Poems and Physicists

I haven't written anything lately, so I am long overdue on very important things. Like Elephants. And Penguins. Just joking, that's not what I'm going to talk about... Apparently, they have nothing to do with the title, so I can't talk about it...
In English class, we read a Emily Dickenson poem, which was nice, but that's not what I want to talk about. Of course, we had to get homework, and we needed to right poem that had to do with nature with a pattern of syllables. And I wrote one.

The Sea

By: Adina Hershberg

The sea is just a wonderful thing,

it can be calm and relaxed,

the happiness the sea can bring!

Te can also be very enraged,

it thrashed and pounds while it's in rage

when it's angry, it's very badly mannered.

However, it's vast and long and blue.

I can just sit and watch the waves,

it's beautiful-ness and soul-ness is true.

What do you thing, and tell me the truth - I can handle it! It also has a rythem for the syllables (pretty much):

9

7

9

10

9

9

9

8

9

Yea, I did it!

On to the physics part... Last week, in my gifted class, 2 physicists from the University of Tel-Aviv came to speak to my class. One spoke about the physics in the eye, with awesome experiments and the other spoke about Plasma, which had experiments, a slide show and was even awesome-r! It was so cool and I learned soooooooooo much!

Did you know that most of the universe is made out of Plasma? Did you know that the sun is made out of Plasma (not gas, like when I was told in 4th grade)? Did you know the Plasma is when the particles fall apart?

I left, actually feeling smarter!

Happy purim and the night I saw him return

So, harry potter lovers - what's suspicious about this sentence??? I'll give you a hint - "The night I saw him return" - where is that from? The person who comes up with the right answer will win an awesome prize!

Anyway, HAPPY PURIM! What was your costume? What was the best costume you saw? What was the best Mishlo'ach manot that you saw??? I could tell you the best Mishlo'ach manot there was - my friend dressed up as a chef and gave french fries (cookies cut into the french fry shape) and a hamburger (also made out of brownies, gummy stuff, cookie and more)! BEAT THAT!

So, I am reading The Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother. How did that happen? Good question...
Phase 1: Mommy borrowing it from her friend.
Phase 2: Mommy putting it on the coffee table.
Phase 3: Adina being bored looking for a book to read.
Phase 4: Adina finding it and - BAM! - I'm half way through the book.
Did you guys read it? My mother says it is "Hot, hot, hot in America right now", and I have a lot to say about it. I still have more to read, so I am going to write about it only when I finish. Please await for the best book review of the century!

Did I mention I'm drunk?? Just joking, I literally had 2 tiny sips of wine.

Cheating

Hi!
Good morning! I am staying home a little late this morning because I had a horrible night's sleep. I have a question for all of you guys, and please comment/email me what you think, because I'm really interested in what you have to say.
Was there cheating on tests when you were a kid? Did you cheat? In my elementary school, there was no such thing as cheating on tests. To be compared, at my school right now there is cheating. I personally saw girls doing it. I talked to girls who were from different elementary schools, and they said that cheating did happen. The teacher brought it up a couple of weeks ago, and I was shocked. Completely shocked. I had no idea that it really was true, that kids cheat on tests! The teacher said that she knows who's been cheating in her lessons, on other teacher's lessons, and it is approximately 7 girls that cheat regularly. She asked from those girls to write her a letter saying that they are aware of what they did wrong, and what they are going to do about it. Last week, the teacher brought it up again saying the just one girl gave her a letter, and she is waiting for the rest. After the teacher said that, she asked what the class thinks about cheating and how she reacts to it. A girl named Sara (made-up name) raised her hand and said that cheating is totally wrong, but it's human and real. She also said that cheating has nothing to do with the relationship between the girls, or the trust between the girls in our class. I raised my hand, and said that, true, cheating is one of those bad things in life and it is human but that doesn't make anything better. It is still something that is not allowed and should not happen. I also disagreed with her about what she said about the relationship, that it is harder to trust that girl who cheats. Of course I wouldn't give the girl who cheats the silent treatment, but I wouldn't trust her with a secret.
What do you think?? If you saw a friend cheating in a test, would you tell teacher, and why??
So.................. Good night!

