wisdom

"Uf gozal..." vs. Bialik's 'efroach'

Thanks to A. I know what's the difference between "gozal" and "efroach" - the first is a baby bird which has the nest on the trees and the latter is a baby bird which has the nest on the ground. And A. told me that Bialik made a mistake because he talked about a baby bird from a nest on the tree, but actually he calls it "efroach" instead of "gozal". And still, a small mistake for the sake of the rhyme didn't stopped him from becoming a great poet!

קֵן לַצִּפּוֹר

קֵן לַצִּפּוֹר

בֵּין הָעֵצִים,

וּבַקֵּן לָהּ

שָׁלֹשׁ בֵּיצִים.

וּבְכָל-בֵּיצָה

– הַס, פֶּן תָּעִיר –

יָשֵׁן לוֹ

אֶפְרוֹחַ זָעִיר.

Outsourced ... or rubber vs. eraser

http://www.outsourcedthemovie.com/

The film itself is not a work of art, it contains cultural clishees, looks like amateur's film. But, it's funny and easy to follow.

One thing irritated me - rubber vs. eraser. The American didn't understand why Indians kept on saying 'rubber' instead of 'eraser'. Simple: because 'rubber' is British English, and it is irrelevant that Americans use this word in slang with another meaning (condoms). Indeed, when you tell an American 'rubber' he will think of somtehing else. But a little more brains will do ...

P.S. - Israelis make comments during the film like they are find themselves in front of their own TV. Silence during the screening is unknown to them ...

Happy (late) Valentine's Day

So, this is Valentine's Day in Israel - NOTHING SPECIAL! Once again I felt like these people don't celebrate ... take me to the streets and ask me if there is any holiday or celebration, and I would say NO for sure, because I don't see anything special. I can "smell" the Shabbat but I cannot "smell" holidays, Jewish or not it doesn't matter. Well, on Hanukka I did see some palm trees wrapped in lights on Ibn Gvirol Blvd. ... and Dizengoff mall full of decorations. But, hey! this time I missed Dizengoff Mall's decorations on Valentine's Day - if there were any ...

However, BIG THANKS to the Indian restaurant on the corner for the beautiful heart-shaped baloons. If it hadn't been for them, I wouldn't have known it was a holiday. Still, with a single heart there won't be any Valentine's Day ...

I miss the crowded metro exits with hundreds of people selling kitsch stuff for Valentine's Day. I miss hanging around with friends at the Valentine's Day fair. I miss the young women with red roses received from their lovers. I miss happy faces. But I don't miss this day spent without my Valentine!

Oranges

"Ma? Anachnu Ashkenazim?"

Or put it in other words "what? are we Ashkenazim?" -

This is the reaction to my "European tea ceremony" - big red cups, tea spoons, napkins, small fancy porcelain sugar bowl, small fancy box with a rich selection of teas, small fancy porcelain nana bowl, kettle with boiling water ... everything "mesudar kmo she-tzarich" (in order, as it should be).

If I were Bedouin I would drink a boiling hot Bedouin tea with a lot of sugar (I will not tell you the secret of my boyfriend's delicious tea), in a more relaxed atmosphere, sitting on comfortable pillows (and not on my stiff Ikea wooden chairs), in the middle of the nature (not in the middle of the noisy Tel Aviv) ...

But, even so, I enjoyed more the company than the tea itself, which was just an excuse.

PUZZLE

The puzzle on my table ...