2 weeks in the US

[avital 34]

so its been 2 weeks since i arrived and wanted to share my experiences.

my first impression was that the US looks exactly like it is portrayed in the movies and TV shows! i was surprised by how similiar it is.

i met my fiances family (my fiance had his birthday party just a few days after my arrival so i got to meet many of his cousins and other family members), they are all very nice and made me feel very very welcomed

my biggest difficulty here is food.

fast food/frozen food/food that comes from boxes/powders was something I very rarely ate back in Israel but here it seems to be the major part of peoples diet.

my diet is very different from my fiances diet and it forces me to buy my own food (mostly vegetables) or go to places that serve more or less normal food, which obviously costs more.

the only people I met so far were my fiances family and people who work in grocery stores/food places so I'm not very familiar with the culture yet, but so far people seem very nice.

the weather here is alright. we are in California, so its chilly in the mornings and evenings and hot in the afternoon. I believe I already managed to get a tan

homesickness is not so bad, I talk to my family and send them pictures on a daily basis. the family I have in the US have contacted me when I moved and we are keeping in touch as well.

immigration process wise - we will be getting my SSN sometime this week.

we are planning to get married next month.

so anyways, so far so good. despite the differences between cultures, languages (or in my case, accent ) I don't feel like an outsider.

theres a lot more to come but I'm glad everything started well.

[TBoneTX 43,048]

Welcome to the U.S., and thanks for the nice update.

[mollenne 11]

I'm so happy to hear from you, as I follow the portal closely and saw that your DOE was coming up! Glad you made it through okay and you seem to be thriving

I totally feel you about the food in the US... I miss Israeli food VERY much and cannot wait to visit Israel again, of course to see my fiance, but for the fresh food!

[avital 34]

I made schnitzels for me and my fiancé the other day was really really good!

good thing is there are many jewish communities in the US so hopefully ill be able to find one near my city and have some Israeli food.

btw, if you got any questions feel free to ask

[Tuzi and Niu 5]

Depending on where you are in California, there may be a farmer's market near you that offers fresh seasonal food grown locally. You can also look up "slow food" in your area to find people that are into eating food that doesn't come with microwave reheating instructions.

[caly 48]

Glad to hear that you are settling in well!

When my sister was studying in LA, she would get a pretty large Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) box of fresh veggies every other week (or maybe it was once a month). Thing is, you never know what you'll find in your box but if you are adventurous about food, you could look into something like that in your area. I don't believe it was too expensive.

[Ash.1101 1,755]

One thing that's pretty funny about America is that it's almost become "trendy" to eat clean (cooking with no or minimal processed food items (NO FROZEN FOOD!), which really is the way a lot of countries cook normally!

But due to frozen food being cheaper, and then time constraints, most people eat pre-done or processed foods. Organic veggies and fresh meats do cost most, that adds to another reason as to why we eat the way we do. I recommend buying slow perishable foods in bulk and try to eat as clean as possible. It may not be the best variety of foods, but at least it's more healthy.

People joke a lot about how poor people weigh so much because clearly they shouldn't! They can't afford food! *sarcasm* But its because the food they can afford is awful and unhealthy.

Cali is a good place to be for you! Glad it's working out!

Edited September 19, 2015 by Ash.1101

[avital 34]

today i was driving with my fiances sister and mom and i noticed a store that sells russian and middle eastern food! i got so excited! i talked to the store owner and he gave me a phone number of a guy that runs a russian community in the area. (i am part russian). and i bought some hummus but didnt try it yet, hopefully its good.

a funny thing i learned is that americans put lettuce in a plate and call it a green salad

ill definitely look up the things you told me about

Edited September 21, 2015 by avital