tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-45794455539066992472024-03-13T04:03:39.894+02:00aliyaheroesA journey of many miles!Darryl Egnalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16745572652993547499noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4579445553906699247.post-83382266566031205132010-09-23T19:45:00.001+02:002010-09-23T19:49:42.924+02:00Master of my fate!<div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There is no doubt in my mind that we all have the power to make things happen in our lives. Yes, circumstances knock us around and our emotional state can weaken our resolve, but our lives are filled with possibility and it’s all about finding that proverbial needle in the haystack with courage and determination.</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a name='more'></a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Invictus</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> – unconquered, undefeated! I watched the movie, </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1057500/">Invictus</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">, </span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">recently about former South African President Nelson Mandela and how he made use of the Springbok rugby team, its captain, Francois Pienaar and the Rugby World Cup in 1995 to help unify</span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> a very divided South Africa.</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the film, Madiba (his clan name and the one most South Africans use) talks of the 1875 poem, </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/invictus/">Invictus</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">,</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> by William Ernest Henley, and how he used the words to lift him up in his darkest moments on </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.robben-island.org.za/">Robben Island</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. The last lines – </span><b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“I am the master of my fate. I am the captain of my soul”</span></i></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> – really resonated for me, especially considering the past six weeks of my Aliyah.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Catch 22<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I’d been experiencing many different emotions about having to move off the kibbutz that had been my home for the first 14 months of my time in Israel, wanting to stay, yet knowing it was time to go. Leaving friends behind – again – was making me wonder if I’d made the right decision – again.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I had some asking me why I was leaving. Some asking me to stay. Many were generous enough to offer me a place to stay when I visited the kibbutz. Some days I felt like I was making a mistake. After all, I could do my work from anywhere. Other days, I knew if I didn’t get out of there, I would become complacent. I needed to get more active in my life in Israel. I needed to experience different things. I had to look forward and make the change. (Read </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://darrylegnal.blogspot.com/2010/09/catch-22.html#more">“Catch 22”</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> on my </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://darrylegnal.blogspot.com/">personal blog</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> for a more personal perspective.)<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At the end of July, a month before I moved to Tel Aviv, I had no idea how I was going to pay my rent at the end of every month, let alone pay for all the other expenses related to moving. I had no full-time job, very little freelance work (August and September are very quiet months in Israel) and no possibilities.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The freelance work I’d been doing thus far had been sufficient to keep me going while living on the kibbutz, but I knew I needed more for the city.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I had been through all the job websites and emailed many companies looking for staff – part-time and full-time. I think I received two or three responses to the dozens of emails, all saying the same thing… we’ll be in touch. None of them ever followed-up. I’m not saying these methods don’t work, but I was getting desperate and had to find another avenue.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I had heard from many people over the past year that it was hard to find a job in one place when you were living in another and that it would be easier to find work once I was in Tel Aviv. But I couldn’t take the chance of moving without knowing I had an income. And besides, I could now say I would be living in Tel Aviv in a few weeks. So I went on the hunt.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Taking charge <o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Instead of waiting for job listings to come through from the </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.aliyahjobcenter.org/">Aliyah Job Centre</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> website, or from </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.israemploy.net/">Israemploy</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> or </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_806645607">Janglo</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.janglo.net/"> </a>or any of the other job listings I’d found, I decided to go for the jugular. The companies themselves. Something I should’ve done months before. