flight

well, i promised I would write about the flight, and since the baby is sleeping, Yehi is running errands and my mother-in-law is cooking lunch, this seems like the perfect time.

we left san francisco late. we hadnt bought Maya a seat, but were lucky that the third person in our row never checked in. it was such a blessing, becase Maya slept in her carseat the WHOLE way to NY. it was kind of a wild flight... two kids a couple rows in front of us starting throwing fits, then their mother blacked out and a doctor who was on the plane had to come take care of her. we landed in NY on time, managed to schlep our bags to the next terminal (with help). claire showed up to see us off, which was great. we really needed the extra hand. the ceremony in jfk was fine, but nothing really exciting. after a painful trip through security we boarded the plane... where maya promptly had her only major baby issue the whole trip. luckily it was before we took off, and semi easily cleaned up.

the flight was crazy. we had a jumbo jet (the Tel Aviv-Yaffo). it was as full as could be... and almost half children. there was not one minute of quiet the whole time. once again, maya was amazing, and barely fussed at all until the second we landed in israel, when she started screaming. the flight was fine... I watched movies, slept a couple hours, and tried to zone out the kids across the aisle from us.

landing was the best. everyone was so excited to be there, especially since we were an hour late. (sorry to those who stayed up to watch in the states!). Yehis family was there, and I put the pictures of the HUGE sign they took up on facebook. Odelya and her newborn, and Shilat and her newborn were also there, with matching baby outfits for the new best friends :)

the ceremony was fine. it was the only time i got emotional... and it wasnt a happy emotional. its a hard realization that you are now living completely across the world from your parents, especially with a new baby.

an hour or so later I was an Israeli citizen, we had all our bags, and managed to find a taxi willing to go some place that wasnt Ramat Beit Shemesh, Modiin or Jerusalem (where most american immigrants go).

ill post later about the new house and our first day... Maya is awake and food is ready. love you all, miss you all too

benefits

the process of making aliyah is nothing like moving to any other country. there is, of course, the fact that this is the holy land, and all the good and bad that goes along with that. but even more than the culture shock is the general process.

when we moved yehi to the us it was a crazy mass of paperwork. it took us two years and thousands of dollars... not to mention the paperwork, the being interviewed (both before he got here and after) and the questioning of our relationship and the reasons for his move. at every turn we were questioned and doubted. it was worth it, but it wasnt easy by any means... and we had an "easier" time because we were engaged, had been together for a while, and had met in person the first time.

so far, to move to israel, we have paid $150 (not counting our shipping, just for paper processing), filled out paperwork and had one meeting. the israeli government is giving us something like $9000 over the next year as adjustment help (our sal klita), plus free ulpan, a free flight for the three of us (which would have cost us close to $3000) plus much more. its been a blessing, even when the beauracracy has been annoying.

so why do i bring this up? ive been hearing a lot recently from people who are israeli born, or have israeli born parents, who live outside of israel complaining about not being able to get full benefits, and its driving me crazy! israel encourages people to move, which is amazing.. and its a bonus, not a right that the government and nbn help out. if there were not bonus rights, people should still want to make aliyah... and if they are only making aliyah for the money and benefits, then chances are they will be moving out of israel rather quickly. i am all for the benefits... but what is the message that is being sent? its the same way that illegal immigrants to the US bother me... every government has the right to make rules about who is a citizen, and no one can expect to just move to another country, get money/free health care/unemployment. i am thankful that we will get help, but we are not moving for the benefits.... it is so much more

one week left

one week left. crazy! we have our suitcases almost all packed (or they are full i should say), but there is still so much left over. its so hard to decide what is important to bring, and what we should just cut our losses on and buy later. my dear husband hates letting any item of clothing go, even when he got it, lets say, at his youngest brothers bar-mitzvah (and said brother is now starting an officers course in the army....).

still, i think we are in an ok place. we are mostly packed, i am stocked up on books, my stuff is mostly cleaned out... and i have one more week to tie things together. maya has been great, sleeping in the mornings and letting me work and clean. i am kind of sad that moving across the world will most likely mess up her time zones, and i will lose the blissful 5-7 hours of sleep ive been getting straight a night.

things are falling into place on the israel side too. we have a small house rented, which will be cleared out and inspected by my mother-in-law this week. we have a space for maya in a daycare, starting whenever we want in september (since its run by his aunt its a little more flexible... and gives me the option of leaving her just a couple hours to start, so we can both get used to the seperation). some friends of mine are even going to be in israel then, so i can have a hopefully easier transition... and then the holidays start not too long after that. it will be my first yom kippur in israel, and my first time building our own sukkah!

the anxiety over the flight is still there... my fear of flying, which i thought i had mostly overcome, has come back at the thought of traveling with a baby. i will NOT let my fears affect her, or our trip. i am actually excited about the actual NBN flight, and being on it with so many olim who are going through the same process... its a great idea. one week left in the states!

