How do I feel about aliyah now?
Today I was walking around in the Malcha Mall in Jerusalem, and basically everyone in there is an orthodox jew. And I thought to myself, how great is it that there is a country where these people don't stand out as weirdos?
I really do love this country. I really do want to live here. Unfortunately, I feel kind of like I got the shit kicked out of me by this kibbutz and also by my own lack of preparation.
But, if I can give myself a pat on the back, I think I was pretty brave coming to a country expecting to deal with financial/visa/enlistment/daily life shit all by myself in a foreign language that I barely knew when I came here, when I had never even done that back home in the US in English all by myself.
I do want to come back, but I think I need time back in the US to recover, to reflect and to prepare. This is the time in the sci-fi movie when the dweeb descends into a secret laboratory and comes out some time later with some sickass invention that gives him awesome power.
What am I doing? I'm bringing home things like visa applications, phone bills, and bank statements. Also, I'm bringing home the contracts I signed to open my bank account and my phone account. I still cannot read most of that shit, and so I have to rely on the kindness of others to deal with my own essentials, and that's not okay with me. When I come back to Israel, I want to be self-sufficient.
So today was my last day of folding. I blew my nose into a couple shirts before I decided that that was kind of a weird revenge. So instead I sat outside. Normally when I take short breaks I close the door cos it embarrasses me to get evil looks from the Women of the Wash. But today I left the door wide open and basically from 8.30 until 11.30 I sat outside. I had my legs crossed, I bought myself a large thign of lemonade and chocolates, and I just lounged the fuck out the bench I was on. I thought I didn't look relaxed enough, so I got out a book. And the women were SO pissed. Old Bitch came out and said, "Samantha! Mah karah! Lama at lo ovedet???" (Sam, what happened, why aren't you working?) And instead of arguing, I just raised my eyebrows as if to say, "And just what the fuck are you going to do about it?" It was the sweetest revenge, because the Women knew that I was a free lady, that I was getting off this fucking kibbutz, but they will be in the laundry room for many years to come.
At 11.30 I left for good because I couldn't be fucked to stay the rest of the day. So I went to the mall in Jerusalem. I shopped a bit, bought some presents for people and for myself (I got you something Abraham!!!! Get excited!), and then I was like, "What makes me happy when I am sad?" And, of course, the answer was obvious: the music of ABBA and Colin Firth. And, as fate would have it, there is this wonderful film that combines the two.
This is my first movie experience in Israel...... It was actually pretty cool, though the theater was kinda ghetto. The theater I was in had one aisle on the right side, and none ont he left. So if you want to sit on the left side you have to make like 15 people get up. Also, they have assigned seating....which was kind of weird, but that's okay.
The movie was wonderful. I take that back. It was corny and stupid even by ABBA standards, but what was wonderful was that for two hours or whatever I totally forgot all of life's problems. And then suddenly in the middle of a scene this slide witht he word HAFSAKA on it pops up. And the lights come on.
I totally did not understand what was going on. I mean, I understand what a hafsaka is (break), but I didn't understand why there was one in the middle of a movie. I looked around to see what other people thought, but everyone else seemed pretty relaxed. Some of them had even clearly been waiting for this moment, because I saw that the second the lights came on a couple kids ran out. No one seemed as scandalized as I did. "Well, all right, this is kind of weird," I said to myself, "....I guess maybe I'll pee or something."
I came back in and sat for a bit,a nd then this horrible buzzer thing went off twice, and then BOOP the movie suddenly came back on in the middle of the scene we were in. It was really bizarre..... I think that'll take some getting used to when I come back
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I remember my first Israeli movie theatre experience. The "Hafsaka" is for Israelis to go out and smoke a cigarette, because why should they have to go an entire 2 hours without a cigarette break?
If you go back to Israel, wait until you get a job and see how often Israelis take cigarette breaks and how this contributes to nothing ever getting done. I mean I presume you have been to all the annoying government agencies and have dealt with their inefficiencies....part of it is the built-up angst at waiting for their next cigarette break!
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