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One of the companies I found – an international public relations consultancy – had a strong English presence on the Internet, something unusual for an Israeli company and interesting for me because of my poor Hebrew. I decided to email them. Focused. Direct. Going right to the horse’s mouth and not through an agent or Internet job site. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Within 24 hours, I had received a response from the manager of the international division asking me to meet with him that week in Tel Aviv. Had a great meeting with him, but he couldn’t promise there’d be anything available at that time. Not long after, he called to ask me to come in to meet his chairman the following week. A good sign. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Options<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Not to put all my eggs in one basket, I had emailed and met with a few newspaper and magazine contacts to see if there was anything going in the media. I had also been in touch with a few friends to see if they knew of anything. One of them forwarded my CV to the marketing department of his company. Another sent me a contact for a potential writing position. Things were slowly starting to happen.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My second interview with the PR company went very well. And things started to look even more promising. On the way back to the kibbutz, I received a call from my friend’s contact – a foreign exchange trading company – asking me to come to their offices in Herzliya for an interview.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The day of the second interview arrived. A week before my move. No word from the other company. I was stressed to say the least. I began the trek to Herzliya. A two-and-a-half hour trip from the kibbutz. I was sitting in the reception waiting for the interview to start when I received a call from the first company. Can you come in to meet the CEO tomorrow? Sure. But can we make it that afternoon as I was already in the area? No problem. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Herzliya interview went very well and it sounded like an interesting position – more copywriting for online advertising than feature writing – but a challenge nonetheless. I went off to the PR company. The CEO wanted to discuss details. I asked if he was offering me the job? Yes, he said. It’s yours if you want it. Part-time for the first two months and full-time from November. I could feel the relief course through my body and the tension lift from my shoulders.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As soon as I got onto the train back home, I began to sms and call my friends. I couldn’t focus on what I was reading. When I arrived back on the kibbutz, I emailed the Herzliya company that I’d been offered a position and had accepted it. As much as I would’ve liked to follow through with the other company just to find out if they wanted me and what I’d be earning, I couldn’t do it. My conscience wouldn’t allow it.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But now I could focus on my move knowing I had work when I arrived. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Proteksia<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In Israel, there’s a common piece of advice given to olim (immigrants). Use your contacts. Use whoever you know – family, friends, people you’ve met who have offered help – anyone who may be able to help you find work. It’s called “proteksia” and it’s kind of like the mafia. In some ways, it’s a good thing, and in other ways, it can be seen as “not kosher” – the way nepotism is often viewed. However, I believe – and always have – that a friend or family member can get you a job, but only you can keep it. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I had “used” my contacts very successfully during my first year. Through the people I knew, and word of mouth, I had found enough freelance writing and photography to keep me going. It was good to know that my friends were “looking out for me”.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But I also knew I couldn’t continue to rely on others to find me work. People have their own lives to live and are usually so busy managing themselves that they don’t always have time to think of others, no matter how much they may want to help.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I had done it. I had found myself a job without nagging friends or pushing myself on other people. It made me feel good. It made me feel like the “master of my fate”.</span></div>Darryl Egnalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16745572652993547499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4579445553906699247.post-86750040512323364902010-08-02T15:32:00.007+03:002010-08-03T16:18:00.763+03:00Starting over… again!<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">About six weeks before making Aliyah, I attended an Aliyah Expo in Johannesburg. It was the end of May 2009 and I had been for my interview with Ofer Dahan, the then director of the Israel Center, only a few weeks before. I knew the next <a href="http://www.jewishagency.org/JewishAgency/English/Aliyah/News/sep29-fsu.htm">Aliyah flight</a> was coming up on July 4 and many people were trying to convince me to be on it, but I was still not sure about making the move so soon. Everything was moving way too fast.