Spring is knocking on our door!

I went outside to do some errands with Abba about half an hour ago, and it was so warm! Isn't it supposed to be winter??? On my school bus, on the way to Jerusalem, I see all these colorful flowers and it makes me smile! Speaking of flowers... Have you read the poem 'Daffodils' by William Wordsworth?? Here it is (please read it as if I am reading it dramatically):

I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced, but they
Out-did the sparkling leaves in glee;
A poet could not be but gay,
In such a jocund company!
I gazed—and gazed—but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils. 

So, what do you think? I really like it. We had homework to find a poem about nature, and since I really like this poem, I brought it and read it to the class with feelin'. 

Good Shabbos!

Yosef's Drawings!

Please give feedback to Yosef! He has an email account, so if you don't have it please email me and I'll email you back with the address. Which one do you like best?
This is a picture of Ferri awhile ago with her plants that she got for Chanukah from Grandpa Saul and Grandma Judy:

The clarity of it isn't that high but, it's still very cute! Here is another picture of Ferri: (look at her shoes)

Adorable, right?????
Good Shabbos everybody!

Post #100!!

Yes! Happy 100 post anniversary! So.......... what's new? I have some things going on right now...
1. I have a Purim costume! Thank you Meme (AKA Mrs.Comet) for the cute ideas! This year, I am going to dress up to something so cool, cute and cuddly! Joking, I wouldn't say it's cute or cuddly, but it rhymes, so, as a rule I have: When something rhymes, it does not have to make sense, it makes sense! Did that make sense? Anyway, I am not going to say what it is, since I don't want the world to know a month before I actually wear it. I'll let you know when the time comes. :)
2. I am doing a new, extra toning program! I am gong to strengthen myself in hard, evil ways of doing crunches. HAHAHA! Not just crunches, but weights, plank, stepping up and down and several other things that don't make any sense. YAY! I am going to be like one of those weird guys with a six pack and saying GRRRRRRRRRR with his arms clenched!
3. Have you heard of the trilogy called The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins? OMG, it is great! The first book is AMAZING! The second book is EVEN BETTER! I actually didn't like the third book, but I finished it to know what happens to Katniss... Here is a summary of the first book:    

In a not-too-distant future, the United States of America has collapsed, weakened by drought, fire, famine, and war, to be replaced by Panem, a country divided into the Capitol and 12 districts. Each year, two young representatives from each district are selected by lottery to participate in The Hunger Games. Part entertainment, part brutal intimidation of the subjugated districts, the televised games are broadcasted throughout Panem as the 24 participants are forced to eliminate their competitors, literally, with all citizens required to watch. When 16-year-old Katniss's young sister, Prim, is selected as the mining district's female representative, Katniss volunteers to take her place. She and her male counterpart, Peeta, the son of the town baker who seems to have all the fighting skills of a lump of bread dough, will be pitted against bigger, stronger representatives who have trained for this their whole lives. Collins's characters are completely realistic and sympathetic as they form alliances and friendships in the face of overwhelming odds; the plot is tense, dramatic, and engrossing. 

What do you think? I LOVE IT! Of course, not as good as Harry Potter, but definitely in my recommend list! I like eating Peeta, but not as much the Peeta in the story. I'd say that my favorite character in the story only comes in in the second book, but Katniss is my favorite in this book.
Good night!

Purim and Costumes!

Hi!
How are you? I'm at school right now, on my free period! I need some ideas for a purim costume!!!! I need something:

• Original
• Funny
• Loud/Colorful
• Not expensive

Does anybody have any ideas??? I have a couple of ideas, but one is hard to get everything, one is unoriginal and the last one is expensive.
It also can go with my mishloach manot! Please email me soon because I'm DESPERATE!
Bye!

Me on the camel!

HAHAHAHHAHHA!
Don't forget to scroll down to the next post!

