To be honest, I wasn't quite ready yet. Maybe God thought it would best that my flight ought to be cancelled in order to get me really excited about Israel. I felt a lot of anxiety before because of Flight 447, and slightly bit of Iran-Israel issues (even though I knew way better). I mean, if I have to die in a plane crash, I'd like to be inside a plane, not falling out of the sky without a parachute.
I had everything all set up for my free week leading to my Yiddish program. I would arrive in Jerusalem for Shabbat and spend the weekend with Tobi. Sunday morning, I would leave for Eilat and Petra with Meredith. Monday morning, we'd be doing our tour in Petra with a guide. Then we'd head back to Jerusalem on Tuesday.
That didn't quite work out. Neither did the cell phone situation with Tel Aviv University's preferred rental company. It wouldn't ship a cellphone to me in the U.S. and I couldn't count on anyone being home to sign for the phone in Israel.
So I felt really depressed when I came home from the airport for the last time (I went out for a bit with Dad while waiting for my "bumped" flight to take off- my last chance for Newark). On Friday, I felt better and more settled. But I wasn't happy with the way my plans blew up in my face. Not a good omen.
People were still traveling apparently as I couldn't get on any flight up and down the East Coast bound for Tel Aviv until Saturday. I couldn't believe it given the economy.
So fast forward through uneventful and timely flights on Saturday to Sunday morning when I finally landed in Tel Aviv.
I was very worried because I had no final confirmation of where I could stay. Tobi hadn't answered her phone on Friday. TAU never really got back to me if I could move my stuff in the dorms that day, one day before the official move-in. Linda had said that it was fine but I wasn't sure if the house was locked or not. I also still needed to take care of the cellphone business.
But a moment at the passport control briefly cheered me- the guard never said a word to me as she stamped my passport. I was prepared to give a speech that I was staying with family friends but I didn't have to say anything! I guess this is what happens when you have at least 4-5 pages of Israeli stamps plus an old student visa.
After getting on Skype to make some calls, I finally decided that I would just go to the kibbutz and decompress from my aggravation with not going to Jerusalem or Petra. It's now my fail-proof place to go, my base.
It worked out for the best. I got a nice cab ride that took me right up to the walkway to the house so I didn't have to drag my bags. I could just leave my stuff here for a week and Shlomi could take me to school next Sunday when he goes there for work. I could just repack a little if I wanted to do some trips this week.
Fortunately, I was reading a really great book that kept my mind off everything else- People of the Book. I've decided that I really do like historical fiction that involves a bit of suspense, drama, and mystery. It's a bonus if the story takes place outside of western Europe and North America. My aunt has been doing a great job with sending me the right kind of books lately.
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