First four days in Israel: More detail than you ever wanted
It's been hard to even begin to communicate what my first four days in Israel were like. There hasn't been a single facebook post since I left the US, probably because it would have said something like "I want to go home".
For those of you have traveled to a different country, you know how gruesome jetlag can be. The jetlag you feel coming to Israel (7 hours ahead) is particularly gruesome after an overnight international flight. But most of my travel involves a hotel, ready beds, and maybe even no children for a few days. This time it was a million suitcases, two flights of stairs, two kids who just wanted to go home, and an apartment, that although spacious, is definitely old-style Israel, and was unfortunately covered in dust due to a recent paint job. And of course, no food whatsoever in the house and only half a roll of toilet paper.
My first shower was a cold one, because I didn't know how to work the water heater, but I'm not sure I cared. It was so damn hot.
Let me back up and say this plane flight was far superior to my last one to Israel, where I was having a panic attack in Ben Gurion after taking my almost 2 year old and 5 year old on this international flight. We had to wait forever to get off the plane, to get through security/passport control. This time, it was a breeze. Really. And I have discovered the beauty of melatonin. Good night children.
But day 1 was...tough. We had a car that we rented, which Adam took while I took the taxi. And we knew we had to go out and get food and groceries. This shouldn't be hard. We google mapped this town. But I guess the satellite images don't show the traffic or lack of parking spaces. We finally found some restaurant which I think was very good, but at the time all of us were feeling quite out of it. We bought toilet paper, soap, etc. We made it to the grocery store where I pretty much let the kids throw whatever they wanted in the cart. First of all, it's all kosher. Secondly, I just didn't give a shit anymore. These so-called shekels are monopoly money right? Whatever it takes to keep you two happy. Which apparently is a lot of chocolately-looking pudding products.
We made it home, ate some fruit and veggies, and then attempted to hug our eldest while she ran away from us screaming that she hated me for ruining her life and making this selfish sabbatical move. And finally when she was done being mad, she cried how much she wanted to go home and I just held her. My son has reverted to wanting to nurse or go back into the womb. He's constantly sticking his hands under my shirt for comfort. But won't use his words.
Day 2 was sort of brutal. I woke up and walked to the school down the block. It was the secular one (I probably preferred religious but after getting a sense of the size of this city decided that if I got a good sense, they'd go to the close one and make local friends). I did get a good feeling and an hour or two later, brought the kids over. Sivan answered a couple questions in Hebrew from a teacher she met, and Matan remained stoic and silent. The outside looks old and non-impressive but the inside had kids' artwork and looked fine. The classrooms are traditional looking. Interestingly, I found out that Sivan gets many teachers--math teacher, science teacher, etc. etc. They all come to her class. And after every two periods you get a break. So formal and different than just one teacher.
We then went to the mall to register them. Attached to the mall is the iriya (the town hall's offices).
By the time we spent 10 minutes in the parking garage, I was exhausted. And I wasn't even driving. Israeli driving is a bit like....survival of the fittest. And their parking is....well I'm not sure why they bother painting lines in the parking garage. The kids were starting up world war 3 in the backseat, and finally I took them out and told Adam to just find me at school registration. He didn't have his phone on him, so I realized there was a chance I might not see him for a few days.
How to explain Israelis who have to wait in line? Well, let me put it this way. I think my impatience is in my Israeli blood. We go up to some crowded office. I explain I need to register my kids for the first time. He says, wait a minute. Comes back and then says, a few minutes. Do you want my name? No. Okay, after a few minutes, in my burgeoning new assertiveness, I politely ask if I'm supposed to have some number like it seems everyone else has. No, a few minutes. Okay.
In the meantime, miracle of miracles, Adam with his low level of Hebrew, found his way through a huge mall, to the city hall, to the school registration. I get called into this woman, to whom I hand my mostly empty form and explain I need to register them. She says in an annoyed kind of voice,"what is this?" "uh the form?" she says "it's empty" "yes, well i couldn't understand and wanted to make sure I filled it out okay".
