Wednesday, December 30, 2009

I'm back in the USA!!!

1:32 pm Jerusalem time…. 6:32 am Philadelphia airport time (I am truly in the Twilight Zone)

I’m back in the states.  Didn’t truly realize it until I surfaced from my fog and heard the song Santa Baby being piped through the airport. This was followed by a particularly lively rendition of Jingles Bells and now an intense and melodical version of Avé Maria is playing.  I almost made it through an entire Christmas season without hearing ANY Christmas music – except for when I tried to sing Adon Olam to the Little Drummer Boy… but nothing that one does at an early morning minyan (except daven, that is) counts, as it is usually too early to think properly anyway.

I had been reading an engrossing novel in Hebrew  גאווה ודעה קדומה מהסופרת ג’יין אוסטן  also known as Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. It helps that I know the novel by heart so I’m not too tripped up by the strange Hebrew renditions of archaic English forms. The story is funny in any language. And they’ve done a lovely job of keeping to the true spirit of the novel in the Hebrew translation. Anyway, I had been reading the novel when I realized that it might be time for shacharit – I looked up to search for Netz Hachama – the first sightings of sunrise to make sure I wasn’t too early (though some – the Vatikim in particular - would argue that I was too late by that time… but that’s for another day) – when I heard “Santa Baby.” All I have to say is “ugh” and welcome home, Arlene.

Oh, and there is snow here at the airport. Just 3 days ago I was walking on the beach with my long lost adopted big sister Ohella in Ashkelon and I was shvitzing (read: sweating a lot).  Jerusalem was even warm – in the upper 60s and low 70s. And here it is COLD – and I don’t have a coat. Okay – kvetching is done, just had to get it out of my system.

Will write more later when I am in a place with wifi. The airport charges $8 (nearly 32 NIS!) for 24 hours worth of internet access. Not worth it for one hour while I await my plane to Baltimore and home….

1 comment:

  1. הי ארלין, ברוך בואך הביתה, כאן אחרי יומיים של גשם שוב חם וזורח והים רגוע וגליו הקטנטנים לוחשים: ארלין, איפה ארלין ? וחוץ מהם אוהלה הגדולה אומרת: ארלין, איפה את ? איך, לכל הרוחות מפעילים את הgmail ? ואיך זה הסתדרתי 30 שנה בלעדייך ופתאום הפכת אותי למתגעגעת.
    בכל מקרה, שתהיה שנה אזרחית מצויינת ועשור פורה ונהדר כרבנית וכארלין המקסימה ! אוהלה

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