Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow...

When Makai woke up this morning there was about an inch or two of fresh snow on the ground!  After breakfast, we got dressed to play.  He is definitely an island boy.  At first he didn't want to put his feet in the snow.  Once I sat down and played a bit he joined in.  His excursion lasted about 3 minutes literally (only because i video tapped  it).  He started babbling and pointing towards the patio.  When I asked him to show me what he wanted he walked to the sliding glass door on the patio and started hitting the glass. I opened the door and he happily walked in.  He then realized the toys he wanted to play with were outside so he went back out, grabbed them, and headed back inside.  We played let's water the plants inside.

A Georgian in Texas

We're back in the states for the holidays. Jana and Atom flew to Boise on Thursday, and I will join them on Wednesday.

I'm sticking around in Houston because I have to do some more work. A colleague of mine named Alex just flew in today to join me. He's a pretty interesting guy. He's from Georgia (country not state) and immigrated to Israel about two years ago. Back in Georgia he was a theoretical physicist studying gravitational physics until the collapse of the Soviet Union. After the fall, there was little funding for the sciences and he ended up working in IT for the local Sheraton Hotel in Georgia. Now in Israel, we brought him in to become a reservoir engineer.

He's really smart guy but very quiet and introverted. The only traveling he had done previously was the flight from Georgia to Israel. This trip to the US was a big trip for him. There were some concerns from the CEO that he would be lost traversing the connection and customs in Newark. He said it was actually pretty easy.

When he arrived, he said he was hungry, and I asked what he might want to eat. Out of familiarity, he said maybe MacDonalds. I thought we could do something more exciting and said that if he wanted hamburgers, we can go to Bubba's Texas Burger Shack. Not only did we get a nice jumbo burger, got him to try a Buffalo Burger (with real buffalo meat which is much leaner than most beef patties).


We then did some shopping in Rice Village, and then this is when he surprised me. He asked if South Shepard was nearby. It turns out Alex is a cigar buff and had located some great cigar shops in the Houston area. So off to Cigar Emporium we went. After $220 worth of cigars and a shop owner saying "He really knows his cigars," we are back at home and he is asleep.

Work starts at 1:30 PM tomorrow.

Neve Tzedek

When we decided to move to Israel, a big question was "where are we going to live?" Rather than live in Jerusalem or in the suburbs, we decided to live it up in Tel Aviv, mixing beach laziness with urban comfort.

Deciding exactly where to live in Tel Aviv was an entirely different question. In August, I came out to apartment hunt. Jana and I had visited back in Dec 2009 and explored the city a little. We wanted to be in an area with a good blend of neighborhood feel and within walking distance to all the cafes, parks, and of course the beach. One of the few neighborhood which fit the bill was Neve Tzedek. And sure enough, that's where our apartment is located.

Neve Tzedek is a historical neighborhood with narrow streets and lots of character. It was founded in 1887 as the first neighborhood of what would become Tel Aviv by Jewish families looking for space outside the walls of Jaffa. Soon more neighborhoods grew around it, and the city of Tel Aviv was born in 1909. Because of the history, tour groups are commonly seen gathered in the little green area across from our apartment. (Side note: I don't know why they gather in that green area. It is one of the only green spaces in the neighborhood, and as such is very popular with the dogs. So much so that Pali even refuses to use that green space.)

Anyways, the neighborhood is now a trendy place to be and many tell us it's the most sought after neighborhood in Tel Aviv. And I can see why. It's right next to the beach. Right next to the open air market. Cafe's are all around. And it's home to many artists, including a dance theater.

Jana said to me yesterday, "Thank you for finding an apartment here." Of course she gets to enjoy it more than I do. Here are a few photos of the neighborhood.

That's our apartment.

Photos of our place to come soon...

Mediterranean Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is generally a very big event for Jana and I. For the past four years, we woke up early and prepared a turkey (actually prepared in a brine bath the night before) and fixins for family and friends. When we were asked by a friend what was in store this year for Thanksgiving, we were shocked to realize that so much time had past since we first arrived in Israel and turkey day was only a week away.

Even though we've been here for a bit, we haven't quite nailed down grocery shopping. Rather than scramble to find all the necessary ingredients in time, we decided to do a Mediterranean Thanksgiving lunch. So Jana, Atom, my boss, his son, and I headed to Manta Ray. We had a great time, eating great seafood right along the beach with views of the Mediterranean and Old Jaffa complimented by stories. Here's a photo of the food:

Atom was a perfect little kid for the full two hours. He liked the mackerel ceviche.

