Surrogacy

Many couples all over the world are trying to bring life into the world. They have a hard time doing so when one of them or even both of them have a medical problem. In that case, Surrogacy is the solution for them.

 Surrogacy is a long and expensive process in which the couple needs to find the right woman to serve as the surrogate; they can find her independently or use an agency service. Once they have found the right woman, they go through a long process. Most of the hard work is the surrogate's, while the couple has to come up with the money.  The surrogate needs to have medical and psychological examinations, she needs to meet with a lawyer to have the contract created, and she needs to meet with an insurance agent in order to cover cases of death – hers or the baby.

After they have the results and documents ready, the woman and the couple appear in front of a committee to have their case approved. Once approved, the woman and the couple begin the pregnancy process. The biological mother has her eggs drawn, the biological father provides his sperm, and the doctor fertilizes the egg and puts it straight into the surrogate mother's uterus.

If they are lucky, the surrogate will get pregnant on the first attempt. It is very important to remember that this is not a regular pregnancy. It requires pills, shots and more frequent visits to the doctor to make sure the baby is developing properly.

The opinions about surrogacy are divided. Those who are against surrogacy usually think that the surrogate mother has to have sex with the biological father which is far from the truth. I believe that it takes a lot of courage to become a surrogate due to the many health risks. It's true that the surrogate mother gets a lot of money, but what she is giving back is priceless.

What do you think, is it worth it?

Nutrition and School Children

 

 Good nutrition and learning ability are known to be closely connected. I myself observed this when I taught in an elementary school in Pisgat Ze’ev last year. While I was helping the first graders with their morning assignment, some of them asked me: when the break would begin? I am hungry. I asked them didn’t you eat breakfast and they always said no. I noticed that they couldn’t concentrate on the assignment.They were nervous and often disturbed the teacher. This situation is common in Israel where a survey found that less than 30% of our children eat breakfast. It’s a little surprising in the light of what we know about the Jewish mother. But, still, this is the situation.

The positive thing about this school, however, is that it promotes healthy eating.This means that every child brings from home healthy food in a plastic-covered tray.The pupils bring, for example: bread with cheese, cut vegetables, fruits and a bottle of water.  The children are not allowed to bring sweets and junk food to school. In addition, the principal and the teachers also arrange health days during the year. There are lessons about the subject and different activities. I remember that I taught a lesson on the food pyramid. I was very impressed with the pupils' knowledge about the subject. They said that it is important to eat 3 dairy foods a day because of the calcium. "It helps us to grow" they said. They also knew that it is healthier to eat whole grains and they understood the importance of vitamins in fruits and vegetables.

Anyway, I think that parents and educators should encourage eating breakfast before the school day. The desire to avoid being late to work and school causes many of us to give up on breakfast and thus the children come to school on an empty stomach at the beginning of the school day and can’t concentrate.  When the children are not hungry they can study better and therefore achieve better results and the atmosphere in the classroom is also much more pleasant!

Hockey in Canada

This past summer I travelled to Toronto, Canada. This was my first time in Canada, and I learned a lot about this beautiful country. Canadians love sports, especially hockey, which I could see even in the summer. The team in Toronto is called the Maple Leafs, and they are one of the original six teams in the NHL (National Hockey League) when it was founded over 90 years ago.

vegetarianism

A new trend is becoming increasingly popular: vegetarianism. Throughout the years, most of us use to think of it as a marginal phenomenon, connected with a minor group of outlandish people. The common opinion was that meat was the only source for protein and milk was the only way of getting calcium. New research has disproved it and now everybody knows that the available food in the markets is industrial. That is why many people are looking for new alternatives for balance diet. In parallel, there is also the ethical issue of eating animals that was brought to the public consciousness thanks to Gary Yourofsky's filmed lecture about vegetarianism, which became an Internet sensation. 

A Struggling Spanish Learner

Ever since I was a young girl, I have always wanted to learn Spanish. In this post I would like to describe my difficulties in acquiring this third language as a student at university. 

In my first year at the Hebrew University, I enrolled at the Latin and Spanish Department.  As a first year student, I had to take an annual course in Spanish. I took Spanish for beginners with a professor who could barely speak Hebrew, or explain the material in a language other than Spanish. Since most of the students had backpacked in Central and South America, they were able to understand what the teacher said in class. I felt that the professor only paid attention to the students whose Spanish was intermediate while intentionally ignoring the ones who could not understand Spanish whatsoever.

"Hello Class" - An Opinion On What Really Matters

"Hello World",

is a common phrase associated, in my mind, to the introductory example given usually at the basic functions lesson of any Computer Language Programming (CPL). Now, let me rephrase it for us teachers,  

"Hello Class".

Hello and Welcome!

Hello and welcome to our blog!

This is a place where you, the participants of the 4th-year Proficiency course, can post our thoughts and reflections, express our opinions and generally improve our English.