Most of us woke up today feeling ecstatic, happy, nervous,
maybe even down-right afraid. But we were ready, and that’s all that mattered
in the end. We met at the Starbucks in Terminal 2 for our goodbyes with our
parents. Then we made our way to security for flight 1. I felt like something
huge was happening to me, and when we landed in Philly I wouldn’t be able to
turn back (not that I would have). 6 hours of layover later, we boarded and
left for Israel. Not an exciting flight, but every 20 minutes or so I would
have to remind myself that I was indeed going to Israel. It hadn’t sunk in yet
that I was going to a country I had never been to before.
I was so, so excited
to see the country I had heard about and prepared for for so long, and when we
landed I could barely contain my excitement. Most of us could barely contain
our excitement. We got our bags, went through customs, and met with Robby,
Amanda, KaShLash coordinator Maya, and our tour Guide, Maya. We then took a bus
to Yaffo and toured the old city, visiting sights such as The House of Simon,
where the split between Christianity and Judaism formed, and the Mediterranean
Sea. We ate dinner at Dr. Shakshuka, and ate, of course, shakshuka. Shakshuka,
for those of you who don’t know, is a hot meal consisting of eggs, tomatoes,
peppers, and spices. It was amazing, and our table had two big pans full. We
then went to our hostel at 10, doing our best by singing and playing games to
stay awake during the ride, and concluded our day with a ma’agal Lailah. I was
somewhat exhausted, but enthusiastic and couldn’t fall asleep easily. I mean,
if you had heard about a country that was supposedly the best in the world, and
for 9 months you were preparing for a trip to this very country, wouldn’t you stay
awake just giddy with excitement? That was me. That was, actually, everybody!
Most of us didn’t start hitting the beds until later in the night, and then
sleeping was difficult. This might also be jet lag. I’m very tired this
morning. But excited and ready for whatever happens next!
Jared Vergotine
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