Rosh Chodesh Adar

Hello again, surprise! I'm blogging again... for now :)

Rosh Chodesh Adar started off with a bang when we woke up Sunday morning to sneakers hanging from the ceiling. The girls hung shoes from the ceilings throughout the school and turned things upside down, placing construction signs everywhere. Rabbi Meisels office was turned into Dunkin Dougnuts and Mrs. Seruya's office into Starbucks.
That afternoon we went to the 'Million Man Atzeres' and were inspired and suffocated by the multitudes of people that came out to daven, lol... no really- it was inane. On the insane but awesome side- it was wickedly eerie. Imagine the scene: Foggy day, slight chill in the air, hundreds of thousands of people walking quietly through the streets toward the center of the city..... We felt like something big was happening. When they blew shofar toward the end of the davening, I totally froze. I thought moshiach was here and I was so afraid that I hadn't done complete teshuvah yet. My heart was beating so fast... wow. I wasn't the only one who had that thought. Wow. What an experience...
On the insane and OMG side, was just getting through the crowds to and from the Atzeres. Trying to get back to sem was SCARY. I can not even begin to describe it to you if you have never experienced it for yourself. The P'ninim girls and I linked arms and made a chain. We didn't let go no matter what. We pulled each other through the crowd and it took us about an hour to travel across the one street to our sem. Most of it I was looking at the person's back in front of me so I wouldn't hyperventilate by looking around me or focusing on the hundreds of bodies pressing against me from all sides. also Wow. Afterward the girls were joking that we could probably bentch gomel that we came out alive. :) I'll second the notion.

In the second picture, you can see that halfway through the mob of people the picture changes from all black to colored dots. That is where the separation of men and women was. The street on the right going up is Yaffo and that is where the women were standing. I was standing there also but a little further up the street than can be seen here (farther up then those tall buildings).

Sunday night we spent decorating Rabbi Meisels office like a spy/private investigator 'lair'. We put in a computer with all the camera's hooked up to it, all the keys to all the places in this building, handcuffs, guns, gloves, fingerprinting powder, ashtray and cigarette butts, fake passports with all his 'alter egos' (pictures of his past purim costumes that the girls made him), pictures of him on the wall, photos of all the girls on one wall with notes on them as if he is always stalking them, and a wold map with points on the other wall. They also turned his bathroom into a torture chamber by putting a chair in a creepy room and a fake life-size dead girl (using a shaitel head and a giant footy pajama). On the wall behind his desk we put pictures of him in other costume and other funny pictures that we found of him on google. The girls left him a costume- trench coat, fedora hat, sunglasses, ear-buds, and a pipe.
On his desk we left him a randsom note saying "You think you know everything but do you know where we are? p.s. If you ever want to see Daniel again... bring pizza." The note was coffee stained and burned. The letters were cut and pasted out of a magazine, and it was closed and stamped with a wax seal.

In the morning we chartered a bus to the private beach in Ashdod and planned to take his 3 year old son, Daniel with us. We had planned to send him pictures every half hour with Daniel in them and with hints to where we were going. End result- Daniel never made it and Rabbi Meisels never saw his office until after we got back from the beach... so it ended up being a nice day at the beach anyways... and then we tried to kidnap Daniel again in the afternoon and time it for when Rabbi Meisels would arrive by his office. That didn't work either but we did still manage to get ice cream out of him... and a BBQ for another night at his house. :D The bright side is that though our plan was fail after fail, we had a blast at the beach and were able to be proud of what we had done together as a group! :0) Everyone walked away happy.

At the end of the day I did do a little kidnapping of my own... if you can call stealing rabbi meisels credit card kidnapping, and took the other madrichot out for food at shefa mall. I felt we deserved it after all our hard work ;) Thank you Rabbi Meisels for being such a good sport!!

Another exciting thing happening in P'ninim is that we are well underway in our 'redesign' the lounge project! :) We have 3 walls painted, 1 couch and 1 rug moved in and a lot of ideas! :)

This week shabbos I will be Imy"H going to Ramat Beit Shemesh for a mini shabbaton by our very own Morning Eim Bayit- Mrs. Sklar's house. I will also be on call as a backup doula for someone who can't make it if the birth is on shabbos. With Hashem's help I will be able to enjoy the shabbaton in relative peace and not have to run off for a birth, but if it would happen it would certainly be an exciting twist. Last week I had an awesome shabbos by Esti Sackton. I couldn't sleep there because there were many girls who had gotten sick and couldn't go out for shabbos. The cook made meals for them and before shabbos I worked very hard to set things up for the girls so that they could run the meals smoothly and nicely and have a nice shabbos even if I wasn't going to stay for them. We set up the dining room beautifully and prepared the small kitchen with everything they needed including setting up the Plata's (electric hot plates) with food on it. I heard it was beautiful and I'm so happy they enjoyed it. I also really enjoyed hanging out with my friends Esti and Anastasia (Zimra)!!! I always do.... :D (Dramatic Happy Sigh), what would we do without friends???

Speaking of friends: 

MAZAL TOV SARAH EPSTIEN! 

For all of you who don't know- my friend Sarah Epstien (who came in for sarah's wedding and the next summer as well, who came to visit me in Israel for a month long in both p'ninim and chedvas, who sent me to p'ninim in the first place, through whom I vicariously went on my first date, who has saved me and advised me probably hundreds of times over) is getting married tomorrow!!!!! She is such a beautiful and special person and I can't help but be bursting with pride and hope and joy for her at this time. I soooooo much wish I could be there with her right now but with Hashem's help there will be many more important and wonderful times together. 
           Shout out to my lovely soon to be Sarah Elbaz!!- I LOVE YOU SARAH!!!! and MAZAL TOV ASHER-although i'm sure you know it- YOU ARE GETTING ONE AMAAAAZING GIRL!!!!!!!!!!! May you two merit to build a true bayis neeman b'yisroel filled with happiness, peace, love, and blessing!!!

Looking forward to lots of good things coming up Imy"H!! :D Stay tuned for more exciting and interesting stories...

A Smallish Post

Hello All,

It's been waaaay too long.... So since i'm an all-or-nothing-type-a-girl, and SO much happens every day over here, I've felt like I the job of writing it all out was super overwhelming... and so I never did it. I kept thinking that one day I'll have a lot of time and just spend it writing and updating my blog... but the more time that passed, the more things happened, and the more overwhelming it became... which brings us to today. :D
So now I'm basically doing Avodas HaMiddos by combating my weakness and deciding to sit down and write a short post with a half hour of my time (all I have today) and force myself not to freak out about not including EVERYTHING. :) ['stop being a perfectionist shayne! Your family doesn't care- they just want to hear from you... 'says the little white angel on the right shoulder]

Without further ado, I present to you my Smallish Post....

Background in one paragraph: Lots of funny, awesome, amazing, cool, interesting and new things have happened since I got to Israel and P'ninim at the beginning of this year. I am working as a Madricha in P'ninim and I take a doula (birthing coach) course also. My P'ninim job is kind of like being a 24/7 mommy to 90 girls at once. Luckily in this very large family there is more than 2 parents so we try to split the responsibility ;) My doula course is amazing and almost done. Aside from attending the classes, I have done 3 births out of the 5 required to graduate, I am in the middle of taking a childbirth ed. class, and I've done 2/3 hospital tours. I really love it and am working really hard to become the best doula I can be, including by putting myself out there in Hebrew settings within the field so that I can be comfortable and fluent with the language.

Right now we are preparing for a massively awesome shtick for Rosh Chodesh Adar on Rabbi Meisels. I'm pretty confident he doesn't read this blog regularly so he won't see this until after its done, but just in case, I'm not going to post yet what we are doing. :)
Also happening today in Israel is a huge Atzeres (gathering of prayer) to join the Chareidi world in protest of the governments attempt to force all men to the army draft even if they want to be learning Torah. Obviously this can be a life altering decision here in Israel. If all boys must be drafted, then there will be no yeshivos. Without the Yeshivos and Torah learning, I can't imagine what the fate of our nation would be. Really, this is a case of life or death for the Jewish people. Taking Jews away from torah is like taking fish out of water. All the Rabbanim are in unanimous support of this Atzeres and are urging all people to come out to the streets to pray and support our cause. We, the Torah valuing Jews of Israel, will march out today to show how important this issue is to us. Men, Women and older children will all join together in the streets at 4:00 pm to pray.
The other madrichot and I are taking the girls and we will walk to meet the rest of the women only a block away from the seminary. Nobody really knows what will be there, but I'm sure whatever the outcome, it will be a life-altering experience for all who will witness it.

With Hashem's help, (to continue to overcome my nature and write small posts) I will continue to update you on all the purim festivities as they happen.

[And maybe one day I'll even fill you in on all the time I left out. :)]

Tata for now!