Funny note: I told my boss, "This is like the original Thanksgiving. Us, the pilgrams, giving thanks to you, the indians, for helping us get settled in this new land. "

I miss Thanksgiving

I miss the Turkey. I miss the stuffing. I miss the pecan pie.

Charmin Ultra Soft

We had a plumber come in today to fix a leak in the bathroom. Actually this was his second visit as the first proved unsuccessful when we found out from the downstairs neighbor that water was still leaking through to her ceiling. Anyways, Jana was quite mad at the plumber. Why?

Because he was wiping off his mess and water puddles with her fancy Charmin Ultrasoft toilet paper. We had bought a huge Costco sized package of Charmin back in the state that we then had shipped over here. She gave the plumber a rag and tried asking him to use it, but he continued on with the Charmin toilet paper. She was mad. I only know about this story because she was still mad when she told it to me after I got home from work.

Scott loses Pali while looking for Moses

Today is November 18, 2010.   Scott lost Pali on their morning walk. Here's his story...

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Every morning I take Pali for a stroll along the beach before work. Here's a video of the morning stroll.

She's off leash and runs around smelling things or chasing the pigeons. This morning, we walked a bit further down the beach than normal so Pali is not as familiar with the area.  I turn a corner and call out for Pali to follow.  She comes running but then I see her turn back and run across the hill.  I call out, "Pali" but no Pali.  I wait and call out again.  I thought, "what is she into?"  So I walk back and she's no where in sight.  I see a stray dog munching on something on the beach, but no Pali.  At this point I think, "Oh poopie, I lost Pali."  So I go running up and down the beach twice, yelling out for my lost dog as the Israeli's exercising on the same strip look on.  Pali is not to be found.  I head home which is a 7 minute walk  and probably only a 3 minute run, but I had flip flops on and it takes me 10.  Back to the story.  I get home and who do I see?  Pali sitting at the top of the steps, right next to the door.  Dumb dog isn't so dumb after all. 

That was a stressful morning. 

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The route home:   From the beach you pass a 3 way, 6 lane intersection.  Buses, motorcycles, bicycles, taxis, all out at 7 a.m.  

 After you cross the intersection you walk a block to a rotary.  A busy rotary.

 

Once you cross the rotary you will come into our neighborhood.  Walk about 5 minutes and you will get to our  apartment.  I am very grateful Pali managed to get home in one piece. To all the Israeli drivers who stopped to let my dog cross the street,  "TODAH".

My new colleagues

One of my colleagues at the new company is Effie Eitam. I'm not quite sure what his role is, but he's got a wikipedia page about him.

Most notable line in the page about Effie: "...stop Syrian tanks from penetrating the Golan Heights's Nafah, using 3 Bazooka bombs and a heavy machine gun and later rescued the wounded from Nafah."

Bazookas! Isn't that awesome?

There was also an article about him and his recent US speaking tour in the Jerusalem Post.

Today he invited me and the family to his place in the Golan Height.

Traffic stop

My office is in Jerusalem. This requires me to drive about an hour to work every morning. The drive isn't too bad as long as I leave at a decent hour and avoid the morning rush. And for the most part, I've learned to become an Israeli driver, honking at slow cars, inching into tiny spaces between cars, cutting others off, and other obnoxious driving habits that are not really obnoxious here.

The drive to Jerusalem is pretty scenic as Jerusalem is set on some hills. On this one morning, I decided to merge onto the next lane earlier than allowed according to the lines on the road. Didn't seem like a big deal until I saw a police car parked ahead of me and a police officer pointing at my car, telling me to pull over. I could swear that he couldn't have seen me. So I stopped and rolled down my window. Here's a photo of the traffic stop from my vantage point.


The policeman came over said something in Hebrew. I said "I don't understand" and fumbled for some papers in the glove compartment, not really sure what I was looking for. The policeman looked a little annoyed and then simply said "passport." Oh side note here, it is recommended that we carry our passport at all times here. It's like an ID card for us. I sure hope I don't lose it. Back to the story. The cop looks over the passport, nods his head, and gives it back to me. Looks like I'm free to go now.

I think I'll continue to feign ignorance. It's not too hard here for me.

Scott

What 20 F35s may or may not be worth

One of the attractions of coming here was being a first hand observer to the Middle East process, a political issue I had previously only given peripheral attention. For the most part, I listen in on debates at the office on some of the issues that do pop up in the news.

A recent discussion centered around Netanyahu's agreement to a 90 day freeze on settlement building, thereby reentering peace talks with the Palestinians, a deal that still needs approval from his cabinet which is not entirely certain. Then they mentioned the "carrot." 20 F-35 stealth fighters and whatever under the table incentives not disclosed.