When she realized at that point that despite my knowledge of Hebrew, I was a clueless American, she suddenly became the sweetest woman. Albeit her phone interruptions which rang every minute. (This by the way seems to be a very Israeli thing--direct and brief (rude to us Americans) in the first minute and then completely willing to do anything for you once they realize how clueless and desperate you truly are).
25 minutes later, the deed was done.
Now, we went to find something to eat. We found some restaurant, and once again, I realized the best way to diet is to try to move to another country with two kids. You are just in some semi-state of nausea 75% of the time. Really kills your appetite.
Sivan bought her school backpack which is more like a wheeled travel suitcase she insisted on, and I was really in "whatever you want" mode because you feel incredibly guilty when your kid just keeps asking you when you'll let them go home.
Then we bought school uniforms! This was very exciting. In Israel, you pick cheap t-shirts (literally, $3 each) and they logo it for free at a bunch of stores. We got 10 for each kid, with different colors and two hoodies for the winter. You need white for fridays and holidays, and we learned you had to get black for memorial day ceremony. And that's it.
I would be so in favor of this policy in america
tshirts and hoodies with a logo any color you want.
It's like school uniform light. Cheap, comfortable, and everybody is wearing them.
But the kicker of the day was spending an hour in line at supersol. I will NEVER EVER shop for food on a thursday afternoon at the supermarket at the mall. One hour I waited in line, but we paid 25 nis for delivery. My goal today is going to be to try to figure out online supermarket shopping.
In Israel, people have no compunction about saying to the woman, "just let me buy these two things", when you've been waiting in line for 45 min, and the checkout woman will often squeeze them in. Express lines. That's what they need to discover. Although Adam just informed me that they do have them. Hmm...
Friday, I knew we had to do something fun with the kids, because they were going to think Israel was really the pits. So, we decided we were going to the beach. This was hard for me, because I just wanted to finish unpacking my suitcases and organizing things. But this is an impossibility with children. So, we headed to Ikea. We discovered driving between towns is way easier than within a town. Ikea was on the way to the beach and I was enthralled with the store. We bought some things to make things feel a little homier. Like a rug for sivan's room, and a throw pillow and fake flowers (her desires). Her room actually looks semi-cute now. We bought some kitchenware, as we wanted a kosher kitchen.
And then to the beach. That was a good moment. The beach is beautiful, albeit crowded (it was friday afternoon--the weekend in Israel). The waves were so scary I wouldn't let Matan in past his knees and Sivan had to go in holding Adam. I even got knocked over a few times. The water was warm and no jellyfish (medusot!). Sivan made a friend--she is desperate for friends and I was happy to see her attempt to interact in Hebrew. As we were leaving, she said "I love Hebrew. I want to speak only Hebrew so I can learn it". Typical Sivan. She is either hating or loving. Never in between.
We needed to pick up some food for shabbat, but by the time we got where we heard there was food, it was too late. After 4 pm. We were going to be eating chocolate pudding for dinner. We found a restaurant (Israel Grill) and got some take out there. Not ideal, but it turned out to be out to great.
Today we went through a heat wave in Israel. Which meant we stayed inside wondering what to do. And then the best thing happened. Our neighbors across the hall came home. Sivan had been waiting as she heard a girl named "danielle" was living there who was one year younger. Sivan had made them a sign "Welcome home Danielle" and we knocked on the door and voila! they were home!
Sivan spent her afternoon playing with Danielle. Danielle does not know a word of English. But Sivan persisted and would try out all her Hebrew giving no care to how stupid she might sound or how off her grammar might be. I was so proud of her. She made a friend! And in just a couple hours, her Hebrew improved tremendously. Of course, she was mad at me for something again--this time it was saying no to a sleepover. Um, hello, we are still jetlagged, remember?
The parents then invited us all for pizza. Have you ever wanted to live next door to an Italian chef? Um, yeah, I do. Actually he's a physics teacher, but did a stint as a pasta chef at a top restaurant in Tel Aviv. Yummy dinner (we had NOTHING to eat in our house so this was really well-timed), and just really nice to finally meet somebody.
Matan played cards with the dad, who explained that in Israel they don't say "good game" when you lose. You say "shit'. This had us in hysterics.
Overall, four days in and I'd say things are getting better. The suitcases are mostly put away (ahem, Adam), the kitchen is sort of organized, and I didn't have Sivan crying herself to sleep again. And we finally made a friend. Finally.
