10.11.11

More Israeli than I ever will be...

Meet the newest Israeli in our household:

Inbal Osnot Hadas Nitsah, born on October 22nd.

I look at her and think: 

She will speak Hebrew without an accent. (Will she speak English without an accent?)

She will brave the Israeli school system, something I haven't had the guts to do. (I teach English online instead!)

She will serve in the army.

She will some day look at me and realize that I don't speak Hebrew as well as her friends' moms do, that our apartment doesn't look like other kids' apartment, that the way we cook and eat is "weird."

She will go the US only as a visitor. She'll probably have those quirks that I notice in the Israeli kids of Americans... they speak very good English but get idioms wrong, they know about Thanksgiving but aren't sure when Christmas is...

What books will I read aloud to her? What books will she read to herself? Will she still wear nothing but pink (thanks, hand-me-downs) when she is four? How soon will she be riding the streets on Yom Kippur, and will I be brave enough to let her careen around by herself?

But mostly I look at her and think: how beautiful, how bright. Right now she's mine, mine and my husband's, sleeping peacefully on my chest and speaking only in grunts. I wonder what it will be like to parent as an immigrant, if this will make her less mine as she gets older, if she will feel like she's foreign to me. Or maybe she'll pull me along with her, the ultimate lesson in how to be Israeli...


(Perhaps this is an even more interesting question... am I really thinking of re-starting my blog now that I'm already juggling work (sadly, teaching online means that I don't get to take advantage of the wonderful Israeli maternity leave) and care of a three-week-old???)

23 comments:

  1. Mazal tov and much nachat!

    And to answer your question: She will speak Heblish, of course... :-)

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  2. Mazal tov! And Nitsah is a beautiful name.

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  3. Wow, Mazal Tov! I have missed your posts...she's beautiful

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  4. Mazal tov! I hope so much that you will blog about parenting an Israeli. I miss your perspective.

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  5. ConOff with curly hairNovember 11, 2011 at 9:43 AM

    Did you bring her to the Embassy to register? I think I may have met you...I'm a consular officer there and I just documented a little Nitsah this week.

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  6. Yep, that was me on Wednesday morning! Small world! Which "number" were you?

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  7. Congratulations!!!
    Kristina

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  8. Oh what a beauty! Welcome to Israel, baby Nitsah.
    I can almost smell her new-baby fragrance.

    You raise interesting questions, Maya. I guess I went through the same with my Sabra children many years ago but I never thought to articulate the situation like you do here.

    Mazal tov, harbeh nachat, Shabbat shalom.

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  9. Mazal Tov! She looks adorable! I wondered where you disappeared to.

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  10. Mazel Tov! (and I vote yes, keep blogging!)

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  11. ConOff with curly hairNovember 13, 2011 at 10:39 AM

    I'm usually at window number 5. We would have done the interview about your time in the US. Congrats!

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  12. Wow, mazal tov! It's always exciting to have a new Israeli around! And great job on resisting the urge to name her Nofeet :)
    I think that yes, she'll pull you along and help to make you even more Israeli. Good luck with everything you have on your plate - you can do it!

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  13. Mazal Tov

    Definitely you have to learn about Heblish now!

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  14. Congratulations! I'm due in January with our first born, first Israeli, too! Should be interesting, this journey we are all on. All the best to you and your new family. Your mention about teaching English online intrigued me. Can you tell me more about it? I've got a BA in English from the States and need to find something to do from home as selling our glass beads online at the moment is not so profitable to pay the bills. Thanks and congrats to you again. Enjoy the babymoon! :)

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  15. Mazal tov to your growing family! We just had our first sabra in February. Oh the stories I can tell comparing giving birth in the US vs. here! I think you will encounter PLENTY of material to blog about :o) Get ready for strangers grabbing her sweet little legs and declaring for her that she's too hot/cold! I am thrilled for you to embark on this new journey as an ema in Israel, as I feel there is no better place to raise children.

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  16. Toby, Nofeet is such a good one-- especially when it's spelled like that! Darn, can't believe we missed it. (Nofeet would have been especially appropriate during her first two weeks, when she didn't reach the feet of any of her footie pajamas...)

    Blanche and Guy, I work for a very small company run by my parents, so unfortunately there aren't openings for other teachers. I do know of other people who teach English online, though, usually for cyber schools-- good luck!

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  17. ahh Congratz, mazel tov!!!!
    Glad to see you all are fine and that your back!

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  18. Ahhh sweet baby,and what does Nitsah mean? I'm just starting to read your blogs and find them very interesting so I hope you will continue when you find the time. I'm taking Hebrew lessons with eteacher and will be going to Israel in Feb. Can't wait to shop at a shuk.
    Mazal tov to you both.

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