Thursday Thirteen #3 - Reminders

Oh my god! I forgot it was Thursday already! Boy, the week passes by so quickly. For those of you who are just learning, this Thursday Thursday is the second of my journey in America. After nineteen years of living in Israel, I've decided to take a year off to try something new. As a bilingual and dual citizen, I take great pride living in both countries. Anyhow...

There are those things that remind me I am in America.

1. The sweet smell of grass, the intentional business of God. It reminds me of laziness, summer camps, hikes in the woods pretending to be Indians, lazy Sundays, picking Queen Ann's Lace in Virginia and a dozen of more other things.

2. Watching Squirrels running across the street.

3. Having 24 access to supermarkets, drugstores, etc and being able to buy whatever I need without having to worry of course the astronomical prices that Israel market is infamous for.

4. Libraries, libraries, libraries! I cannot stress this enough - When a state, country, county what have you does not take stock and pride in its library, that is the ultimate confirmation that something's utterly wrong. How can literacy levels be expected to go up if people irrespective of incomes do not have access to books. The Squirrel Hill Library in Pittsburgh is such a user friendly place. I'm so happy to work here.

5. Wonderful access to the city's Parks - Frick and Schenely Parks to name a few.

6. The fact that there is a 2 day weekend, that for 19 years I had forgotten about and it makes a world of difference in terms of the work week.

7. The 'have a nice day' and 'thank you very much' that Israeli smirk over, is actually a very nice (and important ) ritual. Maybe it is a filler or a distraction, but when you don't have immediate family in the place you live like me, this makes a world of difference in your feeling of well-being. Plus people in Pittsburgh are so nice! It's true what people say about Pittsburghians.

8. It's the little things that help you get by. The fact that your groceries are bagged here in America. I appreciate and like that very much.

9. The American holidays. I miss Thanksgiving and Halloween so much. i love watching the pumpkins glow in the dark and kids yelling: "trick or treat!" It reminds me of the days in Westbeth when we would spread shaving cream on the banisters and my mom (god bless her soul) would tape a pencilled 'take one' sign pointing to a box of Branches' candy corn boxes which we would find strewn all over the hallway before taking off to the famous Ralph Lee's Greenwich Village parade, which was so incredibly popular in the seventies. I am so happy that you can read now all about it in Wikipedia.It gives me such pride as I was a part of it.

10. The Foliage Season that is the beauty of New England. A year ago I pronounced to my husband Haim that I want to see myself walking through a farm or a hill with the true foliage season. I still have time to experience that after 19 years of being on the other side of the Atlantic ocean.

11.The mass amounts of language and cultures all in one nation.

12. The ability to take a plane, train, car anywhere and experience oceans, trails, mountains and fresh water ponds and lakes - the best this country has to offer. The same goes for hoping on back to visit NYC!

And one bonus: the mass amounts of free workshops, services and programs that libraries, community centers and other resources provide. I think this is extremely important. Don't you?

So, what do you take pride in? What journeys do you see yourself planning? What 'does it' for you?

Happy TT!