Tammy spent over two years in Kinneret Day School in Riverdale, NY. Those were pleasant years, where Tammy felt at home, had plenty of pleasant social & intellectual experiences & challenges. All seemed to be possible & interesting.

After Tammy passed entrance interviews and exams to several schools in NYC and interviews she was admitted to 9th grade in Fieldston Ethical Culture School, a private school in the same neighborhood. The school was known for its high academic & educational standards. From the very beginning Tammy had some doubts/reservations about attending it when completely unfamiliar with it. The comforting fact to her was that it was for only one year & then the family will return to Israel. Eventually, Tammy continued to attend the school for four years, and she did well but felt foreign from time to time.

Tammy expected to move back to Israel any time. Still, she was recruited to accompany plays that the drama classes put together. She joined sport activities after school – softball, soccer, swimming – which required time investment & willingness to withstand pressures of competitions. Tammy was quietly & modestly responsible for her team. She made friends & often invited guests to spend Passover Seders & other holidays with us. 

Life was not easy, & on occasions there was increase in tension, as it often happens during those years. There was some change in the energy involved in studying & the habit of being a real part of the student body. Sometimes it got more difficult. Tammy was capable of analyzing those by herself & to herself, & at times it was somewhat painful. She was going through some internal conflict between the need to solve some difficulties & disappointments all by herself. She decided to take an after school job in a supermarket, at the end of eleventh grade. When we did not travel in the summer - to Israel or elsewhere - Tammy joined camp "Na’aleh" organized by HaBonim Youth Movement in Manhattan.