Just Another Manic...Sunday?

As much as we enjoyed having a week off together as a family, it came time to go to work. It is work, after all, that brought us here.

The workweek in Israel starts on Sunday. Thus, Sunday morning rolled around and I prepared for my first 77km commute to the office. Given the long distance and extremely high price of gas in Israel, I'm opting to commute the way most of the other employees do--via the shuttle bus. In Israel, I've learned, companies are required to either provide transportation to their employees, or to reimburse them for the cost of public transport. Given my company's size and fairly remote location in Kirat Gat, it makes financial sense for them to provide dedicated buses from various cities in the area. Mine is a special case, though--as we've been given a leased car for the duration of our stay. Thus, I am requried to pay for the shuttle. The cost is 28 skekels ($7.60) per day, plus parking which is currently 16 shekels ($4.40), but will purportedly be cut in half once I attain a residence permit.

My bus leaves at 6:55 from the Savidor train station in Tel-Aviv. To allow myself plenty of time the first morning, I left our apartment at 6:20. We'd scoped out the train station in advance, so I had no trouble finding it and was there 10 minutes later. However, while trying to find the entrance to the parking lot, I somehow ended up in a lane that required me to enter the freeway. Several wrong turns later, I realized that I just may miss the bus! I pulled into the parking lot with a few minutes to spare, then was preparing to rush to find my bus amidst the morning mayhem. Fortunately, though, I recognized an Israeli co-worker that I'd met in the States standing in line in front of the first bus I saw--whew!

The bus arrived in Kiryat Gat around 7:45, but it seemed to be "rush hour" in this small town, so we arrived on-site at 7:55--just in time. With so many buses arriving all at the same time, there was lots of commotion during my walk into the office--definitely a different feel than back home in Portland...kind of reminded me of our plant in China, where most employees also arrive via bus. Just another manic Sunday, I thought.

I was greeted by a new Israeli co-worker, who wasted no time showing me around and helping me to get settled in. So far, I've found my new teammates to be very welcoming and friendly! One thing I like about the work-culture here is that our team tries to eat lunch together each day. In Portland, everyone seemed to go about their own business and I tended to follow suit--either attending lunch meetings, trying to cram in more work, or, if not too busy, working out. Here, we round each other up and head down to the cafeteria together--a nice way for a new guy like me to get connected.

Many companies here in Israel subsidize meals for their employees. I'm told that my co-workers pay solely for the tax on food, which apparently makes it quite affordable. Somehow this system works even more in my favor, as my food is free! So far, I have not shared this fact with my co-workers--but if they do find out, I'll be quick to point out that I pay for the shuttle bus :)

Each day at lunch, staples such as hummus with pita bread and Israeli salad are always available. There can also be found a daily "special", several Kosher choices, and sandwiches are always an option. Fruit and vegetables are also in abundance--which seems to be standard here.

I'm still getting used to the Israeli work culture. So far, my job seems much more "social"--but maybe that was a first-week effect. There seems to be a lot more discussion and collaboration than in the US--and everyone has an opinion. So far it has been healthy, but I'm thinking that when stress levels are high it might feel a bit overbearing. Time will tell.

"Religion" doesn't seem to be a taboo topic here--it's just part of daily life. I've learned that employees who strictly observe Shabbat can opt out of on-call duties during the sabbath, but take a slight pay cut and would get in trouble if caught engaging in taboo activies on the day of rest. Most of my co-workers seem to be secular Jews, so working on the weekend isn't an issue. Perhaps it is isolated to a few individuals, but I've already picked up on some tension between some of my secular co-workers and Orthodox Jews, who can avoid military service and paying taxes by making the study of the Torah their full time gig. Admittedly, I am not an expert on this subject, and I'm interested in learning more...keep in mind that this blog is our Americanized perspective on life in Israel, not an encyclopedia or gold standard.

The communte home starts at 5pm. Everyone needs to be at the buses by 4:55, which makes for a nice (requried) quitting time. Of course, we all end up logging in again from home in the evenings via our laptops, but at least the on-site work day has a definitive end. Depending on traffic, I seem to be back at the train station and heading to my car around 6:05pm, then home by 6:20 at the earliest. It sounds long, but really hasn't been bad considering I can use the bus time to read, etc. Ask me in a year...perhaps my perspective will have changed :)

Finally, Thursday rolled around and, thinking I was being witty, I tried to explain "TGIT" to my co-workers. It didn't seem to go over too well--apparently our "TGIF" isn't too widely-known here. All in all, however, my first week at work was a success, and I can honestly say that I'm looking forward to getting the job done. Ask me about that in a year, as well...

Wow, that was a long one...and no pictures...the worst kind of blog! Due to IP concerns, I'm not allowed to bring a camera to work...so don't have any pictures from the week. So instead, I'll share a couple of our little Sammy, and some Old Port pics from this evening.

Nicki pointed out this pose to me yesterday when Sam was sleeping...we just couldn't resist snapping a picture.

Here is Sam in what his mom refers to as a "big boy" outfit (thanks Carley), since it is more than once piece...

And, finally, I added some pictures of Tel-Aviv's Old Port here, if you're interested. Sorry Cathy, we'll work on pictures of Nicki in the near future... Shalom!