Expectations: to have or to have not?
Over the past few months as I've told people of my impending move to Israel, the first thing said was usually "Wow, what an adventure!", swiftly followed by "Hang on, is that totally safe?" and, if they fancy themselves to be an amateur comedian, "Bought a bullet-proof vest yet?" The instant assumption that Jerusalem is a hot-bed of violence is, I think, a trifle mis-placed - it's not like I'm moving to Tripoli or even the Gaza Strip - but it did lead me to start considering my own expectations both of what life in Israel and life as an expat will be like.
Of the latter I have previous experience, though of course I was a child and then a stroppy teenager home on holiday from boarding school when we lived in hot foreign places. Expat life as an adult will, I imagine, be rather different. My memories are a bit of a patchwork: people get up earlier because of the heat (and I have to say I'm rather worried about school starting at 7.30 a.m. each morning); you stay out of the midday sun; you accept any and all hospitality that is offered; you try to learn some of the language; you take advice from those that have lived there longer than you; and, most importantly I think, you always carry with you the awareness that you are a guest in someone else's country. I also remember that an expat community is of necessity a tightly-knit one and, as I like community, I'm rather looking forward to rejoining that circle, though I'm aware that since I prefer red wine I'm going to have to train myself to drink gin and tonic.
When it comes to my expectations of life in Israel I suppose I'm trying as much as I can not to have any. I'm expecting my job to be very different to what it is now - a much smaller school, different curriculum, a different role and a bit of a break from management responsibility (though probably not for long, I suspect I'll get twitchy without some sort of management role after a while). I'm expecting daily life to of course be different - hot climate, unfamiliar language and food and culture, starting out in a new place again without the ability to retreat to the safety of the familiar. However there are issues around the bigger picture that I find I've had to confront and think about.
The safety issue is one that seems to preoccupy people, understandably because of the number of times Israel has been in global news headlines. Israel is a nation born out of a violent conflict that remains unresolved. From the conversations I have had with people who've been there, the programmes I have watched and the books I have read thus far this of course colours everyday life. Yet at the same time the impression I get is that life, as always, goes on - people go to work, go out with their friends, eat food, argue, laugh, cry. Terrorism is an ugly threat, but the same can be said of many cities in the world - Lahore, Mumbai, London, New York. As a city Jerusalem seems to be no less safe than any of those others, perhaps more safe given the presence of heavily-armed members of the Israeli Defence Force (IDF).
This then leads on to another issue that preoccupies people: Israel and the Palestinian Occupied Territories. Illegal Israeli settlers with barbed wire round their homes and security guards at their doors; members of Hamas with their faces covered, waving machine-guns and threatening murder; extreme right-wing Zionism and extreme Islamic fundamentalism. So much has been written from so many points of view and fundamentalism in any form bothers and frustrates me. I am trying to listen to as many of those points of view as I can without, for the moment, coming down on any particular side. Suspending judgement and approaching issues with humility and grace seems to be the wisest course of action for a newcomer.
So, expectations. After all that thinking, I'm not much closer to narrowing down what I am expecting of my life in Israel but I'm pretty sure it will surprise and frustrate, delight and infuriate in equal measures. I suppose, really, that I just want to get there so that I can start experiencing it rather than just imagining it. 5 weeks to go...
Of the latter I have previous experience, though of course I was a child and then a stroppy teenager home on holiday from boarding school when we lived in hot foreign places. Expat life as an adult will, I imagine, be rather different. My memories are a bit of a patchwork: people get up earlier because of the heat (and I have to say I'm rather worried about school starting at 7.30 a.m. each morning); you stay out of the midday sun; you accept any and all hospitality that is offered; you try to learn some of the language; you take advice from those that have lived there longer than you; and, most importantly I think, you always carry with you the awareness that you are a guest in someone else's country. I also remember that an expat community is of necessity a tightly-knit one and, as I like community, I'm rather looking forward to rejoining that circle, though I'm aware that since I prefer red wine I'm going to have to train myself to drink gin and tonic.
When it comes to my expectations of life in Israel I suppose I'm trying as much as I can not to have any. I'm expecting my job to be very different to what it is now - a much smaller school, different curriculum, a different role and a bit of a break from management responsibility (though probably not for long, I suspect I'll get twitchy without some sort of management role after a while). I'm expecting daily life to of course be different - hot climate, unfamiliar language and food and culture, starting out in a new place again without the ability to retreat to the safety of the familiar. However there are issues around the bigger picture that I find I've had to confront and think about.
The safety issue is one that seems to preoccupy people, understandably because of the number of times Israel has been in global news headlines. Israel is a nation born out of a violent conflict that remains unresolved. From the conversations I have had with people who've been there, the programmes I have watched and the books I have read thus far this of course colours everyday life. Yet at the same time the impression I get is that life, as always, goes on - people go to work, go out with their friends, eat food, argue, laugh, cry. Terrorism is an ugly threat, but the same can be said of many cities in the world - Lahore, Mumbai, London, New York. As a city Jerusalem seems to be no less safe than any of those others, perhaps more safe given the presence of heavily-armed members of the Israeli Defence Force (IDF).
This then leads on to another issue that preoccupies people: Israel and the Palestinian Occupied Territories. Illegal Israeli settlers with barbed wire round their homes and security guards at their doors; members of Hamas with their faces covered, waving machine-guns and threatening murder; extreme right-wing Zionism and extreme Islamic fundamentalism. So much has been written from so many points of view and fundamentalism in any form bothers and frustrates me. I am trying to listen to as many of those points of view as I can without, for the moment, coming down on any particular side. Suspending judgement and approaching issues with humility and grace seems to be the wisest course of action for a newcomer.
So, expectations. After all that thinking, I'm not much closer to narrowing down what I am expecting of my life in Israel but I'm pretty sure it will surprise and frustrate, delight and infuriate in equal measures. I suppose, really, that I just want to get there so that I can start experiencing it rather than just imagining it. 5 weeks to go...
it is a shame you have already highlighted the whole 'is it safe in israel?' thing as I suspect it may be a running joke through your leaving speeches on friday!
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