Erev Shabbat, Friday, was a busy day in B7.
First thing in the morning, I went off to do some errands and random purchases - wine for our Shabbos hosts, a swim cap, plastic forks and plates (our stuff is STILL not here). Then, I went to explore the open market that takes place every Friday in the streets of the old city in Beer Sheva. It was a motley mix of Arab and Russian sellers selling a random array of electronics, artwork, and baked goods. It seemed like every old man in Beer Sheva was there eating a falafel with all the toppings at 10:30 in the morning.
I returned to apartment to find three beautiful little Israeli girls coloring on the floor with Maya and Avital. Our landlord was meeting with Andy about the many little problems in our otherwise lovely apartment and he brought his daughters along. It was a full house and I did my very first hosting - passing out pretzels and juices in a bag (Israeli style).
After the meeting, we rushed to meet two couples and their kids for a Friday outing at a local outdoor pool. The kids had a great time and it was great for us to talk other young families about life in B7.
Back to the apartment in time to rest and shower for Shabbat.
We did not have a long walk to dinner. Across the hall! Maya and Avital love being able to just cross the hall to our neighbors - they didn't even wear shoes! Our neighbors' home is always filled with TONS of teenagers - their own kids, foster kids, their kids' friends and their friends' friends. Shabbos dinner included about ten different salatim and five different meats! Maya and Avital were entertained by their two dogs and their spinning lazy boy chair but by 11 pm, I decided it was time to make the long trek home and call it a night.
The next day we walked to another home for shabbos lunch. Of course, in Israel, lunch was called for 11:30 am since Shul begins at 8 (needless to say, we didn't make it to shul)! But, lunch was lovely and we met warm, interesting, and friendly people.
SHABBOS NAP!!!!
Walk to Reena's, Playground.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
What you have to understand is that my morning starts off after a mostly sleepless night of indigestion and vomiting. Not a good start to any day. But, it gets worse and I am emotionally unprepared.
We leave Alon Shvut at 9 am, leaving Maya and Avital with a friend's fourteen year old daughter to babysit (as a favor, she refuses to take money from us). We begin the very curvy and long road trip to Beer Sheva and within minutes I am already sobbing just because of my pounding headache (no coffee yet) and turning stomach. We're not even there yet.
We have left the girls for the morning because our mission is not very kid-friendly. We have to visit the Beer Sheva offices of Bituach Leumi, national health insurance. We know from experience that these types of appointments can be long and crowded so best not to bring the kids along if possible. We arrive at the office and it is packed with hundreds of people (the only point of reference an American might possibly have for a scene like this is the DMV on the worst possible day of the year). Like in all Israeli offices (and American bakeries), we take a number and sit and wait.
The reasons that we are at Bituach Leumi are both simple and urgent. The simple part is that we need to get into the system so that we can begin to receive medical treatment and services like all Israelis. The urgency is that I would like to see a doctor sooner than later since I am 7 months pregnant and it is going on 2 months since I have had any prenatal care.
But, despite the urgency, it is not simple. If we were straight up Olim Chadashim (new citizens), this would all be easier. But, our official status is that of "Toshavim Chozrim" or "returning citizens." Bituah Leumi is suspect of Toshavim Chozrim because apparently there have been cases of Israeli citizens living abroad who come back to Israel, not to live permanently but to take advantage of the benefits of socialized medicine that the country provides (for example, two free IVF treatments). So, to discourage this practice, Bituach Leumi now charges a significant fine and/or a waiting period for returning citizens to receive medical services.