</span></div><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><a name='more'></a></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">I was well aware of all the options for those making Aliyah because I had been asked by Ofer to put together the <a href="http://www.telfed.org.il/files/AliyahExpoSM_small.pdf" title="http://www.telfed.org.il/files/AliyahExpoSM_small.pdf">Aliyah Expo Magazine</a>, which I had completed in time for the Cape Town expo a week before. Doing the research for this project gave me insight into these options which most potential <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">olim</i> don’t get. I knew about the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Mercaz Klita</i> (Absorption Center), which exists in every major city around the country. I was aware of the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://www.jewishagency.org/JewishAgency/English/Aliyah/Absorpton+Options/Bayit1/General+Program+Outline/">Bayit Rishon B’Moledet</a></i> (First Home in the Homeland) <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Kibbutz Ulpan</i> program. I knew there was the option of taking an apartment and attending <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">ulpan</i> in any of the cities without the help of the Jewish Agency’s official programs, although certain of the smaller, developing cities were offering <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">olim</i> extra benefits if you chose them. Now I just had to decide which option would be best for me – whenever I chose to make the move.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">I got different advice from everyone. Obviously, the person pushing the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Bayit Rishon</i> program wanted me there. The developing cities were desperately pushing their programs. One person told me not to rely on the <i>Sal Klita</i> (Absorption Basket/Subsidy) provided by the government and to make sure I came with at least R10 000 (NIS5 000) as back-up until I’d settled, and another told me he knew of someone who came with R500 (NIS250) and ended up doing very well. I was being pulled left, right and centre, told different things by different people and feeling very pressured.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">One person gave me really sound advice, and although he wasn't the only one, his advice made sense. Jonny Katz, who works for the <a href="http://www.jewishagency.org/">Jewish Agency</a> in Jerusalem, told me to ignore what everyone was saying and “go with my gut”. He actually asked me: “What is your gut telling you?” So I listened to him. I chose the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Bayit Rishon</i> program. Six months on a kibbutz learning Hebrew. This was sound advice. Good advice. Although I didn’t think it was in the first three or four months of my stay. It turned out to be a very different experience from what I expected, and you can read about the details in <a href="http://darrylegnal.blogspot.com/">my personal blog</a>. But in the end, I spent 14 months on <a href="http://www.kms.org.il/">Kibbutz Mashabei Sade</a> – or will have by the time I leave at the end of August.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Once I’d decided the kibbutz was where I was headed, the most common comment (besides the fact that I was insane to choose a kibbutz in the desert) was: “When you make Aliyah to a kibbutz, moving to a city is like making Aliyah all over again!”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Well, that time has come and this statement is echoing in my brain constantly. I’m starting to feel withdrawal, thinking of all the friends I’ll miss, thinking of the children I won’t be able to hug whenever I feel like it, thinking of the peace and quiet and the ease of living on a kibbutz. I’ve become accustomed to life in the desert and it is more than a comfort zone for me now. It’s almost like home and all I can think about is what I am leaving behind.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">I’m also feeling insecure about what lies ahead. I’m not afraid of the unknown – never have been – but I’m constantly worried about what ifs… what if I don’t have enough work, what if I don’t have enough money, what if I never learn Hebrew, what if I hate the city (after living in a city most of my life), what if…</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">And I have to keep reminding myself of my own favorite quote: “It’ll be ok in the end, and if it’s not ok, it’s not the end.” I know it will be a challenge, but I also know it’ll be exciting and new and different and…</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">The interesting part is that I have many friends in Tel Aviv and now I’ll be able to spend more time with them. Friends I’ve seen only a few times in over a year because I’ve been living in the desert! I’ll be able to socialize more, network more, go to different places and experience different things.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">I won’t have to rush to catch a 9pm bus or train back to Be’er Sheva because the last bus to the kibbutz is at 11pm. I won’t have to sleep on friends’ couches or floors and feel like I’m encroaching on their space (even though they didn’t mind). I’ll have my own place, my own spaces and buses that run most of the night. Yes, it will be a new and exciting experience.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">And yes, it may be like “making Aliyah” again, but this time, I have more contacts and more knowledge and more experience – and I know the place in which I’ll be living. I know my way around Tel Aviv now – more or less – and I won’t have to feel lost and lonely and frustrated. This is the next step for me and I hope and pray things will fall into place soon and life in the city will feel like home in no time.