Last week, an El Al plane descended into Ben Gurion airport, bringing with it the newest wave of soon-to-be Israelis.  Anyone who has been to a charter flight arrival ceremony knows what an emotional experience it is. The Olim get off of the bus, walking through the cheering crowd of IDF soldiers, Bnei Akiva groups, family, friends, and fans. The music, the dancing, the hugs, the tears and the enthusiasm all culminate in a welcoming euphoria.

However, there’s a lesser known Part Two to the experience. It takes place a week later, when the Olim come to the Nefesh B’Nefesh office to receive their Teudat Zehut, their Israeli identification card. The event is meticulously planned. The blue and white balloons are carefully set up, the tables and chairs placed in the most efficient positions. The Olim come in, family by family, with new friends and old, to receive that blue case – the piece of plastic that declares: I am Israeli.

The new Israeli citizens make their way around the room. They stop at the employment desk, they open a customs file, they sit with the post Aliyah team and discuss health insurance options and elementary schools. To me, this is the real welcoming ceremony. The image of a crying mother kissing the ground always moves me to tears, but the image of that same mother, much calmer now, discussing her Ulpan options is a different kind of inspiring.

Making Aliyah is an adventure. It’s the Jewish homeland, Yom Ha’atzmaut, v’shavu banim, and that first falafel. But it’s also grocery shopping in a foreign language, and making a doctor’s appointment, and applying to university. It’s attempting to help your kids with homework, while realizing you have no idea how to say “multiplying fractions” in Hebrew.

I’ve explained the health insurance process about a hundred times, recited the answer to “What is Bituach Leumi” so often that I could repeat it in my sleep. These conversations never bore me. They are invigorating reminders that real life exists here, that we are so lucky to be annoyed by the banking system, that being frustrated by Israeli bureaucracy was once a faraway dream.

Life in Israel is a worthwhile challenge, and one that requires strength, patience, and idealism. Enjoy every minute of it.