So, here goes trip three. It's only my third trip, but it still is getting harder to leave everytime. (I actually left twice during my last trip...) Maybe the depressing rain and my really crazy cab driver who almost hit a very annoyed bike rider en route to the airport had something to do with it this time. But, I think the beginning of the beautiful weather is what really made it so hard. There's nothing like watching the world warm up around you at home, and unfortunately - I only got a taste of it. I determined that Spring is my favorite time of year, and I won't be in New England to enjoy it this year since I won't be home until June. It's always hardest before I actually arrive in my first location. Then the madness and the awe of being somewhere so different starts and I don't really have time to think about what I'm missing back at home.
Things started getting interesting the moment I arrived at my terminal in Atlanta, Georgia. Not too surprising, but I was literally surrounded by hacidic jews. The big top hats and curly cues of hair in the front, young mothers who were all wearing glasses and black outfits with skirts, and little babies in nightgown-like dress. I am pretty sure that this is the only flight I will have ever been on where they come over the loudspeaker and announce that someone lost a small white prayer book entering the plane, so please contact the flight attendant if it was yours. Furthermore, I have 1) never been surrounded by so many hacidic jews at once (despite living in Brookline...) 2) never been on a flight where more people ordered kosher meals than the regular ones and 3)never seen so many babies on one flight. This part in particular made me nervous for an 11.5 hour flight. My seat just happened to be in the very back - I had a very large man to my left (I couldn't use my left handrest) and a third-grader on my right. She is actually an Israeli citizen but spoke english just like an American. She sure was sharp for a third-grader. She started telling me religious stories, religious differences between jews and christians, etc. Stuff I didn't know at all. Unfortunately, she talked quietly and I had a hard time hearing everything, but I sure was impressed with her religious knowledge.
I passed out eventually on my tray table which seemed to be the best option. My little friend to my right used my arm and shoulder for a pillow here and there. Turbulence was pretty bad about 3 hours into the flight, but I took relief in thinking that if God was going to bring down a plane tonight, it probably wouldn't be one full of rabbis. The large man to my left (an American also coming here for work) told me that while I was sleeping, all the men all got up at the same time, grabbed their bibles/prayer books, and began praying at the same time. I wished I had seen this.
Security entering Israel was not what I expected it to be from stories of other people who have come here. Before getting on the plane in Atlanta, I did need to go through one more scanning process with my carry-on baggage, but upon arrival, passport authority was a breeze. They wanted to know why I was there, but as soon as I explained it was all good. I felt like between the time I arrived at the airport and left it, only about 10-15 minutes had actually passed.
Once arriving at the hotel, I looked beat, I felt beat, and I took a nap. Now, it's only 7:20 pm back in Boston (but 2:20 am here...) and I'm thinkin it's probably about time that I try to get to bed. I ordered room service but the only thing on the menu was a tuna salad, which wasn't actually too bad, but not something I would normally order. My hotel is right on the beach. It's also required to be kosher. I had been told once what this meant, but I needed to refresh my memory: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_does_Kosher_mean
I believe, but am not absolutely positive, that here, weekends are Friday and Saturday, with the work week actually starting on Sunday in Israel. I need to try to speak with realtors this weekend so it will be interesting to see if this will end up an issue. I will soon find out. I'm gonna try to sleep now. Goodnight!
No comments:
Post a Comment