My name is Suri Goldstock and I am twenty two years old and I like to say that I have "Up syndrome." I live in Israel in the holy city of Jerusalem with my family. I was born in Los Angeles, California. My family moved to New York when I was only two months old. I was raised in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, New York. For my elementary school I was in an inclusion program and for eight years I went to the same school as my older sister Dvori. I made so many friends there and they are still my friends today. I attended a special high school in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York called the "Bi-Y," which means Bilingual Yiddish program. I graduated from High School with my best friend Hudy.
On my 20th birthday my family and I moved to Jerusalem. I was sad to leave all my good friends but now we talk on the phone, skype, and send letters to each other. And lots of my friends have come to visit me in Jerusalem. Even though it was hard to leave New York, I am adjusting to life here in Israel and of course I am meeting new people and making lots of new friends. I like people. My mom says I am a "people person."
I love music, I am learning to play guitar. I also love singing, dancing, drawing (my parents have some of my pictures framed and hanging on their wall). I really love cooking. My sister says my food is delicious and she likes how I prepare everything. She likes it so much that she makes videos of me cooking so that other kids can learn how to cook too. But I cant just have fun all the time so I work five days a week in a sewing workshop. I like sewing but the best part of my day is walking back and forth to work. I like to shop at the mall, which happens to be right on my way home. Of course the walking is also good exercise for me. But to help me stay in shape I also have Judo class once a week. It is on Monday nights and I love my Judo class. I have the best teacher and all the girls in the class are so nice and lots of fun to be with.
The hardest part of living in Israel is the language. Because I only speak English I go to a special school called an ulpan where I am learning to speak Hebrew. It is hard work but I know that if I keep studying I will learn to speak Hebrew. Shalom is the Hebrew word for peace but it also means hello and goodbye. So shalom from Jerusalem, love Suri G.