A bit of daily life

I guess it's about time I offered up the grand tour of our apartment for all to see. Enjoy the tour and, don't get too claustrophobic...

As for other updates:

WORK WORK WORK: Ben got a job!! Today was his second day as a motorcycle mechanic again! He works long days from 7:30am until 6:00pm and comes home in his favorite condition, with dirt under his nails and grease on his clothes. He's a working man all the way through! His co-workers are very nice and so is his boss (Shlomi). Shlomi speaks English and so do the other employees, unfortunately they want to practice their English while Ben wants to practice his Hebrew, but I'm sure he will start learning quicker now that he is around the language more often than we have been so far. Ben never ceases to amaze me with the way he just steps into all the places he might want to work and asks for a job...it always seems to pay off for him. Good job Ben!

HEALTH CARE: The night before we left for France my throat randomly started hurting. It has been hurting off and on since then and I finally decided it has been long enough and it hurts bad enough that I should see a doctor. The doctors office is only about three blocks from our apartment so at 7:52 this morning I headed out the door hoping to get their before a rush of people...I was late. How I was late when it was supposed to open at 8:00 and I got there at 7:58 I do not know! That was just the beginning though. I got in to the see the first doctor pretty quickly but I left her just as fast. She took about a 4 second look in my mouth and 2 in each ear and said there was nothing there!Hmm...I wonder how she knows that without looking past the back of my tongue. So....I was sent back downstairs to reception to pay for a throat culture and an even bigger line of people had formed. I stood there for a while trying to figure out where I was supposed to go. Everything is done there by picking a number, but I was at a loss as to which button to press to GET a number. Finally I got one but when it was my turn to get help I approached the desk and the woman didn't even look up from what she was doing....guess what she was doing....texting on her cell phone!!! She totally ignored me and then finally told me to go to another desk, where I waiting another 5 minutes and was then sent to yet ANOTHER desk. Finally I paid and was sent back upstairs to get the throat culture. However, (yes it continues) the number that the woman gave me was wrong and I waited while person after person who came after me got called in to see the nurse. Finally, I went back downstairs and asked for help. She spoke with the nurse and I got in to see her. BUT...she said I needed another copy of the receipt so I went back downstairs to get it and was sent back upstairs after hearing that 'no, the nurse is wrong, she does not need the other copy.' So...I finally got in...the nurse stuck the long cue tip into my mouth, knocked it around a bit (once again at the back of my tongue, not even where it hurts!) and told me the results would be ready on Thursday. Well...if that didn't turn me off to going to the doctor...wait, what I am saying...it did. If that wasn't confusing for you, I'd worry.

HOTTER THAN HOT: Ok so I wasn't here for the really hot weather that they get in Eilat, but I'm pretty much melting here. It's getting on towards the end of October and we're still having heat above 100 degrees every day! It's 8:45pm right now and still almost 90 degrees out!

ULPAN: To my surprise and pleasure we actually get to start Ulpan this coming Wednesday! We also met another girl who is in my same situation (non-Jew, dating Israeli, getting work visa, taking Ulpan) and she is going to be in our Ulpan as well. She is from Germany but she and her boyfriend speak English together so we can all communicate easily. We went to the beach with them the other day, it was pretty fun...it is interesting to hear how different the US, Germany, and Israel are. Maybe soon we can all speak Hebrew together:)

NOTE TO FAMILY & FRIENDS: If you are lucky enough to see my Maybe...please give her a kiss for me. I miss you all very much.

Feeling alive in the Dead Sea

The day after the Brit, Ben took his motorcycle test and then we boarded the bus to the Dead Sea (Yam HaMelach, which is actually not dead sea, but salty sea...melach is salt). Last year it was December when we covered ourselves in mud and tried our best to get the whole Dead Sea Experience. However, despite our best efforts, we were their late, the sun was going down, the air was cool, and it just wasn't the time we had hoped for. Although I enjoyed the Sea last year, this time it was far better.

