#OperationIsrael – Page 5 – A Bit of This A Bit of That

May 3, 2015

How will you cope?

Said with a knowing smirk, like they know something I don’t know.

This was the number one question asked of me when I told people we were moving to Israel. It was followed up with this nugget, ‘You know, you wont have a maid? You are going to have to do everything yourself!’

Its no secret that in South Africa a lot of people employ a maid/housekeeper/nanny/domestic worker.

I grew up with Ousie Paulina. She looked after the house, cooked meals, bathed me, dressed me and disciplined me. She also taught me to clear the table, wash dishes, make my bed and clean up after myself. She was my second mother growing up. She still works for my mom. I think she may decide to retire this year (although she says this every year and its yet to happen).

When we fell pregnant with Aaron we decided that we would like to employ a full time nanny/house keeper (we had previously had a lady come in twice a week to help with ironing and big cleaning). Having Aletta as part of our household was a privilege. She adores both my kids and they love her right back. In addition to helping me with the kids she also cleaned and helped prepare meals.

So, back to the question above.

It seriously annoys me. Did these people think I’m a spoiled princess? That I sat on my arse all day doing nothing? Did they think I was incapable of looking after myself? The tone of the question also set my teeth on edge, as if we had randomly decided to pack up and move our entire lives without making an informed decision.

grumpy

Its not like I woke up one morning and hopped a plane to Israel and then said ‘Now what?’ This move took careful deliberation and planning. There were lots of pros and cons debated. We spent hours and days and weeks discussing why this would be a good move for us and our kids. Funnily enough the fact that we wouldn’t have a maid was never on our pro/con list.

Paul and I are both quite proficient cooks, what I cant make (rice), Paul can and vice versa. We both know how to run a load of washing. We are both quite capable of sweeping, mopping and vacuuming as well as changing linen and gasp looking after our children. In fact the only thing I’m not really any good at is ironing (I just cannot get it right) but guess what? Paul can iron.

Oh, and my kids? Well, even before we arrived in Israel, Aaron and Faith made their own beds and cleared their dishes from the table. They helped mop floors and wash dishes and Aletta helped teach them basic cooking and baking. My children were not spoiled or pampered then and they are not now.

When people asked me how we would cope, I would resist rolling my eyes and rather answered with ‘Just like everyone else.’

April 29, 2015

Attitude is everything!

Go with the flow, roll with the punches, water off a ducks back and what will be will be.

These phrases have been my mantra since we made the decision to make aliyah. We made lists, we made plans, we were as prepared as we possibly could be, but shit happens and getting upset about it wasn’t going to help anything.

I cannot tell you how many people commented on how calm I was, how unfazed I was by our move. All I can say is that when you accept that things will go wrong, that you cant control everything and when you truly believe that everything happens the way it is meant to happen then you will be calm and happy.

Things went wrong. We almost didn’t get all our documents from the Department of Home Affairs, we found a fantastic apartment and then the landlord rejected us, our container was hectically delayed to name a few. In the end our documents arrived in the nick of time, we found an even better apartment and we ‘camped’ out for 4 months with the bare basics and survived.

Being a new immigrant is hard. New language, new culture, new friends, new job, new schools for the kids, new food, new everything. The above philosophy is a huge help in surviving our new life. Added to that is the ability to make fun of yourself and to not take yourself too seriously, the ability to ask questions and make mistakes without beating yourself up. Something else we have been determined to do is immerse ourselves in Israeli life. We are learning to speak Hebrew (The kids are almost fluent, Paul is attending classes twice a week, I will take classes when Paul is finished). We try to socialise with Hebrew speaking people not just English speakers. We try eat Israeli foods and use Israeli brands.

In fact it was reading this article sometime last year that inspired me. The following story from the article has stuck with me and I think of it often:

Her father, Jill Ben-Dor recalls, once took note that her refrigerator was always stocked with Israeli products, while her sister’s was perpetually filled with American brands. It struck him as unusual since her sister had been living in Israel longer.

