First Day!

I've never written a blog before, but I have recently been inspired by my amazing friends Liz and Simin, who have been writing away from Munich and Beijing. I'm not sure how often I will update this, but I will do my best to write often and put up pictures for anyone interested.

I'm finally in Israel! I got here yesterday afternoon, and it was a pretty crazy day. As usual, I was running around packing until the last minute and took too much clothing/not enough other stuff. I will be spending the next week making up for my irresponsible packing- hopefully I can get everything I need while I'm here (especially contacts!). My plane to JFK was delayed for two hours, and so I spent my time trying to use a payphone to call people. The experience definitely made me appreciate my cell phone. It is no fun sitting with a bag of change and putting in a quarter every time the operator interrupts the call. I finally got on the plane and spent the hour long flight sitting next to a guy who spoke only portugese. I had some fun communicating with him using a mixture of pointing and broken spanish.

When I got to JFK my connecting flight to Tel Aviv was already boarding- this is when the craziness started. I wisely chose to wear my non-broken in new sandalson my trip, and I already had a few painful blisters 2 hours into wearing them. Of course, my gate was all the way at the end of the terminal and I SPRINTED full speed for what felt like an hour to get there. I got to the gate as they were announcing final call, panting and needing to check in. I spent the next half hour standing there as various Delta employees argued about my ticket. I think my seat had been given away but done so incorrectly. Nobody would update me on what was going on so I just stood there in a panic hoping I could somehow get on the plane.

Eventually I was ushered through (sans boarding pass-this caused problems) and onto the plane, where I had the pleasure of meeting the disgruntled man who was being kicked off the plane because of me. I apologized to him but it didn't prevent the dirty glare in my direction. I definitely lucked out, however, because I was upgraded to FIRST CLASS!!

I don't know if anyone has experience with first class, but this was my first and it was pretty awesome. The seats are huge and adjust electronically so you can put your feet up and seat down to exactly meet your needs. The food was delicious and there were lots of options. I had a great glass of white wine with dinner and another during the movie. I could go on and on about the wonders of first class- I tried to take pictures but my camera died after one. Anyways, the amenities combined with the hilarious flight attendents made the 11 hour flight a breeze. I even bonded with the flight attendents- the Israeli one kept trying to set me up with his 29 year old brother (creepy!).

After arguing with the Israeli airport staff about my lost bag, which I am still waiting for, I finally left the airport with a huge smile on my face. There is something about this country that just makes me happy- I'm sure I will write about that later.

I'm going to go watch a movie with my Israeli cousin and his girlfriend, but I will post more later. I just realized how long this post was- no worries, I will be more concise!

Sarah