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Published: February 21st 2007
So to start off this blog....I have a promise to make....a promise is that I will update this blog as often as I can and also have pictures when I can as well. Today there are no pictures as I ran out of batteries for my camera. But there will be.
Now with that out of the way, let's continue shall we?
"Shalom. At oleh chadasha? Shalom Eretz Y'Israel! B'Hatzlacha"
Since my Hebrew deficient friends (not like I'm any better myself haha) are reading this, that translates into
"Hello! Are you a new immigrant? Welcome to Israel! Good luck!"
But let's back up to the actual ride over here itself.
Packing everything that you'll need for a new life in a new country is a harrowing enough job as it is. Let me put it to you this way. Packing everything you need in
3 bags is every harder and more stress inducing that having to make a public speech on sexual intercourse to a bunch of bible-thumping Catholics at Sunday mass.
Those new Space bag things are a God send that's for sure. In case you don't know what they are, they're these nifty little things where you load up whatever you can fit in the bag (they have different sizes) and then you literally suck the air out of it, like you would a food dehydrator. It then sucks it down to a flatter version of what you just had. Imagine this...I fit my full size comforter, 2 pillows, 10 pairs of pants, 10 tshirts, various undergarments and fancy shirts all into a standard suitcase.
Amazing crap I tell you.
So anyways...moving on. I packed 3 bags of stuff and had to sit on most of the suitcases to shut them. Hey now...even though I got all that stuff in, I didn't say it wasn't hard! But I managed....the one rolling smaller suitcase I had, I lost the zipper to the backpack part of it and therefore had to ducktape the thing to the main bag. Ghetto for sure.
I had packed my nebulizer (an electrical breathing apparatus for asthmatics) into that said bag. I haven't used the thing in over 10 years but I figured since I was moving out of the country, why not move it with me, for emergencies and such? So off we go. Well.....there was a problem.
Look at it from Israel's security view. Here is an electrical appliance they have no idea what it is or what it does, it does kinda look like it could be a bomb or such I suppose, and the person has duck taped the suitcase it's in. Yeah....kinda suspicious.
Doesn't help I also couldn't remember what I had packed...I mean...it's not as if I don't have a MILLION different things to think about. (insert sarcasm here) So I get "invited" to another gate. From the last time I was "invited" to a different El Al gate, I knew I wasn't a party I was being invited to, so I just went over and basically said "Yes. Take it out, inspect it and just mail it to me in Israel" Whatever.
Now the flight...standard 10 hour flight. I originally was sitting in an aisle seat with an empty chair to the side of me (which could have proven helpful as I could have laid down) but there was a black hat (ie: Hassidic) Jew who was in another aisle seat next to 2 girls. Religion says that he could not sit next to un-orthodox girls, so he asked if I would switch. Being the nice person that I am and not wanting to get bad karma before I start this adventure, I say ok. The 2 girls were nice and I settled down into a coma, albeit uncomfortable. And do you know that bastard didn't even sit in the seat almost the whole flight anyways?
Side note: You suck Mr. Hassidic 20 year old guy. I hope Karma bites you in the ass later on.
So the plane ride was uneventful and I landed in Ben Gurion Airport at 7am Israeli time. I walked down expecting to go into the foreign passport line and proudly state "I am making aliyah" like I had been told to do. Instead, there was a Mossad (think Munich- FBI men) looking man with a sign that said "Edwards" on it. I cautiously made my way up to him and said "My last name is Edwards" and he smiled and said "Shalom! You are making aliyah?" and I nodded and off we went to the bowels of the airport.
I was given tea, coffee, water, whatever and a bathroom. The office was nondescript except for a huge sign welcoming us new immigrants in multiple languages and computers to enter in our information. Phonetically spelling out my parents names in hebrew and giving my statistics and a crappy webcame photo for my Teudat Oleh (Immigrant rights book) I was on my way to the absorption centre.
My cab driver let me sit in the front seat and gave me a rundown on his life and he gleefully smoke all the way through traffic telling me about his apartment on Canal Street in New York City. We made it to Ra'anana and I looked around with completely new eyes.
See, I have never made a trip to Israel without 40 other people trailing after me on a Birthright trip, so it's kinda weird. I half expected someone to pop out from behind a bush and go "Hahah! Here's your group!" Which of course...didn't happen.
So anyways, I settle into my new apartment which is a really like a dorm room but has a kitchen, dining room, bathroom and shower room. Oh ps- the bathroom is usually split up like that here in Israel. You don't pee where you shower. I get some weird "survival" kit from the Jewish Federation with a roll of toilet paper, a bag of white sugar, 2 styrofoam cups with plastic spoons, a box of tea, some really good crackers, and a bag of coffee. Hmm...cause that'll help me survive in Israel.
My roommate is a 22 year old girl from Boston who made aliyah on December 26 with Nefesh B'Nefesh and she's pretty cool. The other girl is Slava from Germany and she's 30 and has her own room. I don't know how that happens but whatever. It's a tiny, sorta grimy place but hey...it's $100 a month in rent and everything is included. I'm not going to complain. The doors lock, I get hot water and I'm happy.
Now that I moved my stuff in, I decide to walk to Canyon Rananim which is the mall here. They tell me its a 15 minute walk...well that really means 45. After many encounters with "Atah metaberit anglit?" Do you speak English? and getting "Lo." No back, we engage in my understanding of Hebrew (which is pretty ok) and sign language since my speaking of Hebrew is on par with a 4 year old.
I make it to the mall and get a cell phone card and the guy loves me. Turns out there's a plan for firefighters and I save a lot of money. Yay! Then I make it to Bayit Center which is like a Home Depot. I pick up some stacking shelves for storage and I'm on my way home. I grab a cab with a cab driver named Sammy who asks me out on a date and come back to the Mercaz Klita absorption centre
I meet up with Maayan, we go out to eat, I fall asleep at the bar, and we get back to my new home ready to pass out at 7pm. I fall into a coma for about 12 hours and now I'm up ready to go.
Today's list is:
- Go to Clalit (my health insurance fund) and get my membership card
- Go to the banks and find out which one is best for me and open up an account (easier said than done)
- Find a Hanaha discount ie: Dollar store and get some more stuff
- Schedule my ulpan language training class
- Meet up with friends
- Talk to Momo about starting work by the end of the week
Good times. Boker tov everyone! Good Morning!
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Dad
non-member comment
Watch out for those cabbies
Hi, So you really have a Home Depot nearby? Wow, I'd be in seventh heaven. I suggest not dating until you get everything else settled. You know how that goes sometimes and you really don't need that type of distraction at this point do you? At least if you do, go out with one of those nice young jewish doctors, preferably one that's not gay How do you say love ya in Hebrew? Dad