Many years later, Ben-Dor wondered whether her father’s observation might provide the key to explaining why she stuck it out, while all the other members of her family, her sister included, eventually packed up and moved back to the United States.

…

“I, on the other hand, made a conscious decision that this is where I am, and this is home. If I’m going to be here, I’m going to be Israeli all the way. I’m going to eat Israeli products, read books and newspapers in Hebrew, watch the news on TV in Hebrew and live like an Israeli.”

So yes, there are bad days and there are ‘what the hell am I doing days’ but overall I am happy, I am content and I am absolutely loving being an Israeli!

April 26, 2015

Work and all that entails

I posted last week about about the fact that our container arrived. It took us 48 hours and everything was unpacked. All those boxes were emptied or stored in the downstairs storeroom.

I’m not going to post any pictures just yet because the house is still a bit of a mess while we try to find place for everything. I will do a proper post with pictures later on in the week.

In the meantime lets talk about work.

In Israel the week starts on a Sunday, so while all my South African friends are having a braai, chilling with mates, browsing flea-markets, drinking beer, running marathons and doing triathlons, I am at my desk, working.

Most places work a five day week although some work a five and a half day week (Fridays being the half day). Both Paul and I are lucky to work for companies that are closed on Fridays so we still get a ‘full’ weekend. Also, the kids go to school from Sunday to Friday, so we get a child free morning on a Friday which is nice.

My day starts at 05:45 when my alarm goes off, by 06:00 when Paul’s alarm goes off I am out of bed (usually! I’m not a morning person so sometimes it takes me longer to get going). Hopefully by 06:30 I am out the door and on the way to the central bus station, a 10 minute walk from my apartment.

If I leave the house by 06:30 I am able to catch the 06:45 bus. If I leave later and I dont hustle I then catch the 07:05 bus. My bus ride is usually about 20 minutes give or take. And its a short 5 minute walk from the stop to the office. So I get to work between 07:15 and 07:30 most days.

I work in a fantastic office with about 60 people. They are a mix of Anglos (English speaking people from USA, UK, Australia and South Africa) and native born Israelies. My team is all English speaking. We work in an open plan office with 5 of us sharing the space.

My company looks after us really well and one of the benefits to working here is we get a meal card loaded with a balance for the month. We then log onto the website and we have a variety of places to order from. We have to place our orders before 11:00 in order for them to be delivered at lunch time and when I first started working here I was told that the golden rule is ‘First thing you do when you come into the office: have coffee and order lunch!’

On the off chance you do forget to order in time there is always something to eat in the fully stocked kitchen. Bread, cottage cheese, fruit and veggies and tons of snacks. Not to mention the coffee machine!

My work day is roughly a 9 hour day. Now the kids finish school at 13:00 for Aaron and 14:00 for Faith so they both attend after care at their respective schools. 2 or 3 days a week we have a babysitter who fetches them from school after aftercare and takes them home. She does homework and plays with them or takes them to the park across the road from our house.

If the babysitter is fetching the kids then I leave work between 16:30 and 17:30 and catch the 16:45 or 17:45 bus home, getting home between 17:15 and 18:15. I usually go past the store on the way from the bus station to pick up milk, bread or anything else we need and the babysitter leaves between 18:00 and 18:30 depending on the day. On the days when we don’t have a babysitter I leave work at 15:45 and am back in time to fetch the kids from aftercare at 16:30 for Aaron and 16:45 for Faith.

The kids love being at aftercare where they get to play with their friends, do homework (in Aaron’s case), are fed a yummy hot lunch and do activities like learning to play chess, learning to juggle and making artwork for our fridge. They also love their babysitter who gives them her undivided attention and they love when I fetch them and we go to the park on the way home.

By 18:30 kids are usually in the bath while I get supper going and then they help with chores around the house, cleaning their rooms, sweeping and generally tidying up before dinner time.

And speaking of the kids, Paul helps them get ready in the mornings and makes sure they are dressed, fed and groomed and then he walks them to school on his way to catch his train to work. He is usually home between 19:00 and 19:30 each night which is when we have dinner and family time before the little ones go to bed.

