The Zoo, Security Briefing and more

1/22/14
Today was a busy day.  Begins with a glorious buffet breakfast of various cold salads , fruit, cheeses, breads and pastries, yogurts etc.  I ate my first persimmon  ..delicious.
We took a walking tour of the neighborhood.  haifa is very green.  .Lots  of trees and plants, small shoppes, high rise hotels, small apartment buildings, and single family homes on narrow hilly streets. Reminds one of Southern California.  Because of all the hills you often come upon an unobstructed view of the harbor, beach and open sea.  Weather has been clear and sunny and in the high 60s during the day and cooler at night.
       Took a walk thru the zoo, nicely landscaped but lots of steep hills to climb!   Later, We gathered for a meeting at the hotel to review what to do if alam sounds.  The bomb shelter is below the parking garage of our hotel. Apparently it can accommodate a few thousand people, is equipped with water and bathrooms.  Everyone seems very matter of fact about staying calm and following procedures. If you are in your room when-you hear an alarm you are instructed to go to stairwell and make your way downstairs.  Hopefully this is just an exercise in caution and life will remain peaceful.
    this evening we walked to the home of one of the volunteer host families.  All the volunteers and families met Each other and met the paid staff of Boston Haifa CJP office.  Everyone is gracious and enthusiastic about the programs they sponsor, which include  the school tutoring ESL program, as well as a mother child day program for immigrants and another educational program for the Ethiopian Jews.
   my host family is Moshe and Etti.  moshe  teaches at Haifa University and will doing a sabbatical at Harvard in the Spring.   Etti is a retired history teacher. They have two children and 4 grandchildren. His folks are holacaust survivors from Germany who settled in California.  His dad had been a jeweler in Germany and worked as a dental  technician in California.  Moshe emigrated to Jerusalem in his 20s, where he met Etti at University.   I will be joining them with their daughter and her family for Shabbat dinner tomorrow eve as well as most of the other Friday evenings.  Good nite all!