Vagy egy éve nyaggatom George-ot, hogy írjon a blogunkra, mert annyi minden köt minket össze. Családjával ők is viszonylag frissen érkeztek Izraelbe, ők is ugyanazokon a stációkon mentek keresztül az elmúlt években, sőt még
a dilemmáink is azonosak. Mostanra elkészült George posztja, de legnagyobb bánatomra, ez egyben a búcsú is tőle és családjától. Néhány nap múlva visszatérnek Ausztráliába, ami érthető döntés a részükről, de nekünk akkor is nagy veszteség, hisz családi barátainkról van szó. George posztjából megtudhatjátok, hogy miért költöztek Izraelbe, miért maradtak több mint három éven át Ein Gevben, most pedig miért hagyják maguk mögött azt a helyet, ami annyira a szívükhöz nőtt és követik Larát és Dant Melbourne-be.
a dilemmáink is azonosak. Mostanra elkészült George posztja, de legnagyobb bánatomra, ez egyben a búcsú is tőle és családjától. Néhány nap múlva visszatérnek Ausztráliába, ami érthető döntés a részükről, de nekünk akkor is nagy veszteség, hisz családi barátainkról van szó. George posztjából megtudhatjátok, hogy miért költöztek Izraelbe, miért maradtak több mint három éven át Ein Gevben, most pedig miért hagyják maguk mögött azt a helyet, ami annyira a szívükhöz nőtt és követik Larát és Dant Melbourne-be.
| In the last 3 years I have worked as a kitchen hand, a fry cook, a security guard, a cameraman, a gaffer, a director, an editor, a graphic designer, a video blogger, a music teacher, a university lecturer, a voice over artist, a crewman on a tourist boat, a tour guide, a photographer, an online marketer, an affiliate manager, and a translator... Welcome to Israel! |  |
4 of us moved here about 3 1/2 years ago from Australia and in a few days 5 of us are moving back. Before I tell you why we are leaving let me tell you why we came.
There is no question that Israel is an amazing place. If it wasn't so special then so many different people wouldn't want to live here and call it their home. Everyone wouldn't have an opinion on who is rightly or wrongly here and who should stay and who should leave. Without getting into that politics at all, what we decided from the relative safety and comfort of our home in Melbourne in early 2009 was that we wanted to come to Israel and spend an extended period of time here growing as a family.
With nothing more than one and a half suitcases each we boarded the first of 2 verrrrry long flights and set off on our way. Our first stop was a kibbutz in the north of Israel right on the Sea of Galilee called Ein Gev. We had a plan to stay for 6 months and then move to the centre of Israel so that I could find a job more in line with my profession - advertising, as unfortunately there aren't a lot of production houses situated 160km from Tel aviv. That was the plan. It wasn't what happened.
With nothing more than one and a half suitcases each we boarded the first of 2 verrrrry long flights and set off on our way. Our first stop was a kibbutz in the north of Israel right on the Sea of Galilee called Ein Gev. We had a plan to stay for 6 months and then move to the centre of Israel so that I could find a job more in line with my profession - advertising, as unfortunately there aren't a lot of production houses situated 160km from Tel aviv. That was the plan. It wasn't what happened.
What we didn't take into account was how amazing it would be here and how hard it would be for us to leave. From the first minute we arrived we were greeted with open arms and welcomed into the small community of 450+- people. We were given furniture, clothes, toys, people brought us food, they invited us to meals and play dates with the kids. Although we arrived alone, with no real friends or family we quickly were made to feel that that wasn't the case.
There is something very special about living on a Kibbutz, a sense of community that I have yet to feel anywhere else I have ever lived. There are no fences or dividers between houses so everyone is very much connected to everyone else. We celebrate with each other when someone has a baby, a birthday or gets married and we cry together when someone leaves us or passes away. We share each others joys and sadness, highs and lows, laughter and tears. Our 3 1/2 years on Kibbutz Ein Gev have been more than we could have hoped for or imagined. I have often said to many people that living is here is not really like living in the 'real world', it's better.
There is something very special about living on a Kibbutz, a sense of community that I have yet to feel anywhere else I have ever lived. There are no fences or dividers between houses so everyone is very much connected to everyone else. We celebrate with each other when someone has a baby, a birthday or gets married and we cry together when someone leaves us or passes away. We share each others joys and sadness, highs and lows, laughter and tears. Our 3 1/2 years on Kibbutz Ein Gev have been more than we could have hoped for or imagined. I have often said to many people that living is here is not really like living in the 'real world', it's better.
Yesterday we celebrated our time on Ein Gev with a small party at which we wanted to say goodbye to everyone as in 9 days we are off. Someone at the party turned to me and said "...wow, there's a lot of people here..." but when I looked around, what I saw made me correct them and say "...not a lot of people, a lot of friends."
The connections we have made with people over the last 3 1/2 years in this wonderful place is at times difficult to understand. We feel closer to many people here that we have only known a short time compared to others we have known back in Australia for many years more. We came alone but we are leaving behind not just friends but our new extended family as well. We were welcomed by all with open arms and as we learned Hebrew they struggled with english to make us feel more comfortable. Our kids grew together, we celebrated holidays and birthdays together and we all lived, worked and prayed for peace and security together. We experienced being in a war, 3 New Years, 3 Yom Kippurs, the birth of our son and we almost made it through to the national election. (We were very proud however to go to the polling booth and cast our vote for the mayor of the region just a week or so ago). All in all we have been here about 1200 days and I struggle to recall one that I didn't enjoy or gain something from.
So why are we leaving ? Sometimes I am not sure.
But other times I remember that we don't have any real family anywhere near us. No grandparents, aunties, uncles or cousins for the kids. This fact compounded by living on the kibbutz where it feels that every other child has at least 22 immediate family members around them at all times. Are we robbing our kids of something they need and could have if we lived back in Aus ?
Also, I never quite managed to find my 'thing' here from a work point of view. I was prepared to try a lot of things and gave them all a red hot go but unfortunately none of them panned out or paid enough for me to be able to continue full time. I remember something that my best buddy and neighbour Idan said to me when we first got here and that was "...if you find your niche here in Israel it is the very best place in the world you can ever live." I really think he is right, but unfortunately I didn't find mine.
Also, I never quite managed to find my 'thing' here from a work point of view. I was prepared to try a lot of things and gave them all a red hot go but unfortunately none of them panned out or paid enough for me to be able to continue full time. I remember something that my best buddy and neighbour Idan said to me when we first got here and that was "...if you find your niche here in Israel it is the very best place in the world you can ever live." I really think he is right, but unfortunately I didn't find mine.
So now we prepare to go back to Australia and I am doing everything I possibly can to keep myself busy so that I do not have too much time to think about it and feel sad for what we are leaving behind. The world today is a small place and so we can and will I hope all still keep in touch but in my heart I know it won't be the same. The kids won't be able to ride their bikes to school and home and then spontaneously go to their friends house by themselves on a whim. We won't be able to live with our doors unlocked and sit together at night outside with our neighbors and friends Idan and Dikla and chat about anything and everything. We won't take 40 mins to pop to the shop that is 1 minutes walk away for a litre of milk as we stop to chat to people all along the way. We won't be able to swim in the Kinneret 8 months of the year and consistently complain about how hot and humid it is and so much worse than last year. We won't be able to do any of these things anymore and I know I will miss them all.
I guess it would have just been easier if I did find my niche and the rest of our family would have decided to move over here as well.
I guess it would have just been easier if I did find my niche and the rest of our family would have decided to move over here as well.
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