Music

Big news! Abba got an American account on iTunes! WAHOO! What does that mean, you ask me? You know what it means? YES, MUSIC! I get to buy music, without leaving the chair, and without ordering it from America to have it shipped for a billion years and a day!
I got an iTunes gift certificate from Grandma Bette, so I could finally use it! I'd like to share my opinion about a couple of songs:
Song #1: Have you heard of Rascal Flatts? Have you seen Cars? He sings "Life is a Highway", and I found a song of his that I fell in-love to. It is called 'Skin'. Here are the lyrics:
Sarabeth is scared to death
To hear what the doctor will say
She hasn't been well
Since the day that she fell
And the bruise, it just won't go away
So she sits and she waits with her mother and dad
Flips through an old magazine
Till the nurse with a smile
Stands at the door
And says will you please come with me

Sarabeth is scared to death
Cause the doctor just told her the news
Between the red cells and white
Something's not right
But we're gonna take care of you

Six chances in ten it won't come back again
With the therapy were gonna try
It's just been approved
It's the strongest there is
I think we caught it in time

Sarabeth closes her eyes
And she dreams she's dancing
Around and around without any cares
And her very first love is holding her close
And the soft wind is blowing her hair

Sarabeth is scared to death
As she sits holding her mom
Cause it would be a mistake
For someone to take
A girl with no hair to the prom

For, just this morning right there on her pillow
Was the cruelest of any surprise
And she cried when she gathered it all in her hands
The proof that she couldn't deny

Sarabeth closes her eyes
And she dreams she's dancing
Around and around without any cares
And her very first love was holding her close
And the soft wind is blowing her hair

Its quarter to seven
That boys at the door
And her daddy ushers him in
And when he takes off his cap
They all start to cry
Cause this mornin' where his hair had been
Softly she touches just skin

And they go dancin'
Around and around without any cares
And her very first true love is holding her close
And for a moment she isn't scared

Isn't it beautiful? I did some research, and this is a true story! She died 1/2 year after she's told that she had Cancer, and the boy who took her to the prom wrote this poem and sent it to Rascal Flatts. Here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IocHzS2sRJ8 to watch it. I highly recommend it!

Song #2: Anybody watched American Idol? I don't, but if you do, you've definitely heard of her - Kelly Clarkson. This song is more known, but I still tear up a little bit every time I tear up a little bit... Here are the lyrics:

I will not make the same mistakes that you did
I Will not let myself cause my heart so much misery
I will not break the way you did
You fell so hard
I've learned the hard way, to never let it get that far 

Because of you
I'll never stray too far from the sidewalk
Because of you
I learned to play on the safe side
So I don't get hurt
Because of you
I find it hard to trust
Not only me, but everyone around me
Because of you
I am afraid 

I lose my way
And it's not too long before you point it out
I cannot cry
Because I know that's weakness in your eyes
I'm forced to fake, a smile, a laugh
Every day of my life
My heart can't possibly break
When it wasn't even whole to start with 

Because of you
I'll never stray too far from the sidewalk
Because of you
I learned to play on the safe side
So I don't get hurt
Because of you
I find it hard to trust
Not only me, but everyone around me
Because of you
I am afraid 

I watched you die
I heard you cry
Every night in your sleep
I was so young
You should have known better than to lean on me
You never thought of anyone else
You just saw your pain
And now I cry
In the middle of the night
For the same damn thing

Because of you
I'll never stray too far from the sidewalk
Because of you
I learned to play on the safe side
So I don't get hurt
Because of you
I tried my hardest just to forget everything
Because of you
I don't know how to let anyone else in
Because of you
I'm ashamed of my life because it's empty
Because of you
I am afraid 

Because of you
Because of you

Also beautiful and sad, right? I did some research on this too, and this is written about her father, who abused her and left her when she was a little girl. Here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3D8J1rjGLg.

Song #3: This is a song in Hebrew, by Kobi Oz - My G-d (Elo-hai). I found a translation for it - it is truly beautiful! Unfortunately, I don't have lyrics for you here, but I found a video of the translation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUFWuEcykSg. I love it!

The explanations for this video is on the link. This is one of my favorites. Period.

Anybody have any songs to recommend? I'd appreciate Jewish, Non-Jewish, Jumpy, Low - in short - EVERYTHING! What do you think of these songs? Any comments?

Ferri's report card!

