Stuff

In the past approximately 20 days, I have spent an obscene amount of money. It's-- stuff we will use, and the things we are buying we can't get in Israel or are two to four times the price.

For example, I got a 12-cup muffin tin for $5, which is approximately 20 shekels. No way can I get that quality in Israel for 20 shekels. I got storage containers-- a set of Rubbermaid containers for, I think, $20. They are non-disposable, high quality storage containers. Good luck finding them in Israel. At almost any price.

Underwear that lasts more than 6 months. Socks that are comfortable and don't cost a fortune. Ziploc bags. A king-size sheet set for $30 (120 shekels); twin sets for $13 (52 shekels). $20 (80 shekel) jeans that look normal, fit comfortably, feel good, and are good quality, wooden puzzles for $8 (24 shekels).
I can continue with the food-- Devil Dogs, Ring Dings, English muffins, 3-lb. brick of American cheese, curly-edge non-cook lasagna noodles, granulated onion. I can just go on and on.

It's frustrating. There are lost of people who don't come to America every year and stock up on clothes, cheese, and ziploc bags. And I know that what we bought is going to last us for a LONG time, but it's still hard to look at the credit card bills (then think of that in shekels...) and justify it. I know that the amount of money I spent here is probably 1/3-1/4 of what I would have spent, had I bought these things in Israel (if I could even find them...) But it's frustrating to feel that disparity, just to look at numbers.

I spoke to occupational therapy students at the school I graduated from about occupational therapy in Israel, and they had a lot of questions. Inevitably the question of salary came up, and when I answered it, I'm pretty sure I (a) dissuaded a lot of them from wanting to live in Israel and work as an OT; (b) killed their day. Like in a previous post, the salary is very disappointing. It was very frustrating and shocking to them, as it was to me.


Do I really need ziploc bags? No, I can live without them. Do they make my life a heck of a lot easier? Definitely yes. 


It's frustrating that things-- almost everything-- heck, even some Israeli products!-- are less expensive in America. And I want to live in Israel and not rely on American products, but as far as I can remember, I have bought ONE item of clothing (excepting mitpachot) and TWO pairs of shoes (mine were dying and these were on sale). Why? Because I know that I can get the clothes I know I like at Old Navy (decent quality, very good prices) for about $5-$10 (20-40 shekels, depending on the sale). So why should I spend 50 shekels a shirt for something that is going to last me half the time (because the quality is lower)? I'll wait a couple of months, and someone will be coming in and will bring it to me.


Oh, and I just saw packing tape. That an packing boxes are two other things that are very expensive for inferior quality, or you can't really get them in Israel.




My mother-in-law (weird to use that term; I prefer Eli's mom) worked really hard to raise her kids Israeli and not have America be such a part of their lives (other than they are from there and have relatives who live there) and I feel like I've come in with this neon sign above my head that says, "American!" and have brought in more America in the year-and-a-half since I met them than they had in the approximately 17 years prior. I I kind of feel bad, because she tried really hard to not raise her kids American-- and no way would you look at them and go "Americans" but I don't, because I am American and my children will be American-- not the same way I am, nor the same way Eli is, but in their own way.

I want my kids to know the "oldies" and folk singers I was raised on. I want them to know the American anthem and Pledge of Allegiance, and to be able to say their Social Security numbers the same way they will know their Israeli identification number. I don't know how, but I want my children to feel their American identity as strongly as they will their Israeli; I have no idea how to do that, nor how it will play out. All this, of course, to be filed under "future."

More packing!

This time the movers will be doing it!

I got an estimate for my lift, and now I just have to wait for the movers to come and pack it and then send it off! Here's hoping that my stuff gets there safe and sound, and there are no strikes!

one week...

Yeah. That. Right. I leave in a week. Have I mentioned that, um, I leave in a week and I haven't packed?

There kind of is a method to the madness, though. I have to do laundry. I don't like to do laundry (I like the result, just don't like to do it, and the Good Laundry Fairy is on vacation) so I try to do it as few times and as efficiently as possible. Therefore, I am going to do it Thursday, when I am off from school, and have a lot of time to do it. I also have to get some stuff from Chari and tovel other stuff. I don't know how much kitchen stuff I'm bringing either.

