After the excitement of arrival, the time has come to start to get settled in. This is a very large and overwhelming task. But, as I am fond of quoting, “Question -How do you eat an elephant? Answer – One bite at a time”. And so it is with any large, complicated task.

Our apartment is just temporary, till we take possession of the one we bought and get some renovations made. Probably a 2 or 3 months. It is fully furnished, down to sheets and towels, which has made this a comfortable transition. The kitchen is the real hurdle. It isn’t mine. And I don’t have all my things, although I did bring some silverware and pots and pans. So, I am slowly figuring out how I will manage things. I was very proud of myself that I served myself and my husband cheese sandwiches on Friday for lunch – as well as a salad!!!

In order to receive our Sal Klita (absorption basket – benefits including cash that the government provides for new olim) we needed to open a bank account. We decided on the bank and branch that we though we work best. In discussing it with our children, one of our daughter-in-laws recommended strongly against it. “Just open an account at the Doar (Post Office)”, she recommended. I know that sounds odd, a bank account at the post office. But yes, the Israeli post office has banking services for less money than a traditional bank. Doesn’t offer all the services, but they do offer an ATM card that can be used at any bank ATM. Sounded like a reasonable idea, but my husband was concerned that it wouldn’t have all the services that we might need. When our youngest son heard that we were considering a post office account, he recommended in no uncertain terms against it. “The lines are horrible!” OK, the real bank account it is! I checked online for the hours and at the proper time, we carefully gathered all the necessary documentation and headed off to open our account. We waited patiently for our turn, and asked for an English speaker (some tasks I don’t mind trying in Hebrew; financial matters is not one of them). We were directed to a bank manager and sat down at her desk. Proudly we displayed all the documentation needed to open the account. “Why do you want to open an account?” she asked us in less than fluent English. Taken back, we explained in a mixture of Hebrew and English (she didn’t really understand all our English) what we were trying to accomplish. Frowning, she explained that we will be charge a monthly fee for just having an account. And for every transaction and transfer of money – in and out, we would be charged a hefty fee. “You do not want to open an account here”, she told us in no uncertain terms. “Go open an account in the Doar.” My husband and I looked at each and shrugged. OK, the Doar it is! One hour later, after a VERY patient teller worked with us setting up the account (again in a mixture of Hebrew and English), we walked out – the proud possessors of a genuine Israeli bank account. I assured my husband that if it really doesn’t work out, we can always switch to a regular bank.  Welcome to Israel!