The HamamaLlamas go to Dinner

Two families have been kind enough to host us for dinner: one yesterday, and one tonight for Shabbat. These are wonderful opportunities to see family life in Israel and talk over delicious meals from home.

Yesterday, we ate with a family from Ein Shemer, who had four young and adorably rambunctious children: two five-year-old twins (one boy and one girl, Noga), their nine-year-old brother Royi, and the eldest, a twelve-year-old boy. Their mother is named Galadriel, after the High Elf from Lord of the Rings, nicknamed Gally. 

The three youngest don't actually speak English, and the two twins didn't even understand that we didn't speak Hebrew. This made for some interesting times as Noga shouted enthusiastic words at us, and expected us to understand. Her twin was feeling sleepy and didn't interact much at first, but once he got some food in him, he was (almost) as wild as she was. 

Dinner was "pancakes", which turned out to be crepes, with all sorts of different toppings. These ranged from this interesting cheese spread thingy, to tahina, to nutella, to syrup, and were all interesting to try. Gally works at an ice cream shop actually mixing the ice cream, and for dessert she gave us some of her productions to try. It was DELICIOUS.

We played with the kids for about an hour after that. They were incredibly fun to be around. When we finally had to leave, we agreed that it was, undeniably, the best night we've had here so far.
Making new friends in the greenhouse! Left to right: Yair, Rayna, Claire, and Noam
Tonight was our first Shabbat in Israel, and it did not disappoint. Noam, a new friend from the greenhouse, invited us to eat with his family. They were a tad (read: wayyyyyyyy) calmer than the children of the night before. His older sister is out of the army and in her first years of university, and her boyfriend is currently in the army as an officer. They travel a lot together, and so had quite a few stories to tell. The food differed significantly from the night before: we had soup, bread, rice, and fish, served with a glass of red wine. All were excellent. 

We find that people here are incredibly hospitable. Everyone seems to want to make sure that we are having the best experience, that our rooms are comfortable, that we have enough to eat, and that we are seeing all the best places. 

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