesn't think Zohar is a good match. Our neighbor thinks we should talk to the WK's teacher and suggest that she pair the WK with Rafael. It's interesting because, again, here's another example of an Israeli (even if our neighbor speaks English) not pulling punches and not being afraid to speak her mind. I'm not convinced that most of us would take the time to get as involved (and stay as involved) as our neighbor has been. I recognize that it's both good and bad.

While I was out this afternoon, I called Pentheus from our cell phone. (Oh, just realized I didn't post anything about our finally getting a cell phone! When we were in Talpiyot last week (when we rented the car), we saw that Rami Levy (the big supermarket store to which we drove the clerk at the car rental place) had a cell phone kiosk. We were still unable to purchase an "unlimited" plan without an Israeli credit card or bank account, but we were able to buy a pre-paid SIM for much less money than the other places were charging. We pay as we go for calls and texts (and it's much more expensive to call/text the US), but we're glad to have one as a way for Pentheus and me to keep in touch when one of us is out of the dira.)

Anyway, while I was out this afternoon, I called Pentheus. It must have been about 1:30 or so. Pentheus answered the phone and said, "Honey, I have good news and I have bad news. The good news is that the boys know how to walk home from school by themselves. The bad news is that we were misinformed about what time school closed today." Apparently, school let out at 12:40, and neither Pentheus nor I was there to meet the boys, so they walked back to the dira together. When we apologized to the boys, neither one seemed upset about it, and, in fact, the WK wants to use this as an example for why we should let him go to the park by himself (i.e., without the CK or us). The jury is still out on that.

When Pentheus and I talked about coming to Israel, we hoped that the experience would be good for the boys, help make them more independent and mature, and allow them to grow in ways we can't even imagine yet.The fact that the boys walked home from school alone today (with nary a complaint or angry comment) gives some credence to our decision.

By the way, there's a video here: http://news.walla.co.il/?w=/551/2561839 about Netanyahu's visit to the boys' school yesterday.  In the IMRA link here: <http://www.imra.org.il/story.php3?id=58037>, there's a transcription of what Netanyahu said at Szold (as well as at another school in Efrat).  The second part of the video is where Jerusalem mayor Nir Barakat surprises Netanyahu by locating his report card from 6th grade at Szold.