Ask Me a Question Meme

[davidfcooper]

Some of my LJ friends are doing this, so I may as well too.

The problem with LJ: We all think we are so close, but really we know nothing about one another. So I want you to ask me something you think you should know about me. Something that should be obvious, but you have no idea about. Ask away.

Then post this in your LJ and find out what people don't know about you.

Comments

[jonchiz67.livejournal.com]

I'll ask a question.

Why did you move to Israel? And then why did you move back to the US? What did you like most about Israel? And what did you like the least?

Okay, that's four questions. Sorry.

[davidfcooper.livejournal.com]

I moved to Israel because I caught an intense case of the Zionism bug and felt pretty pessimistic about the future of the American-Jewish community.

We moved back to the USA mainly for financial reasons: Israel had triple digit inflation in 1985--our mortgage was linked to the dollar and the dollar value Shoshana's Israeli shekel salary fell by half over six months. We had friends nearly our parents' ages who still relied on handouts from their parents. We didn't want to live like that. Several of our friends had already left. We also were not communicating well and were each convinced that the other wanted to leave.

I liked not having to ask for time off or give a heads up to a boss to observe Jewish holidays. I liked the aromas of the spice vendors in the outdoor markets and the flavor of the locally grown vegetables. I liked how easy it is to start a conversation with complete strangers (my Hebrew was pretty good then). When I was single (when Shoshana and I met there I had already been in the country for almost two years) I liked how easy it was to meet and bed ex-pat women.

I least liked the high state of tension that permeates daily life there and the provincialism of the Israelis.

[jonchiz67.livejournal.com]

That was very interesting. Thanks for sharing. I was not aware of the economic problems of Israel in the mid-80s. (I was too young to be interested in such things at that time.)

That's cool about the smells of the spices. I can understand the appeal. :)

[davidfcooper.livejournal.com]

Interestingly I can experience the smell of spices here in Brooklyn at Arab grocers on Atlantic Avenue and Sephardi grocers on Kings Highway.

[jonchiz67.livejournal.com]

Cool!

BTW, Shabbat Shalom!