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

days go by

today was our farewell party. it was so great to see everyone who came. for most of them, it was also a chance to see Maya for the first time. its been hard these last couple days, knowing that we are packing up and leaving. it still doesnt seem real in a lot of ways, and I'm sure it wont for even a couple weeks after we arrive.

i keep thinking how lucky we are. both yehi and I have a family that loves us. and even though they span the globe, we live in an age where we can communicate daily, see each other live, and travel to see each other within a 24 hour span. while that seems like a REALLY long trip (and it is), it is still such a blessing. when my great-grandmother left Poland, her main wish was to get to israel... she ended up in the USA and loved it, but for her to visit israel would have been a major undertaking. boats, planes, snail mail... all of which i love, but nothing beats skype. i am thankful that we can do this without loosing touch with my family. it will still be hard, there is no question about that.

we are almost finished packing... we leave tmw, and have a 24 hour trip with a 3 month old. im not terribly excited... especially with my lovely fear of flying. if anyone wants to meet us in NY email me, we can say goodbye! ill post at least once more before i leave...

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!

three weeks and counting

back in January I had contacted some english speaking schools in Israel, just to see what the job situation was like. last week i got an email from one of them asking for a LATIN teacher come january! Not what I wanted to be teaching (I would love to get back to history), but it would be a foot in the door. its only part time, which could be good also. the downside is that it is a pretty far commute from KG, but it is on the train line. anyways, they want me to call them when i land, and set up a meeting. not too bad! even if it doesnt work out, its nice to know that there are opportunities out there.

in other news... three weeks until the move. we have one suitcase packed, only a couple more to go. its hard to believe ints actually getting closer. my parents left to meet my brother in europe today, and it was hard to see them go. we will get to see them before we go, but it was hard knowing that we only have a couple days left. of everything, leaving my family is by FAR the hardest part of moving internationally. if only our families werent on exact opposite parts of the world... at least in this day and age it is easier to stay in contact. still, its not the same as seeing the baby grow up in front of your eyes.

so, three weeks left, just wrapping everything up as best as possible... and hoping that everyting goes as smoothly as possible between now and then.

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.