the beginning...

I got into Tel Aviv at about 2:30 PM. I got into the foreigners line and got my passport stamped--Woohoo! As soon as I got to baggage claim, there was a man standing there with a sign that had my name on it. He advised me to get my bags and then he'd have my driver meet me. Customs are way different here than in the United States-- I grabbed my bags off of the conveyer belt and was able to walk right through. My driver pulled the car up and we were on our way. He was super nice and let me use his phone so that I could call Lian. She gave us better directions and we were able to eaily find her house. Her house is amazing-- it's right behind one of the main roads in Tel Aviv. It's on the top floor--so yes, Lian and I had to drag all of my luggage up 7 flights of stairs. It was good to see her and we were able to catch up, and I met a few of her friends who had come over to her house. Afterwards, we headed out to get something to eat and to explore. Lian took me to a Sabich (pita with eggplant, hummus, tahini, egg, and israeli salad) stand--new favorite food. Then, we walked around Tel Aviv and picked up some ice cream. It's so funny how speaking english makes everyone stare at you. People would come up to us and start trying to make conversation or say something stupid to us--trying to be funny. Lian's english is basically perfect, so she would play it off that she was American-- but then she'd respond in hebrew--it was entertaining. We went to sleep pretty early since I had to catch a 7:20 AM cab to Ness Ziona.

My cab driver arrived in the AM and called Lian to let her know he was there. Lian made sure he spoke english, and I hopped into the cab. We got to 9 Meir Herman Street after about 25 minutes of driving. When I got out of the cab, I saw an American girl, Emily, and kinda of assumed she was in my group. We took the elevator up together and we got into out apartment. Turned out she was my roommate, so we both started getting settled into our room. There were a couple of other girls here already and we were still waiting for some to arrive. There are 3 rooms and 7 people, so 3 people need to share a room. Turns out there was a mix up, and Emily (my roommate) wasn't actually supposed to be in my room-- but a different Emily. It was not a big deal, and the other Emily is staying in room with three people. So, to sum up: I am in a double room with Emily, Jaclyn, Hannah, and other Emily are in the triple, and Elana and Hailey are in the other double. My roommate is from Sacramento and was a marine biology major!! Other Emily is from San Diego, Jaclyn is from California also, Hannah and Hailey are from Canada, and Elana is from New Jersey. We had about 2 or 3 hours to get stuff organized and then Ronly (our city coordinator) came over to give us an introduction.

After the introduction we made a trip over to the other apartment. The other apartment, apartment one as it is called now, is centrally located in town. We met up there to meet the rest of the members of our group--there are 9 others living there. We have: Sarah, Allison P, Alison T, Max, Nick, Laurie, Sasha, Lauren, and Alex. We got our free backpacks (woohoo) and our hebrew book. We played some getting to know you games and then we went grocery shopping. That was hectic. No one could read what anything was- it was not a fun experience trying to find stuff and deciding what would be shared food vs. individual. Group grocery shopping has now been added to the list of non favorite things to do. Ronly told us she would take all of our groceries in her car and we would walk. That is when we realized how far away we live. The walk back took about 25 or 30 minutes. We were a bit unsure of the way and didn't know the shortest route to take...but still from the other apartment--the Hashiryon apartment, it is a 20 minute walk at a good pace.

So this week has been full of meetings and tours-which were pretty boring. The initial tour of Ness Ziona was through the mall and to the bank and post office--all things we could easily see from the center of town. We had a tour yesterday let by the city coordinator for Ramla-- and I really liked that tour. He took us all around to historical sites and explained a lot about the history of Ness Ziona and Israel. I learned that the center for production of biological warfare is on the outskirts of Ness Ziona-- so, here's to hoping that nothing happens.

