First day of school

It's September 1st, and in Israel, that means the first day of school. Sidney went to her gan this morning for the first time as a student. On Sunday evening, there was an open house for kids and parents to meet one another and the teachers, but today was her first day there alone. She did great. She was so excited to go and when Sarah picked her up afterward, she literally cried because she didn't want to leave. Today was a short day for Sidney and all of the new students. At Israeli preschools they sort of ease kids in by slowly elongating the day. So tomorrow will be a bit longer and then Thursday she'll stay for the full morning. Friday is always a short day for her, and finally on Sunday she'll stay the full day. Sidney said it was fun, her teacher was nice, she had fun making the floor puzzle with Eitan, but story time wasn't so much fun because she didn't understand the story. Not bad for a first day in a language she barely understands. Her teacher, Sigal, said that she was "maxima" (awesome). So a good start all in all. After picking up Sidney from her short morning, we returned home to receive a call from my cousin, Ravit, that she had taken off a day of work and was coming over to help us. She arrived not long after with a box full of homemade food (shnitzel, fish, pickled vegetables, pasta salad, potatoes, tabouleh, cake, fruit, and more), and we were thrilled to share a wonderful lunch together. Afterward she stayed to help us unpack boxes and is now playing with Sidney as we await the arrival of the technician who is supposed to finally install our appliances. Hopefully there is enough electrical power in the apartment to run them. Hopefully he is prepared to deal with the fact that they are 240 while Israel runs on 220--as we have been assured. Hopefully he can figure out a way to get our 27" washer and dryer through the 26" door of the laundry room. They said he would be here between 12 and 4. It's now 3:38. At least not everything is different here.