Quick Wrap on the last 5 months

Hi guys, I'm back in Israel as you all know [or should know- where have you been in my life?! :P] and I now that I have a moment to just sit and reflect, I thought it would be a good idea to update this blog on all my doings of the past 5 months or so. :) lol

So, the reason I haven't had a moment to sit and reflect is because this is what my life has felt like in the past 5 months:
Teaching full time including sundays
Pesach
Going home after pesach for my family when they needed me because Mommy was going to Shoshie's funeral
Back to school- report cards
Siyums, end of the year wrap
Thank you's
Taking last college course whole last 2 months of school. Waking up at 5:00 am to make deadlines.
Shopping for my camp
Planning for my camp
Packing up my whole year and all my curriculum stuff
School ends Thursday
Flying out Thursday
Arrive in Detroit on Friday
Shopping for camp Sunday
Setting up for camp Sunday wiht help of all siblings or else go crazy
Camp starts Monday morning
Camp is a 23/6 job for 5 weeks straight
during which I was trying to get together all my aliyah paperwork
at which I didn't succeed on time
Camp ends and planing for graduation party begins
as well as packing up for Israel
and then leaving to Israel.......

So my short version ends there. So even though i'm not going to go into every detail of all of that, I will pause to let you in my my reflections of the most important aspects of all of what I just said.

During these past few months my priorities became very clear to me even when I couldn't always act on them.
I am a majorly goal oriented person but family is still #1!
B"H and only thanks to Hashem 'Pioneers' [my camp] was successful! Thank you to Rabbi Kaplan and Mrs. Daina, and Leah S, and Rivky and my whole family for all their help and support!!!!! Couldn't have done it without you!
I was super happy and am super grateful for having had the opportunity to spend most of my time this summer with Liba and Rivky even as I was working all day.
I have way to much STUFF to bring to Israel in one shift.
My graduation/aliyah party was BEAUTIFUL- THANK YOU MOMMY AND GRANDMA!!! and Sarah and Rivky and Liba and Aunt Heidi and everyone who helped!! and Thank you everyone who came to see me off!!!
I feel like I was cheated out of closure at the end of my year in Edmonton. I would have loved to spend another few days saying goodbye to the families and the place where I had such a wonderful year....
I want to make a public apology to all my friends just in case they feel neglected because I haven't been answering emails or phone calls or anything else. But now I have some time so everyone should feel free to call or email and I'll be much more available. :)

KK, so ends my quickwrap and I'll start the more in depth saga's in my next post.
Asta lavista and Lehitraot!!
love,
shayne

Winter Break 2

So Day 1 I started a new job. It's a writing job for a website. On the one hand I'm sad because I would want my writing job to be more in the creative writings like writing production scripts and novels and self help books, all of which I have grand ideas and outlines for... but since that is not happening- there is no real motivation, at least I can use my skills to make some money.

It's actually funny because I was at someone's house who I know the father works from home on his website and when they said, come anytime and if there is anything we can do for you- totally call us, I happened to throw jokingly back- yah, if you ever have a job for me that I can do from home then call me.

He laughed and said that if he ever has enough work for himself then great... and then as an after-thought he said the only thing we need is a writer... lol
So I said, well you've come to the right place my friend b/c I am a writer.
So he asked me if I was serious and what qualifies me as a writer. So I mentioned that I write for a magazine, conveniently leaving out that the magazine in question is self managed and not paying me. lol

So that's how I got this job writing descriptions of products, FAQ's, tips, and editing on a website. It's not paying too much but it's a start and next time there is a job available and they ask me about my credentials I will have this to put on my resume. =D which I'm fine with.

Day 2 I helped Mrs. Pinson run her daughters birthday party in the morning and then caught a ride to the mall to go to Galaxy Land with Sass. I went on a bunch of rides with the kids and took some pictures, then we went to lunch at Cafe Levi. We got back at around 5:00 and I went to sleep for a few hours and then did some finishing touches and editing on my work for the site.

Shabbos I was at Sass and went to Weinrach for the day Seudah. I also briefly met the Barak girls in the park but I was wearing flats and it was snowing so I didn't stay long.

Motzei Shabbos I went with Donna and the Barak girls to Levin to play a game [pictionary] and some guitar. I brought my guitar along hoping to learn something but its hard to learn when its not one on one. We had fun either way. I also got to get a real coffee bean coffee from her special coffee bean kurig type of machine.

Sunday I went to Chabad Hebrew School and then came home to do some work.  Of course that means I ended up reading instead :)

Monday was pretty interesting actually. Since it was my last day of vacation I really wanted to get all my work done so I did school prep in the morning a long with answering emails and setting things up to work later. Then I went to Weinrach to help their 3rd grader make a costume. Afterwards I came back and found a message asking me to tutor, so I did that for about an hour and a half and then afterward I agreed to go eat dinner at the Baraks. We were also planning maybe to do something fun. We were making posters for Purim while we ate dinner and then Donna had an allergic reaction to the paint so she left... though I told her not to drive alone, but she had to go babysit so... then I got a call about 2 minutes later from my students parent asking me if she had her epipen on her. So me and Mrs. Barak jumped in the car with nothing and just drove until we found her with the hazard lights on the side of the road. The ambulance was already on their way and she had given herself the epipen. So e/t was fine but the two of us plus Mrs. Kaplan spent the evening in the hospital. We got home around 1:30 after all was said and done.

And Tuesday morning, bright and early, school began again. :)

And that concludes Winter Break 2 in Edmonton, AB

Have a good one y'all

shayne

In the Interim

Hello family and friends... :)

Much has happened between Winter Break 1 and Winter Break 2... and unfortunately I don't even remember half of it.

I do remember that we had 2 different types of Shabbatons. One Menorah Academy did for its 5th and 7th grade girls at Mrs. Segal's house. The theme was Kavod Chavercha and we learned about Friendship. We did a lot of activities in teaching how to be a good friend, how to solve friendship problems, and a bunch of fun games.

One of the activities we did beforehand was that each girl painted a jewelry box for another girl [it was a secret who they were doing it for] and then we had breads to make bracelets where each color bead corresponded to a different character trait. We had each girl choose 4 beads for each girl depending on what nice character traits they thought she had the strongest. With the beads chosen we made each girl a bracelet and placed it in her special surprise jewelry box with a color/trait guide which was given to them when they arrived at the shabbaton on Friday.

A different Shabbaton I attended but didn't attend was the Chabad shabbaton for which I was babysitting a baby in someones house the whole shabbos while they were at the shabbaton. [There is no carrying here... so since the meals were in the shul, nobody could bring their babies...]

We also had a Tu Beshvat Shuk in the school. Each class had to make an informative and interactive display on a different city in Israel. It's mention in Tanach, it's history and what it is in modern times. I chose Benei Brak for my class because I was so moved by the shabbaton I experienced there in Israel and the visits I had with Rebetzin Kaniefsky.
Rabbi Draiman wanted a scavenger hunt done so that each kid is motivated to look at each display and learn about it. I made the scavenger hunt. Each class had 10 minutes to look at the displays and take notes. then they were divided into 3 groups and each given clue 1 for their color. When they figured out the object it was talking about and the city it comes from they got a check and the location of their next clue. The clues were hidden throughout the building. They would come running back with clue 2 to look for the answer before heading out again for clue 3... and etc.
My classes clue was a Streimel because our display was giant 'Tish' with a Rebbe and giant kugel and everything... [no the kugel was not real... although some of the boys really wished it was :) ].
At the end they had to find a secret code phrase that was hidden with numbers among the clues and cities on their sheet once it was filled out.

Everyone liked the scavenger hunt but i'm sure they also liked the special 'shkalim' that they got as a prize for finishing the scavenger hunt- which they were able to use in the shuk for lunch. The shuk was very cool. It was run by all Israelis and it had all kinds of Israeli things like falafel, Israeli fruits, nuts, and candies.

We also have been having much nicer weather lately. It's about 30-32 degrees Fahrenheit. So I haven't used a real coat in a while. Coats are for 0 degrees... lol

The other day I got to go ice skating on an outdoor rink a few blocks away in the park. It was a gorgeous day with sun and everything. I loved it.

Tuesday was another PD day and report cards are coming up. I'm glad that I have this break now to work on things, though I'm mostly relaxing. I'll write all about my Winter Break 2 on my next post.

Can't wait to come home for Pesach!!! Counting down the days!

Love,
Shayna

Winter Break 1

So this post is to tell everyone what I did in the past week and 2 days before I get too busy and forget to write about it.
The reason I called it 'Winter Break 1' is because there is another winter break that we will be having in February, and when I blog about that one I will call it 'Winter Break 2'. :0)

So the first day was a sunday and I did a bunch of catching up on things. I blogged, wrote, did some homework, bought some stuff on Amazon, and studied for my second to last test for my BA.