Its a long day with a lot of travel. Its certainly not what I’m used to and its taken a while to get used to the hours and the commute but its working for us.

**Photos by Paul!

April 16, 2015

All. The. THINGS!

My container arrived. My container arrived! MY CONTAINER ARRIVED!!!!!!

Sorry, I’m just really excited.

We packed up our things in mid-November and moved in with my mom. The shipping company was supposed to send the container in mid-December but due to one thing or another it didn’t leave until the beginning of March. Six weeks on the water and a week in customs and the truck arrived at our apartment yesterday.

My apartment went from this:

To this:

I started unpacking yesterday and have managed 8 boxes. I’m specifically trying to do the kitchen first as that is what the majority of the boxes are. So far I have unpacked the following from those 8 boxes:

A gazillion coffee mugs.
Whiskey glasses.
Hot chocolate glasses.
Salad bowls.
Glass serving platters and bowls.
My milk crockery.
Ceramic serving platters and cake stands.
Half a tea set.
My meat pots and pans.
A rolling pin and a baking tray.
My kitchen scale.
The bread bin.
A stove top whistling kettle.
My handheld blender.
A variety of serving spoons.
A knife block and knives.
The Nespresso machine.
An unused 2011 diary (??) and a single Nespresso pod. (These were wrapped up in a ton of paper, all very carefully).
Various other small bobs and bits.

That’s about a quarter of my kitchen unpacked. I had to stop because the rest of the kitchen boxes are either too heavy for me to move closer to the kitchen or buried under other boxes. I have to do the kitchen first as that is the majority of the boxes and I can’t move the cabinets and bookshelf into place in the lounge until the majority of the boxes are gone. Only then can I unpack the rest of the things that go into the cabinets. Its like working on a giant Rubik’s Cube, trying to make all the pieces fit in the right order. Paul and I don’t work on Fridays so when the kids are at school we will delve into the boxes and hopefully make a huge dent tomorrow.

One of the things I unpacked is my ‘work’ coffee mug. A client gave this mug to me as part of a Christmas gift in my first ever job. That was almost 15 years ago and this mug has come to work with me wherever I have been. I swear my coffee tasted better this morning in my ‘work’ mug.

March 29, 2015

All you need is love…

I wrote before about arriving in Israel with just our clothes and not much else. Well, just over three months later our things still have not arrived (although the ship should hopefully be docking in the next week or two).

Here are a few things I’ve learned over the last three months.

We decided to buy a new washing machine in SA because it would be cheaper than buying one here. We should have just bought one here. Dragging two or three huge bags of laundry to the laundromat once a week is a monumental pain. It would have been so much more convenient to buy one here and just do our own laundry.
You don’t really need a microwave. I bought a kettle when we arrived (hello, coffee!) and a toaster but I knew our microwave was on its way so we didn’t buy a new one. We have survived quite well without one. Sure its a small pain to reheat leftovers in the oven but its not impossible. Im not sure I want to even unpack it when it arrives.
You CAN survive on minimal clothing. Technically I have had all my clothes with me, we just didn’t have cupboards until a few weeks ago so I was living out of my suitcase with only a few pairs of jeans, a few jerseys and sweatshirts, 5 long sleeve under shirts, 7 short sleeved t-shirts, a skirt that I dug up from one of the unpacked suitcases when we needed to go to shul and my undies, bras and socks. Since we got the cupboards I have unpacked most of my clothes and its like a whole new wardrobe. It helps that its hotter here now so I get to wear more summer stuff too.

Have a gratuitous picture of my gorgeous family. Why, because they have made everything so worthwhile!

Left to right: Aaron, Matt, Yehonatan (on lap), Faith, Me, Buttons (on lap), Yana.

