Get Fresh with a Fresh Wipe
Who knew one wipe had so many uses? Remember that movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding? The father in that movie was convinced that Windex was the do-it-all gadget. It was a funny concept, but there was some truth to it. There must be that one thing that can do it all- and of course there is- it is the fresh wipe.
The fresh wipe is really supposed to be used on babies during a diaper change. While the fresh wipe does a great job at keeping everything sanitary, you can take this tool a step further and not only clean the child but clean yourself off too. Don’t stop there; use a fresh wipe to clean the area.
When you are done with the baby, yourself and the area, use a fresh wipe to Continue reading this entry »
Israeli Lines
I feel a hole in my body. I am not sure where it begins and if it ends. It is not like the other holes in a body- it connects no where and serves no purpose. It is more of a black hole and with it brings sadness I am not accustomed to.
These days I am more than just depressed. I have melancholy fingers and blue eyes. I am nothing nowadays. I am waiting for life to begin again. It is as though someone has put me on pause and just left me here. When did living stop and dying begin? Continue reading this entry »
A new format for peace talks
Condoleezza Rice, Abu Mazen and Ehud Olmert continue to talk about their three-way peace talks, but Arabs and Israelis are finding their own way to communicate- Internet porn. While Arab states claim Israel is their enemy they have no problem searching for Israeli women in the army or Mossad to heat things up. Talk about a peace process with action! Read more at Ynet
How to spend the day in Jaffa/Yaffo/Yaffa for under 40 shekels
You know the day is going to be unusual when you go to the Jerusalem train station, expecting to take, you know, a train, and you wind up on a bus. The train station ordered a bus to take passengers to Tel Aviv because the train was currently unreliable because of technical problems. Maybe they thought we wouldn’t notice. I didn’t care which mode of transportation it was, as long as it didn’t require the ritual of pushing and shoving to get on, and didn’t contain arsim, the little 12 year old boys with spiked, dyed hair and tight jeans who scream in your face, crank up their mp3 players and try to make your life miserable. Another bonus was not having to end up at the Tel Aviv Central Bus Station- the most horrible, worst designed, confusing, did I mention horrible? building I have ever entered in my life. Best yet, the bus driver didn’t check our tickets because of their fadicha (screw up) which meant we scored a free train ride home.
The main attraction of Yaffo is the Shuk HaPishpushim, the flea market. Every Friday the merchants take out their crap, er, beautiful antiques, and hope for a shekel or two from tourists. The market was filled with every single thing in the world I would never need. And all in one place! Take for example, this item below. What is it? We asked the people selling it. They looked at us blankly and said they didn’t know. Does it work? no. There you have it. Official crap. The owners even agree. But I have to admit, it was really amusing, wandering around the streets with that special Israeli scent of body odor, looking for a treasure among the discarded like everyone else.
Yaffo/Yaffa/Jaffa is located on the southern most part of Tel Aviv’s beach. I recommend taking the Number 10 bus from the train station or 46 (I believe) from the central bus station. We took the opportunity to eat our packed lunch (saved $$) on a bench overlooking the beach.
Total cost:
Bus to Jerusalem train station (roundtrip): 8.80 sh
Train ride (one way – student) 17.10 sh
Bus to Yaffo (roundtrip) – 10.20 sh
Total price: 36.10 shekels
Some more photos:
English book stores and sales in Jerusalem – used and new books
Here is a list of bookstores that have a selection of new or used english books. Please leave me a comment with any more details about these bookstores.
*Updated thanks to responses from the Yahoo group IsraelBooks, and commentators.
*I put stars next to my favorites
1. Sefer VeSefel*
Location: City Center | On Yavetz St. which goes from Yaffo to the stairs on Ben Hillel St.In an alley off of Jaffa St. near the Bat Ayin clothing store.
Tel: 02-6248237
Description: Mostly used books, but a few new,especially brand new bestsellers. They will buy your books, I got 15 shekels credit from The Jew in the Lotus. Also, they do up to 65% buyback for books you buy from them.
2. (Don’t know the name but its an antique / rare books place) – City Center. Between Gazith shoes and Big Apple Pizza.
3. Stein Books
Location: City Center | Address: King George across from the new Avi Chai building and the Mirage danceclub.
4. Moffit (?)
Location: Nachlaot | On the side of Binyan Clal off of Jaffa St. across from the Shuk. They possibly have another branch in the lower level of Binyan Clal right at the southern entrance on Rechov Yaffo.
Description: Almost entirely used books.
5. Siman Kriah (also known as BookMark)
Location: Bak’a | 1 Esther Hamalka St., corner 33 Bethlehem Rd; between Derech Hevron and Derekh Bet Lehem;
Tel: 02-673-1934
Description: Specializes in Children’s books and books for youth in English and in Hebrew.
6. Stein Books (same name, I know)
Location: City Center | King George across from the Sheraton Hotel
7. World of Magazines
Location: Talpiot | Achim Yisrael Mall, HaTnufa St. (3rd floor)
Tel: 02-502-3661
8. The Book Gallery
Location: City Center | 6 Schatz street, now a pedestrian-only street
Tel: 02-623-1087
9. Gur Aryeh
Location: Nahalat Shiva, City Center | middle of Yoel Salomon St.
10. Dani Books*
Location: City Center | 54 Yafo St. corner of Yafo and Even Yisrael
Tel: 02-6248293
11. Olam Qatan
Location: German Colony | 52 Emek Refaim
Tel: 02-563-7507
Description: holistic, mystical, religious, scientific, english, used and new
12. Intellect Books
Location: City Center | Rehov Yaffo, past Selina icecream shop and Shanty clothing store if youre going toward the old city.
Description: used books. hebrew, english, german, russian, just about any language and topic. you can also sell your books.
