Making Aliyah to Israel: Challenges I Faced

Hello and welcome to my blog. I would like to take this opportunity to share my story and experiences with others in the hope of passing on tools and tips for dealing with the everyday challenges of living in Israel. I am an American young adult who was born in Israel, grew up in the United States, and moved back to Israel three years ago. The number of challenges and difficult situations I have faced after moving back to Israel is simply astounding. Simple tasks such as: researching apartments, understanding rentals agreement in Hebrew, and numerous phone calls to Internet and phone providers, was only the beginning. Navigating my way through the maze of Egged, Kavim, and Dan bus companies was also quite the experience. Automated answering services that flew through the keypad options, official government forms in miniscule font, and customer service representatives with all levels of English (and Hebrew) was simply part of the ride.

Often times I became disheartened and frustrated, feeling that the challenges were simply too much to handle. During these times I contemplated moving back to Boston where everything is easier. I would become convinced that Israel was simply too hard, frustrating, and I couldn’t make it. To bring myself back to reality, I gave myself a mental push, put the current situation into perspective, and broke each challenge down into small, manageable steps. Skype calls, telephone calls, and e-mails with my immediate family in the United States helped me put everything into perspective and continue pushing forward.

Since age 10, my dream has been to become a teacher. I have successfully filled that dream with college degrees, teaching certificates, and years of experience. The next monumental step I recently took was deciding to begin a parallel career in Technical Writing. Rightly so, the first question asked by my immediate family was, “But you’ve always loved teaching, why the huge career change?” My answer is that I will always have a passion for educating and conveying knowledge to eager audiences. Moreover, I am fascinated by the new world of technology in which everyone is a student and a teacher. Newcomers to this field bring with them life skills and previous work experience. Professionals are always learning new software and editing tools for their employers and various projects. Opening a Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn, and Pinterest account, opened the door to a new, exciting world. Become proficient in HTML documents, creating a well written resume and cover letter, and teaching myself how to use Camtasia and FrameMaker are only the beginning. I am confident that I will succeed in this career and one day be a professional, technically savvy, individual who is well-known for her skills and experience.

Meirav Ben Moshe

www.meiravb.com