Bay Area
One year after immigrating to Salt Lake City on a visa, Sabrina and her family moved to the Bay Area and applied for and received their green card. Sabrina and her family lived in the area for 5 years.
Community
In the Bay Area Sabrina started to work in preschools, which helped her learn English. She also enrolled into an English as a second language school, where she was able to learn about U.S. history and politics. Sabrina said she chose to do this because she “Wanted to know [about] where I [am] living”, and further immerse herself into American life. Initially, in order to pass down her Israeli culture, Sabrina sent her kids, Lior and Nir, to the Jewish Peninsula Hebrew School. After a while, however, because they spoke Hebrew at home, Sabrina realized they didn't really need to go. Other ways Sabrina remained engaged with the Israeli community in the Bay Area was through Israeli folk dancing and spending holidays with Jewish friends.
Casa Alberta
During their time in the Bay Area, the Shemesh family lived in the Casa Alberta housing complex. Because over 70% of families in the complex were from Israel, it earned the nickname “Casa Israelita”. All of the kids in the “Casa Israelita” complex called their mothers “Eema” (mother in Hebrew), even the American kids. Sabrina loved the community “Casa Israelita” was able to provide for her and her family, and loved the Bay Area as a whole.
The Casa Alberta, or “Casa Israelita”, housing complex
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