Hello!
I have a great honor to tell you about Ferri's report card! Since we don't use the family blog anymore, than I took the chance of bragging about my little sister. It is amazing! I will try to translate what the teacher wrote for her:

To my dear student: Atara,
You are a student that is smart, energetic, creative, thorough, and with quick perception. You progress rapidly and independently, and your works prove on original and deep thought. You enrich class with your global knowledge and brilliant thought. Active, initiator and involved in the life of your classmates in class. Continue!


Yes, that is what the teacher wrote, with PERFECT grades! YAY FERRI! If you want to send Ferri a message, than email me, and I will read it to her!

2nd place!!

I know, I know - everybody has been DYING to find out:
YES! 2nd place, while being the youngest, most inexperienced, we got 2nd place! The principal of my school, who told us who one, told us that the 11th graders (who won 1st) won by 8 points!! THAT CLOSE! Even though, we don't get a prize, I am SOOOOOO proud of  how well we did! The school's website, is hopefully soon, going to have a video of the show. Only women and girls get to see it, so I am apologizing to all men and boys that you won't be able to see it...
The show was amazing! Everybody, and I mean EVERYBODY said that we were great, and they said that the 7th was fighting with the 11th to get 1st place.

Festival

Or, as you say in Hebrew - Pesssssteevaaaaal... So what is this festival that gets the honor to be my title? I'll explain - every year, in my school, there is this contest between the grades. It is MUCH more complicated than that! Let me explain, there is a certain topic, in which has parts, and each part is each grade. The grade makes up the song (lyrics, musical instruments) and the dance. There are 12 girls in the dance from my grade, and I'm honored to be one of them, since there is a little over 130 girls in my grade. The dancing is in a very high level, so only experienced dancers can participate. I've been dancing and practicing all day long, and very best part of it is....... It has BREAK DANCING! So, people, I am now an official break-dancer! WORK! My friend, who's in the dance can do this cool move (hands on the grounds, elbows bent, head on the ground, feet in the air - ya know what I'm talking about?) and there is a time where girls come and do these cool moves. SO... I do a split and another cool thing. But anyway, I have this HUGE (well, not that big) bruise on my left knee from this move where my knee falls to the floor. I'm telling you - I've just met my bad part of me! WORK! The festival is on Monday, so I've been missing classes to go into the science building, dance, and get bruises on my knees. That's what's been going on!
See ya'll peeps! WORK!

Day off!!

I noticed that I haven't posted since Chanukah, and I decided to do something about that. I am now at Abba's work, my hot chocolate next to me, and I almost finished watching the movie Red (which stands for Retired and Extremely Dangerous). I haven't found the effort yet to do my opinion essay on school uniforms. Why am I not at school? That's a good question!!! Well.......... I couldn't go to sleep last night, and so my mother said that I don't need to go to school, which is okay, since my grade has a field trip today.
Some of you guys know that I gave in a presentation in History, about the beginning of Christianity. It was a slide show, in Hebrew and very informative. :) I am very proud of it, and you if you are interested, email me and I could send you the file! For all English speakers, mommy and I are going to translate it into English, and I will let you know when we finish translating it. When I finish translating, email me, and I will send you the file in English. :) If I don't get an A+ I am going to kill the teacher, because my project is way awesomer to be an A or an A-...
Two nights ago, I went to my friend's Bat Mitzvah. Her Bat-Mitzvah took place in a place called Eretz Me'Bereishit, where you ride camels, make pitas and eat in Avraham Avinu's tent. Because of that, I RODE ON A CAMEL!!!! Do you know how scary it is??? I was riding with my best-friend - Shira, and our camel kept on walking to the edge of cliff(ish), and I screamed so much, Shira lost her hearing for the rest of the camel ride. But............ I RODE ON A CAMEL! Isn't that awesome? Even though camels are quite disturbing it was freakishly AWESOME!
I know everybody is wondering about school and everything, and I have big news: I started learning algebra! Yes, ladies and aliens, it's true! In my mentally gifted class, I am learning how to measure energy. IT'S SO COMPLICATED! I mean, how come things need to be so complicated? Why can't anything be SIMPLE these days??!!
Now I know that everybody who wasn't wondering about school and everything, then your wondering about my running and everything, so - on Friday I ran with Abba 5.5 kilometers! Today I am supposed to run with Abba 5.75k, but I might as will do 6k, right?
That's all for now! BYE!

