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Most, but not all, olim eventually reach a point where they realize that they are no longer olim chadashim. Some insignificant little event suddenly brings it home that they are no longer rookies; that they have paid their dues and are no longer the greenest apple in the barrel. For some it may happen when they find themselves giving driving instructions to passersby - olim chadashim often lack either the knowledge or confidence (or both) to do so. For some it may happen when they actually start winning political arguments with co-workers. For me, it was the day that I realized that there were more than a few words that I knew in Hebrew that I could no longer instinctively translate back into English. Olim chadashim may speak Hebrew, but they rarely think Hebrew. When that happens, something has changed.
But for most of us, not everything changes. For better or worse, who we are is still in some part a function of who we were. We still tend to compare our current lives to what it was like where we used to live. And where did we used to live? Well if you're reading this blog, you were probably a citizen of an English speaking country - an anglo saxon by Israeli standards - that at some point moved to Israel. So you are now an oleh vatik, but the prism of your experiences gives you a different view of life here than that seen by your tsabar friend and neighbors.
So basically speaking, while we are no longer olim chadashim, we don't really qualify as 100% typical Israelis either. We're something in between. I tend to think of that "something" as being from the Azores. The Azores, for those who may not know, are a group of strategically located islands somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean. The US Air Force maintains a station there to enable planes to refuel during transatlantic crossings. I don't know their exact location, but I've always assumed that since they are owned by the Portuguese that they're relatively close to the European mainland. Which of course means that they should be just about halfway between the US and Israel. Just perfect for those of us that are no longer "from America", but don't quite fit in seamlessly in Israel, either.
My apologies to other English speaking olim; the Azores as a metaphor doesn't work as well for you as it does for US and Canadian citizens. Perhaps the Brits could make do with Malta, but I'm not sure what to do for the South Africans and Australians - anybody out there know of any suitable islands in the Indian Ocean?
Anyway ... Welcome, Citizens of the Azores! Welcome, Citizens of Malta! Welcome, Citizens of yet-to-be-named islands in the Indian Ocean. Let's talk about what it means to be an oleh vatik.
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Saw your ad on Haaretz, thought I'd drop by and say hi.
ReplyDeleteDan
Hello Dan, and thank you for stopping by ...
ReplyDeleteBut in the interests of full disclosure I've got to admit that I didn't put an ad in Haaretz - what did it say?
Shalom,
ReplyDeleteI got here from The Google ads on Haaretz too.
Been a citizen since 1965 and I still got the question why Israel, you are an American until recently. Now the question is; Is Obama too much for you?
How things change eventually.
Paul from the Kriyot
"I got here from The Google ads on Haaretz too."
ReplyDeleteOops, silly me. When Dan said he'd seen my ad on Haaretz I didn't realize that he was talking about a Google ad.
Regarding your other comments:
The first couple of years after I made Aliyah I always got compliments on my Hebrew and nobody believed that I was just off the boat. 21 years later, the comments run more towards "wow with your strong accent I figured that you just got here a few years ago." You can't win.
Regarding Obama: I definitely wouldn't say that he's too much for me - it's more like he's not enough. He's a guy with virtually no track record whose main political achievement prior to getting elected was making a really great speech at the Democratic National Convention in 2004. But I see where you're coming from - the early results are not too encouraging from where we sit. I suspect that I'll be dedicating whole threaads to the man in the near future.
I think the degree of acculturation depends on how much you want to be acculturated, and how long you've been here. I've been married to a non-English [Mizrachi] sabra for 32 years, and in Israel for slightly longer than that. Apart from cyberspace, and very occasionally at work, I hardly ever use English any more. My adult children, all sabras, are Hebrew speakers with varying degrees of English fluency, which they hardly ever use, either [except the one son who lives in the US now]. I don't live in an "Anglo" neighborhood. For me, from the moment I arrived, I perceived myself as an Israeli of American origin, rather than an American in Israel [I HATE the name of the AACI for that reason]. It's a semantic difference, but I feel it is an important one. Do I still have an accent? Yes, but for some reason, most Israelis do not peg me a an ex-American but ask me if I'm British or South African. Does it bother me? Nah.
ReplyDeleteObama? He's turning out exactly as I expected. You can check MY blog if you want to understand what I mean.
Obama? He's turning out exactly as I expected. You can check MY blog if you want to understand what I mean.
ReplyDeleteI don't mind you plugging your blog on my site - In view of the fact that I just started less than two weeks ago I consider it a compliment. But next time please leave a link so I can take a look without having to search. In any case, as a public service, Antigonos' Annals can be found at http://antigonos.blogspot.com/ I'd have linked to a post expressing her opinion of Obama, but there were too many to choose from. Read and enjoy.
Hiya Oleh Vatik
ReplyDeleteGreetings from an Ola (shame I'm not of French origin, as it would be "oh-la-la") Vatika of 17 years. As it happens, it's likely that I'm the only Australian who has visited your blog..
I'm a moshavnikit and like the chumminess of my long-time neighbours including the makolet owner and the originally Yemenite,always cheerfully helpful local Post Office Manager(ess).
Anyway, I just renewed my Oz passport,a process that requires ID photos to be endorsed by a selected range of suitably titled public servants. So out of that elegant list which included doctors, judges and other eminent persons, I decided to approach said Post Office manageress.
Because the written endorsement of my photo had to be in English, how amusing and bewildering (for her) it was as I stood there trying to figure out how to be best transliterate her very Yemenite surname..should it start with an "ayin" or an "aleph" ?
I can also just imagine some Canberra( Australia's capital) civil servany's frown of disdain when trying to decide whether to reject the application as the endorsee's address did not include a street number.When I asked her about this she waved it aside insisting there isn't one-"everyone" knows where it is - even an Australian civil servant located in Canberra?
How I have come to love that casual attitude, especially as I remember being so sniffy about it when I first arrived.