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">I have been in the wilderness, the desert for long enough now. And even though <a href="http://darrylegnal.blogspot.com/search?updated-min=2009-01-01T00:00:00-08:00&updated-max=2010-01-01T00:00:00-08:00&max-results=3">the desert is the Promised Land</a>, I need to experience the promise of a different variety now.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">And I’m looking forward to the challenge.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>Darryl, another <i>Aliyahero</i></b></div>Darryl Egnalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16745572652993547499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4579445553906699247.post-52188313923741900472010-07-16T17:14:00.006+03:002010-08-03T16:22:49.924+03:00Things I’ve learned since making Aliyah<div class="MsoNormal">I have been in Israel for one year and I’ve discovered many things about myself and about the country, the people and life here. To put it in a nutshell, this country is as easy or hard as you make it. And yes, I can hear many <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">olim</i> (immigrants) saying: “Bullshit, this country is difficult no matter what you do or how hard you try.” And perhaps they’re right, in many ways. The language, the culture, finding work, getting to know the way things are done… it is difficult.</div><a name='more'></a><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">But if you come here wearing rose-tinted glasses, expecting things to come easily, you’ll be sorely disappointed. Just like any other country – or even your own – your success or failure, your attitude, and the way you act and react towards things, is up to you. No surprises there. The difference is that Israel wants you here and the various government departments and agencies, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">olim</i> organisations and even residents do what they can to help you land on your feet.</div><div class="MsoNormal">Here again, I can hear many <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">olim</i> saying: “Once you’ve arrived, you’re on your own. The Jewish Agency and the government do nothing to support you…” Meanwhile, they do more for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">olim</i> than any other country. But even then, those rose-tinted glasses could be your downfall – expecting too much, not having enough… (money, skills, experience, determination).</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">1. Don’t come with high expectations. You’ll be disappointed.</b></div><div class="MsoNormal">I chose to live on a kibbutz in the desert for the first six months of my Absorption process. I chose this option because I thought a kibbutz was a community and would welcome me and other <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">olim</i> into their lives. I thought learning Hebrew would be easier when you were living in a community where everyone spoke Hebrew and would be happy to help you learn.</div><div class="MsoNormal">I thought I’d find a host family that would absorb me into family life and help me adjust to leaving my family behind. There’s a saying I use often: “Thought got out of bed to see if his feet were cold!” I’m not sure where it comes from, and most people don’t understand it, but basically, these “thoughts” of mine made sure I was very disappointed.</div><div class="MsoNormal">It takes time to get to know the people in a community. It takes time for them to get to know you and be willing to welcome you into their homes. When you walk in the street in a city or even a town, you don’t expect everyone who walks past you to say hello. Why should you expect this on a kibbutz? If you don’t speak the language of the majority, how can you assume that they will speak yours?</div><div class="MsoNormal">I made some friends in the first six months on the kibbutz, mostly with the new <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">olim</i> in my group, but there were a few on the kibbutz who welcomed me. The majority of the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">kibbutzniks</i> only warmed to me once I decided to make the kibbutz my home for another six months. This made me realize that they were tired of new <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">olim</i> (immigrants) and volunteers coming in and out of the kibbutz every six months. Why take the time to get close to people who were going to get up and leave within such a short time.</div><div class="MsoNormal">People have their lives, their families, their friends… Yes, it’s always nice to meet new people, but time is scarce and speaking to new <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">olim</i> in a language that is not your mother-tongue (be it English, French, Spanish or Russian), is hard, exhausting and frustrating. So if you find it difficult to learn Hebrew and speak it with Israelis, you have to remember it’s the same for them!</div><div class="MsoNormal">In many ways, this applies to wherever you choose to live in Israel, whether in a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Mercaz Klita</i> (Absorption Centre), a small, developing town or a major metropolis.</div><div class="MsoNormal">So, be patient, be understanding, be accepting, and make the effort to absorb your life into theirs… don’t expect them to fall all over you. But remember – once you’re in, once you’ve been accepted, you have friends for life! I know that when I leave the kibbutz, I’ll always be able to come back to spend time with good friends.