In October, Pret had the opportunity to meet a guy named Jonathan at a conference he attended in Virginia for work. They have since become really good friends, eventhough they live half a country away from each other, as Jonathan is attending school in Baltimore, MD. The coolest thing about it is that Jonathan is an Orthodox Jew. As he was heading home (to Dallas) for his Hanukkah break, he decided to lay-over in SLC for a few days to hang out with us. He happened to be staying with us for the first night of Hanukkah, so he lit his Menorah and we had it burning in our window as we went to bed.
(So I figured it out--it's because they are hyperlinks to the pictures. Sorry--just don't click on them.)
The next day, Pret had to take a test, so Jonathan came to school with me and was able to teach my students a little of the history of Hanukkah and how Jewish children play the dreidle game. He also bought each of my students a little dreidle so they could play the game at home.
Then, to top it off, he brought his menorah and lit the vials of oil so the kids could see what it looked like. It was wonderful. Some of the kids drew a picture of him for the "writing" and it was cute to see them try to draw his Yamika. They also each wrote a "thank you" note for him. He got them today and told me how much that meant to him.
It has been so fun to learn a little bit about the Jewish culture. I felt bad not being able to cook for him as he follows a strict Kosher diet, but I now know how to find Kosher food and respect him for sticking to his beliefs so strongly! Thank you Jonathan for being such a good example to us! He is coming to stay with us again in January if everything works out ok. Maybe I can even talk him into coming back and visiting my class again---I know the kids would love it!Anyway, this is the last thing I am doing in my classroom for 12 days! I am so excited to take some time off and relax with Pret. I will try to get another post up in a few days with some pictures of Pret's brother getting off his mission and other more recent happenings. Love to all and travel safely if you are doing so in the next few days. Tomorrow I am getting together with my old roommates for our annual Macaroni Grill meals--I can't wait to see them, especially Sarah's baby!
7 comments:
What a cool experience for you & your cute kindergarten class! Glad to hear you are doing well and enjoy the winter break.
We were having Potato Latkes for after-church dinner EVEN BEFORE I read your blog!
The oil Menorah is beautiful.
What school does he go to and what is he studying?
Thanks for writing again.
That's really cool. I know a number of guys who are Orthodox Jews. They've always impressed me about their devotion to their beliefs. I'm really glad that you and Pret were able to experience that. By the way, if either of you are ever in the DC area (VA, MD, DC) again, look me up.
Rich
dear mrs. dahlgren,
I loved learning about hannakuah! I came home and told my family all about it and I played dradel with them! We also had latkas and baklava (because the Greeks ate that and we were also learning about the Greek army).
I hope that you had a good Christmas!
Love,
Abram
Isn't christmas break the best??? It definitely makes it worth being a teacher! That sound like you guys had a great cultural experience. I love that!
Hey guys!
We need to get together sometime! We hope you had a great Holiday Break.
By the way, we changed our blog address. Here it is:
http://littlefamilyjld.blogspot.com/
Megan! It's Marisa Killpack (soon to be Larsen). I didnt' know you had a blog! I just barely started one, but I'll make certain to check you and pret's regularly.
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