3/25
Hello everyone.

Belated Easter and Purim tidings. Many people here in Jerusalem will be observing Easter at the end of April, according to the eastern orthodox calendar. This will also mean that Easter will come after Passover, as it does in the story.

We were in Tel Aviv over the holiday weekend, as all the schools were closed for Purim.
Went to the beach twice, at the end of the day, and still we were HOT. Swam in the cool sea, looking back at the Tel Aviv skyline while in the water.
Being in Tel Aviv is like being on a different planet from Jerusalem. And vice versa, of course.

3/21 Drive to Tel Aviv, four of us and Zvia. I go to buy buttons at Shelly’s and everyone else goes to the Purim carnival. It took place on a few blocks of benYehuda street and was, according to Yosh, a total flop. Didn’t help that it was bloody hot, hotter than ever for Purim, and Ilya was dressed as a Viking, as in, those people who lived in the snows of Scandinavia. I think his costume stayed on for about 10 minutes. Ariana was dressed as a flower fairy. Flowers fairies are experienced at staying cool in hot weather. They met up with Shakhar, Amanda, Yotam and Niv, picked me up and we all walked up benYehuda to Nordo, then left to the beach, Metzitzim, so called because it means “peeping” and the boys used to come and peek at the girls taking showers. And the girls came to be peeked at. Anyway, it’s a gorgeous beach, especially with the hamsin at 6 pm. Wow. BZ and Limor joined us and we had chips and pita and tahine. Ilya and Yotam had a seaweed fight, built dams, splashed around, while Ariana and Niv played all sorts of unintelligible but very intense games in Hebrew and English while running around in the sand and surf.