You CAN survive with one pair of boots, a pair of takkies (sneakers) and a pair of flip flops. Shoes are heavy and bulky and I decided to send the majority of them in the container. I brought my red boots, my takkies and a pair of ‘fancy’ slops. Gasp, horror, I managed to survive over 3 months with 3 pairs of shoes. That being said, I really really want my shoes to arrive, I’m pretty sick of my takkies and now its too warm to wear boots, I want all my pretty summer sandals.
Even if you have no carpets in your house, you still need a vacuum cleaner. Not all dust can be swept up and brooms cant reach everywhere. Also, sand. My kids bring home the equivalent of half a sandpit every day. Also, we live in a desert, sand blows in the windows and if you use the aircon it comes in through the vents. Sand gets EVERYWHERE! I bought myself a vacuum cleaner on sale and its the best investment I could have made.
Toys. The kids got to bring a handful of toys on the plane and we have bought a few small things here and there but the majority of their toys are on the ship. So far they have managed (especially when we limited their device time) and have made do with what they have or created their own toys out of paper, cardboard, sticky tape and coloured pencils. They go to the park, they kick a ball, they make up games to play. They haven’t even asked for any of the toys we packed in the container.

It really is amazing on how little you need and makes you exceptionally grateful for everything you do have!

March 19, 2015March 20, 2015

Becoming an Israeli, voting and the crab that got away.

So, about 7 or 8 months ago we decided to move to Israel. Within four months we had completed our application forms, filled out our medical forms and received a host of unabridged documentation from the Department of Home Affairs (which is a miracle in and off itself!), we received our visas and our plane tickets in the last month before leaving. Three months ago we left South Africa and arrived in Israel on the morning of December 16th 2014. A few hours after landing, we left the airport as citizens.

You see, as Jews, we are entitled to Israeli citizenship by virtue of {the Law of Return}. Take a moment and click the link to read exactly what the law entails. Its a short but very informative page.

So, we landed at the airport, went through to the office, waited a bit since there were a few people ahead of us and then Paul and I had our photos taken and we were issued our Israeli ID books (the kids get theirs when they are 16 but they are listed in our books). And that’s the long and the short of us becoming Israeli citizens.

Three months and one day after arriving we participated in our first election. *Edited to add: If the election had taken place on 15th March instead if 17th March we would not have been able to vote, you have to be a resident for at least 90 days before being eligible. I only found this out today 🙂

Its quite daunting having to choose a party without having directly experienced much of what the previous government had delivered/failed to deliver. I decided to research each party (online and by discussions with colleagues and friends) and disregard any that didn’t stand for my own views on Israel as a Jewish homeland. I was then left with a handful of parties that somewhat fit my views and beliefs. None of them fit exactly, some had things I wanted, some didn’t, so I made a pro/con list and went with the party that had the most pros vs cons.

The election day is given off as a public holiday, so we decided to be at the voting station early (they opened at 7am) so that we could then take a train out to Tel Aviv and explore a bit. We wound up arriving at the voting station at 7:30am and were the only people there. I walked in, handed the official my ID document, they marked me off the voters roll and gave me a small envelope. I then went into the booth and chose the slip of paper with my party’s name on it, placed it in the envelope, sealed it and then dropped it in the box in front of the officials. A process of less than 5 minutes. Easy peasy.

After voting we hopped on a train and went on an excursion to the Tel Aviv Port which is very much like the V&A Waterfront. We watched people fishing, almost got splashed by some waves, saw lots of dogs that had been shaved for the summer (think standard poodle with only his tail and his head not shaved).

We saw a huge crab escape a fishing line (~~come back tomorrow for a photo that Paul took~~) and watched a trio of young kids play keyboard, base and trombone for the crowd with a bunch of little kids dancing like no one was watching in front of them.

We took lots of gorgeous photos, Paul’s mostly more gorgeous than mine. We then met up with my brother and his family and a friend of Paul’s who also happens to be an ex Saffa and had sushi for lunch.

Faith wasn’t feeling so well so we called it a day after getting an ice-cream for dessert and headed back to the train station to go home. I ended up having a fantastic nap before dinner. A great end to a fantastic day.

March 8, 2015March 8, 2015

Purim!

{Purim} is the day we celebrate the Jewish people overcoming a plot by the Persian Empire to wipe us out.

