Aaaaand I made it!

Well, the last 2 days have been interesting. After being delayed at the Atlanta airport for an hour (not to mention sitting on the plane for an extra 45 minutes before taking off, and flying in circles around Dover, Delaware). We spent most of that flight doing wedding stuff, I actually got to contribute some ideas and I think Shosh actually liked them :). Upon arrival to LaGuardia, we got a cab to JFK and the waiting began. We settled ourselves near the ElAl desk, and within an hour we saw that our flight was delayed from 2:20 AM until 5:40 AM. Oy.
At JFK
Shosh switched into work mode because about a 1/4 of her group either had their flight canceled out of Chicago or was delayed. So really the delay for our flight to Israel was a blessing because it helped to insure that all except for one participant were able to make it. Once everyone in her group were checked in we made it down to the gate at around 1 AM, and hunkered down for the wait until we finally took off. Thankfully, we were not delayed anymore and took off around 6:15 AM.
The Flight
The flight itself was not bad at all. I'm used to traveling with groups of teenagers, so I assumed every flight to Israel was full of lould kids who were hooking up the whole time. This one was very quiet (probably because everyone was exhausted). We sat down (Shosh and I had our seats next to each other), and I immediately passed out. I think I slept for the first 3 hours of the flight (but I really had no idea), but Shosh was the champ of sleeping. She was out cold for the first half of the flight, I was impressed and somewhat jealous. We watched a couple of movies on the plane, talked about wedding stuff, listened to some music, and simply waited for our arrival to Israel.
The Arrival
The landing was met with applause from the whole plane, and it started to sink in that all of this was for real. A moment of angst, excitement, and sheer fear hit me all at once. My normal list of questions hit me. Where am I going to live this fall? How am I going to do in school? What if no one likes me? Did I bring enough underwear? As always though, this moment of panic was taken with a gentle kiss from Shosh, and an assurance that everything is going to be great and to just enjoy it. We went to the customs line, and waited (it was a lot longer than I expected), then finally went to get our luggage. I should mention here how absolutely beautiful Ben Gurion Airport is now. I guess renovations happened a few years ago, the arboretum reminds me a lot of the Atlanta airport. I was really impressed. At the baggage claim, I was happy to see both of Shosh's bags already on the belt. I pulled those off and waited for mine. One came out....and I waited....and waited...finally we realized that the belt that brought the bags up was stopped. There were some that were almost out, and mine was one of them. So in my moment of impulse and impatience, I hopped up and started putting bags on the belt. It was a good moment, I must say. From there, I got a cab, and was taken to Jerusalem. I met up with Aunt Gail at the Hyatt Regency, and we were off to Kfar Adumim. I knew Aunt Gail and Uncle Allen had moved, but they really have a great house here. So much space, huge difference from their apartment in Ma'ale Adumim. It felt great to get to their house, put my stuff down and get into bed. I was restless for about 10 minutes, and the next thing I remember was waking up peacefully this morning, or atleast that would've been nice. Aunt Gail forgot to mention the construction that was going on this morning. It wasn't a problem, I woke up to that laughed for a few minutes and went back to sleep.
My First Day
I woke up around noon today, and felt really good. I took a shower (which made me feel even better) and got ready to head into town with Aunt Gail. I'm going to have to perfect my routine for getting into town since there won't be a direct bus but I have faith that I'll be able to do it. Once we were in town we changed buses to get on the 21 bus which takes me down to Emek Refaim, and more specifically Pardes. I had forgotten how great it felt to simply walk around this city, to hear Hebrew spoken everywhere, it also made me a little feel a little self conscious about my Hebrew and how much I do need to practice. I spent about 2 hours at Pardes, met a few of the staff members, a couple of teachers, and some of the students that I will be joining this coming year. One pleasant surprise was running into Benny Levy, he and I were staff members at Ramah Darom for two summers. It was great to see a familiar face. I'm not usually one to talk about the 'vibe' of a place, but Pardes really does give off a feeling of Jewish identity that I haven't felt for a long time. This isn't a place that everyone came from the same background, and you are expected to have a certain level of knowledge right away. There were people from all walks of life. All of them are excited to learn about one another, study Torah, and live in Israel. It really did make me feel more comfortable for what is to come.

After Pardes I went downtown to meander a little, and more importantly to meet up with my cousins, Judi and Elana. I walked around Ben Yehuda, and went to discover some of the backstreets that I used to know so well. One of my goals for this first week is to rediscover this city, and to not feel like I could get lost at every turn. I had some success, but still need to wonder around a bit more before I feel totally comfortable. I met up with Judi and Elana around 6:30, and we went to get some coffee. It felt great to sit around and catch them up on everything that has been going on. We had so many stories to share. I wanted to hear about Elana's Birthright trip with Shorashim, and both of them wanted to hear details about the engagement and other wedding details. I was happy to share on all accounts. Before the trip I was really underestimating the importance of having family here with me. I knew I was going to do enjoy it, but now I see how important of a resource they are for me. Everyone is so excited to explain details to me and help me to get my head wrapped around everything that is going on. Spending time with Judi and Elana made me think back to my first Saturday night in Atlanta when I went to a party at Anne's apartment. There were so many friends from high school there, that I had seen and kept in touch with but I hadn't really just sat around and chatted with them for so long. It's amazing to me how people grow up, and are able to fit into their own skin. No matter how long you've been away from someone you are close with, whenever you get together with them it feels like no time has passed at all.

Anyhoo, that's all for now (wow, that was long). Let me know what you think (ie. if you want the entries to be any shorter, what details you are looking for, etc.). I look forward to hearing from everyone.

B'shalom