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What are you doing right now? Part 2
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I'm now wating for a vouple of gallerists from Berlin who are about to open an exhibition for Perugia Municipality: I'm the translator!!!
Here the news about it
http://turismo.comune.perugia.it/arti...
Esther wrote: "I never realised Nice was so cultural. I have only been on the beach when we were passing through on our way to Italy.The synagogue was probably closed for security reasons but if you want to see a really beautiful synagogue visit Rome. They have a small museum and tours and the restaurants in the nearby Ghetto area are wonderful."
In Nice there are also a lot of museums: Chagall, Matisse, Picasso and much more. I hope to go back one day only for the museums.
Thanks for telling me about the synagogue in Rome. I will surely look for it if someday I will go to Rome.
Esther wrote: "At the end of last week DH had his birthday present of a track day - several hours tearing round in a rally car with a teacher at his side.Because the track is down South we took a couple of days..."
Thansk for sharing the pics! Spa with water of the Dead Sea...I'm already dreaming about it *_* I'm glad it worked so well for your pain!
It's a particular and wonderful landscape and the view from your hotel is amazing! And kudos to your husband's bravery!
LauraT wrote: "Thanks Marina; I hope so too.I'm now wating for a vouple of gallerists from Berlin who are about to open an exhibition for Perugia Municipality: I'm the translator!!!
Here the news about it
http:..."
As usual, very interesting!
Apples and Honey in a poem referencing Rosh Hashanah, left me wondering about the emotional significance of apples and honey.Some things Siri can’t explain.
Just leaving a message so that I get enails for the thread!
Joan wrote: "Apples and Honey in a poem referencing Rosh Hashanah, left me wondering about the emotional significance of apples and honey.Some things Siri can’t explain."
Joan I don't know how much you know about Judaism but on Rosh HaShanah we have a seder (like on order of service but for a meal) with blessings over symbolic foods.
The blessing for the apple and honey is 'may the year be good and sweet like honey.' There is no specific reason for the apple but it is sweet and traditionally connected with fertility.
Honey cakes and apple honey cakes are traditional foods for Rosh Hashanah and almost any snack buffet at this time of year will include slices of apple with a bowl of honey for dipping.
There is an idea that the honey is in fact date honey not bee honey because dates are so much more common here.
Esther, I appreciated reading what you have written to Joan too.
Chrissie wrote: "Esther, I appreciated reading what you have written to Joan too."Sometimes I worry I over-explain or tell people things they already know.
Esther, thank you,I knew of some of the symbolism of foods at Passover but not for Rosh Hashanah. I had thought Seder meant meal on the first night of Passover.
Hope and Faith that the year can be good and sweet like honey fits exactly with my response to the poem by Lucille Clifton
rosh hashanah
i bear witness to no thing
more human than hate
i bear witness to no thing
more human than love
apples and honey
apples and honey
what is not lost
is paradise
Esther wrote: "Chrissie wrote: "Esther, I appreciated reading what you have written to Joan too."Sometimes I worry I over-explain or tell people things they already know."
Don't worry, there will always be someone who is interested. In this case it was me.
Chrissie wrote: Don't worry, there will always be someone who is interested. In this case it was me. .":0)
Joan wrote: " I had thought Seder meant meal on the first night of Passover..."You are right the first night of Passover is called 'Lil HaSeder' which mean night of the seder/order and everyone sits round the table reading the Hagadah which is the story of the Exodus from Egypt.
This is the central and most important ceremonial part of the celebration of Passover.
But most Jewish celebrations centre around food so there are also seders for Rosh Hashanah and Tu Bishvat.
I liked to read your message too, Esther. I don't know anything about Judaism. Once I've seen an interesting book (and sadly I didn't buy it immediately so now I don't remember the title) about bread in different religions: the tradition, the meaning and the different types of bread linked to religions.
I too know little about Judism, and find all the different ways religion is expressed fascinating.
Esther, I always enjoy your posts as well. Recently I did an AncestryDNA test and found out that I was 11% European Jewish as well as some other nationalities, but only 43 % Italian when I thought I was much more . All of my grandparents were born in Italy . I enjoy hearing about the holidays and the food of course, so keep telling us .
Angela M wrote: "Esther, I always enjoy your posts as well. Recently I did an AncestryDNA test and found out that I was 11% European Jewish as well as some other nationalities, but only 43 % Italian when I thought ..."My Dad is from Algeria but their family bible was printed in Livorno so we think they may have originally come from Italy.
Angela M wrote: "Esther, I always enjoy your posts as well. Recently I did an AncestryDNA test and found out that I was 11% European Jewish as well as some other nationalities, but only 43 % Italian when I thought ..."I would like to do that test too! I'm really curious to know about my ancestors!