You may have heard the expression ‘The whole Megillah’? Meaning the whole long story. That comes from the reading of the Megillah or the Book of Esther on Purim. Its the story of {Haman} (boo hiss) and {Mordecai} (yay) and of course the phenomenal {Queen Esther} (woohooo!!!).

We also give food parcels to friends and the needy. These {gift baskets} should contain at least two different foods/drinks so that two separate brochas (prayers) can be said over them.

A large part of Purim is that it is a celebration. As such we have celebratory meals and parties. Everyone gets dressed up, including the adults, and fairs/carnivals and parades with much singing and dancing take place.

This was our first Purim in Israel and it was quite the eye opener.

The children started by having special dress up days at school throughout the two weeks leading up to Purim. They had Hat/Hair do Day, Country Day, Celebrity Day, Pajama Day to name a few. They had face painting and hat making days. They made gift baskets to exchange with each other and to bring home.

The Friday before last was the annual Modi’in Purim parade. There were floats and jugglers and stilt walkers. There were ice cream vendors and candy floss and popcorn. There were balloons and bubble guns. There were entertainers and actors and singer and dancers. There was lots of fun!

On the Monday evening we went to the annual Absorption Centre Purim party. This is a party for Olim (new immigrants) and was great fun. Lots of kids, music, games, popcorn, candy floss and a show.

Then both Paul and I had work Purim parties. My theme was Supermarket and I went as Fairy Dish-washing Liquid. Paul didn’t have a theme so he went back to his roots and went as Clark Kent/Superman.

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superman

The kids were off school on Thursday and Friday so Paul and I took off Thursday (we get Friday off every week) and we dressed up and missioned around town doing our thing. We went to an anglo Shul to hear the Megillah and landed up getting there late and only hearing the last 5 minutes. I wasn’t feeling well so Paul took the kids to the {Se’udah} (meal) that we had been invited to. They had lots of fun eating and drinking and playing with all the kids there.

On Friday we were supposed to go to the Purim fair but by that stage I think we were a bit Purim’d out so we went to the park and just relaxed.

Needless to say, Purim in Israel is insane. Fun but insane.

Here are some pictures that Paul took over the Purim weekend.

And that’s enough of that 🙂

March 3, 2015

I’m not in Kansas (Jozi) anymore…

Every now and again it hits me. I’m in Israel. The holy land. A foreign country. A place I didn’t grow up in. A place with a unique blend of cultures.

Purim parade fun. — Purim parade bubble lady.

A few of those ‘WOW’ moments over the last week or so.

A young girl waiting at the bus stop, dressed to the nines, carrying a rifle.
The religious Jewish man sitting next to the religious Muslim man on the bus, having a chat.
The shopkeeper and the customer having a full on screaming match over the price of something (I think) and then hugging each other good bye like best friends.
Getting on the bus covered in glitter, wearing wings and carrying washing up gloves and a dish washing brush ‘wand’. And no one so much as batted an eye.
Seeing a man stop his car at a road side farm stall overlooking a gorgeous valley, put on his {tallit} and say his morning prayers.
Walking Aaron to school this morning and seeing all the families (moms and dads too) dressed up for Purim.
Watching Aaron walk on his own to school most mornings.
Walking to the local supermarket at 9pm to pick up some milk or a choccie just because.
Hearing someone speak with a South African accent at the bus stop and practically throwing yourself at them and playing ‘Jewish Geography’ to see if you ‘know’ them.

So many more special little moments and they each bring a smile to my face and quite possibly a tear to my eye. Although I will deny that last bit to my dying day!

*Photos taken by {Paul Jacobson}

February 21, 2015

Keeping Kosher: Almost a year down the line.

Yesterday on FB, Angel asked if our new Israeli apartment was {already kosher} when we moved in. She remembered what a huge process it was when we initially decided to make our {home (in SA) kosher}.

First off, its been almost an entire year of keeping kosher. Im so impressed with us. Mostly its been easy, some days its been a challenge but all in all its been a fantastic journey so far.