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">2. Make sure you have money on which to live.</b></div><div class="MsoNormal">If you’re relying on the six-to-seven-month <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Sal Klita</i> (Absorption Basket / government subsidy) on which to live and entertain yourself, you’ll be in debt up to your eyebrows before you know it. Life in Israel is expensive, even on a kibbutz. <span lang="EN-GB">Many don’t seem to realise that the Absorption Basket (monthly subsidy given to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">olim</i> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">chadashim</i> – new immigrants – in the first seven months) will not cover all their monthly expenses. It really is a basic subsidy to help you out.</span> It is there to SUPPLEMENT what you bring with you – or what you earn when you get here! Yes, there are people who can get by on it and have, but those people are few and far between.</div><div class="MsoNormal">You will need to start looking for work almost as soon as you arrive – while you’re doing Ulpan (Hebrew classes) and acclimatizing yourself to your new country. Although you need to focus on your Hebrew in the first six months and should avoid working, if possible, you have to prepare yourself for the inevitable – the end of the Ulpan and the end of the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Sal Klita</i>. Yes, there are other benefits that kick in after your first year, including a rental subsidy, but again you have to remember that these benefits are there to help you with whatever you have already or are bringing in through work.</div><div class="MsoNormal">You may think I’m crazy bringing all this up. You may think it’s all very obvious and logical. But there are so many <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">olim</i> who come with these thoughts in mind and many end up struggling to such an extent that they have to ask for help from various <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">olim</i> organizations or charities or they go back to their country of origin within the first year because they can’t cope.</div><div class="MsoNormal">Finding work is not easy in a country where there are many people from all over the world who will do almost anything to earn a living… and where you don’t speak the language. Even if you have specific skills or a profession, the competition is great and you will also have to “retrain” yourself in many cases. If you’re an attorney, a doctor or an accountant, for example, you will probably have to write some type of entrance exam – usually in Hebrew – in order to get permission to work in Israel.</div><div class="MsoNormal">So, make sure you have some funds or some type of back-up (family, friends or income from your home country) when you arrive in Israel and until you find work. And once you arrive, make sure you do everything in your power to find work in advance of your having completing your Ulpan so once it’s over, you’re set.</div><div class="MsoNormal">And there’s that voice I keep hearing… the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">olim</i> who disagree and say it’s not that simple. Yes, I know how hard it is to find work, especially in the field in which you’re used to working. But you have to exhaust all your options. Use everyone you know, network in every situation, ask people in your field for help and advice – not necessarily for a job – as people love giving advice to new <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">olim.</i></div><div class="MsoNormal">When I first arrived, I read an article about an American <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">oleh</i> who had been in Israel for a while and was in the public relations field. I emailed him to ask for help and suggestions on how to get into the media field based on his experience and expertise and he was only too happy to meet with me and pass on his knowledge.</div><div class="MsoNormal">You can also attend employment workshops, seminars on how to produce an “Israeli CV”, how to conduct yourself in an interview, whatever will help you to get that job. Some will cost you, but many of them are free.</div><div class="MsoNormal">There are various organizations that will assist you in these areas, but don’t rely on them only. As with most countries, there are Internet job websites, the usual classified ads in the newspapers, recruitment companies and more, but very often, it’s all about networking and who you know. Word of mouth – or the “Bush Telegraph”, as we call it in Africa – can be a great way to find what you need.</div><div class="MsoNormal">I have been lucky with work. The saying: “It’s not what you know, but who” is often true in Israel, and my having produced a magazine for the Jewish Agency in South Africa meant I made connections before I arrived. The fact that I don’t speak Hebrew hasn’t (for the most part) hindered my finding work as an English-speaking journalist/editor – but much of my work has been through the Jewish Agency. Having said that, I know that not speaking Hebrew has meant I haven’t had as many opportunities as I could have had.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">3. </b><b><i>Ulpan </i></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">– learning Hebrew</b></div><div class="MsoNormal">Before I arrived in Israel, I was determined to make the most of my six-month ulpan and learn Hebrew “come hell or high water”, as the saying goes. I had every intention to focus on the language as I knew my success in this country depended on it. However, I didn’t plan for my house not to be sold and my need to find work urgently. The stress that went with worrying about making my monthly bond payments and trying to sort out problems from half way around the world, as well as job hunting and emailing my CV around the country on a daily basis – and the fact that I find it hard to focus at the best of times – meant that my Hebrew suffered.