For those of you have traveled to a different country, you know how gruesome jetlag can be. The jetlag you feel coming to Israel (7 hours ahead) is particularly gruesome after an overnight international flight. But most of my travel involves a hotel, ready beds, and maybe even no children for a few days. This time it was a million suitcases, two flights of stairs, two kids who just wanted to go home, and an apartment, that although spacious, is definitely old-style Israel, and was unfortunately covered in dust due to a recent paint job. And of course, no food whatsoever in the house and only half a roll of toilet paper.
My first shower was a cold one, because I didn't know how to work the water heater, but I'm not sure I cared. It was so damn hot.
Let me back up and say this plane flight was far superior to my last one to Israel, where I was having a panic attack in Ben Gurion after taking my almost 2 year old and 5 year old on this international flight. We had to wait forever to get off the plane, to get through security/passport control. This time, it was a breeze. Really. And I have discovered the beauty of melatonin. Good night children.
But day 1 was...tough. We had a car that we rented, which Adam took while I took the taxi. And we knew we had to go out and get food and groceries. This shouldn't be hard. We google mapped this town. But I guess the satellite images don't show the traffic or lack of parking spaces. We finally found some restaurant which I think was very good, but at the time all of us were feeling quite out of it. We bought toilet paper, soap, etc. We made it to the grocery store where I pretty much let the kids throw whatever they wanted in the cart. First of all, it's all kosher. Secondly, I just didn't give a shit anymore. These so-called shekels are monopoly money right? Whatever it takes to keep you two happy. Which apparently is a lot of chocolately-looking pudding products.
We made it home, ate some fruit and veggies, and then attempted to hug our eldest while she ran away from us screaming that she hated me for ruining her life and making this selfish sabbatical move. And finally when she was done being mad, she cried how much she wanted to go home and I just held her. My son has reverted to wanting to nurse or go back into the womb. He's constantly sticking his hands under my shirt for comfort. But won't use his words.
Day 2 was sort of brutal. I woke up and walked to the school down the block. It was the secular one (I probably preferred religious but after getting a sense of the size of this city decided that if I got a good sense, they'd go to the close one and make local friends). I did get a good feeling and an hour or two later, brought the kids over. Sivan answered a couple questions in Hebrew from a teacher she met, and Matan remained stoic and silent. The outside looks old and non-impressive but the inside had kids' artwork and looked fine. The classrooms are traditional looking. Interestingly, I found out that Sivan gets many teachers--math teacher, science teacher, etc. etc. They all come to her class. And after every two periods you get a break. So formal and different than just one teacher.
We then went to the mall to register them. Attached to the mall is the iriya (the town hall's offices).
By the time we spent 10 minutes in the parking garage, I was exhausted. And I wasn't even driving. Israeli driving is a bit like....survival of the fittest. And their parking is....well I'm not sure why they bother painting lines in the parking garage. The kids were starting up world war 3 in the backseat, and finally I took them out and told Adam to just find me at school registration. He didn't have his phone on him, so I realized there was a chance I might not see him for a few days.
How to explain Israelis who have to wait in line? Well, let me put it this way. I think my impatience is in my Israeli blood. We go up to some crowded office. I explain I need to register my kids for the first time. He says, wait a minute. Comes back and then says, a few minutes. Do you want my name? No. Okay, after a few minutes, in my burgeoning new assertiveness, I politely ask if I'm supposed to have some number like it seems everyone else has. No, a few minutes. Okay.
In the meantime, miracle of miracles, Adam with his low level of Hebrew, found his way through a huge mall, to the city hall, to the school registration. I get called into this woman, to whom I hand my mostly empty form and explain I need to register them. She says in an annoyed kind of voice,"what is this?" "uh the form?" she says "it's empty" "yes, well i couldn't understand and wanted to make sure I filled it out okay".
When she realized at that point that despite my knowledge of Hebrew, I was a clueless American, she suddenly became the sweetest woman. Albeit her phone interruptions which rang every minute. (This by the way seems to be a very Israeli thing--direct and brief (rude to us Americans) in the first minute and then completely willing to do anything for you once they realize how clueless and desperate you truly are).
