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Dateline Jerusalem — It is 3:30 a.m. in Israel, and I cannot get to sleep.
I should be over my jet lag since I have been back here for three weeks, especially because
the change in time zones was a gradual one on the way home.
After a 16-hour non-stop flight, I went from Israeli time to California time, 10 hours behind Israel.
Just as I began to get acclimated to the time change, I flew to Florida, 3 hours ahead of
California, and then back to Israel, 7 hours ahead of Florida.
The problem is, I am not in any particular time zone when it comes to sleep.
Since it would only be 5:30 p.m. in California and 8:30 p.m. in Florida, and I did
not go to sleep at those times during my trip, I do not know how I got stuck at this
weird hour to be going to bed.
The worst part of all is that I have to be up in a few hours to go to work! Writing a
column is a sideline for me. I would not even know how to begin to describe my real job
other than to say that I wish I were only a columnist.
I should not complain.
I am grateful that I am employed.
Security Is a Little Shakey
I know so many people in the U.S. and in Israel who have lost their jobs during
this economic crisis affecting the entire world. Since I work for an American company
in Israel, job security is a little tenuous during these times.
When I first arrived in Israel 1 1/2 years ago, I was hired by a large and successful
American company that outsourced work to Israel. They are no longer in Israel. Four months ago,
I was hired by another American company that also outsourced work to Israel.
But outsourcing to Israel for paralegal work being performed by licensed U.S. attorneys,
in spite of paying wages that a receptionist might earn in the States, is nothing
compared to outsourcing to India.
However, now I hear that India has competition for outsourcing with South Africa.
No wonder people in America cannot get work when the rest of the world is willing
to work for pennies on the dollar. No wonder U.S. attorneys living in Israel
are only too happy to work for what would have been considered slave wages in the States.
Everything Comes in One Size: Small
News here is that we are entering a recession.
I have my theory as to why that is happening, especially since, until now, Israel has
been enjoying financial security. The shekel is one of the strongest currencies in the world.
My theory: Israel invested too heavily in the U.S. and bought too many dollars.
Of course, I know nothing about economics.
All I do know is that no matter how expensive it is to live in Israel, it costs less
than in California. My apartment is considered nice size by Israeli standards. If you notice,
I have to qualify that statement by saying "Israeli standards.”
Here, everything is small.
Other than a normal sized refrigerator, my other appliances are about half the size of those
I had in the States. My bedroom would never hold a king sized bed. There are no closets,
no garbage disposal, no clothes dryer. I pay for rent, city taxes (landlords pay nothing here)
on the apartment, a monthly building maintenance fee, electricity, gas, water, and the heating of
water.
With all that, it is less than an apartment and utilities in the States, but perhaps it really isn't
such a great deal since salaries here are so low. My salary is also considered nice by Israeli
standards, but considering minimum wage in the U.S. is more than the average salary
here, maybe that isn't saying too much.
Whatever the case may be, although food is very expensive and the cost of gasoline is prohibitive,
clothing is reasonable, and I save thousands of dollars on insurance.
Health insurance is an absolute bargain and the public transportation is so good that I save on
gasoline and auto insurance because I do not need a car.
I also save on dry cleaning bills because people dress casually. Hardly anything requires dry
cleaning. I just wash everything in my minuscule washing machine and hang it up to dry
on a clothes rack.
I guess I have not become an Israeli yet.
I cannot speak Hebrew, and I cannot get myself to hang my clothes out the window like most Israelis.
L'hitraot. Shachar
Shachar is the Hebrew name of a California-based attorney and former Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputy who moved to Israel last year.