Chanukah is almost over... WAAAH!

I love Chanukah! Well, I love every holiday for a special reason. Chanukah - lighting the candles, winter, vacation, presents, activities and vacation (yes, I wrote vacation twice). It is now 7:09am, I'm listening to blasting music on my iTouch, checking my email and writing this. I LOVE VACATION!

Last night was the first time I actually felt the winter coldness! I was wearing a long sleeved shirt, a sweater, a long skirt, leggings, socks and boots - and I was still cold!!!! I now declare it is officially winter!!! Now that it's official, we need to remember that WE NEED RAIN! I am asking everybody (if you want), to get a sefer Tehillim (Psalms) and read perek (chapter) 149 for the rain.

The fire is now over, but 41 people  burned to death, not including a 16 year old boy who volunteered with the firefighters, who was killed too. Hundreds of people are hurt and are in hospital, thousands of people evacuated from their homes, 250 acres ruined, forestland now in ruins. Experts say the forest will be back to be like before the fire in 40 years. Please take a minute in memory for the 42 people who died in this tragedy, for the health of all these hurt civilians and firefighters and for the other people who had different job and for the safety of everybody up north. Even though it seems far away from me, but I have friends who have family in Haifa and in that area.

Last night, I saw Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 1, or as you can say HP7.1. WOW! Very well done, definitely the best of the series!

I wish everybody a Happy Chanukah, and may all news be good news!

Opinions and Seminars

Hello! How are you? I am good but tired, thank god. I was looking at my post, and decided that my last post was a little too random, so I am using this post to show you my real seriousness. Oh, who am I kidding??!!

Last night I went to a overnight seminar that my school organized for my grade, which means 130 screaming 12 year old girls at 4am. I must say that it was a great night! I went to sleep only at 2am and woke up at 5:30am by my screaming roommate neighbors. I heard from some people that they were interested in knowing how my grade fit into my school... Well, friends and family, I don't want to scare you, but I slept in the bathroom. JOKING! 2 out of 5 building in my school are dorms and cafeteria. In my room there were three bunk-beds with hard mattresses, a spacious shower (with no cockroaches!) and bathroom. It wasn't a 5 start hotel, but definitely fine for 130 screaming 12 year old girls. The caterers were OK, I guess, meaning that the food was edible, but last night, I'll say that whoever is dieting couldn't eat anything... The morning food was worse - there was leftover salad and this cereal that I've ever heard of... Other than the food  and that the light fixture broke because of girls being wild it was an AWESOME night! Last night I was walking with my camera taking pictures of my friends - and let me tell you, some of the came out quite weird...

The schoolwork is a lot of work, but that is expected - no? I spent an hour and a half studying for a Torah test Saturday night and, then my teacher tells me the next day that it is pushed off! I could of done other stuff than studying then, and the day after she remembers to tell me that the test is pushed off! I could of actually checked y email or something like that!!!
Now it is time for me to go - so happy Chaunkah! Bye!

Chanukkah is here, so that means 1,000,000 extra calories!

Well, not for me! Did you know that I am making an experiment for a WEEK to not eat any junk food, fast food and anything that you would call unhealthy. Can I tell you something? My best friend and I went out to do some errands together, and we were both planning on stopping at the bakery and getting a Sufganiyah (doughnut with filling), but we went on the day I was not eating any junk food - and that is definitely junk food!!! Do you know how much inner strength I needed? Everybody had at least 2 Sufganiyot, and I had 0!! 0!! I mean, how could Hashem bring into this world something SOOOOOOOOOO unhealthy and SOOOOOOOOO fattening and SOOOOOOOOO good? Seriously....

Now that I have finished complaining, I will go on into good news, bad news, and worse news. I'll start with the good: the good news is that I have totally gone C-R-A-Z-Y!! Moving on to.... the bad news: The bad news is that: I haven't cleaned my room yet! The worse news: I DON'T HAVE ANY! Well, actually, if you count that I am sick right now, than I do have worse news...Most of the dancers in the show looked skinny, but not too skinnym if you know what I mean, except for one who looked anorexic. They were all smiling except for this blond haired one, and as always it was just MAHvelous!

