August 6th 1983, just 38 years after the bombing of Hiroshima I made my grand entrance into the world! The youngest of three, I enjoyed a typical 80’s Jewish South African childhood. I had a lovely protected childhood without any worries about reality?
in 1992 my world crashed! We were told that we would be making Aliyah!!
So, on Erev Pesach 1992 we arrived in Israel at my grandmother’s house in Afula Ilit.
I cried for about two weeks straight.According to my mother I refused to say a word in Hebrew for three months till I could speak fluently and I have never stopped talking since.
It was quite a culture shock coming from a private Jewish school where there was about one black child to a public school in Afula Ilit where we were only three white kids in the class.
Questions like “did you live in a jungle?” or “do you know Michael Jackson?” were a regular routine.
We lived in Afula for two years and I went to a religious school at that time.
We then moved to Pardesiya, closer to Netanya where my father worked.At this stage I gave my mother an ultimatum: “Either you send me to a secular school or I am not going to school anymore!”
My mother knowing that I was always a strong willed person, and, also having shared the experience of being In a religious school against your will, sent me to a secular school.
From leaving South Africa till now I was lost and in the wrong surroundings and this is where it all changed. I had great friends, whom I am still friends with till this day (borderline family) and at this stage I could also understand that my parent’s decision to make Aliyah, was the best thing they could have done for me.
From here it was all pretty much “by the book” finish middle school and high school and off to the army. I guess that the structures of school and the army are what kept me going by any book? whoever knows me, knows that I am anything but “by the book”.
I worked in a nursery school, and then moved on to working in a glasses shop (optician) where I started to find my path.

In 2005 my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer and being the only child living at home I took it upon myself to go with her to doctors and treatments. It made my relationship with her flourish and become stronger than ever. She survived to hear the words cancer free but she was never really a healthy person, so we had many other doctor appointments to go to for the next few years.
While my mother lived through pain and different problems I started doing my bachelor’s degree in optometry. In 2010 I bought myself a? sticker? bike and started riding around Pardesiya. Once to twice a week about 4-8 kilometers was my routine. It gave me a release from studying and all the doctors’ appointments at that time.
In 2012, once again, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. This time it had spread. Though the doctors made us feel optimistic the cancer had other plans and within about three months from the diagnosis, my mother passed away.

In Tel Mond where I now lived on my own I couldn?t find a routine. At that point, Yvette who was my customer then, insisted I join Cyclenix for a ride.
At a time when I was most in need, I found a family!
Then and now I am constantly asked why I don?t ride with people my age.
While I always give answers that one’s brain can comprehend, it is mainly because Cyclenix for me is my “cheers”.

Cheers theme song lyrics:

“Making your way in the world today takes everything you’ve got.
Taking a break from all your worries sure would help a lot.
Wouldn’t you like to get away?
Sometimes you want to go
where everybody knows your name,
and they’re always glad you came.
You wanna be where you can see;
our troubles are all the same
you wanna be
where everybody knows your name.
You wanna go where people know,
people are all the same,
and you wanna go where everybody knows your name.”