14 days and counting....

two weeks until our aliyah flight....crazy. we packed this last weekend, and have sofar packed 5 suitcases. in a fit on genius, NBN allows us 6 suitcases of 70 pounds each.... of course our flight TO NY allows us 2 free checked suitcases, $30 for 2 more, and $75 for 2 on top of that.... all limited at 50 pounds each of course, unless we want to pay additional overweight fees.... oh the joy.

so it looks like we will have 6 suitcases to check, 2 carryon suitcases, one backpack/diaper bag, a stroller and a car seat... oh this trip should be fun. once we get to check in in NY it wont be so bad... but its going to be quite a haul. it still doesnt feel real that we are doing this... in the next two weeks i have to finish sorting and throwing everything out here, finish packing that last suitcase (along with last min shopping), say goodbye to everyone... thats going to be the hardest by far.

there is another NBN flight landing this week... and Yehi is sad because apparently Bibi Netanyahu is speaking.... which means he wont be speaking at ours most likely... Bibi is of course Yehis idol, so hes sad about this! i keep telling him we will get someone interesting too, but he would always rather see Bibi. oh well. as of now we have about 22 people coming to see us at our arrival ceremony... i couldnt believe that they are all getting up that early (including one of Yehis grandmothers!). its prob hard to believe that they get to see him "make aliyah" considering some of them did it themselves... and he was born and raised in israel. im happy they are making the effort... and itll be nice to have the support!

emotions

recently i have been worried about this whole aliyah thing. moving halfway around the world, as far away from my parents and family as one can get... well the guilt is pretty strong. i dont like the fact that I am taking a granddaughter away from my parents (although we will skype as often as possible), and i dont like not being able to share to day to day celebrations and milestones with them. i was worried that when the plane lands in israel i would feel none of the joy that comes with being there. maybe i would be the only person on the plane crying because i wasnt sure i was doing the right thing.

but i think i am doing the right thing. i was watching NBN videos yesterday, and that spark of joy came back watching people enjoy their aliyah. i know what this means. when i was studying in israel, even though it was hard, i loved that being jewish could just be a part of who i was. i didnt have to fight over holiday vacations, kosher food, meetings that run into shabbat... it just was, whether i needed it or not. i am now looking forward to the move again. i know that the pain of leaving my family is there, and its important. but we can do this... and we should be doing this. for now it is what is right for my new little family. and the joy of transportation today means we can visit my family more often...

now if only we didnt have to fly to get there. i hate flying!

apartments and other thoughts

well, first off, Maya has her American passport! That means we are totally ready to travel. All the forms are turned in to NBN, and we seem to be mostly set. Now its just a matter of cleaning and packing and getting the last minute stuff organized... but with a month to go I dont feel so bad.

It also appears that we have a place to rent when we land. This was one thing I was really worried about. it was important to me to be able to have our own place to crash, and to begin to set up, when we arrived. i know that mentally, being able to organize and set up a house will help me get through those first couple days. its a matter of being able to call a place your own. with the baby also, it will be good to start getting her used to new place from day 1.

im not assuming this will be easy in any way. the hardest thing by far is leaving my family. when Yehi and I got married we knew that we would have to choose countries to be near family... and that either way one side would be hurt. We thought we would be staying in the US longer, but the general circumstances led us to decide that now was a better time to move. Part of me is so excited about this move... I have always wanted to live abroad and experience other cultures, and I am so thankful to be able to do that.

On the other hand... we have a new daughter. I want her to get the kind of education and childhood that BOTH israel and america have to offer. i want my parents, my sibling, my grandparents to be able to see her grow and change. it is obviously much easier now, with programs like skype, than it was 100, 50 or even 10 years ago... but its still not the same. I dont have a solution to the problem, but I know there will be a lot of traveling back and forth. I dont know if its really any different from living on opposite coasts of the US (just a longer plane flight), but since both yehi and I grew up right near our whole family, it will be hard. any thoughts would be appriciated.

passports!

Well, as of Yesterday, the baby is official a dual citizen! we received her israeli passport in the mail, along with my aliyah visa. we seem to have conquered the first step of bureaucracy! (with many more to come...) Im still getting used to have a new baby, and it amazes me that she has a passport already... its like it makes it more real in some round about way. we are still waiting for her american passports, and i hope they arrive soon.

what this all means is that we have all the forms for our aliyah (cept babys american passport, but that we dont need until the actual flight) and will have them all turned in and signed off on by the end of the week! im nervous and scared and excited about the move... but its hard to believe its real. I have always wanted to live in another country... but I'm still not sure how I feel about the long term. Either way, it is too early to discuss that now... so here is to the next year... and all the good it will bring (bh)

nbn flights

the first aliyah flight of the summer landed in israel yesterday, and they showed a live feed on the NBN website. I watched the replay of it, and it was great to see. the oldest oleh was 83, and the youngest was 7 weeks. i cant imagine moving with a baby Mayas age. the paperwork they must have had to push to get everything organized in time! we had been debating if we should go on an all olim flight, or a normal flight... and i think we want to take the olim flight. its a once in a lifetime experience... and we can get all of our paperwork done in the airport.