Monday I tried to study for the test but I really wanted to do something vacation-like [more like procrastination-like] so I searched all over the house until I found an interesting book to read. Then I went to the Sass's house for a birthday party for their youngest. :0) I'm obsessed with this kid. The Sass boys chose what to do at the party. They wanted to make dinner and a cake for her and play a game. [2 of these boys- twins, are in my 2nd grade class. the other is younger]. They found a recipe in one of the cookbooks for pizza monsters, which in case some of you aren't familiar with these [shame on you] is little pizza's that you decorate with different vegetables in the shape of a monster face. They also made her a cake and we played granny apple. It was really fun.

Tuesday I studied ALL day for the test and then I went to the Sass's house to take it because Mrs. Sass had so generously agreed to be my proctor and by a miracle, they approved of her position in the 'universal educational institute'.... which is basically the kollel.... lol
We read the rules and then Mrs. Sass printed out the test and Rabbi Sass set me up a work station in the basement where it would be quiet, complete with a gatorade feature for brain power. lol. So I got to work and expected it to take me a few hours as my other tests had. I was really really nervous about this one because I learned the information 7 months ago and haven't looked at it since then, I also didn't have the text book with me- just my notes. So I was really nervous about it. I guess I studied a lot more than I did for the the other tests though so I guess it was fair. I was just scared that they would ask a question on one of the sections I didn't take notes on or understand at the time I was learning it. I just davened that it would go well and then trusted Hashem that I was going to be okay.
My first glance at the test made me very relieved and happy because I did know almost everything on it. B"H, I don't know what grade I got, but it only took me 40 minutes to complete and I guess I'm still just trusting that it's all in Hashem's hands.

Wednesday I didn't do much... I was recovering from the stress which led up to the test. That's how I always  had to do it even in Israel.
Thursday I tried to do some work. Not much got done, but it was an honest attempt. ;0} I even tried to create a fairy-tale of my own by going outside with my guitar to sit overlooking the frozen ravine and play and sing... but it didn't work out too well. lol [see the post before this one for pictures and more details].

Friday I woke up at 6:00 am and bunkered down, completing all my writing just in time for the deadline. Then I went over the shabbaton schedule and got ready for shabbos.

Shabbaton... I didn't yet tell you about that. When I got a chance to hang out with the Bat Mitzvah club at the legislature Mrs. Pinson asked me if I would want to do a shabbaton with them as a counselor. So I agreed. Well that was this past week. Most of these girls come from public schools and irreligious homes, but all different ends of the spectrum. The point was just to let them experience shabbos and have a fun time. It was not very intense, but it was a lot of fun. Every minute was had a new game, activity or presentation. Friday night I even gave a little performance. I told a story about a little girl who wanted to keep shabbos in a very dangerous time and the miracle that happened [not a true story], and sang a song about it.
Friday night was very long and the day was much shorter. I did both my meals in one because Chabad doesn't start the meal until like 2:00 pm normally and shabbos ended at 5:00. We didn't start our meal until 3:30 because we had a house hunt where we were split into 3 groups and we had to start at a different house each. At each house we had to present a shabbos poem, eat a treat and make a bracha, and unscramble a phrase. Then we would get our next clue of which house to go to next. The game was a race and my team won!.... but it was a chaval b/c I barely got to eat any of the awesome treats and i was hungry!!! lol

After shabbos we went to a professional rock climbing place called Vertically Inclined. It has rock climbing on every wall and even something called the cave, where you can climb completely upside down.... well, though we tried, none of us were successful at this feat but we watched some really cool spider ppl do it just fine. :) I'll try and get pictures of me on the wall to post at some point.

Sunday..... I didn't leave the house but I did get to talk to a bunch of my friends! One of my friends that I go way back with- all the way to camp in middle school, just got engaged and she called me to tell me all about the excitement going on there. So it was really fun catching up with her b/c we haven't spoken in a while.

Monday  I woke up early and got some work done and then I went to drop off my guitar to get fixed at the pawn shop. The man there asked me if I was born in Israel and for once I was able to say 'Yes!' :0D
Usually I get asked if i'm Lebanese. Apparently there are a lot of them here. In Detroit I get asked if I'm Caledien. And on my way out Yona called me and we got to speak for the first time in months.

Today I woke up early and prepared for school all morning. I still have a ton to do but it was a good start. I was supposed to pick up Donna from the airport in an hour but in the end, someone who is less likely to end up in California trying to get there, is going to do it. And I was invited out for dinner. I figured its good to go and break the routine of eating only peanut butter and jelly melbatoast, coffee, soda, and ice cream for over a week. Because notice- the only time during this vacation that I ate out was the night of the Sass baby's birthday part, and shabbos. lol
Although I did try heating up frozen shnitzels on Monday that the Pinson's sent me home with after shabbos and it was a small disaster but I did eat them anyways.... lol. I had just washed the pot and then i put the clump of frozen shnitzels into the pot [all stuck together] and then i thought of oil because that's how you make shnitzels. So i put some oil in the pot and put it on the burner on medium heat- [since the past few times i tried warming things up on high heat, Donna usually comes running downstairs b/c she smells something burning and my food is disintegrated]. So medium heat. Then I realized that there was water in the pot with the oil so I covered the pot with the lid and left it to cook. Then it started making really funny noises and I was scared to open it. So I called Mindy on skype for some culinary advice.
She confirmed my worst fears and told me that when I felt brave enough, i was going to have to open the pot and try to pry apart the shnitzels or else they would suffer a similar fate to all the other foods I've tried to warm up which ended up inedible. So I put her on the counter while I braved opening the pot and then cautiously proceeding to seperate the pieces. With her expert guidance I emerged from the experience unscathed. In the end, the shnitzels were dripping oil and black but they were edible and hot so I did eat them.

That's all for now. Until next time!
love,
shayne

Pictures

A piece of the Chanukah project I did with My 5th Grade. We glittered the 2 opposite corners of the mirror in beautiful pictures like this one and then I wrote in gold in the center "HaNeiros Halalu Kodesh Hem" in a circle shape to go around the base of the Menorah that would stand on it. In this picture you can see me in the mirror taking it, lol. 

My Menorah at home. This was on the first night. 

The Chanukah mural I painted for the preschool Chanukah performance for the community. It was too big to get a shot of the whole thing at once but the next picture is also part of it. There were also decorations that the kids made hanging on top of it and on the sides. 

This is just another piece of the mural. 

This is the Ravine outside my house. When you go out the front door and cross to the other side of the street, this is what you see. I have a bench overlooking this so I went outside during vacation to play guitar in the snow, looking out at this really pretty scene. It was like a dream. Unfortunately I wasn't able to get a picture of myself doing this but I did take a picture of how pretty my guitar looked up against the snow. That is the next picture.

So this is the picture of my guitar against the snow. Unfortunately  as pretty as it looked and as much of a fairy-tale it was to go play guitar in the snow, that's just what it was- a fairy-tale. Within 2 minutes of taking my gloves off to play, my fingers were so stiff from the cold that I actually couldn't manipulate my fingers into the position of any new cord from the one I was in when they froze. So I was stuck in C. Contrary to this my strumming hand was doing quite nicely. As it turns out, its easier to strum when your hand is frozen and numb so I still had some hope. The last straw really was that the guitar needed to be fixed either way because I had major buzzing on my strings so it really sounded like a dying animal and I was forced to stop for the sake of my own ears. Somehow in movies everything looks so languid and natural,easy and perfect......But still it was a good dream. :)

Me and the Bat Mitzvah club all geared up for the performance at the Legislature. This was taken in the hallway  just a few minutes before we 'went on'. 

I have so many more pictures but these were the ones I felt I could put up on my blog for public viewing. I can try and send pictures to anyone who writes me a personal email request. Enjoy!!
Love,
shayne

Chanukah

Okay, here it goes.
My Chanukah in Edmonton. The one and only. ;)

So I had a few chanukah miracles which I will mention in the stories below and a bunch of cool and funny things happening but mostly it was a really really crazy week. I'm sure you'll understand when you read all about it. Just brace yourselves for story overload and dig in!

