Lizrael Update

Lizrael Update: babbling about the expat life since 2004

  • Breaking my sleep barrier.

    I woke up this morning at a quarter to seven to an enormous boom right outside the bedroom window. I jerked my head up, like the deer in Bambi when the shots are fired in the forest. My first thought is, Oh shit they’ve bombed Beitar… My husband mumbles, “Don’t worry about it,” and my…

  • When secrets become surreal.

    It’s been real hard keeping this baby stuff a secret from friends, coworkers, family. When the only person you have to talk about it with is your partner, and even he gets tired of your late-night online research about your body’s minute-to-minute changes, it starts to become surreal. I mean, it’s not just this little…

  • It's a blessing, not a sickness.

    Took my first pregnant blood test today. In Beitar. I find that they’re used to this kind of thing already, so I can feel pretty confident under their care. Nurse was very kind and kept repeating, “Enjoy this! It’s a blessing, not a curse! You’re not sick, you’re pregnant!” Figures she was Mizrachi…

  • Look at that jobless punim.

    The Kadima primaries began this morning and will end in about 40 minutes. We’ll know who gets the prize possession of being Ehud Olmert’s successor (in technicality and not job skill, we hope). I wonder what he’s got planned as soon as he’s off-duty… Maybe he and Bush will go to Cancun together, smoke cigars. …

  • A wee bit of an overreaction, eh, JPost?

    I suppose with the panic in the markets, a bit of hysteria is to be expected. But this might qualify as too much… A coworker sent over this image from today’s Jerusalem Post; read the caption under the image to the left: A bit harsh, I’d say.

  • Bad example.

    The thing about trying to get pregnant/being pregnant, is that you start to see pregnant women everywhere. This is probably true everywhere in the world, but when you’re in Israel, you really are seeing them everywhere because out of all the demographics in Israel, the one thing they have in common – whether charedi, Arab,…

  • Today's word: דופק

    Today we had our first official visit with an ob-gyn (male, charedi) doctor. All in all, a positive experience. I wasn’t expecting anything crazy, pretty much a questionnaire of whether I smoke and if I’m taking vitamins. Oddly, neither of those topics came up. Oh sure, I’ve been to Israeli gynos before, male charedi gynos…

  • Welcome home, me.

    I’m back, I’m jetlagged, I’m trying to catch up with work. I get a phone call. Israeli marketing guy: Is this Mishpachat G—-? Me: Yes. Israeli marketing guy: Are you the wife? Me: Yes. Israeli marketing guy: I’m calling from Makor Rishon, a dati leumi newspaper and we’d like you to join our readership, bla…

  • Welcome to eretz.

    Monday, the day I left New York, I met a friend in the city to hang for a bit; he just moved to New York from Tel Aviv so his perspective is still fresh. The conversation came to the usual point, of how impersonal New York is and how in-your-face Israel is. I forget that…

  • Frappuccino desperation.

    When I was back in New York in May, I perchance walked into a Starbucks with some friends and noticed a new drink on their menu: this mint chocolate iced frappuccino thing. I’m all about trying new ice blend chocolate coffee things, so I did. …And I’ve been dreaming about it ever since. Actually, salivating.…

  • Lucky number 13.

    Here’s a subtle cultural difference you don’t think about that often as a dual New York-Israel citizen. In Israel – as in Judaism in general – 13 is a great number. It’s the number when a boy becomes a man, at least mitzvot-wise. In Anglo culture – or is it Christian culture? European culture?  –…

  • For purple mountain majesties…

    The following are 1/10 the amount of photos I took in the last 48 hours I’ve been in Colorado visiting family. It was hard to pick out just ten, and even that is a ridiculous amount to post. But guess what? The Colorado Rockies are breathtaking and I’m a country girl now. Ok, the Judean…

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