A Happy Ending to the Summer Vacation

Shalom Yeladim:

Sorry I haven't been in touch for a while but I've been kinda busy buzzing around this summer. Yesterday evening I did the coolest thing. I made a fly line to the Eretz Yisrael Museum in Tel Aviv to see the most spectacular fairy tale sand sculptures. Sculptors from the World Sand Sculpting Academy in The Hague – that's in Holland – came to Israel, took over the museum's courtyard and made gigantic sand sculptures from 700 tons of sand! Two represent Bible stories – like the Tower of Babel. The rest are interpretations of our favorite fairy tales – like The Little Mermaid. I took these two photos on the fly but I found a YouTube clip so that you can virtually enjoy our happy ending to our summer vacation.

Le'Hitraot...Zvuvi

I Just Appeared at The Pittsburgh Folk Festival

Shalom Yeladim:

I was in Pittsburgh last week when they held their 54th International Folk Festival. This year the festival planners decided that every country should be represented by a children's book. Yup...you guessed it. I was Israel's proud ambassador. All the pannels of the Israel pavillion had pictures from my book. You'll see me as well, because hey, I love being a fly on a wall. Hope you enjoy the photos and THANK YOU PITTSBURGH for making me feel so at home.

Le'Hitraot...Zvuvi

Zvuvi Wants to Test Fly An Electric Car at Better Place

Shalom Yeladim:
Finally I will be able to fly behind a car without getting exhausted. That's because the car will be electric and it will be part of an awesome Israeli environmental project created by a man named Shai Agassi. The project is called Better Place – which is exactly what it hopes to make the world.

If Better Place succeeds, almost everybody will be driving non-polluting electric cars that they can charge in their own homes. When the battery has to be exchanged, they'll go to a battery switch station that looks like a gas station but doesn't use a single drop of fuel! Watch Sophie and her Daddy drive to school and work, and you'll understand what Better Place is all about.

Here's a scoop hot off the press: Better Place just announced that the Renault Fluence ZE is going to be first electric car sold in Israel. That is sooo exciting. Right now Better Place has stations in Israel, California, Hawaii, Ontario, Denmark, Australia, Japan and China. Who knows where the next Better Place station will be located? It could be in your neighborhood!

Gotta go. I want to test fly the Renault Fluence ZE.
Zvuvi

Right foot forward, left foot forward, right across back foot...

Shalom Yeladim:
Phew...learning how to dance an Israeli folk dance is not easy, but I'm determined. So what if I have four legs, which makes it more difficult. The thing is I'm an Israeli...O.K., an Israeli fly...and I'm proud of the fact that people around the world are dancing Israeli folk dances. It's unbelievable! Watch how these people in Japan dance Sha'avta Mayim...and women in Berlin, Germany dance an Israeli Debka.

Israeli folk dancing is our biggest cultural export – much more popular than our famous violinists, orchestras and artists who have made their mark around the world. It started decades ago with a simple Hora danced to Hava Nagila, just like these kids are dancing. Today it's that AND MUCH MORE. We do line dancing, choreographed numbers, you name it and everybody loves it. You know what? Israeli folk dancing is a great way to have fun and exercise at the same time. You simply can't go wrong, even if you're a klutz like me.

There's a reason that I'm telling you about Israeli folk dancing. Yom Ha'atzmaut – Israel Independence Day – is a little over a week away. Dancing is part of the celebration and I want you to be ready. So...

Right foot forward, left foot forward, right across back foot...

Zvuvi....(who's trying to get the steps right)

Penguins in Israel?

Shalom Yeladim:

I know that sounds funny. These cute aquatic birds are usually associated with ice, snow and freezing temperatures. So what are they doing in Israel – a desert country with a hot, tropical climate? They’re mating at Jerusalem’s Biblical Zoo, that’s what. At least Black Footed penguins are. Also known as the African Penguin, they live in countries like Namibia and South Africa, so they are used to hot weather.

How did they get to Israel? The Amsterdam Zoo was worried about the future of its black footed penguins. To make sure they would be fruitful and multiply they shipped a few to Jerusalem because the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo is famous for conserving endangered species. Animals and birds about to disappear – like Griffon Vultures, Fallow Deer and Asian Elephants – get a second chance at the Jerusalem Zoo. When the Black Footed penguins arrived, the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo was so successful in helping them conceive that they outnumbered the numbers they were expecting. Get the pun? Expecting! In short, Black Footed Penguin multiplication worked so well that soon Israel will be exporting penguins to zoos all over the world.

Penguins Made in Israel. I love it.

Gotta spread the buzz…Zvuvi

What's the Connection Between Macy’s and the Israeli City Holon?

Shalom Yeladim:

Here’s the answer: Macy’s holds an annual Thanksgiving Day Parade with people from all over the United States coming to see it, and every year Holon holds its Purim Adloyada Parade, with Israelis from north to south attending. Both of these parades are unbelievable pageants with huge floats, bands, dance troupes, balloons and more. Now, I don’t know what goes on behind the scenes of the Macy’s parade, but I do know that Holon has a special puppet center with a school that teaches how to make puppets. Even better, it has a two-year course in carnival art which trains people on how to build giant puppets like this Jungle Boy float. It is gigantic puppet floats like this that make Holon’s Adloyada parade so special.

The parade is about to begin. I’ve got to fly. I want to buzz around and meet the puppet makers. A giant Zvuvi float sounds good to me for next year’s parade.

Hey…you never know.

Purim Sameach…Zvuvi

What do Haman and the Pyramids Have in Common?

Shalom Yeladim:
The answer is really neat. Right we all eat Hamantashen on Purim? In Israel we call them Oznei Haman (which means “Haman’s ears”) and they go on sale in the makolet – local supermarket – around a month before Purim. Every year bakers all over the country try to outdo themselves by coming up with new ideas. This year one baker came up with such an unusual idea that it was covered on the news. Are you ready for this? Pyramid shaped Oznei Haman! He said he was inspired by the current events going on in our part of the world and he wanted to show the Egyptians that he agreed with their push for democracy. So instead of cutting his dough into triangles he cut it into rectangles. He filled each rectangle with a traditional poppy seed mix, lifted its the corners and pinched them into the shape of a pyramid. Pretty cool, and much closer to the real meaning of Hamentashen – which is German for “pockets of poppy seeds”.
Hey – I wonder if pyramid costumes will be a hit this Purim as well. You never know! I’ll keep you posted.
Zvuvi