Back to me and my day. We think that we are prepared for this meeting. We have already paid the monetary fine through the internet. We have spoken to representatives of Bituach Leumi numerous times on the telephone and they have explained that we need to go to the office and fill out forms to declare that we are "toshhavim chozrim." But, when they finally call our number "165," we learn that - whoops - the people we have spoken to forgot to mention that we would also need photocopies of:
1) Rental contract
2) Israeli and American passports
3) Proof of Israel bank account
4) Proof of being a student at Ben Gurion
5) Registration papers for the girls' schools
6) Receipt of Shipment from America
See, they need all this to PROVE that we are not just coming into the country to take advantage of their great free medical services but that we are actually returning on a permanent basis, for real. We actually have all of these documents but by the time we compile and copy them, we will not be back in Alon Shvut by 2 pm when we promised the babysitter we would return (thinking that two hours would be plenty of time at Bituach Leumi, silly us).
So, we leave, unsuccessful. We will have to return on Tuesday (the only other day of the week that such requests can be processed) at 8:00 am (with kids in tow).
We quickly drive over to our apartment to unload the suitcases that we have been keeping in Alon Shvut. It is now noon and I am starving. I open our brand new fridge which Andy stocked a few days before. I immediately realize what is wrong. When we walked out of the apartment on Friday for the weekend, Andy shut the electricity to ensure that he had shut all of the lights and air conditioner and...refrigerator. Yup, the fridge had been off all weekend and all of its contents spoiled.
I am freaking out. I am yelling and crying.
But, then, the painter walks into the apartment. The painter who is scheduled to come at 4:30 is here at 12:30. Of course, Andy (Mr. Rose-colored glasses) thinks that it is great that he is early. I, however, think that it is annoying and strange and unprofessional.
When we call the babysitter from the car on our way back to Alon Shvut, we learn that she has already left and that the girls are with her younger brother, watching a movie (Alon Shvut style). I feel desperate to get back to them, not because I am worried for their well-being but because I feel like I have dumped them on friends and am uncomfortable with the burdens and impositions that we have been putting on them.
But, with just 15 minutes of approaching the yihuv, we find ourselves at a standstill. There is construction and they are not letting cars through. Someone is playing an evil evil trick on me. Thankfully, we call my friend Jorge who picks the girls up while we sit in the car, waiting to move.
There are other things that happened today but the bottom line is that it was a Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.
We leave Alon Shvut at 9 am, leaving Maya and Avital with a friend's fourteen year old daughter to babysit (as a favor, she refuses to take money from us). We begin the very curvy and long road trip to Beer Sheva and within minutes I am already sobbing just because of my pounding headache (no coffee yet) and turning stomach. We're not even there yet.
We have left the girls for the morning because our mission is not very kid-friendly. We have to visit the Beer Sheva offices of Bituach Leumi, national health insurance. We know from experience that these types of appointments can be long and crowded so best not to bring the kids along if possible. We arrive at the office and it is packed with hundreds of people (the only point of reference an American might possibly have for a scene like this is the DMV on the worst possible day of the year). Like in all Israeli offices (and American bakeries), we take a number and sit and wait.
The reasons that we are at Bituach Leumi are both simple and urgent. The simple part is that we need to get into the system so that we can begin to receive medical treatment and services like all Israelis. The urgency is that I would like to see a doctor sooner than later since I am 7 months pregnant and it is going on 2 months since I have had any prenatal care.
But, despite the urgency, it is not simple. If we were straight up Olim Chadashim (new citizens), this would all be easier. But, our official status is that of "Toshavim Chozrim" or "returning citizens." Bituah Leumi is suspect of Toshavim Chozrim because apparently there have been cases of Israeli citizens living abroad who come back to Israel, not to live permanently but to take advantage of the benefits of socialized medicine that the country provides (for example, two free IVF treatments). So, to discourage this practice, Bituach Leumi now charges a significant fine and/or a waiting period for returning citizens to receive medical services.
