05 July 2007 -- Moving In

My new apartment is a tiny basement flat in Ahuza, a quiet residential neighborhood centered on the Carmel Hospital and a short walk from Mercaz Horev, a busy commercial center. I live on Tel Maneh Street. Or is it Tel Maane? Tel Mana? Tel Mane? I've seen it transliterated at least four different ways. In general, Israelis don't seem particularly concerned with consistency in transliteration. If the English letters look like they would render a fairly accurate pronunciation of the Hebrew word, that's all that matters. I've even seen my new headmaster's last name spelled two different ways in school documents.

[my new address]

Speaking of school... I visited the campus today. The Leo Baeck Education Center is pretty darn cool, I must say. Yes, the multilingual library is impressive, and the fitness facilities are nice, and the symbol-laden design is interesting, but dude -- it's on a mountain overlooking the Mediterranean Sea! Dude!!! KIPP definitely needs to incorporate more Mediterranean vistas into its master plan. Anyway, the people I met seemed pleasant, and they all appeared to know who I was. I'm not sure what kind of hype has preceded me, but I hope I can live up to it.

[the view from Leo Baeck]

Tomorrow, I leave Haifa with my new colleague Barak to tour my new country with the Mickey Leland Kibbutzim Interns (ten non-Jewish rising seniors from Houston high schools who are selected and sponsored by the Houston Jewish Federation to explore Israel and experience kibbutz life). The timing of this trip is terrific for me: I get to begin my Israeli existence by visiting the Holy Land's most renowned sites with a native educator and a group of what I expect to be impressive kids from my previous hometown. I should have much to report after this journey. Stay tuned!