</div><div class="MsoNormal">Working on the <i>Maccabiah </i>(Maccabi Games) so soon after I arrived was an amazing experience, one I could not turn down, but it meant I missed many classes right at the beginning. Taking photos and writing articles for the Jewish Agency were fun and exciting, but in my travelling to and from the kibbutz, Hebrew took a back seat. And in between work and attempting to catch up on Hebrew homework, there was the job hunting and trying to adjust to a new country, new people, loneliness and the desert.</div><div class="MsoNormal">Forget work for a moment… the result is that I miss out on every day, basic conversations in daily life and in social situations. I think, if I had to do it all over, I’d find work on the kibbutz in the kindergarden and let the children teach me what I need to know. Hindsight is 20-20 vision and besides, my circumstances at the time didn’t allow for me to do volunteer work!!</div><div class="MsoNormal">So, focusing on Hebrew is probably the most important thing you can do for yourself when you arrive in Israel – and even before, if you have the opportunity. Most people plan their Aliyah well in advance. They know more or less where they want to live, they know what they want to do, they know with whom they’re making Aliyah, they know what they’re going to bring with them and how – BUT VERY, VERY FEW PEOPLE START TO LEARN HEBREW BEFORE THEY ARRIVE!!! This would give you a huge advantage on your arrival.</div><div class="MsoNormal">Many <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">olim</i> think they’ll come to Israel and be speaking the language after their six-month ulpan. IT DOESN’T HAPPEN! Yes, there are people who have amazing abilities with languages, and many manage to have a basic conversation and can get around after this learning experience, but it is not enough.</div><div class="MsoNormal">And if you have to earn a living almost as soon as you arrive, taking the time to learn the language falls by the wayside. Living in a country where you don’t understand the language is not only frustrating because you don’t understand the people around you or you can’t watch a good Israeli movie on TV – it’s frustrating because all your correspondence from the banks, your <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Kupat Cholim</i> (Health Fund), your cellphone company, among others, is in Hebrew. All the phone operators at the call centers are Hebrew-speakers and many don’t speak your language. Many of the shopkeepers and security guards and bus drivers and train conductors won’t speak your language.</div><div class="MsoNormal">Even though English is widely spoken and is compulsory to learn at school, it doesn’t mean everybody speaks or understands it. You have to remember, Israel is a country filled with immigrants from every country in the world. There are about seven million people in Israel. About one and a half million are Arabs (Arabic and Hebrew), about one and a half million are Russian or from the FSU (Russian and Hebrew – if they’ve been here long enough), and the rest are Israelis (<i>Sabras</i> – people born here – or <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">olim</i>, whether recent or long-term) who speak Hebrew and/or either French or Spanish or English or Dutch or German or Polish or any one of a hundred languages.</div><div class="MsoNormal">The common denominator is obviously Hebrew, and while you may be able to get by with English depending on where you live – as many have done in this country for many, many years – you’ll be at a serious disadvantage.</div><div class="MsoNormal">So, my suggestion is that you start learning Hebrew in your home country AS SOON AS you make the decision to move to Israel. However, if you are unable to do this, make sure you have enough money, time and other resources to focus on your Ulpan for the first six to 12 months (your first two ulpanim are usually provided free by the government).</div><div class="MsoNormal">These are just some of the things I’ve thought about since I’ve been here. Many may disagree – and have – and at times, I even disagree with myself, but for the most part, I stand by what I’ve said and I hope you find some food for thought in these words.</div>Darryl Egnalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16745572652993547499noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4579445553906699247.post-23655557483952506502010-07-16T16:03:00.007+03:002010-08-03T16:25:42.480+03:00My Aliyah journey in a nutshell!<div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR">How do you sum up a year of change, adventure, excitement, happiness, sadness, loneliness, frustration, nostalgia, work experiences and more in a short exchange of words? This is my attempt, but more detailed versions can be found on <a href="http://darrylegnal.blogspot.com/">my personal blog</a>.<br />
