4 Basic Steps In Making Aliya
A Positive Experience
1. Attitude:
It is vital to have the proper attitude before and during the aliya
process. You must always keep in mind that in the beginning it may be
hard, there is no denying that. But afterwards you will wonder why
you ever doubted that you would enjoy your life in Israel. A positive
attitude will enable you to enjoy the positive things about Israel,
while getting through and learning from the negative ones.
Before you make aliya, it may help to make yourself a list of
hardships that you expect to experience. This will enable you to face
your obstacles realistically, and overcome them. Making Aliya may
seem like the end of the world to you. Believe me, you are not
alone. Virtually every teenager that goes thorough this major change
experiences the same difficulties you do, which is understandable.
After all, you are being asked to uproot yourself from your present
lifestyle and readjust to a totally new one! But as long as you keep
in mind that although it will be challenging and it will take tim to
adjust, soon you'll love your new life here and you'll never want to
go back- you'll get through it.
And take it from someone who went through the whole process: YES it
was hard adjusting, making new friends, learning the language etc.
But now I would not go back for anything. There is a quality of
life to Israel that you cannot understand until you experience it.
2. Language
Knowing Hebrew will help you adjust. It will help you
immensely to learn basic Hebrew before you make aliya,
either by attending the local ulpan or learning with a private tutor.
Once you arrive in Israel- don't be afraid to speak- that was the
mistake that I made, and it took me a lot longer to get a proper grasp
of the language.
Don't expect to be a fluent Hebrew speaker automatically-give
yourself time to learn, and don't get discouraged if it seems that you
are taking longer than most people. Everyone learns new languages at
her/his own pace, and it is no reflection of your intellegence if
you're having a harder time getting it.
3. School
Once you start attending school, don't be overwhelmed by the mountains
of homework. If you feel that you cannot handle it, you may want to
consider going to a tutor to help you out until you feel capable of
working on it yourself.
4. Friends
Don't worry about friends- that will come by itself. But don't forget
that although you can keep in touch with your friends from America,
you shouldn't cut yourself off from meeting new people and making new
friends. These four basic steps helped me turn aliya into a positive
experience and I hope they will help you too. I wish you much
success! -P.E.
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