Career Israel Comes To A Close
Last day at Radvision/Avaya - First day at Kitchenbug
It's been a while since I last blogged! It's been a busy couple of months of new beginnings, adventures, work and play. But first...
Career Israel ended on a kind of weird note. For the 5 months spent in Beit Leni,our apartments on the busy King George in mamash (really) the center of Tel Aviv, I would instantly get anxious at just the thought of the program ending and the uncertainty of what was to come. Letting go of what was a living dream - the structured freedom, independence and 10 minute walk to the beach, bars and shops. However, CI’s ending was a bit of anti-climax. I didn’t end Career with a tearful separation. Besides for the unexpected start of the war (Operation Protective Edge) and the 8am Code Red Sirens and rockets…. (I will write another post on my personal experience of the war in another post)… To be honest, I spent the 5 months doing a lot of things independently, knowing that at the end this program is going to finish and the constant surrounding of people, noise and activity would finish with that. I didn’t have 85 long drawn-out goodbyes except about two or three. Reason being that a lot of the people that I became close to are still in Israel or returning soon. Out of my 3 roommates, 3 of us will be in Israel reunited as Israelis in October (Sammy we’re waiting for you!)! Our closing ceremony was not a very emotional, for myself at least, there were those that cried (shame) but I guess I was just excited for what the future held.
As packing up my Career life back into the same suitcase, the same clothes and items that I arrived with I realized how much of a different person I am this time round. The enormous growth that I went through (not physically, I’m still 1.53m :/) was incredible. Fending for myself, making my own decisions, traveling the country, cooking, cleaning, medicating myself, shopping, groceries... It’s a whole new life really. I wake up every morning with having to constantly remind myself that I am living a dream that has become tangible.
It’s hard for a lot of Israeli’s, I think especially in Tel Aviv to appreciate where they are.
I am extremely blessed (Thank You Hashem) that my transition out of Beit Leni and Career Israel life and interning was smooth. With the determination to stay in Israel and do something productive and fulfilling, I applied for a job posting There was something about this one – I could feel it. From my last day of interning at Radvision, 2 days later I was an employee at a start-up based in Tel Aviv called Kitchenbug. My internship at Radvision (Avaya) taught me about a corporate world and also taught that I’m not ready for that at the moment. I received an amazing recommendation letter from Moshe and had an emotional parting from the 30 different flavours of tea that I was leaving behind but I was motivated to be working in team, exchanging ideas, plan, implement and execute and this is how Kitchenbug stole my heart. Besides for that good ol’ saying – the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach but in this case - *to my heart and *being surrounded by food ideas all day.
Although Kitchenbug is half-day job at this point, it really takes a full day. I am constantly looking for inspiration, ideas, researching, note-taking, tweeting, photographing, thinking about Kitchenbug. I feel extremely fortunate to have my seat at Kitchenbug with such a wonderful team with whom to share my ideas, listen to others, expand and experiment and of course use the app itself, daily. Check out my blog posts on the website!
