NOTE If you decide to make aliyah, this ketter could eventually be about you. :)
Here is an email sent out to Baltimore's Chug Aliyah from a previous Baltimoreans' first 10 days living in Israel after making aliyah. The names were changed for the sake of their privacy.
Letter #1 - An immigrant's life (first 10 days)
My apologies to one and all for not writing sooner. We said that when we got to Israel we would sleep for two weeks, so exhausted were we from the weeks leading up to our aliyah flight on Sept 7th. The arrival was every bit as emotional as you might imagine and you can watch the Nefesh B'Nefesh webcast on www.nbn.org.il/live. I was torn between wanting to watch the ceremony and wanting to just stare at my grandchildren whom I had not seen in ten months!
The first few days were not easy for us. We felt disconnected, uprooted and jet-lagged. Yaakov didn't like not getting up and going to work as he has done for the past 42 years. Our lives do not yet have a routine and that is disorienting.
But, as they say, "le'at, le'at" (slowly, slowy) the reality of our living in this most wonderous of cities, is sinking in. From the paratrooper induction ceremony at the Kotel, to the very musical Carlebach Slichot service in Nachlaot (that went till 2:30 am) to the Shana Tova signs on the Egged busses, we know we're not in Kansas anymore. We even attended a reception for new olim with Jerusalem's Mayor Barkat and got to see the panoramic view of the city from the wrap-around balcony atop the municipality building.
#33 Harlap is a quiet but very central location atop the western slope of the main hill of Jerusalem. Our mirpesset (balcony) overlooks the terra cotta roofs across the strees, the "brosh" pine trees and beyond we can see the adjacent hills, the Knesset, Bayit V'Gan. The dawns and dusks are most spectacular and I love drinking my morning coffee out there. This morning I could hear periodic shofar blowings in the distance, coming from various neighborhood synagogues and being blown during Shacharit services during this week before Rosh Hashana.
We can walk to everything - cafes, supermarket, bank, post office, the Jerusalem Theater, restaurants, the Old City, the German Colony, Ben Yehuda etc. I plan to buy a plaid little-old-lady shopping cart to schlep our groceries home. (Yes, I know Joseph will disown me for this one.)
I love the supermarket "Mister Zol" (Mister Cheap) because the minute you enter you can actually small the fresh fruits and vegetables. And then the fresh bread. Well, don't even get me started about the food here. Let's just say that it's a good thing we're walking a lot.
Marty just came home from his first lesson with a private ulpan teacher and now he's starting to criticize my Hebrew. Harrumph! What chutzpah!..Marty decided to take this 10 day course (3 hrs/day) to help jump start his language skills as we both plan to enroll in full-time ulpans (Hebrew courses) in December or January. (Offered free to new immigants).
Besides eating and walking, we spent a lot of our first ten days going to this misrad (office) and that misrad, getting papers stamped, setting up our bank account, our health insurance, checking in with our immigration counselor, going to the customs office to clear our lift and paying the balance of that. All of which equired cab rides or long walks, depending on our moods and the time of day. There were also minor victories, like figuring our how to use the washing machine and the cooktops on the gas oven (the next frontier is the oven itself). For me, just asking for cheese at the deli counter was intimidating but I'm getting braver. Everything is new and I keep remembering the words of my dance colleague, Maria, from the
Dominican Republic, when I told her "I'm going to be an immigrant for goodness sake!" "Welcome to my world", was her reply.
And so, my dear friends, this immigrant misses you and wishes you and your families a Shana Tova U'Metuka, a sweet New Year of joy, meaning and fulfillment. I hope to see you in Israel!
With lots of love and hugs,
Shira
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