Back to me and my day. We think that we are prepared for this meeting. We have already paid the monetary fine through the internet. We have spoken to representatives of Bituach Leumi numerous times on the telephone and they have explained that we need to go to the office and fill out forms to declare that we are "toshhavim chozrim." But, when they finally call our number "165," we learn that - whoops - the people we have spoken to forgot to mention that we would also need photocopies of:
1) Rental contract
2) Israeli and American passports
3) Proof of Israel bank account
4) Proof of being a student at Ben Gurion
5) Registration papers for the girls' schools
6) Receipt of Shipment from America
See, they need all this to PROVE that we are not just coming into the country to take advantage of their great free medical services but that we are actually returning on a permanent basis, for real. We actually have all of these documents but by the time we compile and copy them, we will not be back in Alon Shvut by 2 pm when we promised the babysitter we would return (thinking that two hours would be plenty of time at Bituach Leumi, silly us).
So, we leave, unsuccessful. We will have to return on Tuesday (the only other day of the week that such requests can be processed) at 8:00 am (with kids in tow).
We quickly drive over to our apartment to unload the suitcases that we have been keeping in Alon Shvut. It is now noon and I am starving. I open our brand new fridge which Andy stocked a few days before. I immediately realize what is wrong. When we walked out of the apartment on Friday for the weekend, Andy shut the electricity to ensure that he had shut all of the lights and air conditioner and...refrigerator. Yup, the fridge had been off all weekend and all of its contents spoiled.
I am freaking out. I am yelling and crying.
But, then, the painter walks into the apartment. The painter who is scheduled to come at 4:30 is here at 12:30. Of course, Andy (Mr. Rose-colored glasses) thinks that it is great that he is early. I, however, think that it is annoying and strange and unprofessional.
When we call the babysitter from the car on our way back to Alon Shvut, we learn that she has already left and that the girls are with her younger brother, watching a movie (Alon Shvut style). I feel desperate to get back to them, not because I am worried for their well-being but because I feel like I have dumped them on friends and am uncomfortable with the burdens and impositions that we have been putting on them.
But, with just 15 minutes of approaching the yihuv, we find ourselves at a standstill. There is construction and they are not letting cars through. Someone is playing an evil evil trick on me. Thankfully, we call my friend Jorge who picks the girls up while we sit in the car, waiting to move.
There are other things that happened today but the bottom line is that it was a Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Day One...
Today was our first real day in Beer Sheva.
Yesterday, we threw the kids in the car and drove from Alon Shvut to Beer Sheva so that we could await the arrival of our new refrigerator. Very exciting. We spent the day in our empty (but air conditioned!) apartment. We borrowed a sleeping bag from our neighbor and Avital took a great nap on the floor, thanks to Israeli trisim! In the evening, we headed over to an old family friend's house to borrow mattresses, towels, sheets, and pillows. Debbie (Bubby Bev's husband's sister) also gave the girls gifts of paints, bubbles, balls, and chocolate! Andy made a number of trips back and forth to the apartment while we made and ate pita pizzas with Debbie. We also got to meet her friend Belinda who was "bought" as a baby by her Jewish Cuban parents from a Native American tribe and raised her whole life in Beer Sheva. Everyone has a story here.
This morning, Andy woke up at seven with a mission to buy our new (used) car. He spent every minute from 8 am to 2 pm with the seller, taking the car to the mechanic, transferring the title, getting insurance, etc, etc. But, we now own our first car in Israel. A 2005 Renault Grand Scenic. Mazel Tov.
In the meantime, I was alone for the first time in Beer Sheva with Maya and Avital. And, we actually had to leave our apartment because cleaners were coming to clean and exterminate the apartment for five hours. Where does one go with two small children in 102 weather? The mall, of course.