If you want to attend a welcome ceremony go to this link http://www.nbn.org.il/ceremony/index.htm and if you want to watch, go here http://www.nbn.org.il/live/ There are also pictures up on the NBN website if you want to check them out.

we are still waiting for the passports and visas to come in, and beginning the countdown. we got an email saying our lift will be in israel by the first week of august. it still seems crazy that we are moving halfway around the world in a month and a half... but also exciting.

flight approval

well, we got an email saying that we have been approved for an NBN flight in August, all 3 of us! we got a specific date, but are still considering the flight after. its great to hear that all three of us have been approved, pending on my visa and Maya's passports. such a big step in the right direction.

my inlaws (and other family) have been looking for an apartment for us. once again, this process is so much easier with an israeli husband, and family there to help. im a little nervous getting a place without having seen it, but it is only renting. we dont need much space for now, but we would like it to be within walking distance of his family, for shabbat.

we have already signed Maya up for daycare, run by his aunt, starting in september or october. I hope to start ulpan then, which will last most of the day. things are moving, but its still kinda crazy to me that we will be there in less than two months.... and things are falling into place, slowly..

slowly slowly...

well, some good news at least!  we got a call from the Jewish agency, and I have been approved for my aliyah visa!  that means I can get approved for an NBN flight...  the only problem is, in typical bureaucratic fashion, only I got approved so far.  Y and the baby cant be approved until the baby is born and we can prove that with a birth certificate and an israeli passport.  that would be great, but that could be weeks from now, and they wont guarantee that either will be able to get on the NBN flight with me.  the joy.

so we are one step closer, two steps back.  i have to go up to the city to get my visa and turn it in to NBN, and hope they will at least give us spots for now.  they Jewish agency keeps telling me "yehieh beseder" (it will all be ok)... but i havent quite gotten to that point yet.  its almost as if i want this baby to come now, just to give us that extra time to get the paperwork organized!  but things will happen when they happen.

My brother-in-laws are in town from israel, with their girls, and so im getting a dose of israel and hebrew anyways.... its been interesting!  

Step by Step

Well, its spring break where I teach, which means a week of being able to figure things out for aliyah.  We hope to finish the bulk of our packing, and figure out what we are bringing with us.  Everything electric needs converters, and its hard to figure out what is worth it to bring versus buying in Israel (any thoughts from people whove been there done that?).  the fact that I am pregnant has made things a little crazy... and i want to be all packed (hopefully) long before baby makes its appearance...  

the Nefesh BNefesh flight schedule for the summer came out... and it looks like our options are the 3rd week of August or the first week of September.  Rosh Hashana is early this year, which puts the second flight only about a week before the holidays start.  I like the later flight because the baby will be two weeks older (which may not seem like much, but at that age...), but the earlier flight would mean more time to set up before holiday craziness.  Luckily we have his family to help us set up, so we just have to decide whats best for us.  its all slowly coming into place, just working through everything.

the beginning of things

So we decided to make aliyah.... what was next?  First step for us was the Nefesh BNefesh application.  Its been put online, so that was easy enough, but the amount of information they ask for is crazy!  Not only did I have to prove my Jewishness (luckily my Rabbi wrote me a letter), but I also had to prove that I had been living in the United States (or at least outside of Israel) since 2002).  Easy enough, right?  Just show them your passport!  Since 2002 I have held three (kind of) passports.  My first expired around 2002, so I got a new one in 2004, the first time I went to Israel.  Then I had to get another one when I got married, to change my name.  So I copied all 3 and sent them in.... but they werent good enough, since I had no active passport for a year and a half in that period.

Ok, so how else can I prove my residency?  They didnt seem to believe that the fact that I had no passport meant I couldnt leave the country...  In the end they demanded a letter from my High School that I had actually been enrolled there, and attended.  After all that balagan (craziness) I was happy just to be done...  Ok, so application was in, waiting for my visa... now what?

shipping of course!  Everyone who has ever moved knows that moving your personal belongings can be a pain... and moving them around the world is no different.  There are a lot of rules and fees to be aware of.  We went to a talk on shipping, hosted by the Jewish Agency, which was helpful.  They explained the different sizes of shipments, and some of the rules about what to bring.  As an Olah (new immigrant), I dont have to pay taxes on many things.  I can bring in clothes, kitchen appliances, furniture and many other things.  Certain items have limits.  For instance, I can bring in only ONE TV tax free, the others I will have to pay taxes on.  I can bring in one computer in my shipment, though laptops brought with me through the airport dont count.  rules, rules, more rules... and plenty of ways to "bend" them.  

One man asked for instance, about the law saying that you can only bring indoor furniture tax free.  what if he wanted to bring in lawn furniture? (dont ask me why...)  the answer was simple.  Ship it, mark it "table and chairs" and who will know where you use it?  IF you get opened by customs it may cause a problem... but whose to say you dont like using lawn furniture in your dining room?

All in all its been an eye opening experience so far.  We are mostly packed already (having never really unpacked from LA...) so its not that crazy for us.  In fact, I think the shipping guy was surprised when he came to give us our estimate... we are pretty organized.  It doesnt help that we have a baby due early summer, so I want to get everything organized and done as much as possible before it arrives.