I was speaking with a repairman last week who said to me that he appreciates working with Anglo Olim more than native Israelis, and he's so Israeli, I think his grandparents were borne here. He was talking about honesty and how he doesn't have the patience for all the negotiations that go on in this country over everything. I responded to him that I prefer living in a more Israeli environment because there is less of an emphasis on materialism as opposed the the American consumerism that Olim tend to bring with them wherever they go.
I especially hear this from newer Anglo Olim. Every time a group of relatively new olim get together, at some point the discussion goes to "I miss x from America," or "this thing is much harder here than it is back in America." This is one of those things that I really love about living out here, because there are so few of us Olim, we can't sit off in our own clique and commisurate with each other, we need to integrate into the general society. this has helped both our language skills as well as our general outlook on life in Israel.
i always tell people that we moved here so our kids can grow up in Israel, the truth the longer we are here, the more often I find myself saying that we moved here so our kids could be Israeli. Sure we hope some of our American sensibilities stay with the kids, we hope they are able to add to the greater good of Israeli society, but we hope that we all learn from the people who beat us here as well.
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