Little by Little, but Come On Already

Ever since we came to Katzrin neighbors have asked us how we are settling in. I would tell them what we were up to and they would inevitably respond, "le'at le'at" (little by little). And this has proven to be true of our aliyah. Some things have taken longer than we anticipated, but we are getting settled. Here in katzrin we have a nice house with our stuff and most of the essential furniture. We have joined a wonderful community and have made friends. Netanel is excited to go back to gan in a few weeks (me too) and Odeliya is doing well also. Yitzchak was born (you can read that account here: http://ayelet-wholebodybeauty.blogspot.com/2009/07/why-even-doulas-need-doulas-and-other.html) and is doing great.

But seriously now, I never thought that finding a job would have taken so long. I've been networking since we got to Israel (even before). Once we found Katzrin I began looking for something in that area. There have been very few bites. The problem is that I am underqualified and overqualified at the same time. It seems that I am a jack of all trades and people want "someone with more experience", or with experience in ONE thing only. Communication skills are not seen as a plus, and multi-tasking seems to be frowned upon. Everyone in hi-tech is looking for programmers or people with 12 years experience and everyone else tells me to work in hi-tech. I was about to take a minimum wage job as a start.

But then I saw something on Jobshuk.com. It actually came right to my email. I applied to be a virtual assistant. working from home and doing stuff I am good at. I heard back the next day and interviewed to be a Business Process Specialist. This is essentially the same thing that I was doing with The Organized Office right before we moved, except I was calling myself an Efficiency Consultant. I like BPS better. This all happened during Ayelet's start and stop labor and right after Tzachi's birth. Everything went well and I was (am) all set to start. But this company is in the middle of a big expansion and they told me they need 2 weeks to work out the specifics of hiring several new BPS people. I certainly understand taking the time to do things right, but I was so close to gainful employment.

I am also still following other leads, but it's hard. That position seems perfect for me. I got really excited about the work and I resumed marketing myself for that kind of work as a free-lancer and looking for other jobs as well. So we'll see what happens. I am trying to stay positive, but being so close to something great is really frustrating. I am trying to figure out the lesson here. I've been looking for the right opportunity and I thought this was it. What is God trying to teach me here? Am I destined to start at the very beginning? Should I hang it all and go out on my own? I don't want to spend 3-6 housr a day marketing myself. I hate that. I know what I can do and I do it very well. So what's going on. Maybe the lesson is "le'at le'at," just a little but more patience.

Oh right, I am trying to stay positive. So I'll end like this: I am grateful to God for my (mostly) healthy family, my nice house, new mother's helper that is like a Godsend, lovely community, and so much more. I am open and ready to accept opportunities to use my skills to help others and be fairly compensated in return. I am ready to give back to Israel and be a producer, not just a consumer. I am also ready and open to anyone interested in buying a nice house in New Jersey that happens to have my name on the deed. It's not mine anymore, so someone else should please claim it.

I wish everyone a Shabbat Shalom and a great rest of August.

And the Insanity Continues

It's 12:20 AM and I should be sleeping. Our house has quieted down now that the visiting family members have left. We miss them. Chaviva, a friend from the Merkaz Klitah has come to help out while she gets settled up North. She is starting a program nearby after the chagim. This is great becasue Netanel is finished with camp and has a month off (well now it's only 2 weeks). This week Odeliya is home from her gan, which runs through this week) with bronchitis. Last night was tough.

To add to the craziness, an old friend of mine is crashng tonight and other friends are coming up tomorrow. Soehow, in the midst of all this I expect to spend a few hours a day at the computer looking for work and taking care of other administrative matters. Also I plan to keep getting the house set up. I'm not crazy, just determined. Also, I expect there to be news on a job withing the next week or two.

So that's why Chaviva has been amazing. Also, Ayelet is feeling better and is up on her feet and doing more. She still takes it easy. We're going onthe advice given by her midwife from Odeliya's birth: "Take it easy for 6 weeks." So she's not pushing herself too hard.

So now that you've been updated, I am going to sleep. Hopefully more will be coming very soon.

Good night.

When Did You Get Here?

That's what I thought the other night as I ws looking at my newborn son. Ayelet gave birth last Wednesday afternoon to a beautiful baby boy. It was not quite the birth we expected, but after pre-term contractions and a week of start and stop labor we were happy to be done with it. We left Ziv hopsital on Thursday morning and came home to a warm welcome. Ayelet's mother had come in on Monday night and Ayelet's brother and sister had come Wednesday night with their respective spouses. When we opened the door Netanel and Odeliya were waiting for us. They melted at the sight of their new brother. We gave them each a turn to hold him right away and then shipped them off to gan.

Since then weve been pretty busy.We made a shalom zachar in our house. We ahd a nice crowd. They are not drinkers here. Very little booze was drunk. I also made a siyum, finally, on mishna seder kodshim. This was also well received. I was asked to tell the story of why we made Aliyah and how we ended up in Qaserin. This flowed into the siyum, since was the first place where I felt comfortable to do it. We have a community here.