All during the rest of the discussion, I was thinking in my head, "20 F-35's only buys 90 days?"

Not the general water cooler discussions I heard back home...

Banking in Israel

I am an extremely patient and calm person.  Out here, there are things which baffle me and can get my blood boiling.

When Scott first arrived in August, his company helped get certain things like a checking account set up.  In the US you can have an account with a bank of your choice and make a transaction at any branch.   Here in Israel, you are only allowed to do business at the branch which you opened your account.   If we need to do a wire transfer, we will need to drive 30 minutes away.  In order to add me to Scott's account, we need to drive 30 minutes away.  We can not walk 5 minutes away and add me to the account at the Tel Aviv branch.  So, we decide to change branches.   We go to one Tel Aviv branch and not one person knows what to do.  This goes on for 30 minutes.  They send us to another Tel Aviv branch.   They know what to do.  They ask Scott for his checking account balance.  Scott says "here is my account number for you to look up."  She says, I can not look up account balances in the computer.  You have to go to the ATM and get the balance.  Then come back here and show it to me."  Seriously?  He too was amazed and asked for clarification.  So he does as told and shows her the balance. She says it will take a month for your branch to be transferred here.  He says Ok, now how do I add my wife to the account.  She says go to the original branch you opened the account.  They will do it there.  Or if you want, wait til the transfer is complete and come back.  It will take a month to add your wife. 

I thought this was ridiculous and decided we should change banks.   Which made me even more annoyed.  I found out banking in Israel is all about status.  In order for a bank to accept you as a client, they need to know how much money you make.  You have an interview with the manager.  They decide whether they want to accept you as a client.  Seriously?  Why would we want to do that.

In the U.S. I was dependent on my debit card.  I never carried cash.  Now I go to the ATM once a week.  Not only do I have carry a bunch of coins around but the ATM is a 5 minute walk in the opposite direction.  You know me, I am all about convenience. 

I decided to look on the bright side of things.  There is no paper trail on where I am spending money!  I wonder if Scott has come to this realisation.

I like to eat...

With no furniture, the three of us had ample time to explore the city and all the fresh food Tel Aviv has to offer.   It's amazing how when we first arrived, the restaurants next to our apartment had good food.  Even Ikea.  By "had" I mean I didn't have a chance to taste great food here.  Coming from the US, it was pretty darn great at the time!  Now that a month has passed and I can compare it to other restaurants in the city, I'd now go to other restaurants.

I still think the best food I have tasted thus far is from street vendors.  My little Atom will agree.  Sometimes I will give him a falafel with hummus from a restaurant, put him in his stroller and he will take a bite and hand it back to me.   I give him a pita filled with Tahini, hummus and falafel from the street and he doesn't want to share.   Like gelatos out here.  Some cafe's he'll share with Scott.  The good ones, daddy won't get a bite.   Hmm... Hopefully he doesn't become a food snob!

Israeli Hospitality...

One thing I love about this country is how helpful, generous, and genuinely kind people are.   On a daily basis I am told welcome to Israel!   Come to my house if you need anything.  Even if you need to take your son to the ER at 3 a.m. call me.  I will take you. Oh, just you and your son for lunch.  Would you like some help?  Let me help you carry your stroller to the second floor.  Your son is sleeping.  We don’t want to wake him.

In Texas Atom can fall out of his stroller, have blood gushing out of his nose, all over his face, and all over his and dad's shirt.  Not one person will stop to ask if help is needed.  They continue their walk. This by the way has not happened.  Ask Scott.   In Israel your whole street will be at your front door trying to figure out how to turn off your water after the solar heater explodes.  You can leave them in your house and run 5 doors down to get your husband who is feeding himself, the dog and child at a restaurant and not have to worry about anything being stolen. This by the way has happened.  Our first week in the country.

It all started with 'Drunken Chicken'

Atom, Pali, and I are strolling around the open market.  I smell something familiar in the air.  OMG!  guava.  Spotted, I ask the guy “Kay-mah” (how much).   From my understanding he says 8 shekels.  I pull out my wallet not knowing that a gold shekel with a number 10 on it is different than a silver and gold shekel with a number 10 on it.  The guy behind the fruit stand declines my gold 10 shekel, says something in Hebrew.  Sounds more like a “F U” to me.  So I hand him a 200 shekel bill not knowing what he wants.   He says where are you from?   I say America.  He then explains to me that a gold shekel with a 10 on it is equivalent to a penny.  The gold and silver 10 shekel is 10 shekels.   I had to wonder, if I didn’t pull out my 200 shekel bill would he have helped me or treated me like a migrant worker?

