Lonely women waiting here for a line of men: Russian woman - about life in Israel
'23.02.2019'
Source: Arguments and Facts
The Russian woman who moved from Moscow to Haifa six years ago is about the shocking prices, the conquest of Hebrew and the unpleasant features of the Israelis.
Tatyana 35, the last six years she lives in Haifa. Moving to another country happened in her life “for love”. Once being on an excursion in St. Petersburg, the girl met her future husband, who came from Israel to Russia with a serious mission - to find a wife. Responsible assignment he performed brilliantly and took Tatiana to him. How did her life in the new country, she told AiF.ru.
Looking for the second half
My husband moved to Israel in 14 years. When the question of creating a family arose, he went in search of his wife to Russia, since it was not easy to find the other half there. When you move as a teenager, you feel the difference in mentality with local girls and even with Russian-speaking people if they live in Israel from an early age. Self-esteem for women here is incredibly high, they choose their life partner for a long time and up to 30 for years they just twist their noses and pull off guys. My spouse has experienced it for himself. And I note that this is not an isolated case.
But if you are a Russian-speaking girl, such problems are unlikely to arise. Moreover, a line of potential suitors will most likely line up with you. Recently, my husband left for a week on a business trip, I left the house with my daughter on Saturday, and some young man immediately approached me to meet. Saturday in Israel is a day off, which is customary to spend with the family, apparently, he thought that I was lonely. So even a woman with a child has a lot of chances to start a family and get married again.
All learning
In Israel, you will speak in any language. This is not England, where you definitely need to know English, or France, where you have to learn French, and there are no options. Here you can come to the store, and there will definitely be a Russian-speaking seller. However, if there is a task to find a job and adapt as quickly as possible, you will have to learn Hebrew. It is for this reason that the first year I attended a language school, ulpan, almost every day. For people who repatriate, education in it is free. All others pay, but quite reasonable money. Six years ago, it cost about 3000 shekels (830 dollars). Given that 5 training takes place every day from 8 in the morning until lunchtime, this is a penny.
After about six months of almost daily school attendance, I began to look for a job — some simple option, for example, a shopkeeper. By that time, it seemed to me that I spoke Hebrew pretty well, plus the teachers praised me. However, interviews with employers brought me down from heaven to earth, and I realized that my knowledge is sorely lacking, because people in life speak much faster than teachers from ulpan.
In the end, I still found a job, not only the seller, but an assistant kindergarten teacher. For some reason, nothing happened with my shop, although everyone I know arranged for such vacancies the first time, even without knowing Hebrew.
The first six months on the new job, I sobbed. It was very difficult for me morally, because every day I heard a huge stream of speech that I did not understand. However, a year later, the situation radically changed. Now I can say that Hebrew is simple. Simply, there are features that you need to get used to - the letters do not look like anything, plus you read from right to left. Adaptation takes time and practice.
Absolute freedom
Israelis love their country very much, but sometimes in some trifles they do not show their best. Do not bring a piece of paper to the trash or throw a cigarette butt on the pavement - a common thing. And it still amazes me. Once my husband and I were in a situation where all roads were closed and we had to wait in the car for almost four hours! All this time, from some of the cars that were standing nearby, they constantly threw garbage right on the road.
No wonder children behave in the same way. I remember one unpleasant moment: on the matinee in our garden, sweets were distributed to the older group, the children just threw all the papers from them on the floor. Unfortunately, none of the parents did not consider it necessary not only to make a remark to their own child, but even just to remove the garbage. From this whole picture, I experienced a real shock.
In general, children are given a lot of freedom here. They do what they want - stand on their heads, scream. Obviously no one teaches them not to disturb others.
Many more walk with nipples all the way to school. I'm not exaggerating! Once I even read to my pupils a book about how a girl is going to go to school, which means it’s time to part with a nipple. Then I thought - a strange story. But then I realized that it was not strange, but absolutely normal for Israel. It is also quite natural here when children go to diapers for up to three years. They begin to wean them only because it is in three years that the child goes to the municipal garden, and there nobody will change the diapers behind him. There is no choice - you have to change habits.
