"Adjusting--slowly but surely" by MSIH first year blogger Samantha Krieger

   

These are the groceries I was able to pile in my arms as I forgot to bring a five-shekel coin

Moving to a new country is a huge transition, regardless if you are an Israeli citizen, a Jewish student who has toured the country several times, or a non-Jewish student first visiting the country. Yes, MSIH does their best to help you with this transition in every way it can; the faculty and staff avail themselves to you at all hours, foster mentorship and bonding activities within the medical school classes, and hand-pick amazing student liaisons (who assist you with everything from the mundane task of signing your lease to offering recommendations on the best hummus spots in Be’er Sheva). These major advantages truly ease the initial adjustment period but, no matter how much assistance the program gives you, there are always personal preferences and conundrums that you need must figure out on your own.
     For example, if you need a haircut every four to eight weeks, recommendations only go so far. You personally have to try out different barbers or stylists and evaluate who best fits your personality. Or, if you enjoy American coffee (a.k.a. brewed coffee beans), you are completely out of luck. Israel only sells/serves instant coffee and while you may have access to fresh coffee beans, buying a coffee maker is virtually impossible. You either adjust to the taste of instant coffee or bring a coffee maker from home. Finding a dog sitter, figuring out if you want to walk, bike, or bus to school, and determining what school supplies you want to use are all individual penchants that take time and energy to consider.

     The biggest adjustment, in my opinion, is grocery shopping. Without a car or a supermarket right next to your building, grocery shopping becomes quite the ordeal/adventure. Let’s review:

1. First of all, the best and/or biggest grocery stores are in the malls. Expect a frenzy of activity both inside the stores and surrounding the property.
2. If you forgot to bring a 5-shekel coin, you cannot use a shopping cart. Instead, you can only purchase the ingredients that you can fit within your hands or in reusable bags if you were smart enough to remember to bring them.
3. This might be a personal problem but once I am in said huge grocery store, I suddenly realize that I need twice as many items than the ingredients listed on my shopping list. I also try to avoid visiting these crazy stores too often so I grab everything I think I will need for the next two weeks.
4. When you are ready to pay for the two hundred items that magically appeared in your cart, you face the hardest obstacle yet, the check-out line. Whenever I go, be it Friday midday or Tuesday at 9:00, there always seems to be 100 people checking out at the same time. Everyone has the same shopping mindset (buy everything for the next month to feed my family of eight) so the lines never moves. Also, no one stands in a straight line. It’s more globular in shape but there is an extremely finite order; everyone in front of you knows exactly where they are in line. My suggestion is to just stand behind a small looking blob and wait for the people in front of you to make their way forward. Overall, it is truly an incredible experience but it can be frustrating if you're not prepared for it or if you are in a time crunch.
5. Finally, always bring reusable bags to the grocery store or a backpack because the flimsy plastic bags will 100% break before you finish packing up your groceries, walk out of the mall, wait for the bus, take the bus for 10-15 minutes, and walk to your building – trust me.

The check-out line at Super Sal (a popular supermarket). Look at how many people are waiting to check out and all their food!

     Another interesting adjustment that I think many of my classmates and I are facing is the language barrier. On the Ben Gurion University (BGU) campus and in the hospital, most of the people you will interact with speaks English. This greatly aids in your navigation of a new location. However, just outside BGU, not everyone speaks English. Getting a haircut becomes more than just trusting your stylist, it becomes a communication verbal and nonverbal theatrical performance. Finding a dog sitter or buying a bike are all minor adventures when you don't speak Hebrew and the person you are interacting with does not speak English. If you do speak Hebrew, please be kind to those learning and offer your services whenever possible!

     If you have made it this far into my blog, you may be feeling overwhelmed and I am not going to lie to you, it can be overwhelming at times. As I said at the beginning of this post, moving countries is a huge adjustment. But, if you decide to venture to the Middle East, I guarantee you will thank your lucky stars for the Israeli people. Only in Israel would the owner of the local vegetable stand tell you about how excited he if for his son to start medical school in the Fall. Only in Israeli would the woman selling you pillowcases disclose that her two daughters were born blind because their father is her first cousin. Only in Israel would a professor, who you have never met before, notice you studying outside and offer you fruit that his wife hand-picked that morning. The Israeli people foster a beautiful, open, and honest culture that is as incredible as it can be frustrating. To wrap up this blog post, I would like to address those who are interested in MSIH. If you are considering this medical school but are worried about adjusting to not just a new step in your career but also a new country, I would encourage you to embody the following adage written by Les Brown, a motivational speaker, writer, and American politician.

“Too many of us are not living our dreams because we are living our fears.”

Until next time,
Samantha