It was HOT outside and the water beckoned. We got there around 11:00am and after a quick bite to eat headed straight into the water. Last time it was painful to step in because the bottom was covered in sharp salt crystals wherever you stepped. I don't know if it was because so many people come in the summer and the water moves around more or something, but this time the bottom was smooth sand, no shoes necessary. The water was so warm we walked right in no problem, it was pretty much like a luke warm bath, not the place you want to go to have a refreshing swim, but more for the odd feelings of weightlessness (more than you can imagine!). After getting over the initial burning sensation on any scrapes or dry skin (if you don't already know they are there, the Sea will tell you), we explored the odd effects of the water. Two things stand out to me as the coolest experiences:

1) If you lay your head back and put your hands behind your head you don't have to expend any energy at all, it's like laying on a cloud (or I guess what I imagine that would be like), you could stay that way for hours. In normal water I can't float worth anything. I stick my stomach in the air, arch my back, think floaty thoughts, but no matter what I do my legs still slowly sink down until I am practically vertical. But the Dead Sea....it will have none of that...if you want to float you will float (and if you don't want to float...too bad).

2. You get to a depth where in normal water you could still touch, but try as you might you just can't get our feet to touch the bottom. You're not drowning of course, your head is still far above the water, as a matter of fact so are your neck, shoulders, and part of your torso. You can bob up and down straight as a toothpick, no flailing of the arms or legs, just bouncing in place, never tiring. What a cool feeling.

It was interesting though, almost just as we got to the beach a man and woman were being dragged out of the water by the lifeguards. Since the water is mostly very shallow and it's so dang hard NOT to float we were a bit baffled as to why they were struggling. The only thing I can think is that they were laying on their stomachs and couldn't quite turn over (it is somewhat difficult to turn yourself back over) maybe they got some water in their mouth and panicked. The water is so salty it burns if you touch your finger to your tongue, so I can imagine if they swallowed a bit it would have been scary....we don't really know what happened though. They were both fine by the way.

It was a great day. We relaxed, we sat in the sun, we floated, we covered ourselves in mud, we went back in the water, we rinsed (a necessity), and then we boarded the bus for the 3 hour ride back to Eilat where the water is cooler and more refreshing, but you have to work for your float!

He'll never miss it

Last Tuesday we went to Iftach's Brit. Iftach is Inbar and Hemi's son, and a brit is the circumcision ceremony. The Brit was in Beer Sheva. It was a nice gathering of people we had spent the holidays with when we were staying with Thea and Mandi. It was great to see some familiar faces but we also met some of Hemi's family, which was nice for me. I guess Ben had already met them sometime last year. The ceremony was catered and the food was amazing! I was too full by the time the main course came that I couldn't even eat it! The circumcision was interesting and this was certainly the first time I had been to anything of the sort. Iftach was a pretty good sport although I don't think a Brit is really all that fun for a little boy so most of the pictures we got of him were like the one you see above. In a rare moment of serenity beforehand Ben was able to snap the picture of him you see below....so calm, for the moment. It was an emotional time for the family, I think it was a big mix of emotions. It was certainly a lot for Inbar, considering she had the C-Section only a little more than a week before.

The baby is very cute. He has a big head of dark brown hair (which I am sure he will lose soon) and tiny little chicken legs. It was great to get to meet the little one and we had the opportunity much sooner than we expected. We were very happy to have been invited and to be a part of the ceremony.

While we were in Beer Sheva Ben got his motorcycle license. It's not all that easy and the other guys who took it with him didn't pass, same thing happened with the driving license. It actually is pretty unusual to pass these tests on your first try. Sometimes it takes more than 5 tries! Go Ben!

The picture above is of Hemi (Iftach's father, Inbar's husband, Thea & Mandi's son-in-law...do you follow?)

A lot of Eilat

So we've been in Eilat for a little over a week now....seems like much longer actually. We have successfully made a little home for ourselves in our apartment. I have yet to take pictures of the place to show but I will get around to it eventually. We gave the room a bit of a face lift when we put up some shelves. I thought we did a pretty good job. Funny thing though, as we were building we discovered that our entire apartment is crooked, not like one of those crazy houses at the fair, but definitely crooked. So, instead of putting up the shelves the way they should be (level!) we decided it looked best to make them match the rest of the room, slightly off kilter (just like us!). You can't really tell that they aren't level unless you measure because they fit right in, the only time you really might notice this unique quality of our home is when your pencil keeps rolling off the desk (this was actually our first signal that something was a bit askew).

