So, it appears we are moving in 5 weeks. To a whole different country. The enormity (and proximity) of this event is beginning to dawn on us. We haven't yet reached the point where the milk we buy will expire after we're gone, but almost. (I remember the milk expiration date as being the "holy shit" moment of being very very pregnant).
I'm very antsy and ready to pack, but we are still trying to rent out our apartment, so I am reluctant to fill it with boxes. I'm tired of spending all of my time cleaning and getting the house ready to show, particularly since it does not move us toward the goal of packing and organizing our things. One more week and the prospective renters will just have to deal with the chaos, I think.
So far our only offer has been from six (6!) student ballerinas. Which, no. My apologies to all of the lovely, mature, and well-adjusted ballerinas out there, but having 6 dancers smoking and throwing up here for a year is not what we had in mind.
Meanwhile, the girls' passports are still not here. (The first time around, we were told their names were too long (WTF?) -- sorry Armentas, but their Mexican heritage will not be reflected in their State Department documents -- so we had to resubmit). Plus I lost my conversion certificate, which, for some reason I need to get a student visa. (What do non-Jewish students do? Who knows? Cacha zeh B'Yisrael). Luckily, the fabulous Leora Kaye and Jennifer Frost have saved my butt, and a duplicate certificate is en route from Chicago.
All of which is to say that it's going fine, really, and we'll get there, but I wish we could fast forward through all the logistics and be there already.
Monday, May 30, 2011
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
53 Days and Counting
I meant to start documenting our preparations for our year in Jerusalem earlier, but it is probably for the best that I spared everyone the insane anxiety of my Jerusalem apartment search. Given the 7-hour time difference, the Jerusalem real estate day occurs between 2 AM and 10 AM New York time. This is not good news if you're already hopped up on free-floating anxiety and prone to insomnia of the racing thoughts variety. It was a very tiring few weeks.
But thanks to some very patient brokers and a saintly future colleague of mine, who very kindly offered to go check out places for me (and meant it!), I believe, knock on wood, ptu ptu ptu, that we have found our home for the next year. It is a small house in Yemin Moshe, a beautiful historic neighborhood across from the Old City. And only a 10 minute walk to school! It is a pedestrian neighborhood with lots of steps, so we may come out of our year more fit, but we're willing to take that chance.
Now we just have to find someone to rent our New York apartment for the year so I can stop living in a showcase and reclaim my clothes chair.
The real estate search was a very good introduction to our year, actually. On Thursdays, I would get anxious as Shabbat approached in Jerusalem, eager to get all my emails out and answered. Then, radio silence for 24 hours as Jerusalem shut down. It was frustrating, but liberating, since I knew there was nothing I could do, and that no one was answering anyone else's emails either. Everything was just paused for a day. As Shabbat should be. I'm sure there will be times when the ubiquity of Shabbat observance in Jerusalem is maddening, but I admit I'm looking forward to an enforced day of rest.
Another introduction to the differences between New York and Jerusalem has been my efforts to sign the girls up for camp. I've been frantically calling and emailing the YMCA for the past 2 months, trying to make sure they can go to the summer camp there. I finally heard back yesterday, and registration starts next week. In New York, there were lotteries in February for summer camp, so this more laid-back approach to the all-important question of where your kids will play kickball for the summer was startling and refreshing.
There's still lots to do before we go (visas, physicals, packing) but it feels like we're on the downward slope. We're all anxious, but also eager for the adventure to begin.
But thanks to some very patient brokers and a saintly future colleague of mine, who very kindly offered to go check out places for me (and meant it!), I believe, knock on wood, ptu ptu ptu, that we have found our home for the next year. It is a small house in Yemin Moshe, a beautiful historic neighborhood across from the Old City. And only a 10 minute walk to school! It is a pedestrian neighborhood with lots of steps, so we may come out of our year more fit, but we're willing to take that chance.
Now we just have to find someone to rent our New York apartment for the year so I can stop living in a showcase and reclaim my clothes chair.
The real estate search was a very good introduction to our year, actually. On Thursdays, I would get anxious as Shabbat approached in Jerusalem, eager to get all my emails out and answered. Then, radio silence for 24 hours as Jerusalem shut down. It was frustrating, but liberating, since I knew there was nothing I could do, and that no one was answering anyone else's emails either. Everything was just paused for a day. As Shabbat should be. I'm sure there will be times when the ubiquity of Shabbat observance in Jerusalem is maddening, but I admit I'm looking forward to an enforced day of rest.
Another introduction to the differences between New York and Jerusalem has been my efforts to sign the girls up for camp. I've been frantically calling and emailing the YMCA for the past 2 months, trying to make sure they can go to the summer camp there. I finally heard back yesterday, and registration starts next week. In New York, there were lotteries in February for summer camp, so this more laid-back approach to the all-important question of where your kids will play kickball for the summer was startling and refreshing.
There's still lots to do before we go (visas, physicals, packing) but it feels like we're on the downward slope. We're all anxious, but also eager for the adventure to begin.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)