Surviving the first holiday

I came to Israel a few weeks early before school so I can spend time with my family and actually celebrate the few Jewish holidays before school began. Sukkot has fallen upon us and I cannot tell you how good it felt to be in a Succah, decorated from pure love, with family again. Really brought back memories of when I was younger, and we would hang up the same decorations every year; without them ever getting old.


Before the holiday started I did one thing I wish I could avoid, but my eyes were so heavy that I slept for 5 hours. Maybe because the jet lag had kept me up till 5 AM the night before, and the light of the morning woke me up around 8, 9, and 12. So I slept from 1 till 5 PM, and woke up to ready myself for the first night of sukkot.

The first night was spent at Cochav house and the WHOLE family was there. The food of course was amazing which included home-made hummus, beet salad, Pasta with meat, spicy meat balls, white rice, goulash, and on and on. Of course, I ate as much as I could handle and then sat and observed the family as they all interacted nicely and with love. They played a trivia game with questions about the holiday and I was upset that I had forgotten most of the answers. I guess that's why I'm here right?

The second day we walked (in the DRY heat) all the way to Tami's house. Once again, the whole family was there. This meal consisted of home made tahini, fresh salads, Moussaka, potatoes, lamb with dates, mini (AMAZING) hamburgers, chicken, and more. For some reason though, I was barely able to eat....probably still full from the night before (or perhaps the amazing cheesecake I was fed for breakfast). Everyone ate and talked and laughed. I followed the children to the back yard where we played ping pong and watched Sapir pour water on the younger kids (who begged and begged for her to do it). Later into the day they played home made bingo and used small soup almonds (better known as crunchies) as the bingo pieces. Following that, the people who wanted to sleep, including me, went to sleep until night fell for havdalah. So here I am now post havdalah, and finally getting my technology cravings settled (since I am not yet used to giving them up for 2 days...)