Two weddings and a brit

Hello there folks! It has been awhile, and per usual a lot has happened. As the title may let on, I've been doing a lot of celebrating. At the beginning of March one of my most beloved friends in the whole world, Brittany, got married. At the end of March a very dear friend from work, Philippa, got married—and that same night another friend from work, Jodi, had her baby.

Aside from their obvious joy, each of these events holds a special place in my life for different reasons.

Brittany's Wedding
Brittany is one of my best friends in the whole world, literally; we met in college and bonded through our love and support for Israel. She has been a light in my life from the pacific northwest to the middle east, so getting to share her special day with her, here in Israel, this place we both feel connected to and connected by, was really something else. With Brittany's marriage comes Jochanan, and for me this means family. I don't have blood relatives in Israel (other than all the other members of the tribe) but Brittany, and now Jochanan, have been that and will be that. I can't wait for our kids to grow up together in this magical place we call home.

Philippa's Wedding and Jodi's Son's Brit Milah
I group these two events together for a few reasons. First, is because both of these wonderful ladies work with me at Masa. There must be something in the water there because the Masa family constantly has a lot to celebrate. in the short (or long) six months I have worked there 3 babies have been born, 3 more are on the way, 1 person has gotten married and another got engaged.

Philippa's wedding is the first Jewish wedding I've ever been to. None of my family had Jewish weddings and none of my Jewish friends have gotten married (at least not while we were in the same place geographically). Jodi's son's bit was the first brit milah I've ever been to. (Pause: for those unfamiliar, a brit milah is a Jewish ceremony preformed 8 days after a baby boy is born. There is a ritual circumcision performed by a moil and the baby is officially named.) Both of these are important Jewish traditions that will someday be part of my life. Attending them was important not only because I have never experienced them before, but also because they make me think about my Jewish identity—past, present and future.

My parents recently celebrated 28 years of wedded bliss and with all the marriage, love, and simcha (joy) happening around me I can't help but also contemplate my life in those terms. What do I want? I want all of this. I want to be head over heels in love and promise my life to another person who will also promise theirs to me. I want to bring new life into this world and try my best at inspiring them to be a good person. And I want to do this all Jewishly.

What exactly does that mean? Well, I'm still figuring that out. But don't worry. With all that's been happening I've got a few ideas. 

B is for Bureaucracy - A is for Accomplishment

The other day I had what I feel to be one of the quintessential olah chadasha experiences--visiting multiple government offices in the span of 2 hours. I had to go to the municipality to pay renters tax (a thing here) and then to misrad hapanim (Ministry of Interior) to change my address. Anyone who has been to one of these places knows it is often difficult. You don't know what you need, you hardly speak Hebrew, and the red tape runs miles (or shall i at kilometers?) long. 

This is probably one of my earliest "Israeli" memories after I made Aliyah. The 2nd or 3rd day at Beit Canada my fellow Olim friends and I decided to tackle misrad hapanim to acquire our teudat zeuts (ID cards). Usually you get them at the airport as soon as you arrive but of course things didn't go so smoothly. The computer was down when my friends arrived and my name was simply spelled wrong on mine (I suppose I could have chosen to be Amy Alberston if I wanted...).  Being the proactive and eager Olim that we were, we left at 7am to be there when the office opened (advice from more seasoned Israelis). And once again, things did not go so smoothly; it was Wednesday and the one day the office doesn't open until 1:30pm...ayzeh basa (what a disaster). 

This memory serves me well. I have now visited various government offices for various reasons and always come prepared and with appropriate expectations (extremely low ones). 

My (somewhat) veteran tips:

1. Get there before it opens. There will be a line down the block half and hour before any office opens. It feels annoying to wait in the line but it pays off. You'll get numbers immediately and get through quickly. The people are also generally friendlier if they haven't dealt with hundreds of idiots yet that day.
2. Bring every single piece of paperwork (yes, in Israel we have literal paperwork made of paper) with you. You never know when they will ask you for a certain document, form, ID number of someone, etc. it's always better to be safe than sorry. I'd even bring copies of your teudat zeut and teudat oleh with you because you need them for almost anything and many offices won't do it for you.
3. Try to speak Hebrew. It can go 1 of 2 ways, but generally they will appreciate you trying. The other possibility is they will be annoyed by your bad English and tell you snidely "you can speak English, ok" (with a huge eye roll obviously). But don't be discouraged. You'll at least feel good you really tried and can't be blamed for their sour attitude.
4. Ask people for help. Most people in this country love Olim and are eager to help you. They also are frustrated with the government office experience in this country and feel extra bad for you because you are fresh to its terrors. Let them help you! It makes everyone feel good.
5. Treat yourself after. It's such an accomplishment to get through these offices alone (or even with a friend) that you deserve that ice cafe or boureka (or pair of shoes) after! Even if you didn't succeed in getting something done and have to come back, you got out alive! And that's really something! 

So, whether you need to pay a weird tax you can't pronounce, or just need to get a passport, don't be (too) afraid of Israeli Government offices. You CAN do it! (And because you live in Israel you can complain about it all you want!)

Plus One

 A true sabra (native born Israeli), Mindy is a 4 month-old pup from the JSPCA shelter. I adopted her on January 25th. She is half Pinscher and half Terrier, tiny, cuter than anything you've ever seen, and so smart. Named after comedian Mindy Kahling, this Mindy has just as many quirks and thus receives just as many laughs. We've already been through a lot together in just 2 short weeks so I'm sure we'll be best buds for life!

Getting Mindy means a lot for me.

1. I have no family here and she is my first "real" family. Of course I have very amazing, generous, and caring friends who have been nothing less than family to me, but there is something different with Mindy. She is for me and I am for her and we are our own little mishpaha (family).

2. I'm making it here. One of my Aliyah goals was to be able to adopt a puppy by my 1 year Aliyah anniversary. And here I am with Mindy. The same thing happened with my job. I wanted to find a position doing the kind of work I'm doing for an organization like Masa Israel and I'm doing exactly that. Aliyah is hard, but if we persevere it is so worth it.

3. I'm a grown up. As a kid my family had an amazing dog, Max, who sadly passed when I was in high school. I begged my parents for years to get another one and they always said "No more dogs! When you're a grown up you can get your own dog and take care of it." So again, here I am with Mindy. I'm a grown up and I live on my own and I got a dog. Look at me now mom and dad!

So here is to #MindyThePup. May she feel loved always. May she continue to bring happiness to all those who meet her. May we live a long and happy life together.