Welcome Home

As I sit in Allie's apartment in Nahariya with her two German roommates, getting ready for a "party" (there are a few people coming over) I keep thinking...what just happened in the past 48 hours?

The blizzard put an interesting spin on plans, as is always the case when flying out of the northeast in the winter. I didn't complain one bit about the snow though, because I know I will miss it. Alright, shoveling out Brendan's car or the mailbox wasn't the most fun thing I've ever done, but I still love snow. Instead of going to New York on Monday night we went early (4:30am) on Tuesday morning because the roads would be more clear. Newark airport was plowed terribly, cars were stuck in the snow all over the place from the storm that was two days ago at this point. Anyway, everything went smoothly at the airport, my bags that were clearly overweight were not a problem, nor was my carry on that was two times the weight it was supposed to be. Saying goodbye to Dani and Mom was really hard, of course.

I boarded the plane on time but then sat in the plane for an hour and a half before we took off. There was a family with two obnoxious kids in front of me who cried, a lot. As you can imagine, there was not a lot of sleeping. The two girls on either side of me were really nice, one has been living in Tel Aviv for a year and a half and one is doing the same program that I am doing in Jerusalem to learn Hebrew (my Ulpan). Once we landed we had to go to the ministry of absorption and fill out some more paperwork, sign up for health care and stuff. When it was all said and done by the time the taxi took me to my sister's apartment in the north is was 3pm, 8am Boston time.

Once I showered, ate, and napped I was doing a little better. Tomorrow I am going to Tel Aviv for the weekend/the new year to meet up with Michelle and Melissa, my friends from when I studied in Tel Aviv. On Sunday my sister's roommate from Jerusalem, Adina, is getting married. I am bringing my friend Gadi with me, it should be really fun, it is my first Jewish wedding!!

Now I have to find things in my bags and repack them into another bag for the net few days, that should take a while.

Goodnight, my first night in Israel :)