Our apartment is a 5-minute drive from the Beer Sheva mall called Kanyon HaNegev. Still, I used our GPS (our first and most essential purchase!) to get there. First, we went to the food court for lunch. The options include (as in all Israeli food courts) Sbarro's, Chinese food (that you can get in a baguette), four different shwarma places, and a Burger Ranch. Maya decided that we had been eating too much pizza (EVERYDAY) so she chose Burger Ranch which she has already come to know and love. As we sat in the food court eating fast-food kids meals, I thought how ironic it was that we had come to Israel so that we could do something so "American" (something that we could never actually do in America)
We killed about three hours in the mall. As I told Andy, "if you leave me alone with them, I am going to end up spending alot of money." We went to the toy store where Maya got a new "Rinat" CD and Avital got a new baby doll. The cashier called the girls "nesichot" - princesses. We then went to a kids shoe store since Maya has been complaining about how dirty and ripped here sandals have gotten since being here and playing so rough! Again, the saleswomen were taken by how cute the girls were and seemed to give them special attention (their English makes them a novelty here). Maya settled on a pair of 75 shekel sandals and Avital got nothing since all she wanted were sparkly shabbos shoes and I refused!
We returned to the apartment when the cleaners were done. The reason we initially got the cleaners was because the handyman had made such a mess that we needed cleaners. Then, when the cleaners left, we realized that they had broken the trisim and that we would need a handyman! Very aggravating! Andy explained to Maya that sometimes people in Israel don't finish their work like they should. Maya responded "like the Jews in Israel didn't like to work so hard." Yup, those same Jews, Maya.
Our evening proved to be surprisingly fun and interesting. At 6 pm, it was finally bearable outside. We walked over to the large playground across from our apartment building. The park is literally empty anytime before 6 pm because it is impossible to be there because of the heat. But, at this hour, kids were starting to come out. Within a few minutes, a little girl exactly Maya's age asked me if she could play with Maya. I told her yes but that she didn't really know any Hebrew and that she spoke English. The girl (whose name strangely enough was Stephanie!) preceded to tell me all of her English words - nose, mouth, and star. But, she was determined to play with Maya. She said she would just play with her and not talk to her! She even tried to talk very slowly and use various forms of sign language. They managed and I was relieved.
We then walked over to the strip of stores across from our building that includes pizza and ice cream, a stir-fry place, a grocery, two makolets, a craft store (yay!), and a bakery (dangerous). We sat down outside for our nightly pizza. As we ate, a policeman wearing tzitit and a large velvet kipah passed by and exclaimed "Imma - a Jewish policeman!" In the airport, she also saw a family of Chassidic Jews and shouted "look, Jews!" I'm not exactly sure what she think WE are...
At dinner, Maya handed me her apple juice and said in an Israeli accent "liftoach!" I was so excited. I asked her how she knew that word and she told me that she learned it from watching Rinat. Later, I explained to her that the motorcycles were for delivering pizza or doing "mishloach" in Hebrew and she responded "like Mishloach Manot!" Leat, leat, slowly, slowly.
As we were eating, we saw something that - as Andy said - we wouldn't see in San Francisco. A Hachnasat Sefer Torah - a celebration for a new Torah. Suddenly, police were blocking traffic for a little parade of an eclectic group of people walking and dancing with a chupah (made of, as Maya observed a large Challah cover) and a Sephardic-style Sefer Torah. The parade was led by a van decorated in tacky neon lights with a DJ blasting chasidic "rock" music. Ridiculous, hilarious, sweet, and holy.
Enough for one day. Layla Tov.
Yesterday, we threw the kids in the car and drove from Alon Shvut to Beer Sheva so that we could await the arrival of our new refrigerator. Very exciting. We spent the day in our empty (but air conditioned!) apartment. We borrowed a sleeping bag from our neighbor and Avital took a great nap on the floor, thanks to Israeli trisim! In the evening, we headed over to an old family friend's house to borrow mattresses, towels, sheets, and pillows. Debbie (Bubby Bev's husband's sister) also gave the girls gifts of paints, bubbles, balls, and chocolate! Andy made a number of trips back and forth to the apartment while we made and ate pita pizzas with Debbie. We also got to meet her friend Belinda who was "bought" as a baby by her Jewish Cuban parents from a Native American tribe and raised her whole life in Beer Sheva. Everyone has a story here.
This morning, Andy woke up at seven with a mission to buy our new (used) car. He spent every minute from 8 am to 2 pm with the seller, taking the car to the mechanic, transferring the title, getting insurance, etc, etc. But, we now own our first car in Israel. A 2005 Renault Grand Scenic. Mazel Tov.