One of the soldiers that was on my birthright trips lives in Ness Ziona--so he came over a couple times!! We also met a few of our neighbors and they are all so nice! The guy that lives right next door suggested a local bar in town called Weiztman 22. So, Emily and her boyfriend, Hailey, Elana, Hannah, and myself went there on Friday to check it out. We liked it- and went back there on Monday night! Turns out-- Sunday and Monday are half off beer on tap--baller! After Weitzman 22 I headed back to apartment 1 for a little bit--i'm going to be an honorary member there--They said I can sleep in Elijah's bed! yay!

Yesterday night we had a group dinner. Ronly brought all of the ingredients over to the Hashiryon apartment and everyone met there at 5:30 to start cooking. I was in charge of Falafal along with Nick, Sasha, and Lauren. It was a fun night, just hanging out, chatting, and cooking. I got a game of egyptian ratscrew in and kicked butt! Yesterday was also Sasha and Lauren's brithdays! So after dinner we got ready and went out to Tel Aviv. Lauren's host sister got us a van and knows someone at the place we went to--so we got in free. It was a fun night!

Today is cleaning day. My duty was to clean the floor. I cleaned it. We have a meeting tonight at 6:30 at the Hashiryon apartment. We will see what it brings...

Getting Ready

I have been home from Costa Rica for almost a month now. And as September 28th gets closer, I realize how much I'm going to miss being home. I don't even know if I really want to go anymore. My mom, who is amazing and will do absolutely anything for me, is not happy that I will be leaving again-- this time for 5 months! My sister (and Griffin!) just moved back to Florida and now I am leaving. I just met my mom's new puppy, Jelli, and I absolutely love her and don't think I can leave her! I didn't spend enough time with friends and I didn't get to see some of my closest friends. It just sucks that I didn't have a longer time in between Costa Rica and leaving for Israel.

I went to Miami for a day--I wanted a chance to see friends who are still at school and I had to make a trip to the Israeli Consulate on Biscayne Blvd. to get an extended Visa. After I was done at the consulate, I went to the university. I picked up Chris and Ana and we went out for lunch at Stir Moon. Afterwards, we went back to campus and Ana and I went to the bookstore-- we needed a hat! We met up with Zach in the food court and did some catching up! And later that night, Ana and I had dinner at the Rat. It was a pretty good day--I got to see friends. But, it felt weird being at UM. I felt like I didn't belong at UM. It was like everyone was staring at me and they all knew that I wasn't supposed to be there. They all knew I wasn't a student. I felt unwelcome and I didn't like it. I never really liked being at the University of Miami and now that I don't go there anymore I wish that I did. I guess it's like that saying- 'You always want what you can't have, and you don't like what you've got." Even though I say now that I wish I was back at school in Miami, I know that I really don't want to go back.

I leave fore Israel in 5 days! I feel very anxious about arriving for 2 reasons: 1. I don't really know what will happen when I first arrive to the program (how I will get to the house, if the house will have kitchen stuff, sheets, towels, or anything that I'll need) 2. I don't really know what I am going to be doing with my time for 5 months. Ideally, I will be able to set up an after school ocean awareness program for kids! We can set up beach cleanups, do trips to the beach for snorkeling, ID fish, learn about knot tying, and possibly dissect something! But considering I haven't even heard anything from the program about anything, I don't know how well it will work out.

This is what I do know: I am flying out on the 28th at 2:15 PM from Ft. Myers to Philadelphia, and then from Philadelphia to Tel Aviv. I arrive in Tel Aviv on the 29th at 2:30 PM. I am getting picked up by Oranim's 'Smile Service' and being dropped off at my friend Lian's house. I am going to be staying with her for my first night in Israel. I met Lian when I was on birthright in January and she is awesome! I am so excited to see her again! And today, I received notification of a meeting time and place for the start of the program. Now, I have to somehow find a way to get to 10 Hashirion Street Apt. 22 by 8 AM on September 30th.

I'm not ready to leave. I am going to miss everyone (and I'm still not packed all the way!). But 5 days will go by fast, so the packing continues...