New Israelis

We made aliyah July 22, 2008 - 8 packed weeks ago.

We came to Israel from Overland Park Kansas in the United States. I have never felt more at home in any country other than the United States. I love Israel.

We have managed to wade through the murky waters of getting the boys registered for school, getting utilities in our name, and getting internet service functioning. We have watched planned streets come into existence, and existing two-way streets become one-way street [during certain hours]. We have bought furniture from people who were leaving the country to go back "home" to make a living. We have shared meals with Doctors who work 10 days a month in the United States to finance their family life in Israel. We have sat at table with a Politician who speaks only Hebrew while the answers to our questions were translated by 4 people at the same time.

We buy vegetables at the Country Shuk - an open-air market at Country Center in Modiin. If you get there early, you can watch the days vegetables being unloaded. We have fed 10 hungry people with a single pizza from Giant Pizza, and had leftovers for the next day. That pizza is at least 3 feet [one meter] in diameter.

Our older son Isaac has more friends in school than he ever had at school in Overland Park, and he is known in the offices of the Municipality as the "cool kid" every other new kid is talking about. Our younger son Ari is finally taking notes in school, and some of the notes are in Hebrew.

My wife Rivka & I are studying to learn Hebrew. We have found that most people will talk with us in English when they find out we are Olim Chadashim [new immigrant citizens] of only 8 weeks. They practice their English on us, and we practice our Hebrew on them. It is a win-win situation.

There is almost no single thing about Israel that reminds me of Overland Park Kansas, but I feel more at home here than I ever could have expected.