Thursday, May 21, 2009

My Volunteer Work

I have to complete 120 hours of volunteer work as a requirement of the scholarship I've received from the government.  I'm volunteering at 2 places right now, and I just started this week.  The first place is a drug rehabilitation center for teens.  They go to the center every weekday from 8am to 3:30pm, if they are still of high school age, then they complete their studies at the center, but don't spend the whole day learning.  They're engaged in a bunch of different activities.  I go there every Tuesday and conduct a 2 hour arts & crafts session with them.  The boys and girls that go there each have their respective common rooms.  This week, I was with the girls, it was a good way to get to know the facility and the type of kids that go there, there are only 3 girls in the program right now, and about 8 or so boys.  So, what I did was make paper flowers out of colored tissue and pipe cleaners to decorate their common room with, we finished in about an hour and then I just sat and talked with them for the rest of the time.  I think it went well, next week I'll be doing a project with all of the kids, that's going to be a little more intense.

The second place I'm volunteering at is called Amcha.  It's a center for Holocaust survivors and the children of survivors.  I spend 5 hours a week there.  Two and half hours on Wednesday assisting in an English class, and two and half hours on Thursday just spending time with them, playing games, talking, karaoke, whatever.  Meeting these people was one of the most humbling experiences of my life.  I have never met a Holocaust survivor before, and seeing the energy these old folks have, and how happy they are now, despite to constant reminder of the numbers tattooed on their arms, it was just incredible.  It's difficult to describe.  I simply felt good with myself, and was reminded that nothing in my life could ever be so terrible.

My Scholarship from the Israeli Governement

OK, so I mentioned in my first post, Why I Made Aliyah, that I discovered a scholarship specifically for new immigrants.  Basically it works like this.  The government pays up to 120 credits of any degree.  Once you've made your choice on where you want to study, have done all of the necessary acceptance requirements for your institution of choice, and have signed up for classes, you're going to take proof of all that information to the local Jewish Agency to the offices of the Israeli Student Organization (Minhal HaStudentim) and they will give you an affidavit for the credits you're taking that semester in which you will in turn give to the finance offices of your school.  It's that easy, really.

Here's the catch, you in turn must complete 120 hours of volunteer work.  This volunteer work begins once you've earned 80 credits towards your degree.  There are tons of different places to complete this volunteer work.  Basically, though, it's going to be volunteering with seniors or with kids, from there the options branch out, for example, kids with cancer, old people's home, after school programs, senior bingo night, etc.  Also, you don't have to finish all of your hours at the same place, you can volunteer at multiple places.

Another thing, you need to have relatively good grades, actually average grades, lets say.  In Israel, they don't use the 4.0 system like in the States (come to think of it, I doubt anywhere else in the world uses that system, not to mention Fahrenheit, feet, miles, etc) they use the "100 system" (I don't even know if that's the right name for it), but basically as long as your average is above 65 (which is like a D+), you're in the clear.  Also, if you fail a class, when you retake it, you pay for it the second time around.

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Learning Hebrew

I'll never forget my first day at Ulpan ("Hebrew School", literal meaning: workshop).  As my mother and I were approaching the main office, I noticed a group of about 40 or so people that looked to be around my age.  They were not Israeli or American, in fact, I had no clue where they were from, all I knew was that they were speaking some foreign language I had never heard before.

Well, after a brief meeting with the director of the Ulpan (we had met the previous week, and she told me to show up on this day to begin lessons), she introduced me to the guy in charge of the group of immigrants that I'd be joining for Hebrew lessons, his name was Alex.  My mom said goodbye to me, and I walked out of the office with Alex down to the classroom.  As we passed the group of young foreign people, they began to follow us, and I suddenly became really nervous.  I was certain that I'd be learning Hebrew with other English speakers, but it was suddenly blatantly obvious that that would not be the case.

Shortly thereafter, I discovered that the strange language they were all speaking was Russian.  I was the only native English speaker in the group, there was one other guy, Vladimir, who also spoke English fairly well.  Needless to say, we quickly became friends.

The first few weeks were sort of awkward.  I felt like a creature from the great beyond, or something.  I was constantly being watched and talked about, I wasn't Shelly, I was "The American Girl".  Some people were shy to approach me, others couldn't seem to get enough of trying to talk to me in their broken English, and others seemed to have no interest whatsoever.  Vladimir was constantly translating questions the others had for me, and then my answers back to them. 