This week we arranged the brit. Rav Levi, the Rav of Kazrin will be the mohel and other honors will be figured out tonight. We also need to pick the baby's name. We have an idea, but with Odeliyah we audibled at the last minute. So we'll see.

The brit will be at the Beit Knesset with cookies for everyone. There will also be a meal for guests at a small hall in the city. But I am still amazed at the presence of another child. I suppose I'll get used to him, since he's staying put. And he's really cute.

Still Here

I know it's been a while since my last post. We've been pretty busy settling in. We finally got our stuff from the port. That story should be coming soon as a separate post. Ayelet's contractions calmed down, especially once she got to sleep in a bed. Now she is ready for things to pick up again. Stay tuned for an announcement about that, hopefully within two weeks.

Here is a tour of our house in Katzrin: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_mplgGgqmA.

We are largely unpacked, but there are still many boxes around. We need to get some shelves and a breakfront. I have shifted focus to preparing for the birth and looking for a job. With God's help both will happen soon, with ease and joy.

In the meantime, we are enjoying our 10 kilo washing machine, our newly found clothes and toys, etc. Now to get back to work...

Still Settling In

I forgot something very important about Shavuot in Kaserin. On Shavuot I got an Aliyah to the Torah. They made a mishebayrach for us and sang "V;shavu Banim" (a song traditionally song for new olim), and even took the opportunity to pelt me with candies (not so healthy for the kids, but much cleaner for the target than fruit). It took 5 months, but we got a very nice welcome here. And it was unexpected. I guess it helps that they like to sing in this shul.

Also, one of our neighbors pointed out that we moved here the week of Parshat Naso, where we read about the chanukat ha'mizbeach, the dedication of the mishkan (tabernacle) and the altar. He said it was fitting that we are moving into our home on this week. I realized that we arrived in Israel on Chanuka, a festival celebrating the re-dedication on the mikdash. So too, we arrived on Chanuka to an absorption center, and made a more proper dedication in our home the week of Parshat Naso. Very cool.

We have been talking to Personal Logistic, Strand's people here about taking delivery of our crate. They wanted me to come to Ashdod. This is a full day, at least, even with a car. Ayelet has been having contractions and is taking it very easy. I do not want to be so far away. With a car (a fortune in rental and gas) I am 2-3 hours away. By mass transit I am a day away depending on schedule. After a day of talking we discover that I can scan and email documents and then mail copies. Why couldn't thins have been offerred two days ago? There is also the issue of extra fees. I knew there would be port fees. I would like to discuss them, because i think they are quite high. There is also storage. they want over 3000 shekel for storage for 3 months. I think that's excessive. There is also a 2000 shekel fee for delivering out of there normal delivery range. there delivery range is the center of the county. My contract says door to door with no mention of a distance limit. Apparently, this is built into the original quote. Since we didn't know where we were going he didn't factor this in. But the fine print does not mention this at all. It does mention extra fees for delivering over the Green Line. The guy in New York basically said tough. So after paying several thousand dollars we need to pay an equivalent amount in shekels to get our stuff. Nothing is ever easy in this country. Eveything requires a discussion, a plea, and and extra fee. Well, not everything. But many things.

I did rent a car Monday to go to Ashdod. I didn't go, but the car did get us to Tiveria for Ayelet's ultrasound. the doctor was very nice and helpful (not something to take for granted here). After signing off on the car I realized that they gave me a stick shift. When I asked about this he said, "I'll try to find you an automatic. In the meantime try to drive this one." He didn't seem to care about undue wear and tear on the transmission. Ayelet's midwife talked me through it and I managed to drive it around a bit. They did find me an automatic. I was not prepared to drive on the highways or in the hills of Tiveria with a stick shift. I do plan to learn stick, and maybe that is what we will buy (B"EH in a few weeks).

I had a job interview yesterday at a software shop in the Qazrin Industrial Park. I got the impression he wanted to help me, but he didn't seem to have anything for me. He looked at my resume and asked me what I like to do. I told him. He basically said, "I don't need you for that. What do you like to do?" I told him again. He said, "It will take you too long to learn how to do that in my company. What do you like to do?" In the end he said he'll call me back. So the jobhunt continues. I plan to go back to the industrial park tomorrow and go around introducing myself. Maybe I can work at the Golan Heights Winery.

Ayelet is working on a new program in conjuction with www.BinahBaby.com. It is a Post Pardom Doula training program; training women to help mothers after the birth. Information is coming soon to www.wholebodybirth.com. I will be posting it later, when Ayelet gives me the content.

Ok, that's it for now. There's other stuff to do. Enjoy, comment, and keep in touch,
Yoram

Home for Shabbat

Tomorrow night we will be having a friday night meal in our home. We've spent the past many Shabbatot in many different places, even two in the merkaz klitah. But now we will be home. And it will be really nice.

