Thursday, June 29, 2006
Saying goodbye over the last few months was easier than I expected. It was the anticipation of saying goodbye that made me tear up. When I first moved to the bay area when I was 12, I cried at my father's side until I boarded the plane, and then made a bunch of adult strangers very uncomfortable by continuing to cry the whole way from San Diego to Oakland. That's what I expected this to be like, especially since my current transplanting seems much more extreme than from one section of California to the other. I imagined how painful it would be to say goodbye to my father again, to wish my friends well in SLO as they left for jobs around the country, to watch my mom walk away from my in-law's house the night before I boarded the plane.
None of that seemed real, though, not until I actually arrived at the airport on Monday afternoon. I warned Ariel a few days earlier that she had to heal from her sunburn because I was going to give her a hug whether she still had one or not. Giving her a hug, the words seemed to catch in my throat. I was really saying goodbye, not permanently, not even for a full year, but I was at the airport waiting to begin the rest of my life.
Lesson 1: The end is always in the beginning.
We spent 36 hours traveling, from 2pm PST Monday until 5am Israel-time Wednesday. When we arrived in Frankfurt with a 13-hour layover, we expected to lock up our bags and see a little of the town. I even dragged up German from the depths of memory so I could say clever things like, "Wir moechten nach die Juedenishesmuseum gehen. Wie kostet es?" Knowing that neither Anna nor I can sleep on planes, how did we figure we were going to be awake? We wandered around the airport for an hour, looking for lockers, looking for food. We started out in the terminal by our departure gate, and then proceeded to walk around like zombies asking each info booth exactly where were the lockers? We ended back in front of our gate after five turns, two escalators, and three walks through customs. The lockers were around the corner.
Now that our few carry-ons were safely stowed away in a locker, we tried to sleep. We stalked a bench or two by the restaurant in our terminal, and slept fitfully for an hour, trying to ignore the screaming children and multi-lingual discussions around us. It was terrible, and not at all restful. Finally, we walked down down down to the hotel reservations desk, at the entrance to our terminal, where we discovered that we could rent a hotel room for the day and sleep the remaining hours until our departure. As soon as our butts hit the bed, we were out like a light. The most we saw of Frankfurt was the Sheraton attached to the airport. It was nice.
On the red-eye flight to Tel Aviv, I practiced my Hebrew by watching the subtitles on "Cheaper by the Dozen 2" and seeing how much I could pick up without sound. A few Hasids applauded when we landed, but mostly everyone was just tired. Tel Aviv Int'l is gorgeous and grand, clearly built to inspire awe in travelers. As you leave the customs booth, you walk through a small hallway which opens up into the "meeting place." It's a wide-open hall, big enough for thousands and very overwhelming.
We knew from the handbook HUC provided that we could take a sherut (shuttle) to Jerusalem, so we looked for signs. We pulled our two shleppers into the elevator and headed for the 3rd floor, where the public transportation was. Not there. The sign said in Hebrew sherut [unknown] on the 2nd floor, but it translated that as "taxi." So we headed to the second floor, but no sherut. I asked a taxi driver, and he said head to the first floor. On the first floor, there was nothing except an exit. I asked the rental car guy where the sherut was, and he said "G." He pointed down and repeated "G." Back to the elevator with our two shleppers, hit the "G" button and FINALLY found our sherut to Jerusalem. Back where we started.
Israel doesn't resemble anything familiar. The undeveloped land along the highway between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem looks almost like San Diego (inland, clearly) but it's just different enough that it leaves me a little confused. In Jerusalem, almost every building is made out of stone, so even the McDonald's looks straight out of the bible. Wood floors are considered an absolute luxury, and I was encouraged by an administrator to check out the one in the King David Hotel down the street. Yes, I am talking about wood flooring. The YMCA in Jerusalem, across the street from my school, is bigger than my entire campus and looks like it was modeled on Solomon's Temple.
So there we were in Jerusalem, in bed at our hostel at 6am on Wednesday. Within six hours, we had met a dozen students in my program, gone on a tour of campus (it's small and gorgeous), left for lunch at the Ben Yehuda mall, picked up my welcome packet, saw the library, ordered cell phones, had a debate on Jewish law and the role of the clergy, and listened to the Student Affairs director yell at my future landlord over my lease. People we were so excited to hear it was my first time in Israel, and everyone marveled at our bravery. To be honest, we surprised ourselves a little.