Eventually, the awkwardness went away, and I started making friends with a few people.  Once we felt we had learned enough Hebrew to being talking with each other without Vladimir's help (about 3 months into the course, by this time I had been in Israel for 6 months), I started to feel a lot happier and more optimistic about life here.  Everyday after class, we'd sit together and start talking about anything and everything, we were constantly referring to our respective Hebrew dictionaries, but it was so much fun!  In the process, I learned to read and write in Russian, by the end of Ulpan (it was a 5 month program) not only was I and my circle of friends speaking Hebrew at a level far beyond than what was expected of immigrants being in Israel for only 8 months, I was also able to carry on a basic conversation in Russian :)

Things to consider, and tips about making Aliyah

If you're thinking about making Aliyah, the following is a re-cap of all the steps I had to take, and how I would've done things differently if I knew then what I know now.

First of all, if you're still in the States (or your home country, wherever it may be), you should contact your local Jewish Agency For Israel, you can find them easily online, and get your Aliyah packet.  In it, includes all the rules about making Aliyah, and all the benefits a new immigrant receives upon his arrival to Israel, but the most important thing is paperwork you need to fill out.  This doesn't happen overnight.  There is a lot information that you need to provide, and it's basically an application for immigration, which then gets sent to Israel, and it can take up to 6 months to receive an answer.  I got my answer within 2 months.  Regardless, you should be ready to set aside a few months for the process.  From the moment I first got my application, filled it out, got my answer and prepared myself in general for moving to Israel, 15 months had passed.  Also, the Jewish Agency, as I recall, is not operational during hours that most Americans are accustomed to, they operate as if they're in Israel, and since they're apart of the Israeli government, it makes sense.  Israeli government offices are open to the public from 8am to 12pm, Sunday through Thursday.  Some branches may even be closed on Sunday, since it is a non working day in the States.  So make sure you manage your time!  

Next important thing to consider.  The army, or Israel Defence Forces (IDF).  By law, every Israeli citizen must enlist to the armed forces at the age of 18 and is required to serve for 2 or 3 years, depending on your sex (female or male, respectively).  When I made Aliyah in July of '04, the law regarding new immigrants stated that females over the age of 18 and males over the age of 35 can choose whether or not to enlist.  Two months later, the law changed.  Female immigrants must be over the age of 21 in order to choose if they want to serve.  I'm not an expert on Israeli laws, but this is something you should look into if you're serious about coming to Israel.

Okay, so you've been accepted for immigration to Israel, you've made your decision about the army, and you're on your way to Israel!  Yay!!  Now, once you get here, you'll have two choices.  You can stay in what they call an Absorption Center (or Merkaz Klita in Hebrew) which is kind of like living in a dormitory.  It's a bunch of small apartments, and they assign you to a room with roommates (if you're alone, if you come with your family, you get your own apartment) and the rent is very very cheap, in fact the monthly stipend the government gives you (one of the benefits I mentioned earlier) should cover most or all of the rent.  Or you can find your own accommodations, e.g. hotel, hostel, friends/family (if you have them here) until you find yourself an apartment.  I was unaware that the Merkaz Klita was available to me, and ended up staying in a hotel for a week with my mom until we found an apartment.

Next, you're going to have to get an ID card, basic health insurance (by law, every citizen must have the most basic type of health insurance available), a bank account (so the government can send you your monthly stipend), and a cell phone (don't bother with a land line, more than likely you'll be spending more time outside your home anyway, and for some reason Israelis never leave voice mails).  Now, this all sounds pretty easy, but the bureaucratic system in Israel is pretty slow.  Like I said before, government offices are only open from 8am-12pm, Sun-Thurs.  GO EARLY!  You'll have to go to the Misrad HaPnim to get your ID card, and you can't do anything else without it, so do that first!  Then, get your bank account started, once you have your bank account, I suggest you get a cell phone next, then the health insurance.  Mostly everything in Israel is set up on an automatic payment, meaning your monthly bills are taken directly from your bank account for things such as cell phones, or whatever type of service that sends a monthly bill.  If you don't set this up, you'll get your bill in the mail and you'll either have to wait in line at your bank or the post office (which can take up to an hour or more) to pay it.  You cannot simply write a check and send it in the mail.  It took me nearly 2 months to get those 4 things accomplished (well actually 5, I went to get my driver's license too, which takes place at the Misrad HaRishooie), I went about things in a different order than I just mentioned and ended up wasting so much time because I didn't have exactly what I needed.  I was also really jet lagged for the first week, so it was nearly impossible for me to get anywhere before noon.  The following is a list of the major banks, cell phone companies, and health insurance agencies in Israel.