In the meantime, I was alone for the first time in Beer Sheva with Maya and Avital. And, we actually had to leave our apartment because cleaners were coming to clean and exterminate the apartment for five hours. Where does one go with two small children in 102 weather? The mall, of course.
Our apartment is a 5-minute drive from the Beer Sheva mall called Kanyon HaNegev. Still, I used our GPS (our first and most essential purchase!) to get there. First, we went to the food court for lunch. The options include (as in all Israeli food courts) Sbarro's, Chinese food (that you can get in a baguette), four different shwarma places, and a Burger Ranch. Maya decided that we had been eating too much pizza (EVERYDAY) so she chose Burger Ranch which she has already come to know and love. As we sat in the food court eating fast-food kids meals, I thought how ironic it was that we had come to Israel so that we could do something so "American" (something that we could never actually do in America)
We killed about three hours in the mall. As I told Andy, "if you leave me alone with them, I am going to end up spending alot of money." We went to the toy store where Maya got a new "Rinat" CD and Avital got a new baby doll. The cashier called the girls "nesichot" - princesses. We then went to a kids shoe store since Maya has been complaining about how dirty and ripped here sandals have gotten since being here and playing so rough! Again, the saleswomen were taken by how cute the girls were and seemed to give them special attention (their English makes them a novelty here). Maya settled on a pair of 75 shekel sandals and Avital got nothing since all she wanted were sparkly shabbos shoes and I refused!
We returned to the apartment when the cleaners were done. The reason we initially got the cleaners was because the handyman had made such a mess that we needed cleaners. Then, when the cleaners left, we realized that they had broken the trisim and that we would need a handyman! Very aggravating! Andy explained to Maya that sometimes people in Israel don't finish their work like they should. Maya responded "like the Jews in Israel didn't like to work so hard." Yup, those same Jews, Maya.
Our evening proved to be surprisingly fun and interesting. At 6 pm, it was finally bearable outside. We walked over to the large playground across from our apartment building. The park is literally empty anytime before 6 pm because it is impossible to be there because of the heat. But, at this hour, kids were starting to come out. Within a few minutes, a little girl exactly Maya's age asked me if she could play with Maya. I told her yes but that she didn't really know any Hebrew and that she spoke English. The girl (whose name strangely enough was Stephanie!) preceded to tell me all of her English words - nose, mouth, and star. But, she was determined to play with Maya. She said she would just play with her and not talk to her! She even tried to talk very slowly and use various forms of sign language. They managed and I was relieved.
We then walked over to the strip of stores across from our building that includes pizza and ice cream, a stir-fry place, a grocery, two makolets, a craft store (yay!), and a bakery (dangerous). We sat down outside for our nightly pizza. As we ate, a policeman wearing tzitit and a large velvet kipah passed by and exclaimed "Imma - a Jewish policeman!" In the airport, she also saw a family of Chassidic Jews and shouted "look, Jews!" I'm not exactly sure what she think WE are...
At dinner, Maya handed me her apple juice and said in an Israeli accent "liftoach!" I was so excited. I asked her how she knew that word and she told me that she learned it from watching Rinat. Later, I explained to her that the motorcycles were for delivering pizza or doing "mishloach" in Hebrew and she responded "like Mishloach Manot!" Leat, leat, slowly, slowly.
As we were eating, we saw something that - as Andy said - we wouldn't see in San Francisco. A Hachnasat Sefer Torah - a celebration for a new Torah. Suddenly, police were blocking traffic for a little parade of an eclectic group of people walking and dancing with a chupah (made of, as Maya observed a large Challah cover) and a Sephardic-style Sefer Torah. The parade was led by a van decorated in tacky neon lights with a DJ blasting chasidic "rock" music. Ridiculous, hilarious, sweet, and holy.
Enough for one day. Layla Tov.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)