Everyone I've met is a little confused, no one is fluent in Hebrew, and we're all figuring it out. We help each other out and offer our skills whenever possible. We got help moving out luggage, I've offered up some computer-repair skills, and we're having a good time. We're viewing our apartment tomorrow morning, just to be sure that it's not run down or anything. We have cell phones and an address, and we'll send out an email with that info soon.
There's more, a lot more, but I'm tired from hauling our luggage to our second hostel. There's a lesson: if you have to do a lot of walking, do it early in the day. At 3pm, it's just too damn hot for hauling luggage around town.
Wait till we tell you about the shuk. It's awesome.
None of that seemed real, though, not until I actually arrived at the airport on Monday afternoon. I warned Ariel a few days earlier that she had to heal from her sunburn because I was going to give her a hug whether she still had one or not. Giving her a hug, the words seemed to catch in my throat. I was really saying goodbye, not permanently, not even for a full year, but I was at the airport waiting to begin the rest of my life.
Lesson 1: The end is always in the beginning.
We spent 36 hours traveling, from 2pm PST Monday until 5am Israel-time Wednesday. When we arrived in Frankfurt with a 13-hour layover, we expected to lock up our bags and see a little of the town. I even dragged up German from the depths of memory so I could say clever things like, "Wir moechten nach die Juedenishesmuseum gehen. Wie kostet es?" Knowing that neither Anna nor I can sleep on planes, how did we figure we were going to be awake? We wandered around the airport for an hour, looking for lockers, looking for food. We started out in the terminal by our departure gate, and then proceeded to walk around like zombies asking each info booth exactly where were the lockers? We ended back in front of our gate after five turns, two escalators, and three walks through customs. The lockers were around the corner.
Now that our few carry-ons were safely stowed away in a locker, we tried to sleep. We stalked a bench or two by the restaurant in our terminal, and slept fitfully for an hour, trying to ignore the screaming children and multi-lingual discussions around us. It was terrible, and not at all restful. Finally, we walked down down down to the hotel reservations desk, at the entrance to our terminal, where we discovered that we could rent a hotel room for the day and sleep the remaining hours until our departure. As soon as our butts hit the bed, we were out like a light. The most we saw of Frankfurt was the Sheraton attached to the airport. It was nice.
On the red-eye flight to Tel Aviv, I practiced my Hebrew by watching the subtitles on "Cheaper by the Dozen 2" and seeing how much I could pick up without sound. A few Hasids applauded when we landed, but mostly everyone was just tired. Tel Aviv Int'l is gorgeous and grand, clearly built to inspire awe in travelers. As you leave the customs booth, you walk through a small hallway which opens up into the "meeting place." It's a wide-open hall, big enough for thousands and very overwhelming.
We knew from the handbook HUC provided that we could take a sherut (shuttle) to Jerusalem, so we looked for signs. We pulled our two shleppers into the elevator and headed for the 3rd floor, where the public transportation was. Not there. The sign said in Hebrew sherut [unknown] on the 2nd floor, but it translated that as "taxi." So we headed to the second floor, but no sherut. I asked a taxi driver, and he said head to the first floor. On the first floor, there was nothing except an exit. I asked the rental car guy where the sherut was, and he said "G." He pointed down and repeated "G." Back to the elevator with our two shleppers, hit the "G" button and FINALLY found our sherut to Jerusalem. Back where we started.
Israel doesn't resemble anything familiar. The undeveloped land along the highway between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem looks almost like San Diego (inland, clearly) but it's just different enough that it leaves me a little confused. In Jerusalem, almost every building is made out of stone, so even the McDonald's looks straight out of the bible. Wood floors are considered an absolute luxury, and I was encouraged by an administrator to check out the one in the King David Hotel down the street. Yes, I am talking about wood flooring. The YMCA in Jerusalem, across the street from my school, is bigger than my entire campus and looks like it was modeled on Solomon's Temple.
So there we were in Jerusalem, in bed at our hostel at 6am on Wednesday. Within six hours, we had met a dozen students in my program, gone on a tour of campus (it's small and gorgeous), left for lunch at the Ben Yehuda mall, picked up my welcome packet, saw the library, ordered cell phones, had a debate on Jewish law and the role of the clergy, and listened to the Student Affairs director yell at my future landlord over my lease. People we were so excited to hear it was my first time in Israel, and everyone marveled at our bravery. To be honest, we surprised ourselves a little.