Banks
  • Bank HaPoalim
  • Bank Leumi
  • Bank Mercantile
Cell Phone
  • Orange
  • Pelephone
  • Cellcom
Health Insurance
  • Maccabi
  • Clalit
  • Leumit

The last important thing that any person who wants to move to Israel should know, concerns learning Hebrew.  I suggest that you begin Hebrew lessons (Ulpan) as soon as possible.  There are at least two types of Ulpan (that I know of, there are probably more), one is a three month long program, and the other is 5 months long.  I did the 5 month program.  It was 5 days a week, from 8am-1pm.  At the end of the program, if you have at least 80% attendance, and you pass the final exam (which isn't difficult, they have an excellent system for teaching new immigrants Hebrew) you'll receive a certificate of completion, without it, you may have a difficult time getting a job or getting accepted to educational institutions.

If you plan on studying in Israel, you'll need to contact the Jewish Agency for Israel, in the city of where you want to study in order to get your scholarship.  You may have to be accepted to a school first, I can't remember exactly in which order I did it, applying to school first or registering as an immigrant student first.

I hope my experiences with making Aliyah are helpful, and good luck!

Why I made Aliyah

Even after nearly five years, I still get asked this question on a near to daily basis.  The moment people pick up on my American accent, the next thing that comes out of their mouths is "Why are you in Israel?"  and once they find out I'm from LA, that's when they really go nuts, "Why the &@#$ would you leave LA for Israel?"  For some reason most of Israelis think of LA as an absolute paradise - don't get me wrong, LA is awesome, but I didn't leave LA because of the city itself, I had other, more meaningful reasons for making Aliyah.

Reason #1:  My mother is Israeli, and I have quite a few relatives here.  Throughout my childhood, we would come and visit my mother's family once every few years.  When I was 15 years old, we spent 2 and half months here, and I had the time of my life!  I had so much fun hanging out with all my cousins and going around Tel Aviv on Friday nights to all the late night cafes, it was an unforgettable experience.  From that moment on, I knew that at some point in my life I'd spend at least a year in Israel, to learn Hebrew and get to know my Israeli family that much better.

Reason #2:  As I got older, I began to notice how many people seemed to not really care, or know too much about other countries or cultures.  Between the ages of 16-19, I used to wear a necklace with a Star of David pendant.  You wouldn't believe how many times people commented me on my necklace with the following statement: "Wow, that's a really beautiful necklace!  What does that symbol mean?"  The very first time I heard that, it just so happened to be a young blond girl, so naturally I just assumed that she was wonderfully living up to her stereotype, because really, you don't have to be Jewish to know what 2 triangles, one inverted and placed on top of the other represents.  You simply needed to have been conscious during European History class in school, but you'd be surprised at how many people are out there that honestly have never known what a Star of David means.  My whole life I had been the only or one out of the few Jewish kids at school, so the notion of being around "my people" also influenced me to come to Israel.

Reason #3:  Once I felt ready to make that venture to Israel, I began searching online for programs or groups going to Israel.  I was 18 at the time, and halfway through my first year of college.  I thought that I would do some sort of foreign exchange student program.  During my search, I came across a government scholarship for new immigrants to Israel, or Olim Chadashim as they're called in Hebrew.  The scholarship pays up to 120 credits (or 3 years) of any degree at any school in Israel.  As soon as I saw that, my mind was made up, I was moving to Israel.

At that moment, I had quit my current studies, and began preparing myself for the move.  I finally made it to Israel in July 2004, I was 19.  It was a slow process at the beginning, but now I feel that I made the right choice.  Not only am I multilingual (I also learned Russian during my time here), I've gained so much more than just a college education, I've grown as a person in so many ways - ways that I never would have experienced if I had stayed in the States.