Saturday, June 20, 2009

All I could do was laugh

So a few weeks ago Nefesh B'Nefesh told me that I had a seat reserved for the July 6th chartered Aliyah flight; all I had to do was meet with a shaliach and get my Aliyah visa. Naturally I immediately called the Jewish agency to set up my appointment. This is how our conversation went.

Me - "Hello, my name is Rachel, I just got confirmed for the July 6th chartered Aliyah flight, and I was instructed to make an appointment with a shaliach so I can get my visa"
C - "Well was just had a this months meetings in Houston, why didn't you come?"
Me - "I was studying abroad this year, and I just got home. But I can come to Chicago if you think that would help me get my visa on time. (apparently Houston is now being served by the Chicago office, so periodically a shaliach will fly down here and make appointments)
C - "No, no won't be necessary, I'll try and set up a second meeting in Houston this month. I'll get back to you when I have a date."

3 days later... This is the one that really gets me. Keep in mind that I am not talking to someone from NBN here, this is someone who works in the Aliyah office at the Jewish Agency.'

C - "Ok, I was able to set up a meeting for the 17th."
Me - "The 17th? Are you sure that will give me enough time to receive Jewish Agency approval and get my visa? My flight is on July 6th. I can still come to Chicago"
C - "You'll have plenty of time don't worry about it."
Me - "Thanks so much for your help."

A week and a half later, and a week before the 17th - someone new picked up the phone...

Me - "Hello I'm supposed to meet with a shaliach in Houston on the 17th, I just wanted to know what time I should plan on being there?"
T - "Hmm it looks like we have you down for 1pm."
Me - "Great. Thanks. I just have one more thing to ask you. I have a seat on the July 6th flight. Is there anything I have to do to expedite my visa processing, like bring a global express envelope to my appointment, or something?
T - "JULY 6th! Don't you think you're cutting it kind of close? I don't even know if it will be possible to get you your visa by then. It takes about a week to get approved by the Jewish Agency, and then several more to get your visa application processed. You really should have to this a couple weeks ago. We will do what we can to get it done on time."
Me - "Thank you so much for all of your help."

I hang up, utterly distraught. "What do I do? I already have my non refundable one-way tickets to New York." I called NBN and told them the story. They said they would keep the seat for me and that I could just bring the visa with me if I got it on time, and that if I didn't they would put me on a flight later in the month.

When I met the shaliach, He gave me the same story that T did.

So as it stands now, I'm still hoping to leave on July 6th but there's a good possibility that I'll be stuck in New York, dragging all my possessions to a different friend's house every 2 or 3 days for 2 or 3 weeks.

And then there's the whole matter of where I will go when I get to Israel. I wanted to do Kibbutz Ulpan, but for some reason, if you are applying as an Oleh you need to do that through the Jewish Agency as well. And of course the shaliach informed me that the Jewish Agency won't let you apply until they approve you. So now when I do finally get to Israel I might have to find a short term rental for a couple months while I wait for a kibbutz that has some openings.

When I got home from that interview I just sat there for a while feeling simultaneously sorry for myself, and pissed off because of the disorganization and conflicting information I had received.

And then I had a sudden realization. This was my first introduction into the infamous Israeli bureaucracy. This is just how they roll, and I better get used to it. In my opinion there are only two good ways to deal with a society that operates in this maddening way. Either chill out, and get used to everything taking a month or two longer than it should, or be super efficient on your part, and handle your business as soon as it arises (early in the morning, and never on Fridays)

I have to let go of that quintessentially American assumption - That everything, from the DMV to the Passport Authority, must run like a well-oiled machine, and that you can always have the option to pay extra and get expedited processing.

In the end, I really have no idea when I'm actually going to leave, where I'm going to stay in New York if I'm stuck there for a few weeks, or even where exactly I'll go when I get to Israel. Yet I'm strangely optimistic. I just have this inexplicable feeling that I'll be settled in before August rolls around and that everything will be fine.

1 comment:

  1. Hang in there.
    It is worth the effort.

    BTW - I added your blog to:
    http://www.jr.co.il/hotsites/j-blogs.htm

    Have a great aliyah!
    Jacob

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