tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8554337268732390744.post7463968750712852413..comments2023-09-10T12:26:24.511+03:00Comments on Israeli by Day, American by Night: Israeli by Dayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03372641972664155753noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8554337268732390744.post-39715693913562098932016-04-20T08:37:28.338+03:002016-04-20T08:37:28.338+03:00Very true! If you're going to live in Israel c...Very true! If you're going to live in Israel consider keeping it short as after the 2 year mark you cease to think like a tourist and Israeli patterns become your own. While I consider this to not be a bad thing for the reasons mentioned in the article, others back home are not of the same opinion. If a Jew is going to be drafted, go as a tourist until you learn the lay of the land and the language. I think acclimation lengthens foreigner army survival rates, but that's my opinion based on events in which foreigners thought they were guarding basically a beach but it was dangerous border territory and had disastrous results. There are other exciting beautiful places in the world and they are worth considering before having a try at the Middle East. That said, parts of that society are precious. It's a tough call. Elaine Morrisonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01219401262366538127noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8554337268732390744.post-73361664750610924062011-07-25T22:02:34.878+03:002011-07-25T22:02:34.878+03:00Anonymous - I'm sorry to hear that you are so ...Anonymous - I'm sorry to hear that you are so frustrated with Israelis that you are moving back to America. If you have a job and are able to survive there, I think you should stick it out. If you became closer friends with some Israelis I know you would find them easier to handle. I didn't really learn how to interact with them until I was in the army for 2 years - after that, I knew what the attitude was all about. You just have to be tough, which is easier said than done. I personally am a pushover in most affairs because I don't want to bother anyone, but being around Israelis makes it easier to ask for what you want. Somehow in Hebrew it seems less real, so I'm much more vocal than I would be in English. I think you should really give it another shot and just say "screw them" and do your own thing. If you're already there and doing ok financially, you're doing awesome.<br /><br />I just know that I wish I was back in Israel, but here I am in America - everyone's certainly friendly, but I don't feel close to anyone the way I did with Israelis. The rawness of them makes it easy to also have raw positive conversations and emotions. You have to take the good with the bad!Israeli by Dayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03372641972664155753noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8554337268732390744.post-53440370937405698532011-07-25T13:24:22.418+03:002011-07-25T13:24:22.418+03:00Sorry I have lived witht he Israelis for 2 years a...Sorry I have lived witht he Israelis for 2 years and find them to be rude and will not give up real manners to fit in. If Americans are fake it is easy to see but this rudness is just too much. I am moving back to the USA and it is sad because I cam here with great desire to be part of this nation. I try to warn others who may not find this attitude so delightful.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8554337268732390744.post-60248980226872067942011-02-18T01:02:10.341+02:002011-02-18T01:02:10.341+02:00L.H. - Glad you enjoyed it. Fitting in with Israe...L.H. - Glad you enjoyed it. Fitting in with Israelis while not losing your sense of self is difficult, but not impossible. I think I learned to walk that fine line in the army, but yeah, I understand the frustration!Israeli by Dayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03372641972664155753noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8554337268732390744.post-10703540300607702142011-02-17T17:12:28.437+02:002011-02-17T17:12:28.437+02:00what a thoughtful and insightful essay! i am also ...what a thoughtful and insightful essay! i am also from virginia, am (half) jewish, and thought i wanted to live in israel. i had met isrealis abroad and found them captivating. i appreciated their external outspokenness and chutzpah, and their inner warmth, generosity, and hospitality. but once i got to isreal, after a couple of months it all proved to be too much for me. i didn't want to become tough and rude, but if i wasn't, i felt people walked all over me.<br />yes, it's hard to change the manners you were raised with. that is why i am very conscious to teach my daughter to be polite to me and to everyone. but i also hope that i can encorporate the positive traits i found in isrealis - honesty and hospitality being top on the list. it's important to be polite, but i agree with you that when it crosses the line into falseness as it often does in america, that is less then ideal. <br />thank you for this blog, it really spoke to me!L.H.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8554337268732390744.post-23215690022444672202009-07-30T10:20:48.240+03:002009-07-30T10:20:48.240+03:00This is great! I am from Virginia and am dating a...This is great! I am from Virginia and am dating an Israeli. Him and his family are the most caring people I have ever met. When I first met his family they treated me as if they'd known me forever! Loved reading this!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com