Wishing you health
I would like to open this blog wishing a speedy recovery to our dear friend in Pittsburgh. You are in our prayers everyday and wish for your health from the land of Israel. We send our regards to the family as well.

A Day at the Hospital
The last couple of weeks have been very active for all our doctors. Batya’s strept was followed by Ilans strept and most recently Liora followed. Antibiotics are very popular at home, but thank G’d we are all healthy now.
A quick visit Liora made to the eye doctor in Modiin led to a visit the morning after to the hospital due to something the doctor needed a second opinion on and potentially a laser intervention. Before I go on I would like to let you know that there was no problem at all but it was worth checking just to make sure…ahh and of course for the experience at an Israeli public hospital.
Visiting the hospital was a unique experience. First, to enter you go through airport security, I haven’t blog much about this but at every public place when you park the trunk of your car needs checked (How about my Pittsburgh English?) and every person needs to pass through a metal detector and bag check. After that comes the paper pushing and sticker sticking, many forms, many people and offices were visited until we got to the eye doctor, whishing that we get a doctor who can explain things in English we were blessed with Dr. Garza. To our surprise there is a very high amount of Mexican doctors (not necessarily Jews) who choose the Hadassah hospital in Jerusalem for their 3 year residency. So we were able to understand everything in Spanish.
It was very interesting seeing the sea of people inside the hospital. Arabs, Jews, Muslims, Druze & Christians, all colors, black hats, baseball caps, wigs, scarfs and no wigs, black kipah, knitted kipah and no kipah, Russians, Ethiopians, American, Mexican. We were all waiting for our turn and we are all representing Israel’s population.

A Weekend at Haifa
We spend a beautiful Shabbat a week ago with our Pittsburgh friends who moved more than 3 years ago to Haifa. It’s a very nice city with a breathtaking view. We were able to see all the way to Lebanon from there. It was nice seeing them and getting to know other communities in Israel. Thanks for your hospitality.
Before getting to Haifa we went to an Arab village known by its mix of Muslims, Christians and Druze Arabs. There we visited an Olive Oil factory that the company I work for distributes. It was a great experience to be welcomed into their home business since the 19th century. They have seen the Ottomans/Turkish, British and now Israel. We were offered coffee, delicious samples or their products and many products as a gift that we could not turn back, too bad I don’t like olives. I must admit that I was worried on our way there as we drove and were surrounded by Arab villages, mosques, arab shops with signs in Arabic. But then I realized that these places are proof that we can all get along and live together in peace.
I’m including some pictures from our trip to Haifa, enjoy.


A Month at Work
I received last week my first paycheck here in Israel. I worked hard for every Agura (penny) on that paycheck. Work has been challenging. Hebrew for 9 hours straight. I can manage talking and understanding but I’m having most difficulties reading and most of what I write is in English. Processes are different, people interact differently, customers and consumers are different, resources are different, a private company is different than a public one, data availability is different, and the list goes on and on. There is still a lot to learn. I work roughly from 9am till 6pm (or later) with lunch on site at 1pm. People are OK with me writing in English as well as every once in a while throw a couple of words in English at meetings. My official title is Marketing Manager, Food Division. I manage primarily 3 brands: Heinz (who’s dear to my heart given my 6 years there), Quaker (who I have been a consumer for several years) and Sipahh (a recently launched straw with milk flavoring). I have someone reporting to me (Brand Manager) and I report to the company’s Marketing Manager who reports into the CEO.

A Night at Heinz Field
I have been lucky that they have televised many of the Steelers games. However it seems like every time I stay up late they end up losing and even scoring safeties against themselves. The game against the Chargers is just starting but a 4:15pm game means 11:15pm for me, so we’ll see how far I can go. (What happened to the 1pm games?)
Something I notice is the white stuff falling on Heinz field and would like to give all my friends in Pittsburgh a quick picture to see what they are missing in the Holyland. Take into account that it’s 4pm Pittsburgh vs. 11pm in Modiin. Enjoy and visit soon.