Brave New Girl and more of Jerusalem

We are pretty big recyclers and so it pains me to see the state of affairs here. This is one of the huge water-bottle cages that one can find on city streets here; they are perpetually overflowing and stuffed with all kinds of other crap usually. Sometimes there are also newspaper recycling containers around, but that's it, and it feels pretty retro to throw away cans, glass containers, paper, plastic bags, etc. on a daily basis. Everything here is over-packaged to death as well.

Here is one shot of L in the shuk in Jerusalem, which is the big outdoor market in the new city. It was right near the apt we rented while we were there, and we went often as M (and I) have fond memories of shopping there when we lived in Jerusalem. The day we arrived L had a fever and was all tired and lethargic so I stayed with her in the apt while M went out to shop just before the market closed for shabbat on Friday in late afternoon. Everyone is trying to dump everything then because the shuk is closed on Sat so things were ridiculously cheap. Among fruit, veg, bread, etc., he returned with a large sack of really good mixed nuts that we are still working on.

L has changed a lot since we arrived I think, although we'll only know for sure when we are settled in at home I guess. We have schlepped her all over this country over the past 2 months and she has seen a lot of people and dogs, made a lot of friends, gotten over her dislike of dirt somewhat (by necessity), etc. Here she is in the sand in a Jerusalem playground; frolicking voluntarily in sand is definitely something new for her.

She's also wanted to be on her own a lot more. Here, for example, she sits at the 'Coffee Bar Y' which was this literal hole-in-wall neighborhood cafe right near our rented apt (excellent coffee) with a woman who works there and her friend. They thought she was cute and so took her outside to talk and whenever M went outside to check on her she would say 'go away Abba!' M told her that they were students (which they are - at Hebrew U) and so she referred to them later as 'my students.' She's done this with other people she hardly knows as well, which is REALLY new.

And it's amazing how well she's been playing with kids she hardly knows. Yesterday she totally hit it off with a new friend Netta, who is one of M's best friend's kids, and again sent M away while she played at Netta's grandmother's house on the kibbutz for over an hour. Here she is in Jerusalem with Yoel and Ella's sons at a park near their house; we stayed with them the last night we were in Jerusalem.