"יהיה בסדר"...or, Lauren's Aliyah Something

It seems that the busier I am the less I have time to write in my blog and the more my actual handwritten journal gets written in.

Since I got back I've started working full-time in Misrad Hachinuch. I am working in 2 schools, and may be switching to work in 3 schools-- 1 one day/week, 2 two days/week each. Nothing wrong with any of the schools, but I'm finding myself as an OT in this country and learning how the system here works. One school that I'm at has students who are functionally pretty low-level and I've done some work with that population, but it's too much too new too soon. So I might be switching into a school that has higher-level kids-- learning disabilities, mostly. I have to get approval from my supervisor at Misrad Hachinuch to be in 3 schools. I don't know what's going to happen with that.

One nice thing about Misrad Hachinuch is that I get off for the chagim. The chagim here are so different. For starters, the buses say different things. Before Rosh Hashana they said "Shana tova." Between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur they said "K'tiva v'chatima tova" (or at least as much of that could fit on the screen), and now they say "Moadim l'simcha." I love being in a place that the buses say that even.

Rosh Hashana was different. There were more simanim than we had in NY, and davening was different too. I mean, it was Sefard, so that's different anyway. But-- it was also quicker.

Yom Kippur felt very different. For starters, there was a feeling of konanut-- readiness, and anticipation when I went to shul at night for Kol Nidre. I don't know how to explain it, but it felt like the world was waiting for...something. It was-- I can't explain how it felt, but it wasn't like anything I'd felt before.

Sukkot was one-day chag. It still feels like half a chag.

More on non-holiday stuff in a later post, when I have more to write about it.