November 11, 1986

November 11, 1986, is not a date that most people will remember. It is not a date that one will be quizzed on. For me, Phyllis Lichterman, changed my name to Hanni Harel, it is a very special date. On a cold and very rainy day I stepped off the plane at Ben Gurion airport on November 11, 1986 to start my new life here in the Land of Israel. It was very scarey and very new. I did come to Israel the year before I made Aliya. I came as a tourist and as a tourist you look at the country and things here very differently. You visit and then leave till the next time you want to come back. As an Oleh you are coming here to build a new life in hopes that you do not have to leave. In other words you are "Coming Home". It has been a long journey for me since I first came here 27 years ago today. I have met all kinds of people and experienced all kinds of things. I remember one such thing is that I had to go to Bezek (the telephone company) and found out all were on vacation so had to come back. The beauracacy is also something here. Many times there is only one person you can talk to and you have to keep going back till they are there and then it may turn out that they can't help you and you have to go somewhere else. Welcome to Israel. There was no Nefesh when I made Aliya. 
When I came to Israel Olim had certain rights and one of them was to learn Hebrew. Since I really didn't learn much in the States I started at the bottom and worked my way up. I went to alot of places to learn Hebrew. In the wintertime it is not good to learn. Where I went they had one heater and if you sat in the back of the room you were out of luck. I will give you a little history of the heating here in Israel. It is cold inside and cold outside a building unless they have a good heating system. Well, where I learned Hebrew they didn't so got sick alot. 
When I first started learning Hebrew here I would not open my mouth in fear of making mistakes. When I was ready to open my mouth I really enjoyed it. I went back to the States twice during my Aliya. I went back in the beginning to bring my things here and order things you can use here and then in 1989 I had to go back for 6 months to make some money inorder to come back. I hated it. I thought I would never get back here. I was in a Target store and heard someone speaking in Hebrew asking whose cart was sitting in a place. I turned around and answered the person back in Hebrew. He was so surprised that he proceeded to ask if I would pay for his stuff too. I told him I wouldn't and we laughed. There was a non-Jewish man standing there watching our whole conversation. He had no clue as to what we were saying. One day I just said to G-d, "Please get me out of here and back to Israel and I will never leave again." He did just that and I have never left again. I do not want to be stuck outside of here again. Anyways there is enough to do here and enough places to visit, even though we are a small country. There are Israelis scattered all over The United States. It is very sad. I met one and he told me each time he wanted to bring his family back to Israel the prices on homes or apartments kept going up and he was stuck there. I hope he either made it home or will eventually.
Throughout the time I have been here I have experienced all sorts of people. The last place  I went to to learn Hebrew was the only one I completed and I met some wonderful people and we became close outside of the place, but, the sad thing is alot of them left and all I have from them are memories. 
Living here in Israel is a different kind of life than what I grew up with in The States. Living here you become very changed and really don't have things in common with people you left behind. Our lives are not the same anymore. I have experienced all kinds of jobs and all kinds of bosses. Now, I am my own boss and love what I do. I finally found something that makes me happy as far as work goes. 
If there is anyone out there that made Aliya the same day as me I would love to hear about your experiences and if you are still here or not. 
So, take care now and till next time.
Hanni