So Friday before chanukah I realized that I still didn't have a menorah. After a bit of investigation I found you could buy one from Bed Bath and Beyond for thirty dollars or put tea lights in a row and light them. So i decided that if I couldn't find a cheaper Menorah I would go buy a pack of tea lights from the dollar store and call it a day, despite that I wanted to have a really beautiful menorah and do it the right way with olive oil and whatever. For shabbos I made a split second decision to sleep at the Barak's house [a family here that i'm really close to] and went. Right after shabbos they asked me how i'm lighting the Menorah and I said I wasn't sure yet and they said they had a second menorah that they don't use. I figured its a dinky old one but it turns out to be a beautiful tall silver one that is sitting on a mantel b/c only the father lights and one of the children won this in a raffle once. So that's how I found my beautiful Menorah. I realized though that it was an oil menorah and I hadn't bought oil or wicks or anything. So i came home and started rummaging through the cabinets of this big old house which has been in and out of use for about 100 years. There are hundreds of random things in the cabinets so it took a bit of digging but in the end I had my own miracle of the oil when I found an unopened olive oil [still with the kosher seal on it :) i'm not sure if it was the Kohen Gadols seal but it was good enough for me] and wicks and holders. And that is how I began my chanukah. With the miracle of light.
That night I sat watching the lights and listened to a chanukah shiur by Chevy Garfinkle which was amazing and just sang chanukah songs and prepared for hebrew school the next day.

Sunday I got up early in the morning [since I've been getting up at 6:00] showered and was getting ready when I totally burnt my whole face. It was red and swollen and puffy... basically not a sight most people want to see in the morning. Luckily I was in a good mood and I put on some eye makeup to detract from the redness and finished getting ready for Hebrew school. I teach a class of 7 or 8 kindergarten age kids. We learn the hebrew Alef-Beis, about Mitzvos and Jewish holidays. The agenda for the day was to teach in Hebrew School, and then Devorah Pinson [the head of the chabad hebrew school] had asked me to be a driver for the bat mitzvah club to their performance at the legislature that day and then later to babysit her kids while she ran the program. I didn't really know what the whole thing was about but I said yes either way. She also invited me to eat lunch at her house so I wouldn't have to drive the 20 minute drive home and back again during the 2 hour break  I would have in between. That day in Hebrew school was a whirlwind of fun activities. We didn't stop moving for a second while we made our own latkas from peeling the potatoes to frying them on a hot plate, to playing dreidel, to lighting our own menorahs, to eating doughnuts, to doing chanukah projects, to participating in a chanukah game show.

When 12:45 came I was wiped. But I had eaten 3 doughnuts and 10 latkas that morning so I decided to skip lunch at Devorah's house and go ice skating next door for a bit. While I was on the the ice Devorah texted me saying that one of the girls in the bat mitzvah club performance was throwing up with the stomach flu and couldn't come- could I fill in for her. I said yes because I'm not shy and I don't mind performing. =D So she texted me the lines I needed to memorize and I skated around the rink memorizing them until I had to leave. 4 lines of a poem. "I am the 6th candle for those who were lost...." something like that. Then I ran off the ice, got lost on the way out of the mall, then took a wrong turn getting back to her house and finally got there in time to load up the girls and the kids and the food into the car. Devorah threw me a tuna sandwich and we were off. Well I was officially off babysitting duty because now I was the designated back up performer. Now I was the bat mitzvah club supervisor. We drive to this huge building downtown that is all white pillars, huge stone staircases, and sprawling lawns. We get inside and the bell boys are wearing white gloves the giant marble staircase is bedecked in a red carpet and many Xmas decorations cascading down it as well as all over the pillars and trees. I still didn't really have any idea what we would be doing that day when the news cameras showed up and the teeny bopper 12 year olds started dancing around "we're gonna be on TV!" lol.... Then Devorah joined us and started to hand out the costumes.

Then we all had a simultaneous realization- I was wearing a navy shirt and black skirt... all the girls were wearing white shirts and black skirts. Oops. Devorah started to brainstorm about who could bring me a shirt until we realized that she was wearing a white undershirt. So that is how I ended up wearing a short sleeve white undershirt over my navy blue ralf lauren Tshirt. Needless to say it was a bit awkward looking- especially with the Pretty 'Sparkly' silver tinsel [must read with gay voice imitation] around my waste... so one of the girls gave me her white scarf. I felt like a stuffed chicken. We got torches (dollar store flashlights with tissue paper on top which we weren't allowed to turn on during practices b/c they would only last about 2 minutes before burning out). We stood in a line and went to practice. Up the marble staricase, stand on the steps, everyone pass the mike and say your lines as it comes to you. Now i was beginning to get it.

We were all candles in a menorah and we were all reciting verses of a poem. At the end the shamash girl 'lit' all our torches. We had to turn them on when she came to us and we all walked off stage. We were in the legislature building of Edmonton. The Meyer of the city was there and so were all the state Judicial representatives... as well as the entire Jewish community- frum and not frum. My whole class was going to be there as well as their parents and the rest of the school with the principal and everything. That was about the point I started freaking out. My hair had been in a knotty braid and my face was tomato red. All i had was a little lipstick and a few bobby pins. I used the bobby pins and thank G-d my hair went up nicely and then i had to deal with my face but unfortunately none of the 12 year old kids had face makeup... b/c all they were carrying was scary colored eye shadows as 12-year-olds tend to be obsessed with. Finally right before we went on an older girl who i knew came and she had some cover up which i used to effectively fix my face. As we waited the professional band was playing on the side on the baby grande piano, flute, trombone, saxophone... all kinds of cool instruments. They were playing Jewish songs we knew and so we started a line dance in the hallway and had some fun. Then suddenly we heard the booming deep voice on he loudspeaker "and Now- introducing- the Bat Mitzvah Club!" and we all walked out onto the steps. Up 2 3 4, stop, turn turn turn. smile :) I said my lines fine and everything went well until my flashlight didn't light. I told the girl out of the corner of my mouth to move on and fiddled with it quietely. When it finally went on a few seconds later I gave the audience a very dramatic smile and a wink and everyone laughed. I could see a lot of people I knew looking up at me very puzzled and amused as to why i was standing there in the first place. Luckily I didn't have time to explain after coming off stage because I started running the "keep the children quiet" program in the back which basically entailed miming funny things and giving out lolly pops to the kids who weren't talking. The reason we had to do this is so that it would not be a chillul Hashem for there to be a performance for Chanukah honoring Jews in Edmonton and little kids running around hefker and not behaving  themselves. After that I took back my babysitting job and went to the carnival and watched the giant 30 foot menorah being lit while standing in line for cotton candy with basically my whole hebrew school class who seemed to find me.

After that I was so tired I just wanted to get home so I didn't wait for directions home I just went. and you know me... I totally got lost in down town edmonton. At some point I figured out though that if I could only get to Jasper Avenue I could figure out my way home. So I asked Hashem to please help me find Jasper Avenue and I turned a random corner and the light I came up to was... lo and behold- Jasper Avenue. Chanukah Miracle number 2. I got home and lit my menorah.

The next day someone came up to me in the hallway and said "I saw you on TV last night" lol. So she told me which news station had it on and I found the clip online. I was shown for just a few seconds but i was laughing like crazy when I saw it. The whole situation is just pretty comical I think. lol

Day 2 was Monday and we had a full day of school. In fact, all week we had full days of school. The staff had a parent counsel appreciation lunch which I unfortunetly missed because I was asked to go pick up balloons and decorations for it and got totally lost on the way back, over an hour out of the way. lol [the store was around the block from the school...]. Then when I did get back I had to run right into a choir practice. But I did manage to grab a doughnut! Dreidels were given out upon leaving school. That night I babysat because there was a wedding happening and everyone needed babysitters. I was out till about midnight and we had left before it was allowed to light candles. I wasn't sure If I could still light with a bracha but a Rav told me it was fine. So that's is what I did. and I almost fell asleep on a dining room chair waiting the half hour next to the lights.

Day 3 Me and my class spent most of the day in school making and decorating 200 giant chanukah cookies for all the kids, staff, and parents of Menorah academy to give out on Thursday. Chanukah Gelt were given out on the way out of school that day. I came home and tutored for an hour and half by the light of the menorah and then was invited to go to sheva brachos but I fell asleep at 7:00 and slept through until the next day.

Day 4 was wednesday. Doughnuts were given out as school was ending. As soon as school was over we went to a special dinner we had been invited to at a friends house. shortly after we got there though we had to leave to the fantasyland hotel to set up for Neis Cafe` which is an event they do every chanukah. I was helping set up and also in 2 choirs. We had been practicing all month for it. I barely had time to change and I ran out of the house forgetting half the girls costume belts. luckily we had half the costumes there and so it was okay. We got there with barely time to spare and flew around setting up the raffle table, the desert buffet, the centerpieces, and making the signs for the front door and cafe` prices. There was no entrance fee but there was a charge for all food and drinks and raffle tickets and all proceeds would go to terror victims in Israel. It started with me at the doorway taking names and email addresses and selling tickets. Then we did the choirs which i think came out really pretty. Then we had 3 speakers telling their stories of modern day miracles that happened to them. And one speech about chanukah and the reason we celebrate it. It was really nice.
As soon as I got back I lit the menorah and again sat falling asleep in front of the lights.