<a name='more'></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR">Prior to making Aliyah (literally “going up”, in my case, “going north”) last July, I had never considered moving to Israel. I love South Africa; it’s a magnificent, diverse, cultural hub of activity with amazing people and beautiful places. And half my family (the rest is in the States) and many amazing friends still live there.</div><div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR">I have visited Israel twice. The first time was for six weeks when I was in my 20s. It was an amazing experience, but a small part of my year of exploration overseas. I returned in January 2006 for a leadership seminar organized by <a href="http://www.saltz-center.org/page.aspx?id=1">Saltz Education Centre</a> and sponsored by the <a href="http://www.saupj.org.za/">South African Union for Progressive Judaism (SAUPJ)</a> and the <a href="http://www.wupj.org/">World Union for Progressive Judaism (WUPJ).</a></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR">Most of the seminar took place in Jerusalem, with a day in Tel Aviv and a few days in the Negev and Arava deserts visiting Kibbutzim – <a href="http://www.boker.org.il/english/">Sde Boker</a>, <a href="http://www.kibbutzlotan.com/">Lotan </a>and <a href="http://www.yahel.org.il/English/tabid/160/Default.aspx">Yahel</a>. That was the first time I experienced rain in the desert – at Ben Gurion’s grave overlooking the magnificence that is the desert.</div><div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR">I fell in love! With the country, with the people, with Jerusalem, with the culture, the spirituality, the Jewishness… And I vowed to come back… for a year, maybe two, to study, to work, to experience life in Israel. Then life took over, my business started growing, I bought a townhouse and continued with Israel a distant memory.</div><div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR">In March last year, my brother and his family visited South Africa. We had a wonderful family reunion in Cape Town, one of the most beautiful places in the world. My life was at a crossroads and I needed to make changes. My plan was to sell up and move to Cape Town to be by the sea. In one of our discussions about the plans, my brother said to me: “Why Cape Town? You’ve been talking about Israel for years!”</div><div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR">This got me thinking once again of Israel and the seed was planted - again. In April, I started doing my research. In May, I had my interview with the <i>shaliach </i>and put my house on the market, in June, I packed up my house (well, most of it) and closed down my business, and on July 4, I was on the plane – hugely overweight (luggage), highly stressed, but incredibly excited. I wasn’t going on a holiday. I was moving to a new home! I was making a new start!</div><div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR">You may ask how a person can change her mind about emigration in such a short space of time. But once the seed had been planted, I realized the ground was very fertile. Subconsciously, I’d been ready and waiting for a change like this to happen, for a jolt in my life to make me realize I wanted to be in Israel. I had lived in the country of my birth for over 40 years – happily (mostly) – but now it was time to explore my Jewish roots and make my way in the “homeland”.</div><div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR">“Making Aliyah - for me - is the possibility of ‘change and renewal’. The starting of a new life, the putting down of new roots, and the creation of new hopes and dreams.” (<i>Taken from my speech at the Kotel</i>,<i> 5 July 2009 - read the <a href="http://darrylegnal.blogspot.com/2009_07_01_archive.html">full speech</a> or <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cs87B4Je5f0">watch the video</a>.)</i></div><div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR">It certainly has been a year of “change and renewal”. Of finding myself and sometimes losing myself, of making new friends, seeing new places, experiencing new things… Having survived living on a kibbutz in the desert for a year – and turning it into a place I call my “First Home in the Homeland” – I am amazed at how positive a change it has been.</div><div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR">The past year has been an exciting and wonderful time in my life. I have felt alive and happy, challenged and creative and, at times, frustrated, stressed, miserable and lonely. I’ve missed my family and friends more than I could’ve imagined, and I was incredibly sad not to be in SA for the amazing experience of the World Cup… but I know that this is the place I want to call home for the next 40 and more. And I plan to make the most of this opportunity in every way I can.</div><div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR">All the best!</div><div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR">Darryl</div><div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR">Another <i>aliyahero</i>!</div>Darryl Egnalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16745572652993547499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4579445553906699247.post-5862391393278798422010-07-05T15:51:00.007+03:002010-08-03T16:23:14.060+03:00A big Aliyaheroes hello!<div style="text-align: left;">Welcome to the new <i>aliyaheroes</i> blog! The aim of this blog is to connect <i>olim chadashim</i> (new immigrants) in Israel. Although there may be many similar blogs and websites in cyberspace, each one has its own unique flavour, and this one will be no different (in its uniqueness, of course).</div><div style="text-align: left;">I made Aliyah from South Africa in July 2009, so starting this blog in my anniversary month seemed rather appropriate. I had planned to keep friends and family updated on my progress on a regular basis from the time I arrived, but life happened and I didn't quite get things off the ground.<br />
