My Introduction

[ecc1290]

Hello, my name is Eli, and I am new to this board.

I'm an 18-year-old dual citizen of Israel and America about to graduate high school. I am an Israeli because my father is an Israeli but I have lived in the US since well before my 11th birthday, qualifying me for the short IDF path for Israeli citizens residing overseas. I am seriously considering joining the IDF but I have some questions and concerns that I was hoping the members of this site could address. I'd also like to say that this is an extremely well done and informative website and message board, and that everyone who created and now maintains them deserves a lot of praise. I would not have been able to get so much useful information so quickly if it were not Mahal2000. Great job.

Shalom,
Eli

[Dan from Boston]

Welcome to the forum!

[ecc1290]

I posted this in another part of the forum and I suppose I'll post it here too:

For anyone who's interested in joining the IDF, I'm keeping a blog about my experiences in Israel and the IDF that you might be interested in. I always try to be honest before I try to be pleasing, so in that sense I hope it will give anyone who's thinking about it a realistic look even if it's not a romantic look.

A little about myself: I'm 18, I've made Aliyah, and I'm doing a five-month kibbutz ulpan program now. Eventually I'm going to be in the army, kravi not jobnik, and I'm going to write about that too. If you're interested in living in Israel, life in the IDF, what it's going to be like for you learning Hebrew if you don't speak it already, and other short-term and long-term experiences you're going to have, I feel like my blog will have something to offer. Think of it as a cross between Israeli By Day, American By Night and The Unlikely Short-Timer.

If you have even a passing interest, please check it out. Feedback, criticisms, and questions, are more than welcome.

I hope that you all enjoy it and find it useful:
http://returningstranger.blogspot.com/