My first day

HaYom 1 (היום א)

Today I was introduced into the Israeli bureaucracy. Now some of you may be laughing, but I was prepared. Everyone's favorite piece of advise to tell me is that the Israeli bureaucracy is a balagan (Mess) Mamash in fact.

I slept until about noon. Mostly because I tried to stay up late and help the onset of Jet lag. My friend Or, who's house I'm staying at in Pardes Hanna, invited over some old friends from the past two years at camp. Tal and Barak and Idan via skype. We drank some beers and caught up with eachother. It was a great night and I passed out on the bench. (From tiredness of course).

So today. Or and I decited that today we would try to get all my immigration stuff done. I needed to setup a bank account to get a cell phone and my govern't payments; and also to register for a health insurance. All my "Post Aliyah guide" said that I could do all of this with my תעודת עולה Certificate of New Immigrant (It looks like a Passport). Well we tried to use it and at the first bank, they first said they can't, that I need my תעודת זחות Certificate of Citizenship. The man talked to the bank manager and he said it was ok. Well after Or talked with him, he told me all the fees and that there was no discounts for Olim Hadashim New Immigrants. So we decited to go to another bank, they wouldn't even talk to me without a תעודת זחות. Or talked to the bank manager there, who was very rude and not helpful. So Or, in front of everyone in the bank told the manager "Now that your a big bank you think you can stop caring about customers." Koah Kavod Or. So we tried a third bank...no luck there same thing. So giving up on banks, Or called his friend who works at Nefesh B'Nefesh. She said that there was going to be Bank reps at a big Olim fair in Jerusalem on Monday and just to wait. So I will wait. No Bank = No cell phone. Also earlier in the day we looked up the times for the Post Office. It said online that it will open at 1530, but when we got there, there was a sign on the door that said it closed at 1500. It was now 1501...Shit. Oh well then we tried the banks... After failing at three banks and the Post Office. We decited just to go and relax at the Beach. On the way out we stoped for some pop. After we saw a Open post office. So don't ask me why, but the post office is where you register for the Health Fund...thats why I needed to go. We walk in wait in a line, get cut a few times, realize we are in the wrong line and then we talked to the lady. I thought she signed me up, but infact I just paid her for the registation of the fund. She gave us a receite to bring to the health fund of my choice. I wasn't signed up, I was just giving a receite to signup. Oy. So we drive to the Fund of my choice, but it was the wrong office, so we drive to another office just a few minutes away. They entered my ID number in their system. I did not show up. They said that I have to wait to get myזחות תעודת . So we return back to Or's house. Wow what a day and no beach.

So we just chilled out and watched some Southpark, ate dinner, and then watched the Day after Tomorrow.

More to come about my Aliyah later. Friday I head to Tel Aviv!

לילי תוב

P.S. You will have to excuse my spelling and grammer. I'm tried and not paying much attention to it.