The first week in Eilat was mostly filled with exploring the stores that have housing supplies, but the other day we finally ventured further and explored the beach! I bought a bike the other day so getting around town is much faster now. I won't say that it is easier though because the fact that everywhere we go requires almost no peddling means that whenever we come home....well, our legs are like jello and we require a shower (needless to say we are a bit out of shape, but hopefully eventually those shaky jello legs will be like rocks after riding these hills every day! So, we hopped on our bikes and wound our way through the busy round-abouts to a portion of the beach that is a little quieter than the main beach in the center of the city. We floated and bobbed in the water, which is as clear as can be, no matter where I was I could always see the bottom. Snorkel gear (or here it is called Shnorkel) will soon be a necessity!

Unfortunately our Ulpan class has been delayed for up to another 5 weeks so we are still left with the little hebrew we started with, maybe a few more words. I know that going out into the town helps with that and we try to get out some, but I am finding my comfort zone has shrunk considerably and I am hesitant to do all of the activities I had planned. We do try to get out a little each day though as we have found that the days that we don't go out are rather restricting in our little hobbit hole. We posted an ad in the newspaper today for English tutoring so we'll see if that brings anything in and I may get up the guts to call the district about any teaching positions, but we'll see.

It has been cooling down a bit so we can spend a little more time in our outside area than before. It is 5:30 now and getting fairly dark, but it is actually quite pleasant outside. It is a nice place to be in the evenings. Oh we also made friends (kind of) with a beautiful cat that is black and white with bright blue eyes. Maybe it is bad but we have fed her a few times so she comes back to visit sometimes. We named her hef because she looks like a cow (her spots). She also looks like she recently had kittens :( I'll post a picture if I can get one of her.

Ben has been cooking up a storm lately! He can really do a lot with just one hotplate. The other night he made us Shakshuka (did I mention this is my new favorite food? Tomato sauce with eggs in a sandwich) and today he made us schnitzel sandwiches and couscous...mmm. I feel pretty lucky to have him around:)

Oh...good news!! Inbar had her baby! We will have to wait until we are in Beer Sheva next to see him, but he weighed in at a healthy 6lbs and is doing great! So is Inbar, although she is VERY tired. We are very much looking forward to meeting him.

I'm going to turn the porch light on and read a bit (Erich Segal, currently my favorite author), I'll post again soon (with pictures!).

Home in Israel!

We moved in! Two days earlier than we expected to. We've been busy making this tiny place our home and I will soon post pictures (but not until we finish unpacking and cleaning up. A good description of our place though is like a really nice dorm room with it's own bathroom:) Today I walked to the Home Center to get things for the apartment (long hot walk). I bought some jars for oatmeal and rice and stuff in the kitchen. My walk back was longer than it needed to be because I tried a different way and got a tad lost, just a tad. As I was walking, carrying my three bags, I kept feeling like something wet was leaking out of one of the bags, but I ignored it thinking it was most likely sweat. Eventually I looked down and realized that one of the jars had broken and cut my leg...my whole leg was covered in blood!! No worries, it was really a tiny scratch, I had just spread it all around while brushing the bag against my leg over and over. I tried to hang the bag just right for the rest of the walk so that nobody could see it..it looked horrible! Pretty funny though (except that I am missing one jar). I ended up walking all the way back to the Home center again though because I forgot something (only to then forget to get another jar!).

It was a nice day though and I got a lot done (so did Ben, but we were doing our own things..he was all around town too). The apartment is looking nicer, the laundry is hanging to dry, dinner is in our tummies and the kitchen is clean, and we are relaxing and ready for another hot day in Eilat (actually I'm not sure I'm really ever ready for the hot part).

Best greeting ever!

I just had to share this picture, this is when Grandma Jo and I first saw each other on Skype from Israel....the picture speaks for itself. I miss you all.