25 minutes later, the deed was done.
Now, we went to find something to eat. We found some restaurant, and once again, I realized the best way to diet is to try to move to another country with two kids. You are just in some semi-state of nausea 75% of the time. Really kills your appetite.
Sivan bought her school backpack which is more like a wheeled travel suitcase she insisted on, and I was really in "whatever you want" mode because you feel incredibly guilty when your kid just keeps asking you when you'll let them go home.
Then we bought school uniforms! This was very exciting. In Israel, you pick cheap t-shirts (literally, $3 each) and they logo it for free at a bunch of stores. We got 10 for each kid, with different colors and two hoodies for the winter. You need white for fridays and holidays, and we learned you had to get black for memorial day ceremony. And that's it.
I would be so in favor of this policy in america
tshirts and hoodies with a logo any color you want.
It's like school uniform light. Cheap, comfortable, and everybody is wearing them.
But the kicker of the day was spending an hour in line at supersol. I will NEVER EVER shop for food on a thursday afternoon at the supermarket at the mall. One hour I waited in line, but we paid 25 nis for delivery. My goal today is going to be to try to figure out online supermarket shopping.
In Israel, people have no compunction about saying to the woman, "just let me buy these two things", when you've been waiting in line for 45 min, and the checkout woman will often squeeze them in. Express lines. That's what they need to discover. Although Adam just informed me that they do have them. Hmm...
Friday, I knew we had to do something fun with the kids, because they were going to think Israel was really the pits. So, we decided we were going to the beach. This was hard for me, because I just wanted to finish unpacking my suitcases and organizing things. But this is an impossibility with children. So, we headed to Ikea. We discovered driving between towns is way easier than within a town. Ikea was on the way to the beach and I was enthralled with the store. We bought some things to make things feel a little homier. Like a rug for sivan's room, and a throw pillow and fake flowers (her desires). Her room actually looks semi-cute now. We bought some kitchenware, as we wanted a kosher kitchen.
And then to the beach. That was a good moment. The beach is beautiful, albeit crowded (it was friday afternoon--the weekend in Israel). The waves were so scary I wouldn't let Matan in past his knees and Sivan had to go in holding Adam. I even got knocked over a few times. The water was warm and no jellyfish (medusot!). Sivan made a friend--she is desperate for friends and I was happy to see her attempt to interact in Hebrew. As we were leaving, she said "I love Hebrew. I want to speak only Hebrew so I can learn it". Typical Sivan. She is either hating or loving. Never in between.
We needed to pick up some food for shabbat, but by the time we got where we heard there was food, it was too late. After 4 pm. We were going to be eating chocolate pudding for dinner. We found a restaurant (Israel Grill) and got some take out there. Not ideal, but it turned out to be out to great.
Today we went through a heat wave in Israel. Which meant we stayed inside wondering what to do. And then the best thing happened. Our neighbors across the hall came home. Sivan had been waiting as she heard a girl named "danielle" was living there who was one year younger. Sivan had made them a sign "Welcome home Danielle" and we knocked on the door and voila! they were home!
Sivan spent her afternoon playing with Danielle. Danielle does not know a word of English. But Sivan persisted and would try out all her Hebrew giving no care to how stupid she might sound or how off her grammar might be. I was so proud of her. She made a friend! And in just a couple hours, her Hebrew improved tremendously. Of course, she was mad at me for something again--this time it was saying no to a sleepover. Um, hello, we are still jetlagged, remember?
The parents then invited us all for pizza. Have you ever wanted to live next door to an Italian chef? Um, yeah, I do. Actually he's a physics teacher, but did a stint as a pasta chef at a top restaurant in Tel Aviv. Yummy dinner (we had NOTHING to eat in our house so this was really well-timed), and just really nice to finally meet somebody.
Matan played cards with the dad, who explained that in Israel they don't say "good game" when you lose. You say "shit'. This had us in hysterics.
Overall, four days in and I'd say things are getting better. The suitcases are mostly put away (ahem, Adam), the kitchen is sort of organized, and I didn't have Sivan crying herself to sleep again. And we finally made a friend. Finally.
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