School trip... in style

Last week I went on a trip with my first grade class to a science museum in Jerusalem. What I learned most from this trip is teh following: Israelis take their trips VERY seriously.
My students had been looking forward to the trip all week, an oppportunity to go on a fun excursion and leave their classes behind. I quickly learned however that this was not the main reason for their excitement. As I mentioned above (See aruchat eser entry), Israeli kids are not allowed to bring unhealthy snacks to school for lunch. On trips however, they can bring whatever their heart desires! Chips, chocolate bars, you name it! This dominated most of the converstion in the classroom in the morning and most of the commute to Jerusalem. What did you bring?, Did you see what he has? I'll trade you, I have this from America, I have Chanukah coins, and on and on. These snacks were packed into small knapsacks, about half the size of a Jansport, which amounts to about a 1/4 of the size of the normal hunka-knapsacks these first graders lug (or roll) around. The cute thing about these mini knapsacks is that they detach from the original hunka-knapsack by a zipper compartment. To think that the Israeli knapsack manufacturers understood the children's excitment for tiyulim and the importance of the mini-knapsacks on these tiyulim, is just very... thoughtful. As soon as I saw the bus I knew that these Israelis take their trips seriously! It was a coach bus! as if we were off to Washington D.C. for our 8th grade trip... only this would be a 45 minute bus ride with first graders. As soon as we approached it, all the kids started throwing their mini knapsacks underneath into the luggage compartment. I stood there thinking to myself, "Is this really necessary? I mean, isn't that meant for luggage?!" Just then one of my first graders said, "Rena, nir'ah li she zeh be'emet bishvil mizvadot" which translates to,"Rena, I think this is really meant for suitcases". Ahhh, a sigh of relief... there is someone else normal here. Needless to say, the museum was great, the kids really enjoyed it and learned a lot. And I was able to say I learned a lot too...