Now, almost a year down the line, we are living in the State of Israel, the Jewish homeland. This definitely makes keeping kosher so much easier.

Firstly, no, apartments here are not automatically kosher, you still need to make the counters and sinks and ovens/stoves* kosher. Even if the previous tenants were kosher. Rather safe than sorry.

As for buying kosher products, a large majority of stores/supermarkets/butchers in Israel are kosher. There are a few stores that are not kosher and that sell non-kosher meats such as pork and shellfish which is also not kosher, and these stores are also usually open on a saturday (shabbat) while strictly kosher stores will be closed over shabbat.

For example, the {local supermarket} down the road from us is kosher. They close on shabbat and all the products they carry are kosher. This makes keeping kosher so much easier than in South Africa. In SA there is one store that is strictly kosher, aptly named {Kosher World}, and quite a few of the big supermarkets like PnP and Woolies stock kosher items (sometimes in specific kosher sections) but you have to check each item to make sure it is a kosher product. There are also a few strictly kosher {delis}, {restaurants} and {butchers}, mostly in Jozi. But the percentage of kosher to non kosher items/stores/places to eat is not in your favour.

On the subject of kosher butcheries, in SA, kosher meat is very expensive, especially kosher chicken. Here, since everything is kosher, I don’t seem to notice the price as much, it is what it is, except to say that beef is way more expensive than chicken. This is because 99% of beef is imported into Israel, cows in Israel are pretty much dairy cows (as an aside, dairy in Israel is UNBELIEVABLE! Cheese, cheese, cheese, all the yummy cheese!).

Chickens here are cheap and huge and yummy. I bought a whole chicken to roast last night, 1.8kg for about ₪32. Thats R96. The same kosher chicken in SA would be on average R135. I spiced it with salt and pepper and roasted it for an hour and a half, it literally fell off the bone and it was so yummy!

I cant wait for our first {Pesach}, stores here will only stock items that are kosher for Pesach, everything else will be removed from the store or covered up, so you know that if it is on the shelves you can eat it. I’ve also been told that the bakeries here make the most amazing rolls and breads that are totally pesadik (kosher for Pesach) and that you cannot even tell that they don’t have yeast and flour and other non pesadik ingredients.

Oh, Angel mentioned my cutlery and crockery. Since all that stuff was already made kosher last year, we don’t have to make it kosher again. Once our lift arrives (its actually on the water, finally, and should arrive at the end of March) we can just unpack everything into the kitchen.

So, do you have any questions? Please ask in the comments and I will try my best to answer them.

*Most apartments in Israel do not come with a stove/oven included in the rent. You usually buy your own and take it with you when you move. Our landlords were very nice and bought a brand new oven/stove unit and included it in the rent. Of course this means if we ever leave this apartment we would have to buy a new unit or possibly buy this unit from our landlords.

February 19, 2015

About that time my kid performed in a concert. In Hebrew.

Aaron and Faith started school about 2 weeks after we arrived in Israel.

Neither spoke Hebrew, although Aaron had been learning the alphabet and some basic words when he was in Grade R.

Earlier this week Israel celebrated {Family Day} and Aaron’s class held a concert and dinner after school.

We each had to contribute a food or drink item (we got sliced veggies) which we sent to school in the morning.

The concert was held in the classroom and the teachers and children had transformed the room into a stage and dining area. We were directed to our tables, with seating charts, and sat down to wait for the show to start. The children all stood up in groups of 4 or 5 and each child recited lines they had been given. In between the kids talking they sang songs and danced.

Aaron was part of the last group to stand up and speak. He was awesome. He spoke clearly and with confidence. In Hebrew. My heart almost burst right out of my chest! I am so very very proud of how far this child has come in the last 6 weeks. He is making friends, doing school work and standing up in front of a room full of people and speaking in Hebrew.

After the concert the children served us the food that we brought and then sat down to eat with us. They also made cards and small gifts for us which they presented when it was time to go home.

I cannot express enough how amazed and proud of my kids I am!