Everyone I've met is a little confused, no one is fluent in Hebrew, and we're all figuring it out. We help each other out and offer our skills whenever possible. We got help moving out luggage, I've offered up some computer-repair skills, and we're having a good time. We're viewing our apartment tomorrow morning, just to be sure that it's not run down or anything. We have cell phones and an address, and we'll send out an email with that info soon.
There's more, a lot more, but I'm tired from hauling our luggage to our second hostel. There's a lesson: if you have to do a lot of walking, do it early in the day. At 3pm, it's just too damn hot for hauling luggage around town.
Wait till we tell you about the shuk. It's awesome.
Friday, June 23, 2006
Here we are, 3 days and counting until the big departure. It's been a confusing week of paperwork, goodbyes and a lot of food. When we last posted, we were on our way from San Luis Obispo. We've since been to Disneyland and San Diego (with pictures below) and back to home base: Castro Valley. We are once again in the process of going through our most precious items and deciding how important they are (store it, toss it or pack it). Our goal is to take 2 suitcases each, plus a carry-on and personal item each. And if we're really good, we'll keep it all under the requied weight (yeah right!).
A lot of you have been asking about what's going to happen when we get there. So, for those of you who haven't heard the latest, we have an apartment beginning July 2!! It's the cheapest that we've found, 30 minutes walking to HUC (Jamie's school), very close to a big shuk (outdoor shopping) and comes with a washing machine, which I understand means practically luxury by Israeli standards. Also, it is a 3 bedroom place, so there's plenty of room for visitors--as long as you don't mind sleeping on the floor. Oh, did I mention? No furniture. So, we'll be spending our first few days getting acquainted with the city and searching for a cheap bed--and please don't remind me what it means to have a second hand bed, I'm grossed out already. Also, I guess I can look forward to scorpians. Apparently they are very common in the desert and I've been told to shake out my shoes before sticking my foot inside. Great.
It's been very hot here and getting hotter (I believe we're in the 100s this weekend). Jamie and I are sure this is meant to prep us for what's to come. And as I've been told many times, "it's a dry heat!" Right. Dry. No problem.
Well, this week has been alternately terrifying and exciting. We've cancelled most of our bills and finally got our passports back from the consulate. Few! I can't believe we're leaving in only 3 days. As we've said before, thanks to all of you for your encouragement and support in reaching this crazy goal. We're going to miss everyone so much. Please let me know if you're coming anywhere close to Israel (I might meet you nearby if you're too chicken to come to Jerusalem). Keep up with our blog, email us, leave us comments. We'll miss you tons!
Dad bbq-ing on father's day
Keri and Rick (almost at the one year anniversary)
Jodi and Todd, (look closely, you might see a new ring!)
Michael stopped by for some bagels
One last goodbye to our Laurens from BBYO
Jamie and Sandella at the airport (all the way from TN to say goodbye)
A dinner with some friends, one more goodbye
A lot of you have been asking about what's going to happen when we get there. So, for those of you who haven't heard the latest, we have an apartment beginning July 2!! It's the cheapest that we've found, 30 minutes walking to HUC (Jamie's school), very close to a big shuk (outdoor shopping) and comes with a washing machine, which I understand means practically luxury by Israeli standards. Also, it is a 3 bedroom place, so there's plenty of room for visitors--as long as you don't mind sleeping on the floor. Oh, did I mention? No furniture. So, we'll be spending our first few days getting acquainted with the city and searching for a cheap bed--and please don't remind me what it means to have a second hand bed, I'm grossed out already. Also, I guess I can look forward to scorpians. Apparently they are very common in the desert and I've been told to shake out my shoes before sticking my foot inside. Great.
It's been very hot here and getting hotter (I believe we're in the 100s this weekend). Jamie and I are sure this is meant to prep us for what's to come. And as I've been told many times, "it's a dry heat!" Right. Dry. No problem.
Well, this week has been alternately terrifying and exciting. We've cancelled most of our bills and finally got our passports back from the consulate. Few! I can't believe we're leaving in only 3 days. As we've said before, thanks to all of you for your encouragement and support in reaching this crazy goal. We're going to miss everyone so much. Please let me know if you're coming anywhere close to Israel (I might meet you nearby if you're too chicken to come to Jerusalem). Keep up with our blog, email us, leave us comments. We'll miss you tons!