Kind and brawler
Local very responsive and kind, be sure to help in a difficult situation. Once I came under the rain, the driver immediately stopped and offered me a ride, although we were not on the way. In Russia, it is hard to imagine such mutual assistance; moreover, I would hardly have got into a car to a stranger. In Israel, I feel more relaxed, but this does not negate the observance of elementary safety rules. It is always necessary to soberly assess the situation.
Recently I was visited by a friend from Russia. She said that she bought her daughter a watch tracker to track where the child is. Here it is difficult to imagine. In Israel, children quietly walk alone on the streets. Of course, they have a phone with them, it is quite enough.
The cordiality and openness of the locals are miraculously combined with their not the best qualities. They may well quarrel with you in any queue or try to creep forward under the pretext of "I just ask." Israelis do not know how to wait. Plus, the people here are quite noisy, they shout a lot (sometimes they just talk like that). Of course, you need to get used to such contrasts.
Living in a rented apartment
The minimum wage in the country is approximately 4,5 thousand shekels (1244 dollars). If you have a higher education and a prestigious specialty, for example, “engineer” or “programmer”, then you will receive more times in 3-5. In this case, the higher the income, the more taxes. Usually, when you come to get a job, you are given a gross salary, and you get a net into your hands with all deductions. Assume 4,5 thousand shekels are subject to 11% tax. For people with higher incomes, this indicator can reach 30%.
To live in Israel with dignity and not to deny yourself anything, you need to earn at least 15 thousand shekels (approximately 4150 dollars). But this is clearly not enough if you plan to save some amount on real estate, because housing prices are incredibly high. In Haifa, the most common apartment (not a good one, namely, a normal one) costs from a million (276 thousand dollars)! In order for our family to take a mortgage on more or less adequate conditions and not live half-starved, we need a down payment on the order of 400 thousand shekels (110 500 dollars). An impressive amount. For this reason, almost everyone rents apartments here, and our family is no exception. By the way, the lack of a proper angle does not prevent the Israelis from having children, and not one by one! Rent with all associated costs costs us about shekels 4000 (1100 dollars).
Products "eat up" more 2000 shekels (550 dollars) of the budget. They are high quality here, but also quite expensive. By the way, discount coupons are common in Israel: even those who earn good money use them. All because in this country is considered to be money. At such prices, this is not surprising.
Serving the fatherland
When I first arrived in this country, it seemed to me strange that absolutely all citizens, regardless of gender, should serve in the army. Today my daughter is growing up, and I understand that she will also have to go through this stage. It is not customary to "mow" from the service, because this is such an important and interesting stage in the life of every Israeli. In our family, only a few years ago, all sorts of army stories subsided, those who served love to talk on this topic.
Of course, the Israeli army is very different from the Russian. You leave for the service in the morning, and in the evening you return home. Some may go, for example, to an army base for a whole week. But in any case, they come home, at least for the weekend. The boys give the debt to their homeland for three years, the girls - two. By the way, my husband believes that this is a good tempering for Israeli children, who grow up to the army with a feeling of complete freedom and permissiveness. They receive higher education only after serving; go to college about 20-21 year. In Russia, their peers by this time already receive a diploma and go to work, although in fact - what do they know about life? In Israel, people come into the profession at a more conscious age.
In queue
Everyone praises Israeli medicine very much. But just want to say that if we are talking about the most ordinary doctors, then you are unlikely to be in some incredible delight. For example, you cannot call the clinic here and make an appointment for the examination on the same day. Sometimes you have to wait a very long time, because the queues are huge. When I was pregnant and was given a list of necessary tests, I immediately signed up for 2 months in advance! As for the birth itself, again, it cannot be said that the doctors showed me some increased attention. They clearly followed the protocol, except that they listened more to my wishes.
Of course, when it comes to some serious illness, people in Israel can be helped, because the medicine here is really high-tech. But! With the prevention of diseases big problems, just because no one will send you to the examination. And this, alas, is a significant disadvantage - it is still easier to prevent the disease than to cure it.
PS I quickly adapt to new conditions, but I must say that moving to Israel was not as easy as I would like. But now I am very glad that my daughter was born in this country. It seems to me that here she will have much more opportunities than if she grew up in Russia. At the same time, I admit the thought that, having become an adult, she can leave here. Although who knows, maybe the daughter will become such a patriot of Israel that I will be very surprised.
