All sorts of stuff
Life has been hectic lately. My parents are coming on Thursday for their annual visit, and we've been busy getting the house ready. Exciting stuff, as not only am I looking forward to seeing them and having them spend time with their grandson, but I'm also looking forward to the items that will be accompanying them, such as a CD with nrg's pictures from Amsterdam (at which point I'll do a post showing all of our best pictures - she took far more than I did, hence the wait), which will reach me via a rather circuitous route (nrg gave the CD to her parents when they were visiting her in Norway, they brought the CD home, my parents picked up the CD, and will bring it with them to me), my new mp3 player, ordered from Amazon, and a variety of toys, books, videos and clothing for the Little One (and even a few articles of clothing for me).
In the event that I can't think of where to take them, I'll be sure to peruse my very own fabulous (and slightly puddle-damaged - my fault!) copy of City Guide Tel Aviv, written by the incredibly talented (not to mention charming!) Lisa Goldman. I'd definitely recommend this book - get it for yourselves, get it as a gift. You won't be sorry! I know I can't wait to try out some of the restaurants that are mentioned, and I've even been to a few of them already, trendsetter that I am.
Since I'm feeling rather scatterbrained at the moment, between the upcoming visitors and work, I'm just going to mention a few more bits and pieces, and then be on my way.
If you take a look at my sidebar (go ahead, I'll wait...), you'll notice a few things. One, I'm reading a new book - A Tale of Two Sisters, by Anna Maxted. I discovered Anna Maxted several years ago, and haven't looked back. She writes brilliantly, and I love the way she has her characters deal with very real problems, instead of the usual chick lit fluff. I've always found myself drawn to writing and to people who write well, and Ms Maxted is no exception. I'd definitely enjoy a friendly chat over lattés in a cafe with this woman.
Two, I've added quite a few blogs to my blogroll in the Further Afoot section. In addition to discovering a number of new (to me, anyway) blogs written by expats, I now check in daily with the hilarious Craigslist Curmudgeon, where our blogger shares some of his (her?) better findings for freelance writing gigs from the infamous Craigslist, as well as the thought-provoking blog Warrior of Light, written by one of my favorite authors, Paulo Coelho.
And finally, I've recently become a contributor to a site called Brio, which deals with the subject of parenting in a global world. My first post is here, and originally appeared on something something earlier this year. It promises to be an exciting project about a subject that's very close to my heart, so I'll be sure to keep you posted. Check it out!
4 comments:
Congrats on the Brio posts!!
Teaching a child so many languages must certainly be invigorating, and frustrating at times perhaps? I'm so curious to know if the different languages (eventually) are used for different moods or parts of the personality...I only knew English, but learning new languages now, I've found I dip into them most in certain moods. Congratulations on the article.
Beth: Thanks! With any luck, this is the first step to bigger and better things...
Jessica Brogan: I'm not so sure it's teaching him so many languages, but rather bringing him up in two main languages, raising him to feel equally comfortable in either one. It does get frustrating sometimes, and we're up for a real test during the next week-and-a-half as my parents will be visiting, and don't know Hebrew. We've noticed that our son, even though he's not quite 2 1/2, often responds in the language that he's addressed in, though he sometimes mixes the grammar rules or combines the two languages within sentences, and even within words. I imagine he'll sort himself out at some point, so I'm not terribly concerned. In any event, it's fascinating to follow his language development!
Interesting observation about languages and moods. I feel comfortable doing pretty much everything in either language - except sadness and pain. I feel foolish expressing sadness and pain in Hebrew, and usually resort to English. On the occasions when I've been hospitalized here, my husband always makes it a point to let staff around me know that I am indeed fluent in Hebrew so they can speak to me in Hebrew, but that chances are good that I might respond in English, which is exactly what happened when I gave birth to my son. On the rare occasions when I've cried out in pain, it's always been in English.
Brio looks like a great site, congrats on being a part of it! As you might guess, I'm also very interested in the subject of multicultural/multilingual child-rearing, so I'll definitely keep checking it out.
And you ARE busy, aren't you :-) It's always exciting when the parental units come to town- enjoy!
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