How could they see "European Jewish"? I can understand European but Jewish? Religion can't be seen in the DNA.
Give me only 5 minutes and I will post again some pics because I went away for the weekend. On Thursday the main site for which I work told us that they would be down for maintenance till Monday, so I decided to go away for the weekend.
On Saturday I went to Saint Michael's Abbey in Piedmont, not far away from Turin. It is an amazing place and also important: it's one of the seven abbeys along the "holy line" of Saint Michael.
Legend says that a young vergin jumped down from this tower to escape soldiers that wanted to rape her. Before jumping down she prayed Saint Michael that helped her so she arrived down alive. Sadly she started to boast about it, how pious she is to have been saved by an archargel. People didn't believe her and she decided to jump again to show them that Saint Michael was on her side. This time she died. Moral: never challenge God, be thankful for the grace received and don't boast about it.
I was dying doing all the road to arrive there. You can go only by foot, the car has to be left down in a parking. Beside the road, there are A LOT of steep steps to do. On the afternoon I went also for the mass and in the evening I went for a concert of Gregorian chants that was beautiful! Perfect location for such chants.
Everything beautiful and perfect except for the holiday farm where I booked a room for the night. I had never met such people before. Really a bad welcome and hospitality. I'm a very patient person and also very accomodating, but that family recalled me a family of a horror movie of which I don't remember the title.
I'm curious to see who will recognize the location because a famous movie has been done there. And this movie is based on a famous book!Sadly not all the parts are open to be visited and one of those is the library :-(
There you can go only with a guide and only once a month if I don't remember wrong.
On Sunday I visited a small town there nearby, Avigliana. Sadly it rained for the whole night so I couldn't go on the lakes because everything was bogged from the rain.
Then I went also to visit the abbey of Saint Anthony:
It's a pity I couldn't visit also the lakes, I'm sure they are beautiful when it's sunny. So after lunch I came back home, also because I was tired of all that walking for two days.
Mod
..."
I LOVE the Sacra di San Michele!!!!!!!
And the other Church is near the house of the friend of mine I go to when visiting Torino: Villarbasse. Lovelely!
I'll be there in three weeks time!
LauraT wrote: "dely wrote: "On Saturday I went to Saint Michael's Abbey in Piedmont, not far away from Turin. It is an amazing place and also important: it's one of the seven abbeys along the "holy line" of Saint..."There are so many beautiful things to visit in Turin and the area there nearby. I should go more often. Well, I'm already happy I could go away this weekend!
dely wrote: "Angela M wrote: "Esther, I always enjoy your posts as well. Recently I did an AncestryDNA test and found out that I was 11% European Jewish as well as some other nationalities, but only 43 % Italia..."Because Jews have intermarried so much there are certain DNA markers that are almost exclusively Jewish. (This also means there is a higher incidence of certain genetic diseases within the Jewish population)
In addition even in Ashkenazi Jews with ancestors who have lived in Eastern Europe for generations there is a distinctive middle-Eastern slant to their DNA.
They recently found that many American Jews of Eastern European origin are genetically more closely related to Palestinians than to their non-Jewish American neighbours.
Beautiful pics, dely! It seems a very interesting place to visit.
dely wrote: "I'm curious to see who will recognize the location because a famous movie has been done there. And this movie is based on a famous book!Sadly not all the parts are open to be visited and one of th..."
Beautiful photos!
Is the movie Name of the Rose? If so maybe it was a good thing they didn't allow you into the library!
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I know! I go and visit this friend of mine at least once a year, and still have so many things to see...
Esther wrote: "Because Jews have intermarried so much there are certain DNA markers that are almost exclusively Jewish. (This also means there is a higher incidence of certain genetic diseases within the Jewish population)"This is very interesting! I have to admit, I didn't know there have been such studies. Thanks for the explanation!
Esther wrote: "Is the movie Name of the Rose? If so maybe it was a good thing they didn't allow you into the library!"Yes, The Name of the Rose.
Marina (Sonnenbarke) wrote: "Beautiful pics, dely! It seems a very interesting place to visit."Thanks! Yes, it is interesting. I thought I would need more time to visit the abbey of Saint Michael, but in 2 hours I was able to see everything and also taking things slowly.
Thanks, for the pics, dely. Beaurtiful! You asked about the name of a book made into a movie. The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco. ETA--oops, Esther already answered this!
Chrissie wrote: "Thanks, for the pics, dely. Beaurtiful! You asked about the name of a book made into a movie. The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco. ETA--oops, Esther already answered t..."
:D
I looked for it and it seems only the book is set there, not the movie. The location of the movie is another. I wonder why I thought that also the movie has been done there.
dely wrote: "Chrissie wrote: "Thanks, for the pics, dely. Beaurtiful! You asked about the name of a book made into a movie. The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco. ETA--oops, Esther a..."
