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June 29, 2007
It's a home away from home
Three months after relocating from Israel, Alon Mizrahi settles
in.
FREEMAN PORITZ
When Alon Mizrahi arrived in Vancouver from Maoz Aviv, near Tel-Aviv,
on March 13, he was ready for the move.
"I prepared myself for the move mentally," he said, in
a recent interview. "I knew that, after the army, I would move
to Vancouver. It was hard for me to leave my friends and family
at the beginning, but I got used to the idea."
Mizrahi's parents had moved to Vancouver several years before, when
Alon started his military service in the Israeli navy. "My
parents are here, but the rest of my family, my grandmother and
grandfather, are living in Netanya [Israel]," he added, reflecting
on one of the difficulties he had to face.
Now done with his Israel Defence Forces service, and only a little
more than three months into his transatlantic relocation from Israel
to Vancouver, Mizrahi is looking forward to celebrating his first
Canada Day this July 1 in his new Vancouver home. While admittedly
not knowing too much about the history of Canada, Mizrahi observed
that, "Vancouver is a very plural[istic] place. We have a lot
of types of people, so there is a lot of tolerance about anything.
I really like it. I'm going to get my citizenship. That's what I
want to do. And it's important for me to be Canadian."
After working for several months at Superstore on Marine Drive,
Mizrahi, 22, has started to study game design at Vancouver Film
School. In the one-year course, he'll learn every aspect of game
design, from programming to game audio. Describing his relationship
with video games, Mizrahi said, "I'm not too hardcore, but
I like playing video games if there is nothing better to do, and
I see myself working in the video game industry after school."
At a young age, he designed a fighter program with a couple of friends.
He included it as part of the necessary portfolio needed to gain
acceptance into VFS.
In addition to gaming, Mizrahi enjoys going out with friends, watching
movies and playing the guitar. "I write music. I record it.
I play the guitar and I played in a punk rock band in Israel,"
he said. When asked about the differences between Israeli and Canadian
women, he indicated that he preferred the latter. "I think
Israeli girls become a little bit much because of the army. It's
scary," he said.
The transition from Israel to Vancouver hasn't been easy. Adapting
to a new culture, a new way of life and trying to build a social
circle have proven formative challenges, but "the Vancouver
Jewish community has been very supportive," said Mizrahi.
Optimistic about his future in Canada, Mizrahi acknowledged that,
as he prepares for his first Canada Day in Vancouver, he is still
in the process of building his Canadian identity. "I still
don't really get what being Canadian is all about; it seems more
like North American," he admitted. "I notice that there
is a difference between Americans and Canadians, but I still can't
tell you exactly what it is."
That said, he sees himself in Vancouver for many years to come.
Freeman Poritz is a Vancouver freelance writer. He lived
in Israel from 2004-2007.
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