Cold Hands, Warm Heart

Israeli houses, like Israelis themselves, have a whole set of idiosyncrasies. Designed to combat the heat that is present for most of the year, they can be a tough experience during the winter months.

Heating houses which a) don’t have a heating system pre-installed, b) don’t have carpet, c) are open plan, d) have stone floors and e) have draughty windows, is both difficult and expensive.

Having been shocked at our electricity bill last year (which, I might add, was despite our efforts to be as economical as possible,) we decided that this year we would try to avoid an excessive bill. We bought a few heaters and these go on early morning and sporadically throughout the day but, alas, are not constantly pumping out the heat.

We have taken to old fashioned remedies. We use hot water bottles, we layer on our clothes, we shut the curtains at night and we eat lots of porridge. I would love to report back that all of these things have made a great difference but in truth, we are all still cold.

We are still cold inside the house that is. Many days, we venture outside and are shocked to find that it is 21°! We look around us at all the Israelis in their T-Shirts and jeans and feel a little foolish in our coats and scarves!

However much I get caught out, I still forget next time around. It just feels so cold that I automatically pile on layer after layer of clothing only to peel many of them off when I leave the house. My kids too are fed up with me making sure they wear their coats before they leave for school (zipped up too!) Israel just seems to be one of those places where you actually wear more clothes inside of the house than outside.

Maybe next year I will finally find a way to deal with winter in an Israeli house. Still, the phrase, 'cold hands, warm heart' springs to mind. In Israel we certainly have cold hands at the moment. The phrase also rings true for Israelis themselves, whose sometimes cold, tough exterior more often than not conceals the warmest of hearts.

Sharona B

www.judaicamosaica.com

Israeli Style Repairs

Dealing with simple, day to day household tasks can sometimes be a little intimidating when you have very basic language skills. Making calls, understanding automated responses on phone lines, explaining your problem, arranging appointments and understanding customer service advisers all becomes a challenge.

For this reason I put off dealing with the rubber seal which was coming away from our relatively new fridge. I didn’t know the words to use to explain what had happened and I just didn’t get round to it. Over time the fridge started to drip a little and I knew that the problem had now reached the top of my ‘to do’ pile. Luckily a neighbor offered to handle it for me and I was extremely grateful. They had problems convincing the shop to deal with it as the fridge was now out of guarantee. However, finally they were successful in organizing a home visit for me.

I was a little perturbed when the repairman arrived without a spare seal for the fridge. It seemed obvious that he had already made the decision that he would not replace it for me and was going to fix it up instead.

I waited for him to produce some kind of professional tool or gadget to repair the broken seal but instead he asked me for a hairdryer. He used this for a while over the rubber seal, expecting it to spring back into shape. It didn’t. Finally he asked me for some cotton wool and appeared to be cleaning the seal. I didn’t like to hover over him and left him to sort out the problem.

When he was done he showed me the seal which appeared to now be working better. However, when you opened and shut the door it did not automatically stick to the inside of the fridge and a gap remained unless you pushed it hard to seal the contact. I was not particularly happy with this but before I knew it he was out the door. On closer inspection I could now see that the cotton wool had not been used to clean the seal but was in fact stuffed inside it bring it closer to the inner door and help it to connect. I made a mental note to learn the Hebrew for, ‘bodge job’, which I felt sure would come in handy on many future occasions.

Israeli repairmen always seem to come up with improvised and crude methods of fixing things.

I once had a gas man come to the house to investigate the smell of gas. I was expecting him to produce some kind of gas sensory device to take a meter reading but instead my Israeli ‘Mr Fix It’ simply poured washing up liquid over the pipes and looked for bubbles.

Somehow they continually fail to inspire me with any confidence and they just have a very amateurish air about them. They are rarely dressed in any kind of uniform, their tool kits contain general household items as opposed to technical gadgets and they always look for the cheapest way to resolve the problem, even if that means it is likely to recur.

Yet again the language barrier clouds my decision making. Do I bother my neighbor again who already took time and effort to arrange the visit? Do I phone up myself and try to express my dissatisfaction? Or do I simply shrug my shoulders and live with it?

What do you think?!

Sharona B

www.judaicamosaica.com

A Return to Normality?

It’s raining in Israel. Succot seems to have marked the end of summer with the swish of a lulov. Although September marks the return of many from vacation, the commencement of school and a change of mindset towards a new year, new goals, new priorities; in reality Israel plods along slowly and life does not really resume in ‘full swing’ until the holiday season is over. You can talk to people about any number of ideas or problems you are experiencing in September, but most will make arrangements to get things sorted, “acharay hachagim” – after the holidays.

