About Me

My name is Ray.  Or Rachel.  Or רחל. Pick one. I'll respond.
I am a 27 28  31year old American, British Israeli. Born to a British father,  I grew up in the USA and officially moved to Israel in October of 2007. This was after spending a year trying to figure out how to stay in the country without making it official. It didn't work out, so I "made aliyah".  I'm now a citizen of Israel: I've voted, traveled with an Israeli passport, and learned how not to take crap from anyone (they call this "hutzpah" in Israel).

My parents and my brother live in NYC which makes it a lot more enticing to visit them.  My brother is an amazingly talented photographer who takes fantastic photos.  So, if you are reading this blog, you must CHECK THEM OUT!

I guess I'm intrigued by everything that goes on in Israel.  The first year I was here, everything, absolutely everything was exciting.  I mean, even just getting on a bus and trying to make my way to the other side of town felt like some sort of epic journey.

I'm now relatively assimilated, and married to a "Sabra".  But, I'll always have an accent, if slight, and blonde hair, if bleached, and that all-American nose.  The friendliness factor that simply comes from living in America and being taught from the moment you leave your mother's womb to "be nice" will definitely never go away, although it's evolved.

Today I live in Tel Aviv and I love this city. And I think this blog is a tribute to that - to TLV and to my tumultuous romance with the country of Israel.