Another Week
We have been very busy here and this letter was started a week ago and finished today.
We just dropped our girls off at Gan and walked over to visit Beka and the dog next door which we have named Scratchy. Scratchy is now our buddy and will sit on command, especially when we have dog treats in our pockets. He no longer barks at us and Beka has finally taken some treats from us. She also has stopped barking at us. I think we have tamed this corner of the street and now have to turn our attention to the “triplets” who scare even tough dogs like Beka and Scratchy. We have to go back to Tzomet Bilu for more dog treats.
Our home is now only one quarter full of boxes. There is no place to store any additional boxes here. No basement, garage or attic. Could it be that Israelis don’t save useless stuff? How could it be that a people with a collective memory of over 5,000 years leaves it’s keepsakes in museums and in books? I can see that my packrat instincts are going to be challenged by a lack of space. Everything is small here. The apartments are small, the washer/driers are European style and the cars look like they are sold at Toys R Us. The Israeli mentality however is not to think small. Last week Alison and I went to visit the huge Ikea in Netanya during their aronei kir sale. Aronei kir are wardrobes that are either custom built or “off the rack” and contain all your clothes. Since space is always at a premium not many people use dressers since the space above the dresser is pretty much wasted. Aronei kir are typically almost as tall as the room they are located in and will have either shelves, clothing bars, drawers or any combination you choose. If you are lucky and have extra room in one you can fit in some of the stuff that may have gone into the attic or basement. Ikea was as they say in Hebrew a “Chavaya” or as we would say in English, an “experience.” Having made many trips to the store on Sheppard and Leslie in Toronto and tried to find a parking space close to the doors to avoid having to walk through slush and cold in the parking lot, we were pleasantly surprised to see rows of palm trees gracing the Netanya Ikea’s parking lot. After going through security and passing Ikea employees in bright yellow jerseys, some even with kippot and tzitzit hanging out we found the perfect aron kir to hold our clothes. We lined up behind the other shoppers and were told that it was out of stock. But, the helpful clerk in the bright yellow jersey informed us, the Hopen wardrobe in 60 cm was expected tomorrow and if we called first we could make sure it was available before making the trip to Netanya.
The next morning we called the number we were given and told that yes indeed the 60 cm Hopen wardrobe in brown did come in and we could come and pick them up. We extended our car rental for yet another day (thank you Budget) and we piled the girls in the car and scooted up to Netanya to make our purchase. When we got past the beautiful rows of palm trees, security and passing Ikea employees in bright yellow jerseys, some even with kippot and tzitzit hanging out, we were informed that the 60 cm Hopen wardrobe never came in. I won’t bore you with details but after three hours we left with a promise they would be shipped within 4 days. One hour before Shabbat we get a call from a driver asking us exactly which house is ours. We now have a place to hang up our clothes.
Things have not gone as smoothly with our documents. We had to deal with many errors in our National Identity Card and thought all the mistakes were worked out until we found another serious error yesterday. We wanted to register for our health card but when we went to the Post Office we were told we had to go to the National Insurance Organization (Bituach Leumi). Since they were on strike we waited and yesterday Zoe (now calling herself Noa) had an earache. We went to town and lined up at the Bituach Leumi office. We were given a slip of paper and told to go to an office down the hall. We waited patiently outside her office till she was ready to see us. By this point Noa was in Alison’s arms sobbing and moaning. We sat in front of the bureaucrat and she asked us to fill out some documents. We did and while she was looking them over she received a call on her cell phone from her friend Penina. They were having a great time talking on the phone to each other and were making plans for after work. Penina was going to pick her up when she finished. Our bureaucrat was going to wait downstairs for her and they were going to be on their way. After about five minutes I questioned if perhaps she and Penina might be able to talk another time, maybe after my daughter is seen by a doctor. Our bureaucrat, not impressed, turned to Tziona, the bureaucrat at the next desk and asked her why she was not serving anyone? She sent us to her. Tziona understood the severity of the situation but after checking her computer discovered that Alison and I were married on March 1st 1980. I did not go in to details with Tziona but on March 1st 1980 I was sharing a room with my friend Dov Kempinski as we made our way across Eastern Europe photographing Jewish communities. Yes, the two of us were close but married? I think not! Alison pulled out an official marriage certificate showing that we were married in Toronto on Aug. 25 1997. Here I said, now we can correct the error and get our new card? No, she answered, now you have to go to the Ministry of Interior to correct THEIR mistake. I don’t know why the error had to be corrected but it was too much of a problem to issue our cards. We left. It reminded me of when I was being processed at the airport in the Congo. The difference is that in the Congo a two dollar bribe gets amazing results.
We got in a cab and went straight to a clinic hoping they would see us without a card. We waited again with Noa moaning in Alison’s arms. We received two reactions in the waiting room. The 1st was the woman sitting across from of us who pulled out a surgical mask and donned it so she would not be contaminated by whatever bug Noa was carrying and the second was another person who allowed us to take his place in the line. When we got to see the doctor I explained the situation and that we did not have a health card yet it was to be issued very soon and we would be members of her plan. The doctor was aghast and told me she was not going to examine Noa. I was stunned. Our concern was not the payment it was just seeing a doctor. I had heard this could happen but I could not believe it was happening to us. The “doctor” picked up the phone to call the front desk to ask what to do and at that moment I raised my voice loud enough for all parties to hear asking if she was really a doctor and if she actually took the Hippocratic Oath. Then I called our contact at Nefesh B’Nefesh who spoke to her on the phone and she agreed to examine Noa. Ten minutes later we walked down the street to the pharmacy with a prescription for two drugs. Today Noa is back to herself. We are exhausted. First thing this morning we got in a cab and went to the Misrad HaPnim (Interior Ministry) with our marriage certificate. We went through the metal detectors and took and number. When we eventually sat down with the clerk she explained that her computer had the correct date. We were stunned. She offered us a document that we could bring back to Tziona and prove that August 25 is our correct date of marriage. We took the document back to Tziona who kindly asked about Noa and we wished her mazel tov (we learned that her daughter had her 1st child today) and gave her our other forms. She said thank you and gave us a phone number to call in a few days to see if “everything is ok.” I’ll update you when we hear more…
OK, if you read all this stuff you really must be either close family or not have much to do today. To fill you in on other stuff…
Alison has been doing some work for Canadian clients. We found a company that makes plastic sheds that we can buy and install beside the house to hold our extra “stuff.”
Alison has been venturing out on her own and is comfortable now enough to go to the bank, the grocery store, post office and hardware store using her basic Hebrew and English.
Noa knows how to write her name in Hebrew and the Gan staff are impressed with her apparent understanding of Hebrew.
Maayan is not sure what to make of Hebrew. Her response so far is to make up a new language which I am sure is as much gibberish to her as much as to us.
This past Shabbat we were walking down the street and Beka and Scratchy came to greet us. They now are our foster dogs and come to us several times a day for treats. On this particular day a new dog (looks like a German Shepherd/Collie mix) came to check us out and he was not too friendly. He ran up to Noa and she got scared and started to scream. Almost immediately Beka pounced on this dog and had her teeth around his neck. He was on his back, defenseless against Beka the wonder-dog. We were amazed at how loyal Beka was to Noa.
It is now late and I will sign off. We are all exhausted from all the running around we are doing and emotionally drained from the experience. We are looking forward to a relaxing Shabbat.
Uncategorized | Stephen | 
February 11, 2006 2:11 am