So finally we have arrived. The New Year is upon us and life is returning to normal.

Although having said that, I think we are still trying to establish what ‘normal’ is for us. Two years down the line; two new businesses, a husband who travels abroad, kids who have changed schools, new work opportunities undertaken… things just keep changing around here. We even have an extra resident – we took pity on one of our ‘garden’ cats (a stray mother and kitten we fed and took care of but firmly kept outside the house) – following a fight and a nasty looking eye infection, we finally succumbed, paid a visit to the vet and now have the kitten fully installed as a house pet.

It’s not that I don’t like change, often it has many positives, it is just that after two years I am becoming a little ‘change weary’. I sincerely hope that by this time next year we will have finally gotten ourselves into a position where we have a ‘normality’ to return to.

On another note, election fever seems to have hit us. No, not of the US variety. There are local elections taking place in November and now national elections appear to be on the horizon. The Anglo culture in Israel is predominantly American and, as a Brit, I have been impressed with how the American’s here have approached the local elections.

In the UK people keep their vote quite personal and vote independently. I have seen how the Americans here have looked to find like-minded people, those with a common cause; be it housing, the environment, whatever, and looked to secure a block vote for the candidate that they feel best serves their purpose. I used to hear in England about the ‘Jewish vote’ in American elections and I really like the way that individuals have realized the power of grouping together and raising issues close to them with the candidates.

Much of the time I cling on to my British ways; I prefer our subtler, more ironic humor; I am more comfortable with a less aggressive approach to life and I sometimes raise an eyebrow at the directness of those around me. However, the elections have really brought home the positive qualities of my American neighbors.

So, with local and national elections over the coming months, yet more change appears to be on the horizon.

Sharona B

www.judaicamosaica.com

Time to Unwind

There’s been no blog for a short while. Life is a little hectic at present. New school for both kids, new work projects coming in and just that giddy feeling that comes with being time starved.

I ‘took five’ today. The little one was acting bored so I took her out into the garden for a walk around. I was about to busy myself out there when I decided that I would hang out with her a little. The chores could wait.

I followed her as she toddled about, investigating plants, poking about in boxes and chasing the cat. She located a tube of ‘bubbles’ so we sat down, blew them and watched as they floated, gracefully into the air. She stood up, arms out-stretched with a gleeful expression on her face.

She then decided to walk down the side of the garden where, under the trees, lies a pile of dried out pink blossom and leaves. This is one of her favorite places. She stomped her little feet in the shifting pile of summer’s lost glory. We marched through, delighting in the noise and feel of our actions and then stooped down to take handfuls of petals and throw them into the air.

I know that some people spend precious time and money buying a whole range of stress relief products or undertaking all sorts of treatments and activities.

I think we are all born with an innate ability to relax and enjoy the world around us. However, it seems that the older we get the less in tune to that side of ourselves we become. We also have it low down on our list of priorities.

Today I had a strange thought; I imagined what it would be like for every office to have a 'leaf room', where workers could chill out and recapture a wild, childhood pleasure. Wouldn't that be fun!

They say that the best things in life are free; well twenty minutes in the garden with my adorable daughter and I felt like a new woman.

Sharona B
www.judaicamosaica.com

Three Different Hats

Like many others before and after me, making aliyah has lead me to completely change direction in my career. My Hebrew is simply not good enough to work in many professions. The truth is that having the baby during our first year of aliyah also created complications in my ability to attend ulpan and work full time. Don’t get me wrong, she is worth every sacrifice ten times over, but she has cramped my style somewhat!

I have ended up doing what a lot of olim seem to do; a little bit of this and a little bit of that! Aside from setting up and running my judaica homeware small business, I have also picked up a few teaching hours in September (hence the need to settle her into nursery now – see previous posts). Recently I 'fell into' freelance writing, which I really enjoy.

Writing has been part of every job I have had and yet I had never really considered it to be an occupation I could consider. Having 'taken the plunge' it is very rewarding to begin selling articles and make money from something I so enjoy.

Recently I have written a series of articles on aliyah and emigration – I attach the link here as some may find it of interest aliyah articles. I will be adding to this series over the coming months.

I have spoken to many people who say that they made a success of their aliyah by re-inventing themselves. I guess variety is the spice of life and with three different professional hats to wear as well as the most challenging but rewarding job ever (being a mum), there is never any time to be bored.

Sharona B

www.judaicamosaica.com