Day 5 we had a crazy fun chagiga in school. There was an assembly, then the girls and boys split, the boys for a giant game of soccer and the girls for cake decorating in the shape of menorahs with coating pretzels in white icing and then covering the tips with red sprinkles and sticking them into the cake. One of the high schoolers and me paired up and made a double decker cake with white frosting in the center, chocolate frosting on top and realistic looking candles. I even drew a menorah onto the cake leading into the candles with icing writers. Then we had a super cool game of bingo with giant prizes like monopoly games, bop its and other cool things. We also did a ton of circle and line dancing to loud blaring music. :)
After the assembly the principal asked me to decorate the stage for the preschool chanukah performance which would be the next day. Apparently the person who had been in charge did not have time. I knew i had a longer prep time but I wasn't going to be able to do it in an hour without paints so I ran around the school collecting paint until I had all the colors and then I worked through lunch and half the afternoon making a mural of chanukah. I put up pictures that the preschoolers made on the sides and on top. Afterward the roll paper i had been working on needed to be moved but i was teaching my class so i told them they could do whatever needed to be done. I wasn't sure what would be done but i looked at it afterward and it looked great. I only found out later that 4 high school girls and 2 teachers sat there doing surgery on it until it was perfect for a few hours that day. The Chanukah cookies we had made were given out at the end of school.
That night, I think was the only night I got to peacefully sit in front of my candles and just think and daven.

Day 6 was friday and we had a giant preschool assembly. All the preschool classes presented 2 songs from 2 year olds to 6 year olds all in cute costumes. The 2 year olds were supposed to bang tamberines to the music and in their costumes they just looked so cute. Unfortunately they were dropping like flies as each saw their parents and started hysterically crying and needed to be taken off the stage by their parents. lol
The 3 year olds twirled hoolahoops and tried to sing along to a CD. All the classes were really cute.
Afterward they gave out doughnuts to everyone and we all got to go home. :)

Day 7 was shabbos and I stayed home and ate out meals. It was quite and relaxing so I was happy. :)

Day 8 was sunday and I believe I spent the day between hebrew school and preparing to teach that week.

This past week has really been a blur. I gave my final chumush test in Parshas VaEira and we had a major siyum where I took the girls out to lunch in the mall in Cafe Levi and then to their old teachers house to have a cumzitz which was really exciting. On friday I gave out prizes to wrap up the last semester with a happy feeling. and Now its Sunday and it was my first day of vacation. B"H! lol not that i got much of a break today but i'm sure tomorrow will be a good day. At least I don't have to go anywhere or see anyone. :)

I think that is most of everything that happened. Being on TV, 2 performances, menorah cakes, dancing, painted murals, miracles.......Now that I think of it I never wrote about the funny school pictures but if anyone is interested, they can email me for the story. Good night from snowy edmonton all!
love,
shayne

Tales of Miss Kornbleuth in Edmonton, AB...

Hello all!

I know I've been so busy lately and so I've not gotten a chance to tell you what has been going on but this is finally the blog post which I promised all of you I would write regaling you of the many tales of Miss Kornbleuth in the frozen land of Edmonton.

So the month before Chanukah was quite crazy with its many activities and happenings. I was trying very hard to get my college work together as well as stay on top of regular school work and all the many school functions that were happening.
I courageously battled parent teacher conferences and with tremendous power of will completed all report cards for the first marking period. Parent teacher conferences were a big Nachas to me [and the principal] because in comparison to the beginning of the year when there were many outcries about homework and skill level and being too hard on the kids and etc.... there were no complaints anymore and all the parents expressed how happy their child was and how happy they were with their progress. I was surprised by this and told one parent how i'm so glad this is so because when I first came I was very nervous about living up to their previous teacher whom all the girls adored and brought up things she taught them all the time. The mother actually laughed and said that she thinks her daughter is actually happier this year. Hearing that made me very proud of the all the hard work I'm putting into everything and more confident to continue.
As much of a Nachas as Conferences were..... report cards were NOT. I hate report cards once and for all!  They are annoying and unfair and misleading and just- just- UNFAIR! lol..... its really annoying to want to grade a kid based on their effort, their sportsmanship, and how far they've come- only to have to give them a letter grade which mostly reflects their assessments in relation to the progress of the class as a whole. Phooey
We were also having on average 2 teacher/principal meetings a week to make sure everything went smoothly with both of the above and just teaching in general. We even had a professional development [PD] day where the kids didn't have school but the teachers did :} For once I think all kids would agree its better to be the student. It was basically really funny, the same as the teachers meetings I had in the beginning of the year. All the lady and man teachers of kodesh and general studies sat around colorful tableclothed tables in a semicircle and listened to speakers, took notes, and was asked to participate our thoughts and input. They asked us all to share with the group one thing that we think we've grown in [in regards to teaching] this year and one thing that impresses us about menorah academy this year that we can share. It was really awkward to come up with something on the spot but also to say it in front of 45 adults between the ages of 30 and 60 who are mostly married with children and grandchildren my age... and I feel like the age of the high school girls in the school... I don't remember exactly what I said just that it was funny and everyone laughed... it was something along the lines of how I can't pinpoint any specific area of growth because this is my first year on the other side of the desk although I definitely still feel like a student because I have to learn everything I teach before the students do. :) So we had speeches, sharing, and a professional breakfast and lunch- lol. And then we had a workshop where we experienced a class as the students, given by the principal- to allow us to feel what it feels like to be the student when the teacher does XYZ. I had a couple of thoughts coming out of it, 3 of them I shared with the group and one I didn't. 1 is that when the teacher gives a time limit to complete an activity- there is so much pressure that you almost can't do it at all. 2 is that stories in the middle of the lesson keep the focus sometimes because without it you tune out. 3 is that a lesson that is broken up into different types of activities is better. The last one which I didn't share is that this is the first time in my life when I was in a class with "boys" and just saying, there is a heck of a lot of pressure that I'm glad I didn't have in any of my classrooms growing up. Even though the 'boys' in question were rabbi's and my 'friends' husbands and co-workers and i'm generally comfortable communicating with all of them professionally but to answer questions in a classroom is a whole different story. It was so scary to think of getting an answer wrong! lol... other than that we learned how to use a smart board which i'm not sure if I consider something I will benefit from in my life but I guess it was nice to learn something new.

On top of all that there were 2 new programs introduced to the school which center around educating children in their character traits- the younger kids program being more of an anti-bullying campaign  and the older program is teaching and directing the kids in the finer arts of communication, tact, and speaking in a refined and positive way. I get to do both since I teach 2nd and 5th grade. Unfortunately it took quite a bit of figuring out how to start the program and all the rules and how to teach it.... etc. Over Chanukah I finally had some time to begin implementing it and its really cute.

I also finished up my brachos rishonos and acharonos on foods program with 2nd grade and made a brachos bee for a few classes and also a brachos party at the end. I didn't realize how dangerous it is to have any kind of competitive competition in a 2nd grade classroom with boys until I did it.... I've never in my life seen so many desks toppled over, hard objects being thrown across the room, and fist fights in a classroom- as when the boys get out. I was glad when it was over and looked forward to a much calmer brachos party where I can just give out food and direct groups to say brachos and amens.... i might have wished too soon because in all the excitement one little girl got knocked over and hit her head on a metal desk leg in the room and got a quarter sized goose-egg on her forehead for which I needed to fill out an accident report and call the parents.

And that just about brings me to Chanukah which I will write about in great detail in the next post.
Until next post!
Shayne :)

The Blues

Hello all,

Don't be fooled by the title. I'm very happy to be in Edmonton and I'm having the best experience of my life. I am just sorely missing meaningful human companionship. Meaning, lol, it's not that there are no people around. There are plenty of people around. I just don't have a lot of really deep meaningful relationships where I feel I can share my inner most feelings and vulnerabilities. Those relationships, I have come to learn are essential in life. For one year though I'm sure it won't kill me it's just the bluesy days like this one that sometimes get to me.

On a more positive note, here are some exciting and interesting current events about my life in Edmonton:
I just bought my very first pair of brand new ice skates!! I'm really excited and I have to find out when I can go break them in. Hopefully later today I can go.
I bought my first kosher sponges for our sinks.
I started to drink soy milk because its 400% cheaper than regular milk.
I've developed a chocolate addiction that is almost as strong as my 2-3 cups of coffee a day addiction.
Preparation for classes is getting easier but the motivation is getting less and less.-never fear this will not lead to burn out! I'm going to fight it with coffee, chocolate, and skype dates with good friends!
I had the best dinner in a month, just this past week- I got to eat dinner with Mordechai. [I put him on the table while I was eating dinner and he was messaging friends.] We hung out for a few hours like that. :D
I found out that there are free public skating rinks in each county starting in a few weeks. There is one close to Menorah Academy so I think i'll keep my skates in the car and go whenever i can!! :)
I just got an excellent lead to getting my first really good guitar. I'll keep you posted!!
I got to bake challah this week to help out a mother who bakes the challos to hand out to non-frum jews all over Edmonton [like 70 ppl!] every single friday. And I was able to spend time with her kids and get to know them a little bit. I especially enjoyed spending time with her daughter who is 12 because I remember being that age and it's really hard! [Go Liba!!!! You can do it!!! I'm your biggest fan!!]

