Gotta love jet lag...

Shalom Chaverim (Hello Friends!),

So, as I expected I woke up at 5 am today. I guess it could be worse, I did get about 7 hours of sleep. Hopefully I can kick Jet lag by the time Shabbos is over! In any case, here is a 6 am post of my last 36 hours.

I caught a cab to the airport from Manhattan on Tuesday and arrived about 4 and a half hours before my flight (when we were told to get there). And of course, Jews being Jews, on top of that Israelis, Nefesh B'nefesh didn't arrive until about two hours later! While waiting, I met a really cool family who were also making aliyah with NBN. It turns out they are moving to the Kibbutz I was on this past summer, which I have a few friends on, and they also lived in Ithaca for 6 years! It's crazy! Out of the 160 people making aliyah on my flight, of course I end up standing next to people like this, LOVE it. I also met a guy making aliyah from Rockville, SC. I didn't even know there were Jews there (he has a bit more of a southern twang than I do)! I met quite a few people who are going to be at my Ulpan, most of them seem to be really cool. 

NBN just had us sign a few documents (I got to sign my name in Hebrew!!!), and confirmed the translation of our names into hebrew for the Teudat Zehut (Israeli ID card). I checked in, went through security, had a beer with my new friends while we waited for the plane (I figured I'd get something good before I drink Goldstar for the rest of my life), and then flew to Israel! I managed to get about 2 hours of sleep on the flight, mostly because the movies were terrible! Journey to the center of the earth (with Bredan Fraiser), Home alone, and some movie with Meryl Streep. Needless to say, I was done with that pretty quickly. Seated next to me, however, was 'The Dude.' For those of you who have seen "The Big Lebowsky," you would have died laughing. It was hilarious! He was the spitting image of the dude, even the pitch of his voice, speech mannerisms, and topics of discussion (he talked about mary jane quite a bit). Although, I suppose he has a bit more money than the dude because he is moving to Israel, but he loves bowling!

After the flight NBN took us to the old terminal of the airport, where there were snacks and we were processed by the ministry of the interior and received our Teudat Oleh (Immigrant ID). It was so quick! It only took 5 minutes and a few signatures, as opposed to three or four hours if we had to do it on  our own. That was it, we were bussed to the baggage claim, given a voucher for our Sherut (shared taxi) and 45 minutes later I was in Jerusalem. I'm staying with a very nice family (a mother and son) in Har Nof, a religious neighborhood about a 20 minute bus ride from downtown. My first cousins also live in Har Nof (at the top of the hill), so luckily I will be able to see them frequently! 

I have a lot of things I need to get done in the next two weeks before my Ulpan starts. Today I will probably open a bank account and possibly get a cell phone. I also need to get on a health care plan (free for 6 months, cha-ching!), my Teudat Zehut, an Israeli drivers license, and start my enlistment in the army. I'm sure more things will pop up along the way. It's all so exciting, It's going to be such a great adventure!!!!

Yours,

-Yachiel