Day 11 – Pelefones. We are standing our ground.

Number of Cockroach Sightings: 1 (Stabbed by Husband with knife)

They say the heat will continue, and get really bad on shabbat.  We have decided to stay put, simply because we can’t imagine travelling in what has now been called “the worst heatwave since 1948”.  It’s slightly cooler before 10am, and after 6pm, but not much.

We went to visit what is known as a “mishpachton” this morning.  No direct translation for this one, but I suppose it’s the equivalent to an english playgroup.  It’s smaller than a Gan (nursery) with a more homey-feel.  From my research the price varies depending on the facilities, so it can be more or less expensive than a Gan.  We are considering it as an option for Jojo so that he doesn’t get bored at home whilst I am taking care of a newborn.   However, the fashion here is to send your kids to some sort of daycare, even if you could take care of them yourself.  Israelis seem to place a high regard on social interaction from a very young age, and it’s not uncommon to see babies in daycare here at less than 3 months old.  Having researched it thoroughly, my personal view on this one is that I would like my son at home until around 2 and a half, even three, so long as he can be stimulated, but with a new baby and a new area, this will be difficult.  Since daycare is seen as the ideal, you don’t find free/subsidised mummy groups, library rhyme times, mum & baby cafes, free park activities or that sort of thing.  People tend to live in much smaller spaces so unless you take your child out a lot, it can be hard. 

Saying that, most of the research I read was on the impact of daycare for British children (e.g. examining the cortisol levels and blood pressure of young babies, the development and confidence of toddlers, that sort of thing) and it would be interesting for someone to repeat the study here, where it seems the quality of daycare is better.  Presumably it must be if it is the favoured option.

The mishpachton I visited was recommended by our estate agent, who sends her daughter there and kindly took us along this morning to check it out.  She is a Moroccan lady, with (unsurprisingly) a spotless house, completely designed for the children, home made soup permanently on the boil and a knack for getting small children to do exactly what she wants without barking commands at them constantly.  After a few moments of checking out his surroundings, Jojo clearly felt very comfortable there and it was a lovely atmosphere.  She did tell him “Lo, Lo” a few times and I tried to explain to her that he has no idea what this means.   She thought I meant he doesnt understand “No” in ivrit but I explained that he doesn’t really get “no” in any language as we try to avoid it, since it tends to encourage bad behaviour. I’m not sure why I bothered though, no one in my generation has ever successfully explained this theory to anyone over the age of 50 so I’m not sure why I thought she would get it!

Overall I was very impressed by her, and her assisstant, and husband’s interaction with the children, who all seemed happy.  I was also impressed by the structure of the day and the homecooked meals she gives them.  I was less than impressed with the coloured ice lollies she handed out (Blue? Why? Whats wrong with frozen mooshed fruit or juice??) but then again Israelis seem to have no problem with food additives.   Perhaps they think it makes kids tougher for the army (now that I think of it Victoria Wood says the British can only survive on food additives, “it’s what makes us grow”!).  I didn’t know the ivrit word for additive, only for sugar and colours, so she thought I was saying I don’t give him sugar (sadly never managed to be quite so righteous).  Interestingly, when I managed to communicate what I meant, her assisstant took a look at the ingredients on the packets, as if it had never occured to her to check what was in them.  So maybe as a cousin recently pointed out to me, it’s simply an awareness thing.  Perhaps we will soon see change for the better.  Until then, my son will probably soon think blue is a normal colour for an ice lolly (though to my immense smugness he never actually had one, being far too absorbed in the push along “car car”, and probably not realising he was missing anything as he has never in his life seen blue food).

We had a visit from cellcom today, who were so eager to get our business (or possibly just bored in the office) that they sctually came to our house.  After nearly an hour of offering my husband truly rubbish deals, they finally started to offer some decent tarriffs.  They said that they don’t generally offer this deal to new customers, so presumably there are thousands of olim being screwed over by the phone companies.  Happily, we are now contactable and will hopefully be able to inform friends & family on the birth of our new baby, without either of us having to donate a kidney.  🙂

I came dangerously close to overheating, and decided as it was so hot we might as well take Jojo to the park hamishpacha, which apparantly is a lovely park and has sprinklers after 4pm when the sun is supposed to be less dangerous.  I called a neighbour to ask about it and she told me to come over and enjoy her aircon, so we did.  Jojo had a great time playing with all 6 of her children, and she turned out to be a kindred spirit.  People here are very kind, especially fellow olim.