There are, of course, also cons to aliyah preparation. For one thing, our dog will suffer on the way to Israel on the plane. She’ll be alone without much food or water and won’t be able to “go to the bathroom.”

Also, we have two goldfish, Tova and Tuvia, who have miraculously survived for six or seven years so far. I suppose it would be hard to transport them to Israel:

“Oops, sorry for slopping all that water on you, sir, but I’m bringing my fish along for the trip. Maybe you should have come in a swimming suit. I’m afraid there will be more coming with the turbulence and the landing.”

Actually, I wouldn’t be the one holding them – I have ichthyophobia (fear of fish), but we got them before I developed it. So we’ll probably give them to our friends.

There’s also the matter of our baby avocado tree – we’ve had it for quite a while now, and it’s flourishing nicely. We’ll probably also give it to our friends, but it’ll be so sad – it’s the first successful(ish) thing I’ve grown in my life! I used to have flowers of some sort and it grew a lot, but before its flowers came, we went on a trip to Boston and when I came back, it had died.

On another subject, today (the 18th), my next Hebrew book came! It’s Peter and the Starcatchers translated, and I’m already on chapter two. It’s shorter than the last book, but I’m sure it will be a big help!