Observations about life in Israel from a Canadian immigrant's perspective.
Come September, the Israeli landscape is parched, crunchy, yellowed, and prickly. It is as if nature is spent and experiencing symptoms of advanced old age; plants are skeletal, withered, grey, their stems fractured bones. They are exhausted, save for seeds that many will spread to ensure a future generation. For the next big event in… Continue reading Weed Whacking
In the mornings when I walk my dog, I pass a gan. Gan is a preschool in Hebrew, yet it also means garden. In this ‘garden’ of children, I usually hear the energetic sounds of toddlers creating, learning, sharing, and of happy shouts in the playground. Yet this day, the school yard was transformed. The… Continue reading Garden of Children
Start Up Nation. Is that what we’re called? When it comes to ingenious inventions in medicine and high tech, yes. When it comes to basic services, we are, well, just starting up and have a long way to go. I’ve written about the post office services (Doar) many times. Some of my most frustrating moments… Continue reading Starting Up Nation
Facing each other and clutching a plate between our hands, we hold our arms out, lift gently, then lower. I take a deep breath. My partner lets go and I hold on firmly, lowering the china plate to the floor. “You have to let go,” she says gently. “Let’s try again.” I take another deep… Continue reading Letting Go
As yesterday marked my 11th-year anniversary of making aliyah to Israel, here's 11 observations about life here. 1. The weather is amazing. Day in. Day out. Pure sunshine and heat. Ahhh. For a former sun-deprived Canadian, I just can’t get enough. Ever. It is so bright here, I feel the urge to put on sunglasses… Continue reading 11 things I learned after 11 years in Israel
Here I go again. Writing about hiking. You may wonder if I ever do anything else. Well, I do. But hiking opens my eyes and heart in such an incredible way, I become inspired to share these experiences. And the darker our world becomes, the more drawn I am to the simple life of the… Continue reading Sir Edmund Hillary
Words at IDF Officers' Training school "Look on me, and then do likewise." (Judges Ch. 7. v 17) Last week marked ten years of living in Israel. We made aliya on July 13, 2005, landing at Ben Gurion Airport with slight trepidation, crazed looks and four children aged 12, 10, 6 and 4. What has happened… Continue reading Tenth aliya anniversary
One big family. When my daughter Aviva’s new Ethiopian soldiers arrive on base, they are beaming, white teeth gleaming behind open ready smiles, happy to please and succeed. Aviva shows them how to stand at attention and how to work under time constraints. Echad, shtaim, shalosh (one, two, three). She shouts this mantra several hundred times… Continue reading Wearing army boots
Their lives are too hard. They are so sweet and know so little. They’re like my children. Learning how to tell time. These are the words of my 19-year-old daughter, Aviva, who is talking about the Ethiopian soldiers she supervises. All are all new immigrants to Israel. Aviva started working as a mefakadet (sergeant) in… Continue reading Our mosaic, Eretz Israel
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Life in Israel 