BAKA DIARY

We (myself, the Husband and the Boy) are official! I received my tik approval from the Aliyah Center last week! Call this "Introduction to Israeli Bureaucracy 101" -- I thought once the tik was approved, I was done. Ha! Nothing of the sort. Now I have forms to take to the Consulate to get my olah visa and the Boy's Israeli passport (he is an Israeli citizen born abroad, by virtue of his father's Israeli citzenship.)

How, I ask, is a family with children, pets and two working parents supposed to do this? We've been taking it one step at a time, but as we are trying to make the summer NBN flights, panic is setting in: the lift has to be packed, household items not going to the furnished apt have to be stored, the house has to be sold, the neuropsych testing has to be finished for next year's school application, the paperwork for all of this (house sale, estimates for the lift, school questionnaires, visas and passports) has to be completed - and soon!

The office question has been, "But what about Hamas?" Like, its news to everyone that Israel has spent the last century living next to terrorists. Unfortunately, most Americans seem to think Middle Eastern history started in 1967. I point out to many that Arab anti-Semitism, born of pan-Arab nationalism mixed with religious extremism, has been the justification for murdering Jews in the region since at least 1929. I told a couple of coworkers that Hamas is just Fatah without the suits. They got it.

The office is funny. I remember being a junior here, and when some senior departed, the office turned out for a fond farewell and a lot of jockeying for who-is-going-to-get-the-office. It's all about upward mobility--who's going to get a promotion based on the departing person's departure ("and you're really sure you're going, right?"a couple have asked.)

We have an apartment in Baka. It's small -- only two bedrooms, but the attraction is that it is withing walking distance of the Baka Ulpan for Teens and the potential high school for Josh. The landlord was gracious enough to accede to our request to bring the dog and two cats. It has a yard, its fully furnished, its on the ground floor, it has storage in the underground locked garage. It will do for the first year. It allows us to live in a wonderful neighborhood, close to what we need, while we look around and see if there is anything affordable in Jerusalem or the suburbs.

I'm looking forward to being in Baka. I just want Scotty to beam me over and not deal with all the belagon of moving!