I also heard the most amazing Drasha this week from Rabbi Friedman of Edmonton. I also added my own twist on it in the end where I share about Modeh Ani- b/c i absolutely love Tefillah and finding ways to make it meaningful! I hope you find this dvar Torah as inspiring, chilling, and life changing as I did!!

Tags: Measure for Measure, Hurricane Sandy, Renewal, Letting go

In this weeks torah portion the wife of Lot was supposedly punished Midah C'Neged Midah [measure for measure]. She had told her husband she was getting salt for the guests but really she had gone around telling the villagers that her husband had invited guests- a crime punishable by death in the wicked city of Sedom. She turned into a pillar of salt and as such was dead- so how is that a punishment of measure for measure. She's dead so she can't see the justice of it all. With the Egyptian's who drowned in the splitting of the sea they drowned Jewish babies and so they were drowned at different torture levels depending on how wicked they were. how are the two comparable and what is a midah c'neged midah really all about?

     Midah C'neged Midah is not that Hashem wants to punish and give back to ppl what they deserve. Rather that every single action a person does has a spiritual consequence and that's just the way the world works. Physically 'Every action has an equal and opposite reaction' says Newton. Well everything in the physical world is a reflection of a spiritual reality. Spiritually, every good deed we do creates a good angel and every bad deed creates a bad angel. We walk around and become those creations that we make with our actions. We create ourselves.... So a midah C'neged Midah is really just a natural consequence of what we have done in our lives and who we are.

     That there are two types of ppl who don't want to leave their home. Those who don't even believe something will happen, and those who are just so attached to their stuff that they can't let go. So the son's in laws of Lot didn't believe anything would happen but the wife of Lot did. On the other hand she was just so attached to her previous life style that she couldn't let go. Lot's wife was so attached to her home and her lifestyle of yesterday that literally- it was all she was. She was her previous misdeeds [the salt] and her home [destruction]. Therefore she was killed and turned into a pillar of salt. 

     Life is about changing and moving, about constantly recreating ourselves. But if we don't wake up every morning and say, i'm a new person- but rather stay attached to all our old ways, bad middos, and misdeeds, than that is who we will remain. We are those things. It's part of us. 

     In hurricane Sandy, destruction came with a warning. Two types of people did not evacuate when the warnings came. Those who didn't believe it would happen, and those who just couldn't part with their stuff, their 'toys', their comforts, etc. To some extent we are all doing this. We refuse to grow and change using excuses like 'that's just not me' and 'it's not my type' and 'this is just what I do and have always done' or even 'this is what my parents did and i'm not about to change that'...  Examples may be: There may be a bully out there who would like to do a good thing but stops himself because of his image and reputation. There are people who love Judaism but won't keep kosher outside of their home because they just can't fathom not eating in non-kosher restaurants anymore. 

     I can relate in many ways but one personal example that i don't mind sharing is that for over 7 years of my life I refused to cut my hair. I just couldn't fathom having shorter hair. To something as silly as hair- i was a slave. Spiritually I don't know if it was 'bringing me down', but certainly cutting my hair helped me define what my priorities in life were and helped me move on past very old fears and immaturities. While I couldn't cut my hair- it was all i felt defined me and, according to this concept, i was right. But after i did cut it- i discovered a world of me that was hiding behind that hair. 

     It's a really scary concept to think that all the things we just won't let go of, are creating who we are to a real extent and blocking off all the potential we have. 

    And just to add my own point- that's what Modeh Ani is all about. If a person would recognize and declare upon waking that today Hashem created a totally new world, an entirely new day, and a completely new me- than they would live life that day differently. I don't have to be the same person today as I was yesterday. They are worlds apart. Today I have a fresh start, and  Hashem believes in me today that I will make better choices and do it different. Why clog it up with old baggage and dirt if I have the choice to leave it all behind?

   As a wise man once said- the greatest gift we have is the ability to go to sleep and leave behind a bad day, to wake up to a new one, refreshed, and ready for new opportunities. So even though today I'm feeling a little big 'Blue'. I know tomorrow will be a new day filled with new opportunities and a new chance to make my world a different one than i've known until now. A new world, a new me!

Thank you all for listening!

Love,

shayna

Back to Alaska

Hi all,

It feels weirder to be here than it ever felt to be away from home. Mostly because I feel like I am at home. Because I just left for Edmonton, and it feels like just around the corner from that- I went back to Detroit. I got there and it was like I had never left. The flight here was uneventful. I went straight into class from the flight- jumped right into things. It was good because if I would have had the whole night to think about it I would have gotten nervous. This way I didn't have any time to think about it and the girls were really happy to see me I think. They had made me a bunch of signs and written welcome back on the board.

After school I got 'home' and it felt comfortable. Not much had changed there either. I did my thing, ate supper and then thought it was time to go home to my family. And then i realized that it wasn't possible. It's not around the corner.... or even driving distance. It's like my 2 worlds had merged in my mind somehow.  It's not the first time that has happened to me but it was pretty disconcerting. I barely said good bye to anyone. It was nothing emotional. Just bread and butter... facts of life.... the way the world works. I'll be home soon enough anyways right? Weird.

As the plane touched down I could see that it was snowing outside. A lot. It was pretty cold. It's 32 degrees Fahrenheit here but hopefully it will go up over shabbos. Meanwhile there is still snow on the ground, and the imprint of a snowflake is burying itself in my heart because I need to remember the uniqueness of this opportunity and focus on that- rather than the fact that its still snow and ice.

I was so glad for the vacation though. Spending time with family over sukkos was really nice. I haven't been home for the chaggim in a few years and so this was really special. You know its home when it feels like you never left. Like time just warped and everything stayed the same while I was off changing, growing, and having adventures in another country. Cool right? Vacation also really helped me get perspective on a lot of important things. Trying to hold onto it.... yah.

That's my life.

Miss you all so much.

Love,
shayne

My life as a teacher

I have labeled this post "My life as a teacher" because I feel like it's a totally different life. It's crazy to say it but I have discovered so much of me that I never knew.... I've learned more in my one month as a teacher than I think I did in the 14 years I've been a student. =0)

Things I've learned in my first month as a teacher:
-Teachers use inky pens because it makes your sheets look professional after they've been through the copy machine- not because they are cool.
-White out can be seen on the original but not on a copied paper.
-Teachers use white out because they love their students. The test paper looks too confusing with the little mistake lines underneath the actual writing and we want the students to do as well as possible so we put in the extra effort to white out those lines.
-The teacher likes the stickers just as much as the students.
-Teachers have more homework than students.
-Teachers are just as tired as their students.
-Teachers are told to pretend they know what they are doing even if they have no clue why the kids trust them to know what today's date is.
-Teachers really see everything.
-Doing this as a job is way more difficult but way more motivating than doing it for a grade.
-It's not good enough anymore as a teacher to say, "Don't mind me- I'm terrible at spelling."
-Never be too cocky in taking on projects- always assume you can do less than you thought you could.
-There is always more to learn.

Thank you for allowing me to share my thoughts on this. The last thing i wanted to share was a really inspirational song I just discovered today. It really moved me and I wanted to pass it on because its not easy for me to find Jewish songs I like. Enjoy.
'Tell it to the one' by blesofsky

Edmonton

Hi guys... its been a while.

    For anyone who does not yet know, I am currently in edmonton, AB.

    I am teaching 5th grade limudei kodesh lessons (jewish studies). I also teach a davening period in the morning to second grade. I also do tutoring and remedial work with different children in between that... Every day I come to school at 8:oo am and sign in. I need to be in the gym by 8:10 to wait with my second grade class during line up. At 8:20 I walk my class to the classroom and the first thing I do there is pull out my raffle box. Said raffle box is really a disguised pringles can which I had such mesiras nefesh to empty out by eating all the pringles and then brilliantly disguising the container with colorful construction paper. We begin the day by singing a davening song and then I have them pull out their siddurim. They daven for 10 minutes, and  then read from a story book on the power of words and shmiras halashon, and then I need to have something to teach them every day for the next ten or twenty minutes. The school wants me to teach them about brachos. Lucky for me that is a topic i have been extremely interested in myself. I bought them cute notebooks and we will hopefully be filling it over the course of the year. I also work on their hebrew reading skills with them.
     After that I will be having private tutoring sessions with different students. So far I only have one daily meeting scheduled so the rest of the time I have been using to prepare my afternoon lessons. And I use up all the time because it takes me HOURS to prepare.
     At 12:10 I go on recess duty and at 12:30 I monitor lunch time with the middle and high school age girls. Mostly I use that to chat with the high school girls. At 12:50 I walk with my class to our classroom and begin the day with homework planners on my desk and check the daily schedule. I teach 7 subjects split into the week. I am with my 5th grade until 4:00  which never seems to be enough time. I go on curb duty at dismissal until 4:15. Once all the kids have left I often return to my classroom to prepare for the next day.... for a few hours.