Because they probably tried made the film location look as similar as possible to the book location.
Beautiful pictures and congratulations on completing such a walk! And what a setting for a chant service.Esther - is DNA testing sufficiently sensitive to separate Sephardic and Ashkenazi ancestry?
I’m still wondering about the apples and honey on Rosh Hashanah- are apples commonly grown in the middle east? I’ve always associated them with northern climates, and thought of the middle east as hot year round.
Esther , this is all so fascinating. In addition to the 11% European Jewish, I was also 15 % Mideastern and 11% Iberian Peninsula and 14% Caucasus . I’m a real mix !
Joan wrote: "Esther - is DNA testing sufficiently sensitive to separate Sephardic and Ashkenazi ancestry?.."Despite all the years living in separate countries I don't think there is a significant genetic difference but there must be some because Sephardim don't suffer from the same genetic diseases that Ashkenazim do. The inter marriage of Jews from all backgrounds in Israel is leading to a significant reduction in the incidence of genetic diseases although there is still extensive pre-natal testing.
Joan wrote: "I’m still wondering about the apples and honey on Rosh Hashanah- are apples commonly grown in the middle east? I’ve always associated them with northern climates, and thought of the middle east as hot year round. .."Yes it is strange, apples aren't really a local fruit. They are mostly grown on the Golan Heights because it is cooler.
Most of Israel doesn't dip below 0c in winter but the high hills get snow including Jerusalem.
We just think it is cold because we don't have efficient heating!
Angela, you are a real mix. Pity they can't tell you as to when each part occurred. I find it really interesting when people do have their Ancestry DNA tested. However, I know I will never get mine done. The thought of handing over a sample of genetic make-up for something other than legal reasons fill me with the horrors.From our genealogical research, I know I am British, both maternal- and paternally back to 1526.
I’m on my lunch break from ESL training. After thinking about becoming an ESL tutor for the last 5 years, I finally took the plunge and registered for the training! I can’t wait to get started!
That’s great Pam! Congratulations on taking the leap.
Pam wrote: "I’m on my lunch break from ESL training. After thinking about becoming an ESL tutor for the last 5 years, I finally took the plunge and registered for the training! I can’t wait to get started!"Good uck!
That is wonderful, Pam.Think Fall has finally arrived, very cool this morning, but I love this time of year.
Pam wrote: "I’m on my lunch break from ESL training. After thinking about becoming an ESL tutor for the last 5 years, I finally took the plunge and registered for the training! I can’t wait to get started!"How will you use your qualification? Do you plan to travel and teach or are there a lot of non-English speakers in your area?
Thank you all for your kind words! Esther- No I don’t plan to travel & teach, at least not now. The training I did is with a non-profit organization called ReadWest. They match their tutors with an adult client for 1-on-1 tutoring. Yes, we do have a high need in NM for ESL and basic literacy. We have a large Spanish-speaking population, no surprise being a border state with Mexico. We are certainly not limited, though, to Spanish-speakers. One thing I found interesting is that there are people who are highly skilled in reading & writing in English but not in speaking. I thought the skills all went hand-in-hand, but not necessarily! I wasn’t sure what to expect with the training but turned out it was very similar to the current Special Ed teaching techniques taught in college courses. I don’t teach any more but I’m glad I kept my textbooks! They might be good resources.
Pam wrote: "Thank you all for your kind words! Esther- No I don’t plan to travel & teach, at least not now. The training I did is with a non-profit organization called ReadWest. They match their tutors with an..."What is ESL training and what does an ESL tutor do? I tried to look on Google, but it finds a lot of different things.
Dely - ESL is English as a Second Language. It’s teaching people to speak, read, & write in English.
Pam wrote: "Dely - ESL is English as a Second Language. It’s teaching people to speak, read, & write in English."Ah! Thank you! Looking on Google the first thing was Electronic Sports League, lol.
That's great you decided to do this training to become a tutor!
Working on a talk I'm giving Tuesday nihht.
Esther wrote: "dely wrote: "Angela M wrote: "Esther, I always enjoy your posts as well. Recently I did an AncestryDNA test and found out that I was 11% European Jewish as well as some other nationalities, but onl..."Yes, this is correct. I'm not Jewish but know about this as well, probably because I have had many Jewish friends, etc.
All About Books
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Because the track is down South we took a couple of days at the Dead Sea. It is very hot there but dry and the landscape is like Mars.
The hotels are at Ein Bokek - in the middle of nowhere. People visit for the unique experience of floating in the Dead Sea or for a spa treatment.
I spent only a few minutes in the hotel's therapeutic salt-water pool and my shoulder pain, which had been getting really bad recently, totally disappeared.
My husband ready to roll!
View from our room
view from 177m below sea level.