Migrant workers.  That is what people think we are.   Living in Israel Asians are the minority and the migrant work force.  I am strolling Atom around in a bugaboo, a Gucci diaper bag, wearing a Diesel skirt, Marc Jacobs sunglasses, and top. Yet people ask, are you hired help?   Are you from China?  Does hired help order cappuccinos and gelatos on a daily basis?  Yet Scott, can stroll around in an orange crush t-shirt, board shorts, and zori's which don’t match and he gets asked if he’s a diplomat.  Does he really look like  a diplomat?

 

Nothing to Declare

11 1/2 hours later we have arrived!   Makai did great!  Slept 10 1/2 hours.  He woke up in time for breakfast/dinner.  Mom and Dad were relieved.   Time to deplane and get Pali. 

Going through security was fast and easy.  We rush to baggage.  Scott finds Pali's crate in the oversized baggage area sitting on a small conveyor belt.  I call out "Paliiiii Giiiiirrrlll".  I see her head pop up, a few whines and some pants.   Oh great!  She's fine!   Scott searches for a skycap while I wait with Pali, Sabbia, and Atom.   About 5 minutes later I see people speaking Hebrew to the dog.   Then I watch them try to lift her crate.  Excuse me, what are you doing?  That's my dog.   No one speaks English.  So I say "Ani Kelev"  ("I dog" is basically how it translates cause i couldn't remember "my" in hebrew).  Finally someone says, if you don't remove your dog, she will go back under.  The belt is about to move.   So the guy was nice enough to carry a 50 pound dog off the belt.  

15 minutes later Scott shows up an Israeli version of a skycap.  He is about 110 pounds.   I am thinking, man, he can't lift this dog or anything else!   Scott does most of the lifting onto the cart.  I think we paid this dude for his cart but whatever.   Now its time to go through customs. 

We walk through the "Nothing to declare line".  Huge dog in crate, cat in a carrier, 6 pieces of luggage, with one of them being a 60 inch box.  In the U.S. this will raise a red flag.  Here in Israel, we walk through the nothing to declare line and keep on walking til we are out of the airport. 

Lift off...

A 12 hour flight ahead of us.  We thought we were organized and ready, but once at the ATL airport, things seemed a little chaotic. 

Richard was so kind to help us with all of our “junk”.   He hails a sky cap at first sighting.  Awesome!   Then we head to the terminal.  That's when I realize I forgot Pali’s frozen water bottles  in Marishyl’s freezer.  Good thing we purchased 5 bottles!  2 were in our checked bag and 1 for Sabbia.     Hopefully the crew of delta will refill if needed.   

The sky cap helps Scott put the crate together.  Richard takes Pali outside the terminal since she’s not a service dog.   I go fill up the 2 water bottles.  Atom sleeps in his stroller.  Dog in crate, let’s go.   We check in.  We were the first in line, yet somehow all these people end up pushing Makai and I out of the way while the agent is helping us so they can load their luggage.   There are 12 different loading zone's, why ours?  I turn around to get paperwork from Scott.  I don't know what’s happening but it looks like Scott doesn’t know what to do but the sky cap does.  I see the skycap adhereing the appropriate stickers and forms while Scott chats to Richard and the skycap.   Mental note to self:  Add to skycap’s tip fund.  6 pieces of luggage is loaded.  The sky cap is good.  He has taken care of all luggage and both animals.  Pali's crate looks set.  

It's around 830 pm.  Boarding is at 930.  Wow.  We have been doing this for almost an hour.  Scott still has to return the rental car.  Richard takes atom and pushes him around.  Scott goes to return the rental car while I’m taking care of  Pali.  I head to the back where I have to bring Pali out so they can xray her crate.   Sky cap is still with me.  He asks the Delta rep when the dog will be taken down.  "There is a sweet little boy wanting to make sure his buddy won’t get lost."   Wow this guy is great.   Mental note to self:  tip dude again.

"The woman at the counter said whenever someone comes down.  You know how it is."  He said who’s down there.  She said mckenzie.  He said do you mind if I take the dog to mckenzie.  This little boy will be upset if something happened to his pooch.  Delta rep:  go ahead, you know what to do.

So I take out money.  Without counting how much I gave the dude, because I kept adding 20’s to my pocket, it ended up being $120 tip.   Pali better be on that flight and she better be in good condition!