Book Sales, Book websites
- New Yahoo group: IsraelBooks
- AngloBooks – website to trade English books with others in Israel
- Books 4 Now– used books in Israel. Order 4 books, get free delivery
- Janglo – usually lists the latest book sales. Over the past year I’ve gone to book sales at AACI, Amit, Merkaz Hamagshimim, closing book stores, and people’s moving sales.
How to find an apartment in Jerusalem and the rest of Israel
A list of the apartment websites that have been helpful to me and hopefully will continue to be helpful to others. If you have updates about these sites or new sites, leave me a comment.
1. Magar Meida (English and Hebrew): Daily email with latest listings. Costs roughly 250 shekels for 2 months. You can freeze the membership after you find an apartment. The fee is well worth it.
2. Flathunting (English)
3. Janglo – Real Estate section (English)
4. Yad2 (Hebrew)
5. Homeless (Hebrew)
6. Sheal (Hebrew)
7. Hebrew U. (Hebrew)
8. Sublet.com (English)
9. Baboo.co.il (Hebrew)
10. Craiglist (English) Beware of West Africa Apartment scams
11. Madas (Hebrew)
12. WinWin (Hebrew)
13. BipBop (Hebrew)
14. Homely (Hebrew)
How to find a job in Israel – helpful websites
Updated Feb 9, 2015
Here’s a list of helpful employment websites for job seekers:
- Israemploy: (English) Daily updates. 36 NIS per month.
- Janglo (English)
- Nefesh B’Nefesh Linkedin Job Board (English)
- Gvahim Linkedin Job Board (English)
- Digital Eve Israel (English) Yahoo Group for professional women, though open to men and women.
- Nefesh B’Nefesh’s list of a gazillion employment resources!!
- Alljobs (Hebrew)
- Shatil (non profit) (Hebrew)
- Muvtal (Hebrew)
- Drushim (Hebrew)
- Manpower (Hebrew)
Networking events in Jerusalem:
Newsletters & Events for job seekers:
- Janglo Newsletter: Janglo’s weekly newsletter is amazing! Packed full of useful tidbits, they often feature networking events, conferences, and job-related news.
- Nefesh B’Nefesh Events: Nefesh B’Nefesh regularly runs interview workshops and employment consulting in different cities across the country.
- AACI Newsletter: AACI often offers navigational series lectures that cover finding a job in Israel and career advice. They also have a weekly professional women’s networking forum.
- Gvahim Events: Gvahim connects international talents into the Israeli economy and society. Their programs leverage highly-skilled immigrants, mentors & recruiters from Israel’s top companies and major actors in the startup world. This enables Olim to succeed professionally in Israel and contribute to the Israeli ‘Brain Gain’.
Internships
- Tzeirim BaMerkaz (Young Adults in Jerusalem): offers an internship program for Jerusalemites who have completed at least a BA. For more info, contact Roni at roni@jcya.org.il or call 02-623-2224.
- Big list of Israel internships 2015
Today’s Balagan and Chaval Award
Today’s Balagan (mess) and Chaval (shame) Award goes to the Classics Book Store which closed its business today. Located downtown on the steepest alleyway between the municipality (ugh! Arnona) and the misrad hapnim (Ack! The face office), is a yellow gated, easy to miss, used English book store. Here’s how it looked inside. Imagine your bookshelf at home. Now imagine being really angry and shake the bookshelves until all the books fall out. Now attempt to smush them back in wherever there is room. Oh, and make sure that all the books are in front of other books and all over the floor. This is how it felt today, but worse. Nowhere to step. No friendly hi when I walked in to make up for the balagan. No respect for books, or people for that matter. I felt belittled. People went up to the attic of the store which was not lit, to look through boxes and boxes of books. I asked him where the books are going after the sale. He said recycling. Recycling! Chaval. He couldn’t give it to another bookstore?! A few of us at the sale suggested cynically that it would be easier to find the books we wanted at the recycling bin after the sale than at the sale itself. I asked what was going to be taking the place of the book store. He said, get ready for this, a book store!
Supermarkets are not for the wimpy.
Israel has finally figured out how to sell packaged meat. Until now, you needed to go to the meat counter and order what you wanted. But this technologically advanced country has finally caught up and invested in a plastic wrapping machine and an open refrigerator. As I approached the packaged chicken section, I was disappointed to see a worker who was not giving out green flavored chicken but rather green colored fliers. I tried to taste one, but it just wasn’t that good, tasted kinda papery. If only it had been a taste sampling. I love those! I asked her how much a packaged chicken was, telling her I hoped it was 20 shekels, the great deal I found a few weeks ago. To my dismay, she said no, and, they NEVER sold it for 20 shekels. Maybe for 20 shekels a kilo but never a whole chicken for 20 shekels. I told her that I had in fact only paid 20 shekels at the register less than a month ago. This didn’t budge her. She told me that I must be wrong or have made a mistake.. Do I fight back? I couldn’t believe it. Was this part of their training – whatever the customer says, they are wrong. And prove it by having the last word! Hmph. But now who has the last laugh, chicken lady! Take that! And that!
You made aliyah! you crazy?!
When you make aliyah, it seems normal. You’ve prepared yourself – if that’s possible. You’ve lined up something in Israel that you’re looking forward to. So why is it that when other people I know make aliyah, I think it’s the craziest decision. How the hell did you do it? You just left everything like that? Go back before you get stuck! I have been in Israel for 3 years, and some friends just made aliyah. It seemed like they were taking crazy pills. Is everyone searching for something new and different? After 3 years of living in Israel I am tempted to go wild and move somewhere that I’ve never lived before. To start anew. Clean slate. At what point do we force ourselves to settle down because ‘the time has come’ and when do we travel the world because, hey, you only live once.
The Big Felafel 