     Just in case your wondering, I have a car. It's a maroon mini van that's not too old and not too new. I don't drive too often because I don't really trust myself at the wheel with all the new roads and rules. Mostly I leave the driving to the British girl who has never driven an automatic before :)

     As far as food, we buy our own breakfast, we have hot lunch in school, and we have dinner rotation at different families.

     I live on Wellington Crescent, which is Germasian property and its really cute here. It's nothing like i expected. It's really normal. The houses are not ginormous... just regular big. And the Germasian families are the most generous people ever. Every shabbos they prepare meals for between 20 and 50 extra people just because random Jews know they can come without invitation.

     We just moved to our permanent house and its really nice. It was hard choosing which room I wanted but I finally just settled on one and I'm happy with it. It has two twin beds, a nice bedside stand, a dresser with a vanity mirror and lamps, a full length mirror, and a nice closet. It's small but cozy. I'm not fully unpacked yet but I hope to be by the time I come back to Detroit so that I can figure out what i need and what I don't.

     There is this amazing family here in Edmonton who me and Donna spend most of our time with. We spent Rosh Hashana with them and then the rest of the week after because it was right in the middle of the move. I really don't know what I would do without them here. Baruch Hashem that we have them!

      The most expensive thing here is gas for the car, we spend like 60 dollars in 2 weeks.... its crazy. Other than that there is just basic things like cereal, coffee stuff, milk....

     Things I can't wait to do is ice skating at the mall, get a guitar, and get ahead in my preparing. :)

     Things I have already done is go to the largest indoor waterpark in the world [which is in the mall] when it was closed off by the Germazians for only women in the community. I have also sat by the ice rink for hours drooling, watching the professionals skate during their practice times.

     I have to admit that teaching is far harder than i ever imagined it would be but i'm hoping it and I will only keep getting better and better with each day.

     It's close to Yom Kippur and Sukkos and so the crescent is beginning to fill up with family. It should get pretty fun around here. It's too bad I'll be missing it but I'm much more excited to be coming home!

     I can't wait to get home on Friday. I hope to see you all then! I miss you so much!
Love,
Shayne

and the Megilla.... ;)

Hi, sorry its been so long. Life has a way of living you sometimes and catching up takes being in shape... and so since i've been in seminary for 2 yrs almost you can imagine how well that's working out ;) pun intended

Either way i didn't have much to write about but lately things have gotten more interesting so here is the latest.....

I started a job about a month and a half ago where i wake up at 6:30 in the morning and get to work at 7:00. I get kids ready for Gan (playgroup or nursery school) and drop them off. A double stroller with a 2 yr old and a baby and also 2 kids holding on to the sides. Speaking of being in shape- i'm sure i'll be by the time i'm done with this gig. lol

I took the job b/c i doesn't interfere with my college or sem schedule and helps me keep focused on a schedule. Also, if i don't leave the dorm in the morning... i just will never get out that day. Which is fine by me but in truth ones skin starts turning bluish when they haven't been outside in a few weeks (cough... not that i would know such a thing personally) and besides, it doesn't seem to healthy. :D

I also started 2 new online courses and for those of you who heard about my burn out session in Jan-Feb.... well that's OVER. We're back in business, thank G-d. I'm just trying to snowball and after not doing any solid work for 2 months, i need all the divine help i can get. I'm now taking Physiological Psychology and History and Systems of Psychology. They are actually really interesting. So interesting, in fact, that i'm sitting here writing on my blog rather than opening my text book- lol.

Pesach break came at a great time. I also did a small data entry job for a few days at an international company called Oramed which created an orally administered insulin medication for diabetes. cool right??

I went to froyo the other day with a friend and got the most amazing frozen ever! [lol, no i'm not kidding they call frozen yogurts 'frozen' here.] I put in strawberries, mango, halva, sugar coated peanuts, white mekupelet and it was YUM! for all of you who are not farmiliar with what a froyo is b/c its a native to israel thing- its a frozen yogurt place that you pick what gets blended... like all types of fruits, chocolates, candies... etc. And then they blend it with the frozen yogurt/ice cream stuff and its really really yummy :) So that was my 3rd that i ever got... 2nd that i bought for myself. It was also really nice b/c i had good company.

My friend finished her psychometry last month (SAT equivelent only way harder... she was in class from 8:00 am to 9:00 pm with a 2 hr break in the middle 5 days a week for 5 months for it.) and we made a book burning party for her. I made the fire and it was very impressive. Thanx tatty for teaching me how to make a tepee b/c it impresses ppl and it works rlly well! :}

Another friend who didn't come back to P'ninim was in Israel for Pesach and i saw her a few times. It's really nice to be with ppl who know who you used to be... u know what i'm saying? I feel really comfortable with her... more than with most ppl i think. Either way it makes me happy.

Chedvas had a bondfire and we FROZE.... i brought like 10 sweatshirts and just handed them out and it still wasn't enough. ppl were turning colors so we didn't end up playing frizbee. A different night all the girls who stayed in Israel [who live in America] went out to pizza and it was also really nice. We went to a packed place in shefa mall. 


O- and i drove for my first time in Israel too! Rabbi Meisels needed s/o to do errands and there was no one else besides for me and a friend who's name is also shayna but neither of us were comfortable driving here in Israel so we decided to do it together for emotional support... it ended up being more like emotional abuse b/c we were both nervous and we're both terrible back seat drivers. :) We went to Har Nof, and Givat Shaul, and Kiryat Moshe, and Geula, and Shefa Mall and back again. It was so much fun!

It's like, this whole year i feel like a little girl in a little seminary with my little roommates and e/t is rosy and college is grand and i'm in my little bubble... and then i got behind the wheel, put my shades up, and its like reality changed. I felt suddenly so much older... idk why but it was cool. Either way it was sooo much better than walking or busing. I think i have to get an international license this summer before i make aliyah though b/c once ur a citizen you can't drive with a foreign license anymore.


After pesach i restarted my walking kids to Gan job and started taking some serious tests. I Since pesach i have been to Ramat Gan and taken 2 other big tests, one by Shmuel HaNavi and one in my school building. Hopefully it will keep going. Chedvas has also started again and i'm super happy to get back into a schedule. Unfortunately though, its not the most ideal schedule.... dorm is usually noisy until late at night but i wake up sometimes hours earlier than most of the girls so it gets annoying when i can't sleep all night and then have to wake up and either take a test or go to work. Besides for that though, i'm totally managing to accomplish and that's really all that matters. 


O- MAZAL TOV YOCHEVED AND MINDY!!! in case you didn't know these are 2 of my 4 best friends in the whole world and they are both engaged! lol- i feel soo blessed that i'll be able to go to both of their weddings imy"H!!!!!!!!!!! I'm sooo excited! 
Can't wait for the summer!!!
can't wait to come home and see everyone! Can't wait for Rivky's graduation! can't wait to spend the summer with family and friends. 
Love you all!
shayne :) 

'O Chanukah- O' Chanukah Come Light the Menorah...

Okay, December is almost over and so is Chanukah! AAAAHHHH!!!!! How time flies when your eating doughnuts... lol

So this month i'm changing up the format and those of you who generally read these will notice...

College is going great! I'm in a race against time this semester b/c i'm trying to finish my BA as fast as i can!! to the tune of "Under pressure...." But really- experimental psych is the worst!

For the past 2 tests i've had to go to Ramat Gan to take them. The test takes me less than an hour but the travel time is almost 4 ... so basically i have to get up at 7:00 in the morning to get to the bus station on time to catch the bus at 9:50 to get to the testing place by 11:30 to take the test at 12:00 and then i don't get home until 3:00 or 4:00 in the afternoon. So basically test days are just that- test DAYS.... even my afternoon is only spent recovering :|

So for all of you who are interested this is the way it goes at Pearson Professional Testing Center-

When you reach the office you are already 4 and a half hours into your day. You have: taken a shower, gotten dressed, put on makeup, Davened, Eaten breakfast, taken your vitamins, packed a lunch, Taken precautions against rain, walked to the central bus station of Jerusalem, and spent 2 hours on a nauseating bus ride with a maniac driver.

In the Pearson Professional Testing Center's office:

Step 1 to receiving your test)

An elderly South-African lady shows you to a seat in the waiting room and tells you to take a rule pamphlet and read it over. The pamphlet is only as long as one of those cartoon scrolls that just keeps going and going in the Disney movies. and it all says "bla, bla, bla"... or at least that's all i can remember of it.

