Chayyei Sarah talks about how speaking English helped her with her klitah after she made aliyah.

Personally, my hebrew is good enough to get me around, order shawarma, and speak with most Israelis (except for the ones that talk really really fast). We are in the middle of the process of renting an apartment from overseas and if I didn’t know how to speak Hebrew well (thanks to Solomon Schechter Day School, Akiba Hebrew Academy and my years in Israel post-High School) I don’t know how I would have been able to do this (if it doesn’t fall through, that is).

I was advised by someone to take ulpan for at least a few weeks after making aliyah, before starting to work. I don’t know if I will do this though – I will be working for my current company in the US after making aliyah, and they will want me to start as soon as I can (more on that in another post). Hopefully I will be able to make do with what I know, try to learn more (especially lots of the technical terms and cultural expressions that they don’t teach you in elementary school) and not be too self-conscious about the mistakes that I will be making.