Stand up: My name. Aliyah. Bureaucracy. And a faxypack.
It’s not everyday you have a captive audience of 400 Israelis willing to listen to your trial and error approach to living in Israel. So, after winning a stand up contest that the New Israel Fund and Bet Hillel hosted in May, I decided to make my five-minute debut about just that: the new immigrant on the block. I was honored to take part in the stand up night, with the other five outstanding and hilarious women that took to the stage. Even better was the fact we were opening for the famously talented Orna Banai. What I also appreciated was how warm the audience was, even though I did my stand up in English. They listened and laughed, and I think they also could relate, even if they are not new immigrants. Bureaucracy is still bureaucracy.
It was a night I will never forget. And an opportunity I hope to have again in the near future.
To see the other ladies click here.
I’m the one in pants, and Orna Banai is the the last black dress from the left. Please keep in mind I was 6 weeks after having my second child here…
Essential Israel websites for postal needs, directions, movies, bus routes, and more
I know it might seem like a strange combination, but this is a collection of tremendously helpful Israel websites that I always come back to and wanted to share.
Post Office: Displays all the post office locations in Jerusalem and their crazy hours because who can remember when they take their 4 hour lunch breaks. For other cities in Israel, you can click on the top link on the right sidebar to change the city. The “english” section doesn’t have much more that fluffy filler text, so pretty much Hebrew only.
Directions and Maps: The closest thing to mapquest, emap.co.il (Internet Explorer only) is an amazing resource for finding how to get around in Jerusalem and the rest of Israel. Available in Hebrew and English.
Movies: Seret.co.il lets you search by movie title, theater, or genre. When you select a theater, for example, the Globus theater in the Malha mall or Rav Chen in Talpiot, it brings up the phone number, address, and a current listing of all the movie showtimes. In Hebrew only.
Concerts, Theater: Hadran lets you buy tickets for the hottest performances happening all over Israel. I’ve never used it, but it looks reliable and professional. Available in Hebrew and English.
Israel Railways Train Schedule: Though the price of tickets is hard to find, the site is good for looking up the train times. The last time I took the train I believe it was 17.10 shekels for students – one way. Much quieter, hassle-free, and more leg room than the Egged busses. Only drawback is it takes a little longer to get where you’re going and I think the direct train from Jlem to TA is not running anymore? In English and Hebrew.
Bus Routes: Although the Egged site might be good to look at for travel info to the Dead Sea, Tel Aviv, or Haifa, it doesn’t have a very user-friendly or up-to-date map of which bus to take within Jerusalem and other cities. So, use Egged in English or Hebrew for travel between cities and Wikipedia in English for a look at which bus to take within Jerusalem.
Let’s liven things up around here:
The Big Felafel 