hi everyone, I am still hear

Hello all my dear friends,I hope that this letter finds you all in good spiritsand health.I know it has been a while since I have written. Lifehas been a bit like living in the center of a mildTORNADO! so I have to overcome those centrifugalforces to step out to look at the last block of timeand then share it... so here goes.The holidays period here are huge! They last for agood three weeks. Schools are out for much of it,people are on the move, traveling, visiting, guests,loads of food and good times. I am looking forward tohaving some normalcy in the total lack of normal lifethat I have. At least getting the kids and Drew backto schools and Ulpan will be good for them.My life is still somewhat unstructured and unscheduledwhich has its own challenges for me. Although it isgetting a bit busier and easier. As you can all wellimagine I am not taking it lying down! ha. I don'tlike it, I fight it, I cry, I bitch, moan andbellyache. Then all the wonderful wise people aroundme share and say: 'please, you must take it easy, bepatient, this takes time, everything will unfold inthe right time, go slowly' and a whole host of guidingwords. So, I decided that I will try that, to work onbeing with myself more or something like that. Wewill see. For all of us moving to a different country and worldcontinues to be the most amazing adventure withgrowing experiences along the way. I have traveled and moved around in the world some but to settle downand live in a different country has been so eyeopening. The Israeli people are a complex lot. It istruly a mixing pot of people and cultures from allover the world so there is absolutely nothing boringabout it. There are strong and subtle culturaldifferences between the Yemenites, Moroccans, Iraqi's,Bukhara';s, Kurds to name a few from that part5 of theworld. Then there are the USSR groups of Grozny's fromGeorgia, Ukrainians, Tajiks, Uzbek's and on and on.Ethiopians, Tunisians, Moroccans, etc. We fall intothe Anglo-Saxons. American (very few), British,Canadians, Australians. Zach's best friend is fromLiverpool and that is a real hoot to understand hislovely diction. Overall everyone has been extremelykind and helpful. We all have one thing in commonwhich is our religion. It is an amazing thing to be init and I love that part. Our community, Zichron Yaakov, is one of the oldestcommunities in modern Israel. Founded by Romanians inthe 1800's and then the Yemenites. Baron Rothschildpurchased most of the land years ago (early 1900's). Ineed to learn a lot more about it all. Another flavor in the pot is that I am also livingwith a new group of 5 siblings and my mother! I havemy two very religious siblings living in the heart ofJerusalem in the center of the universe. My sisterBarbara just moved from near by me to Jerusalem (J-town) as well. I don't think that J-town is theplace for us right now but it is totally incredible. Kattier is living here with us in the town. Population17,000. Work-wise, I have been traveling to J-town for one-twodays a week to see patients there. Most of them areAmerican religious folks that live a life of travelbetween the states and Israel. In the next few weeks I will be working part time withsoldiers doing PT on their army training injuries.Another incredible job that I will also start 1-2 daysa week working with is for an organization here called"One family' that does work with victims of terror. Iwent to their open house a few days ago and met andsaw people in all walks of life working on gettingtheir lives back together. I met a 20 something womanwho was riding in a bus and a terrorist's bomb blew upand blew off her legs (above the knees). anotherwoman, 53 years old lost both of her parents in thePark Hotel bomb that blew up some 70 people while theywere having their passover Seder. The devastation iscompletely different but both lives are shattered. Iwill be working doing PT/massage with them 1-2 days aweek. So, Life will soon become very stimulated forsure with these differ net worlds of work. Drew and I mountain bike a couple days a week rightout of my house. I look forward to getting back to thegym after a 3 week hiatus. The kids continue to adjust. Zach is text messaginghis little hands off with all the new kids he meets.Don't ask...I do...why don't they just get together?How strange to be raising children in a world thatthey are learning to communicate with text rather thanvoice and actual physical interaction. How will theylearn to read body language, etc? Both boys areplaying basketball and enjoying it. The children hereare completely different than their Boulder friendsand experiences and I am sure that they are allchallenged as they learn the new ways of the the new'hood'. The kids are very good quality and I am notworried. Although it is standard fare around here forthe kids to go hang out with groups of children on thelocal teeny tiny outdoor mall and at friends housesuntil 5 am! Zach came home the other night at 5 am! Soweird.Drew starts back at language school tomorrow for hislast 2 months of free language school. He is going toget his butt kicked and it is such a full time job. Iam really proud of him.Beach weather is still here. We snorkeled yesterdayand will go again today. It is absolutely gorgeous asthe weather today will be 87 degrees! We are stillsleeping with only a sheet so we haven't even gotteninto our summer quilts yet. We brought so much stuffthat we won't need!Everyday is a new and exciting time. Challenges comein all sorts of forms when you move to a new country.This part is not the beaucratic part, it is justflowing with a new country! Israel is only 60 yearsold. Think how many years it takes to smooth thingsout. Think about starting a new country from scratch!The mail is a bit daunting. Weekly we get mail thatisn't for us. All bills are in Hebrew. I have to keepall the mail together for when I find someone totranslate it. Getting gas in the car with the creditcard when it works is really exciting and fun. Believeme, it isn't as simple as you think. It isn't just putthe card in and squeeze the trigger. The steps arevery different. So, learning the small things alsotake time. The grocery carts you must rent with a 5shekel coin that you get back when you return thecart. You put the coin in and the cart unlocks. It islike a dollar coin. Anyhow, if you do not happen tohave that coin you must go in the store, etc , getchange and then start again.Lots of funny differences that are out here in theworld. Some are much more efficient than in the statesand some are just ways that have been borrowed fromthe British because they were here for a time. For sure the food is the best I have ever eaten. (Peruas well has great fruit and vegetables). Thevegetables are like from your garden! That is great. Ihave actually lost almost 18 lbs since i left thestates so I feel heahtlier for sure. Every Arab taxidriver wants to marry me so I feel super special.Gotta love that one....Over all to wrap up this letter. We are so pleasedthat we did this. We do not know what the futureholds. We are living out this year in its fullness andseeing what unfolds. I miss you all in many differentways. I miss my girlfriend time. I miss all theheartfelt talks and learning while I was torturingsome tight spot on your bodies. We are starting to make some friends and wiggle intoour community. Time allows for lots to occur. We wish you all only the best.LoveAdele