It’s been two weeks since school started, and I am proud to say that I now excel at the most important subject in school... recess! After I wrote my last entry about not having any friends and being picked last for the sports teams at recess, I spent a few more days complaining to everyone who would listen, like my parents, my brothers, and my friend Avi, aka my translator.  Well, Avi finally decided that I needed some special tutoring. So one day after school, we hopped on a bus to a huge park and spent a couple of hours kicking a soccer ball around, playing marbles, and doing other recess-type of activities that kids play in here. Avi spoke to me in Hebrew the whole time so I could learn all the words and phrases that I’d need in order to play at recess. I now play with my classmates at each and every recess. Not only that, but I’ve even been invited to play at a few kids’ houses after school.

I guess all that advice that my mother and father gave me about having the right attitude and putting in some effort into making aliyah a success is actually true. Listen, I still have no clue what my teachers are saying most of the time. But as I said before, recess is the most important subject in school anyway. So if I’m doing well in that, I give myself an A on my report card!

Oh, and in case you’re wondering how I get to school, the park, and all these play dates that I’m now invited to, I have two words for you: Rav Kav.

What is a Rav Kav, you ask? A Rav Kav is a bus card. Now that may not sound that exciting to you, but let me explain it a little more. This Rav Kav has my picture on it, my name on it, and a computer chip that knows exactly how much money is on my card. So every time I use it to pay for a bus ride, I put the card in the bus’s card reader, and it automatically deducts the cost of a ride from my card.

I’m a pro with the bus system here in Israel. I take the bus to and from school every single day. Me, 10-year-old Binyamin, who wasn’t allowed to go anywhere by himself back in New York, is now taking the city bus to and from school without any adults! This place rocks!

(Excerpted from Mishpacha Jr., Issue 784)