The apartments have burners, a fridge, a sink, I guess a few cabinets, and some counter space. I will be getting a toaster oven and a microwave (there). Oh, and a kumkum. The microwave will be pareve, and the toaster...will be...to be determined. But I don't know how much cooking I will be doing at the ulpan. They feed us lunch and dinner; breakfast (and snacks) is (are) on your own, but I don't know how much I will like the food; it's basically Israeli mass-produced cafeteria food (with all the connotations therein) and I like to eat healthier than that (yeah, right...so I say).

I don't know how much space I'll have in the kitchen. And when I come back over the summer I'm going to basically have to pack up the rest of my life in 2 weeks or less. It's really hard to do that when you really don't know what you're going to need!

Accomplishments for Today

1. Found out that I CAN get the Verizon phone unlocked, should I need to, provided my account has been active for more than 60 days (and it's not overdue, etc.). Mine has been active for about 5 years-- I should be good.
2. Finished putting my grad school papers into page protectors. I have 6 left; I started with over 300...I shouldn't worry, though-- I feel like I'm missing a whole binder of psych activities. But I can't swear to it. I just wanted to get them in because when I ship them I want to minimize the damage to them and I think that by putting them in these plastic sleeves, they will transport better. That's what I have to do! I have to finalize my מערכים, print them, and put them into page protectors and a binder. I have to get more page protectors-- I want to put my EMT stuff in them as well. And while I'm at it, I should probably put my מד"א stuff in...eh. It's all on the computer. Speaking of which, I need to get an external hard drive. Three months ago. Oops.
3. I realize that it's bedtime. Good night all.

Changes in the air

or at least on my blog. I changed the title-- figured "יהיה בסדר" is more of an appropriate title, since that seems to be the phrase du jour (or years) of Israel. And I also changed the subtitle to "in the middle" because I'm not at the beginning anymore. Which is kind of good and scary at the same time.
Good, because it means that I'm not at the beginning any more-- I'm going somewhere, making progress. It also means that my aliyah is getting closer. I'm trying to sort things. I know I'm going to have to come back in June for Carly's wedding, so that's when I'm going to send my lift/stuff. Which leads me to the next point: Ship vs. Buy There?
I wrote a note on Facebook and also sent an email to the NBN Singles list-- if anybody reading this (does anybody read this?) has any input, I'd appreciate it:

I'm trying to figure out if it's worth it to buy things like dishes and pots in the States and ship them vs. buying them in Israel. I have to send stuff for sure-- I don't think I'll need a full lift-- but I have to somehow get my clothes, textbooks, and personal items to Israel and they can't levitate themselves...
I already have a lot of kitchen things from college and other people, but not a set of dishes, silverware, and good cookware. I don't know how much companies like Corelle, Farberware, T-Fal, Tramontina, etc. are in Israel and I know they're not expensive/priced very, very well here...
If anyone has any input on this, I would definitely appreciate it.


Back to the middle...it's happening. I don't want to leave in the middle of the year, but I can't keep pushing it off...it's really hard having to have pushed it off this time. Unless I have a really good reason to stay here, I'm going then...Assuming I go-- let's say I go Jan. 4. That's just over 8 months away. That means I have 8 months more with my family the way it is now-- close, calling all the time, going over when I want. It's just-- I want this and it's scary at the same time. I wish I had a crystal ball and could see how things would be 9 months down the road, 10 months-- just to know that I do it and am able to hack it. It's going to suck-- I say it every time. It's going to suck, and Mommy, Daddy, and my sisters won't be there for me to call locally...they'll still be a phone call away, but it will be a 7-hour time difference phone call away.

It's 8 months away and I'm already dreading it. But I know that Israel is right for me.

I said something about an aliyah thing I did, and one of the teachers at my school said, "Wow, you're really serious about this." And I said, "Yeah. I am." The concept of another country, one you weren't born in and your parents aren't from and your grandparents aren't from-- somewhere you never went until you were already a young adult-- being home is something that most people don't get.

more on this later when it's not dinnertime.