Tuesday, June 28, 2011

June 30th 2011…


…is the kind of day that (I hope) will divide my life in before and after. Not in bad and good, not in boring and exciting, and not in awful and amazing. Maybe in great and better than great.

June 30th is the day I make Alyia. Is the day I can start calling another country home (and this is what it will become). It’s the beginning of an adventure, with ups and downs, with highs and lows. It’s the time I finally (and sadly) will have to grow up. To be on my own two feet, to START my adult life. See? And people ask me why I’m scared. To be honest scared is by far not the only thing I feel. I’ve been going through so many feelings and emotions and moods lately that one might think I’m either pregnant or…or when else does one have so many mood swings?:) But no, I’m just very:

ExcitedScaredNervousHappySadConfusedStressedThrilledAnxiousMelancholicCheerful and the list could go on. The main problem is when I go from one to another without notice. And I know I’m gonna be like this for at least one week after I’m there so can we just fast forward the two weeks please? Cause yes, I have two days left…

I promised everybody I will reopen this blog and start writing regularly. I hope I’ll be able to stick to my promise but this is what I’m planning. The new adventure requires a place where I will put down my feelings, my actions and will tell the whole world (ok, only to those who want to “listen”) how I’m “making it big” in Israel. But don’t worry, I won’t put here only the pretty pink with blue ribbon things happening but also the grey ones.

I am not expecting it to be easy, I’m not expecting for 20 headhunters to wait for me at 2 a.m. on the airport to offer me the best jobs in Israel, and I am not expecting to have the red carpet and on both sides of it about 15 amazing looking Israeli romantic dancers to welcome me (see, I’m not even picky:P), but that would be nice, wouldn’t it? :P

I remember what Silviu once told me. After making Alyia, he wanted to sue the water company in Israel cause at his sink, no matter how much he tried and waited, no milk nor honey poured. And he KNEW it shouldJ So at least I know what not to expect.

But what do I expect? And what do I leave behind? I decided I will make a list of the things I will miss the most from back here and what I can’t wait for over there. I will not name people as it would be too difficult for me, they are too many I will miss and too many I can’t wait to be with in the same country. I will talk about the small and the big things that I don’t want to forget.

The order is based on my mind’s algorithmJ and is under no circumstances exhaustive.

So here we go, what I’ll miss from home, from Romania:

  • My bunk-bed. First sleeping on top when I lived with my sis, and then upgrading myself to the bottom bed. Makes me feel I’m a child at mom’s home.
  • The amazing cheese from Ionica, the shepherd from Sibiu, bought fresh from the market after he gives you to taste a big chunk.
  • My cosmetician. I knew I missed her a lot in Austria and I know I will once again.
  • Having a car to drive from place to place and dad paying for the gas.
  • In fact, dad paying for almost everything is a thing I’ll miss (and not) by itself.
  • Not paying 40 shekels for a salsa night J
  • Being nagged by mom and having fights with dad. Yes. I'll miss it.
  • The chilly weather (right now they’re about 36 degrees outside but in general…)
  • Fresh cheap market where you can buy amazingly tasty tomatoes, raspberries, cherries
  • Crazy weird funny fuzzy hair
  • Talia restaurant with friends
  • Having shows with Hora dance group. I’ll miss it. A lot.
  • The super duper tasty food Maria made. And the way she spoiled me.
  • Being able to easily go to Machols. I’m not talking about Machol Romania. That remains “mine” and I will still be very much involved.
  • Buying and using vouchers J
  • Rollerblading in the park nearby at 11 in the night with friends.
  • At least for the beginning, feeling I have a place of my own.
  • The great comfort of having a place of my own
  • Orange movie (where in Israel will I be able to go to cinema and pay about 2.5 euros for a new movie?)
  • Going to Dragonu Rosu with mom and leaving after everything is closed
  • Having a great friend close enough to give him a call and to be wherever i need in no time (especially when it (almost) rains ;) )
  • Being so close to Auchan and having the car to drive to it
  • Old friends that became part of my daily life
  • New friends and the short period we connected and mainly what could have been there…
  • Playing board games
  • Feeling JCC as “my place”
  • Being with my family and feeling at home
  • Waking up not earlier than 11 o’clock (going to ulpan classes at 8 30…urrrggghhh…who invented this hour?)
  • Making Kiddush the way we do it in our community, singing.
  • Free public library with surprisingly amazing customer service
  • Scary Cismigiu park at 1:30 am
  • Feeling Jewish in Romania
  • All the things/people/places I could have done/meet/go to but didn’t.
And here is what I’m looking forward to, in Israel:

  • Being with my family and feeling at home (yeap, on purpose it’s on both places)
  • Meeting new interesting people
  • Experiencing Shabat in Jerusalem
  • Being an active part of my two amazing nephews, Eytan and Talia‘s life. I said I won’t mention names but they are so special that are my exception.
  • Feeling Jewish in Israel.
  • The air-conditioned buses. As I have a feeling I’ll be traveling a lot between cities in buses, they will be a blessing.
  • Learning better and being able to fully communicate in Hebrew
  • Being nagged by mom and having fights with dad, all over Skype
  • Having guests visiting Israel (from Romania and not only)
  • Moving into my first rented place of my own
  • Developing a new group of friends
  • Going to the beach so much more often
  • Learning to cope with the heat and not getting sick from all that mazgan
  • Rogalahim. A lot of rogalahim. Yummy…
  • Lower beauracracy. I was about to write no … but I remember it’s not paradise :)
  • Salsa in Tel Aviv, Ashdod, Jerusalem, Haifa, Kfar Saba, and everywhere else. And not feeling embarrassed inviting guys to dance or worry for a “no”, as in Romania.
  • Karmiel Festival the next week I’m there. With friends. Dancing. A lot. All night. All day.
  • Sticking to our Taglit rule of meeting every other month with the Taglit 2005 wonderful people.
  • Giving some people the needed “time off from Dana”:):(
  • Organizing the Patrick Bruel concert in Israel (take that for a dream, ha?)
  • Learning how to cope with the kashkeshanim :)
  • Enjoying holidays
  • Traveling
  • All in all…making it big, in Israel!:)

Here's to new beginnings!
Leshana (or even better, leshavua) habaa be Ierushalaim!