Real job, real life

So what people call "the honeymoon of aliyah" must have definitely come to an end for me.
For the first time since my aliyah, it really feels like real life here. And I definitely attribute that to the start of my first real job in Israel.
And I feel very lucky. Even though it's a new stage of exhaustion, compared to many other olim I found a very good job within a relatively short period of time. I'm working 15 minutes from my house, with great people, in an atmosphere that allows me to both learn Hebrew and perform in English. So despite all the challenges, I am trying to focus on my gratefulness.
But challenging it certainly is. For example, staff meetings. While everyone in my office is extremely accomodating to my language barrier, it simply makes sense - and is most effective business-wise - to conduct staff meetings in everyone's mother tongue, Hebrew. For me I also wanted to participate in Hebrew meetings to help me learn. And I've been able to be a part of the conversation, here and there. But it's becoming apparent to me that it's a serious handicap. Missing one word can make all the difference in misunderstanding someone's intent. So I have to be careful. But little by little, I'm grasping the whole picture of my new company, and slowly starting to make the contribution that I aspire to make.
When I'm not coming home at 8pm and crashing nearly immediately, I've been enjoying this beautiful rare Tel Aviv winter. It's the warmest winter in 16 years they're saying. Every Shabbat for the past 3 Shabbatot have been beach days. I mean, literally beach days. Children playing naked on the sand, jet skis and sailboats trailing the horizon, tourists packing the boardwalk eating ice cream and crowding around street performers. I just returned from the beach now and feel really relaxed. The sun has a wonderful effect that I was painfully lacking all those winters in Boston and Montreal. I have said it many times and I'll continue to say it: If for nothing else, the weather is worth aliyah. You simply don't get better weather than Tel Aviv!
I hope it holds up to the coming week, when my dad and stepmom arrive. If for nobody else, I want them to enjoy this wonderful relief from the Boston temperatures. But I know even at its potential worst Tel Aviv will still be a welcome respite.
In other news, it seems to be engagement season... my sister Rachel just got engaged, as well as 2 close girl friends of mine. It's so exciting!!! There's no happier feeling. Just waiting for her to set a date and then I'll be counting down to my next America trip... this time with the Israeli boyfriend! :-) (who's never been to the USA before, so it will be especially exciting)

So now I'm a real Israeli with a real job and a real routine and a real salary... with commitment comes legitimacy as they say. Even though I am definitely going through a learning curve, every day that I'm on the job I think to myself: this is helping me cement more and more my successful future in Israel. And that's the best motivation there is.