Step 2 to receiving your test) you raise your hand to signal that you are finished reading it.

Step 3 to receiving your test) The old lady gives you a key and tells you to put everything you have with you in a locker... although the rule book says that they are not responsible if things get stolen from it. lol

Step 4 to receiving your test) The lady sends you back to the locker to put in all your jewelry and hair clips which she has just instructed you to remove and put away. Lest you are a rich computer genious who can access information off a computer chip strategically placed into the metal holding piece in your earring. :)

don't worry it gets better.

Step 5 to receiving your test) The lady sends you back to the locker to get your passport which she conveniently forgot [memory is going or s/t] to tell you to leave out.

Step 6 to receiving your test) The lady cannot identify you by your passport picture since it's a mugshot and doesn't look like you. So she sends you back to your locker to get an alternate form of picture ID

Step 7 to receiving your test) You return with your medical insurance card, driving license, student ID, and Bus Card- b/c your confident that you don't look like yourself in any of them.

Of course she looks skeptically at each one of them, and when you explain that you're just not photogenic she just peers at you suspiciously over her granny glasses. Luckily, she believes you. "Whew... now i can cheat and take someone else's test!" big sarcastic smile :D

Step 8 to receiving your test) "WHEN AM I GOING TO TAKE THE TEST ALREADY?!" don't worry though b/c they only have to palm print you for safety 5 times on each hand.

Step 9 to receiving your test) They ask you to sit down so they can take a picture of you for identification- so that if you walk off after cheating they can hunt you down.

Step 10 to receiving your test) On the 10th try the camera still doesn't accept the picture as valid... "I told you- i'm just not photogenic"- unlike the old lady, the computer doesn't accept this answer.

Step 11 to receiving your test) The lady then grudgingly explains to you that they are actually secretly pupil printing you [what the heck does that mean?] and so this time, when you look at the camera, go really close and open your eyes really wide.

Step 12 to receiving your test) You do it and your picture looks like a fish... speaking of not being photogenic. At this point you are ready to just submit to the handcuffs and let them take you away... jail seems so much easier.

Step 13 to receiving your test) You are given your passport and other Identification cards back and asked to proceed to the testing area.

Step 14 to receiving your test) The new elderly South-African lady at the next desk takes your passport and asks you to palm print... just in case you switched with someone in the four feet between the two desks.

Step 15 to receiving your test) lady #2 checks your picture and stifles a laugh. "thank you... i'm sure that's very funny isn't it- can i please just take my test now?"

Step 16 to receiving your test) Lady #2 now graciously reexplains all the rules to you again. She's probably afraid that all you saw in the pamphlet was 'bla, bla, bla' :}

Step 17 to receiving your test) You are shown into the testing room and set up by a computer with the picture of yourself as a fish on the screen.

Breathe in breathe out.... and you take your test. But don't worry you can't leave when you are finished without being *escorted* out. You take your things out of the locker and palm print one last time to receive your grade. B"H! you passed!!!! whew... now i can go home and take a shower and go to sleep!!

College is a depressing topic... lets to to more pleasant things :)

Shabbos! first shabbos of the month i stayed in the dorm with P'ninim which is my preferred way to spend it.

The second shabbos I stayed in and ate at a friend and my teacher for a dif meal.

The third shabbos I made a girl shabbos with a friend who's parents are in America. They left her and her sister for a month so we made food and invited friends. I made shnitzel and bought doughnuts for dessert. :)

Shabbos Chanukah I went to RBS to a roommate b/c originally we planed to have a roommate shabbos with all 6 of us, but it fell through. So i went anyways with another girl in chedvas.

All of these shabbosim were really nice and beautiful. :)

A special thank you to Esti who i see almost every shabbos :}

This month I really went all out and had fun- wel... its chanukah month! I went to Katzefet with Esti and out to dinner with Mitch, and to the Aish Cumzitz with my roommate, and treated myself to lunch on the way back from my tests in Maffe Ne'eman, and ate like one hundred doughnuts in all [i'm probably exaggerating... but not by much :}] We also had a pre-chanukah cumzitz in class with two very talented musicians who came with 2 guitars and a flute. We cut the lights and lit candles all around the room. They led songs and we sang while they wove the story of Chanukah and its lessons into the music... It was a really an inspiring and powerful experience.

On the Friday that i made shnitzels i also met Adam in the Shuk... I got to show him a bit of Yafo and we walked around the shuk for about an hour. It was really nice seeing someone from the family- it reminds me of home. The birthright tour was playing a game that each kid was assigned another kid to buy things for and "admire", so we found a toystore so Adam could buy his assignee a present. So here's a shout out to Adam- Thanx for visiting!

last but not least, cause it just happened- dadada da! CHANUKAH!

The first night of chanukah we had our school chagiga. We had an elaborate meal followed by a chanukah video spoof that some really talented chedvasers made. I was in it as one of the maccabeats. lol- they asked me to be in a video a few weeks before and i just said yes, i didn't really know what they were going to do with it. They gave me and 2 other girls a twist on the maccabeats story and asked us to act it out while they filmed. So we all put on big purple sweatshirts, baseball caps, and sunglasses (outside in the dark).... We took metal ladels and serving trays as our swords and sheilds and acted it out.

The outcome was quite different than we had imagined. lol- the video was a half hour long drama with special effects. :) It ended off with a spoof song by a different group of chedvas girls about doughnuts. The girls liked it so much that they played it 3 times in a row! I have to admit that i was also crying from laughing so hard.

I'll try to figure out a way to send it home so e/o can see it. bl"n

We also had an auction and a chocolate fountain. :) that was the really yummy part. Almost better than doughnuts.

The third night I went out to dinner with Michal G, as mentioned above. We got pizza and it was cool. Then that night i went to the Aish Cumzitz with 2 friends and we bought ice cream and shivered together by the light of the old city golden menorah... well- it wasn't literally lit, but we certainly shivered.

The 7th night of Chanukah I went to the Neve Hachnosos Kalla Chanukah Chagiga, where all the Neve schools perform choirs and dances and some really talented individuals did solo acts. Some of the acts were really really good. Like the Midreshet Tehilla Dance and 2 songs were performed solo by the girls who wrote them. Also the Bnos Chava girls did a great job on their dances and Neve did a really nice ballet.

8th day of chanukah i took my second test at the Pearson Professional Center... which was today. :/ and so this is what i'm doing with my recovery time. :P

Hopefully tonight i'll be able to skype the family during lighting time. Looking forward!

Love you all!!!!

email me!! xoxo

Hello everyone. It's hailing outside.

Last few shabbosim I stayed in the dorm, exclusively :) as you may have all seen pictures of my shabbos table (taken on Motzei shabbos silly!)

Today I took my second Psychology clep and I passed!!!! Hashem loves me!

anyways, the big question i want to ask everyone is:

Can you see the writing on this page?

i'm looking at it and i've noticed that i can't read parts of it b/c the white blends in with the background colors.... Its driving me crazy for 2 reasons

1. I don't think it has always been like that

2. I can't figure out how to fix it!!!

how frustrating?!?

okay, anyways. I miss everyone!

Keep me and my college tests in mind in your prayers!

xoxoxo

Rain rain- come today... for now we have begun to pray :)

Well, we started praying for rain people... did you know that during the first maariv saying V'Sen Tal in Israel it started raining? Now that's a bracha!

Nothing interesting happened last week other than me studying like a maniac. Oh- and i started getting over my cold.

Shabbos I stayed in the dorm and ate meals by a classmates cousins with her and 3 other girls. I did try to hold onto the ideals of our previous shabbos so i did make a shabbos table even with a real tablecloth this time! I also cleaned the whole dira and it felt great! Unfortunately we had Shalosh seudos plans. We walked into Har Nof in guess what? The pouring rain!

We made it there soaking wet but in high spirits!! The meal was nice. We got a ride back after shabbos and did Melava Malke in the dorm. It wasn't quite so uplifting... I did do some guitar practicing though and i think i'm doing pretty good for not having played since 2 summers ago. :)

Sunday i studied. Monday i took my psych test... and directly afterward i collected the 400 page college textbooks to begin studying for the next psych test :D {big sarcastic smile}

Anyways- at least its a subject that interests me.

Today I have contracted a new "sick" in the dorm. Its even more lovely because i haven't completely gotten over the last 2. I think i'm going to get some onions and garlic and start a bacteria catcher.... i'll let you know if it works :)

And now for the joke of the day:

What do an Elephant and a plum have in common?

They are both purple except for the elephant.... lol :)

[i actually thought that was hysterical]

alright people- don't give up on me! keep emailing and trying to keep in touch with me... it really makes a difference!

Love, shayne