 

I'm leaving on a jet plane...

Makai and I left on Sunday the 10th of October to visit the oh so fabulous Ford family in Atlanta, GA!  We made it right in time to celebrate Beckett’s 1st birthday.  Makai enjoyed sharing his food with Beckett and giving him birthday kisses.

 

Evelyn was excited for Uncle Scottie to arrive.  Not to see Scott of course, but to play with Pali and Sabbia.    We spent 2 fun packed days visiting parks,  a TV show filming (the name escapes me),  and after two trips finally got to try the King of Pops.    The Popsiciles were great!   We shared a chocolate with sea salt,  cantaloupe, lemongrass, coconut, and a few others.   I think Scott bought one of every flavor! 

With Delta being the companies choice of airlines and their hub in ATL, we'll probably be spending alot more time in Atlanta.  Looking forward to our next visit!

Houston, We have a problem!

Returning from Boise wasn’t the most stress free experience. When we left we thought everything was under control. So we thought…

Our first day back in Houston, September 30, 2010 we had to mail the Sabbia and Pali’s paperwork off to the USDA for approval. When we received Pali’s paperwork, I realized the form from the vet was missing a rabies vaccination date. The rabies vaccination date is 3/14/2009. What happened to her May of 2010 vaccination? Was I going crazy? Did I forget to vaccinate my dog 30 days prior to arrival?

I panic, rush back to the Nguyen household, hoping what I remember reading wasn't true. Part of Israel’s requirement to allow pet’s into the country is that the animal must be vaccinated with Rabies a minimum of 30 days prior to entering the country as well as a rabies titer test after the 30 days of vaccination. The titer test takes 6 to 8 weeks to receive. If the dog is vaccinated more than a year upon arrival the dog must be quarantined for 8 days. OH, OH…

I email the vet and made frantic calls to the Israeli embassy, the USDA, and email our all time favorite pet sitter, Amber from Bow wow pals. Can Pali stay with you for 3 months and will you take her to get all her tests done for the third time? Yes, a third time. The first time the vet put her information on the vile of blood in the wrong location. The State of Kanasas rabies lab is particular about which side the sticker lies. Pali had to go back in two days later for another blood draw.

Our vet gets back to us within a few hours. They check their records. They don’t have a record of a rabies vaccination. I refresh his memory of how my timid dog jumped and part of the vaccination wasn’t administered. He went to the back, got another vaccination, and how he told me she cannot OD on this stuff. He remembers now! It’s in his notes. But why wasn’t anything recorded? And we didn't pay for her vaccination?!?!

I drive 45 minutes to his office and literally ask him, "Can I write in the new date and send it to the USDA? Is this considered a felony?" His response "Yes, it is a felony. If you are so inclined to do so, do it after the USDA approves everything." The USDA has access to Kansas lab reports, they will see another date written which will raise a red flag. When they notice this we will have to resubmit blood to Kansas which will take 6 to 8 weeks. Let's see what happens and in the mean time he will email the head veterinarian in Israel and ask for a waiver.

Our vet contacted Israel, sent a letter to the USDA, took the blame and everything was approved. Even though there is no record of her shot, the head veterinarian of Israel said no quarantine either since her titer was greater than 1.99. With the vet’s letter stating this, the USDA approved Pali’s paperwork and now it’s time to leave.

Phew. Now let’s hope nothing happens to her on the flight and when we arrive.

Before the search...

A posting by Scott: 
Back at the end of 2009, I received an offer to join a new energy startup. It sounded like a pretty good opportunity. When I told Jana where it was though, she was literally shell-shocked, and said, "when I said it would be cool if you got an expat position, I was thinking Hong Kong, Singapore, or London, not Israel!"

A 5 day trip and a few months of deliberation, we decided to take the plunge. Atom's young, we're young, Tel Aviv is on the beach. There are some other background things going on there, but we thought, "It'll be an adventure!"

And who knew how easy the word "hero" would be thrown around...

A posting by Jana:  
Here is a quick peek on the last 3 months of our crazy lives.    

Location:  3238 Maroneal--Scott returns from his first two weeks at work.   Check out how excited Atom was when we told him we were going on an adventure; August of 2010.  

September in Boise, Idaho...

We began our search September 10 in Boise, Idaho.   With Auntie Dawn leading the troops, we checked out the trails, pools, the Leatherman's house, as well as cousin Hunters football game. What a great time!   

Since we weren’t having any success, Atom took it upon himself to look for Moses in places no one else would dare touch.  Uncle Kippie’s nose, cheek, mouth, and fingers.