I realized this was not going to be such an easy trip when we landed. First of all, the flight was already delayed an hour and my layover was only an hour and a half, then the tower sent my airplane to a non-existent gate so we stopped in the boondock equivalent of the tarmac and took shuttles back to the terminals. Then I was stopped because flights to Tel-Aviv are only allowed one carry-on (something that was failed to be mentioned online anywhere.). I had to check my other bag but there a little lady in front of me who was also having her carry-on checked. She did not speak a word of English though and could not figure out why these crazy people were taking her bag. Once it was finally my turn, I had been bumped. My flight left without me! The next flight I could get on did not leave until 10:30pm (it was currently about 9am). BA checked me into a day hotel and gave me free meals. I was able to get about 4 hours of sleep and a shower before meeting Sonia for dinner. She had also gotten bumped and we became friends in the passport line. We went back through security, waited a few hours, loaded up. This is me waiting:

I got upgraded to business class! That was cool. I’ve never been in anything besides coach. Again, the actual flight was smooth, easy, and good food. I watched a couple movies and chatted with a couple flight attendants (British accents are awesome).

When I landed it dawned on me that I was all on my own. It was also 4:30am. I’d never done this before. Wheee! I got a SmartCart, then got my bags (that order is important), got an international calling card, got some Shekels, and found a vending machine. Now the plan was to have arrived the day before, whereupon I would call Linda at the University and she’d tell me what to do. Since it was 5am and she’d gone home, I winged it! I found a shuttle that would take me and my bags to Jerusalem, Mt. Scopus, Harazaphim. The sunrise drive was beautiful. The early morning mist softened the landscape and gave it a hint of mystery. I met a French gentleman who was taking a quick visit around Israel before going to S. America to teach small children how to read and write Spanish.

The shuttle dropped me at the entrance to the dorms so I had no idea where I was or what I was supposed to and no way of communicating. Thank God that another student, Lee, had gotten off the shuttle also. She was able to speak decent Hebrew and English (she was Korean) so she helped get everything sorted. We then cajoled the guards into watching our bags while she showed me around the campus. We had to wait until 8:30 for the offices to open. Lee took me around the main campus for the next hour and half. I was overwhelmed and quickly lost, but it was apparent right away that the campus is beautiful! And built on a hill so there were soooo many stairs. By 8:30, I was sufficiently worn out but I was able to get registered, get my bags to my dorm (took a cab because the dorms I am staying in are about a 15 minute walk from campus – too far for me to manhandle those heavy bags!), and got moved in. I was supposed to be back on campus before 1pm to speak with someone who would explain my insurance. I decided to walk. After walking around for about an hour, I gave up and decided to take the bus. I had asked for directions a few times and kept getting the same answer, “uhh…straight, yeah yeah.” None of the roads even go straight! Once I found my way back to my dorm, I hopped a bus. I rode it for a while until I saw something that said Hebrew University. I exited and spent the next half hour-ish wandering around what ended up being the wrong campus. The people on this campus had never even heard of Rothberg! So, I gave up, got a taxi to Café Aroma which I knew to be located right near the entrance of the main campus. The taxi then takes me to the “Center” (between the Old City and New I guess) and drops me off at the Café Aroma there. Ugh. All I wanted to do was get back to campus so I could call Mom and Dad and let them know I was alive! Grrr! I then wondered around asking all the bus drivers if they went to “Harazaphim.” I wasn’t sure exactly what that was but I knew it would take me back to the general area of my school. Finally, I found one that did. I was falling asleep on the bus. Instead of taking me to campus, it took me back to my dorms. Three hours of trying and I never found the right spot. At least I made it back to my dorms and didn't end up in Haifa or something. I finally begged the office in the dorms to let me use their phone, called Mom and Dad. They said I sounded drunk. I was slurring my words and thought process was glacial. I honestly do not remember many other details of the day. It is such a fog. I had only slept 4 hours in the last 48 and I don’t think I ate anything until the next day. But I made it.

Home Sweet Home.