<a name='more'></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR">This is my attempt to change that and to broaden the reach in order to offer other <i>aliyaheroes</i> advice and assistance - or a place to vent their feelings, experiences (good and bad), problems, things learned and more.</div><div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR">I have written a few<a href="http://darrylegnal.blogspot.com/"> personal articles</a>, but most of my writings have been <a href="http://www.telfed.org.il/content/darryl-egnal-media-specialist">work-related</a> and many of them have been about Aliyah as I’ve been writing for the <a href="http://www.jafi.org/JewishAgency/English/Aliyah">Jewish Agency's Aliyah and Absorption department</a> on a regular basis. This means I have done a fair amount of research and have access to various people within the <a href="http://www.jafi.org/">Jewish Agency</a>, so, if I cannot find an answer to a question or comment, I should be able to direct you to the right person or place.</div><div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR">Why “<i>aliyaheroes</i>”? Well, since my arrival in Israel, people have called me “courageous”, “brave”, some have even called me a <i>halutza</i> (pioneer), because I came to Israel alone without family... However, I don’t necessarily agree with these descriptions. </div><div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR">Yes, I left my home, family, friends, business network, business (I owned my own small business for about six years) and arrived in Israel alone (on a plane with about 120 other South African <i>olim chadashim</i>).</div><div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR">But I came to a country that is already established, to a State that has been in existence for more than 60 years, to a desert that has been developed and grown and cultivated into a thriving oasis. I haven’t contributed to the building of Eretz Yisrael, I haven’t cultivated the soil or planted any seeds, nor have I developed a business or non-profit organization.</div><div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR">And I am one of millions who has uprooted herself from the country she knows and loves to start afresh in the land we call home.</div><div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR">I have taken thousands of photographs and written many articles on various topics – Aliyah, the Maccabi Games, Yad Vashem, and more. I have met amazing people, young and old, who are doing amazing things and have contributed enormously to this country over the years…</div><div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR">I am a very small cog in a huge, enormous wheel… But all of this got me thinking… </div><div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR">Maybe, just maybe, we are all heroes… each one of us who has made the decision to change our lives, to move to Israel, to make this our home, no matter when we arrived – in the late 1800s, before or after World War 2, after Independence or in the 21<sup>st</sup> Century.</div><div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR">We are all contributing in our own ways. We are all planting the seeds that are needed to help the country grow and develop. Israelis and Jews and others around the world have been planting trees through the Keren Kayemed L’Yisrael (KKL) / Jewish National Fund (JNF) for many years and the forests around the country have been rapidly spreading through this initiative, but it takes one enormous forest fire to destroy everything that has been achieved. This means that we have to start from scratch to replant those forests and redevelop the areas that have been devastated by fire.</div><div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR">In the same way, new <i>olim </i>have so much to offer. One seed, one tree, one article, one blog, one job, one small business – every effort, not matter how large or small, has the ability to contribute to Israel in so many different ways.</div><div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR">So yes, I am an <i>aliyahero </i>– and so are you! So join me in this small effort to connect new and old <i>olim </i>to each other, to the land, to the future, and to the country.</div><div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR">So, <i>b’hatzlacha </i>(good luck) to all <i>aliyaheroes </i>out there!! I hope you enjoy the rollercoaster ride!</div><div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR">All the best for a successful Aliyah.</div><div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR">Darryl</div><div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_dMkfLwVyitg/TEBkJMNRZDI/AAAAAAAAAOc/9AHN7Uq9_lg/s1600/IMG_2795.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494501654450496562" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_dMkfLwVyitg/TEBkJMNRZDI/AAAAAAAAAOc/9AHN7Uq9_lg/s320/IMG_2795.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 214px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; line-height: 19px;"></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Arriving in Israel on July 5, 2009, we were whisked off to the Kotel (Western Wall) for a special ceremony welcoming us to Israel. We received our "Teudat Zehut" (ID cards) and I made a speech on my Aliyah experience! (L-R) Natan Sharansky, Eli Cohen, me, Ofer Dahan behind me. The two women peeking out in the background are Barbara Meltz-Kahn and Sari Genzler. All of the above are from the Jewish Agency. Far right: Amos Arbel, director: registration of citizens, Ministry of Home Affairs</span></i></div>Darryl Egnalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16745572652993547499noreply@blogger.com7