One Year as Israelis!

Well, we made it folks. An entire year as Israelis! 

A few days ago, on Friday, August 30, we touched down at Ben Gurion Airport and celebrated our 1 year "aliyah-versary".  When we booked our tickets to the States months ago we didn't plan on returning from our vacation exactly one year to the date of the day we made aliyah, but when we realized the coincidence (about a month after booking) we thought it seemed appropriate. 

Making Aliyah - August 2012

One Year Later - August 2013

Visiting our families in the US the past month, we all agreed that it hardly seemed as though a full year had gone by. Stopping to think about the past year, however, reveals how much (and in some ways how little) has changed. Some things are obvious: a year ago, we were living in a tiny temporary apartment, frantically apartment searching and trying to decide what neighborhood we would ultimately live in. This year, we came home from the airport to our comfortable (albeit unairconditioned), fully furnished, familiar abode. Last year at this time we knew no one in our new city. Now, we have friends and a community that support us in innumerable ways. Over the course of the past year we have learned the ins and outs of the Israeli bureaucratic system, our Hebrew has significantly improved, and we can navigate freely around Haifa. We have come to love our new city, continue to love our new country and are fully happy with our decision to make aliyah.

At the same time, some things are still the same. I am again job searching and am still trying to figure out what my new career path is. While I was gainfully employed for much of this past year and the program I worked for was highly successful, I will not be continuing with that job as I am due to give birth (oh yeah, that's new too!) just shortly before the main part of the workload picks up. In the meantime, I am looking for part time gigs and am again being pushed in the direction of teaching English, something I shied away from a year ago, but am trying to be more open to now. Matt is still a student, and although he completed a HUGE feat by submitting a 361 page thesis this year, is now starting over having just submitted his official dissertation proposal and registered as a full doctoral student. 

While in many ways we feel as though we've settled in and fully acclimated to our lives as Israelis, we know that there is still a lot we haven't encountered and a ton we will continue to learn as we come upon new experiences and new challenges. Surely our second year as Israelis will be completely different than our first - mainly navigating our expanding family - but we feel equipped to deal with whatever comes our way. 

The year came to a nice close as we sat with our friends at their Shabbat table, the same friends (who were then barely acquaintances) who hosted us the very first night we arrived in Haifa. It is nice when life comes full circle. 

Last but not least, thank you to all the dedicated readers who have been following our journey over the past year. Whether you read just a few posts here and there when you could find the time or if you religiously followed us week by week, we appreciate all the support, encouragement and shared anecdotes we received from you. The process of writing and reflecting on our experiences each week has been an invaluable part of our aliyah process and for the first time in my life, I have succeeded in keeping a "journal," something I have attempted (and failed at) many times. My initial intention was to write once a week for our first year as Israelis (which I nearly accomplished, missing just a couple weeks when things got busy). Many people have encouraged us to keep writing and we might, but maybe not as frequently, or maybe just when really major or interesting events come up. 

Have a great week, Shana Tova U'Metukah (to those celebrating the upcoming Jewish New Year) and Happy 1 Year Aliyah-versary to us!

Stef and Matt