Integration in Israel Part Three

The second thing that happened to me was that a neighbor called me about a certain gan that was opening up in my neighborhood. It has a specific style of learning, of which I'm an advocate for, and she wanted to know if it would be suited for her child.

I told her my opinion, but added in a statement in that I felt that at her child's age, language would probably be an important thing to learn in the year- I felt that her child should go to a Hebrew gan, to better get a grasp on Ivrit.

She told me that that was her first inclination also, to send to a transitional, or Hebrew-speaking gan. But she felt that the style of learning in the new Gan would be better for her child.
So, she switched.

I later met another neighbor, who's child was registered originally for this specific new gan. I mentioned that I had just recommended another mother to this gan. She replied that she had switched her child out of it- why?
Language. She felt that her child should go to the Hebrew speaking gan that I recommended to my first neighbor.

So should I go back and stress the importance of Hebrew? Are there different opinions on this issue?

How early is too early to learn a language?

Why should I feel I should sacrifice an excellent learning style just to learn Hebrew?

This whole gan registration time is making me nuts, honestly. Integration isn't so easy after all.

Integration in Israel Part Two

After having posted about the integration issues that Americans who have chosen to live in Israel face regarding their kids, two things happened to me.

One, I re-evaluated my choice for my daughters' first gan several times. I originally had chosen a gan that I thought would be wonderful for her, if not the total, absolute best, because that was what was out there that I thought suited her and our lifestyles.

Then someone else suggested a gan that would probably be the total absolute best gan out there. Problem is, that the gan is not a religious gan, but rather a gan to which religious people send their children. (ie, it's not a Bais Yaakov, but rather an Iriyah gan, to which those who are Dati Leumi or Mizrachi send their children, with a few Charedim thrown in the mix.)

As I investigated more into this gan, I found that it would probably be a wonderful place for my daughter, but for one problem: future Bais Yaakov schools would probably ask why I had sent her there, due to the fact that it is not a Bais Yaakov gan. (There were other small problems as well, like logistics and such.)

And so, I nixed that idea, and went back to my first opinion.

Now the question that still lingers in my mind: was I right to make that decision? If I wasn't afraid of public opinion, would I have sent her there? She probably would have an awesome year there, and would grow and gain in ways that my first choice gan would not be able to give her.

I can't fight the system on my own- to explain to a Bais Yaakov, which already looks down on me for being American, and for working at a job that not many mothers work at, why I sent my daughter to a gan that's not Bais Yaakov- would be far too hard for me to handle.

Yet I still wonder- should I have taken the risk, for my daughter's education's sake?

Third part coming soon….

Integration

No, not calculus. Integrating as a new olah into Israeli society.

That was the topic of a lecture I heard on the subject by a renowned educator, on how to help your children integrate into the Israeli school system. One of the major components that was stressed was the problems facing children who do not have the opportunity to learn Hebrew before entering the primary grades. Without a solid language base, these children have a tendency to turn off, to be misdiagnosed with attention problems, and to be correctly diagnosed with behavioral and social problems that result from the simple fact of a lack of understanding.

For American families, this provides a path that they must follow, if they want their children to swim with the rest of the fish. Consequently, chief among the worries of the parents attending this lecture was the fact that they did not wish their children to forget their English- to be able to communicate fluently with relatives, grandparents, and frankly, their own parents.

That is a major point- but as I continued to think about it, I realized the educators were right. It can only hurt a child to place them in a situation where they don't understand, or they have minimal understanding, in the language that is spoken by most of the country.

Seeing my work mates flow freely between Hebrew and English- even though they aren't American born, gives me hope that my future children will still have the English language skills needed to succeed in certain professions here in Israel, as well as just for me. So if I ask questions in English, and they answer in Hebrew- they will still be okay- with extra tutoring in reading and writing.

One family in the lecture piped up that they read two storybooks to their children every night- one in Hebrew, and one in English. That way, everyone wins.
As the educator ended off- he has never seen any child have problems going from the Israeli school system to the American one- besides for some small reading and writing issues, that are resolved rapidly.

So, integration isn't so bad after all (despite what I remember from calculus class). It may be the chance my future children need to help them succeed.

Sorry, Nothing New- Except Something Big

Ein Chadash Tachas HaShemesh, Koheles says. There is nothing new on this earth. And, when house, baby, family obligations and the ever present husband (yes, I made supper already :D) take priority, this blog doesn't. And, I'm sure my readers, if I still have any, understand that.

In my own little world, nothing usually out of the ordinary happens. It goes something like this:
Wake up, get little one up, feed everyone breakfast, work a bit, play with little one, find out how husband's day went, play with little one, work a bit, get supper ready, eat supper, and good night.

See how boring? Nothing out of the ordinary, no unusual occurrences, just same old, same old.

And that's quite nice actually. There are no major pronouncements, no unexpected disasters, and nothing really that explodes like a torrential raincloud over my head. It's nice to be settled, to be set in my ways, and feel like finally, finally, I can sit down and take a break for a bit.

Soon enough, my life will get rather hectic. Graduate school will take priority over my life, and all else will go to smithereens. But for now, I'm going to enjoy my peace and quiet.

What's the 'Something Big' of my title? Well, today, something happened, that was so quiet, so relaxed, and so perfectly fit into my life, that it almost seems like nothing happened to jar my little world. You see, I made aliyah today.

Yes, you heard that right. I made aliyah. With Nefesh B'Nefesh. And it was easy, relaxing, and dare I say it, almost an anticlimactic event.

Next week, I'll be getting my Teudat Zehut (Israeli identity card). And, I've been told it's in my best interest not to leave the country for the next 3 months. Which I wasn't planning on anyway. So, there you go. I filled out the paperwork, said thank you , and went out for lunch. I wish I could say I heard the earth of Israel communing with me, or that there were trumpets, fanfare, and a bugle blow in my honor, but nothing quite so earthshattering happened. I did have a great shakshouka for lunch though!

Just another ordinary day in my life. Quite relaxing, don't you think?

Floor Aliyah...Going Up!

So I had a meeting with Nefesh B'Nefesh. And, well. It went well. So, aliyah is now more of a possibility than ever before. In fact, I probably am only pushing off the inevitable.
In fact, when I asked the NBN counselor why I shouldn't make aliyah, as to what the downside is- she responded: "There is no downside."

Aliyah comes with many benefits- free schooling, a grant just for living here, rent subsidies, no arnona payments for a year, and of course, the chance to never have to update my visas ever again.
Downside: Wait, I just said, there is no downside.

They don't even make you pay taxes on American income for the first ten years of living here. So, until I get all my finances sorted out in the US, I don't have to worry about taxes here.

So why do I feel so nervous?

I spoke with one of my former neighbors, who has lived here her entire married life (the one with seven kids who's oldest son was just bar mitzvah, and oldest daughter is in high school) and hasn't made aliyah. When I asked her why, she told me that her relatives back in America don't want her to, and since she gets help from them, she listens. But she wishes she could.

When I asked her if I should, her response was positive. She informed me that for some religious schools, if their girls want to get into a job track after high school, they have to make aliyah anyway. And, the longer I wait to make aliyah, the more benefits I lose out on.

For example, the 'sal klita'- 'absorbtion basket' of money that new olim get can only be given if the oleh hasn't spent more than 18 months in Israel in the last 3 years. As soon as they have done that- that whole grant disappears. The free schooling also has an age limit.

So why don't more people make aliyah? Why do we have so many American families, living here for so many years, without any one of them making aliyah?

I guess I can't speak for them. But it looks like I'll be joining the ranks of those 'going up' sometime soon.