Saturday, November 3, 2012

Ask Chaviva Anything!: Of Kippot and Aliyah


The first question I received was a cute and simple one, which I appreciate!
Are you the girl who made the Google Chrome Kippah? I just saw you on Facebook when I was checking someone else's friends, and I just saw you and I though about the video.
Why yes, that was me. In case some of you missed it, way back when I designed and created a Google Chrome kippah for a video contest. It was pretty awesome. 

The next question is also a fairly easy answer, I think. I'm guessing that my response might change the longer I'm here, however.
What is the weirdest thing you have experienced going from having visited Israel in the past, to now living there after living in the USA?
The weirdest thing is probably how completely normal and not strange or weird or out of place it feels to be here. I kind of feel like I just left my overly large apartment in Denver for an overly small one in Nachlaot (that I love, by the way). This is probably aided by the fact that my closest Denver friend -- who lived in the building across the parking lot from me now lives across Betzalel (a major street nearby) from me. So ... it's sort of like life didn't change. Save for the Hebrew, the cats, and the amount of kippot that I see. 

Here's a good question from David.
Is there anything about the aliya process with NBN that you would change or do differently if you could?
I'm probably the wrong person to ask, considering my process went as smoothly as the soles of a newborn's feet. From some of what I've seen, I think the one thing I would recommend/change is that everyone who wants to make aliyah comes on a group or charter flight -- I've heard some horror stories about things lost in translation or process from those who make aliyah on their own. The group and charter flights sort of guarantee that you get everything you need in the time that you need it; on your own you can miss out on a lot of the finer details and feel like the system is cheating you. 

Have a question? Be gentle, and ask away.