[etni] Fw: Post Conference Activities


----- Original Message ----- From: Barry Masha and family - barisil@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Post Conference Activities

Dear those of you who made it to the conference and those who did not:
First of all, I would like to echo the praises of several participants and express my heartfelt thanks to all those involved in arranging this week's ETAI conference, including those behind the scenes that we never got to see. Not the least of these is Hansam Nutsrallah who kindly allowed the conference to continue until its scheduled conclusion. On this subject, I must add one small complaint, for the new war commenced a mite too early for my taste. On the first day of ETAI, I saw a poster for a rock event in Jerusalem called Vaya Con Dios (Portuguese for 'Candy Can Do It') last night! I'm already in Jerusalem and have no responsibilities! I was all set to go when the rumblings from the north curtailed my pursuit of fun. Instead, I found the only other two participants from Etsba Hagalil, and pointed the car northwards.

One of the wonderful things about this conference was how much money it saved. The admission fee was down by over 50%, I wasn't charged for using all that wonderful electronic equipment, and I didn't have to pay for the rock concert.
Moreover, in all the excitement of getting my presentation ready, looking for things to buy with our new English room budget, and trying to photograph unwilling young women, my weight went down to 68, unmatched in ten years.

Looking over the many letters of praise for the conference on this List, I see that the issue of bathrooms occupies a prominent place. I remember what it was like at the hotel, where the women occupied first the men's department and eventually the handicapped section. Men who dared venture in risked kidnapping, for the assumption that they could always use the parking lot.

I have never attended a conference where there were so many dramatic productions going on. I got to see a wonderful Peter Pan, put together almost instantly by the amazing Mitzi Geffen, and I enjoyed a spirited musical revue by the Traveling Lachmishes. But the greatest treat of all was a play for children by two young and incredibly talented actresses, The Cuckoo Clock. If you didn't see it yourselves, find out more about this starburst of creative energy before you plan your English day.

Talking about drama brings me to the drama that I found once I got home. Calls to enter the shelters, endless artillery reports and alarming news reports greeted me as I reached Kiriat Shmona. We actually have our own shelter, including a bathroom which doubled the price, built 6 years ago just as the na?ve optimists told us we would no longer need one. Over the years, it has housed guests and slumber parties, but we only used it as a shelter seeking family on three occasions, and that was really just to prove that we could use it if we wanted to. So last night the 5 of us who are home snuggled in to it; supper was no problem because it was a fast day. As it happened, Nasrallah's surprise was to waste no Katyushot on Kiriat Shmona ( at least up to the moment of writing, ) and concentrate his efforts further south.

All in all, it's very quiet here and it's a good time for a bike ride.

I'd better send this off now as the family computer, though not in the shelter, is the primary source of family entertainment tonight.

In the future, I may address some of the following issues:

Why do so few teachers from the periphery, especially the upper Galilee, attend these conferences?
Why do so few teachers from the Arab sector attend? There used to be more.
Will I regain the 2 lost Kilos, or will today's fast help keep it off?

All this and more once I get the TV fixed up in the shelter and the kids of the computer.

As John Lennon once said,  Give Peace a Chance.

On the other hand, look what they did to him.

Love,

Barry


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