Better Late Than Never

OK, well here is my foray into the blog world, which I seem to be the last person on Earth to join. I had intended this blog to document our decision process to move to Israel, the move itself and our initial experiences, acclimation, and other things about our new life in Israel. 2 years is a bit late to rehash all that. Sorry you all missed it. Some great stories along the way.

I should set the record straight about one thing right from the start. I was born an American, I BECAME a Canadian. My wife and I both have 1 Canadian parent, so we became Canadian citizens in 1995 so that I could pursue a career opportunity in Toronto that came my way. But in 2004 we decided to spend a year in Ramat Beit Shemesh Aleph, or RBS-A. (there's a Ramat Beit Shemesh Bet or RBS-B, but not our type of neighbourhood) and then made the decision to stay permanently.

So why did I call this blog a Canadian's musings and not an American's? Mostly for the cute title which would not work using US slang. It's called RBS-A, not RBS-Huh.

At this stage, I can't commit to writing with any reliable frequency. I'll follow Dilbert cartoonist Scott Adams' method which is to post approximately whenever I feel like it. I guess it'll happen mostly when I read something in the news that is so outrageous I have to vent, or when something happens to me that is worth sharing. I'll make up the rules as I go along.

Last point: One objective I have in sharing my experiences living in Israel is to encourage all you Jewish readers to at least consider doing the same. If you haven't been here in 10 years or more, you owe it to yourself to check it out. Some of you may recall your experience here, perhaps a year after high school, of power failures every other day, no AC, no hot water, and a general 3rd world feel, This country has come a long way. Our standard of living is not compromised the way living here might have meant in the past. But it has a long way to go. You're supposed to be here and we need you.