I know that I haven't posted in a while so... PLEASE! PLEASE! PLEASE forgive me. So while I was sick yesterday, Abba told me to watch the movie called Prince of Persia. Now, I have to say - the plot was just STUPID! The fighting was too scary, the romance was too BLAHHY, but overall I enjoyed it even though I was hoping for some comedy it was like: "We must protect the sand!" "I am innocent!" and "Nazam was the one who killed father" and everybody had British accents, even though it was in Persia.

I have to leave now because my mother wants to go on her facebook!

You are now talking to a WINNER!!!!!!! (A loud scream included)

Hello people of earth, mars and Beit-Shemesh!
I am extremely energetic, if you haven't noticed! there is so much to write about that I don't know how to start!!!!! Okay, I have decided that I will start with.... (drums, please...) my special Science program!!! (Loud clapping). Thank you, thank you, thank you. You know that I am a prodigy in school, and that I know more than all of you here. Sooooooooooooo, that qualifies me into THE SCIENCE PROGRAM! Now, I have a VERY hard question for you: What does you learn in this program? EEEEEEEEEEEHHHHHHHHHH! Wrong! I am learning Math (logic), Computers (Animations) AND Physics, which means you are HALF WRONG. Anyway, the program is great! Even though I STINK in logic, and I'd rather learn Robotics than computers, I am soooooooo happy that I am in this program!

Second, even more exciting.................................. THE RACE! (Look at the person nearest you with an impressed impression). That's right, I have run THE race of 3.6 kilometers (IN YOUR FACE), AND, AND I have won a medal (now you are wishing that you NEVER said no to Adina and that you should of asked for her autograph last time you saw her)!!!! I have won 1ST PLACE IN THE 11-12 GIRLS 3.6 KILOMETER COMPETITION! (Now you are running to EVERYBODY you know to tell them that Adina C. Hershberg, age 12 has won the race!). Well, it isn't as glamorous as it seems, because there weren't any other girls ages 11-12 in my group. (Now you are all groaning and looking sad). But not to worry my special friends, you don't know what is going to happen and the future, and I am telling you NOW  that every single person in the WHOLE ENTIRE UNIVERSE will know me as THE GREAT ADINA CHAVA HERSHBERG, AGE 12.

Whoever didn't read this with the right sound effects has to read it again with feelin'! Good Shabbos people!

Succot vacation

Hi all!

I know that it has been a while since I posted, and I think I owe you some new news... Shabbat is coming in in 2 hours, Mommy, Yosef and Ferri are doing yoga, Sara B., getting in their way and Abba trying to catch her. Earlier this afternoon I finished a book called '102 Minutes: The Untold Story of the Fight to Survive Inside the Twin Towers' by Jim Dwyer and Kevin Flynn in Hebrew. It is definitely a must-read for anyone who wants to learn about 9.11.2001... It was very sad and depressing, along with some scary moments, but I learned so much from it. I never knew so much about 9.11 and the day after 9.11 this year, I found this book in the school library. It gave me such an influence to appreciate the meaning of life, along with the understanding that someones life can end in one second. Recommended for people who can watch PG13 movies. I, personally couldn't eat for a while after I read chapter 8...

On that happy point, I have some good news! The Ministry of Education of Israel has given a special program to 20 schools in all of Israel, and my school has gotten it! The special program is a commitment for 6 years, 7th grade till graduation where they learn this program that includes Science, Technology and Mathematics. It gives me the ability to do 5 matriculation units (Abba's words - not mine!) on my tests in 11th and 12th grade. 25 girls in 7th grade are picked, which is about a sixth of my grade and I have applied to get in! I would have to stay on Thursday for three periods, as well as some classes in the middle of the week.

Other good news - I GOT MY OWN ROOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! For the lucky people here who know around my house, I will tell you that I got the guest room and when a guest come I must share Ferri's and Sara's room...

Have a good Shabbat and may all news be good news!