"Israel. So what was that... like?" It's one of the first questions people ask me when I tell them that I spent the past 6 years living in Israel. It's a question where the emphasis comes, every time, on the 'like,' and the word is loaded with about a half dozen other questions. Namely: - Was it scary? - Should I believe what I read in the news? - Did you ever meet a terrorist? - Did you ride a camel? - Did you ever kill someone? These unasked questions tend to go unanswered (but the correct answers are, by the way: No, Sometimes, No, Of Course, and Only with kindness) because they go unasked. Most people deem them rude or awkward. But the truth is if you get me started, I'll talk your ear o

A few days ago, I was sitting in the new teacher orientation at Green School, the environmental school where Tali is now teaching 7th grade. Though I'm not a new teacher, the school was kind enough to invite all the partners (read: stay-at-home husbands), and we all showed up dutifully. One of the school's blissfully down-to-earth guidance counselors was leading a session on Transitions, with a capitol T. As in, how do people handle the transitions that come with a new school, a new job, a new country, a new culture. It was a session she runs for students, but also new teachers—this whole thing is brand new to us, too, of course. "One of the more difficult parts of transitioning to a new