Dad bbq-ing on father's day
Keri and Rick (almost at the one year anniversary)
Jodi and Todd, (look closely, you might see a new ring!)
Michael stopped by for some bagels
One last goodbye to our Laurens from BBYO
Jamie and Sandella at the airport (all the way from TN to say goodbye)
A dinner with some friends, one more goodbye
Friday, June 16, 2006
I didn't really say in the last post, but in San Luis Obispo we stayed with Anna's cousins Chris and Candace. They were gracious enough to let us crash at their house, even though we didn't get back from hanging out with our friends until after midnight. Then they made us an amazing tri-tip dinner the next night. (Thanks again!)
Chris and Candace have two adorable sons named Cole and Gavin, both of whom have what often seems like limitless energy. I finally got a picture up of me and Cole. Once he discovered we had a camera, he insisted we take a picture of him.
Yes, I did have fun playing with kids. No, we're not planning on having our own any time soon. Sheesh, one thing at a time, ok?
Chris and Candace have two adorable sons named Cole and Gavin, both of whom have what often seems like limitless energy. I finally got a picture up of me and Cole. Once he discovered we had a camera, he insisted we take a picture of him.
Yes, I did have fun playing with kids. No, we're not planning on having our own any time soon. Sheesh, one thing at a time, ok?
Thursday, June 15, 2006
We're three days into the Southern California leg of our Farewell Tour. It's been a tiring vacation, but it started off with a bang. Between Friday and Monday, we sold both of our cars, secured an apartment in Jerusalem, and received my financial aid package.
This is me saying "My financial aid package is great!" Selling two cars was pretty awesome as well.
We stopped in San Luis Obispo to visit with our friends Jeni, Jamshid, Paul, and Susie. In honor of the "old days," we went to Denny's for desert. We had a really good time, although it was sad to say goodbye. We're all growing up: Paul and Susie are getting married, Jamshid is moving to Palo Alto, Jeni's heading to Seattle, and we're off for the Holy Land.
The next day we met up at Kona's Sandwiches (best sandwiches ever) to hang out for another couple of hours. By the time we made it to Disneyland yesterday, we needed a vacation from our vacation.
Anna was ecstatic to be back in the Happiest Place On Earth (TM). The park closed early but they still held their big 50th Anniversary fireworks. Time is so warped in a theme park; we waitied 25 minutes to buy some ice cream before the fireworks show started, but if we were buying ice cream in real life, we would have been out of there long before. Once you've waited 45 minutes for a 2.5 minute ride, everything's in a different perspectivce.
Countdown: 10 days, 20 hours and 11 minutes and counting...
This is me saying "My financial aid package is great!" Selling two cars was pretty awesome as well.
We stopped in San Luis Obispo to visit with our friends Jeni, Jamshid, Paul, and Susie. In honor of the "old days," we went to Denny's for desert. We had a really good time, although it was sad to say goodbye. We're all growing up: Paul and Susie are getting married, Jamshid is moving to Palo Alto, Jeni's heading to Seattle, and we're off for the Holy Land.
The next day we met up at Kona's Sandwiches (best sandwiches ever) to hang out for another couple of hours. By the time we made it to Disneyland yesterday, we needed a vacation from our vacation.
Anna was ecstatic to be back in the Happiest Place On Earth (TM). The park closed early but they still held their big 50th Anniversary fireworks. Time is so warped in a theme park; we waitied 25 minutes to buy some ice cream before the fireworks show started, but if we were buying ice cream in real life, we would have been out of there long before. Once you've waited 45 minutes for a 2.5 minute ride, everything's in a different perspectivce.
Countdown: 10 days, 20 hours and 11 minutes and counting...
Monday, June 05, 2006
Anna and I decided, since we're leaving the country and turning our life upside-down, it was time to do something drastic: chop off our hair.
Anna wanted it really short, but her stylist refused, so she went with a compromise. My beard trimmer broke and Anna demanded I either buy a new one or shave the whole thing off. I called her bluff, but now I'm bored of the whole hairless bit, so I'm growing it back.
Anna wanted it really short, but her stylist refused, so she went with a compromise. My beard trimmer broke and Anna demanded I either buy a new one or shave the whole thing off. I called her bluff, but now I'm bored of the whole hairless bit, so I'm growing it back.