Everybody has an opinion

And everybody has to share it. Although always well intentioned, every single person we meet seems to have an unstoppable desire to share their thoughts about our plans and what we should expect in Israel, and it always seems to be presented as it if were fact. I have heard the entire spectrum of opinions about living in Eilat, joining the army, learning Hebrew, getting a work Visa, making Aliyah, not being Jewish in Israel…etc, etc, etc. As much as I appreciate all the people we have stayed with over the past few weeks, and have enjoyed (for the most part) meeting all the people whom we did not stay with…I am so ready to be in our own home, with our own opinions, and our own experiences. Three more nights on Kibbutz and then we move in to our apartment…and I will not hide my excitement.

As long as we’re sharing opinions……there are two things that bother me most about Israel (not counting the unasked for opinions)…the garbage, and the lack of care for animals. It seems that almost everywhere I have been there is trash, sometimes just scattered on the side walks or throughout a field, and other times piled into heaps on the side of the road or in an empty lot. Some areas are worse that others (of course most big cities have this problem anywhere you go) and some are certainly close to being good, but for the most part I find that the garbage is at least present almost everywhere we go. I’m not sure of the reasons behind this or the attitude that Israeli’s themselves take toward it.

The other issue…the animals, primarily cats and dogs. I think I may have mentioned that the cats in Tel Aviv (and most other cities I have visited) are considered vermin, they roam the garbage bins, leave their urinary aromas seeping into the side walks, and live their lives in constant fear and merely aim for survival. The dogs, although less numerous, are thin and mangy and often cross the roads at inopportune times, almost giving me a heart attack each time (I have yet to see one get hit and hope not to, but from my experiences so far I fear that may be close to impossible). Very few of the pets I have seen have been neutered or spayed, which infuriates me every time I see this…it’s already a problem and this is just making things worse. The feral cats and dogs are often not very friendly, which leads people to dislike them and continue to think of them as vermin. However, in my opinion it’s just the conditions they are forced to live in that make them that way. I wonder why they don't try to could catch cats and dogs to spay and neuter them...what else can be done? It’s a very different mentality here than I am used to at home where dogs and cats are part of the family (however, I have seen that as well…so it’s all a bit confusing).

If you are interested in the cat issue I just found this information about cats in Israel-I guess it answers some questions.

(http://www.chai-online.org/en/companion/overpopulation_feral.htm)

Does trapping, neutering, and releasing cats reduce their population?

All responsible humane organizations agree that cats do not belong on the street, and the goal of any trap/neuter/vaccinate/release (TNR) program must be to eventually eliminate cats from the streets through attrition. In situations where there are natural boundaries and few new cats will enter an area, altering and releasing 70% or more of the cats in an area has been shown to reduce the population. Altering only a small percent of the cats in an area will have no effect on the overpopulation, as those unaltered will breed to meet the amount of available food.

The only study of altered and released feral cats in Israel, performed by a student at Tel Aviv University's Center for Human-Animal Studies, examined three Tel Aviv feeding sites where cats were altered and released. The study found that in an "open system" where there are no borders to prevent cats from roaming, such as prevails in Israel, spaying, neutering, and feeding not only did not lower the population of cats in the three areas studied, it actually increased it. Food put out for the altered cats attracted new cats into the area. The study also found that claims that altered cats form a barrier, keeping out new cats, were false. More aggressive, unneutered cats chased away less aggressive, neutered ones, who were then without a territory or food source.

This study concluded that trap/neuter/release will not reduce the overpopulation under conditions prevalent in Israel, where the number of cats is enormous, where there are no boundaries keeping cats from drifting from one area to another, and where, according to this study, the ability to alter 70% at any one time is not possible. Despite the study's findings, its author nevertheless recommended altering and releasing cats where there are feeding stations and where there are people willing to undertake a labor-intensive process of constant, vigilant monitoring of the cats, including immediate trapping and altering of all new cats as they enter each area.

In locations where feeders take responsibility for altering cats new to the area, there still remains the problem of aggressive males. Even neutered, some male cats are extremely aggressive and will attack and drive off other cats in an area. Some kibbutzim in Israel have chosen to euthanize the most aggressive males, in order to make life manageable for the other cats.

All humane organizations agree that tame cats (those who can be handled and who can relate to humans) should never be put on the streets. Inhumane methods of controlling cat overpopulation, such as traps that injure or poisons that cause suffering, including alpha chlorolose and strychnine, should never be used.