We are settling in nicely. Netanel is adjusting to gan. He is finishing up the year in the same gan where he will go next year, so that should make it easier. Next week Odeliya will be in some sort of program. We are still working out the details. Pre-gan programs are really expensive. There are many attractions around us, museums, hikes, playgrounds, the pinat chai (mini-zoo). There are lots of things to do with the kids after gan. We are starting to do them.

Today we also went to the edge of the city to see a brush fire. It was cool, but I think they needed more than 2 fire trucks. It seems to be out now, so I guess everything was ok. I was a little nervous since there were 5-6 year old kids climbing up the hill to get a closer look. But I suppose brush fires don't move THAT quickly over dry reeds and stuff. And the smoke will prepare them for smoking, which is still a national pastime. I guess the Israeli attitude of disregarding danger starts very young, so it's ok for the kids to check out the fire unattended. Personally, I would want the children to be a least 7 or 8 before they did that.

I have been meeting lots of people and getting lots of welcomes. Still no job offers. But I also am not so clear what I am looking for. I feel like I'll know it when it comes to me. I just need to be out there doing things to receive that opportunity.

Meanwhile, Ayelet has a home-birth midwife and is preparing for the baby. We are all getting excited for that. She is also working on her business more (speaking of birth). There should be more resources posted and more information coming out soon. Go to http://www.wholebodybirth.com to sign up for her newsletter.

Ok, that's enough for now. It's late and I need to get some sleep. Hopefully more will be posted soon, along with the pictures and videos.

Shabbat Shalom,
Yoram

We Have A Home In Our Home

A lot has happened in the past few weeks.

We had some excitement on Yom Yerushalaim. We were at Kikar Tzahal watching the "Rikudgalim," the annual flag parade. I actually slipped away to meet up with up with Ayelet's brother Daniel. Ayelet and our friend Barbara were with the kids and her daughter Leah. At some point they went closer to watch the marchers. The kids climbed on a concrete barrier to see better. Odeliya also climbed up. Ayelet turned to grab her and when she turned back the other 2 kids were on the ground. Netanel was crying, with a nasty bump on his head. Lead seemed fine. A few minutes later the roles were reversed. Netanel was playing and singing and Leah was suffering from hand numbness and memory loss. I met them at Terem (a non-hospital emergency clinic). Three hours later we went home. Thank God, Leah is fine, with maybe a mild concussion for all the trouble.

The next day, Friday, Odeliya and I (since she was awake) went to the Kotel to join in my nephew Eli's hanachat tefillin (putting on tefillin for the first time). It was fun and nice to hang out with family. Meanwhile, Ayelet and Netanel sepnt some quality time together, during which Ayelet discovered Netanel's lice. Thank God Odeliya didn't have it, because that would have been veeery difficult. After much washing and combing we were all clean.

Now on to the better stuff: we finalized our lease and moved to a house. the house is located up in Katzrin, the city of the Golan Heights. It is officially a city, but it is smaller than the entire town of Efrat. You can walk the circumference in under an hour. We moved up last Tuesday to a resounding welcome. We were leant mattresses, chairs, a table, and whatever else we needed. We also had two welcome banners on our door and lots of food. For the past week people have been welcoming us and offerring help. It actually feels more like a yishuv than a city. We have also acquired a refrigerator and a whole bunch of furniture.

I need to thank some people here. There are more, but these are the ones that stand now, as I write this: Yael Atal at the Merkaz Klitah in Jerusalem has worked tirelessly for us, getting us whatever right, benefit, or perk she could. This includes a truck to move us at the Jewish Agency's expense. Nefesh B'Nefesh has been tremendously helpful, particularly Michele, the coordinator of the Go North initiative. Also, here in Qatzrin: Avishai, Shifra, Elazar, Becky, etc, etc, etc. Hakarat Hatov to everyone and to God for helping it all go smoothly (may this PLEASE continue).

I will soon be posting a link to the video tour(s) of our house and first week in Katsrin. Please enjoy and comment.

There is still much to do. But now we have a comfortable place to come home to. There is room to play, couches on which to sit, bathtubs, a kitchen big enough for swinging cats (take that however you want). Now we just need our beds from the port.

The kids are very happy to be here. They love the bath, and the room. Also they have figured out how to run outside to the playground all by themselves. I'm not so happy about this one yet, but what can I do. Netanel is sttling down nicely in gan. the kids here are very sweet, and he is making friends. He is trying hard to learn Hebrew (he is also getting better at reading English) and also trying to roll his "r's" in the Israeli style. Odeliya keeps asking to go to gan too. We are working on something for her, but daycare before gan age is really expensive. Ayelet and I are very busy with all the arranging. She is also building her business (http://www.wholebodybith.com) and settling in for giving birth. I am focusing on finding a job now, while moving slowly on other projects. There is much to do. The taks of finding a comfortable home is done, so on to the next item.

With Hashem's help our Aliyah will continue to progress positively. Stay tuned for more updates on our settlement in Qatsrin.